Romans 6:15-23

Continuing in chapter 6’s “freedom from sin’s tyranny”… The sentence that hit me most was verse 21: But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? Shame is a horrible thing. We talk about it occasionally at Freedom Road, when we dwell back on our past lives – things we have done, nice people we have hurt, misguided motivations, goals and ambitions that were horribly worldly… What were we thinking??!! Our life in Christ is so much better!!

It helps me to remember that many of the people to whom Paul is writing are Roman citizens – and that their past lives could have been very ugly indeed, with cruel slavery, the brutality of the Coliseum “games”, rampant homosexuality, temple prostitution… Yes, shameful things! Our past lives have different descriptors, but they were nevertheless drawing us further into the world and away from God. Even the good things (e.g., work, ambition, etc.) are less good if they are not drawing us closer to God.

A clarifying point here from my Study Bible… Paul refers to his listeners as “slaves” to impurity and to righteousness. The word “slaves” could well be appropriate in the sense of slaves to impurity, but a better translation of “slaves” to righteousness might be “willing servants”. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. (v. 19b) So where you see the word “slaves” reflecting obedience to God or to righteousness, try substituting “willing servant”.

Slava Bohu!

Romans 6:1-14

My Study Bible just opened my eyes a bit. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 form a unit. Chapter 6 is about the believer’s freedom from sin; chapter 7 is freedom from the Law’s condemnation, and chapter 8 is life in the power of the Holy Spirit. So today the focus is sin and its weakened power on us.

Yesterday I posted that I liked the following verse: …where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. (v. 20b) Now today Paul takes off on that statement as a prelude to his “sin chapter”: Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! (v. 1b-2a) The translation of verse 2 that I like replaces By no means! with “May it never be!” Emphatic!!

Paul still has a lot of triads in his writing – I just don’t point them all out. But here’s one worth noting: We know that our old self (a) was crucified with him in order that (b) the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that (c) we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (v. 6, my own parenthetical letters added) Sin’s power is gone, but only if we claim it and live in Holy Spirit sanctification!

I like Paul’s concept of our “old self”. I’ve heard of people “reinventing” themselves. I did that myself, when I started graduate school at the University of Maryland. I left behind the person most people knew back in Illinois and truly changed some aspects of my personality that I did not like. And it was a good thing. Unfortunately, I fell back into some of the same old traps that I intended to leave behind – and I keep working on those same character faults wherever I go. So while I am not “enslaved to sin”, sin still lurks in the dark and I constantly need God’s grace to continue to resist those temptations. I need to always remind myself that I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (v. 11b)

Slava Bohu!

Romans 5:12-20

…for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. (v. 13) This is an intriguing statement. The Law is not given in Scripture until Exodus 20, yet there is plenty of “sin” in Genesis, for example, Sodom and Gomorrah; Judah and Tamar; Joseph’s brothers; etc. But those “sins” are not counted (“imputed” in the NASB). I’m not sure what verse 13 means. That there was wrongdoing, but God would not hold them accountable…? Strange!

One man, Adam	One Man, Jesus
Sin	Grace
Condemnation	Forgiveness, Righteousness
Death	Life, Justification
Judgment	Eternal Life

…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. (v. 20b) I can’t say that this is one of my favorite verses, but it is a compelling statement. Paul has said the same thing in similar fashion (but less eloquently) in verse 16b: For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. As mankind increased, sin naturally increased. But that grace offered by Jesus is offered to all people for all time. So increased sin and many trespasses cannot equal the infinite goodness, the infinite redemption from Jesus’ sacrifice and His shed blood. Infinite goodness is greater than finite wrongdoings.

Slava Bohu!

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. (vv. 1-2, NASB) It’s easy to miss two key words that Paul has written here – “our introduction”. Thus far we have received only an “introduction” to what lies ahead. We now live this “introduction” in our current lives of grace, but we look forward to a better life after we leave this one: …we exult in hope of the glory of God.

The ESV says verses 1 and 2 differently: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The ESV says we have “obtained access” – essentially not a lot different from obtaining “our introduction”. But I like the sense of the NASB, that our current life is only an introduction to the glory of God that we will see fully when we leave this earth. An “introduction” says that there is more to come! To me, it’s more mysterious, inviting…!

Suffering, endurance, character, hope. (vv. 3-4, ESV) Tribulation, perseverance, character, hope (vv. 3-4, NASB) Different words but the same recognition that we will have difficulties in this life and that these troubles are not unknown to the Holy Spirit. So our reaction needs to be forward looking. God knows of our difficulties and He could turn things around for us. But He is letting us go through these trying times. So we need not despair; turn to Him and let God be God!!

Slava Bohu!

Romans 4:13-25

It is hard to follow Paul’s argument, but I will try to highlight some items:

1. Abraham believed (had faith) and he was reckoned by God as righteous.
2. Abraham did not have the Law. That came hundreds of years later with Moses.
3. Abraham was circumcised, but 13 or more years after he was reckoned by God as righteous.
4. Abraham is the father of “many nations”, not just the Jews only but the Gentiles also.
5. The Jews have the Law and circumcision; the Gentiles have neither.
6. Obeying the Law (our works?) cannot make us righteous; the Law only shows us how sinful we are.
7. Lacking both that Law and circumcision, Gentiles can also be reckoned as righteous by faith – as was their father of “many nations”, Abraham.

All of that to highlight and possibly clarify verse 16: That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all His offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all…

Slava Bohu!

Romans 4:1-12

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (v.3) Paul makes a strong case that Abraham was found righteous by faith (Genesis 15:6, quoted above) while he was still uncircumcised. In the next chapter, Genesis 16:16 puts Abraham at age 86 when Ishmael was born; he was 99 years old when he was circumcised (Genesis 17:10-11). Paul is arguing that Abraham did nothing (works) to earn God’s granting righteousness to him, only that he believed.

It is worth repeating the last two verses in today’s reading: He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised … who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (vv. 11-12, only slightly edited) Circumcision (at age 99) was a sign of the faith (and righteousness) that Abraham already had in his 80s. So Paul is making the case for Abraham’s being the father of both the Jews (the circumcised) and the Gentiles (the uncircumcised).

Yes, this gets confusing. It is so helpful to read these epistles in short spurts and to tie Paul’s words in today’s reading back to Genesis.

Slava Bohu!

Romans 3:21-31

An aside: …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (v. 23). I currently use this verse citation as a password for one of my computer apps. The application requires passwords to contain an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter, a number and a special character. Using Bible verses supports these requirements well!!

Righteousness. If you were to ask me, off the top of my head, I would have a hard time defining “righteousness”, as to exactly what it means to be “righteous”. Frankly, the closest that I can come to understanding righteousness is not by definition, but by contrast. I can best understand what it means to be righteous by contrast with what it means to be “self-righteous”. Unfortunately, I know all too well what self-righteousness is, in that I see it all too often in myself. I see my self-righteousness in one sense as my deserving of honor for who I am or what I have done. I also see it in another sense as my being blameless – as in “It wasn’t my fault!” or “I am correct, not the other person.”

While we see self-righteousness in ourselves as a major fault, in fact those two concepts that I laid out – deserving of honor and blameless – truly do apply to God. “Deserving of honor” is not hard to understand – God is to be honored, above all else in our lives. Blameless, however, needs more context. Truly, God is blameless. We cannot blame Him for anything, especially in the sense that blame carries a negative connotation and God is all goodness, completely lacking evil. But blameless applied to God also suggests His holiness, again a complete lack of evil within His character – infinitely holy!

So, righteousness defined: deserving of honor, blameless. Done.

Slava Bohu!

Romans 3:9-20

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all… (v. 9a, NASB) This verse strikes me in a number of ways. Debbie commented on yesterday’s reading as to our “levels of sin”, comparing our sins to others’ sins. I’m not a murderer, I’m not a rapist…, etc.! But what we are, every one of us, is prideful! Yes, sometimes, even in our humility…! So we compare our “bads” with other peoples’ “bads”. But we also do that with our “goods”. We compare salaries and wealth. We compare educational levels. We compare houses and cars. We compare our kids with other peoples’ kids. We compare our good deeds with others’ good deeds. But all of our “goods” are never enough to cover even one of our “bads” – not when we compare ourselves to an infinitely Holy, Righteous God. Only Jesus’ sacrificial death can cover that one bad, that second bad, that hundredth bad, that millionth bad, that eternity-ridden bad for all mankind for all time. We are all sinners. Period!

Slava Bohu!

Romans 3:1-8

Verse 7 is somewhat confusing: But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? First, let’s take it out of the first-person tense. That is, I don’t think Paul is singling himself out. I think he could just as well have said, “…why are we still being condemned as sinners?” That will clarify the verse somewhat. However, to further understand verse 7, it helps to back up to a selected portion of verse 5: …our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God… I don’t think I am doing Scripture wrong by picking out only that selected part of verse 5. In this portion of verse 5, Paul is repeating what he has already said in verses 3 and 4. So, put it together and here’s a sinner’s (my) restatement of verse 7: “If my wrongdoing makes God look better, then don’t call me a sinner – I’m making God look better!” Enough for today; I’m in over my head!!

Slava Bohu!

Romans 2:17-29

A fairly easy read today… If it’s not an easy read, maybe you need another translation!

Paul is talking to Jews in today’s reading, even though most of the people in Rome who will receive this letter are Gentiles. He is comparing Jews and Gentiles, by focusing on what he knows as an educated Jew – well trained as a rabbi before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. For me, today’s key verse is 27: Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. The Jews had received from the Lord both the sign (circumcision) and the word (the Law). The Gentiles had nothing except their idols and temples to the Greek and Roman gods. But Paul is saying that these Gentiles (who may even worship strange gods) could put the Jews to shame by their behavior: So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? (v. 26) Not knowing the Law, these Gentile unbelievers keep the spirit of the Law. And in that sense, the Gentiles are better off than the Jews who behave self-righteously. It’s a lesson we all need to keep in mind.

Slava Bohu!