Romans - session 3
Chapters 1 & 2
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Now, let's take up the first two chapters of the letter that Paul wrote to the Romans. Part of this seems to be an expose of false pride. Paul knew quite well the attitude of the Pharisees, since he had been one himself. In today's world we would say, "they were in denial". The Holy Spirit was such a vibrant part of Paul's life that it seems sensible to say that his words were under God's plan. These chapters reveal that God wanted all under the law to be brought to accountability. Paul describes false pride as a condition causing severe criticism of others for what we might be guilty of ourselves. (This is something Christians often see in themselves.) Paul wanted them to recognize how far they were "missing the mark" . . . the life that God had planned for the Hebrews.
Those who no longer considered God as a part of their lives were severely chastised in this chapter. I'm sure the Roman Christians, to whom this letter was addressed, lived among many who were Godless people. Paul wrote of the tragic repercussions of trying to live without recognizing and revering God. Verses 26 through 32 have been much on many people's minds of late. Please read these for yourselves.
Just last Sunday I asked the Bible class to help me with some input on Chapter two of Romans. There were seven of us, which always seems like a good number for in depth discussion. I asked if they would mind if I used some of their ideas. They all wanted to help me out. Those accounted for were two Davids, Marilyn, Jerry, Mary, Judy and myself. They were in agreement that Paul used this chapter as a preparation for the wonderful news of the Gospel. He gave stern warning to those who were without the Law, but under no higher authority. From verse 12 we read,
Those who no longer considered God as a part of their lives were severely chastised in this chapter. I'm sure the Roman Christians, to whom this letter was addressed, lived among many who were Godless people. Paul wrote of the tragic repercussions of trying to live without recognizing and revering God. Verses 26 through 32 have been much on many people's minds of late. Please read these for yourselves.
Just last Sunday I asked the Bible class to help me with some input on Chapter two of Romans. There were seven of us, which always seems like a good number for in depth discussion. I asked if they would mind if I used some of their ideas. They all wanted to help me out. Those accounted for were two Davids, Marilyn, Jerry, Mary, Judy and myself. They were in agreement that Paul used this chapter as a preparation for the wonderful news of the Gospel. He gave stern warning to those who were without the Law, but under no higher authority. From verse 12 we read,
All who sin apart from the law will also perish from the law . . .
Whether Gentile or Jew, all will be judged by God. One by one, all of us felt that Paul used this chapter to lead up to a fuller understanding and realization of God's grace, found in chapter three.
In other words, without God's Grace both the heathen and the Jew, even as dedicated as one thought one was, face the strict judgment of God without the covering of Christ. Verses 17 through 28 of chapter two present the case for the Jew to recognize the inconsistencies that occur when one feels exonerated under the law, not under God's grace. In fact, David pointed out the clever way that Paul used to help the Jew understand the "heart of the matter". Read verses 23 through 29.
In other words, without God's Grace both the heathen and the Jew, even as dedicated as one thought one was, face the strict judgment of God without the covering of Christ. Verses 17 through 28 of chapter two present the case for the Jew to recognize the inconsistencies that occur when one feels exonerated under the law, not under God's grace. In fact, David pointed out the clever way that Paul used to help the Jew understand the "heart of the matter". Read verses 23 through 29.
David said that because he was in the medical field he wondered where something like circumcision would fit into a discussion of God's Grace. As a "young" Christian, he wondered how this could apply to religion. These verses cleared it all up for him. One of the primary rules of the Mosaic Law included the mandatory circumcision of a Hebrew offspring at eight days of age. (This was a procedure that Mary and Joseph arranged for the baby Jesus; Luke 2:21.)
In verses 28 and 29, Paul revealed that a true Jew (a man after God's own heart--one of His chosen ones) would be one of God's own . . . not because he was circumcised as an outward sign, but because he inwardly belonged to God. Paul used the self-explanatory metaphor by writing, "A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly" . . . and has received "circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."
I hope that that makes "Spiritual sense" to you. The reference to an incision into the "heart" carries, in itself, a metaphor of God's love entering our hearts through the penetration of the Holy Spirit. What rings true here is the age old prophecy that God wanted Jeremiah to voice.
In verses 28 and 29, Paul revealed that a true Jew (a man after God's own heart--one of His chosen ones) would be one of God's own . . . not because he was circumcised as an outward sign, but because he inwardly belonged to God. Paul used the self-explanatory metaphor by writing, "A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly" . . . and has received "circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."
I hope that that makes "Spiritual sense" to you. The reference to an incision into the "heart" carries, in itself, a metaphor of God's love entering our hearts through the penetration of the Holy Spirit. What rings true here is the age old prophecy that God wanted Jeremiah to voice.
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
What is so tragic--to think that God sent His Son to the house of Israel to form the NEW covenant, and so few believed Him. In the church of Paul's day, the growth of the congregations came from the Gentiles.