Romans 1 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

By Faith Romans 1-2:16 There are places, events and words that evoke conflict Romans chapter 1 and 2 stir up many disagreements and arguments Specially if we read it out of context

Written 57 A.D. To a mostly Jews church in Rome Who also had a significant number of Gentiles Romans begins with greetings (1-7) A note of thankfulness for their faithfulness (8-15) Purpose or main point (16-17)

Romans 1 by faith from first to lastThe righteous will live by faith 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

This is Paul’s main thesis “The one who by faith is righteous, shall live” He quotes the Old Testament It is his starting point to speak to the Jews about the law… That faith is central to salvation

#1 God is plain as day – Therefore we are without excuse

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

#1 God is plain as day – therefore we are without excuse #2 People worship things, (idolatry) – When we deny God we find other things to worship

Romans 1 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

As a result of peoples denial of God Humanity has become more sick These sinful desires fall into two categories #1 Sensual #2 Antisocial

lusts 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.

29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

As we read this we can feel good about ourselves We have been separated Good and bad Us and them Nice and nasty Hooray!

Paul, speaking to a larger Jewish group sets them up Then he lets them down And he does the same for us today “Be careful about living by the law”

greed envy strifedeceit gossipsslanderers insolentarrogantboastful disobey senseless heartless 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Romans 2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Paul makes it clear we are all the same We are all sinful Because sin is sin We should not be pointing fingers Or acting as though we are better than other people Then, Paul says something that seems contradictory

5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”

“Done” refers not to work of righteousness The work of righteousness: faith Romans 1 by faith from first to last The righteous will live by faith 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

In Paul's mind the greatest "good" is to have faith in Christ because his thesis is “by faith from first to last”

The way Paul sees the law… Those who truly obey Obey not the literal Law of Moses Obedience is having faith in God We obey and are found righteous by faith

There are lots of… Circular Philosophical Theoretical Theological arguments

obey righteous 12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

Similarly Paul says Those who are Gentiles Who do not know the Law Yet know there is a God will be rewarded for their acknowledgement

14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)

Idolatry Sensuality Antisocial These behaviors were around in the past We will always encounter these behaviors Christ went to the cross precisely because we could never control our behaviors

A quick reading of Romans chapter 1 and 2 can… Lead us to think we are good and others are bad Lead us to believe that good works and behavior bring salvation

But that is not at all what Paul says We live “by faith from first to last” “The righteous live by faith” Not works Not good behavior Not deeds Anything short of faith separates us from God

Putting it all together Salvation is by faith Our primary responsibility is to believe in Christ How we live is important but it is not the process that leads to salvation

Putting it all together Don't judge others – especially their salvation When we judge people by their behavior we betray our own belief system What’s worse, we ask God to judge people by their behavior and by default we ask God to do the same for us

Putting it all together The work that counts is the work of having faith Believing is no easy thing It takes work, study, encouragement and nerves of steel in society

Let’s not get too smug about our good behavior “The righteous shall live by faith” Faith is of primary significance “By faith from first to last”