Introduction
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for the 1st Sunday in Lent, February 26, 2023. Over these next few weeks, I think I’m going to try my best to preach from the book of Romans. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part One, looking at Romans 1-2.
So we’re going to spend some time getting to know a man named Saul of Tarsus, whom we know as the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jewish teacher and tentmaker turned Christian missionary, theologian, reformer. Paul introduces himself to the Romans as simply “a servant of Christ Jesus.”
Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
After twenty years of missionary work around the Mediterranean, Paul has on his heart to bring the gospel all the way to Spain. To get there, he’s going to need support from a cluster of little churches in Rome. He needs donors, backers, companions, prayer. He writes a letter to a group he’s never met. It is an ambitious attempt to summarize and demonstrate his message, his vision, and his mission strategy. He is coming to visit them in person, and he wants to be ready and receptive to his vision.
Romans 1:7-10
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
History tells us that Paul makes it to Rome, although as a prisoner, not a missionary. And he never makes it to Spain.
But we have his letter to the Romans, arguably the most important of Paul’s writings if not the entire Bible. Paul wants to let them know about what he calls “the gospel,” the euangelion, the good news that was promised in the Hebrew Scriptures and finally revealed and realized in the person of Jesus, the Messiah Christ sent from God. This letter gives us ways to talk about human depravity and God’s righteousness. He gives us language for a doctrine of justification: Saved by grace through faith, apart from works of the law. And for sanctification: daily dying and being made new through the Holy Spirit, symbolized and set into motion through Baptism.
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By Grace Through Faith, Part One (Romans 1-2)
Introduction
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for the 1st Sunday in Lent, February 26, 2023. Over these next few weeks, I think I’m going to try my best to preach from the book of Romans. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part One, looking at Romans 1-2.
So we’re going to spend some time getting to know a man named Saul of Tarsus, whom we know as the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jewish teacher and tentmaker turned Christian missionary, theologian, reformer. Paul introduces himself to the Romans as simply “a servant of Christ Jesus.”
Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
After twenty years of missionary work around the Mediterranean, Paul has on his heart to bring the gospel all the way to Spain. To get there, he’s going to need support from a cluster of little churches in Rome. He needs donors, backers, companions, prayer. He writes a letter to a group he’s never met. It is an ambitious attempt to summarize and demonstrate his message, his vision, and his mission strategy. He is coming to visit them in person, and he wants to be ready and receptive to his vision.
Romans 1:7-10
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
History tells us that Paul makes it to Rome, although as a prisoner, not a missionary. And he never makes it to Spain.
But we have his letter to the Romans, arguably the most important of Paul’s writings if not the entire Bible. Paul wants to let them know about what he calls “the gospel,” the euangelion, the good news that was promised in the Hebrew Scriptures and finally revealed and realized in the person of Jesus, the Messiah Christ sent from God. This letter gives us ways to talk about human depravity and God’s righteousness. He gives us language for a doctrine of justification: Saved by grace through faith, apart from works of the law. And for sanctification: daily dying and being made new through the Holy Spirit, symbolized and set into motion through Baptism.
You also get a sense that he has heard about some tension between two groups within the Roman churches—all of them now Christian, but some of them having been Jewish immigrants, while others had zero familiarity with Jewish history or law. Paul takes pains to acknowledge both groups, and give assurance that God doesn’t play favorites.
Romans 1:15-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
The Wrath of God
We are justified by faith, we are made righteous through the righteousness of God, no matter where we came from. So far, so good news. Then, in verse 18, Paul takes up the topic of the wrath of God. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of humanity…” (1:18).
Interesting choice. I’m not sure I would have led with that. In fact, what Paul says next contains some pretty strongly worded stuff that might trigger something. And I think he is doing it on purpose. So I want to ask to stick with me here a few minutes, and trust Paul to know what he is doing. Verse 18-32 can be broken down into 6 sections, I think.
He starts with Adam and Eve—humanity has been a hot mess from the beginning, he says. Then he brings up idolatry: from golden calves in the wilderness to Emperor Worship in the 1st Century Rome.
The third category is materialism—worshiping that which is created instead of worshiping the Creator. Accumulating wealth and property and things while oppressing the poor and destroying the environment.
Next, Paul talks about natural and unnatural sexual norms. Sexuality was a hot button topic then and now. I’ll come back to this one later.
Because the next section really feels like the catch-all. It is a laundry list of examples of human depravity: every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. Oh yeah, then there’s gossip, slander, God-hating, arrogant, rude, boastful, disloyal to family and friends. They are always inventing NEW ways to sin! They lack love. They lack mercy.
The sixth part, verse 32, is the approval of all of the above, in the name of religion. Or self-actualization.
By the end of chapter one, there is no one who can claim to be exempt from God’s wrath. And that is the point. Sin is not THEIR problem. It is MY problem, not THEIR problem. We’re all in the same boat. We are all subject to God’s judgment. No one can claim exemptions or moral high ground.
Do you have one of those round, magnifying mirrors in your bathroom, with the light ring around it? You look into it and you can see every blackhead and pimple. Every grey hair and wrinkle. Romans 1:18-32, I believe, is a mirror. It is for me to recognize my own sinfulness—not to point at someone else.
I think Paul purposely starts his list talking about THOSE PEOPLE, because we are always more willing to point fingers and others first. But then, in chapter two verse one Paul make the shift from the third person: those people, to second person: You, therefore, have no excuse…
Romans 2:1-4
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
The Kindness of God
This is how it is for both Jew and Gentile, Paul says, and everyone in between. We are all subject to the wrath of God. But the good news of Christ Jesus is that our salvation rests in the kindness of God. God is merciful, patient, and forbearing. Mercy—we DON’T get what we deserve! Forbearing. God COULD intervene, but DOESN’T. Patient. God has all the time in the world. God believes in you, loves you, and will never give up on you—even if it takes a lifetime to make all the mistakes, learn from them, and come to know and trust God’s faithfulness.
The Table is Set
Now Paul has our attention. Here in Romans 1-2, he has placed humanity on even footing, located us all as being in the same boat, equally depraved, equally dependent on the mercy and patience and forbearance and kindness of God. Jew and Gentile and everyone in between. The rest of chapter two and through the first 8 verses of chapter 3, he furthers his argument that neither Jew or Gentile has a leg up on the other.
In chapter three verse 9 he is going to begin to spell out a way to understand justification, that we are saved by grace through faith. We are right with God because of the righteousness of God. How THAT works, and what it means for us today, well, that’s what we’ll look at next week, God willing.
Gender and Sexuality in Romans 1
I promised I would come back to the topic of homosexuality. Romans 1 does talk about homosexuality, and often those verses—Romans 1:26-27—are plucked out of their context to single out “the gays” as being particularly wrath-incurring. In addition to what I’ve already said on the topic today, let me add:
1. The Bible is authoritative, the source and norm of our Faith. Scripture is inspired, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and equipping us for good works. The Bible says what it says. It doesn’t say more than what it says. It doesn’t say less than what it says. The Bible says what it says. We read the whole Bible around here—not just a few verses here and there.
2. The 1st century church has a generally negative and skeptical view of homosexuality and non-conforming expressions of gender. Paul is not introducing a new idea here: it appears to be a given, a cultural norm of the day. And you’d be hard pressed to make a case that Paul wrote the book of Romans primarily to condemn homosexuality.
3. The Bible demonstrates variety, movement, growth, and progress when it comes to social matters, including marriage, gender, and sexuality. By Paul’s day, it was frowned upon for men to have multiple wives, concubines, or be married to your sister. Paul himself was a radical in his day when it came to views on the place of Jewish purity and dietary codes in the Christian faith.
4. The church has shown movement, progress, and growth when it comes to any number of social issues, including gender, race, and class. And it’s not just the Lutherans. Just this week, Rick Warren’s old church—Saddleback there in Orange County—got themselves booted out the Southern Baptist Convention for ordaining women! Come, Holy Spirit!
5. If the Holy Spirit can lead the church to growth and progress regarding race and women and slavery and polygamy, I believe that we should be open to the Spirit leading us to new understandings of gender.
6. I’ll be honest, most of the conversation today around gender and sexuality goes right over my head. I understand the whole pronoun thing, but puberty blocking drugs and using surgery to make a body conform to some societal standard of what it means to be masculine or feminine—I don’t get it. And I don’t have to. I just have to be willing to ask questions and to listen well.
7. There is the adage that to a hammer, everything is a nail. It feels like maybe some societal problems are being channeled into gender and sexuality, and that there are young people who are being manipulated. This concerns me.
8. I think we should take a page from Paul and be a little slower to judge. We could learn and practice more of that divine forbearance that we ourselves receive from God. That we practice some of that divine kindness and patience that God shows to us. We all have issues. We all are trying to figure stuff out. That’s why we go to church—to sort out our junk in a community saturated with grace and the Holy Spirit.
9. And so, just to be clear, when we as a church explore and wonder about becoming a more intentionally welcoming and affirming congregation of all people, regardless of gender, race, language, age, ability, whatever—we do so BECAUSE of what the Bible says, not despite. The love of Christ compels us. If people can’t sort their stuff out at church, where can they? And if we can’t sort out our junk at Faith, what are we even doing here?
Conclusion
God’s kindness leads to repentance. Energized by God’s amazing love, Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all creation.
Today I pray that you may be encouraged by the mercy, patience, and kindness of God. May the gospel reveal to you today the righteousness of God. May each of us have the courage to confess our sin and lean into the grace of God. May this study of the book of Romans teach us, rebuke us, and equip us for good works. May we be slow to judge others, and quick to give others the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks for listening, everyone. I encourage you to peruse the book of Romans for yourself. Bring me your insights, inspirations, and questions. Questions are so much more interesting than answers!
To learn more about Faith, go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. While you are there, check out some of our Bible studies, prayer groups, and ministries. And then like us, subscribe, donate, or sign-up for our newsletter. You can subscribe to this podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Chas and Nadia—you’re the best. Thanks for your production work on this podcast every week.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise God, all creatures here below. Praise God, above, ye heavenly host! Praise [to the] Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.