Romans 1:18-32—Humanity: Under God’s Judgment
18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31. Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
To see the need for salvation, you must see that everybody is lost
I. The Gentiles are condemned (Romans 1:18-25)
A. Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."
1. How does Paul use the stylistic device of "antithetic parallelism" to put forth the doctrine of the universality of sin?
a. Antithetic Parallelism: (1:17) the righteousness of God is revealed leading to salvation vs. (1:18) the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness leading to condemnation
2. How is the "wrath of God" revealed?
a. The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel
b. The wrath of God is revealed in the unrighteous works of people
c. The wrath of God is the divine reaction against sin (when God's righteousness comes into contact with sin)
d. The wrath of God's manifestation can promote salvation -- i.e., Christ's crucifixion
3. What did the German poet Schiller have to say about the judgment of God?
a. "The history of the world is the judgment of the world"
b. The consequences of sin serve as a punishment of sin (i.e., AIDS)
4. Does Paul view ignorance of sin as an excuse for sin?
a. asebeia (alpha privative + sebeia, like God, == ungodlike) not just ungodly
b. Ungodlike -- it is not just their behavior that is unlike God but their very essence is unlike God
c. They suppress the truth of God
1) Suppress [katecho -- (kata-intensify, + echo-have, = suppress, grasp, hold on, hold down or suppress something that is trying to surface)]
2) They are deliberately holding down God's revelation (God's response to this is wrath)
d. Sin is not a matter of ignorance but depravity
e. These evil people are not satanists, but everyone outside of Christ
B. Romans 1:19, "Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them."
1. Why does Paul emphasize the concept of "revelation" here?
a. Paul points to General revelation -- the revelation of God in nature (not verbal but conceptual)
2. For what ways has God revealed Himself?
a. Every person gets this revelation, although it is not salvific
b. It manifests the wrath of God because they suppress the revelation because they are asebeia (ungodlike)
c. General Revelation is A and the cross is Z. If you reject A then you are ungodlike and there is no need for you to go to B
d. No one has embraced A
e. Don't despair that so few are saved, but rejoice that some are saved
C. Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
1. What role does creation play in the revelation of the "invisible things of God?"
a. God's power and His goodness are revealed in creation to the extent that they are without excuse
2. What is the etymological significance of the words "without excuse"?
a. Anapologetos = without excuse (alpha privative + "apologetics" -- used in Greek law courts for a legal defense in the face of charges)
b. On judgment day we will be without excuse, speechless before God
D. Romans 1:21, "Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
1. Do the heathens of the world really possess a knowledge of God?
a. Because when they knew God. . .
b. They had external and internal knowledge of God but did not respond to it
c. The human problem is not conduct but is ungodlikeness (ratness)
2. What causes humans to be idolatrous?
a. Idolatry doesn't result from ignorance but comes from our depravity
b. Their twisted hearts didn't want to worship the true God so they turned to idolatry
c. The school or religion says that monotheism has evolved from polytheism (the reverse is true)
d. Paul is fond of logical progression -- cause and effect
1) Paul begins in 1:21 a sequential series that starts with suppressing the truth of God
2) Suppressing knowledge > Unthankful > Vain Imaginations > Darkened Hearts
e. Kosmos -- adornment
f. Effect: the soul is affected, they didn't worship God -- didn't glorify or give thanks to God
3. What does it mean for a person's "heart" to be "darkened"?
a. Their thinking became futile (asunetos = alpha privative + sensible, rational)
b. Senseless thinking (animal level)
4. What are the awful consequences of such "darkening"?
a. Worshipless >> senseless >> darkened heart (kardia)
soul/spirit >> thinking/mind >> affections, feelings, emotions
b. End effect: heart is darkened
c. This all comes from katecho (suppressing) the knowledge of God
d. Dialogismos -- dialogue, reasoning
e. Metaioo -- became perverted (their logic became perverted because of idolatry) -- perverted is positively wicked (whereas vain means weak)
E. Romans 1:22, "Professing to be wise, they became fools."
1. How does Paul interrelate idolatry here with false wisdom?
a. The self-made philosophies and religions of humankind are viewed as the products of human wisdom
2. What are some of the spiritual dynamics of such an interrelationship?
a. The tenses of the Greek verbs indicate that the more and more they claimed wisdom, the more foolish they became
F. Romans 1:23, "And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."
1. Did the Gentile pagans "change" or "exchange" something for the glory of God?
a. Allaso -- exchanged, the idea of exchanged indicates that you know what you are exchanging
b. It is not because of a lack of perception
c. They are not changing the knowledge of God into something else, but are exchanging it for something else
2. How does Paul use antithetic parallelism here to bring his point of view across?
a. Glory (Heb.-Shekinah) of God (divine attributes) vs. Likeness of man (idols)
b. Incorruptible God vs. Corruptible man
c. Habakkuk 2:18-20
G. Romans 1:24, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves."
1. What does it mean for God to "deliver one over" in this context?
a. Begins with Dio -- "therefore" -- Paul is pointing to the logical conclusion opf the previous progression
b. Paradidomi -- to deliver, hand over. Used for:
1) The passing on of traditional religous beliefs and sayings
2) To deliver one over to captive (prison). i.e. Christ's betrayal
c. God delivers them over to themselves (to their own lusts and uncleanness)
d. To deliver one over -- God removes His restraining grace and lets them reap the consequences of their sins by their having their way.
2. Has God contradicted the freedom of the human will here?
a. God did not contradict their will but delivered them over to their own will
b. Thus God does not contradict but rather affirms human will
H. Romans 1:25, "Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."
1. How and why does Paul describe idolatry as "lying"?
a. Jeremiah 13:25, 16:19
b. Idolatry is the ultimate self-deception; you replace the ultimate reality with an image
c. Idolatry is the author of all deception and the source of all confusion
d. Antithetic Parallelism: Truth vs. Lie; Creature vs. Creator
2. Does human idolatry have any effect upon the divine nature?
a. The nature of God is immutable (no matter what image man crreates)
I. The sum total of what has been said so far: The Gentiles are condemned
II. The Jews are condemned (Romans 2:1-3; 17-24)
A. Romans 2:1-ff -- there is a controversy as to who Paul is addressing here: some think that it is moral Gentiles, while Cranfield (page 41) and Morris (page 107) feel that it is Jews
1. Paul doesn't say Jews here but he is addressing them:
a. The major point in chapter 2 is the universal sinfulness of humankind
b. Paul's point is that we are all involved in the solidarity of sin which embraces the entire human race
c. Paul's argument addresses all who practice (prasso -- relates to lifestyle, behavioral pattern)
d. Morris says that the Jews are not exempt from judgment because of practice
2. Because of the Jews' place in the economy of God (to the Jew first), they are more acutely accountable to God
3. Unfortunately, many Jews had a false superiority in the face of the Gentiles and hence did not feel that they were they objects of judgment
4. Paul attacks & destroys this false elitism (that salvation is racially determined)
5. 2 Esdras 3:34-35, "What nation has kept your commandments as well as we"
6. Sanhedrin 0:1, "All Israelites have a share in the world to come"
a. Salvation is racially determined
7. Paul's method here is diatribe ("drive through") -- he has an imaginary opponent, a self-righteous Jew, whom he argues with to destroy these notions
8. Just as the Gentiles are, the Jews are also condemned
B. Romans 2:1, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."
1. How do we know that Paul is actually addressing Jews here?
a. The Jews are being addressed here, cf. Romans 2:17, "Indeed you are called a Jew"
2. On what basis did the Jew seek a secure relationship with God?
a. The Jews believed their relationship and acceptance with God was secure because they were descendants of Abraham
b. Grounds of their elitism: (1) descendants of Abraham, (2) heir of the covenant, (3) they were given the law, (4) rite of circumcision
c. To the Jews, the word Gentile was synonymous with sinner
d. These false premises of elitism were compounded with their condemnation of others
3. For what way did the Jew also become guilty of idolatry?
4. Why did the Jews become guilty of hypocrisy?
a. Judging others is condemning self
b. They usurped the Divine prerogative (only the Judge can judge)
c. Hypocrisy (hupo-under, + krisis-cry, speak out)-- they practiced what they condemned -- a term from the Greek theater than denoted incongruity between what in on the inside and what is on the outside
d. There is an incongruity between the Jews' moralizing toward the Gentiles, and their own immorality
e. Paul starts arguing by using the premise of his opponents
f. Their premise: we are not judged individually, but as part of the covenant community
1. Paul argues: the community has to be flawless (which it isn't), so you are condemned
C. Romans 2:2, "But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things."
1. Were the Jews expecting to be judged on the basis of their personal behavior?
a. God's judgment is not based on any of your premises for elitism
1) The jews weren't expecting judgment based on personal behavior
b. Rather God's judgment is based on the objective, unadulterated truth
c. Paul has pointed to a common denominator that both the Jews and the Gentiles are accountable to -- the truth
2. What does it mean that God "is no respecter of persons"?
a. God is no respecter of persons -- your identity has nothing to do with God's judgment
b. Romans 2:11, "prosopolempsia" (face + receive) -- God does not receive the face of man
c. Personal identity is irrelevant to God
D. Romans 2:3, "And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgement of God?"
1. What is the significance of the word "practices" in 2:1,2,3?
a. The general principle of verse 2 becomes more specific in verse 3
b. Prassontes (practices) -- is a habitual lifestyle, not a one time occurrence
1) Paul is talking about a spiritual attitude
2. How does Paul use a rhetorical question here?
a. Paul's rhetorical question is a part of his diatribe
b. This rhetorical question leads to a negative answer
c. Do you think? is in the middle voice and has a reflexive quality -- "Do you think with regard to yourself. . ."
E. Romans 2:17, "Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,"
1. How can the word "Jew" be understood as a title of honor?
a. Jew is from Judah which means "praise" -- thus a title of honor
2. What did the possession of the law mean to many of the Jews?
a. Rabbi said, "the mere hearing of the law brings salvation"
b. The Jews bragged about their relationship to God -- "God is our peculiar possession" and not the Gentiles
c. We must remember that God has us, we do not have Him
F. Romans 2:18, "And know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law."
1. What advantage was there in possessing God's special revelation?
a. The Jews could distinguish between right and wrong with accuracy
1) Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 24:8
2. Is "knowing" and "doing" the same thing?
a. Knowing and doing are not the same thing; Perception doesn't = performance
b. Paul agrees with the premises of the people he argues against
c. Increased knowing mandates increased responsibility for doing
G. Romans 2:19, "And are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness."
1. Were the Jews really superior in this regard?
a. The Jews viewed themselves as a guide to the blind
b. They had a spiritual arrogance that was not a part of the original blessing
2. How did the Jews understand their role in "enlightening" the Gentiles?
a. The Jews were very denegrading and condescending to the Gentiles in allowing them to come to God
H. Romans 2:20, "An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law."
1. How did the Jews understand themselves as "tutors"?
a. They were spiritual tutors--superiors leading about inferiors
2. What is the special word for instruction here?
a. Teacher -- Paideuo -- to lead children, a hired tutor to drill children in grammar school
b. The Paideuo used negative, oppressive approach to elementary learning
c. This is how the Jews viewed themselves
I. Romans 2:21-22, "You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, 'Do not commit adultery,' do you commit adultery? You who abhors idols, do you rob temples?
1. Did the Jew actually practice what he professed?
a. They didn't practice the law as a people that they professed as a nation
2. But didn't the Jew thoroughly practice the Ten Commandments?
a. Paul condemns their breaking the Ten Commandments, not some minor part of the law
3. In what way did they rob temples?
a. Robbing temples (hierosuleis) -- some of the self-righteous Jews would execute raids on pagan temples and keep the gold and silver from these temple raids
b. Acts 19:37
c. The Gentiles blaspheme God because of your breaking the law
J. Romans 2:23, "You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?"
1. What is the special meaning of the word "transgress" here?
a. Transgress (parabaino -- move beyond, go along) -- to go beyond a clearly defined demarcation line
2. How does the nature of God relate to His law?
a. The relationship between God and the law is so close that to infract one is to do so to the other
K. Romans 2:24, "For 'the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,' as it is written."
1. How did the testimony of the Jews effect the Gentiles?
a. Isaiah 52:5 & Ezekiel 36:20-23 -- "you are to be a light to the Gentiles"
b. God is blasphemed among the Gentiles by the Jews' being captive, and because of their poor morality
c. Blasphemeo -- slander, question the character of someone, insult
2. Is this a recent phenomenon?
a. The Jews' sin caused the Gentiles to question the character of God
MAN
SIN
SALVATION
SPIRIT
ACT
Justification
SOUL
NATURE
Sanctification
BODY
ESTATE
Glorification
