Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

Isaiah Chapters 1-4

Isaiah son of Amoz

Our survey of the book of Isaiah will be quite fast-paced, as evidenced by the four chapters we are covering in this lesson. We will find the book of Isaiah, or at least sections of it, very familiar to us, not only because the prophecy of Isaiah has inspired hymns and other songs, but also because Isaiah is the book most often quoted in the New Testament to relate the life of Jesus to prophecy regarding the Christ. This is especially true of the Gospel according to Matthew (see: Matthew 3:1-3; 8:16-17; 12:14-21; 13:10-15; 15:7-9).

However, while much of the scripture of Isaiah is familiar to us, we know little about the man himself. The introduction of Chapter 1 (verse 1) indicates that the ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of the Judean kings Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekia. His interaction with Hezekia is recorded in 2 Kings (20:1-7) and in more briefly in 2 Chronicles (32:20-22). For most of the prophets, we have a fair amount of biographical detail. For example, we have many biographical details for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:7-9) some of which are inseparable from the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13:1-11). The prophecy of Hosea is also highly biographical (Hosea 3:1-4), and of Jonah we know a brief section of his life story, but almost nothing of his preaching.

As we do not know much about the prophet, we do not know very much about the origin of the book that bears his name. There is general agreement Bible scholars that the book has either two or three distinct sections, each with their own editor, and perhaps completely separate authorship. I am certainly not a Bible scholar, but I do a few opinions regarding such literary analysis.

1. Whatever we believe about the origin of scripture, we should not be ignorant of any theories posed by serious, learned authorities, especially those who are dedicated Christians.

2. The value of such scholarship only exists insofar as it contributes to the understanding of the message of the work in question.

3. Such scholarship does not in any way threaten the authority of scripture. We do not have the original texts, and if we did, there would be few of us who could read them. Our faith in scripture is a faith in the process which began with the original inspiration, continues through the establishment of cannon and the development of our modern translations, and culminates with our inspired reading and study.

With these considerations in mind, we will begin to address the book itself.

Hear, O Heavens!

The first chapter of Isaiah establishes the situation of the people with respect to their God. In the beginning section (verses 2-4) the Lord says even the beasts know to whom they belong, but the people have rejected their God. The following verses (5-6) that ask the people why they continue to harm themselves are similar to the passage in Jeremiah (30:12-3) where the Lord describes the people of having a wound that cannot be cured. They are in am impossible situation and they have deserted their Lord, who alone can do the impossible.

Further on (verses 11, ff.) the chapter finds agreement with the prophet Hosea (6:6) declaring that the rituals of worship have no meaning if the people have abandoned their Lord. Even in such grievous sin, the Lord has not deserted the people, and we have in this chapter one of the best known and most reassuring passages:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

(Isaiah 1:18 KJV)

Swords into Plowshares

Chapters 2, 3, and 4, have in common their description of the Day of the Lord. The vision given to Isaiah with regard to this day is twofold. On the one hand, there is in the latter part of Chapter 2 and continuing through Chapter 3 and into Chapter 4 the description of the awesome day when the people will flee to the mountains (2:19-22; Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30). On the other hand, this section describing destruction and devastation the Day of the Lord will bring is bookended by the restoration and hope that are also a part of that day. In Chapter 4, this hope is expressed in the form of a branch, or remnant of the people who will be found righteous and to whom the presence of the Lord will be a real and will provide guidance an shelter.

In Chapter 2, the verses which look forward to the Day of the Lord also express hope, in words that are evocative of real peace even to those who are not familiar with the Bible.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

(Isaiah 2:2-4 KJV)

According to My Gospel

According to My Gospel

Romans 16

Pheobe

It is stylistic of Paul to begin letters with a general blessing and end them with a section of personal greeting, and his letter to the Romans, as we can observe from the number of personal greetings included in this final chapter, is true to this style. While this final chapter seems straight-forward enough, there is in fact much debate regarding this chapter, and we should not be ignorant of that debate.

First, there is Paul's mention of Phoebe, to whom Paul refers as a “servant”. The Greek word that is used here is diakonos which is the word our Lord used in telling his disciples that the first shall be last, and the greatest must be a servant (Mark 9:35). It is also the term that came to identify an office in the early church: “deacon”. One line of thinking is that Phoebe was not a deacon, but a “deaconess”, which is an entirely different form of office. There may be passages that support differing roles for men and women, but this is not one of them. Greek is not a gender-neutral language; so Paul's reference to Phoebe as a deaconess is no different that our distinction (one of the few that still exist) between a waiter and a waitress: there is no difference between the two other than gender. Paul may have intended different roles for men and women, but this usage of the “deaconess” does not support such distinctions. Paul was simply constrained by the Greek language.

Greetings

Another issue with the present chapter is the number of personal greetings that were included in a letter to a church that Paul had never visited. Several possible explanations have been presented. To begin with, it is said that Paul may have been trying to establish a relationship with the Roman church by stressing the number of acquaintances that he had in common with the church. Another line of thinking says that these personal acquaintances were not with the Roman church at all, but are explained by the general use of the letter in the early church, and these personal greetings were addressed to individuals in other churches to which the letter was circulated. Evidence to support the idea that Chapter 16 was not an original part of the letter include the fact that several of the early manuscripts do not contain this ending. However, it is possible that this same fact supports the argument in favor of the original validity of this chapter, in that because of the personal nature of the chapter, it was excluded form copies which were circulated among the churches.

While the Jews were largely treated well (at least by comparison) the relationship was never an easy one, and the Jews were more than once expelled from Rome itself. Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in his travels among the gentiles because they had been expelled from Rome (Acts 18:2). Apparently, the husband wife were now returned to Rome, and if so, Paul may have met other Jewish Christians who had once been expelled from Rome but had since returned.

Still another idea is that these were individuals whom Paul had met in his travels among the gentiles, but who had subsequently returned to Rome. As evidenced by the example of Priscilla (Prisca) and Aquila, the relationship between the Jews and the Romans was one of considerable turmoil. The Jews were given special privileges not offered to other peoples dominated by the Roman Empire. For example, they were allowed to keep the Sabbath and this precluded their service in the Roman army. Such service was required of all the other nations under Roman rule.

Whatever the explanation for the origin of the chapter may be, it does not detract from its status as scripture, inspired by God, and profitable for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Whenever we approach scripture, we put our faith in a process that begins with divine inspiration, extends through the recording and translation, and and continues with our inspired reading of the text. Scholarly examination is no threat to scripture. The power of scripture is only endangered when the people of God refuse to encounter the word of God.

I, Tertius

The personal nature of this closing chapter is extended in a very interesting way by the inclusion of a greeting from Tertius, who “wrote down this letter.” Though Paul was well educated and spoke Greek as primary language (he would have studied Hebrew as a part of his Jewish education) it was his custom, and the method common to his day, to dictate his letter to a scribe. Here, the scribe makes himself known by included his greeting in with the greetings from Paul. By contrast, in Galatians 6:11, we have recorded the intrusion of Paul into the dictation of the scribe.

We do not know who Tertius was or have any further mention of him. Or, perhaps we do. There is some speculation that Paul's recording secretary was Silas. This possibility is suggested based on the observation the “Tertius” and “Silas” are etymologically related in that “Tertius” is a Greek name derived from the Greek word for “third” and “Silas” is a Hebrew name taken from the Hebrew word for “third”. So it may be that, in the same way Simon was Peter, Saul was Paul, and (perhaps more like) Bartholomew may or may not have been Nathaniel, there is some possibility that Tertius was Silas.

According to My Gospel

Humility, one may observe, was never one of Paul's best traits, and his ego seems always to be brimming beneath the surface if not presenting itself outright. Here, his assertion of the importance of his gospel and the message which he preached is more than enough to make the more timid of us cringe. But Paul, of course, was never timid; if he were, he would not have been Paul. We do, however, shorten “The Gospel According to John” for example, to simply “The Gospel of John” and we may similarly refer to the same as “John's Gospel”. This claim by Paul, then, of “his” gospel is appropriately applied to Romans, as it, more than any other Pauline letter, contains a systematic presentation of Paul's “theology” – his account of the Gospel: the Gospel according to Paul.

I Will Go to Spain

I Will Go to Spain

Romans 15:14-33

Full of Goodness

In verses 14-16 Paul is somewhat apologetic to the Christians in Rome for the way he has spoken to them thus far in the letter, saying that it was only to “remind” them of what they already know. But, even if Paul says they are “full of goodness” the original recipients of the letter may have been, as perhaps we are, uncertain as to Paul's assessment of the human condition. In the same letter, Paul has described us all as sinners (3:23) on the one hand, and on the other declares that we by our very nature do what is right (2:14-15). Indeed, Paul's description of himself appears inconsistent. On the one hand he establishes his credentials as not only a mature Christian (14:14, 15:1) but an apostle, a special messenger of Christ (1:1). On the other hand he admits that he himself continually struggled with sin (7:14-20). Further, Paul tells us that all of creation awaits the day when we are united with Christ (8:19-21).

Does Paul believe we are saints or sinners, or is it possible that Paul believed we are both saints and sinners? Though Paul repeatedly speaks very negatively of “the flesh” (7:5, for example) he also speaks very positively of our ability to know and to do what is right and even finds good in Israel's rejection of their election (10:1-4). But in the end, Paul knows that it not about how good we are. “It does not, therefor, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.” (9:16 NIV)

I Glory in Christ Jesus

It would be easy to find laughable Paul's continual assertion of his humility. Here, in verses 17-22, he says he can take no credit for the many great things he has down because it is Christ who worked these accomplishments through him. Of course, he might not have mentioned these accomplishments at all. Elsewhere (2 Corinthians 12:7-8) he says that his “thorn in the flesh” kept him from boasting about his great accomplishments. Again, he would sound less like someone proclaiming his humility from the rooftops if he did not mention these accomplishments at all.

Yet, somehow Paul gets away with this very pointed modesty, and there are very valid reasons for this. First, we really do believe Paul when he says here that he gives all the glory to Christ, and in Galatians (Galatians 6:14) where he says that he glories only in the cross of Christ. What does it mean to glory in the Cross of Christ? Jesus identified the cross with self-denial (Matthew 16:24).

Self-denial is the second reason we must accept Paul's pride in his modesty. His list of hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23-33) is both astounding and humbling. We live in a world of greater opportunity and greater need than Paul could have imagined, but where is the Paul of today, who would give up even a little personal comfort for the sake of others? When Paul here quotes from Isaiah 11:10 saying that those who were not told will see, and those who have not heard will understand, it reminds us painfully of his earlier question (10:14-15). How shall they hear without someone preaching to them?

I Will Go to Spain

In the final verses of the chapter (verses 25-33) Paul gives us some clue as to where and when he wrote the letter, reiterates his desire to go to Rome, and tells us also of his future plans. Paul was in the process of gathering an offering from the Gentile churches that he would take back to Jerusalem, where the Christian Church was being persecuted, and where people were in real need. Paul (who was still then called “Saul”) and Barnabas heard of these troubles through a prophet (Acts 11:25-30) and the disciples of the Gentile churches gathered together an offering to send to Jerusalem.

So, Paul had his plans set. He would go to Jerusalem to deliver the offering, then pass through Rome on his way to Spain. We could ask ourselves what would draw Paul into Spain, but he has already answered this question for us. He has, at the time of his writing to the Romans, already evangelized the Roman territories, and Spain was the new frontier. We have the hindsight of history and know that Spain was one of the great powers to follow Rome, and that the Spaniards would become world explorers. If Paul foresaw any of this, it would explain his great interest in going to Spain.

But things did not work out as Paul had planned. The offering he took to Jerusalem took him, in a sense, to Rome. It was while Paul was in Jerusalem delivering the alms from the Gentiles that he was attacked by the Jews and taken before Felix (Acts 24:17-27). Paul himself then facilitated his trip to Rome by appealing his case to the Emperor (Acts 25:9-12).

So Paul made it to Rome, but not as he had planned. So far as we know, he never made it to Spain. We do not know with any degree of certainty what Paul's eventual fate became. In 2 Timothy, we hear the words of a man imprisoned and deserted by everyone save Luke. Luke himself ends the Book of Acts without resolving Paul's fate but merely stating that Paul was imprisoned for some time and continued to preach while under guard.

We do not know exactly how Paul felt about his fate. He is, after all, the one who exhorts us to give thanks in all things (Ephesians 5:19-20). In Romans, Paul assures as that whatever may happen, God always has a plan of redemption.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

(Proverbs 16:9 NIV)

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

Romans 15:1-13

The Weak and the Strong

In the previous chapter, when Paul speaks explicitly of those who are “weak” and, by inference, those who are strong. The word Paul uses in in that setting is astheneo, which is used in Gospels to mean those who are physically weak because of illness. In Chapter 15, Paul refers explicitly to both the weak and the strong. The word Paul uses for the strong is dunatos, which means “powerful” or “capable”. The word translated here as “weak” is a different from the previous chapter. It is adunatos, the opposite of dunatos.

The terms “weak” and “strong” or “ineffective” and “effective” are ordinarily applied judgmentally. In our society, there are few terms that are more pejorative than “weak”. A person can be a lier and a thief, deceptive and corrupt, and a host of other negative traits, but still be effective and capable. In fact, it certainly seems that these characteristics actually enhance ones ability to get ahead. But whatever positive qualities one might have: honesty, fairness, consideration, intelligence, or faithfulness, none of these qualities will excuse event the slightest sign weakness. In “the survival of the fittest”, the fit are always understood to be the strong. Nice guys finish last.

Given this perspective, in order to understand these chapters, we must ask ourselves two questions. To begin with, we must ask ourselves how Paul can count himself among the strong, when he himself admits his weakness. Here in Romans, for example, Paul reveals his own inner struggle between what he knows he should do and what he actually does (7:15). In addition, Paul is well known for his “thorn in the flesh” which Paul somewhat comically describes as preventing him from claiming the greatness he deserves (2 Corinthians 12:7).

The second question we must ask ourselves is how Paul, in the very context of forbidding judgment (14:4) and encouraging unity (15:6) can apply such judgmental and divisive terms. To this point, Paul has consistently united us all in sin (3:9; 3:23) in salvation (1:16) in the Lordship of God (10:12) in judgment (14:10) in grace (3:22; 5:18; 11:32). How can Paul describe us all as equal members of the body of Christ (12:3-5) but at the same time divide us into these superior and inferior categories?

As Christ Has Welcomed You

In our society, we do not like paradox. Though few of us are scientists, we believe in the scientific method. Though we actually understand very little of the world around us, we like to believe that the world is understandable. Understanding the world is not important in itself, but we believe that what we can understand we can control. If there is a common tenet of Western society, it is that we are masters of our own destiny. We can be what we want to be – achieve what we want to achieve. Even the most underprivileged child can overcome adversity and become president (but why would anyone want to?).

Of course, this cannot be true. To begin with, it is simply impossible for everyone to become president. But more than that, poverty and oppression are real adversaries which are not so easily overcome. But we persist in this believe for two reasons. First, it allows us to believe that we can control our lives. This is the same sort of idolatry that the Lord spoke of through Jeremiah. When we trust in society, technology, or the work of our own hands, we abandon the living water for our own broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:12-13) and put our faith in gods that cannot help us (Jeremiah 2:27-28).

Further, this belief in our own accomplishment relieves us of any responsibility for other people. If we are masters of our own destiny, then others are as well. If my brother or sister cannot overcome their poverty or oppression to succeed in the land of opportunity, then it no fault of mine. Paul tells us that in matters of faith, we are beholden to each other. In so saying, he is in keeping with the teaching of our Lord, who tells us that our responsibility extends to every aspect of the lives of those around us (Matthew 25:31-45).

The God of Endurance and Encouragement

Though you and I may be troubled by paradox, it is a part of the nature of our God, exemplified in his Christ. Paul was well aware of the mystery of the will of God, which he relayed in Ephesians (1:3-10) and in Philippians (2:5-11). Here, he calls God “The God of endurance and encouragement,” a brief reminder of his earlier reference to power of God revealed in the patience of God (9:22-26). This idea may seem counterintuitive: in our world, the strong have no need to be patient – it is one of the advantages of being strong. But with Christ there is the paradox of strength is revealed in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What can explain the greatest being humbled and the strongest becoming weak? As recorded in John, Jesus says that it is because of the love of God for the entire world – love which calls us into unity with God and with each other (John 17:22-23). It is in this same call to unity that Paul calls us to treat each other with respect. If God can be humbled for our sake, can we not make ourselves humble for the sake of others?

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(Matthew 10:38-39 ESV)

A Matter of Righteousness

A Matter of Righteousness

Romans 14:13-23

Therefore

Context is always important in Bible study, and Paul himself indicates the importance of context in this passage by prefacing the passage with the Greek oun, translated “therefore”. Paul in Romans uses this word many times in both the positive (5:1) and the negative (6:1). In this way, Paul indicates that the argument of this passage is not only connected with the previous statement that each of us must give an account of himself before God (14:12) but with the entire argument of the letter that salvation is an act of God that is not dependent on our actions (9:18) but that our encounter with this grace of God requires in us a response which will shape the way we live (8:12-13).

In addition to this larger context, we must also consider the more immediate context of the passage, which ostensibly is a discussion of dietary restrictions. It is in this context that the NIV translates the Greek oudeis in verse 14 as “no food” instead of the word “nothing” which it mentions in a footnote. Elsewhere in the New Testament, this word is either translated as “nothing” (as in Luke 12:2) or “no one” (as in John 14:6). However, while the argument Paul presents uses the occasion of dietary restrictions, it is in fact a discussion of our freedom (presented in the first half of the chapter) and responsibility (presented in this passage) as Christians. The idea of freedom in Christ must have been new to those to whom Paul wrote, the majority of whom had either been Greek slaves or slaves to the Jewish law, but to us the idea of the hand-in-hand connection of freedom and responsibility is common knowledge, if not common practice.

Judgment

We must also consider in context Paul's assertion that we may not judge each other (verse 13). This is a very hard saying, first because we are so accustomed and inclined to considering our own accomplishments in relation to those of others (Luke 18:10-14) but also because it is hard to understand in light of our responsibility to judge for ourselves between right and wrong (Matthew 7:17-20). There are two interpretations which would restrict the admonition against judgment in ways that would make it more understandable (or perhaps more tolerable).

The first is to place this admonition in the context of 14:1, which constrains the caution to the scope of those issues which constitute “disputable matters”. In this line of thought, there are matters about which the Bible contains clear teaching about which there can be no dispute. Paul is a source of such teachings, and provides us a list of unarguably sinful acts in the first chapter of Romans (1:28-32). The more common citation, however, comes from Galatians (5:16-26).

The second interpretation which provides a restricted understanding of this prohibition is to place it entirely within the bounds of the church (Matthew 18:15-17; but see also 1 Corinthians 5:12-13). In this interpretation, we are enjoined from judgment against other Christians, but free to judge those who are unbelievers. If we combine this with the previous interpretation, then we may judge for ourselves who is and who is not Christian, because we know which matters are indisputable, and then may judge those we do not deem to be acceptable to Christ.

One must wonder whether Paul would be amused or exasperated by those who would take his teachings as law. Paul's continual assertion in Romans and in other writings is that there is no legal definition of salvation. “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy.” (9:15a) To use the words of Paul as the definitive basis by which may judge others is groundless. To use any means to decide for ourselves who God should condemn is an affront to the grace of God (2:1-4).

A Matter of Righteousness

“Hate the sin; love the sinner” is a common sentiment, but the only commandment to hate Christ gave us is the commandment to hate our own sinful selves (John 12:25). Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is not defined by hate, nor is it defined in any way by sin, but by righteousness, peace, and joy. The kingdom is not defined in the negative, by the means of exclusion or punishment, but in the positive, by the means of inclusion and favor. According to Paul, righteousness is not for condemnation, but it is the good news of salvation (1:16-17). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (8:31b)

This entire discussion, of course, is evocative of the words of Christ, who enjoined us from judgment of others not only because of the consequence of judgment upon ourselves, but because we are simply unfit to judge (Matthew 7:1-5). No one sets out to be a hypocrite. The problem with the plank in my own eye is that I can never see it. It is to our great benefit that judgment belongs only to God, who has entrusted it to Christ (John 5:22), and we know what the judgment of Christ is like.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." (John 8:3-11 ESV)

Whether We Live or Die

Whether We Live or Die

Romans 14:1-12

Whose Faith Is Weak?

Many of the subjects to which are given so much attention in the writings of Paul generally and in the Letter to the Romans in particular seem completely out of date to modern (post-modern?) Christians. In this passage, Paul discusses dietary restrictions and the observance of special holy days. While there remains a minor (in terms of the size of the population involved) dispute over the observance of the Sabbath, the idea of a religious dispute over dietary matters may seem strange to us.

Coming from our modern standpoint to an understanding of this dispute, we might begin by understanding what it is not. To begin with, though we might reasonably expect that the church or churches to which Paul wrote in Rome to have been comprised largely of Gentiles, it appears to be the case that there were a large numbers of Jewish Christians in the church, as well. Historically, we know that there were perhaps as many Jews in Rome at the time as there were in Palestine. There are also indications from the letter itself that it was addressed to a congregation that at least included a number of Jews, if it was not predominately Jewish. The lengthy discourses on the children of Abraham, the role of the law, and the eventual redemption of the nation of Israel all suggest this conclusion.

We might reasonably expect, then, that a dispute over dietary standards might have arisen between the Jews, whose dietary restrictions constituted fully a third of the Law, and who therefore viewed dietary matters to be matters of morality, and the Gentiles, whose dietary practices must have seemed to the Jews not only lax, but scandalous. This, however, does not characterize the dispute to which Paul refers. Instead, Paul refers to a dispute between those who eat meat and those who are strictly vegetarian. It is not clear how this dispute arose – whether it originated with those who, like most modern vegetarians, limit their diet to vegetables out of concern for the treatment of animals, or arose from the apprehension that any meat that might be available had preciously been sacrificed to idols, and therefore was not fit for Christian consumption (1 Corinthians 8:7).

In carefully considering these instructions from Paul, we must not only recognize that it does not concern a dispute between the Jews and the Gentiles, we must also understand that Paul's instructions do not merely regard questions of diet and days. When Peter received his vision in which the sheet came down before him laden with all manner of unclean things (Acts 10:11-20) the importance of the vision was not the relaxation of dietary standards, but inclusion into the family of faith those that had previously been seen as unclean.

In these verses, we must also understand that the matter at hand is not simply diet. Though Paul has largely moved from theological argument to practical application, he has not abandoned the rhetoric that has brought him to this point. Paul has already explained that it is not important that we are biological children of Abraham, but that we have the faith of Abraham (9:8). It is not the circumcision of the flesh that matters, but the circumcision of the heart (2:28-29). It is not the letter of the law that matters, but the spirit of the law (7:6). It is not the symbolic death of baptism that frees us from condemnation, but the death of self and sin (6:1-4). In the same way, though Paul does not use the words of Christ, his argument is that it is not what goes into our mouths that defiles us, but what comes out of our mouths (Matthew 15:11).

We might further consider those to whom Paul refers as “weak in the faith.” The term Paul uses here is astheneo. In the Gospels, this word is used to describe those who were sick and were brought to Jesus to be healed (for example, Mark 6:56). In the letters of Paul and the Letter to the Hebrews, it is translated “weak”. Again, there are various possible interpretations of this term, and we do well first to consider what Paul does not mean.

We might take the terms “strong” and “weak” to mean those who have greater or lesser faith. This interpretation would be groundless, not only in the context of this passage, but in the larger context of Romans (though the English words “believe” and “trust” are used in 10:9-11, these are translated from the same word that is here translated “faith”) but also in the context of the teachings of Jesus, who taught that even a mustard-seed of faith would move mountains (Matthew 17:15-20). We should, however, consider the characteristics of those whom Paul labeled “weak”. First, they were those who held a position contrary to the position of Paul. Paul was not unlike ourselves in this regard, and we must therefore not underestimate this fact when reading this passage and the similar one in 1 Corinthians. Second, we must notice that, at least in this case, it was those who held the more restrictive position that Paul considered weak, and those who held more open views that Paul considered strong.

We Belong to the Lord

What, then, is Paul saying? If we discount the idea that Paul speaks of the weak in derogatory terms – an idea that we must discount, as Paul only introduces the terms to point out that we must not judge each other; then is he advancing some form of moral relativism, in which we each live by our own moral standards that cannot be judged by or imposed upon the morality of others?

As we have seen so far in our study of Romans, the response that Paul has given to such notions is consistently and forcefully in the negative. To those who would say that we can accomplish good through doing evil, Paul offers no respect (3:5-8). To those who would say that grace is such a good thing that we should sin more so as to experience even more grace, Paul presents the simple truth that our encounter with Christ must transform us as though we had died to our former selves and come alive again in Christ (6:1-7). To those who would ask how a God who gave us choice could blame us for our choices, Paul presents a God who has consistently and lovingly reached out to those who reject him (9:19-24). To all those who would say that the judgment of God is so severe that there is nothing we can do, and to those who would say that the love of God is so great that there is nothing we must do, Paul presents the judgment of God indivisible from the love of God (11:22).

We cannot judge each other, Paul says, because we belong to the Lord not to each other, and judgment belongs to God, not to ourselves. Paul has already presented us a picture of that judgment – a judgment in which God is seeking to redeem and not to condemn (8:31-39). For some of us, this forgiveness is wonderful when applied to ourselves, but exasperating when applied to others. In this way we find ourselves kindred spirits of Jonah, who was sick to death of the love of God (Jonah 4:1-4).

Whether We Live or Die

The NIV begins this passage with the term “disputable matters”. It would be convenient to believe that these were simple matters like eating meat or vegetables, whether we wear a tie or a T-shirt, or what sort of music is necessary for worship. These issues, we might magnanimously say, are disputable. At the same time we hold as indisputable those matters about which there is the most dispute.

Does Paul say that our belief on such issues does not matter? In fact, one can get the idea from reading these later chapters that we simply do not matter very much. In social settings, we must always put others, even our enemies, above ourselves (12:14-19). In political settings, we must always submit to authorities, even those who seem bent on harming us, because they are agents of God (13:1-2). Even in religious settings, we cannot demand consideration, but must be considerate of others. In fact, in these verses Paul claims that it does not matter whether we live or die.

I do not know about you, but it certainly matters to me. Paul makes it very clear that what we do and and what we believe matters to God. Though it often escaped our attention, we do not have to try very hard to notice that what is important to God is not what is important to us. God has different values than we have.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:23-25a)

The process of “sanctification” (6:22 RSV) which “leads to holiness” (6:22 NIV) is the process of losing this world and gaining our souls.

Understanding the Present Time

Understanding the Present Time

Romans Chapter 13

Submit to the Authorities

The major theme of The Letter to the Romans is salvation by grace. Paul makes it abundantly clear that there is nothing we can do to attain salvation. But, in response to those who would argue that it therefore does not matter what we do (3:8, 6:1) Paul's response is emphatic (3:8, 6:2). In earlier chapters, Paul has presented careful theological argument. In these later chapters, Paul offers practical instruction and exhortation for our daily response to grace. Chapter 13 continues in this theme of practical instruction. Though it contains some of the plainest language in all of Romans, it includes one of those passages that is difficult for us to understand because we cannot believe that it means what it very obviously says.

In verses 1-7, Paul explicitly instructs us to respect earthly authorities and submit ourselves to them. We should do this not only out of fear of retribution (verse 4) but because it is the right thing to do (verse 5) because these authorities are established by God (verse 1). The assurance that earthly authorities offer no “terror” to those who do what is right (verse 3) seems particularly hard to understand in our present time.

There are various ways of interpreting this passage. One is to understand the passage as describing the best case scenario in which earthly are willing agents of God and therefore do not give godly citizens any cause to fear. If we accept this interpretation, then it follows that this instruction does not apply to those authorities that are not actively seeking the will of God. We could then conclude that authorities which are manifestly antagonist to God require our disrespect and open opposition. We might support this interpretation with the response of Peter and John to the Jewish rulers who would have restrained Peter and John from spreading the Gospel (Acts 4:18-19). In this case, however, Peter and John were interacting with authorities who did claim divine authority, but were not acting in a godly manner.

In contrast to supporting civil insurrection, Peter instructs us (1 Peter 2:13-18) to submit to every earthly authority – even going so far as to instruct slaves to submit to their masters. Also, we must consider Paul's audience. Paul was addressing Christians in Rome, where the authorities were in open apposition to the authority of God. In Romans, Paul acknowledges the persecution suffered by Christians (8:18) and elsewhere recounts the various difficulties he himself had suffered at the hands of the authorities (2 Corinthians 11:24-25). Can it be that the Bible endorses the horrific acts of corrupt government, even to the point of supporting the abominable institution of slavery?

The question is, of course, rhetorical. We know from our understanding of a powerful and loving God that this cannot be the case. How, then, can we understand this passage from Paul and the similar passage from Peter? First, we must acknowledge that the perfect will of God is in no way imperiled by the imperfection of this world. Paul has already stated that the plan of God to offer salvation to the Gentiles was accomplished through Israel's rejection of that same salvation (9:6-8; 11:11-16). The first step in accepting this instruction, then, is to acknowledge that earthly authorities can be agents of God, even though they are unaware of or are in open opposition to that will.

The other idea that is essential to understanding this passage is one that is in direct confrontation to our Western world view. Though if pressed we will admit that “life is not fair” and “there is no justice in this world” this is not the view that motivates our daily lives. Instead, we expect to be treated fairly, and when we are not we expect just recompense. This is clearly not the view advanced by Peter and Paul. While we can expect persecution, even when we abide by the law of this world, we cannot demand worldly justice, but must accept our situation without complaint. This, after all, is the justice of God, who demonstrated justice through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the very person of God. This is the pattern of the justice of God; it is not demanded as recompense, but offered as a gift.

Fulfillment of the Law

In verses 8-10, Paul uses a very typical device as he turns a metaphor “on its ear” and in so doing seems to take the discussion to an entirely different train of thought. Here, Paul uses his admonition against indebtedness as a launching point for a discussion of the debt of love. In complete agreement with Jesus (Matthew 22:36-40) Paul offers “love your neighbor” as the one requirement which, if met, would satisfy the whole of the law.

In light of the considerable attention Paul has paid to discrediting the law, we might well ask ourselves how he can now suggest that the law has any authority. We must always consider in the proper context those passages which discuss the failure of the law. It is always Paul's intent when discussing the law to present it as having no application to salvation, which is a gift of grace, but having definite application to our response to grace. Though we have no power to affect our own salvation, salvation has an affect on us.

Though Paul's transition to the subject of love may seem abrupt, it is by no means out of place. The motivation for grace is love (8:39, John 3:16). The justice of God is inseparable from the love of God (8:31-34). Love calls to love. The love of God, who in Christ submitted himself to us, calls us to submit ourselves in love to the world around us (Matthew 5:38-48). We are called to be perfect, and we are not relieved of this call because it is not easy or practical.

Understanding the Present Time

In verses 11-14, Paul encourages us to have an understanding of the present time. Who among us would not appreciate such an understanding? We live in an age where absurdity, indecency, and corruption have reached a level that seems to tear at the fabric of reality. The extent of evil seems too great even to understand, much less to overcome. What can we do in the face of such a great threat? As usual, Paul gives us practical, understandable advice: do what is right. Even in the face of such evil, which we like to think is unique to our present time, God is still God. We know what is right, and we must put away what is evil.

It would be easy to say that Paul, and indeed the whole of the First Century Church, had a quaint but mistaken idea of the timing of the Lord's return, and that this understanding caused them to live with a sense of urgency which, in the present time, we cannot attain. In view of history, we might believe that we cannot be expected to live with such urgency. After all, Paul lived with the idea that Christ could return any day. Surely that understanding was wrong, and we have no desire to be wrong. If we were to continue in Paul's belief, we might even commit the grave sin of looking foolish!

If Paul was wrong in his urgent expectancy of the coming of the kingdom, then so was Christ (Matthew 4:17, 25:1-13) who called us to behave as though the kingdom was near, even though we do not and cannot know the time of its coming. This nearness of the kingdom could mean two things. It could mean that we have limited time to put our affairs in order and must therefore act quickly to secure our own salvation. In that sense, it might be viewed as a threat. But a threat is also a promise, of a sort, and the justice of God is both a threat and a promise. This is the kindness and sternness of God (11:22). As surely as the nearness of the kingdom means imminent justice, it also means imminent grace. We must repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near. We may repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

(Deuteronomy 30:11-15 KJV)

Overcome Evil with Good

Overcome Evil with Good

Romans 12:14-21

Bless and Do Not Curse

In earlier chapters, Paul has presented careful theological argument which primarily dealt with what we should not do: we must not depend on the law, on anything of our own making, or of any effort on our part to achieve salvation. Salvation is an act of God, and not of men (9:16). Even in the context of this argument, however, Paul has been careful to reject any notion that, since there is no way to achieve salvation by our own action, our own actions do not matter at all. To those who would say that our sin only serves to glorify the grace of God, Paul responds with complete dismissal (3:8; 6:1-2). In these later chapters, Paul begins to deal very practically with the question of how we should respond to grace. In the earlier passages of Chapter 12, Paul stresses the need of the church for a unity that is based on mutual respect. We are one body with many members. This metaphor suggests not only that we respect the abilities of others, but that we have proper respect for our own abilities.

In the chapters to come, Paul will deal with the relationship of the Christian to the authorities here on earth, and will return again to instruction for interaction in the Christian community. In the present passage, Paul deals with our reaction to those, either within or without that community, who would seek to do us harm. Either to stress the importance of what he is telling us, or to forestall any notion of diluting or otherwise misunderstanding his instruction, Paul tells in both the positive and the negative that we must bless, not curse, those who persecute us.

Blessings and courses are, of course, only words. Even though we might still have a difficult time pronouncing a blessing on those who would injure us, we know that any serious interpretation of this passage requires us to go beyond words to action. Indeed, the parallel with the words of Christ in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:38-48) is quite clear. When one would ask us to go a mile with them, we must offer to go two; when one would take the shirt off our back, we must offer our coat, as well. We cannot simply pronounce a blessing on our enemies; we must actively be a blessing to them.

Burning Coals

In support of his argument, Paul – who did not have the Gospels to quote – quotes both from Deuteronomy 32:35, where God exclusively reserves vengeance, and from Proverbs 25:21-22, where we are told that aiding our enemies will not only make us deserving of reward from God, but that it will “heap burning coals” upon their heads. We must wonder why, if our aim is to heap coals on their heads, we are forbidden to act spitefully to them in the first place.

Whatever the meaning of that phrase in Proverbs, we cannot understand the instruction from Paul (and Proverbs by way of Paul) as a theologically-sound, Biblically-approved method of repaying our enemies for the wrong they have done to us (or that we perceive they have done to us). Instead, Paul's discourse is moving from faith (our acceptance of the grace of God) to religion, which is the practice of our faith.

For Paul, religion was a very practical matter. It was not a matter of race (4:13) ritual (2:29) or code (7:6). It is, instead, the way we treat each other (13:8-10). In this, he not only has the agreement of James (James 1:27), but is also in complete agreement with our Lord, who both announced his ministry (Luke 4:16-21) and claimed his mastery (Luke 7:18-23) by healing the sick and defending the poor. This ministry is also what our Lord requires of us: a ministry that is defined by a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:40-42) or by a kind word or deed (Matthew 25:31-46).

Overcome Evil with Good

Paul ends this passage with what on the face of it is a very strange command: do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. In this world, it certainly seems as though evil has all the tools techniques for success. Nice guys, it seems, finish last, but the one who is willing to do what it takes will be richly rewarded. We must carefully consider how we can come to a meaningful, functional understanding of this command.

First, we must understand that the command is not a recipe for domination any more than the command to be good to our enemies is an acceptable means of destroying those enemies (except in recognition that a friend is no longer an enemy). The command to do good is not directed at them, but at us.

We must also consider that we do not define success, but God does, and God's definition of success must be accepted on faith. It is a definition in which the first is last and the last is first (Matthew 20:20-28) and in which our Lord, and the eve of his betrayal, even as his disciples were deserting him and his enemies were massing to capture him, proclaimed “I have overcome the world!” (John 16:32-33)

Living Sacrifices

Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-13

Responding to Grace

In his other letters, to greater and lesser degrees, Paul deals with topics which arise from his personal knowledge of the recipients of those letters. We can, for example, think of the exhortations to a young preacher found in 1 Timothy, the remonstration of the “foolish” Galatians, the plea for a runaway slave in Philemon, and the tired entreaty to “come before winter” in 2 Timothy. Though all of his letters are profitable for doctrine, reproof, and instruction in righteousness, whether because he had no personal knowledge of the churches in Rome, or because other factors in his ministry gave rise to such a document, the Letter to the Romans is the most systematic presentation we have of the Gospel according to Paul.

To begin with, we are all equal. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (3:23 KJV) The consequences of this sin are very real. “[T]he wages of sin is death.” (6:23a KJV) Yet there is good news. “[T]he gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Though we have earned death, there is nothing we can do to earn the gift. “[T]he gift is not like the trespass.” (5:15a NIV) “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s effort, but on God’s mercy.” (9:16 NIV)

Given that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation, we may have many questions. “[I]f our righteousness brings out God’ righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us?” (3:5b NIV) “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (6:1b NIV) “[W]hy does God still blame us?” (9:19b NIV). Though the Sovereign God says “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (9:15b NIV, quoting Exodus 33:19) this is not a threat, but a promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (10:13 NIV, quoting Joel 2:32) We are free to accept or reject this mercy. This is the “kindness and sternness of God.” (11:22b NIV)

While there is nothing we can do to receive grace, Paul is constant in maintaining that we must respond to grace. We do not deserve grace because of our nationality, as the children of Abraham thought, but we must become spiritual children of Abraham, because “it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” (9:8b NIV) No ritual or outward sign, such as circumcision, has the power to bring us grace, but we must respond to grace with an inward “circumcision of the heart.” (2:29 NIV) We do not achieve grace by strict observance of the letter of the law, but by the Spirit. “We have been released from the law so that we serve in a new way of the Spirit.” (7:6 NIV)

Having established our equality in sin and grace, the inability of the law to conquer sin, and the continuity of God’s redemptive plan in the face of rejection by the “Chosen People”, Paul now turns to bring full attention to the subject of our response to grace.

Reasonable Worship

The verses of Chapter 12 are familiar and powerful. In verses 1 and 2 Paul exhorts us to respond to grace by letting go of the influences of this world so that we may be transformed with a new mind. In the last hours before his betrayal Christ prayed for his disciples, including those present with him and those who were to come, not that we would be removed from the world, but that we be protected from it and that we be sanctified by the word of God. (John 17:13-20) Here, Paul says that this abandonment of the ways of the world and submission to the process of sanctification is worship. The world offers many idols which we often try to put in the place of God. Such idolatry is always an attempt to put ourselves in the place of God: the idols have no power over us, but it is our choice to worship them. We worship God by acknowledging that God is God.

Paul says that this worship is “reasonable” as it is translated in the KJV. The Greek word is logikos, the source of the English word “logic”. When John says “In the beginning was the word” (John 1:1 KJV) he uses a related Greek word, logos, which combined the Jewish idea of the powerful word of God with the Greek idea of the mind of God. The word Paul uses is similar in that it could refer to speech or speaking and also to the mind or the soul – these were probably not separate concepts to Paul. In either sense, Paul is not saying that our living sacrifice is neither something we think of from time to time, nor some spiritual feeling we have when the spirit strikes us, but it is an appropriate response to the grace of God; God in Christ gave his life for us, it is reasonable and appropriate that we give our lives to God.

Sober Judgment

In verses 3-8 Paul once again shows his ability to move from lofty levels of powerful theological concepts to the everyday level of common sense. We are who we are, and we are not any more, but we are not any less, either. As it is with the human body, as the body of Christ we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) We are not all alike, but we all have value. Others have a responsibility to acknowledge our value, and we have a responsibility to realize our value. We could have all the gold in the world, but if we kept it hidden away all our lives, it would be of no value to anyone. The list of assets Paul mentions here is not meant to be complete, but illustrative. We all have gifts, and whatever they are we must devote them to the service of God.

Living Sacrifices

Verses 9-13 continue Paul’s practice of illustrating by example. This is not meant to be a complete list of requirements for Christian living; that sort of legalistic approach is just the sort of thing Paul decries in preceding chapters. Instead, it is mean to show in common-sense terms what it means to be living sacrifices in the service of our Lord who announced his ministry with these words:

The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18:19 KJV, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

The Kindness and Sternness of God

The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans Chapter 11

The Jews

Chapter 11 is the final chapter in the extended passage Paul devotes to the status of his own people, the Jews. There is an ongoing theme in the Letter to the Romans, which has to do with the state of humanity in relation to God. The aspects of this theme include the relationship of sinful humanity to a perfect God, the existence of free will and the complete knowledge of God, and the supremacy of the will of God over the will of individuals, nations, and all of humanity. Central to this theme is the sufficiency of the gift of grace: there is no human accomplishment, not even the strictest possible adherence to the holy law of God, which can make us worthy of the love of God; our salvation is given to us because of the nature of God, and not because of our nature or our actions.

In keeping with this theme, the discussion of the status of the Jews begins in Chapter 9 with the statement that the failure of the Jews as a people to live up to the promise God made to them is not in any way indicative of a failure of the will of God. Instead, Paul says that God bore the rebellion of the Jews “with great mercy” (9:22) in a way which demonstrates the “riches of his glory to the objects of his mercy.” (9:23) Beginning at the end of Chapter 9 and continuing into Chapter 10, Paul clearly states the error of the Jewish way of thinking. They were given the law as a guide, but they had taken it as a means of salvation. In so doing, they had seen salvation as something attainable, something that could be deserved and achieved. Throughout Romans, Paul continually asserts that salvation is achieved though grace by faith, an idea that he presents quite eloquently, perhaps quoting a liturgy of the First Century Church: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (10:9 NIV)

The Remnant

In verses 1-10 of Chapter 11, Paul continues his style of one-sided argument that is characteristic of Romans by asking if God had then rejected his chosen people, and then firmly answering in the negative. Instead, Paul points out that the Lord’s covenant has never been fully accepted by the entire nation of Israel. In support of this, Paul quotes from a passage in 1 Kings (19:9b-18) which we recognize as a well-known interaction between God and Elijah. We know it for the “gentle whisper” (NIV) or “still small voice” (KJV) of the Lord. Paul wants us to notice that even when Elijah felt as though he alone was the only left serving God, the Lord revealed to him that there were still seven thousand that had not succumbed to the worship of Baal.

In this discussion, Paul uses two terms (specifically in verse 7) that are easily misunderstood. First, he refers to the remnant as “the elect” and says of the others that they were “hardened” or, as it is translated in the KJV, “blinded”. The first idea is one that Paul has already used in Chapter 8, where he references the complete knowledge of God, who exists outside of time, and the eternal plan of God for our salvation. Nothing, Paul says very eloquently, can separate us from the love that has been from before the beginning and will continue after the end. The idea of the elect does not describe those elected, they are not a particular group that has found favor with God, but instead it describes the sovereignty of God, who elected to share his love with all those who will accept it.

The other term that Paul uses in contrast to the elect are those whom God “hardened” or as it is translated in the KJV, those whom God “blinded”. Paul has also used this term briefly before, and will expand upon the idea later in the chapter. The previous use was in Chapter 9, where Paul quotes from Exodus 33:19, in which God says to Moses “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (NIV) In context, God offers this as a statement of assurance to Moses, who was justifiably anguished at the prospect of leading the people of Israel. Paul correctly quotes it as an example of the sovereignty of God to show mercy or to withhold that same mercy.

Intentional, Circumstantial, and Ultimate

There are three words which have been used to describe the will of God in context of the free will of humanity: Intentional, Circumstantial, and Ultimate. The will of God is always intended for our own good; whatever questions we may have about life, death, salvation, or condemnation, the answer is always found in the love of God. The will of God can be accomplished in every circumstance. What ever may happen to us, God always has a plan for our salvation. Ultimately, the will of God will be accomplished. The will of God has been ordained for all time.

In verses 11 and 12, Paul speaks of the circumstantial will of God. God used the circumstance of Israel’s transgression to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. That is how “their transgression means riches for the world.” (NIV) What could have occurred if the Israelites had accepted the role God offered them? We will never know the answer to that question, but God promised Abraham (at the time called, “Abram”) that he would be a blessing to the entire world. (See Genesis 12:3, for example). God was able to fulfill that promise even though the nation of Israel continued to reject the will of God, even to the point of rejecting God’s very son.

The Kindness and Sternness of God

In verses 13-24, Paul continues to speak of the way in which God used the transgression of Israel to bring redemption to all men. In this section, he says he is speaking directly to the Gentiles, a reminder that there were as many Jews in Rome as there were in Palestine, and that the Letter to the Romans addressed a church that was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles.

In Romans, Paul makes use of many metaphors, often with one metaphor leading to another and then another in succession and always with the understanding that no human analogy is sufficient to describe God’s love for us. In this passage, he refers to the Gentiles as “ingrafted branches” but, contrary to the usual process of grafting a cultured branch onto a hearty, wild root, Paul describes us as wild branches grafted onto a select, cultured root.

But we are to take no pride in this. God had offered salvation to the Israelites and because they rejected it, God rejected them. We are no more or less special than the nation of Israel; if we fail, God will reject us as well. This is the “kindness and sternness of God.” We are given a choice. Like the nation of Israel, God has graciously given us every opportunity to avail ourselves of the free gift of salvation. We may accept it or reject it.

If we continue to reject it, then like the Israelites of whom Paul spoke, we will become “hardened.” The word Paul uses which is translated “hardened” actually means to become petrified, but was used figuratively to mean “calloused” or “stupid.” It is a natural process. If we continually reject the love of God, we also do not accept God’s love for others. If we continually reject the truth, we certainly cannot become wise.

The Mystery

In verses 25-36, Paul speaks of the Mystery of the love of God, which is inseparable from the will of God. God’s will is always intended for our good. Even God’s design of free will is intended to our benefit. In every circumstance, God has a plan for our redemption. If God blessed the Gentiles even through the disbelief of the Israelites, and would continue to bless the world even though our disbelief, how much more could our acceptance of the will of God be a blessing to world? Ultimately, the will of God is never in question. The entirety of the plan of God has already been accomplished. It is only our limited understanding of time that prevents us from understanding this mystery.

The knowledge of God is immeasurable; we cannot know the mind of God. We cannot buy or earn the favor of God, but the love of God has been revealed to us from the foundation of the earth.

How Shall They Hear?

How Shall They Hear?

Romans Chapter 10

The End of the Law

Chapter 10 is the second of three chapters which are almost entirely devoted to the status of the nation of Israel. In the previous chapter, Paul begins by expressing his heart-felt anguish over the Jewish rejection of the gospel and ends by directly dealing with the failure of legal approach to salvation. In the present chapter, he repeats the desire of his heart for his fellow Jews, and with the support of many Old Testament passages, elaborates on the necessary ruin of those who believe that salvation is a thing to be obtained, and not a gift of grace.

In verses 1-4, Paul describes the Israelites as earnest people who are zealous for God. These are admirable qualities, but we do well to be reminded that good intentions and even good work are not enough. The people of whom Paul spoke had put their good intentions above the will of the Lord; they rejected the righteousness of God and tried to obtain a righteousness of their own through faith, not in the mercy of God, but in the law.

To those who put such trust in the law, Paul presents Christ as the end of the law. This is not in contradiction of his earlier confession that the law is holy, righteous, and good (7:12) but in agreement with the testimony of Jesus himself that he was the fulfillment of the law. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus says that not even the smallest marks in the Law and the Prophets will pass away “until all is accomplished.” In the same passage, however, he tells us that we must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees, who were the epitome of those whom Paul commended for their zeal for God. In the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proceeds to reinterpret the law with regard to murder, adultery, divorce, justice, and other major points of the law. In each case, the Pharisees and teachers of the law had developed careful and elaborate procedures by which the law could be kept, but Jesus pointed out that they had become devoted to the letter of the law and abandoned its spirit.

Believe and Confess

In verses 5-13, Paul again compares the rule of the law with the righteousness that comes by faith. In the first of many Old Testament references in this chapter, Paul quotes a passage from Leviticus that presents the law in relation to life. In Leviticus 18:1-5, the Lord commands the people to live, not as the people of Egypt, where they used to live, and not as the people of Canaan, where they were going, but in accordance with the law of God. Paul might also have chosen the passage in Deuteronomy 6:1-3, where the Lord explains that his commandments are provision for our health and long life.

In a way, the Jews had taken the commandments as a way of life, but they had also taken them as a means of salvation; they had come to believe that their own efforts in attention to the law could bring them life. To those who believed that salvation could be accomplished, Paul evoked the beautiful passage from Deuteronomy (30:11-20) which was sure to be well-known to all the Jews. In this passage, the Lord clearly presents salvation as a thing not to be achieved (by ascending to heaven or crossing the sea) but a thing very near to us, a word that the Lord has already put in our mouths. The law is of the Lord as a guide to life, but the Lord himself is the source of our life.

Paul explains that this word is the very gospel he was preaching, that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved. Though the Greek root of our modern Western separation of head and heart was emerging even in the time of Paul, it was the Jewish idea that both emotion and reason were of the heart. The belief of which Paul speaks is neither a cool, detached, completely intellectual understanding that has no heart-felt meaning, nor a blind emotional condition that has no reason, but a belief that is from our center; it is a belief that reunites our very souls with the soul of their Creator.

But if we must believe internally, we must also confess externally. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32, 33 NIV) But it would be a mistake which draws us into the same trap that snared the religious people of whom Jesus and Paul spoke to begin to define and delineate just how this confession must be made or how the acknowledgement is shown. While I am reluctant to say that anything contrary to the service of our Lord is in our nature, it certainly seems that we all have a propensity to this sort of legalism. We are like the disciple who responded to the command of Jesus to love his neighbor by asking “and who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) If we are to confess with our mouths, we want to know just what form this confession should take. Perhaps we not only want to know so that we can make the correct confession, but also so we can tell if others confess correctly.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes this statement in a different way, one which is perhaps less open to a legalistic interpretation. In John 14:21, Jesus says “Whoever has my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (NIV) In this verse, Jesus speaks of keepings his commands, which we might think of as a checklist – do this, this, and this, and you will be saved – as identical with loving him. In the more extended passage in John, Jesus first says that the one who obeys his commands is the one who loves him, and then that the one who loves him is the one who obeys his commands; that is, they are one in the same. To love Jesus is to obey his commands; to obey his commands is to love him.

The Same Lord

Paul goes on to say that this salvation by faith is available to all. The statement that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile must have been staggering to those who heard it. The Jews knew themselves to be the chosen people. Paul begins the previous chapter with a long list of benefits from the Lord which were theirs alone. They had a special relationship with the Lord. They began to believe that they had this relationship because they were special.

Paul quotes two Old Testament scriptures in support of his claim. The first, from Isaiah 28:16, he has already quoted at the end of the previous chapter. The second is from Joel 2:32, and it is a passage which is also quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16). But whether the Jews would accept either of these passages as applying to the Gentiles, and with him conclude that all humanity is the same, there is no way that anyone can refute the other side of Paul’s argument: that there is only one Lord who is Lord over all. The same Lord who so graciously offers us salvation offers that salvation to everyone. The Jews believed that the Gentiles were beyond salvation, and we may feel the same way towards various people of our day, some we know and some we do not, but the gift is not ours to give or to retain.

How Shall They Hear?

One of the reasons the writings of Paul are so challenging is that they treat with such gravity issues which today are little known to us. We are not great students of the law in the way the Scribes and Pharisees were. We know almost nothing of ritual sacrifice or cleanliness. Nor do we, in general, place such important on tradition. In short, we do not know what it was like to be a Jew.

But, there is another challenge in reading Paul, and that is that his thinking is very agile. He can at one moment be expounding upon deep, theological truth, and at the next on solid, everyday advice. When one of his points brings another to mind, it is immediately included in his discourse. Perhaps this is an aspect of his mind, or an artifact of the way in which he dictated his letters, or it may be that there is simply a difference in the letter-writing of his day, and the sort of writing we expect from a modern reference book.

Whatever the case, in verses 14-15, Paul detours from his treatment of the status of the Jews to a subject which is always on his heart, the mission of the spread of the gospel. Paul knew himself to be an Apostle, which means “one who is sent” and it is in this thought that the passage reaches its zenith. “How shall they preach unless they are sent?” (NIV) However, it is not only, and not most importantly, a passage that is intended to support his own calling as an apostle, but one that cries out to the need of those who have not heard and accepted the good news of Jesus Christ.

I Have Held Out My Hands

In the closing verses of the chapter (verses 16-21) Paul uses even more Old Testament citations to point out that the Jews of his day had heard the call of God and rejected it. To those Jews, Paul says that God in his sovereignty has made himself known, not to those whom they expected, but to those of his own choosing. Even to those who reject him, he continues to hold out his hands.

Paul begins the chapter, not in condemnation of the Jews, but in fervent desire and prayer for their salvation. The Lord is patient with those who reject him, and offers his grace to all who would believe. Do we share this earnest desire that all should be saved? How shall they hear?