ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS |
Romans
1:18-3:20
|
Romans
3:21-5:21 |
Romans
6:1-8:39 |
Romans
9:1-11:36 |
Romans
12:1-16:27 |
|
SIN
|
SALVATION
|
SANCTIFICATION |
SOVEREIGNTY |
SERVICE |
NEED
FOR
SALVATION |
WAY
OF
SALVATION |
LIFE
OF
SALVATION |
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION |
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION |
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin |
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners |
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers |
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile |
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service |
Deadliness
of Sin |
Design
of Grace |
Demonstration of
Salvation |
|
Power Given
|
Promises Fulfilled |
Paths Pursued |
Righteousness
Needed |
Righteousness
Credited |
Righteousness
Demonstrated |
Righteousness
Restored to Israel |
Righteousness
Applied |
God's Righteousness
IN LAW |
God's Righteousness
IMPUTED |
God's Righteousness
OBEYED |
God's Righteousness
IN ELECTION |
God's Righteousness
DISPLAYED |
|
Slaves to Sin |
Slaves to God |
Slaves Serving God |
|
Doctrine |
Duty |
|
Life by Faith |
Service by Faith |
|
Modified from Irving
L. Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's
Survey of the NT" |
PAUL: Paulos:
(Acts 13:9; 22:7; 26:1,14)
(Click for every mention
of "Paul" in NT) (Click
or
here
for tabular
timelines of Paul's life)
Related Resources:
Paul •
Paul, The Apostle, 1
•
Paul, The Apostle, 2
•
Paul, The Apostle, 3
•
Paul, The Apostle, 4
•
Paul, The Apostle, 5
•
Paul, The Apostle, 6
•
Paul, Voyage And Shipwreck Of
•
Pauline Theology
Note:
Mouse over underlined links for Scripture popup.
Paul
(Latin = paulus or paullus) (Click for brief summary of Paul's life)
means small or little whereas Saul means asked for. Some Others find in the name an expression
of humility, according to Paul’s declaration that he was “the
least of the apostles” (1Co
15:9) while others feel it alludes to his diminutive stature, but
this is speculation at best.
Paul was a Jew of the tribe
of Benjamin, born in the Greek city of Tarsus in Cilicia and was a
Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28, 29). Paul was well acquainted with
the three great nationalities of the Roman Empire and was
providentially prepared for his apostolic mission among the Jews,
the Greeks, and the non–Greeks, also called barbarians. Under the
instruction of Gamaliel, a distinguished rabbi at Jerusalem (Acts
5:34), Paul became a master of the Jewish law (Ac 22:3; Gal 1:14).
Paul was also a tentmaker, a trade that he performed so that he
could support himself (Ac 18:3; 1 Co 4:12; 9:18).
A BOND-SERVANT OF CHRIST
JESUS: Paulos doulos Christou Iesou:
(Ro 1:9; 15:16; 16:18; Jn 12:26; 13:14-16; 15:15, 20, Ac 27:23; 2Co
4:5; Gal 1:10; Php 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2Pe 1:1; Jude 1; Rev 1:1;
22:6 ,9)
Bondservant
(1401)
(doulos from root
deo = "to bind") in
its primary meaning describes one who is bound to another. Paul was "a servant
(bound to) of Jesus
Christ"; no longer a servant (bound to) of sin, nor
of Satan, nor of man, nor of Moses and his Law,
nor of the traditions of men.
Doulos was used of a select group of OT believers
who were
bondservants
of Jehovah including Abraham (Ps
105:6, 42), Moses (2Ki 21:8, Mal 4:4), Joshua [Josh 24:29], Caleb
[Nu 14:24], Job [Job 1:8], David (2Sa 7:5, 8) the prophets (Am 3:7;
Zec 1:6), and the Servant of servants Messiah [Is 42:1,53:11]
Click both of the
following links for in depth word studies on
doulos (1) or
doulos (2).
In Greek culture doulos conveyed
the basic idea of subservience and had a wide range of connotations.
It was sometimes used of a person who voluntarily served others, but
most commonly it referred to those who were in unwilling and
permanent bondage, from which often there was no release but death.
The Hebrew equivalent (ebed -
05650) is used hundreds of times in the
Old Testament and carries the same wide range of connotations. The
Mosaic law provided for an indentured servant to voluntarily become
a permanent bond-slave of a master he loved and respected.
“If a
slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I
will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to
God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his
master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him
permanently” (Ex.
21:5,6).
Paul used doulos in this latter sense to describe a servant who
willingly committed himself to serve a master he loved and respected
(Dt 15:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Ex 21:5, 6) He had come to
understand the liberating truth that true freedom is found in
bondage to Jesus Christ, his Master.
Marvin Vincent says that a
doulos
"involves the ideas of belonging to a master, and
of service as a slave. The former is emphasized in Paul’s use of the
term, since Christian service, in his view, has no element of
servility, but is the expression of love and of free choice.
From this stand-point the idea of service coheres with those of
freedom and of sonship. Compare 1Co 7:22; Gal 4:7; Ep 6:6-note;
Philemon 1:16. On the other hand,
believers belong to Christ by purchase (1Co 6:20; notes on
1Peter 1:18-note;
Eph 1:7-note), and own Him as
absolute Master." (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New
Testament. Vol. 3, Page 1-2)
John MacArthur writes that
In New Testament times there were
millions of slaves in the Roman Empire, the vast majority of whom
were forced into slavery and kept there by law. Some of the more
educated and skilled slaves held significant positions in a
household or business and were treated with considerable respect.
But most slaves were treated much like any other personal property
of the owner and were considered little better than work animals.
They had virtually no rights under the law and could even be killed
with impunity by their masters.
(MacArthur,
J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
Harry Ironside illustrates the idea of bondslave:
"He (PAUL) does
not mean however that his was a service of bondage. Rather he served
in the whole-hearted obedience of one who realized that he had "been
bought
with a
price:"
(1Co 6:20) even the precious blood of Christ (1Pe 1:18-note;
1Pe 1:19-note).
There is a story told of an African slave whose master was about to
slay him with a spear when a chivalrous British traveler thrust out
his arm to ward off the blow, and it was pierced by the cruel
weapon. As the blood spurted out he demanded the person of the
slave, saying he had bought him by his suffering. To this the former
master ruefully agreed. As the latter walked away, the slave threw
himself at the feet of his deliverer exclaiming, "The blood-bought
is now the slave of the son of pity. He will serve him faithfully."
And he insisted on accompanying his generous deliverer, and took
delight in waiting upon him in every possible way. Thus had Paul,
thus has each redeemed one, become the bondman of Jesus Christ. We
have been set free to serve, and may well exclaim with the Psalmist
(Ps 116:16 O LORD,
surely I am Your
servant, [Lxx =
doulos]
I am Your
servant, the
son of Your
handmaid, You have
loosed my
bonds.).
Paul most likely wrote Romans from Corinth, as inferred from the references to
Phoebe (Romans 16:1-notes,
Cenchrea was
Corinth's port),
Gaius (Ro 16:23-note),
and Erastus,
each of these individuals known to be associated with Corinth.
The apostle wrote Romans toward
the close of his 3rd missionary journey (around 56AD), as he
prepared to leave for Palestine with an offering for the poor
believers in the Jerusalem church (Ro 15:25-note).
Phoebe was apparently given the great responsibility of delivering
this letter to the Roman believers (Ro 16:1-note).
CALLED AS AN APOSTLE: kletos apostolos: (Ro
1:5; 11:13; Ac 9:15; 22:14, 15,21; 26:16;17,18 1Cor 1:1; 9:1,16-18;
15:8-10; 2Cor 1:1; 11:5; 12:11; Gal 1:1,11-17; Ep 1:1; 3:5-7; 4:11;
Col 1:1,25; 1Ti 1:1,11,12; 2:7; 2Ti 1:11; Titus 1:1; Heb 5:4)
Paul is an apostle not by
his design but God's grand design, "by the will of God" a
point he repeatedly emphasizes (cp 1Cor 1:1, 2Cor 1:1, Gal 1:1, Eph
1:1, Col 1:1, 1Ti 1:11, 2Ti 1:1).
Paul was called
specifically to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Ro 11:13-note;
cp Acts 9:15, 22:21, 26:17) explains later in this epistle that he
received grace and apostleship to
bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His
name's sake (see note
Romans 1:5
- see
discussion
of the phrase "obedience
of faith")
Called
(2822)
(kletos
click here) from kaléo
= call) (click study or
click here) means invited or
welcomed and was originally used to designate those invited to a
banquet. In the NT kletos is generally used of one who has
accepted a calling or an invitation to become a guest or member of a
select group. We have been invited by God in the proclamation of the
Gospel to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom through Christ.
The verbal adjective
kletos
with this ending usually has a passive sense ("be called").
An
apostle
(652) (apostolos
from kaléo = call) (click study or
click here) means
literally
“one who is sent” and from the context Paul did not thrust
himself into this office or take this honor to himself, of which he
always judged himself unworthy, (1Cor 15:9,10, cf Gal 1:1) but was "called"
to the office according to the will and by the grace of God. Paul
was invited by God to be His man to the Gentiles (2 Ti 4:17-note).
Paul is an apostle by calling, a divinely initiated
calling, not an apostle by human seeking. The New English Bible's
rendering "apostle by God's call," does a good job of catching the
force of the Greek. The apostle was a man who had seen the
risen Messiah (Acts 9:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 20, 21, 22) and had been appointed by Him to plant the flag of
faith in every community to which His master led him. He was His
emissary, God's ambassador (Eph 6:20-note
cf the role of saints today 2Co 5:20) and he spoke with God's
authority. Thus, in Paul's words there is the implicit claim that he
is the authoritative representative of Jesus Christ, divinely called
to his task. Paul's call, as Abraham's (Ge 12:1, Heb 11:8-note),
was an invitation that came from heaven.
While there are no
apostles today, it is certainly to be expected that believers,
regardless of the precise spiritual gift they possess, minister
their gift with the same sense of divine calling to it. There is
abundant evidence that there are many attempting to minister in the
name of Jesus Christ who have never been called by Him to the task.
It could be said of them, as Jehovah said of the false prophets in
Jeremiah's day,
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I
have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied (Jer 23:21).
One is reminded of the story of the old preacher who had a
good grasp of these fundamental principles and even more so a grasp of
and relationship with the Lord Himself. On one occasion he had to
listen to a brash young preacher, very sure of himself, who
displayed little evidence of the life and power of God in his
preaching. When the message was over, he went over to the confident
youth and said, "WAS YOU SENT, or DID YOU JUST WENT?"
SET APART FOR (unto):
aphorismenos (RPPMSN) eis:
(Lev 20:24, 25, 26; Nu
16:9,10; Dt 10:8; 1Chr 23:13; Is 49:1; Jer 1:5; Ac 13:2, 3, 4; Gal
1:15; 1Ti 1:15,16; Heb 7:26)
Paul was saying, “I’ve got a hedge about me-I’m not free
to go off and do just anything. I have one thing I am set apart for,
one thing God has called me for-and that is the gospel of God.”
Note that this threefold description given by the apostle of himself
rings one resounding note: The initiative for genuine ministry
comes from God (cf.
Heb 5:4).
Set apart
(873)
(aphorizo
from apó = off from, apart + horízo = mark
out the limit) means to mark
off the boundaries, to appoint, set one apart for some
purpose. It is used of the final separation of the
righteous from the wicked (Mt 13:49; 25:32); of the separation of
the disciples from the world (Lk 6:22); and of the setting apart of
apostles to special functions (Acts 13:2).
Aphorizo is used 10 times in the NT: (2x
Mt;
1x Lk;
2x Ac;
1x Ro;
1x 2Co;
2x Gal)
(Mt. 13:49; 25:32; Lk. 6:22; Acts 13:2; 19:9; Ro 1:1; 2Co. 6:17;
Gal. 1:15; 2:12)
and in the NAS is translated: hold...aloof, 1; ostracize, 1;
separate, 2; separates, 1; set apart, 2; set...apart, 1; take, 1;
took away, 1.
Set
apart is in the
perfect tense which speaks of a past completed action having
present results, thus Wuest says that Paul was "permanently separated
to God's good news." Are you? Am I? Good questions to
ponder beloved.
Aphorizo is used 63
times in the Septuagint (Lxx = Greek translation of Hebrew OT)
Throughout the OT, God provided for the setting apart of His
chosen people. To the entire nation He declared,
Thus you are
to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you
apart (Lxx = aphorizo) from the peoples to
be Mine." (Lev 20:26).
In the OT aphorizo (and the
related word group) is used of setting apart to God the firstborn,
of offering to God first fruits, of consecrating to God the Levites,
and of separating Israel to God from other peoples. The basic
instruction was that there was to be no intermingling of the chosen
people with the Gentile nations or of the sacred with the profane
and ordinary.
Luke uses this verb in the sense
of excommunication (synagogue, etc) quoting Jesus Who declared
Blessed
are you when men hate you, and ostracize (exclude, ban) you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for
the sake of the Son of Man." (Lk 6:22)
The Aramaic term Pharisee
may share a common root with aphorizo and carries the same
idea of separation. The Pharisees, however, were not set apart by
God or according to God’s standards but had rather set themselves
apart according to the standards of their own traditions (cf. Mt 23:1,
2).
Paul
by his own testimony was as to the Law a Pharisee (notes
Philippians 3:5), "one separated" to the law, but after the
dramatic Damascus Road encounter he became eternally separated unto the
Gospel of His Lord. In the past, God
had set
(Paul) apart (aphorizo),
even from (his) mother's womb (before he was born) and
called (him) through His grace (Gal 1:15)
Paul once the most ardent of the self-appointed Pharisees, was now
set apart divinely, not humanly. God revealed to him that he had
been set apart by God’s grace even from his mother’s womb.
As
A T Robertson
put it
The Pharisees were the separatists who held themselves off from
others. Paul conceives himself as a spiritual Pharisee “separated
unto the gospel of God ” (Word Pictures in the New Testament)
When God "was pleased to reveal His Son in" Paul, he was forever
dedicated fully to the
ministry of God's gospel (1Cor 9:23).
Shortly thereafter
while the leaders of the church at Antioch "were ministering to the
Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
Set
apart (aphorizo) for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them"
(Acts 13:2)
This setting apart by the Holy Spirit's declaration resulted in
Paul's "First Missionary Journey.
In sum, setting apart indicates the separating of an individual for specific
service.
Paul admonishes the Corinthians to
COME OUT
(aorist
imperative) FROM THEIR
MIDST AND BE
SEPARATE (aphorizo
-
aorist imperative),"
says the Lord. "AND DO
NOT TOUCH (present
imperative
- with a negative = stop touching what is unclean) WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you." (2Co 6:17)
C. I. Scofield summarizes this idea of being set apart by God
writing that
Separation...is...from whatever is contrary to the mind of
God and unto God Himself. The underlying principle is that in a
moral universe it is impossible for God fully to bless and use His
children who are in compromise or complicity with evil. Separation
from evil implies separation in desire, motive, and act, from the
world...Separation is not from contact with evil... but from
complicity with and conformity to it. And the reward of separation
is the full manifestation of the divine fatherhood (2Cor 6:17 18)
unhindered communion and worship and fruitful service (2 Timothy
2:21-note)
as world conformity involves the loss of these, though not of
salvation. Christ is the model. He was "holy, blameless, pure, set
apart from sinners" (Hebrews 7:28-note), and yet
He was in such contact with them for their salvation that the
Pharisees, who illustrate the mechanical and ascetic conception of
separation judged Him as having lost His Nazirite character (Lk
7:39)
The apostle Paul
reminds us of the sign on the back of a u haul type truck...
|
ANY
LOAD
ANY PLACE
ANY TIME |
This motto was
certainly true of Paul and should be true of all who claim the Name
of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. None of us will ever
achieve perfection in this area but with God's grace can redeem
every breath of life God graciously gives us that we might see His
kingdom enlarged and His Name glorified "any place, any time."
THE
GOSPEL
OF GOD: euaggelion theou:
(Ro 1:9,16; 15:16, 29; 16:25; Mark 16:15,16; Lk 2:10,11; Acts 20:24;
Eph 1:13; 1Th 2:2; 2Th 2:13; 14, 1Ti 1:11)
( See Torrey's
Topic
Gospel)
Gospel
(2098)
(euaggelion)
(Click
word study - 9x in
Romans) literally
means good news. The noun euaggelion and the verb euaggelizomai are derived from eu
meaning “well” and aggello which meant “to bear
a message, bring tidings or news, proclaim.” Thus
euaggelizomai means “to bring a message of good
news” and the noun euaggelion “is the good news that
was proclaimed.
Wuest says
that the word “gospel” comes from the Saxon word gode-spell,
the word gode meaning good, and “spell” meaning
a story, a tale.
Euaggelion was in just as common use
in the first century as our words good news. “Have
you any good news (euaggelion) for me today?”
must have been a common question. Our word gospel
today has a definite religious connotation. In the ordinary
conversation of the first century, it did not have such a meaning.
However, gospel
was taken over into the Cult of the Caesar where it acquired a
religious significance. The Cult of the Caesar was the state
religion of the Roman empire, in which the emperor was worshipped as
a god. When the announcement of the emperor’s birthday was made, or
the accession of a new Caesar (gives rise to our English Kaiser &
Czar!) proclaimed, the account of either event was designated by the
word euaggelion. And so
euaggelion
is found in an
inscription of 9BC with reference to the birthday of the Emperor
Augustus, “but the birthday of the god (the Emperor) was
for the world the beginning of tidings of joy on his account”.
Euaggelion was
used for the proclamation of good news of victory in battle with
announcement of the death and/or capture of the enemy. Under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Paul appropriated euaggelion,
taking it from its well known secular use and speaking of the
message of salvation as good news. Paul’s good news
was not from or about
the emperor but was "of
God",
belonging to God, originating with God, and committed to men by God,
Who qualified them for preaching and gives them effects related to
their preaching of the gospel. God alone receives the glory in the
gospel.
In addition to the "definition"
in (Ro1:16ff) Paul gives an excellent definition of the "gospel"
to the Corinthians reminding them that it was
"the gospel
which I preached to you, which also you received, in which
also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast
the word which I preached to you (holding fast proves one has had
genuine rebirth and is not a work one does to merit salvation which
is by grace alone), unless you believed in vain. For I
delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and
that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to
Cephas, then to the twelve..." (See notes
1Corinthians 15:1;
15:2;
15:3;
15:4;
15:5