Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
March 21, 2021
Opening Prayer
Psalm 119
57 The Lord is
my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
58 I entreat your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 When I think on my ways,
I turn my feet to your testimonies;
60 I hasten and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous rules.
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes!
Prolegomena
A word about Confession and Absolution
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Corporate – “Before God we should plead guilty
of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; …”
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Private – “but before the pastor we should
confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.”
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This is an extension and continuation of our
Baptism – repentance, confession, and absolution.
A major focus of Romans 2, as Paul displays that his readers
are perhaps not as righteous as they thing they are, is on judging others for
the same sins they, themselves, commit. What is the impact of judging others
for the sins we, ourselves, commit?
The issue of gospel as the power of God for salvation and
the righteousness of God that is revealed from faith for faith – sola fide – is key in several ways:
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Our salvation
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How and why we worship God
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Our motivation and conduct
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Our witness regarding what God has done for us
Paul wants to confront and remove all forms of righteousness
that detract from the righteousness that comes sola fide.
Romans 2:17-24
17 But if you call yourself a Jew
and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and
know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from
the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself
are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an
instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the
embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then
who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing,
do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not
commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob
temples? 23 You who boast in the
law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as
it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because
of you.”
What if this were written, “But if you call yourself a
Christian and rely on the law and boast in God, etc.”?
-
Israel’s relationship with God was rooted in
love, grace and salvation, not in keeping the law.
o
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 - It was not because you were
more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and
chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is
because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your
fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (ESV)
o
Malachi 3:3-7 - "For I the LORD do not
change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From
the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not
kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But
you say, 'How shall we return?' (ESV)
o
Deuteronomy 4:27-31
-
How much more for us is our relationship with
God rooted in love, grace and salvation?
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Having
been persuaded that you yourself are a guide to the blind, etc. (v. 19)
o
What might persuade us to think these things of
ourselves?
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Having/holding
the essential features/complete expression of knowledge and truth in the
law. (v. 20)
o
Are the essential features – the complete
expression – of knowledge and truth found in the law?
o
John 14:6
o
1 John 4 – especially v. 8
o
John 1:17-18
o
Galatians 3:21-27
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The law, as we see it, is an incomplete picture.
Verse 21-23 suggest a series of hypocrisies that dishonor
God.
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Teaching
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Preaching not to steal
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Saying not to commit adultery
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Detesting idols removing sacred property from
sacred places
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Boasting in the law as one who is disobedient to
the Law
The name of the Lord is blasphemed – Isaiah 52:5
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“… continually all the day my name is despised.”
(ESV)
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“… continually all the day my name is being
scorned / treated with contempt.” (HEB)
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“… because of you through all the day my name is
blasphemed among the nations / Gentiles.” (LXX)
Romans 2:25-29
25 For circumcision indeed is of
value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision
becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is
uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision
be regarded[a] as circumcision? 27 Then
he who is physically[b] uncircumcised but
keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code[c] and circumcision but
break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who
is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But
a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by
the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Circumcision
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Genesis 17:1-14
o
Mool –
cut off. Clarifies – cut off in the flesh of your (plural) foreskin.
o
Peritome
– circumcision – literally - cut around
o
Akrobustia
– uncircumcised – literally – the hill on the end/tip, and by extension
–foreskin
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Why circumcision?
o
Genesis 15-17 – God’s covenant with Abram
(15)/Abraham (17)
o
God’s Covenant – Promise
§
Unlike most covenants, the stronger makes the
agreement with the weaker.
§
God provides promises to Abraham
·
The Land
·
A son
·
A blessing to all nations
o
What of all of this had Abram received?
§
Genesis 16 – What did Abram and Sara do in
response?
o
Circumcision is the visible sign of the
invisible promises.
§
Abraham’s children will inherit the land.
§
Abraham and Sarah will beget a son … in the
natural way.
§
This covenant connects God’s promises to faith,
to sex, to faithfulness, to hope for salvation, to life; knowing that there was
temptation here too and so he puts the promise where Abraham and his sons will
see it … often.
o
Belief in the promise is more than an outward
act. So …
§
Deut 10:16 – Circumcise therefore the foreskin
of your heart
§
Deut 30:6 – And the LORD your God will
circumcise your heart an dthe heart of your offspring, so that you will love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may
live.
§
Exposes the sensitive part and removes the
protective covering
·
Receive God’s promises with faith
·
Remove the barrier that would keep God away from
our hearts.
Homework
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Re-read Romans 2 in light of what you’ve learned
over the last couple weeks. Have you gained any new insights or appreciation
for what God is saying to you here?
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What is in your heart that acts as a barrier
between you and God? Pray about that.
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