Romans 1:1-7
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
In a day that stresses relativism, this verse strikes a raw nerve with many. In fact, the New Age movement views biblical Christianity with contempt because of this and other Bible passages which teach that there is only one way to God. Thus it quite common in a discussion with a non-Christian to hear this question: WHY is the Bible the only way? Or, what makes what you say true and all other religions false? These are questions, which Paul addresses in the letter to the Romans.
Paul was a man consumed with the Lord's work. Yet, he was not what I would term, a lone ranger Christian.
1 Corinthians 9:23, " And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."
Paul was committed to the Lord's work. He was also committed to do the Lord's work the Lord's way. And the Lord's way of doing the work is through the support and prayer of the local church.
1 Timothy 3:15, " But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
Antioch was the first church that Paul worked through.(1) Now in the process of doing the Lord's work, Paul was burdened to go to Spain.(2) Yet this presented a problem. None of the churches, which had supported him, were far enough west to effectively serve as a missionary base for Spain. And radio, TV, telephone, and airplanes were quite a few years off. Thus, Spain's distance was just too far for any of the known churches to help him. Thus the only church that could serve as a missionary base was the church in Rome. But, while Paul had never been to Rome before the rumors about him probably had made it to Rome. In Acts we read that the saints in Jerusalem had heard about Paul from the Jews.
Acts 21:21, " And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs."
Thus, if Paul was going to be accepted by the Christians at Rome he needed to show that what he was preaching was not fanciful, error, heresy, or something he had made up. He needed to show them that what he taught was the truth. Romans 1:2 is where Paul deals with the validity of his gospel.
Romans 1:2, " (Which [the gospel] he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.)"
It so easy to skip over passages of Scripture in the attempt to get at the "big picture." Yet, to do that at this point would be to miss a very important truth that Paul establishes. (In fact it is so important that he repeats this truth in Romans 16.) The gospel is that which God had promised beforehand.
The phrase, which He promised beforehand, is an uncommon phrase in the New Testament. It denotes to promise from the beginning, or to promise beforehand. The emphasis is not that it was promised, BUT that it was promised BEFORE. Paul is stressing that the gospel to which he was bound was not of recent origin. The gospel was given "beforehand."
Now the question we naturally ask is this: WHEN was the gospel promised? There are religions that are with us today, which claim they are older than the gospel. What makes the gospel true?
Titus 1:1-3, " Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour."
Here we learn that the gospel was literally promised before the world began. This means that the gospel came before the creation--the time, matter, space continuum.(3) The gospel was conceived even before man fell.
1 Corinthians 2:6-7, " Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."(4)
God's predestination of the gospel is opposite of that which proceeds from man's own wisdom--the "wisdom of this world." Unlike the wisdom of the rulers of this age who are passing, the gospel was predestined before time. This is a statement of its validity. Peter when he spoke of Christ confirmed the gospel this way:
Acts 2:23, " Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
Paul restates this truth elsewhere in Scripture.
2 Timothy 1:9, " Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
Ephesians 1:4, " According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."
The gospel was not a divine afterthought. Neither was it something that burst on the scene during the Roman Empire. It was not a late change in God's plan. It was not a revision of His strategy. It was not plan b. Rather, it is the good news of God conceived BEFORE time began!
The gospel to which Paul and all Christians are bound is unique! Paul did not conceive it. Some "religious man" such as Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Mohammed (Islam), or Siddhartha Gautama (Buddhism) did not author it. Rather, God conceived the gospel before the world began! As such, that which Paul preached was TRUTH! It is still the truth and it always shall be the truth!
Romans 1:2, " (Which [the gospel] he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.)"
A prophet, according to the Old Testament was a spokesman of God. This designation generally applied to all who spoke by inspiration and/or was the interpreter of God's will. Moses was the primary prophet of the Old Testament but this term was also applied to other men like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, David, Samuel, Nathan, etc.
It is tempting to focus on the phrase His prophets in the phrase by His prophets, yet this is not the emphasis here. In Paul's day those who proclaimed the good news of the Caesars were the Caesar's spokesmen. In fact most religions have their "spokesmen of the gods." Rather the emphasis rightly belongs on the word by.
The word by means through the agency of or instrumentality of. Therefore we must conclude that the prophets were the agents through which the gospel of God was given. This implies that the prophets delivered the message of the gospel. This is a statement that the gospel is a product of God given through man!(5)
1 Peter 1:10-12, " Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."
2 Peter 1:20-21, " Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Hebrews 1:1-2, " God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
The gospel of God was not something that originated in the mind of Paul.
Galatians 1:11-12, " But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."
The gospel is not a divine message polluted by man. It is not a message of a prophet. Rather the gospel is God's good news given through the agency of men. The gospel which Paul and all Christians are bound to is true because it is the very word of God. God used chosen men as instruments in giving the gospel. Yet they did not taint the gospel because it is from God before time.
Romans 1:2, " (Which [the gospel] he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.)"
The phrase in the Holy Scriptures stresses that the character of what the prophets wrote was holy. This speaks of its sanctified nature or that it is set apart and totally different. The "totally different" Scriptures witnessed to Paul's gospel.
The question naturally arises, totally different from what? The Scriptures are totally different than the Jewish rabbinical writings. In the first century the rabbinical writings were studied and followed even more zealously than the Scriptures. For example Christ stated these words:
Matthew 15:6, " And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."
This is an obvious reference to the Mishnah. Christ also said many times "You have heard that the ancients were told" and "you have heard that it was said" when he referred to the rabbinical teachings.(6) Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount were not in reference to the Old Testament but to the rabbinical traditions that contradicted and invalidated the Old Testament.
Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
John 5:10, "The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed."
The rabbinical teachings said very little about the gospel of God. Thus from their perspective the gospel of God seemed NEW and simply from Paul. This is why Paul was frequently accused of preaching and teaching against Moses and of proclaiming a revolutionary message unheard of in ancient Judaism. Thus, Paul makes it clear that the good news to which his whole life was devoted is really the OLD NEWS of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The Old Testament is saturated with the gospel. The Old Testament contains more than 332 prophecies about Christ. (Most of these were fulfilled at His first coming.) The quarter of the world from which the Messiah would come was revealed to Noah. The town in which Christ would be born was told to Micah. The time of Christ's birth was revealed to Daniel. Malachi proclaimed the fact that the spirit of Elijah would proceed the coming of the Lord. Jonah typified Christ's resurrection. These and other examples fill the Old Testament with the gospel. This is why Christ referred to them.
Luke 24:25-27, "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
Luke 24:44-48, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things."
Matthew 5:17-18, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Luke 4:21, "And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."(7)
This is why Paul said that the gospel was preached to Abraham.
Galatians 3:8, "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."
The gospel that Paul proclaimed was not something he had invented. The gospel was the Holy Scriptures--the word of God.
Paul's gospel is truth. The validity of the gospel is shown in Paul's argument that the gospel is the word of God. The gospel is verified because it originated before creation. The gospel is confirmed because it was written by chosen men but was not corrupted by them. The gospel is proclaimed by the vast, varied writings in the Old Testament. The gospel which Paul proclaimed, which we have believed is TRUTH.
In this day of moral relativism this truth is vital. The "I'm OK, You're OK" philosophy is not true. The "there are no absolutes" philosophy is not true. The idea that "what you believe is true for you, but not for me" is not valid. The redefinition of the word truth to a floating standard is just another push on the part of Satan to confuse, disrupt, and mislead.
It is Satan's desire to make people believe that truth is simply a nice principle to live by, but NOT something by which ALL should be bound. Satan is the master counterfeiter. He desires to sow doubts about God's word.
Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Satan twists the truth of Scripture.
Matthew 4:5-6, "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."
Yet, in spite of everything Satan and the world tells you, you have it on the authority of God's word that the gospel of God is TRUTH! This should encourage you! Your faith is not in vain!
Once we are convicted by the veracity of the gospel we are confronted with our responsibility to the truth.(8) We must STUDY the Scriptures. It always grieves me to talk with a Christian who has a more thorough grasp of the baseball, football, or basketball statistics than his grasp of the Scripture. It should alarm us when a Christian knows all about the SOAP OPERAS, or BROADWAY more than he knows about GOD'S WORD.
1 Timothy 4:7-8, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."
This exercise unto godliness includes a firm grasp of God's word!
2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Our study of God's word must be thorough/complete! Some Christians major only on the book of The Revelation. Other Christians are thoroughly familiar with the Pauline epistles, but know nothing of the Old Testament. Some people pay attention only to the red letters in the Bible and thus are only familiar with words spoken directly by Christ. However, all Scripture speaks of the gospel.(9)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NAS) "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work,"
One must take the Bible as a whole! Christ did. Paul did. And so must you!
The second part of our sanctification requires us to be a faithful witness of the gospel.
2 Kings 7:3-9, "And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household."
Here the Syrians had besieged Samaria. This is a picture of us. People are dying--they are dying all around us without the gospel. The very people, who are made out to be our enemy, these are the ones starving to death. And we look at the Scripture and see that the judgment of God is coming to our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and associates. All of these could incur the wrath of God in hell for eternity. How can we keep silent when we have the food for their soul? We who have been given such a feast in the gospel,(10) how can we not tell the world? Because the gospel of God is truth others need to know about it. Therefore, I exhort you to put aside your pride and dignity and zealously proclaim the good news of God, the gospel.
If you are not a Christian you also must respond to truth. You have one of four options that you can choose based upon this text. First, you can conclude that it is FICTION- untrue. But to conclude this you must base it on sound, rational argument. Of course, there are no valid, rational arguments that can disprove truth. Truth will never prove untrue. So to make this conclusion, it will be based upon emotional arguments.
Secondly, you can conclude that an insane man wrote this truth. You may say the words are mere FRENZY. However, this is an unreasonable conclusion. The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by over forty authors with varied backgrounds. The style of writing, the locations described--wilderness, dungeons, palaces, travels, the rigors of military campaigns, times of war, times of peace--the moods expressed--joy, peace, despair--on three continents--Africa, Asia, Europe--in over three languages--Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek--all without error is not the work of a maniac. Rather these conditions speak of unity and conformity on hundreds of controversial subjects about which there are hundreds of opposing opinions. No man could write this even if he would. Even with all the technology, computers, and scientists that we have today--even given 1500 years--could produce a document like that of the Bible! And even if he could write the Bible, no man would write the Bible.
Thirdly, you may conclude that it is just one of many religious documents which point the way to God. However a close examination of Scripture will not all you to conclude this. Jesus said that there is only one way to heaven.
John 14:6, " Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Jesus claimed His word to be truth.
John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
Thus, to conclude there are many ways to heaven is to conclude that the Bible is FICTION (or all other religions are false). This argument must conclude that God's word is true.
Finally, you can conclude that the Scripture is what it claims to be God's holy word. Therefore, I exhort you to turn from your life of self-dependence and sin, and call upon Christ to save you. If this is where you find yourself turn to Christ. He will not turn you away.
The gospel to which Paul was bound so many years ago and to which every Christian is bound is truth! God conceived it before time began. It was delivered through God's chosen men and yet not corrupted by them. It is further proclaimed by the vast and varied writings of the Old and New Testament. Be Encouraged! Your faith is based on Truth! Be a Diligent Student of God's Word! And be a Faithful Witness of God's Gospel!
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These are the editor's footnotes which are added to aid the reader in their study of the Scriptures.
1 Compare Acts 13:1-4, 14:26, and Philippians 4:18
2 Compare Romans 15:24
3 In future issues we will deal with the Creation question. Is Creation best explained by the literal interpretation of Genesis 3, or is it best explained by the other hypotheses such as the chronological framework understanding, the day-age theory, or evolution?
4 These verses show us that Creation, the fall, redemption, and the future restoration of all things was planned by God for His glory prior to the Creation. This shows that God planned all things and that nothing happened by accident. This point alone shows that processes that require time and chance to explain the origins of the world are not consistent with Scripture.
5 This passage also shows that the Scriptures are of God, not of man. The prophets were the agents through which the Scriptures were given to man. This is a supporting Scripture to the doctrine of inspiration of the Scriptures.
6 Compare Matthew 5:21, 27, 33, and 43
7 This is in reference to Isaiah 61
8 This is our sanctification.
9 Compare John 5:39-40
10 Compare 2 Kings 7:8