Romans

The Monster of Romans

If you have your Bible, turn to the Book of Romans. I’ll be candid with you: Romans is a monster. It is one of the finest theological books ever written and one of the deepest books you’re going to find in your Bible. Oftentimes, it reads more like a theological textbook than the epistles we’ve read before. It’s far less warm; Paul isn’t really trying to give anybody a hug here. He doesn’t really care how you feel about it—he’s just going for it.

In many ways, I would suggest to you that if you could palm the book of Romans, you could understand most of the major theological issues communicated in the Bible. By the time you finish this book, you’ve learned about total depravity, natural revelation, justification, sanctification, and salvation. You’ve learned about the return of Christ, the restoration of the nation of Israel, and eschatology. This book will literally challenge your view of God. I know the Bible says of itself that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable, and I believe that. But in some ways, I feel like this book is a double portion of that because it will jack up the foundation of who you are and replumb your theology in a huge way.

To be honest with you, it would be best enjoyed if we could just slow down and spend about thirty weeks walking through it. But the reality is that we’re going to have to get this meal to go. We have about thirty minutes to work through sixteen chapters.

A Culture of Many Gods

Romans was written by the apostle Paul during his third missionary journey. He had already written First and Second Corinthians, and now he writes to a church in the backdrop of Rome. You’ve learned a bit about Roman culture already, but just as a reminder, we’re talking about a culture that was polytheistic, which means “many gods.” It was a culture that believed you earned the favor of those gods by what you did. It was your obligation to keep as many of those deities as possible happy. You didn’t want to offend any or exclude any; you worked so they would feel appeased. That was your religious duty.

Paul comes alongside and says, “All these gods are little ‘g’ gods. All these gods are fake and phony. I’m talking about the one true God who set the world in motion and made dirt breathe.” That’s the guy I’m talking about. Paul explains that you worship Him and come to Him not on the basis of works you do, but on the basis of faith.

This book is going to show us what faith looks like. We talk about being a people of faith, and people throw that around all the time: “Oh, yeah, I’m a man of faith.” Well, what do you believe? “Well, I believe there’s like a God, or a higher power, or the Force or whatever.” Paul goes, “No, dude. It’s bigger than that.” You need to understand who God is. Paul spends sixteen chapters helping us understand the depth, the breadth, and the enormity of what it means to be a people of faith.

There are three reasons why he wrote it. First, he wrote to this church in Rome to prepare the way for his visit. He tells them at the end of the book that he’s going to stop by, get some gas, eat some Cheetos, but then he’s heading on to Spain, so he won’t stay long. Second, he wanted to clearly communicate the gospel in a pagan backdrop—what does it mean to believe by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ? And thirdly, he wanted to demonstrate sound theology. These were people living in a culture so surrounded by paganism that the church had begun to compromise. Paul drops anchor after anchor through each chapter, anchoring them in sound theology so that as the winds of paganism and relativism blew, they could hold firm in the truth.

Unashamed of the Gospel

Paul starts the book in chapter one, verse one, by calling himself a servant or a slave. Some of your Bibles might say “bondservant.” That’s a better translation. The concept isn’t just that he’s a slave against his will, but that he is a “willing slave” of his Master. One of the themes that goes throughout the whole book is: who is king in your life? Paul says, “I willfully submit as a willing slave to a King.”

Romans 1:1 (NASB)

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called [as] an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

He also says he is “called” to be an apostle. He didn’t sign up for it, he didn’t ask for it, and he didn’t vote for it—he got snatched. God said, “I don’t care where you’ve been, I’ve got plans for you, boy.” God grabbed him by the collar and said, “You’re going to be a messenger.”

This isn’t a new message. The source of his message is the prophets and the Holy Scriptures. He goes back to the text to show who Christ is from the Old Testament.

Romans 1:2 (NASB)

which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

The focus of the message is Christ, God incarnate.

Romans 1:3 (NASB)

concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

What gives Him the credibility to be the focus is that this Jesus rose from the dead. No other religious figure has the credentials of conquering death, and that is where Jesus gets His authority.

Romans 1:4 (NASB)

who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

The goal of his message is broad. He wants to bring about the “obedience of faith” among all people. Paul assumes that to be a person of faith is to live like a person of faith. You can’t claim to be a person of faith and live like you’re not. He’s not just teaching so you’ll be smarter; we don’t need smarter sinners. He’s teaching so that we will live it out.

Romans 1:5 (NASB)

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about [the] obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

Now, the people surrounding the church at Rome had begun to haze the believers. To the intellectual elite in Rome, the message of a Jewish savior seemed so junior high. They rolled their eyes and chuckled, thinking, “How cute, you’ve got a religious crutch.” It’s like a philosophy teacher who says, “Oh, you’re a Christian? I bet you believe in the Tooth Fairy, too.” They felt the gospel had no credibility against the intelligence of Rome.

They were even popping off to the church, saying, “Your boy Paul is afraid to come. Why hasn’t he visited you? Because he’s scared of us.” Paul responds by saying he has prayed to come, longed to come, needed to come, wanted to come, intended to come, was obligated to come, and was eager to come. He says, “I ain’t scared of you or your religious nonsense. I’m not ashamed at all.”

Romans 1:10-15 (NASB)

always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you [while] among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

He says, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel, for it’s the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.” He’s ready to go toe-to-toe with the intellectuals in Corinth, Ephesus, Athens, and Rome. He’s bringing the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified because they have nothing on the gospel.

Romans 1:16 (NASB)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Then he gives us the theme verse that the rest of the book pivots on. He says that in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. From origin to expression, from beginning to end, it’s all about faith.

Romans 1:17 (NASB)

For in it [the] righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS [man] SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’

The Great Exchange

Paul uses a form of argumentation where he preemptively answers the questions he knows they are thinking. In verse 18, he introduces a group of people who took the truth of God and, instead of communicating it, they “suppressed” it. They held it down. Even though God clearly showed Himself through His invisible attributes and eternal power in creation, they denied it.

Romans 1:18-20 (NASB)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

He’s speaking to people who look at a sunset and think, “Wow, amazing that this accidentally happened. How fantastic that we evolved from monkeys and now we can see this through genetic mutation.” Paul’s going, “Y’all are being dumb.” God shows His power through what has been made, but instead of embracing that, people hold it down.

This leads to a dual exchange. First, they exchange the glory of God for a human likeness—worshiping statues, people, or trinkets. Second, they exchange the truth of God for a lie. They say, “I know the Bible says this, but let’s just set that aside and pursue whatever we want.”

Romans 1:23-25 (NASB)

and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Those two exchanges lead to something fascinating. Because they rejected God, verse 24 says, “God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts.” It’s like my daughter wanting to go skateboarding down a steep hill. I know she’s not a great longboarder. I’m looking at the hill thinking, “This is carnage waiting to happen.” I tell her she shouldn’t do it, but she insists. Eventually, I let her go. I know she’s going to eat it; the only question is how bad. I give her over to do exactly what she wants to do. When we worship images and people, God says, “You really want to do that? Okay, go ahead.”

Romans 1:24 (NASB)

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

When we exchange the truth of God for a lie, God gives us up to “dishonorable passions.” Paul is crystal clear here. Culture tries to tell us the issue is changing, but the Bible has spoken and it isn’t changing. When we exchange the truth for a lie, the natural overflow is sexual immorality and homosexuality.

Romans 1:26-27 (NASB)

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

God says, “The lifestyle you’re wanting to live is going to be a tragedy. You’re going to end up all tore up, but if that’s what you really want, go ahead.” It’s like an alcoholic who hits rock bottom. Until they hit bottom, they aren’t done. They don’t have a drinking problem; they have a quitting problem. Sometimes you just have to let them find themselves at the bottom of a bottle, wondering if this is what life was meant to be. When you hit that place, come on back, and we’ll talk about what it means to be a person of faith.

No One is Good

In chapter two, Paul explains that this faith is not faith in ourselves. We don’t muster up the faith to be godly; we don’t find our “inner deity.” We have nothing good in us. In fact, without faith in Christ, we are simply storing up wrath for ourselves.

Romans 2:5 (NASB)

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

People sometimes assume the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament—that He was wrathful then but grew up and became gracious now. The reality is that God didn’t hit puberty and mature. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still a God of wrath. Why don’t we feel it? Because for those who believe, that wrath was poured out on Jesus. He was crushed for us. If you haven’t believed in Jesus, there is an account in heaven waiting, and one day that wrath will be poured out.

Paul makes it clear in chapter three: there are no “good people” in this world. This faith is revealed to us because we can’t find it on our own. If you are here asking questions about God, it’s not because you’re smart; it’s because a sovereign God is warming your heart and drawing you to Himself.

Romans 3:10-11 (NASB)

as it is written, ’THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

All of us have sinned. All of us fall short. The only way to be justified is by grace, as a gift, through Christ.

Romans 3:23-24 (NASB)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

God put Jesus forward as the satisfaction of His wrath, to be received by faith.

Romans 3:25 (NASB)

whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. [This was] to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

If you finish chapter three, you realize this is a terrible self-help book. It tells you that you missed God in creation, you exchanged His glory for nonsense, you believe lies, and you have nothing good in you. There is no hope apart from Jesus. But then chapter four gives us examples of faith: Abraham and David. Abraham wasn’t a “good dude”; he just trusted God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. David was a murderer and an adulterer, yet his sin was not counted against him. Both came to God through faith.

Romans 4:3 (NASB)

For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

Peace with God

What is the advantage of faith? What do we gain? Most people assume we gain heaven—and the streets of gold sound awesome—but that’s a bonus. The number one thing we get is peace with God.

Romans 5:1 (NASB)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

To be “justified” means to be declared righteous. It doesn’t mean you are righteous; it means God calls you righteous. When we place our faith in Jesus, God doesn’t see our sin; He sees the righteousness of Christ credited to our account.

We don’t have peace with God because we serve the poor, take care of the homeless, or come to church. None of those things bring peace. There is only one way: through our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t get on that religious treadmill trying to be “good enough.” Peace comes when you finally raise your hand and say, “I’m a mess, and I need a righteousness I don’t have.”

Apart from Jesus, we were all slaves to sin. We were really good at it. Sin was our king. He said “drink,” we drank. He said “lie,” we lied. We had no power to break that mastery on our own. That’s why we get stuck in cycles of acting like an idiot, swearing we’ll never do it again, and then doing the same thing next weekend. But when you place your faith in Jesus, you have a new King, and the mastery of sin is broken.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

In chapter six, Paul asks, “Should we keep sinning so that grace can increase?” These Romans were used to trying to make their gods happy with offerings. The message of grace was counter-cultural. They thought, “If sin makes God show off His grace, let’s live crazy!” Paul says, “No freaking way!”

Romans 6:1-2 (NASB)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

He asks, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Now, I’ve been to funerals with open caskets. I hate them. The family can beg that person to respond, but they won’t. Why? Because they are dead. So when Paul says we are dead to sin, I get confused, because I don’t feel dead to sin. When temptation walks by, I don’t just “miss it.” I respond. Don’t you?

“Dead to sin” doesn’t mean we are dead to the influence of sin; it means we are dead to the mastery of sin. Sin is no longer your king. You are no longer obligated to obey it. To live in this freedom, you need three things: Head, Heart, and Hands.

First, the Head: you have to know theologically that your old self was crucified with Him. You don’t have to listen to that old guy anymore.

Romans 6:6 (NASB)

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him], in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

I played football years ago. When my coach called at 6:00 AM and said “run,” there was no negotiating. I showed up and ran. But he isn’t my king anymore. If he called me today and told me to run, I’d say, “Forget you! You aren’t in control of my life anymore.” That is how sin is. Before Christ, when sin said “jump,” you jumped. Now you can say, “I don’t have to listen to you.”

Second, the Heart: you must consider yourself dead to sin. This is an accounting term; it means to add it up and conclude it is true. It’s not enough to have head knowledge. You have to be sick and tired of the old life. I tell people with tainted pasts: don’t forget the shame. Let the memory of those tear-stained pages remind you that you never want to live like that again.

Romans 6:11 (NASB)

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Third, the Hands: you must present yourselves to God. The Christian life isn’t lived in neutral. You have to show up and act.

Romans 6:13 (NASB)

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God.

The Struggle Within

If Romans 6 was the end of the story, we’d be in trouble. But chapter seven describes the struggle. Have you reached the point where you look in the mirror and think, “Man, you’re a mess”? We tend to think we’re impressive, but we need to realize that in our flesh, there is nothing good.

Romans 7:18 (NASB)

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good [is] not.

Paul says, “The good I want to do, I don’t do. The evil I don’t want to do, that’s what I keep doing.” Is that your life? I’m so glad this passage is here. I find myself going, “Dude, you suck.” Even as a pastor, I see the same temptations coming back. This is the reality of the Christian life: faith involves struggle.

Romans 7:24 (NASB)

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

You ever get “downwind” of yourself? You realize you’re arrogant, prideful, and selfish. I’ve been there—living in a fraternity, drinking with my buddies, acting dumb—until I finally said, “I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

No Condemnation

If the book ended with that struggle, we’d wonder what God thinks of us. But chapter eight, verse one, is the answer: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1 (NASB)

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This assumes there is condemnation for those who are not in Christ. You can serve the poor and hand out soup, but if you aren’t in Christ, you are still under condemnation.

Furthermore, the struggle actually authenticates your faith. Paul says we are heirs with Christ “provided that we suffer with Him.”

Romans 8:17 (NASB)

and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him].

The guy who struggles and says, “I blew it again, I hate my sin, I want to change,”—I have grace for that guy. We can disciple him. The struggle affirms his faith. The guy who terrifies me is the one who doesn’t give a rip. The guy who looks at porn and says, “Yeah, so? I’m a dude, that’s what guys do.” If there is no struggle, it begs the question: is the faith authentic?

The Sovereignty of God

In chapter nine, the book gets heavy. I don’t know if you knew this, but you aren’t in control. This life is not in your hands. Paul reminds us that God is sovereign—which means He is big, awesome, and in charge of all things actual and possible. Most of us have a small view of God—a mix of Yoda, Gandalf, and Santa in a bathrobe. That’s not the God of the Bible.

Paul explains that God chose Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob. God chooses because He is God. He doesn’t ask our permission, and He doesn’t really give a rip what we think about it. Ephesians says He chose us before the foundations of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-5 (NASB)

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

People freak out at this. They try to water it down by saying God just “saw” who would choose Him, but the word is predetermined. God looked at history and said, “You, and you, and you.” He saves us not based on our deeds, but by His mercy.

Immediately, people ask, “Why me?” If you’re asking that, you finally understand the gospel. I have no idea why He picked me; I wouldn’t have picked me. There are smarter, more spiritual people out there. But He chose us. That’s grace—unmerited favor.

Then people ask, “Is that fair?” You want fair? Fair is that every person in this room deserves eternity in hell. I don’t want fair; I want mercy. I need the wrath that should be mine to be poured out on someone else.

Romans 9:14-15 (NASB)

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, ‘I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.’

God says, “I’ll have mercy on whom I have mercy.” He’s saying, “I’m going to do what I want because I’m God and I’m bigger than you.”

Romans 9:20 (NASB)

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?

This reframes everything. We think salvation is like we’re treading water in a lake and God is waiting for us to reach out so He can pull us up. But the Bible says we are dead in our transgressions. We aren’t treading water; we’re at the bottom of the lake being eaten by fish. The only way you can choose God is if He first breathes new life into you. He found us when we were dead and made us alive. That is the gospel.

A Partnership in Faith

So, did you choose God or did God choose you? The answer is “Yes.” God doesn’t apologize for the contradiction. By placing our faith in Him, we become part of a new community where there is no distinction between Greek or Jew.

Romans 10:12-13 (NASB)

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

But wait—if God chooses, why share our faith? Paul answers that, too. How will they believe if they haven’t heard? And how will they hear unless you go to your dorm or your job and tell them?

Romans 10:14 (NASB)

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

Here is the reality: share your faith like it’s all up to you, but sleep well at night knowing it’s really up to God. If salvation was 100% my responsibility, I’d never sleep. I’d be manipulative and desperate because your soul would be in my hands. God, in His wisdom, says, “You just be faithful and tell the story. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Paul then addresses Israel in chapter eleven. Has God rejected them? No way. But through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. We are here to proclaim Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, to the people who missed Him. God has a number of Gentiles He is bringing in, and then He will turn His focus back to the Jewish people.

Romans 11:11 (NASB)

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

Romans 11:25 (NASB)

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery– so that you will not be wise in your own estimation– that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

Paul finishes this section by basically saying, “My head hurts.”

Romans 11:34-36 (NASB)

For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him [be] the glory forever. Amen.

It’s his way of saying, “I’ve told it to you the best I could. My mind is blown, yours is too. To God be the glory. Amen.”

From Orthodoxy to Orthopraxy

After eleven chapters of a theological beatdown, Paul gets to the application. Based on everything God has done—the mercy, the justification, the peace—what should our response be?

Romans 12:1 (NASB)

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.

We are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. We shouldn’t be formed by the world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds. Orthodoxy (what you believe) must lead to orthopraxy (how you live). It’s not enough to have the right answers if you don’t live them out.

Chapters 12 through 16 show us what this looks like: submitting to authority, not passing judgment on one another, bearing one another’s burdens, and loving our neighbors. Then, the book ends in a very odd way—with a list of thirty names. Most people skip this, but don’t miss the point. You can have all the theology in the world, but you have to be able to relate to people. Some people are so concerned with being “right” that they are like religious porcupines—cute, but not cuddly. Paul was a man who connected. He did life with young and old, slave and free, men and women. Theology matters, but people matter too.

A People of Faith

As we wrap up, two questions come out of this book. First: Are you a person of faith? Not faith in a “God concept,” but faith in the one true God who lived the life you couldn’t live and died the death you deserved. If you’ll submit to Him, He will be your King. If you aren’t a person of faith, why not? He’s already risen from the dead—what are you waiting for?

Second: If you are a person of faith, do you look like it? Are you living it out? We gain nothing if we proclaim sound doctrine but live crazy lives. The gospel is from faith and for faith.

My hope is that you’ll evaluate those questions. Am I a person of faith? Do I look like one? Let’s be the kind of people who don’t just passively watch, but enter in. Let’s pray.

Father, I’m so grateful for this book. The questions are simple, yet profound. Are we a people of faith? Are we living that in the world? I pray for those whose hearts are being stirred right now—those who feel “strangely warmed.” Let them realize You are calling them to Yourself. For those who need to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe He rose from the dead, would You do a work in their lives today for Your own glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.