Romans: Theology for Everybody (1-5)Sample

We’ve established that God is both at the center of Romans and its Divine Author; as a Father, He created this world for His kids to enjoy. We were created in His image to mirror Him, and we can see Him at work all throughout creation. 

The God of the Bible is holy, righteous, good, and not silent. He has spoken to us through the special revelation of the Scriptures, and Jesus Christ. He has also spoken to us through the general revelation of creation around us and conscience within us. 

Despite all of this revelation, people choose to suppress the truth because they love sin more than God. This is especially true of sexual sin, which people tend to love the most. This causes people to worship created things (like the human body and pleasures of sex), rather the Creator God. 

God’s response to this rebellion is wrath. The wrath of God is His fully just and right response to sin and evil which is at war against His holiness and goodness. The wrath of God is not something that has ever been popular for people to hear. 

However, the Scripture is very clear that the wrath of God is dealt with in only one of two ways. One, Jesus Christ paid the price of God’s wrath in our place for our sins on the cross. Two, we pay the price of God’s wrath in our place for our sins in hell. John 3:36 succinctly says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

The great paradox of God's perfect love and justice culminates in the cross where He deals with our sin problem once and for all, sacrificing His one and only Son in our place. Our decision is to give in to our flesh and desires or to live a life in the Spirit worshiping God and growing in wisdom.

  

Reflection:

• In Romans 1:22-23, Paul says that everyone worships and that the only difference is that some people worship the Creator, while everyone else worships someone or something in creation (e.g. spouse, child, food, alcohol, status, power, comfort, reputation, success, etc.). How have you seen this truth in your life, that if you are not passionately following God then your passions veer you off course to pursue someone or something else in His place?
• In Romans 1:32, Paul says that people who rebel against God, choosing sin and sex, ultimately act like evangelists seeking to recruit others to join their parade of unrepentant pride. How are you seeing this very thing happen right now in our culture?
• Paul talks about well-educated people who are intelligent but not wise. What is the difference between being smart and having intelligence versus being wise and knowing how to live in obedience to God?