26-0222sc - Detailed Summary

The class begins with Teacher Steve leading the group in prayer to the Heavenly Father. He expresses gratitude for the day and the opportunity to study God’s Word together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The prayer acknowledges human sinfulness and God’s desire to reconcile sinners to Himself through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which provides forgiveness of sins and the righteousness needed to approach God. Steve asks for God’s involvement in the study, requesting understanding and insight into Paul’s Spirit-inspired letter to the Romans so the group can comprehend and apply its teachings to their lives. The prayer concludes in Jesus Christ’s name with a request for blessings on the study. Amen.

Steve revisits a key question from the previous week: What pleases God? He answers that it is to believe that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. He then explains Paul’s primary desire in writing to the Roman church: to develop a believing faith among its mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles. Both groups bring their own "baggage"—the Jews cling to their faith in God under the Law of Moses and Jewish traditions, while the Gentiles come with faith in various gods not aligned with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul urges both to abandon their previous faiths and embrace the faith God desires through Jesus Christ. The purpose of Jesus is to establish His own church, and Paul wants the Romans to become members of Jesus' church by forsaking the Law of Moses (for Jews) and their pagan beliefs (for Gentiles) in favor of faith in Jesus. Jesus serves as the high priest of this faith. Steve emphasizes that Christians are to become disciples of Jesus alone, citing the Great Commission to make disciples of Jesus (not anyone else), baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with belief and baptism leading to salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit as described in Peter’s Pentecost sermon. Paul writes to help the Roman believers become unified members of Jesus' church without competing faiths or claims of superior knowledge of God.

Steve continues by noting that Paul addresses the tensions between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome, where Jews might claim superior knowledge of God and Gentiles approach their former gods ignorantly and superstitiously. The goal is for all to understand the faith Paul presents. He mentions he will hold comments until later and invites questions or observations. He explains that his approach draws from hermeneutics (the science of biblical interpretation) and introduces apologetics, a Greek term meaning defense—not apologizing for Christianity, but defending the faith and God. Paul, in Romans, engages in apologetics by defending the Christian faith. Steve announces he will read from the New International Version starting at verse 1 and plans to pause at verse 18 for reflection. He shares a personal insight gained from private study: the importance of rumination—carefully going over the text repeatedly, like a cow chewing its cud—to deeply understand the passage.

Steve reads Romans 1:1-17 from the NIV, covering Paul’s introduction as a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. He highlights key phrases: Jesus declared the Son of God in power by His resurrection through the Spirit of holiness; through Jesus, grace and apostleship are received to call Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith; the Roman believers are among those called to belong to Jesus Christ; greetings of grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul thanks God for the Romans' faith, known worldwide, and affirms his constant prayers for them, expressing his long-standing desire—hindered until now—to visit, hoping to impart a spiritual gift for their strengthening and mutual encouragement. He mentions his obligation to preach to Greeks and non-Greeks, wise and foolish, and his eagerness to preach in Rome. Steve pauses after verse 16-17 to emphasize Paul’s declaration: he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew then to the Gentile. In the gospel, God’s righteousness is revealed—a righteousness by faith from first to last, as written, "the righteous will live by faith."

Steve explains that Paul refers not to God’s own inherent righteousness but to the righteousness God offers to humanity. Despite mankind defaming, turning against, and violating God, He extends forgiveness and righteousness through the gospel. This righteousness is obtained exclusively through the gospel message of Christ’s death on the cross to pay humanity’s sin debt. The gospel provides the opportunity for reconciliation with God, which requires righteousness; proper response to the gospel—through faith—is the only way to receive it. Steve clarifies that the gospel package contains the righteousness needed for reconciliation and fellowship with God. A student observation reinforces that righteousness is known only because God reveals it in the good news (gospel), and it requires faith. Paul stresses the need to believe in God as Creator who controls the world, to acknowledge alienation from God through sin, and to accept the offered reconciliation. The remainder of chapter 1 will address how humanity has alienated itself from God, setting up the need for this gospel-provided righteousness.

Steve reiterates the necessity of faith: first, believing that God exists, and second, believing that God extends righteousness to humanity through Jesus, who is central to the gospel. The gospel is described as the "package" that contains Jesus as the Son of God, requiring belief in Him for salvation. He restates Paul’s words from verse 16-17, emphasizing that Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes—first to the Jew, then to the Gentile—and that in the gospel, God’s righteousness is revealed, a righteousness that comes by faith from first to last, as Scripture declares that the righteous will live by faith. To receive this, people must hear the gospel, recognize their alienation from God due to sin, and understand that reconciliation comes only through accepting Jesus, who offers salvation, forgiveness, and fellowship. Steve stresses that faith is essential to respond to this offer. Paul will next explain how humanity has alienated itself from God, asserting that every person on earth has done so—no one is exempt—and that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Alienation and sin are essentially the same; the act of alienating oneself from God is sin itself, setting the stage for Paul’s discussion of specific acts that demonstrate this alienation.

Steve transitions to Romans 1:18, reading that God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness. He explains that since what can be known about God is plain to them—because God has made it plain—the invisible qualities of God, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen and understood from what has been made since the creation of the world, leaving people without excuse. Creation itself testifies to God’s existence so clearly that no one has a valid reason to deny Him. A student interjects to affirm this point, referencing the English Standard Version’s wording of "eternal power and divine nature," and connects it to Genesis 1:1, where God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning.

The discussion deepens into philosophical and scientific implications as the student (with Steve’s encouragement) explains why natural explanations fail. Naturalism seeks purely natural, non-supernatural answers and rejects spiritual or supernatural causes, yet even naturalists acknowledge that nature is not eternal—it had a beginning and is winding down (referencing entropy or the second law of thermodynamics). This poses the problem: if something exists now, where did it come from? Tracing back through natural causes leads to an infinite regress with no ultimate answer within nature itself. Something must exist outside of nature to cause nature—an eternal, non-natural (supernatural) cause. Paul identifies this as God’s invisible attributes: His eternal power (the motivating energy behind creation) and divine nature (existing beyond and creating nature). Steve notes that Scripture has presented this solution from the beginning in Genesis, but people willfully suppress this truth, refusing to recognize it despite the logical necessity and biblical clarity.

Steve emphasizes that God desires belief in Him as a personal being—an entity, a deity with feelings—who created humanity and interacts with it personally. He draws from Genesis 3, describing God walking with Adam and Eve in the garden, like a parent with children, warning them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to protect them, similar to warning against a hot stove. Initially, all was well, but Eve faced a challenge and made a conscious decision to disobey. Steve parallels this to every person’s experience: everyone knows certain actions (cursing, drunkenness, sexual immorality) displease God, yet each makes a deliberate, overt decision to do what they know they should not. This mirrors Paul’s later argument in Romans 7 about doing what one does not want to do and not doing what one wants. The root cause is sin—specifically self-reliance, self-seeking, and prioritizing personal desires over God’s will—leading to the conscious rejection of God as Lord, Father, and friend.

Steve illustrates the personal nature of this rejection with a recent conversation with his daughter about her husband’s sexual immorality, asking how she felt betrayed and connecting it to how God feels when humanity commits immorality—abandoning Him for other "gods," alienating and sidelining Him. God takes such rejection personally, as seen in the first commandment and His declaration as a jealous God. Like a betrayed spouse feeling alienated and cutting off the relationship, God removed Adam and Eve from the garden after their disobedience, despite previously providing everything they needed. Steve stresses that God offers the same benefits—provision and care—to those who return to Him faithfully through Jesus. Jesus continues to look after believers, and Scriptures like Psalms (around 107-108) highlight God’s ongoing involvement. Ultimately, human attitude—choosing to reject or accept God—determines the outcome, with God’s wrath directed at those who overtly decide to disobey and no longer accept Him as God.

Steve emphasizes that God focuses on humanity’s attitude toward Him, as it determines one’s spiritual direction and outcome. He repeats the key verse from Romans 1:18 about God’s wrath being revealed from heaven against godlessness and wickedness, where people suppress the truth by their wickedness. This suppression stems directly from attitude—when individuals decide against God, they reject what is plainly evident about Him through creation: His eternal power and divine nature clearly seen and understood from what has been made, leaving them without excuse. Steve connects this to modern worldly attitudes that are anti-God, suppressing knowledge of Him and defiantly insisting on personal freedoms like tattoos or homosexual relationships despite biblical teachings. Paul contrasts this with the Christian attitude that must align with God rather than Satan, requiring believers to change their mindset and live accordingly throughout life.

Continuing with Romans 1:21-23, Steve reads that although people knew God, they neither glorified Him nor gave thanks; their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts darkened. Claiming wisdom, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling humans, birds, animals, and reptiles—believing almost anything except the truth. He illustrates this pattern with historical examples: when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea praising God, the mixed multitude including Egyptians brought their pagan faith along, failing to leave it behind. Similarly, after the flood, Noah’s family carried sin forward, as seen in Ham’s actions, demonstrating that sin and wrong attitudes persist unless deliberately left behind. Steve stresses Paul’s challenge to the Roman church (and believers today) to abandon sinful baggage and disbelief at the door, ensuring they do not carry such attitudes into their new life in Christ.

God’s Kindness Leading to Repentance - Steve transitions to Romans 2:1-4, reading that those who pass judgment on others condemn themselves, since they practice the same things. God’s judgment is based on truth, and hypocritically judging others while doing the same invites God’s judgment. He questions whether people show contempt for God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead to repentance—echoing Paul’s message in Acts 17. Steve urges rumination on this passage, noting the difficulty in grasping it fully. He contrasts human judgment, which is always flawed due to limited knowledge and lack of omniscience, with God’s perfect judgment based on complete understanding.

Steve applies the text to Christian community dynamics, particularly in Romans chapters 12-14, where Paul addresses attitudes toward brothers and sisters in Christ. Condemning others as un-Christian for certain behaviors while engaging in similar or worse actions is hypocritical. Instead of judging others harshly, believers should focus on self-examination, applying the same standards to themselves first. Steve reminds the class that in Christ, Christians receive forgiveness of sins, with Jesus' blood continually cleansing them. No one has the right to condemn a fellow believer if Jesus and God do not condemn them. Therefore, if someone knows enough to judge another, they should judge themselves accordingly. Steve concludes the class by noting time is up, suggesting follow-up on these points the following week.