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" |
FOR I AM NOT
ASHAMED: Ou gar epaischunomai (1SPMI): (I am not ashamed. Ps
40:9,10; 71:15,16; 119:46; Mark 8:38 Lk 9:26 1Co 2:2 2Ti 1:8,12,16 1Pe
4:16)
For (1063)
(gar) is a subordinating conjunction expressing cause or
explanation and thus introduces an explanation. He is explaining why he
is eager to preach the gospel to the saints in Rome (notice the gospel
is not just to "get one saved" but is actively involved in our ongoing
day to day salvation from sin, Satan and self (see
Three Tenses of Salvation)
Not (3756)
(ou) indicates absolute negation and strongly denies the
possibility that Paul might ever be ashamed of the glorious gospel. The
verb ashamed is also in the
present tense indicating
this was Paul's continual attitude.
Ashamed (1870)
(epaischunomai
[word study]
from epi = upon or used to intensify the
meaning of the following word + aischunomai from aischos =
disfigurement & then disgrace) (used
2x in Romans)
means to experience a painful feeling or sense of loss of status
because of some particular event or activity. It describes one's
consciousness of guilt or of exposure or the fear of embarrassment that
one's expectations may prove false.
Epaischunomai
is associated with being afraid, feeling shame which prevents one from
doing something, a reluctance to say or do something because of fear of
humiliation, experiencing a lack of courage to stand up for something or
feeling shame because of what has been done.
Epaischunomai - 9x in 9v - Mark
8:38; Luke 9:26; Ro 1:16; 6:21; 2Ti 1:8, 12, 16; Heb 2:11; 11:16
Writing to the
Corinthian saints Paul explained that "we preach (kerusso = herald as a
public crier) Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block (Greek =
skandalon gives us our English "scandal" = circumstance or action that
offends propriety or established moral conceptions), and to Gentiles
foolishness (considered intellectually weak and irrational)" (1Cor 1:23)
and thus we can see why the gospel might bring about situations in which
one would might be tempted to feel a sense of shame.
Paul was
indubitably unashamed and the gospel had indeed created many "scandals"
for Paul - he had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23, 24), chased
out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9), smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15-see
note), sneered at in
Athens (Acts 17:32), regarded as a fool in Corinth (1Cor 1:18 23), and
stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19), but Paul remained eager to preach the
gospel in Rome—the seat of contemporary political power and pagan
religion. Neither ridicule, criticism, nor physical persecution could
curb his boldness. (See 2Cor 4:5-18; 11:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28; 12:9).
But its inherent glory, as God's life-giving message to a dying world,
so filled his soul, that, like his blessed Master, he "despised the
shame." (see Hebrews 12:2-note)
Paul knew that Rome was a volatile place and that Christians there had
already experienced persecution. He knew that the capital city of the
empire was steeped in immorality and paganism, including emperor
worship. He knew that most Romans would despise him and that many
probably would do him harm. Yet he was boldly eager to go there, for his
Lord’s sake and for the sake of the Lord’s people.
He was not ashamed
even though he had been imprisoned in Philippi,
chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Damascus and Berea, laughed
at in Athens, considered a fool in Corinth, and declared a blasphemer
and lawbreaker in Jerusalem. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra.
Some pagans of Paul’s day branded Christianity as atheism because it
believed in only one God and as being cannibalistic because of a
misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper. Although that GOSPEL was then,
and still is today, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, it is the only way God has provided for the salvation of men,
and Paul was both overjoyed and emboldened by the privilege of
proclaiming its truth and power wherever he went.
The fellowship of the unashamed -
When we have opportunity to speak for Christ, we often do not. We know
the gospel
is unattractive, intimidating, and repulsive to the natural,
unsaved person and to the ungodly spiritual system that now dominates
the world. The gospel exposes man’s sin, wickedness, depravity, and
lostness, and it declares pride to be despicable and works righteousness
to be worthless in God’s sight. To the sinful heart of unbelievers, the
gospel does not appear to be good news but bad, and when they first hear
it they often react with disdain against the one presenting it or throw
out arguments and theories against it. Fear of men and of not
being able to handle their arguments are some of the
greatest impediment to being a bold witness for the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
It is said that if a circle of white chalk is traced on the floor around
a goose that it will not leave the circle for fear of crossing the white
mark. In a similar way, the "chalk marks" of criticism, ridicule,
tradition, and rejection prevent many believers from leaving the
security of Christian fellowship to witness to the unsaved.
Jameison writes that
Paul's
language implies that it required
some courage to bring to "the mistress of the world" what "to the Jews
was a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness" (1Co 1:23). But its inherent glory, as God's life-giving message to a dying
world, so filled his soul, that, like his blessed Master, he "despised
the shame."
Warren Wiersbe
gives a personal illustration of why Paul was not
ashamed:
During my years in high school, I was chosen to be an office monitor.
The other hall monitors sat at various stations around the building, but
I was privileged to sit right outside the door of the main high school
office. I was entrusted with important messages that I had to deliver to
different teachers and staff members, and on occasion even to other
schools. Believe me, it was fun to walk into a classroom and even
interrupt a lesson! No teacher ever scolded me, because all of them knew
I carried messages from the principal. I never had to be afraid or
ashamed, because I knew where my messages came from.
><> ><> ><>
Unashamed - On one occasion
Frederick the Great invited some notable people to his royal table,
including his top-ranking generals. One of them by the name of Hans von
Zieten declined the invitation because he wanted to partake of communion
at his church. Some time later at another banquet Frederick and his
guests mocked the general for his religious scruples and made jokes
about the Lord’s supper. In great peril of his life, the officer stood
to his feet and said respectfully to the monarch, “My lord, there is a
greater King than you, a King to whom I have sworn allegiance even unto
death. I am a Christian man, and I cannot sit quietly as the Lord’s name
is dishonored, His character belittled, and His cause subjected to
ridicule. With your permission I shall withdraw.” The other generals
trembled in silence, knowing that von Zieten might be killed. But to
their surprise, Frederick grasped the hand of this courageous man, asked
his forgiveness, and requested that he remain. He promised that he would
never again allow such a travesty to be made of sacred things. (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
OF THE GOSPEL: to euaggelion:
(Ro 15:19,29 Lk 2:10,11 1Co 9:12,18 2Co 2:12; 4:4 2Co 9:13 Ga 1:7 1Ti
1:11)
Gospel (2098)
(euaggelion
[word study]
from eú
= good + aggéllo = proclaim, tell) was originally a reward for
good news and later became the good news itself. The word
euaggelion was in just as common use in the first century as our
words good news today. “Have you any good news for me today?”
would have been a common question. In this secular use euaggelion
described good news of any kind and prior to the
writing of the New Testament, had no definite religious connotation in
the ancient world until it was taken over by the "Cult of Caesar" which
was the state religion and in which the emperor was worshipped as a god
Here are the 73
uses of euaggelion in the NT - Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13;
Mark. 1:1, 14, 15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; 16:15; Acts 15:7; 20:24;
Rom. 1:1, 9, 16; 2:16; 10:16; 11:28; 15:16, 19; 16:25; 1 Co. 4:15; 9:12,
14, 18, 23; 15:1; 2 Co. 2:12; 4:3, 4; 8:18; 9:13; 10:14; 11:4, 7; Gal.
1:6, 1:7, 11; 2:2, 5, 7, 14; Eph. 1:13; 3:6; 6:15, 19; Phil. 1:5, 7, 12,
16, 27; 2:22; 4:3, 15; Col. 1:5, 23; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2:2, 4, 8, 9; 3:2; 2
Thess. 1:8; 2:14; 1 Tim. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:8, 10; 2:8; Philemon 1:13; 1
Pet. 4:17; Rev. 14:6
There is one use
in the
Septuagint (LXX)
- 2 Sam. 4:10 (The verb
form euaggelizo occurs much more frequently - 1Sa 31:9; 2Sa 1:20;
4:10; 18:19, 20, 26, 31; 1Kgs 1:42; 1Chr 10:9; Ps 40:9; 68:11; 96:2; Isa
40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1; Jer 20:15; Joel 2:32; Nah 1:15)
Paul's "definition" of the
gospel is summarized in the following passage (as you present the
gospel be sure to include these foundational truths)
1 Now I make known to you,
brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I
preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time,
most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me
also.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did
not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but
the grace of God with me.
11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach (the gospel which
has inherent power and do so by the empowering grace of God that works
within us) and so you believed.
(1Corinthians 15:1-11
)
Paul had explained earlier in this
same letter to the church at Corinth that proclamation of the gospel was
his primary mandate...
17 for Christ did not send
(apostello - our word "apostle") me to
baptize, but to preach the gospel, (how?) not in
cleverness of speech, (why not use "clever speech"?) that the
cross of Christ (in context synonymous with the gospel) should not be made void.
18 For the word of the cross (again synonymous with the gospel)
is to those who are perishing (not being annihilated but
suffering eternal loss and ruin, no longer ever able to be useful for
the purpose for which they were created!) foolishness (this is why Paul
said he was not ashamed of the gospel for the wise would try to shame
those who proclaim such a foolish message), but to us who are being saved it is the
(inherent ability) power of God .
19 For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE
CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE."
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of
this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not
come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness (Paul
is being sarcastic and explains that God's "foolishness" is wiser than
man) of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified (the heart of the gospel
message), to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles
foolishness,
24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (and the good news about Him which is ) the power of God
and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of
God is stronger than men. (1Corinthians 1:17-25)
Paul again explained his
purpose writing
2:1 And when I came to you, brethren,
I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom,
proclaiming to you the testimony (marturion) of God (the
gospel, cf "the testimony of our Lord" see discussion
2 Timothy 1:8).
2 For I determined (resolved) to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and
Him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness (state of incapacity to do something =
we like Paul should be so "weak" that our only power is from God) and in fear and in much trembling
(quaking or quivering with fear but still unashamed).
4 And my message (logos) and my preaching (proclamation) were not in persuasive words of
wisdom (as men would use in attempting to win an argument or debate), but
in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (perfect parallel of
Romans 1:16 emphasizing the intrinsic supernatural, divine power of the
gospel),
5 that your faith should not rest on the wisdom (sophia) of men
(earthly, natural, unspiritual, fleshly, even motivated by the Devil), but on the
power
of God (the gospel of God).
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature (see
teleios); a wisdom, however,
not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away
(not so much simply dying but katargeo = basic idea is they are useless
and ineffective);
7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God
predestined before the ages to our glory (He made it for our benefit
before the world began); (1Corinthians
2:1-7)
Paul considered himself
first as a servant of Christ with his call to proclaim the
gospel as a stewardship...
1 Let a man regard us (indicating
Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and, by extension, all other “fellow–workers”)
in this manner, as servants (huperetes = “under rowers” =
lowest galley slaves rowing on bottom tier of ship = most menial,
unenvied, despised of slaves = thus subordinates of any sort, to those
under the authority of another) of Christ (servants cannot serve men
rightly unless they serve their Lord rightly and they cannot serve Him
rightly unless they see themselves rightly = as His under-slaves, His
menial servants - he serves Christ first and then and only then can he
best serve people), and stewards (responsible for the Master's
"property" and one day to give an account) of the mysteries (musterion
= in NT that which was previously hidden but now made known only by
divine revelation) of God.
2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards (oikonomos =
“house manager” = person placed in complete control of household
supervising property, fields, finances, etc on behalf of his master)
that one be found trustworthy (faithful). (1Corinthians 1:17-25)
Finally in (1Corinthians
9:16-18)
Paul explains why he must preach the gospel...
16 For if I preach the
gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion (if
someone is compelled they are driven irresistibly); for woe
is me if I do not preach the gospel.
17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my
will, I have a stewardship (responsible management of the gospel
entrusted to Paul’s care) entrusted to me.
18 What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer
the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the
gospel.
The so-called "health and wealth gospel" that has
swept through much of the church today is not offensive to the world
because it offers what the world wants. But that false gospel
("a different [heteros] gospel which is really not another"
Galatians1:6-7) does not offer the gospel of Jesus Christ. What does the
gospel
do? It saves sinners. What else will save sinners? Not science, not
education, not religion, not moral reformation, not fame and fortune.
The gospel, and only the gospel, saves sinners.
William Tyndale (1494–1536) who was martyred because he was not "ashamed
of the gospel" said
'Euaggelion (which we call gospel) is a
Greek word, and signifies good, merry, glad, and joyful tydings, that
makes a mans heart glad, and makes him sing, dance, and leap for joy.'
John MacArthur writes that...
These two verses express the theme of the book of Romans, and
they contain the most life-transforming truth God has put into men’s
hands. To understand and positively respond to this truth is to have
one’s time and eternity completely altered. These words summarize the
gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul then proceeds to unfold and explain
throughout the remainder of the epistle. Some years ago after speaking
at a youth rally, the wife of the rally director approached (MacArthur)
and said, “Your message offended me, because you preached as if all of
these young people were sinners.” To which he replied “I’m glad it came
across that way, because that is exactly the message I wanted to
communicate.”
(MacArthur,
J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
Paul’s supreme passion was the
Gospel (for which he was set apart in Ro1:1-note)
by which men could be saved (1Co 1:17, 21, 22, 23, 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc).
Paul did not seek personal comfort or popularity. He proclaimed the
truth of gospel without compromise, because he knew the gospel was the
only power available to sinful mankind to change their destiny,
in this present life and the one to come in
eternity.
Geoffrey Wilson wrote,
The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has
prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the
unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross (1Co1:18)
always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an
inoperative gospel."
Simply scanning the main subjects
in the four main divisions of Romans (see
table) leaves no doubt
that the presentation of the gospel begins with the "bad news" to awaken
in the hearer the fact that unbelievers need God's righteousness.
I love how
Alexander Maclaren describes the gospel...
The Gospel of Jesus Christ presents
itself, not as a mere republication of morality, not as merely a new
stimulus and motive to do what is right, but as an actual communication
to men of a new power to work in them, a strong hand laid upon our poor,
feeble hand with which we try to put on the brake or to apply the
stimulus. It is a new gift of a life which will unfold itself after its
own nature, as the bud into flower, and the flower into fruit; giving
new desires, tastes, directions, and renewing the whole nature. (Transfiguration
- Scroll down)
FOR IT IS THE
POWER OF GOD: dunamis gar theou estin (3SPAI):
(Ro 10:17 Ps 110:2 Is 53:1 Jer 23:29
1Co 1:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 2:4, 14:24,25 1Co 15:2 2Co 2:14, 15,
16; 10:4,5 Col 1:5,6 1Th 1:5,6; 2:13 Heb 4:12)
For (gar)
explains why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel.
13 occurrences of the phrase "power of God"
in NT. - Mt 22:29; Mk 12:24; Lk 22:69; Acts 8:10; Ro 1:16; 1Cor 1:18,
24; 2:5; 2Cor 6:7; 13:4; 2Ti 1:8; 1Pet 1:5
Spurgeon comments on this
power noting that...
It is a wonderful
heart-searching text, is this: let us put ourselves under its power.
Whatever you obey, that is your master: and if you obey the suggestions
of sin, you are the slave of sin: and it is only as you are obedient to
God that you are truly the servants of God. So that, after all, our
outward, walk and conversation are the best test of our true condition.
Without holiness no man shall see the Lord, nor can he have any reason
to believe that he belongs to God.
The power of
God - As Morris says...
The gospel is not advice to
people, suggesting that they lift themselves. It is power. It lifts them
up. Paul does not say that the gospel brings power, but that it is
(present
tense =
continually) power, and God’s (omnipotent) power at that. (Morris,
Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. Page 68. Grand Rapids, Mich.;
Leicester, England: W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press. 1988
or
Logos)
(Bolding, italics and words in parentheses added)
Power was
an attribute that certainly characterized the Roman Empire in Paul's
day, but their power was only human power and the "powerful" Romans like
all men of all ages were powerless to make themselves righteous before a
holy God! Seneca in fact called Rome a "cesspool of iniquity" and
Juvenal was not much kinder referring to Rome as a "filthy sewer into
which the dregs of the empire flood." And so "powerful" Rome, like all
men who are born into Adam (Romans 5:12-note)
was in desperate need of the Gospel and the righteousness of God therein
revealed!
Power
(1411)
(dunamis
[word study]
- words derived from the stem duna- or dyna- all have the
basic meaning of “being able,” of “capacity” in virtue of an ability) is
a key word in the NT being found some 121 times in the NASB most often
in the Gospels. (often translated as miracles or mighty works)
Here are the NT
uses -- Mt 7:22; 11:20, 21, 23; 13:54, 58; 14:2; 22:29; 24:29, 30;
25:15; 26:64; Mark 5:30; 6:2, 5, 14; 9:1, 39; 12:24; 13:25, 26; 14:62;
Lk 1:17, 35; 4:14, 36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46; 9:1; 10:13, 19; 19:37; 21:26,
27; 22:69; 24:49; Ac 1:8; 2:22; 3:12; 4:7, 33; 6:8; 8:10, 13; 10:38;
19:11; Ro 1:4, 16, 20; 8:38; 9:17; 15:13, 19; 1Co 1:18, 24; 2:4, 5;
4:19, 20; 5:4; 6:14; 12:10, 28, 29; 14:11; 15:24, 43, 56; 2Co 1:8; 4:7;
6:7; 8:3; 12:9, 12; 13:4; Ga 3:5; Ep 1:19, 21; 3:7, 16, 20; Php 3:10;
Col 1:11, 29; 1Th 1:5; 2Th 1:7, 11; 2:9; 2Ti 1:7, 8; 3:5; Heb 1:3; 2:4;
6:5; 7:16; 11:11, 34; 1Pe 1:5; 3:22; 2Pe 1:3, 16; 2:11; Re 1:16; 3:8;
4:11; 5:12; 7:12; 11:17; 12:10; 13:2; 15:8; 17:13; 18:3; 19:1
Dunamis is
the root from which we derive the English word dynamic, (synonyms
= energetic, functioning, live, operative, working) which describes that
which is marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change.
That which is dynamic is characterized by energy or forces that produce
motion, as opposed to that which is static. Another English word
dynamite, is derived from dunamis and since dunamis is used by Paul
to describe the "power of God", some have suggested that the gospel is
"God’s dynamite". This is misapplication of this English derivative in
an attempt to try to picture the life saving power of the gospel.
Dunamis does not refer to explosive power, as if the gospel will
blow men to bits but as discussed above, it refers to intrinsic power
(cp Jer 23:29)
The gospel is dynamic, God’s dynamic, and so is powerful and able to
effect radical regeneration of spiritually dead men and women. The
gospel makes dunamis power available to all believers.
Paul explained
that...
the
kingdom of
God does not consist in
words but in
power (1Cor 4:20)
Paul's confidence in the
gospel was based on the supremacy (that which holds the highest
place in power, that which is greatest or most excellent) of its divine
message to a world in sin. He knew it
was far superior to any religion or philosophy ever concocted by the
sinful minds of men. The
ancient world in Paul's day was dominated by Greek logic, Roman law and Hebrew
thought but all paled
before the the supremacy of the gospel of God.
Augustine said that every individual is created with a spiritual "God
shaped vacuum" and it will be filled by something ("Nature abhors a
vacuum!"), either divine spiritual truth or demonic spiritual lies.
Every one has an innate desire to be changed especially in a way that will make them feel less guilty and more content.
They seek to fill this need by immersing themselves in a variety of
programs, philosophies, and religions (cp Paul's strong warning in Col
2:8-note)
that promise to meet their felt need. Sadly, these "methods" may ostensibly succeed
in making people feel better about themselves, but they have
no ability to liberate them from their enslavement to the power of
Sin which
stimulates sinful behavior and the resultant feelings of guilt and
discontent (ultimately an uneasiness that they are not "right" with God,
because they're not!). The tragedy is that the more "successful" such approaches are, the
more they drive people away from God and insulate them from His
salvation. (cp futile speculations followed by a heart that becomes
darkened to life giving spiritual truth - Ro 1:21-note).
Dr John MacArthur...
Scripture certainly testifies to God’s glorious
power
(Ex 15:6), His irresistible power
(Dt 32:39), His unsearchable power (Job
5:9), His mighty power
(Job 9:4), His great power
(Ps 79:11-
Spurgeon's note), His incomparable
power
(Ps 89:8
-
Spurgeon's comment), His strong power
(Ps 89:13
-
Spurgeon's note),
His everlasting power
(Isa 26:4), His effectual power
(Is 43:13), and His sovereign
power
(see Ro 9:21-note). Jeremiah declared of God, “It is He who made the earth by His
power,
who established the world by His wisdom” (Jer 10:12), and through that prophet the Lord said of Himself, “I have made the
earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My
great power
and by My outstretched arm” (Jer 27:5). The psalmist admonished, “Let
all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand
in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood
fast” (Ps 33:8, 9 see Spurgeon's notes
Verse 8;
V9). His is the only
power
that can save.
(MacArthur,
J: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
(See also Torrey's Topic "Power
of God",
Attributes of God)
Ancient pagans mocked Christianity not only because the idea of
a substitutionary atonement seemed ridiculous in itself but also because
their mythical gods were apathetic, detached, remote, in short, totally
indifferent to the welfare of men. The idea of a caring, redeeming,
self-sacrificing God was beyond their comprehension (1Cor 1:18, 21, 23,
25, 2:14). While excavating
ancient ruins in Rome, archaeologists discovered a derisive painting
depicting a slave bowing down before a cross with a donkey hanging on
it. The caption reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.”
FOR SALVATION:
eis soterian:
For (1519)
(eis) is first of all a preposition that indicates motion into a
place or thing. Figuratively as used in this verse eis marks the object
or point toward which the gospel ends, i.e. salvation. More literally it
reads "unto salvation".
As Spurgeon writes...
This, indeed, is the great
reason why the Bible is
written, that we may believe on the Lord Jesus and have life through His
name (cp Jn 20:30, 31).
Salvation (4991)
(soteria
[word study]
from
soter [word study] = Savior in turn
from
sozo [word study] = save, rescue,
deliver) describes the rescue or deliverance from danger, destruction
and peril. As discussed more below, salvation is a broader
term in Greek than we often think of in English. Other concepts that are
inherent in soteria include restoration to a state of safety,
soundness, health and well being as well as preservation from danger of
destruction. (See also
soterios/soterion and
rhuomai
the verb meaning to deliver.)
There are 45 uses
of soteria in the NT - Mark 16:8; Lk 1:69, 71, 77; 19:9; Jn 4:22;
Ac 4:12; 7:25; 13:26, 47; 16:17; 27:34; Ro 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 13:11;
2Co 1:6; 6:2; 7:10; Ep 1:13; Phil 1:19, 28; 2:12; 1Th 5:8, 9; 2Th 2:13;
2Ti 2:10; 3:15; Heb. 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28; 11:7; 1Pe 1:5, 9,
10; 2:2; 2Pe 3:15; Jude 1:3; Re 7:10; 12:10; 19:1. NAS =
deliverance(2), preservation(1), salvation(42).
The Hebrew
(cp Ge 49:18, Ex 14:13, 15:2 where Salvation = yeshuah [=
deliverance - related to the Hebrew Name for Jesus - Yeshua];
Lxx
=
soteria) and
the Greek
words for salvation
both convey the
ideas of deliverance (rescue), safety, preservation,
healing, and
soundness so that in context the picture of the Gospel is that it
manifests the power of God to rescue men from the penalty of sin which
is everlasting spiritual death and separation from the
presence of God's Glory (2Th 1:8,9).
Salvation
carried tremendous meaning in Paul’s
day, especially its basic of “deliverance,” for this concept was applied
not only to personal
but also to national deliverance (something Israel was looking for in
Messiah Who they for the most part failed to recognize as their personal
Deliverer - Jn 1:11). And so the emperor of Rome was looked on as a
sort of a "savior".
It is fascinating to read this
secular definition of salvation in Collin's dictionary...
the act of preserving or the state
of being preserved from harm...deliverance by redemption from the
power of sin and from the penalties ensuing from it. (Excellent
definition in this secular resource!)
Men are continually looking for salvation of one kind or another. Even
before Paul’s day, Greek philosophy had turned inward and begun to focus
on changing man’s inner life through moral reform and self-discipline.
The Greek Stoic philosopher
Epictetus called his lecture room “the
hospital for sick souls.”
Epicurus called his teaching “the medicine of
salvation.” Seneca, a contemporary of Paul, taught that all men were
looking ad salutem (“toward salvation”) and that men are
overwhelmingly conscious of their weakness and insufficiency in
necessary things and that we therefore need “a hand let down to lift us up”,
to which I echo "Amen!"
How relevant to
Seneca's declaration is God's rhetorical question in Isaiah's
prophecy...
Is My hand to short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to
deliver? (Isaiah 50:2) (And
what is your answer to this rhetorical question?)
Again in
God declares
Behold, the LORD's hand is not so
short that it cannot save (Hebrew =
Yasha' esp used in Psalms and
Isaiah = deliver, rescue, preserve, avenge, defend; Greek =
Lxx
=
sozo). Neither is His ear so dull
that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1)
Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into
itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification,
redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness,
sanctification, and glorification. The gospel has the
power to...Forgive sins (past),
impart new life (present)
and admit into
heaven (future).
No other power on earth can do that!
Through Jeremiah (cp "through His prophets" - Ro 1:2-note), the Lord
asked...
Can the
Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do
good who are accustomed to do evil (Jer 13:23).
It is note within man's
power to change his own nature. In rebuking the Sadducees who tried to
entrap Him, Jesus said,
You are mistaken, not understanding the
Scriptures, or the power (dunamis)
of God (Mt 22:29).
Only the power of God is
able to overcome man’s natural tendency to commit sin and impart
supernatural life. The
Bible makes it clear that men cannot be spiritually changed or saved by
good works (Ep 2:9-note), by the church,
by being raised in a God fearing home, by rituals (including water
baptism), or by any other human means (cp Jn 1:12, 13, Ro 5:6-note).
Salvation through Christ
is God’s powerful hand, as it were (Is 50:2, 59:1), that He has let down to lift men up
from the deadly "bite" and despair of sin (Jn 3:13, 14, 15) and the
destiny of eternal separation from His glorious presence (2Th 1:8, 9).
His salvation brings deliverance from the spiritual infection of “this
perverse generation” (Acts 2:40, Php 2:15-note), from lostness (Mt 18:11), from sin (Mt
1:21 = Jesus very name = Jehovah saves!), and from the wrath of God (1Th
1:10-note, Ro 5:9-note).
The Good News believed brings about deliverance from gross and willful spiritual
ignorance (Ho 4:6; 2Cor 4:3, 4, 5), from evil self-indulgence (Lk
14:26), and from the kingdom of darkness and dominion of Satan (Acts 26:18, Col 1:13-note;
1Pe 2:9-note).
Clearly all men possess an innate knowledge of their great need for
salvation (cp Ro 2:14, 15,
16-note)
and they attempt many ways
to attain it as the following
Global Prayer Digest story
illustrates (Beloved, I highly recommend you consider adding this
precious resource to your daily intercessory prayer list - it provides
the priceless privilege of praying for those have never heard the gospel
and in so doing, as led by the Spirit, storing up treasure in heaven -
cp 1Th 2:19, 20-note)...
The
Maha Kumbh Mela is so important to Hindus that millions
will attend this festival that happens once every 12 years. According to
Hindu myths, when the stars come together on a certain line, a person
may gain salvation (moska) by taking a holy dip. Sadhus and other Hindu
VIPs get the first chance to take the holy dip. From Jan 9 to Feb 21,
2001 they will do it again in Allahabad. This time, Indian officials
expect to have 45 million attending, a record-breaking number!
(Bolding added) (Global
Prayer Digest - December 24, 2000)
Kittel's
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament entry has an
interesting description of the word group ("salvation") as used
in secular Greek. As you read through these various uses, see if you can
identify any spiritual parallels (you will be intrigued I think)..
1. Saving. These terms first refer to
salvation (human or divine) from serious peril. Curing from illness is
another sense. Horses may save in battle, or night may save an army from
destruction, good counsel may save ships, etc. Cities, castles, ships,
etc. may be saved as well as people. At times protection may be the
meaning, and soteria can have the sense of a “safe return.”
2. Keeping. The meaning at times may
be that of keeping alive, e.g., pardoning, protecting, keeping from
want, keeping a fire going.
3. Benefiting. The idea of rescuing
from peril disappears when the idea is that of keeping in good health,
or benefiting, or when the noun means “well-being,” i.e., of a city,
country, family, etc.
4. Preserving the Inner Being. A
special nuance is when the terms refer to preserving the inner being or
nature. In philosophy inner health may be the point or the preservation
of one’s humanity.
5. Religious Usage. All the nuances
occur in religious usage. Thus the gods rescue from the perils of life.
Philosophy discusses the preservation of all things from perishing. A
demand arises for the preservation of life beyond death. In the Gnostic
sphere gnósis supposedly saves from death as it is imparted by
revelation (Paul's epistle to the Colossians refutes this heresy) In the
mysteries initiates share in the salvation of a mythical divine being
from death and thereby attain to a blissful life in the hereafter (a
clear counterfeit!). A special Syrian belief mentioned in Origen Against
Celsus 7.9 is that there is salvation from eternal punishment by worship
of a divine envoy and faith in him. ("there is salvation in no one else;
for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by
which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
(Kittel,
G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament. Eerdmans)
TO EVERYONE
WHO
BELIEVES: panti to pisteuonti (PAPMSD):
Everyone (3956)
(pas) means all with no exception. In the present context there
is the qualification that the "all" truly believe the
gospel. Paul writes later that "whoever will call upon the Name of the
Lord will be saved." (Ro 10:13-note)
Spurgeon
tells the story illustrating the power of the gospel...
Preacher converted by his own
preaching. I wish that it might happen to you as it did with my dear friend, Mr.
Haslam, whom God has blessed to the conversion of so many. He was
preaching a sermon that he did not understand, and while he preached it,
he converted himself. By God's grace he began to feel the power of the
Holy Spirit and the force of divine truth. He so spoke that a Methodist
in the congregation called out, "The parson is converted"; and so the
parson was. He owned it, and praised God for it, and all the people
sang:—
"Praise God from Whom all blessings
flow."
His own utterances concerning Christ
crucified had been the power of God unto salvation to him. (Barbed
Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon)
Here's another story that speaks to
the mysterious supernatural power of God's Word proclaimed in His
Gospel...
The renowned preacher C H Spurgeon
once tested an auditorium in which he was to speak that evening.
Stepping into the pulpit, he loudly proclaimed,
Behold the lamb of God Who takes away
the sin of the world.
Satisfied with the acoustics, he left
and went his way. Unknown to him, there were two men working in the
rafters of that large auditorium, neither one Christians. One of the men
was pricked in his conscience by the verse Spurgeon quoted and became a
believer later that day! Such is the penetrating power of God's eternal
word! Little wonder that Paul is so insistent on our "preaching of the
Word." (See discussion of 1Th 2:13 regarding
the power of God's Word which in
context = the Gospel)
See study on
the
Power of God's Word
Believes (4100)
(pisteuo
[word study]) means an adherence to, committal to, faith in, reliance
upon or trust in a person or an object, in this case the gospel of Jesus
Christ. As discussed below this belief involves not only the consent of
the mind, but an act of the heart and will. As someone has said
(probably someone's mother) the medicine will not cure you if it is not
taken. One must believe the objective facts of the gospel. To truly
believe unto salvation is more than mental assent although it certainly does include use of our reasoning faculties
and
initial receipt of the truth (e.g., "come let us reason together"
in Isa 1:18, "And how shall they believe in
Him whom they have not heard?"
Ro
10:14
- see note). Genuine belief includes
(this definition
is adapted from from Vines Lexicon entry for pisteuo)
1) A mental or intellectual apprehension of the facts concerning
the gospel
2) A firm conviction which produces full acknowledgment of God's
revelation of Truth
2) A personal surrender to the Truth
3) And a conduct inspired by and consistent with one's
surrender
Daily living is filled with acts of faith. Virtually all of life
requires a natural faith. But Paul has in mind here a supernatural
faith, made available by God, for it is a “faith that is not of
yourselves but the gift of God” (see Eph 2:8-note). Eternal life is both gained and lived by
faith from God in Jesus Christ. (from faith to faith). All who believe
may be saved. Only those who truly believe will be.
Salvation is not
something we ACHIEVE, but something we RECEIVE when we BELIEVE.
(cp Jn 1:11, 12, 13)
I would add that the gospel is not just some "thing" we receive
but some "One" we receive for when we believe we receive the
Spirit of Jesus Christ indwelling our bodies, His "temple".
TO THE JEW
FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GREEK: Ioudaio te proton kai
Helleni:
Jew...and...Greek - This stresses the universal offer of God's
salvation in the Gospel to everyone who believes.
Jew
(2453)
(ioudaios) according to Easton's Dictionary "derived from the
patriarch Judah, at first given to one belonging to the tribe of Judah
or to the separate kingdom of Judah (2Ki 16:6), in contradistinction
from those belonging to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who were called
Israelites. During the Captivity, and after the Restoration, the name,
however, was extended to all the Hebrew nation without distinction.
Originally this people were called Hebrews, but after the Exile this
name fell into disuse. In the NT "Jew" is frequently used to distinguish
the descendants of Israel from proselytes, Samaritans, and Gentiles.
The ISBE
entry states that
Jew denotes originally an
inhabitant of Judah (2 Kings 16:6 applies to the two tribes of the
Southern Kingdom), but later the meaning was extended to embrace all
descendants of Abraham. In the Old Testament the word occurs a few times
in the singular. (Esther 2:5; 3:4, etc.; Jer 34:9; Zech 8:23); very
frequently in the plural in Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, and in Jeremiah
and Daniel. The adjective in the Old Testament applies only to the
"Jews' language" or speech (2Ki 18:26,28 parallel Neh 3:24; Is
36:11,13). "Jews" (always plural) is the familiar term for Israelites in
the Gospels (especially in John), Acts, Epistles, etc. "Jewess" occurs
in 1Chr 4:18; Ac 16:1; 24:24. In Titus 1:14 (note)
a warning is given against "Jewish fables" (in Greek the adjective is
found also in Gal 2:14). The "Jews' religion" (Ioudaismos) is referred
to in Gal 1:13,14.
(James Orr)
Verses that translate Yehudi
(Jew, Jewish, Judeans) -- 2Ki. 16:6; 25:25; Neh. 1:2; 2:16; 4:1f, 12;
5:1, 8, 17; 6:6; 13:23; Esther 2:5; 3:4, 6, 10, 13; 4:3, 7, 13, 14, 16;
5:13; 6:10, 13; 8:1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17; 9:1, 2,3, 5, 6, 10, 12,
13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29; 10:3; Jer 32:12; 34:9;
38:19; 40:11, 12, 15; 41:3; 43:9; 44:1; 52:28, 30; Zech. 8:23
To the Jew
first - This phrase was fulfilled literally and historically as Luke
documents in the book of Acts, e.g. on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1,
5.
Certainly we are still to proclaim the Gospel to the Jews, but this
phrase does not imply that we are required to evangelize the Jew before
we go to the Gentiles. Even in context this phrase is preceded by the
non-exclusive word everyone.
First (4413)
(proton) as alluded to in the preceding comment means first in
time as actually occurred in the first century AD.
John Piper has an entire
sermon
entire sermon (click here)
in which he addresses the specific question "in What Ways Do the
Jews Have Priority?"
Newell explains first ...
is an order of sequence; just
as the gospel came first to the Jew and then to Greek, and now,
since the "no difference" fact, is proclaimed to all indiscriminately,
Jews and Greeks.
Murray adds
that...
There is no discrimination arising
from race or culture and there is no obstacle arising from the
degradation of sin.
S Lewis Johnson remarks that
first to the Jew and also to the Greek is...
not to be taken to express
preference, that is, that the gospel is to be preached to the Jew first
down through the centuries, but simple historical precedence,
that is, that the gospel was preached to the Jew first, and then
to the Greek (cp similar thought in Ro 2:9
- note).
The Jew was first in point of time (cf. Romans 15:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; Lk 24:47; Ac
13:46, "first"). The priority is that of the divine program.
Other Scriptures substantiating that
the Gospel is to be preached to all men, both Jews and Gentiles, without
preference for either...
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out
boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken
to you (Jews) first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
(Ac 13:46)
Comment: God offered the plan
of salvation to the Jews first but because the Jews rejected the gospel
Paul turned to the Gentiles. God never planned salvation as an exclusive
possession of the Jews.
He (God) says, "It is too small a
thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and
to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of
the nations (the Gentiles) So that My salvation may reach to the
end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
For I say that Christ has become a
servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the
promises given to the fathers, 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify
God for His mercy; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO
THEE AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO THY NAME." 10 And
again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE." 11 And
again, "PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES
PRAISE HIM." 12 And again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF
JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL
THE GENTILES HOPE." 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit.
Repentance for forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning
from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)
Barnhouse writes that To
the Jew first and also to the Greek...
was the Jewish phrase for expressing
the universality of the human race. The reason for Paul’s speaking of
the Jew and Greek here is evident. He has come to his
central theme. He is the herald of the gospel. He who was once the
exponent of a narrow racial religion now announces that the gospel is
the universal power of God. It comes to the whole world. It is to “every
one that believeth.” He could not forget the great operations of God in
the past for Israel, so he announces that the gospel came first to them;
but he is careful to say that it is also for the Gentile or the heathen.
This verse has been grossly
misinterpreted. The gospel is not to the Jew first in point of
importance but in point of time. It came to them before it came to us.
When the great Jew, Disraeli, became Lord Beaconsfield, he was once
twitted in the House of Lords because of his Jewish ancestry. With a
courtly bow he answered the seventeenth baron of something or other who
had had the bad taste to speak in such a fashion, and put him in his
place forever. “Yes, my noble Lord,” replied Disraeli, “I am a Jew. And
when your ancestors were living on acorns in the German forest my
ancestors were giving to the world law, literature, religion, and our
very Saviour.” He had by far the best of it. (Barnhouse, Donald Grey.
Man's Ruin: Romans 1:1-32. Page177. Grand Rapids, MI.: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1952)
Newell commenting on to the
Jew first and also to the Greek writes that...
The Jew had the Law. They had the
temple, with its divinely prescribed worship. Heretofore, if a Gentile
were to be saved, let him become a proselyte and come to Jerusalem to
worship as did the Ethiopian eunuch. Christ came "to His own things"
(Jn 1:11), to Jerusalem, to His Father's house (literally, "the things
of My Father"). The apostles were to be witnesses-beginning from
Jerusalem (Lk 24:47). The Holy Spirit fell upon the hundred and twenty
at Jerusalem. Upon the persecution that arose in Jerusalem from Stephen,
the disciples "were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea
and Samaria, except the apostles, " but Jerusalem was the gospel's first
center, then Antioch in Syria, whence Paul and Barnabas, afterwards Paul
and Silas, went forth. Afterwards, the center of God's operations was
Ephesus, the capital of proconsular Asia, where after being rejected by
the Jews in many cities, Paul separates the disciples, and all
distinction between Jew and Greek in the assemblies of the saints is
gone. Then he goes to Jerusalem to be finally and officially
rejected-killed, if it were possible. God waits two years at Caesarea
for Jewish repentance: there is none, but the direct opposite. Then the
apostle, having been driven into the hands of the Romans by the Jews
goes to Rome, the world's center, only to have the Jews reject his
teaching (Acts 28). Thereupon it is announced: "Be it known therefore
unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they
will also hear."
Therefore, in expressing to the
Jew first, Paul is not at all prescribing an order of
presentation of the gospel throughout this dispensation. He is simply
recognizing the fact that to the Jew, who had the Law and Divine
privileges, the gospel offer had first been presented, and
then to the Gentile. As Paul says in Ephesians "And He came and
preached peace to you that were far off (the Gentile), and peace to them
that were nigh (the Jews)" (see Eph 2:17-note).
We might just as sensibly claim that Ephesians 2.17 gives Gentiles
priority because they are mentioned first -"you that were afar"
over the Jews who were mentioned last, -"them that were nigh."
To claim that the gospel must be
preached first to the Jew throughout this dispensation, is
utterly to deny God's Word that there is now no distinction between Jew
and Greek either as to the fact of sin (see Ro 3:22-note)
or the availability of salvation (see Ro 10:12-
note).
(Newell,
William: Romans Verse by Verse Commentary)
James Montgomery Boice adds
that...
Paul’s phrase first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile has led readers to think that he was saying
something like “to the Jew above the Gentile” or “to the Jew simply
because he is a Jew and therefore of greater importance than other
people.” But, of course, this is not what Paul intends. In this text
Paul means exactly the same thing Jesus meant when he told the woman of
Samaria that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). Both were
speaking chronologically. Both meant that in the systematic
disclosure of the gospel the Jews had occupied a first and important
place. This was because, as Paul says later in Romans, theirs was “the
adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving
of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the
patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Jesus Christ
…” (Ro 9:3; 9:4; 9:5 --see notes
Ro 9:3;
4;
5). No one can
fully understand the gospel if he or she neglects this historical
preparation for it. But this does not mean that Paul is setting
the Jew above the Gentile in this text or, as some would desire by
contrast, that he is setting the Gentile above the Jew. On the contrary,
Paul’s point is that the gospel is for Gentile and Jew alike. It is for
everybody.
Why? Because it is the power of God,
and God is no respecter of persons. If the gospel were of human power
only, it would be limited by human interests and abilities. It would be
for some and not others. It would be for the strong but not for the
weak, or the weak but not for the strong. It would be for the
intelligent but not the foolish, or the foolish but not the wise. It
would be for the noble or the well-bred or the sensitive or the poor or
the rich or whatever, to the exclusion of those who do not fit the
categories. But this is not the way it is. The gospel is for everyone.
John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life” (John 3:16, italics mine). At Pentecost Peter declared, “Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21; cf. Joel
2:32). Indeed, the Bible ends on this note: “The Spirit and the bride
say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is
thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take of the free gift
of the water of life” (see Re 22:17-note).
(I have added italics to these passages to emphasize this important
point.) (Boice,
J. M. Romans. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House
)
Barnes writes that first means...
First in order of time. Not
that the gospel was any more adapted to Jews than to others; but to them
had been committed the oracles of God; the Messiah had come through
them; they had had the law, the temple, and the service of God, and it
was natural that the gospel should be proclaimed to them before it was
to the Gentiles. This was the order in which the gospel was
actually preached to the world, first to the Jews, and
then to the Gentiles. Comp. Acts 2 and Acts 10; Mt 10:6; Lk
24:49; Ac 13:46, "It was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."
Comp. Mt 21:43. (Albert
Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary).
Leon Morris comments that...
The gospel is for all and knows no
limitation by race. In the matter of salvation God puts no difference
between one nation and another. Paul assigns a certain priority to the
Jew but immediately balances it with his reference to the Greek.
Historically the gospel came to the Jews first, but Paul seems to mean
more than this. The priority was in God’s plan. An electing purpose is
expressed in it. But there is not one gospel for Jews and another for
Gentiles. All who are saved are saved by the one gospel and are brothers
and sisters in Christ. Just as it is true that it is first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile, so it is true that “There is neither Jew nor
Greek … for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). But if
everyone marks the universality, a restriction is indicated by who
believes. The powerful salvation of which Paul writes is not the
possession of any unbeliever. Each person must make it his own by his
act of faith. This does not mean that faith is like another kind of law,
but easier, as though God and man were cooperating to bring about
salvation. “It is not man’s faith that gives the gospel its power; quite
the contrary, it is the power of the gospel that makes it possible for
one to believe” (Nygren). Paul is not saying that people achieve
power by their own believing effort. He is saying that the power of
God is at work in the gospel. (Morris,
Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. Page 68. Grand Rapids, Mich.;
Leicester, England: W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press. 1988
or
Logos)
Luke records...
For you (Jews)
first (protos = first in
time),
God
raised up His
Servant and
sent Him to
bless you by
turning
every
one of you (Jews) from your
wicked
ways. (Acts 3:26,
cf Mt 10:5, 6, 7; Ro 2:9-note)
As J Vernon McGee says...
To the Jew first, and also to the
Greek” does not imply that the Jew has top priority to the gospel today.
The important thing is to make sure the Jew is on a par with the Gentile
as far as evangelism is concerned. Chronologically the gospel went to
the Jew first. If you had been in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, you
would have seen an altogether Jewish meeting. And Paul in his missionary
journeys took the gospel first to the Jewish synagogue, but in Acts
13:46 we are told,
“And Paul and Barnabas spoke out
boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken
to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of
eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
The gospel began in Jerusalem, a
Jewish city, then spread to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Greek (1672)
(hellen) could refer either to a Greek either by
nationality, whether a native of the main land or of the Greek islands
or colonies or in a wider sense Greek embraces all nations not
Jews that made the language, customs, and learning of the Greeks their
own; the primary reference is to a difference of religion and worship.
In the context of the preceding word everyone, Greek is synonymous with
Gentiles. Just as all men are either in Adam (unregenerate) or in Christ
(born again), so too all the world can be divided Biblically speaking
into two groups, Jews and Gentiles and that is the idea of the word
Greek in this passage.
Jesus had instructed His disciples
that repentance and remission of sins were to be preached in His Name
unto all the nations, “beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). They were
to be His witnesses first in Judea and Samaria, and then unto the
uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Salvation was to come first to
the Jews because it was through them He ordained salvation to come (Jn
4:22). The Messiah came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Mt 15:24). In the Gospels and in the Book of Acts the preaching of the
Gospel was addressed to the Jews first, and, at the beginning, to them
alone, (Mt 10:5, 6, 7).
The Scottish evangelist Robert Haldane wrote:
The preaching of
the Gospel to the Jews first served various important ends. It fulfilled
OT prophecies, as Is 2:3. It manifested the compassion of the Lord Jesus
for those who shed His blood, to whom,
after His resurrection, He commanded His Gospel to be first proclaimed.
It showed that it was to be preached to the chief of sinners, and proved
the sovereign efficacy of His Atonement in expatiating [sic] the guilt
even of His murderers. It was fit, too, that the Gospel should be begun
to be preached where the great transactions took place on which it was
rounded and established; and this furnished an example of the way in
which it is the will of the Lord that His Gospel should be propagated by
His disciples, beginning in their own houses and their own country. (Haldane,
R. An Exposition on the Epistle to the Roman. Ages Classic Commentaries)
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Gospel Power
- One reason many Christians are so hesitant to witness for Christ is
that they fear failure. They forget the life-changing power of the
gospel.
Peter V. Deison, in his book
The Priority Of Knowing God,
tells about Ramad, a man in India who was a member of a gang of robbers.
On one occasion, while burglarizing a house, Ramad noticed a small black
book containing very thin pages just right for making cigarettes. So he
took it. Each evening he tore out a page, rolled it around some tobacco,
and had a smoke. Noticing that the small words on the pages were in his
language, he began to read them before rolling his cigarettes.
One evening after reading a page, he knelt on the ground and asked the
Lord Jesus to forgive his sins and to save him. He then turned himself
over to the police, much to their amazement. Ramad the bandit became a
prisoner of Jesus Christ. And in the prison where he served his
sentence, he led many others to the Savior.
What was the book he had been reading? It was a Bible. The Holy Spirit
used "the gospel of Christ," and for Ramad it became "the power of God
to salvation" (Romans 1:16).
Because there is great power in the gospel, we can always share the good
news with confidence. —Richard De Haan
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
The words we speak,
the lives we live
Say much about the Lord we love;
But power in our witnessing
Comes from God's Word, sent from above. —Sper
Religion can reform but only the gospel can transform