Romans 1 (2017)

• Welcome to a study of the most important work of theology in the world: the
book of Romans

o As many of you probably know, this is not the first time I’ve taught this
study for VBVMI

• In fact, this is at least the fourth time I’ve gone through this book

• And it’s because I’ve studied through the book so many times,
that I feel I the need to do it again

• That’s how important the message of this book is…

• How deeps the concepts are, and how necessary it is that we

understand it properly

o In my previous study of this book, I used the first lesson to introduce the
book

• I explained Paul’s reason for writing and his relationship to his

audience

• I still plan to provide some introduction tonight, but I want to

refocus that introduction on the book itself

• And along the way, I’ll cover Paul’s circumstances and his
audience

• One of the things I’ve discovered in the years since my first study of Romans is
how important it is to understand the structure of this book

o I believe it’s the key to appreciate its content

• I’ve created a handout (available online) that breakdown the
structure of the book in blocks according to topic

• I’ve also included a copy of this handout in these notes:

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 Romans 1 2
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STRUCTURE of ROMANS

Chapter 1:1-15
 Chapter 9


Introduction Israel’s Past

Chapter 1:16-17
 Chapter 10


Paul’s Thesis on Righteousness Israel’s Present

Chapter 1:18-32
 Chapter 11


Argument Against Paganism Israel’s Future

Chapter 2:1-11
 Chapter 12:1-2


Argument Against Moralism Righteousness in Our Person

Chapter 2:12-29
 Chapter 12:3-13


Argument Against Nomianism Righteousness Within the Body

Chapter 3:1-20
 Chapter 12:14-21


Argument Against Judaism Righteousness Among Unbelievers

Chapter 3:21-31
 Chapter 13


The Righteousness of God Righteousness Within Society

Chapter 4
 Chapter 14


Old Testament Proofs Grace for Jewish Believers

Chapter 5
 Chapter 15:1-13


The Sufficiency of Christ’s Righteousness Grace for Gentile Believers

Chapter 6 Chapter 15:14-33

The Consequences for the Spirit Paul’s Appeal for Support

Chapter 7
 Chapter 16


The Consequences for the Flesh Greetings to Paul’s Acquaintances

Chapter 8

The Security of God’s Righteousness

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Romans 1 3
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• We will refer back to this document throughout the course of our

study

o The first block is Paul’s introduction to his letter

• As he usually does, he identifies himself, his intended audience,
and his occasion for writing

• Our study of his introduction will give me opportunity to address

some important background to this letter

Rom. 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel
of God,
Rom. 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Rom. 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
Rom. 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead,
according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Rom. 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the
obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Rom. 1:6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
Rom. 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Paul’s salutation is similar to many other letters (though this is his longest), so
elements will be familiar to many of us

o In his typical humility, Paul addresses himself as a bondservant of Jesus

• In that day, the term bondservant was used to describe a slave

who had served his required time to repay a debt

• But then later, because of the kindness of the master, the slave
decided to renounce his right to freedom so he may remain in
service to his master permanently

• It was a lifelong, irrevocable commitment to live under the house

of a good and faithful master

• Paul frequently uses this term to describe himself and all

Christians, since it captures the nature of our relationship with
Christ

o Secondly, Paul says he was an apostle called by God

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Romans 1 4
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• Paul waged a life-long campaign to justify his apostleship with

some in the church

• His prior life as a persecutor and his unorthodox beginning in

faith led some to question his authority

• So Paul frequently reminds his readers of his authority given him

by God

o Ultimately, his apostolic powers authenticated his claims as they did all
apostles

• Only those men who possessed the supernatural powers of an

apostle could lay claim to the title

• In that way, the early church could safely distinguish between

false apostles and true apostles

• And since apostles were authors of scripture, it was especially

important to know who the true apostles were

• Finally, Paul says his calling was to be set apart to preach the Gospel

o And the way Paul describe the Gospel in vs.2-6 is our first clue to his
audience and purpose in writing to Rome

• Th elements in this description are uniquely targeted to a Jewish

reader

• First, Paul says this is the Gospel was promised beforehand by

the Old Testament prophets in the Jewish scriptures

• Obviously, this was would be a compelling argument for Jews

• The Jews were looking for a coming Messiah because their

scriptures foretold it, but Gentiles had no such advance notice

o Secondly, Paul says those prophecies concerned a son of David in

human terms

• Once again, the family identity of the Messiah was especially

important to a Jew but largely irrelevant to a Gentile

• Furthermore, Paul reminds his readers that the truth of Jesus’

claims were witnessed by His resurrection in Jerusalem and the
Spirit of holiness

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Romans 1 5
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• His last reference to the Spirit of Holiness would have hit home
with Paul’s readers

• Paul’s writing principally to the Jewish leadership over the Christian church in
Rome

o The church in Rome was located in the largest, more powerful and
prominent Gentile city in the world

• The church was growing and flourishing by drawing converts

from the city’s vast Gentile population

• So naturally, it consistently largely of Gentiles

o But that Gentile church was founded and overseen by Jewish men
• These Jewish believers were converted at Pentecost while in
Jerusalem for the Passover

• So Paul is reminding them of that moment when he mentions

the Spirit of holiness in v.4

• Paul is speaking of the moment at Pentecost when the Spirit

descended on these believers, a moment they will never forget

o That group of converted Jewish men left Jerusalem soon after that
moment, and returned to their homes in Rome

• Once in Rome, they founded the church in that city

• It was the only major church in the Roman empire NOT founded
by an apostle

• They were a successful church thriving in the empire’s capital

city, and they traced their start to Pentecost

• Because of these unimpeachable credentials, this church had a

chip on its shoulder

• Meanwhile, the church’s most prominent Apostle, Paul, who had traveled
throughout the Empire founding churches and visiting others, had yet to visit
Rome

o By the time Paul writes his letter to Rome, he has already taken three
missionary journeys in Asia Minor

• More over, he’s begun writing letters to churches in the region

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Romans 1 6
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• These letters are immediately recognized to be scripture and

valued as such by the early church

• By the time of this letter, Paul had already written Galatians, 1 & 2
Thessalonians, and three letters to Corinth (two of which are in
the Bible)

• But yet Paul has never visited the Roman church nor even
written to them

o So the leaders in Rome were feeling overlooked by Paul

• They wondered why the great apostle hadn’t come to them yet

• Perhaps he only cared for the churches he founded himself?

• Perhaps Paul worried his preaching couldn’t withstand the close

scrutiny of learned Jewish believers rather than the ignorant
Gentile converts?

• Perhaps Paul was ashamed to preach the Gospel in Rome fearing

the Roman authorities

o To make matters worse, Paul needed the church’s help

• Paul planned to travel to Spain after visiting Rome

• And he knew he would need additional funds to make the trip

• So Paul intended to ask the Roman church for financial help

• A church that felt slighted by Paul

• So now, as Paul sets out to write to the Roman church, he knows he must repair
the relationship on his terms while finding a way to make a financial appeal

o But how do you identify with an audience you don’t know and that you
have never visited?

• Paul couldn’t speak in especially personal terms to this church as

he typically does in his other letters

• How do you mollify them for your perceived insult while also
persuading them to contribute to your ministry?

o Naturally, you write the single greatest theological explanation of

righteousness ever penned

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Romans 1 7
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• You appease the Jewish intellectuals leading this church by

giving them your religious masterwork, a letter unrivaled by
anything else in scripture

• You honor this important church body residing at the center of

empire by gifting them with the most influential evangelistic
tool in the New Testament canon

• In short, you bestow upon the Roman church your best work

• So that at the end of that letter, you can ask them for money :-)

• In fact, Paul is more deferential to his audience in this letter than in any other
he writes

o Notice in v.5 Paul speaks of the church leaders in Rome as fellow

evangelists and church planters

• He says “we” have received apostleship

• The Greek word for apostleship is different than the word Paul
uses to describe himself in v.1

o The word Paul uses in v.1 is apostolos which is a noun describing a

person sent on a mission with a message

• But in v.5 Paul uses the word apostole which is a noun describing
the mission of going out

• So Paul says he is an apostle, but yet the Jewish leadership in

Rome – and all Christians – share a common mission of going
out with the Gospel

o These Jewish leaders have been living that calling in Rome, bringing
Gentiles to the faith, as Paul says at the end of v.5

• Just as they themselves also are the called of Jesus Christ

• So Paul recognizes their significant work to build another bridge

with this community

• Then Paul concludes his opening sentence by naming his readers in v.7 as all
the saints in Rome

o Obviously, we know what Paul means by “saints”

• The term is the Bible’s label for anyone who is born again by faith
in Christ Jesus

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Romans 1 8
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• But the meaning behind the word is important to understand

o The word in Greek is hagios, which literally means sanctuary

• Therefore, all believers are called saints because by our faith in
Christ, the Holy Spirit has made our body His sanctuary

• So that collectively, we have become Christ’s sanctuary on earth

• We are the temple of God, as Paul says in 1Cor, His sanctuary

o Some religions have redefined the term “saint” to mean a person who
merits entrance into heaven by obtaining an exceptional degree of
personal holiness

• That’s an ironic definition, one that reminds us why Paul needed

to write Romans in the first place

• The question of who enters Heaven is at the heart of Paul’s

purpose in writing this letter

• And it’s at the heart of the Gospel itself

o The Bible's calls us saints because God has taken up residence inside us
to bring us to heaven by His work of righteousness

• Yet the false definition of saint makes the opposite claim, that
we enter heaven on our own merits

• This one example of the confusion over the word “saint” by itself
explains why we need to understand the book of Romans

• And with that, Paul follows with a customary benediction of grace and peace
from God the Father and the Son

o Paul’s introduction is theological truth, but it’s also an artful effort to

draw his readers to Paul’s side

• And he continues the charm offensive in v.8

Rom. 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being
proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Rom. 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my
witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,
Rom. 1:10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I
may succeed in coming to you.

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Romans 1 9
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Rom. 1:11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may
be established;
Rom. 1:12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us
by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Rom. 1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to
you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even
as among the rest of the Gentiles.
Rom. 1:14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to
the foolish.
Rom. 1:15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

• Paul says this church’s faith is proclaimed or announced throughout the whole
world

o We don’t know what it was about the Roman’s faith that inspired such
talk, but we can assume some obvious things

• They must have been fervent in their evangelism

• They must have been devoted in their service to needs of the

body

• And they must have been resolute in the face of persecution

o For all these reasons and perhaps others, Paul says he never failed to
make mention of them

• It would be easy to think Paul’s statement was merely hyperbole

or flattery

• But read it as prophecy, because it’s absolutely true

• As a result of Paul’s letter to Rome, the faith of this church has

been proclaimed throughout the entire world over and over

• Every time this letter is read, their faith is proclaimed once more

o Also take note of Paul’s extended commentary about his desire to visit
them in Rome

• He said he longed to see them and impart a spiritual gift

• He doesn’t mean he brought a gift of the Spirit

• He clarifies the nature of this “gift” in v.12

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Romans 1 10
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o He was saying he would gift them with his teaching and leadership to
edify and establish (or strengthen) the church

• In a sense, he was saying he would bring them the gift of himself

• Paul’s statement doesn’t reflect a lack of humility on his part

• He’s speaking truthfully, because that was the impact Paul made
on every church

• After all, that’s precisely why the church was so desiring of his
visit

• But then it’s back to the elephant in the room…why hasn’t Paul visited Rome
yet?

o In v.13 he says I don’t want you to be unaware (or you should know) that
I wanted to bear spiritual fruit with you even as I have with Gentiles

• It’s not Paul’s fault…he says he’s been prevented from coming to
them

• Who prevent Paul from coming? Obviously, he’s implicating the

Lord

o In v.14 Paul explains he was under obligation to Greeks and barbarians

instead, to both Greeks and non-Greek Gentiles, that is to both the wise
and foolish

• That even though Paul desired to teach the church in Rome, the
Lord had called Paul to reach the Gentile world instead

• Which meant that a prosperous, Jewish-led church in far-away

Rome was not a top priority for his ministry

o We can see clearly see Paul’s charm offensive here

• Paul knew they were offended that he spent so much time with
uneducated, barbarians instead of paying tribute to faithful
Rome

• So Paul acknowledges their concerns but then excuses his

absence by saying don’t blame me

• God wouldn’t let me come to you

o There are times we may blame God, and this is one example

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Romans 1 11
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!

• When God prevents us from giving people what they desire

because the Lord has a better plan

• You can blame God, so to speak, but just make sure you defend
His decision

o And it’s revealing to see that even Paul experienced times when his
personal desires for ministry conflicted with the Lord’s desire

• Even the great Paul experienced frustration

• Even his discernment, as great as it was, still fell short at times

• He wanted to go to Rome, but the Lord stopped him

o That should encourage all of us through our personal struggles in

obeying the Lord vs. to pleasing others

• We may want to please everyone, and anyone can want for the
wrong things

• Therefore, the Lord knows we all need help to follow Him and he
guides us all

• I mentioned earlier that it’s likely some were even wondering if Paul was
ashamed to bring the gospel to Rome

o Which explains Paul’s next comment, which serves as his transition into
the theology of his letter

Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

• Paul states plainly he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel

o How could Paul be ashamed of a the message that contains the power
of God to save everyone who believes?

• Moreover, why would Paul be ashamed to share this message

with these Jewish leaders, since the message was to be delivered
to everyone

• First to the Jew but then to the Gentile as well

• “First” here means in all respects, because the Lord determined

that the Jewish people would be at the center of His plan to save

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Romans 1 12
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• As Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4,

“salvation is of the Jews”

o The Jews were the first to receive God’s promises of salvation in the
covenants

• They heard of it first through their prophets

• They had the honor to birth of the Jewish Messiah into the line
of David

• They were the first to witness the preaching and miracles of the
Messiah in the Galilee

• And they also rejected Him first before His crucifixion

o Later, Jewish apostles were the first to deliver the Gospel to their
countrymen

• They establish the Church in Jerusalem at Pentecost

• Eventually, Paul and others brought the message of salvation to

the Gentiles as the Lord promised Abraham that He would

• Paul calls his message of salvation the “gospel”

o As most Sunday school children could probably tell you, the word itself
means good news

• Paul’s message was the good news of how a person may be

saved

• It is the message for how we may enter Heaven, how we may live
forever, and we may conquer death, how we may escape sin

o In that sense, calling the salvation message “good news” is probably the
greatest understatement in human history

• God’s message salvation is not just good news…it’s great news!

• Never has there been any greater news than how a person may
be saved!

o But thanks to the enemy’s lies, the word gospel is losing its meaning in
among many in and around the church today

• Today we have many messages competing for the title of the

“gospel”

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Romans 1 13
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• False religions pretending to be Christianity claim that the

gospel says we must earn our entrance into heaven (what’s good
about that news?)

• False teachers claim the gospel is a message offering the

promise of earthly riches and freedom from earthly worries

• Still others claim the gospel is a message of physical healing

o Here again, this is why it’s so important that we study Romans today
• Because believers must know precisely what our gospel message
says and what it does not say

• The gospel is a message of how we may enter into Heaven and it

is good news because it doesn’t depend upon us

• It says how we may be freed from the sin that rages in our bodies
and in our world

• Of how we can face death in hope that we will live again

• Of how we may have peace with God

• So over the next 15 chapters or so, Paul will explain this message of good news
in all its fullness

o Beginning in v.17 with a concise definition of the Gospel, which serves

as his thesis for the entire letter

Rom. 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
“but the righteous man shall live by faith.”
o There are three key parts to his thesis statement, each of which Paul will
examine in greater detail in later chapters

• First, the message of the gospel is a message of righteousness

• The word righteousness means innocent, just, being right

• Righteousness is the opposite of sinfulness and wrongdoing

o Obtaining righteousness is the central dilemma for all humanity

• How can human beings be right in all respects?

• How can we forever and entirely remove that part of us that

leads us to think, say and do what is unrighteous?

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Romans 1 14
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• Every person instinctively recognizes his or her own

unrighteousness and longs for what is right, both in ourselves
and in the world

• But who determines what is “right?”

o This leads to the second part of Paul’s thesis: the righteousness of the
gospel is that “of God”

• The righteousness we need to seek is the righteousness of God

• As the Creator and Law Giver and Judge, God alone determines
what is right

• He sets the gold standard, the only standard for what’s required
to enter Heaven

• So we could say that which is of God is righteous and that which

is not of God is – by definition – unrighteous

o So our pursuit of righteousness must begin with understanding God

and His righteousness

• From that point we can then may ask the question, “How do I
equal the standard of God?”

• How do I become as righteous as God?

• This leads to the third part of his thesis: we obtain the righteousness of God
through a revelation

o The word revealed is in the third person middle tense in Greek in v.17
• This form indicates that the subject is acting in its own interest or
on its own behalf

• So Paul is saying the righteousness of God reveals itself to us in

the message of the Gospel

• We don't discover righteousness, we don’t search for a message

of righteousness and find it

• The righteousness of God finds us in a message that reveals itself

to us by faith

o Paul says it does so “from faith to faith”

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Romans 1 15
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• Our faith in the message is the manifestation of God’s

righteousness in us

• And that righteousness is manifested from faith to faith

• The righteousness of God is being revealed from from one

believer to the next

o Paul has much more to say about this process in coming chapters, so we
will leave it for then

• Moving on, Paul adds that this process is nothing new

• The Lord announced it in the Old Testament scriptures

o Paul quotes Habbukuk 2:4

Hab. 2:4 “Behold, as for the proud one,

His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.

• The prophet says the one who takes pride in himself does not
possess a right heart

• A person may think himself a good person or worthy of heaven,

but if he does, he is self-deceived

o For a righteous man lives by his faith

• To live means two things here

• First, to live means to go through life depending on faith alone

for salvation

• Secondly, to live means to receive eternal life as a result of faith

• So a righteousness man lives in hope having placed his faith in

God and by that faith he lives eternally

• Have ing laid down his thesis, we should expect Paul would now dive into a
discussion of these points

o And he will…but not yet

• This is where understanding the structure of the book becomes

valuable

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Romans 1 16
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• Notice that the the second block in my diagram (i.e., Paul’s thesis)
is followed by a third block of arguments on a different point

o Before Paul elaborates on the means to righteousness, he will first

address the common misconceptions men hold for how to be righteous

• Before Paul will explain how we become righteous, he explains

how we do NOT become righteous

• This section runs until chapter 3:20 and includes four major
divisions

• These divisions correspond to the four major world views for

how a person becomes righteousness (or goes to heaven)

o Paul refutes all four fallacies in turn

• The first is paganism

• The second is moralism

• The third is nomianism

• And the fourth is Judaism

o Only after refuting these false views does Paul returns to describing the
correct way to righteousness

• In fact, if you glance ahead to Romans 3:21-22 you can see how
Paul picks up again in his discussion there

• So his teaching between 1:17 and 3:21 is on a different topic

• As we study these false views, you’ll see they all share one common
misconception

o They all hold a false understanding of the standard to enter Heaven…

that is, of how righteous we must be to enter Heaven

• Sinful humanity has always assumed that the standard for

heaven is within their reach

• Though we may not believe we are good enough as yet, we do

believe we can get there

• That self-deception begins with a wrong definition of the word

righteous (or we could say good)

o For example, are you a good person?

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Romans 1 17
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• Before you answer, consider how Jesus defines the term good in
Luke 18

Luke 18:18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?”
Luke 18:19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God
alone.

• A man of power and wealth asked Jesus the age-old, eternal question: what
must I do to inherit eternal life?

o His question brings certain assumptions and it includes a contradiction

of sorts

• First, he asks what must I do, as in what works must I perform?

• He is assuming the solution centers on his works and that it is

one that lies within his ability to obtain

• We know that is his thinking, because no one asks for directions

to a place they can’t possibly reach

• For example, no one asks how can I fly to the Jupiter?

o Yet we can no more find our own way into Heaven than we can fly
ourselves to Jupiter

• So it’s the height of presumption that a man should ask such a

question of God

• Tell me what I must do to enter Heaven and I will do it

o But even then, the man contradicts himself, because he says what must I
do to “inherit” eternal life

• An inheritance is – by definition – something assigned to us by

another

• An inheritance doesn’t depend on our work, because no one

earns an inheritance

o So the man acknowledges that God alone has authority to grant

someone entry into heaven

• So essentially, this man is asking how, by his actions, can

influence God such that would grant Him the favor of eternal life

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Romans 1 18
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• That’s how men of great power and wealth think about most
things

• They assume their influence can be cause for others to do their

bidding…even God

• To this, Jesus asks the man, why do you call me “good?”

o Jesus focuses in on the key misconception driving the man’s wrong

thinking about heaven and righteousness

• The man has a warped, self-serving sense of what “good” is

• Mankind generally acknowledges that God is perfect and

mankind is imperfect

• But nevertheless, we also imagine ourselves good enough to

warrant heaven even in our imperfect state

• That assumption lies at the heart of this man’s question…I think

I’m close, but how much better do I need to be to enter Heaven?

o He has the wrong standard, and Jesus illustrates this by asking why the
man called Jesus good?

• We know the man probably meant it as an idle compliment, a

greeting intended to gain Jesus’ attention and flatter Him a little

• But his too casual use of the word exposes his lack of thought
concerning its meaning

o Jesus says no one is good but God alone

• Goodness is not measured on a scale from 1–100

• Either a person is as good as God or they are not good at all

• To be less good than God is to be 100% bad, Jesus says

o So the standard to enter Heaven is to equal God’s goodness…close

doesn’t count

• The world’s false view of righteousness operates on the

assumption that righteousness is found on a sliding scale…close
is good enough

• We imagine this to be the standard because otherwise heaven

would be out of reach

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Romans 1 19
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• So everyone assumes a standard for goodness that is within their

reach and therefore not good at all

• Paul alludes to this common misconception as he introduces the next section

on paganism

Rom. 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom. 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it
evident to them.
Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so
that they are without excuse.

• Far from being righteous (or even close to righteousness), Paul says the world is
filled with ungodliness and unrighteousness

o Men and women are both ungodly and unrighteous

• To be ungodly means to be unlike God in every way

• We are not just a little unlike Him, so that we have only a small
gap to cross to enter Heaven, as the ruler supposed

• In reality, we are entirely unlike Him by our nature

o Moreover, we are unrighteous

• We are not merely short a little righteousness

• But as Jesus said, no one is good but God alone

• We are 100% bad

o And yet despite the world’s ungodliness and unrighteousness, it thinks

itself unworthy of God’s judgment, His wrath

• In order to arrive at these views, the world suppressed the truth,

Paul says, which is further unrighteousness

• The world suppresses the truth by perpetuating a lie that we are

all good enough and that God does not care about our sin

• Or even that there is no God at all, or that our lives lead to no

where in the end

o But Paul says the wrath of God will be revealed upon these people

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Romans 1 20
! of !23

• God’s wrath is coming for the world, though it hasn’t been

revealed yet

• Individually, it is revealed at a person’s death, when they are

brought to their end in judgment

• And in a time to come, the wrath of God will be revealed upon

the earth itself in fire, Peter says

• God will hold the world accountable for its ungodliness for He can do nothing
less, being truly just

o And yet God will not have been unfair in this judgment because He did
not leave them unaware of Himself

• Paul says in v.19 that which is known about God is evident within
them

• It’s important to understand what Paul IS saying here and what

he is NOT saying

o First, Paul is saying that God has placed inside every person both the
capacity and the opportunity to know of God

• The Greek word for evident means something that is plainly seen

• We sometimes say self-evident

• For example, I could say that the existence of the sun and moon
is plainly evident or self-evident

• No one needs to be taught of their existence, since they are

plainly seen by all (except perhaps a blind person)

o Similarly, the existence of the God of Creation is plain to all humanity,

because His existence is self-evident to our conscience

• We know instinctively that He exists because He has placed that

knowledge in us

• Solomon says it this way:

Eccl. 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their
heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even
to the end.
• Solomon says God has set eternity in the human heart

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Romans 1 21
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• No man upon his death will truly be surprised to learn that God
exists, not even those who claim no belief in God while they live

• Since they suppressed this truth planted in their heart, God will
justly reveal His wrath against their ungodliness

• On the other hand, Paul is NOT suggesting that this instinctive knowledge of
God is sufficient to bring us to a saving faith in Jesus Christ

o The phrase “that which is known” at the beginning of v.19 uses a verbal
form of the word knowledge

• So Paul is saying the knowable things of God are evident

• Not everything about God or Christ or the Gospel has been

placed in our hearts

• No one is saved merely by the knowledge of God planted in our

hearts

o Yet what is knowable of God is enough to convict us for ignoring Him

• It leave us without excuse Paul says in v.20

• So men suppress the truth of God inside themselves

• Moreover, Paul says they also suppress the truth of God evident in Creation by
perpetuating the lie that the Creation is God

o This is the oldest lie in the book, literally

• It’s the lie Satan authored…that the creation can replace the
Creator

• Whether it’s something they see in the cosmos or in nature or

even an angel or man, the pagan’s lie is that the created thing is
god

o You can understand a lot about God by examining what has been made
• You can see the immensity of the Creation and recognize that
the Creator must be a God of unimaginable power

• And anything that powerful should be feared if we don’t please

Him


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Romans 1 22
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• We can observe the perfect order of Creation, from the balance

of nature, the orbit of planets, the mathematics of natural forces

• In seeing these things, we understand God is a God of order, not

chaos

• And any God of order can be known and understood

o Furthermore, we can see in the Creation a world specially designed for

the needs of man

• From the atmosphere, the food supply, the cycles of nature, the
dominion man has over all creatures

• Clearly God has provided good things for us, which suggest the
Creator has taken a personal interest in mankind’s needs

• And so we can know He is a God of mercy and love

o We can also see the world is wearing out and that men die
• So as beautiful as this Creation may be, it’s not perfect

• It leaves us wanting for a solution to death, destruction and sin

• And though we may not know the solution, we know that a

caring, loving God must have way prepared for us

• So we may seek for that answer in confidence and hope

• Finally, we can fairly assume that a God of such power and mercy
will also hold us accountable should we rebel

• These are the invisible attributes of God, yet they are clearly visible to us in the
plan of Creation

o We see his eternal power and divine nature in these things, and so we
cannot live as if there is no God over His Creation

• All mankind has the ability to know these things about God, Paul
says, so all will be without excuse

• But once again, mankind cannot arrive at the Gospel merely

from observing Creation

• The Creation is a testimony to God’s nature and power, but more

revelation is still required to know the Gospel

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Romans 1 23
! of !23

• Nevertheless, they can be judged simply on the basis of the

testimony of Creation

o Psalms explains it this way:

Psa. 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Psa. 19:2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
Psa. 19:3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Psa. 19:4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Psa. 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

o The heavens testify to God’s glory

• To His existence, power and nature

• If you have marveled at the genius of an artist or musician or

scientist because of what they created

• Then how can you not marvel at God’s attributes when you
witness Creation?

• Just as we can see a work of art like the statue of David or the
Sistine Chapel and recognize the unique genius of Michelangelo

• Then even more, we should look at the Creation and understand

it what it says about God

o Moreover, it should lead us away from assuming too much about our
own power or the power of the created world

• After all, how significant do you feel when you witness the
vastness of the stars and galaxies?

• How wise do you think you are while you’re struggling to

understand the intricacy of atoms and DNA and cells and the
other building blocks of creation?

• How self-made do you feel when you see the perfection of the
design of the human body?

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