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An Introduction to Romans
Chapters 1–11: Doctrinal Section
Chapters 12–16: Practical Section
We can accept this division of the book for the sake of convenience. But we should realize that the doctrinal section is really very practical, and the practical section is really quite doctrinal. Perhaps a better way of division would be to say that the whole epistle is both doctrinal and practical, but that chapters 1–11 deal with the doctrine and practice of the way of salvation, while chapters 12–16 deal with the doctrine and practice of the Christian life.
We may take as the theme of the first 11 chapters “The Gospel Way of Salvation.” In discussing this theme, the Apostle Paul first takes up the need for salvation in chapters 1, 2, and the first 20 verses of chapter 3. The first 17 verses of chapter 1 are an introduction to the epistle. The rest of chapter 1, beginning with verse 18, sets forth the truth that humanity is hopelessly lost in sin and guilty before God. This is for the purpose of laying the groundwork for his treatment of the way of salvation. We shall first consider the apostle’s introduction and then see what he says about the need for salvation.
Paul Introduces Himself and His Message. 1:1-17
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans was written about the year 58 a.d. from Corinth in Greece. The apostle, at the time of writing this epistle, had never been in Rome. Thus he speaks in verses 10 and 13 of his desire to visit the church at Rome and of his repeated intention of doing so—an intention which was frustrated by circumstances over which he had no control.
Note what Paul calls himself. He uses three words to describe himself. The first is “servant” (1:1)—“a servant of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word doulos means “bondservant” or “slave.”
The second term is “apostle” (1:1)—“called to be an apostle.” “Apostle” means an official, accredited messenger, someone who is commissioned and sent to do something. Paul was called to be an apostle when he was “separated unto the gospel of God”—he became a messenger of the gospel.
The third term is “debtor” (1:14)—“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” He was Christ’s bondservant or slave, and a debtor to his fellowmen, a debtor because he owed them the gospel message with which the Lord had entrusted him.
So much for what Paul says by way of introducing himself to a church which had never heard him preach nor seen his face. Now let us see what Paul says about his message, which he calls briefly “the gospel of God.”
First, this message is no novelty, no newfangled philosophy invented by men, for it was promised long before by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures, the books of the Old Testament (1:2). What Paul preached was simply the true fruit and development of what had already been set forth long before in the Old Testament Scriptures. This shows how wrong that popular modern notion is which asserts that the New Testament gospel is something radically new and essentially different from the message of the Old Testament. The essential message of the Old Testament is identical with that of the New, the great difference between the two being that the Old Testament looks forward to a promised and coming Redeemer, while the New Testament speaks of the Redeemer who has already come and wrought His great work of redemption.
In the second place, Paul’s message was a message about Jesus Christ: “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:3). Paul was not preaching salvation by character, nor salvation by good works, nor salvation by culture and education. He was not trying to “appeal to people’s better nature,” nor to advocate salvation by “spiritual values” and “high ideals.” There were plenty of people in his day who proclaimed that type of message, but Paul was not one of them. His message was not a way of self-salvation; it was a way of salvation by a Savior. It was a message about Christ, and he tells us so at the very beginning of his epistle.
Furthermore, there is not the slightest doubt as to what Christ it was that Paul proclaimed. He did not proclaim Jesus simply as a good man, or a great teacher, or a noble example, or a martyr for his principles. No, the Christ whom Paul preached was the divine Christ. He was human, too, for He was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh,” but that was not all; that was only His human nature. In addition to His human nature, He had another nature, His divine nature, here referred to as “the Spirit of holiness,” in contrast to “the flesh.” He was “declared to be the Son of God with power” according to His divine nature, by the resurrection from the dead. His rising from the dead did not make Him the Son of God, for He always was that, but it declared Him to be the Son of God. Paul did not preach the weak Christ of modern liberal theories; he preached the divine Christ of the Scriptures.
In the third place, the message Paul preached is a universal message. It is to be published and accepted throughout the entire world, “for obedience to the faith among all nations” (1:5). It is not for the Jews only, but for the whole world, without regard to national or racial barriers. Paul himself proposed to proclaim this message both to the Greeks and to the barbarians (1:14), to the limit of his opportunities. Obviously, the Apostle Paul was a believer in foreign missions.
In the fourth place, the message Paul preached was a powerful message. He was not ashamed of it, for it had the power of God behind it. Unlike the doctrines and philosophies of the Greeks and the Romans, the gospel that Paul preached was not mere human speculation and theorizing; it was a message of truth and it struck home with tremendous power, the power of God unto salvation, in the case of every person who accepted the message. It was a saving, life-changing message, a message involving “the righteousness of God” (1:17). Those who accept this message obtain the righteousness of God through their faith in the Redeemer.
Paul closes this introductory section of the epistle with a quotation from the Old Testament, “The just shall live by faith.” This statement of the Scripture would one day become famous as the keynote of the Protestant Reformation; indeed, it is really the keynote of the biblical doctrine of salvation. Taken originally from Habakkuk 2:4, the statement is quoted repeatedly in the New Testament (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). The person who understands the true meaning of these words, “The just shall live by faith,” understands the true meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the way of salvation, and the Christian faith. As we proceed further in the study of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, we shall learn more of the meaning of this wonderful statement.
Questions
How is the Epistle to the Romans commonly divided, and how many chapters are there in each of the divisions?
What can be said in criticism of this common way of dividing the epistle?
What is the theme of the first 11 chapters of Romans?
When was the Epistle to the Romans written?
Where was Paul at the time when he wrote this epistle?
What is the literal meaning of the word for “servant” used by Paul in speaking of himself in 1:1?
What is the meaning of the word “apostle,” and when was Paul called to be an apostle?
What did Paul mean by calling himself a “debtor” in 1:14?
How does Paul guard against the idea that his gospel was something new?
In what respect are the Old Testament and the New Testament the same and in what respect do they differ?
How did Paul’s gospel differ radically from the other messages of his day?
What do we learn from 1:3–4 concerning the Christ that Paul preached?
What expression in 1:3 speaks of the human nature of Christ?
What expression in 1:4 speaks of the divine nature of Christ?
What is the bearing of Christ’s resurrection on His divine sonship?
How does 1:5 show the obligation to support foreign missions?
What power did Paul’s message have behind it, which the philosophies of his day lacked?
From what place in the Old Testament is the statement “The just shall live by faith” quoted?
Besides Romans 1:17, where in the New Testament is this statement, “The just shall live by faith,” quoted?
What is the importance of the statement, “The just shall live by faith”?
Humanity Is Hopelessly Lost and Guilty of Sin 1:18
In this section of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans we have a very terrible, dark picture of the sinfulness of the human race placed before us. First of all, Paul tells us about God’s attitude toward human sinfulness: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (1:18). God’s righteousness is contrary to human sin. Paul lays this down as an axiom. The rest of his argument in this epistle depends upon it.
“Who hold the truth in unrighteousness” really means “with-hold,” “restrain,” or “hold down.” We might translate the phrase, “Who interfere with the truth in unrighteousness.” Against those who do that, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” We hear little about the wrath of God today. Some people even say that we should not use such an expression—that we should only speak of God’s love, not of God’s wrath. But the Bible speaks of God’s wrath. It tells us that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against human sin.
First, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven in the human conscience—that still, small voice within us that tells us when we are doing what we know to be wrong. But people harden their hearts, ignore their consciences, and go on in their wicked ways. So God speaks in another way, with a louder, sterner voice, the voice of events. Then come wars, and rumors of wars, until men learn that the wages of sin is death. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse ride across the earth with their trail of bloodshed, famine, and pestilence. These things do not come by chance; they are the voice and judgment of God, revealing the wrath of God from heaven against man’s sin.
Sin is not a figment of the imagination. Sin is a reality. God’s wrath against sin is not imaginary, but terribly real. Men may try to forget it, close their minds to it, evade it, but it will follow them no matter what they do. They cannot get away from God and God’s wrath against sin.
Our own day looks lightly on sin. The 19th Century almost eliminated the idea of sin from people’s thinking. The same 19th Century, with its proud belief in human goodness and human progress, thought that civilization had outgrown war. But human wickedness was still the same. There were two terrible world wars in less than 30 years, and now there could be a still more terrible third world war looming on the horizon. If anyone doubts the reality of human wickedness, the present world situation ought to be enough to convince him of it.
Mankind Is Entirely without Excuse 1:19-20
It is human nature to try to find excuses for our sins and failings. It has been so since the time of Adam and Eve. Adam tried to place the blame on Eve: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:12). Eve tried to blame it on the devil: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:13). And so on down through the ages, sinners have tried to disclaim responsibility and to take refuge in excuses and alibis. But Paul insists that sinners are “without excuse” (1:20). The human race is in a condition of ungodliness and unrighteousness, and is without excuse.
And why? Because even without the Bible, mankind had a revelation from God in the book of nature. Even without the light of Scripture, it was possible to know something about the true God. This revelation in the book of nature was universal, it was worldwide, it spoke about the true God to every human being everywhere.
The revelation of God in the book of nature included two parts. The first part is mentioned in 1:19, “because that which may be known of God is manifest in them.” This is a revelation of God in the human heart and conscience. The second part is outside of us—the great world of nature round about us—the starry heavens, the vast, created universe. As the psalmist said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). Just so, Paul here says that: “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” (1:20).
Of course, the revelation of God in the book of nature is not a complete revelation. It does not tell people anything about the way of salvation; it does not tell anything about a Savior who suffered and died on the cross as the substitute for sinners; it does not tell of God’s saving grace. But it does tell something about the true God. In Paul’s words, it tells men of “his eternal power and Godhead.” That is, it tells men that there is a God and that He is an eternal and almighty being. It tells men enough about the true God to leave them without excuse.
If there is an eternal, almighty God, a God who has created all things including the human race, then plainly it must be our duty to serve and worship Him. That much may be known simply from the book of nature, without the Bible. So the revelation of the true God in nature left the human race without excuse, because when mankind went deeper and deeper into sin, it meant that men were sinning against the light. Men were rejecting the light God had given them, the light of nature.
It is an axiom of human law that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” But in the case of the human race sinning against God, no person could claim ignorance of the law and the divine Law-giver. Men were sinning in spite of the law, sinning even though the law was known through God’s revelation in nature.
Even the heathen people, in the dark regions of the world where the Bible has never penetrated, have a certain knowledge of God and the law of God from the light of nature. The law of God, as Paul tells us in chapter 2 of this epistle, is written on their own hearts.
Thus far we have considered two truths, namely: (1) that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against human sin; and (2) that mankind is entirely without excuse, because the true God has revealed Himself in nature. The rest of chapter 1 is devoted to a description of the effects of sin on the human race.
Questions
What does 1:18 tell us of God’s attitude toward human sin?
What is the meaning of the word “hold” in 1:18?
What is conscience, and how does it reveal God’s attitude to sin?
When men ignore the voice of conscience, what louder voice speaks of God’s attitude to sin?
What does the present world situation show concerning human wickedness?
When did sinners begin to try to find excuses for their sins?
Why is the human race without excuse for its sin?
What two parts are included in God’s revelation in nature?
Why is God’s revelation in nature not a complete revelation? What truths does it not speak of?
What truths concerning God may be known from His revelation in nature?
What does the existence of God’s revelation in nature imply concerning human sinning?
What subject is dealt with in the rest of chapter 1, after verse 20?
Getting to Know J. G. Vos
By Dr. Byron Curtis
Dr. Johannes Geerhardus Vos (1903-83) was a revered Bible teacher, Reformed theologian, pastor, and missionary. He taught at Geneva College from 1954 until his retirement in 1973 and continued part-time until about 1975. For most of those years he also served as chairman of the Bible department.
J. G. Vos devoted his life to teaching the Bible and classic Reformed theology for the sanctity of the church and the salvation of the lost. An astute thinker, he often disguised his natural brilliance with an equally natural penchant for folksy humor. A number of his published essays display the incisive clarity of his scholarship. Yet unlike his father, J. G. chose not to be a scholar’s scholar. Instead, he saw himself as a “people’s theologian.”
In a time of cultural decline for Reformed Christianity in America, J. G. worked constantly to popularize the Bible’s teachings and those of classic Reformed theology. He received ministerial ordination in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America in 1929 and served faithfully in the RP denomination for the rest of his mortal life.
Vos talked a plain-spoken talk, a bit folksy, rather like a more godly Harry Truman. His message was usually about the plain meaning of clear biblical texts for ordinary folk to learn, to master, to love, and to obey. When biblical texts seemed to allow different interpretations, he’d give a well-studied account of the textual reasons for the divergence, and perhaps state a plain-spoken preference. Often a corny joke was served up to punctuate the point.
The “Dr.” of J. G.’s name was an honorary D.D., granted for distinguished service as a professor, writer, RPCNA pastor, and Manchurian missionary.
One of J. G. Vos’s important contributions to 20th Century Christianity is the legacy of the Reformation Translation Fellowship, which he and Dr. Charles Chao founded. This organization still serves the Chinese church by translating, publishing, and distributing a sizeable body of works in classic Reformed theology, in pastoral ministry, and in the popular study of the Scriptures. Dr. Vos continued to serve and assist RTF’s work during his professorship and retirement years.
After his expulsion from China, J. G. took up a stateside pastoral call in 1942 to the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Clay Center, Kan. Four years later, convinced of the enormous need for layman’s-level biblical and theological education throughout the RP denomination, he started the journal entitled Blue Banner Faith and Life. Among the RPs of that time, he wrote, there was “a low level of awareness of true biblical Christianity….The church seemed confused, frustrated, and unable to go ahead with a constructive program of any kind.” “I decided there needed to be a very vocal but simple publication to set forth the true faith of the church,” he said in a dictated letter entitled “Important Notice” sent to friends and subscribers of the Blue Banner Faith and Life in 1979. From small beginnings and a mere 50 subscribers in 1946, J. G. Vos’s Blue Banner grew to a subscription list of about 1,275. He never made any money from it, and often sent it free to students, missionaries, and to anyone else who couldn’t pay the modest fees.
It was during those pastoral years in rural Clay Center (1942–1954) that J. G. was able to devote significant time to his other literary calling, bringing his father’s unpublished work into the light of day. After World War II this task became urgent, because his father’s health was now failing.
In 1948 his son’s hard work made it possible for Geerhardus Vos to see the finished copies of his own Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments (Eerdmans, 1948).
—Dr. Byron Curtis is associate professor of biblical studies at Geneva College
Excerpted from an article that originally appeared in The Presbyterian Banner (Australia) in Aug. 2001.