The Book of Romans

The Book of Romans

by Michael S. Horton (Host of the White Horse Inn)

What is the Book of Romans primarily about?

Here is Paul's argument in a nutshell: The problem that all of humanity faces is the wrath of God, which is entirely justified because the Gentiles know God according to general revelation and the Jews know God according to special revelation, yet both have failed to truly acknowledge God, since they have violated his law. Since everyone is under sin and God’s wrath, the only way out is the gospel: the announcement that in Christ God has provided a righteousness that satisfies his holy requirements. Christ has absorbed God’s wrath in his death and justifies the wicked by his resurrection. All of this is received through faith alone, apart from works, as the examples of Abraham and David demonstrate. Yet God has not only secured our salvation from the condemnation of the law, but also from the dominion of sin and death. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we are made new creatures. However, we continue to struggle throughout our life with indwelling sin and the only hope we have is to look outside of ourselves to Christ, with the indwelling Spirit testifying in our hearts to our free adoption and keeping alive within us the hope that not only we but the whole creation will share in the final redemption. In the light of all of this, nothing can separate us from God’s love. But how can we trust this gospel if God has been unfaithful to his earlier promises to Israel? Well, God has always maintained his prerogative of election even among the physical descendants of Abraham. Salvation is not a matter of physical descent or of human decision or effort, but of God’s mercy alone. God has been faithful to his promises because even now an elect remnant is being saved from among Jews and Gentiles, and after God adds alien Gentile branches to the Tree of Israel, he will finally bring in the fullness of the Jews as well. In view of these mercies that stagger our imagination, we can now offer not the dead sacrifices of animals for atonement but our own bodies as living sacrifices for thanksgiving and praise. In that light, stop judging each other about “things indifferent” and get on with the business of loving and serving each other.

John Calvin - Regard for Romans

From John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion:
"With regard to the excellency of this Epistle, I know not whether it would be well for me to dwell long on the subject; for I fear, lest through my recommendations falling far short of what they ought to be, I should do nothing but obscure its merits: besides, the Epistle itself, at its very beginning, explains itself in a much better way than I can. I will therefore simply lay out the argument of this great letter. For it can never be sufficiently appreciated that when anyone gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture. The whole Epistle is so methodical, that even its very beginning is framed according to the rules of art….For having begun with the proof of his Apostleship, he then comes to the Gospel with the view of recommending it; and as this necessarily draws with it the subject of faith, he glides into that, being led by the chain of words as by the hand: and thus he enters on the main subject of the whole Epistle—justification by faith; in treating which he is engaged to the end of the fifth chapter. The subject then of these chapters may be stated thus—that man’s only righteousness is through the mercy of God in Christ, which being offered by the Gospel is apprehended by faith. To begin, he must first convince men, asleep in their sins and the flattery of self-righteousness, of their guilt. Not only the pagans are arraigned, but they who boast in the law are brought to God’s tribunal, exposing the fictitious holiness of ‘saintlings.’ Having deprived all of any of their own righteousness before God, St. Paul then lays down his main subject—justification by faith."

Luther's Preface to the Book of Romans

Reform-Shire

From Martin Luther's Preface to the Book of Romans:
“You had better follow the order of this epistle. Worry first about Christ and the gospel, that you may recognize your sin and his grace. Then fight your sin, as the first eight chapters here have taught. Then, when you have reached the eighth chapter, and are under the cross and suffering, this will teach you correctly of predestination in chapters 9, 10, and 11, and how comforting it is….In chapter 12 he teaches what true worship is, and makes all Christians priests. They are to offer not money or cattle, as under the law, but their own bodies, with slaying of the lusts. Then he describes the outward conduct of Christians, under the spiritual government, telling how they are to teach, preach, rule, serve, give, suffer, love, live, and act toward friend, foe, and all men. These are the works that a Christian does; after all, faith takes no holidays....This Epistle is really the chief part of the NT, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.”

Are You Saved?????

Saved from what????


Answer:

Saved by God....

From God.

Sola Deo Gloria!!!

All to the Glory of God... Alone!!!

Are You Saved???

Reform-Shire

Ultimately... What are we saved from???

Please post a reply.

The Beatitudes

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

When we are regenerated (receive the Holy Spirit), we realize that we are sinners and how destitute and beggarly poor we are. We realize that we are dead in trespasses and we have absolutely no way to pay our debts. We are utterly bankrupt.

This is why we must continue to preach the Gospel instead of worrying about whether we are going to damage their self-esteem or whether they are going to like us. We often think that "If they like us, then their going to like our Jesus".


4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.

Then when we realize that we are destitute and dead in trespasses and nothing in ourselves to pay this debt we will mourn over our situation, and we will cry out for mercy. "Have mercy on me a sinner!"

Psalm 51

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.


And when we continue to preach the Gospel and Christ at the center, we as believers will continue to go to the Lord crying out for mercy, just like David did all throughout the Psalms, as we want to maintain that relationship and we always remember what God has saved us from His Holy wrath to begin with.

This is part of the sanctification process and this is what corrects us as believers, not scholding or cheerleading us to do better. We don't need "man-centered" books or classes for having "5 steps to a better this" and "40 days of whatever" to determine our purpose.

Grace and Peace

The Holiness of God

I'll get back to the Beatitudes soon...

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If I were asked to teach a class, I think the topic I would like to select for a 6 week course would be:

The Holiness of God

This also could be part of the "Romans Revolution" on the White Horse Inn.

Below would be a kind of Outline or a brief synopsis of the class information.

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways."
Psalm 145:17
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God’s holiness is evident in everything He does, particularly in creation, the law, judgment, and salvation.
The whole purpose of the Old Testament is to reveal the holiness and righteousness of God, who is utterly perfect and pure. In fact, the Hebrew word for "holy" is used more than 600 times in the Old Testament to indicate moral perfection.
What are some areas in which we see God’s holiness? First, we see it in the original perfection of His creation: "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). All of creation was in tune with God’s holy character.
Later God laid down His righteous, moral law for Israel. In it He gave rules about worship and society. He prescribed penalties for murder, adultery, and stealing. He condemned lying, coveting, and many other sins. There were many rules, but they revealed a God who is infinitely right and without error, flaw, or tolerance for sin. The law showed God’s character: "The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12).
God’s holiness will ultimately be demonstrated "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess. 1:7–9). His judgment on sin is a reflection of His holiness; He must punish it.
Perhaps the supreme expression of God’s holiness is seen in sending His Son to die on the cross (cf. Rom. 8:3–4). God paid the highest price, but it was the only price that could satisfy His holiness. Jesus Christ is Himself "the Holy and Righteous One" (Acts 3:14); so only He could "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26). God’s holiness is so infinite, and our unholiness is so great, that only the sacrifice of the God-man could pay for the enormity of our sin.
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Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God that He sent His Son to die for our sins, so we could be "holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4).
For Further Study: Some of God’s laws for the Israelites are given in Exodus 21–23. Note in particular the penalties for breaking these laws. What does this passage teach you about God’s character?