Romans 1:18-32 The Sinfulness of the Gentiles

Why humans cannot be saved by works

 

I.                 Four unveilings, revelations, or exposures are mentioned in Chapter 1

A.     The revelation of God’s nature to man vs. 20

B.     The revelation of each human’s sinful heart to the entire world vs. 22

C.     The revelation of God’s wrath against sin and sinners vs. 18

D.     The revelation of the righteousness of God in the Gospel vs. 17

E.      The linchpin verse of the chapter is vs. 17

1.      Introduction to the letter and to the gospel of grace vs. 1-17

2.      The evidence for the sinfulness of the Gentiles vs. 18-32

II.               The Gentiles are sinful and without personal righteousness vs. 18-32

A.     Why God’s wrath, His holy indignation & judgment is continually being revealed

1.      Man, historically rejected God through two sets of genealogies, Adam and Noah and his three sons and their wives vs. 20

2.      Every person alive today had an ancestor who knew the God of the Bible who was followed by a child who was not taught the truth or who deliberately rejected God and the message of his parents vs. 20

3.      Every person alive today has a personal and internal knowledge of God that they nurture or suppress with evolution, relativism, belief in a chance universe, luck, fate, pagan philosophy, or immorality vs. 19

B.     The God of the Bible is revealed through natural, general revelation vs. 20

1.      His general attributes and designs are displayed in the created universe

2.      Therefore, every human is responsible, accountable, and without excuse for his/her rejection of God and His moral law

3.      People intentionally suppress this knowledge; they choose atheism or agnosticism for very practical reasons: their lifestyle

4.      God’s creative supernatural power, design, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and holiness are seen in the created order

C.     General and personal revelation are both clear. However, humans are blind and spiritually dead, so they are defective receptors of the truth. But because of the clarity of the revelation, they are responsible, accountable, and without excuse

D.     We all had an ancestor who personally knew the Creator God of the Bible

1.      People used to know God: Adam, Eve, Shem, Ham, Japheth vs. 21

2.      The knowledge of God was rejected and held down

3.      This resulted in a loss of the wisdom of God’s revelation vs. 21b-22

4.      The knowledge of God was substituted for idols and false religion vs. 23

E.      Suppression, rejection, and substitution of the truth brought on God’s wrath

1.      God gave them over to sin’s rule in their life vs. 24, 26, 28

2.      The judgment is God removing the restraints and allowing them to follow their desires, loves, and hearts into the worst kind of bondage

3.      These people know they are wrong in what they choose to believe and do, but they willingly go deeper into sin to their own destruction vs. 21

F.      The pagans follow a pattern that is a downward spiral of depravity and degradation that follows three stages vs. 24

1.       Sexual immorality – lusts – ferocious appetites – desires out of control

2.      Sexual abnormality – the principle of diminishing returns vs. 26-27 passions out of control like a raging forest fire (see Gen 19:4-9; Lev 18:22, 20:13; Deut 23:17-18; Judg 19:22-24; 1 Kgs 14:24, 15:12, 22:46; 2 Kgs 23:7; Isa 3:9; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 4:19; 1 Tim 1:10; Heb 13:4; 2 Peter 2:6; and Jude 7; Rev 21:8, 27, 22:15)

3.      Sinful reprobate mind – free moral agency is damaged by constant surrender to the bondage of sin and Satan vs. 28-32

G.     What you worship reveals your moral framework vs. 25

1.      Sinful humans cannot diminish God’s glory

2.      Men’s character reflects what they truly worship

H.     Sample sins of pagans

1.      General heart motivations and specific desires vs. 29 (unrighteousness, evil, greed, wickedness—full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, malice)

2.      Daily conduct of Gentile sinners gossips to unmerciful vs. 29e-30 (gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, inhumane, unforgiving, unmerciful)

I.       The stages of sin and the lists are sins worthy of capital punishment

J.       Man’s inhumanity to man is proof of the doctrine of total depravity

III.            The evidence is clear that humans without special revelation and regeneration will live purposeless, cruel, and wicked lives

A.     The Gentiles do not possess personal righteousness

B.     The Gentiles cannot be delivered from judgment by works

C.     The Gentiles need to get righteousness from somewhere else so they can escape the wrath of the Holy God of the Bible

D.     Jesus is the only way of salvation, deliverance from wrath for pagan Gentile sinners

 

 

  

Psalm 101: The Model Kingdom

 Excellence in Ruling

The author of this Psalm is King David. Psalm 101 is a Royal Psalm in the form of a deceleration of commitment, a solemn promise, an Ancient Near Eastern vow, or a covenant. This psalm displays the model king with a model administration. This psalm may have been used at the coronation of some of the kings of Judah. The King was to serve in the theocracy of Israel under the Word of God (Deut 17:14–20) and under Yahweh himself as a vice president under the CEO of a corporation. Many Bible students note that King David failed in the very areas he writes about in this psalm. This psalm describes the true model king and kingdom, that only Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah can and will fulfill. This will be significantly evident at His next coming and during the millennial reign of the Messiah.  David knew he was not speaking of His own characteristics in the psalm, but of the decedent promised in the Davidic covenant to rule forever on David’s throne. He was able to see beyond his own failure and sin to the righteous administration of the Messiah of Israel and David’s redeemer, Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God who became fully man about 4 B.C. at Bethlehem. 

  I. The righteous King’s Commitment to God’s Kingdom (vs. 1–3a)

     A. The King’s motive for intense loyalty is the covenant love (Hesed) and righteous                                 judgements that produce true justice by the emperor, Yahweh

     B. The major requirement of the lesser party in a covenant is loyalty to the superior party

     C. The king and the people were bound to God by covenant in Israel and to each other

     D. Justice requires the king to punish the wicked and reward the righteous

     E. Yahweh’s keeping His covenantal promises causes the king to sing and praise God

     F. The righteous King is going to follow the path of wisdom as stated in Proverbs

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die. (Prov 19:16 NASB)    

     G. Jesus alone was able to live a life blameless before the Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial law

Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him--a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight will be in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears, but He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with discipline from His mouth, and He will kill the wicked with a command from His lips.  Righteousness and faithfulness will be a belt around His waist. (Isa 11:1-5 HCSB)

     H. His question shows the king’s dependence on God

     I. His life show integrity and that all those around him practice steadfast love and justice

     J. A godly leader is blameless before God and in his house. The king's house is the palace                  where the business of the kingdom is conducted. His officials are there with him.

        1. David’s fall to adultery was at the palace

        2. David’s plan to kill Uriah was at the palace

        3. He is knowledgeably writing of the Davidic king to come, Jesus

     K. The king’s oath to Yahweh is that his administration will have unreproachable integrity

     L. Loyalty to the covenant involves faith, obedience, and pursuing righteousness

     M. The king vows to have nothing to do with (the Belial thing) any wicked, evil, perverted                     person, object, or spirit. His rule’s conduct will be opposite of Satan’s

 II. The righteous King’s hatred of evil (vs. 3b–5)        

     A. The godly leader stays away from evil in any form. He has a pure mind, heart, and                    associates. 

     B. To love righteousness one must hate sin. The righteous king hates disloyalty, betrayals, and                faithlessness.

    C. The king will have to sentence the wicked rather than copy them

 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. (1Cor 15:33 TNIV)

    D. The righteous king will silence the slanders and bring strong judgment on the proud

    E. King Jesus is concerned with heart attitudes and actions done in secret

    F. Slander, greed, pride, gossip, and false witness display the inner depravity and wicked                         hearts of men. The king vows to punish these sins fully. These sins cause the death of others

   G. “Silencing” and “not enduring” are legal acts by the king/judge

III. The righteous King’s love for God’s people (vs. 6)

     A. The king will protect the faithful, loyal, blameless, and righteous in the land 

     B. The king’s cabinet will be chosen from the faithful and blameless

     C. These are the opposite people from those in vs. 8, so these are humble, truth tellers, wise,                    honest, loyal, loving, peacemakers

     D. See Psalm 15

     E. Wise leaders surround themselves with the best and most capable men

IV. The righteous King’s detestation of evil (vs. 7)

     A. The king will maintain his integrity and not allow liar to have ruling power

     B. The choice to surround yourself with people of integrity is a choice to exclude those who                 do not obey God’s moral law

     C. Deceptive, greedy, dishonest, disloyal, promise breakers cannot be on the king’s cabinet

     D. No matter how talented or intelligent, a man lacking integrity cannot serve in a righteous                king's court (Prov 29:12)

V. The righteous King’s Commitment to Justice (vs. 8) 

     A. The King vows to administer justice every day by removing the wicked from the land

     B. Jerusalem is to be a city of righteousness, so the wicked and evildoers must be judged

     C. The city of Yahweh is to a city of righteousness, so breakers of God’s moral laws must be                 removed and their reign of terror ended

Lessons to live by:

• The king must make a serious commitment to God. How serious is your commitment?

• Integrity is more important that talent or intellect. Telling the truth about others is vital.

• Like 1 Tim 3 is a snapshot of a spiritually mature Christian man, this chapter presents a model of a godly leader, but especially the Lord Jesus the Messiah of Israel

• Truth telling and knowing when not to speak is an important virtue

• Loyalty is also a key element in the new covenant. Faith, trust, obedience, love, commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ is not optional for a real believer

Psalm 98: Yeshua (salvation) [Yahweh] is coming to Judge all Humans

The author of this Psalm is not known. Psalm 98 is also a Hymn psalm in a section of Enthronement Psalms. However, this Psalm includes more information about the Messiah’s comings, which we learn in the New Testament are two separate comings. First Jesus comes to save sinners by living a holy life in their place and dying in their place. His second coming will involve His judgment of sinners who will not repent, believe, and surrender to His Lordship. This will involve two battles, one before the 1000-year reign and at the end of this reign. It will include also at least one judgement of humans. What do the people of God do before and during Jesus’ first and second comings? They rejoice and sing with multiple instruments the praises of our sovereign saving king who is victorious in His first coming and in the two battles He leads the angels and elect humans to fight against the wicked. Tremper Longman believes this Psalm is “a Divine Warrior victory song celebrating the return of Yahweh the commander of the heavenly hosts who is leading the Israelite army back home after waging victorious holy war.” In the biblical version of this song, it is one that points to the future, and it focuses on Jesus who will overcome the kings and their armies (Rev 19:11–21, 20:9), redeem His people (Rev 14:4), and judge all humans (Matt 25:31–46). Notice how often “a new song” and “redemption” show up together in the Bible.

  I. Praising Yahweh for His previous deliverances (vs. 1–3)

     A. The new song praises God for His victory 

     B. The mighty works God has done by Himself—singlehanded miracles

          1. Exodus

          2. Return from captivity

          3. Sending of the Messiah, Jesus

    C. Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yeshua is used in vs. 2 and 3

    D. Yahweh has revealed His Salvation and His Righteousness

    E. The Gentile nations witness the righteous deliverance of Israel

    F. Yahweh’s covenant love and awesome faithfulness to Israel is displayed

    G. All mankind has seen the victory of the LORD

 II. Worshiping Yahweh the great deliverer of His people with music (vs. 4–6)

      A. All peoples are to praise God for His salvation

      B. They are to use multiple instruments with their songs of praise

      C. Those who are delivered burst out in joyful praise 

III. Creation rejoices at Yahweh’s coming to the earth (vs. 7–9)

      A. Jesus was the agent of the Trinity that made the universe

      B. When He comes back, all of creation will make noise

     C. These sounds are not the expressive truths offered by free moral agents

     D. All of creation is waiting for His return (Rom 8:19–24)

     E. Jesus came the first time to save, He is coming back to fight, rule, and judge

     F. The victory of King Jesus is a sure thing

Lessons to live by:

• The joy of salvation should fill our songs of praise

• Our joy is made full by God’s righteous deliverance

• We need to make sure we are on the right side when Jesus comes back to battle His enemies. They will lose at His return and at the end of His 1000-year reign

• The LORD’s judgment will be righteous and with exact correctness. Everything secret will be revealed. Every word, thought, and deed will be considered in the verdict