The Letter to the Romans Chapter 1:8-32
October 18, 2009
Prayer
Introduction: Some of you have heard the saying: “No man is an Island.” We need each other. It is this point that Paul touches on in opening up the book of Romans. And even further to the point. We need the faith others are capable of bringing to the table. He ends this passage, translated literally from the Greek; “Now, the righteous out of faith shall possess their life!”
A Christian who does not live by faith does not possess life!
So with that in mind let us dig into the Word of God and see if we can find some life.
Roman 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
ONE MEDIATOR - God can, only, rightly be praised through Christ Jesus our Lord
Christ Jesus is our, only, mediator
HEB 8:3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." 6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
1 TIM 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.
Revelations chapter 5
Christ, alone, is worthy to stand before the Throne of God on our behalf.
Roman 1:8-10 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
Roman faith is being proclaimed throughout the world, but it was not a faith that came cheaply or easily. Paul is enamored by their faith.
Imagine Roman citizens dedicating their lives to Christ. They considered Judaism and the whole idea of serving a god as crazy. To Romans the idea of a man dying for them and being raised from the dead is a foreign concept.
This would be like hearing that Iran’s president Ahmadinejad or Osama Bin Laden, had been saved and are going around witnessing of Jesus Christ.
It would greatly impact the witness to the Muslim world. The fact that Romans faith is being proclaimed throughout the known world was big news. It would spark new faith.
When a small group of people believe in something or someone, people on the outside may have a difficult time having enough faith to believe as they do, because only a small group believe. People think - There just are not enough people for this to be right. So they rarely jump on the band wagon.
Ericsson Marketing – Group dynamics with new products
• innovators - 2.5% of population - venturesome, educated, well informed
• early adopters - 13.5% - social leaders, popular, educated, risk takers
• early majority - 34% - deliberate, many informal social contacts, risk adverse
• late majority - 34% - skeptical, traditional, very risk adverse
• laggards - 16% - neighbors and friends are main info sources, fear
The most difficult step is making the transition between visionaries (early adopters, the first 16 % of the population) and pragmatists (early majority, the next 34%).
This is a big leap. This is what Paul is seeing here. There has been a big leap in those who believe in Jesus. The Romans are on board, nothing is impossible. Paul states is 1:16-17
RO 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
911 with Stanley Praimnath, Fugi Bank Vice President
Tuesday, September 11,2001, began like any other day for Stanley at his home in Elmont, Long Island. He woke up early, took a shower, dressed, prayed, and headed for work.
When Stanley arrived at World Trade Center Tower Two, he took the elevator up to his office on the 81st floor. Stanley greeted Delise, a young lady who had arrived before him. After talking briefly, he headed over to his desk and picked up his phone to retrieve his messages.
"As Stanley stood there retrieving phone messages, he looked out at the next building, World Trade Center One, and noticed what looked like fire falling down from the roof.
Delise and Stanley quickly went to the elevator and went down to the 78th floor.
"As soon they reached the concourse level, the security guard stopped them and said, 'Where are you going?'" Stanley explained about seeing the fire in Tower One. According to Stanley, the guard said, "Oh that was just an accident. Two World Trade is secure. Go back to your office."
That turned out to be fatal advice! --aside from Stanley, Delise was the only one of his group to survive.
Stanley went back up to the 81st floor. When Stanley got to his office, his phone was ringing. It was someone from Chicago calling to find out if he was watching the news. He told the caller everything "was fine." As Stanley was talking to the person on the other end of the phone, he looked up and saw American Airlines Flight 11 heading straight for him.
Stanley dropped the phone as he sat staring at the plane 100 yards away,
He said 'Lord, I can’t do this, this morning! You take control"
Stanley then dove under his desk curling into a fetal position under his desk as the plane tore into the side of the building, exploding 20 feet from him.
Miraculously, Stanley was unhurt. However, he could see the flaming wing of the plane in the doorway of his department. He knew he needed to get out of the building fast, but was trapped under debris up to his shoulders.
All the while, Stanley was asking to the Lord to spare his life. "I'm crying and I'm praying, 'Lord, I have things to do..., I want to see my family, Lord, help me through.' "
Suddenly Stanley saw the light of a flashlight. For a moment, it stunned him.
"What were the chances of someone bringing a flashlight to this floor?," he thought. "His first gut reaction was, 'This is my guardian angel--my Lord sent somebody to save me!' "
After clawing his way through the debris, he realized that he couldn't get out--all the exits were blocked and his "guardian angel" couldn't get to him--a wall was between him and the staircase.
"But then Stanley did something surprising. While praying on his knees, Stanley called out to the man behind the wall. Moments later, he punched his way through the wall and, with the help of the man on the other side, was able to squirm his way through the hole in the wall. The man on the other side of the wall, who introduced himself as Brian, was an older gentleman and they still had 81 floors to walk down, with the building on fire and, unknown to them, in danger of collapse.
They hobbled their way down, and at every floor stopped to see if anybody was there, but nobody was..., finally they saw a man was on the floor, but his back was gone, and he was covered in blood."
When they finally made it down to the concourse, only firefighters were there. They were saying, 'Run! Run! Run!', they were telling us to run out, but they were not concerned about themselves," he said.
Stanley and Brian would have ran from the building, but now the concourse was surrounded with fire. Wetting themselves under the building's sprinkler system, they held hands and ran through the flames to safety to Trinity Church about two blocks away.
"I wanted to go to the church to thank God," Stanley explained, "As soon as I grasped onto the gate of that church, the building [World Trade Center Tower Two] collapsed."
Cut and bloodied, with clothes tattered and wearing a borrowed shirt, Stanley finally made it home hours later to his wife Jennifer and his two girls, Stephanie (age 8) and Caitlin (age 4). "I held my wife and my two children and we cried," said Stanley.
After thanking God for sparing his life, Stanley told God whatever he did, it will always be for His glory.
Today, you can still catch Stanley declaring God’s faithfulness on TV. He boldly declares it through out the world.
It took a great faith and boldness for the Romans to stand up and be counted in an environment as hostile to Christianity as Rome was. Yet:
The Roman church growth was from new conversions. Faith breeding Faith
This is the kind of growth we want to see as a church. Faith breeding Faith
We want to see people being saved. We don’t want to steal from other churches.
People will jump on board, when they see the church hit critical mass, but we need to ensure that the growth is based on Faith breeding Faith.
People will jump on board for many reasons, but unless our Faith is breeding Faith in others, you just have a country club with people who are on board because the need to be plugged in somewhere.
Paul gives two reasons for wanting to come to them:
Roman 1:11-14 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and Barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 Just as also me a great passion toward you to those in Rome to preach the gospel.
1. Paul wants to rub shoulder with them so that His faith may be boosted and he feels it will do the same for them. That is why he ends this section, as stated in the KJV:
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,”
2. Paul has been obligated by his calling to preach the Gospel the Greek (Hellen) culture, the Barbarian culture, the wise in heart and the unwise in heart. In the same way he feels passionate by his calling to preach the Gospel to the Romans.
He was born a Jew, but also a Roman citizen from birth. He took blessings from both cultures. He spoke Latin, Greek, and Aramaic. He was a great student and man very familiar with the ways of the world and its cultures. Many times it is this type of man God uses to reach the lost because they can understand how they think and touch them like no one else can. You have to look at 1 Cor. 1:22-25 to understand his statement about the wise and foolish.
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
Paul is assured that the Gospel breeds faith to more faith
RO 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For therein (in the gospel) a righteousness from God is revealed, from faith to faith, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
I am totally convinced that what we are seeing today in churches is the opposite, just a Christ prophesied concerning His return. Luke 18:8 concerning the widow and unjust judge:
“Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
1Jo 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, [even] our faith.
