Rom 2:1-3:26, Jews and Gentiles are all guilty in God's eyes

Constable (2010) Outline

1. Introduction 1:1-17 (includes purpose, 8-15; and theme, 16-17)

2. The Need for God's Righteousness 1:18-3:20
1. The Need for All People 1:18-32
2. The Need of Good People 2:1-3:8
1. God's principles of judgment 2:1-16
2. The guilt of the Jews 2:17-29
3. Answers to objections 3:1-8
3. The Guilt of All Humanity 3:9-20

God's Principles of Judgment

Rom 1:32 (NIV) Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Rom 2:1-4 (NIV) 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. 2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, 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, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

• Interesting, we know others should pay for their sins--Hitler, Stalin, murderers, thieves, adulterers (Rom 1:32)-- but we don't see ourselves in the same boat
• Reminds me of the gospel illustration that asks questions of a person regarding the ten commandments (and sermon on the mount) and then by the person's own words shows him that he is a thieving, lying, murdering, adulterous person not worthy of heaven

• We think of ourselves as "good people" basically
• But how does God judge?
• God judges on truth
• We judge others on a scale we rarely used on ourselves

Rom 2:5-11 (NIV) 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."  7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 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. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

• This is an interesting passage and there a couple ways of viewing it
• First, we need to keep it context.  Some verses later, Paul will argue that all men sin and no one is worthy
• Second, it must agree with the rest of scripture.  Again, other scriptures point to the need for all men of salvation.  Only one person was ever perfect and that was Jesus Christ

• So there are now two ways of viewing verse 7
• It is hypothetical
• It is reference to your reward as a believer and not to your salvation.  Eternal life is a free gift but it is also a reward.  Salvation is obtained by faith alone, a point that Paul will make very clearly later on.  But the quality of life can be affected by the way we live our life on earth (a point Paul will also make later on)

• I lean toward hypothetical in the sense that Paul is building the argument but then he is going to show that no one (even the supposedly "good") can earn salvation

Rom 2:12-16 (NIV)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. 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.) 16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

• Verse 12 describe the person who sins apart from the law and the person who sins under the law
• If you sin apart from the law, you will be judged by that and you will perish
• If you under the law, you will be judged by the law
• If under the law, it is not good enough to hear the law, you must obey the law
• Being under the law does not justify you or make you right in God's eyes
• Gentiles who do things required by the law are a law for themselves, showing that some requirements of the law are written on our hearts and enforced by our conscience

• God says all men will be judged by their secrets
• We all know right and wrong.  Right and wrong may differ by culture but in every culture there is the sense of right and wrong.  Every culture will be judged by that sense

The Guilt of Jews

Rom 2:17-27 (NIV) Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

• In theory, if you do not break the law at an point, you would be considered righteous

• But what is Paul trying to show in this passage regarding the Jew?
• They do break the law
• God's name is blasphemed because of them (some Christians today are no better)

• In theory, if you didn't have the law but kept the law, you too would be considered righteous
• Having the law (knowing truth) and being circumcised (identified with religious people) will not save you

Rom 2:28-29 (NIV) A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

• One of the key requirements of the law is circumcision, but what is important about circumcision?
• The point is not the physical act nor the written code (written refers to the law)
• The point is a spiritual circumcision of the heart

• Why was there circumcision?
• It was an identification with the God of Israel for Jews
• It set Jews apart from all other peoples

• It is not the written code that sets a person apart as part of the family of God, but it is an internal thing done by the Spirit which makes a person a part of the family of God
• This is what a person needs -- a new heart.  And this is what is missing

Answering Objections

Rom 3:1-18 (NIV) What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:

"So that you may be proved right when you speak

and prevail when you judge."

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8 Why not say — as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say — "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.

9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written:

"There is no one righteous, not even one;

  11 there is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one."

13 "Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit."

"The poison of vipers is on their lips."

14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."

15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 ruin and misery mark their ways,

17 and the way of peace they do not know."

18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

• What is Paul not saying (or doing)?
• Paul is not dismissing the value of the law.  In fact, Jews (who are defined by the law) were given the very words of God
• Paul is not saying that not having the law is better either
• Paul is not saying that Jews are better than Gentiles

• What is Paul saying?
• No one (Jew or Gentile) is righteous
• No one does good
• No one seeks God

• Conclusion: Jew and Gentile have the same problem.  Neither have obtained righteousness, either under the law or apart from the law

Rom 3:19-20 (NIV) Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

• So what is and is not the value of the law?
• The law only speaks to those under the law
• No one will be declared righteous under the law
• The law's real value is showing you that you are a sinner.  A Jew especially, should have more reason than a Gentile to see his need for a savior

Rom 3:21-26 (NIV) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

• Now something different is occurring, what is it?
• A righteousness that is apart from the law
• Apart means that it is not part of the law, but it has been made known and testified to by the law and the prophets

• Key points:
• Righteousness from God through faith in Jesus to all who believe
• Freely justified by grace
• Redeemed by his blood

• What did God do?
• God presents him as a sacrifice of atonement
• That means he covered us
• Previous sins were left unpunished (by previous sacrifices of atonement)
• Implication: Justice at the present time was executed on Jesus
• Result: All who have faith in Jesus are justified (justice is executed and paid, not just covered, although we are also covered)

Rom 3:27-31 (NIV) Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

• What does it mean that we don't nullify the law but rather uphold it if in fact no one is made righteous by the law nor does it matter if you are under the law or apart from the law?
• Righteousness by faith fulfills the demands of the law.  The law is what made Jesus death necessary
• Without the law, Jesus' death would not make sense
• The law was required for Jesus' death in order to have a vehicle to express itself
• In fact, Jesus' death then nullifies the law
• Col 2:13-15 (NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

• Uphold can also be translated as "confirm, establish, or place"
• Paul addresses the issue of nullification head-on, but he does not fully answer the question yet

Rom 1:18-1:32, God "gave us" what we wanted and it isn't very pretty

Rom 1:17-20 (NIV) 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."


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. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.


• Do you notice the parallelism of these verses?
• A righteousness of God is revealed -- in the gospel
• The wrath of God is revealed -- by godlessness and wickedness of men
• Both the warning (wrath) and the solution (righteousness) are revealed
• How then does God view man's situation?
• Men are without excuse
• What may be known about God is plain to man
• God has made himself plain to man
• What is known?
• His invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature, are clearly seen
• Invisible … seen -- God says that we should be able to see these qualities
• How are they seen?
• Understood from what has been made
• If one understands creation, they will see the hand of God
• This is a fascinating point.  Because science (which is how we understand), has reasoned from (nature), that we are a the product of random chaotic forces through a process called evolution
• Not all scientists agree
• Mathematically, the theory has some incredibly small probabilities
• Summary: Satan and our own evil desires have blinded our understanding of what should be obvious from creation.  But God will still hold men accountable on the day of judgment


Rom 1:21-25 (NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 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.


24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.


• This is the first step in a downward spiral of sin.  How does is start?
• Men knew God.  Apparently, the knowledge of God was much more widespread in the days prior to Noah
• Men did not glorify him as God.  Interesting -- they know God but they don't glorify him -- why?
• Men did not give him thanks.  Again, why?  Are we so prideful as to not thank God
• These are the conditions, knowledge of God but failure to glorify or thank.  The result then follows
• Their thinking becomes futile
• Thinking is the use of our minds to reason and choose
• A definition for futile, is that it serves no purpose, and it is occupied with trifles
• Their foolish hearts become darkened
• Hearts represent our passions or emotions
• Darkened means to not see clearly
• Pride.  They claim to be wise
• The reality is they became foolish
• They exchanged God's glory for images
• They reduce God to something they can control
• They reduce God to something they create
• They reduce God to look like the rest of creation
• The consequence of their sins is one of the three "God gave them over"
• The first "God gave them over" to sexual impurity (which was the sinful desire of their heart)--this is what men wanted--God gave them what they wanted
• They now start to worship their lust
• They degrade their bodies with one another (perverting the goodness of sex which God had created for pleasure within set boundaries)
• The serve created things (material things consume their passion)


Rom 1:26-27 (NIV) 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. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.


• So because they worship their lust (sexual and material), God gives them over a second time
• Homosexuality or  unnatural relations
• Inflamed lust
• Indecent acts
• Bodies receive the due penalty for their perversion
• Perversion means to use something for a purpose it was not created
• Not sure what the due penalty would be.  It would seem that AIDS would be so today, but most likely there is some other spiritual effect from homosexuality that occurs to a person's spirit


Rom 1:28-32 (NIV) Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 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. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.


• Additionally to the perversion of sex, what else does mankind do?
• It does not value the knowledge of God
• It is not worthwhile
• It is a waste of a person's time
• It is one thing to replace God with images you can control, but now the knowledge of God, however poor, is disdained
• The result of their disdain of God's existence, is that God gives them over a third time.  What is the overall category here that God gives them over to?
• A depraved mind
• Definition: impairment of virtues and moral principles (thefreedictionary.com)
• Doing what ought not to be done
• The list is incredible and pretty much describes most societies today.  I want to focus on the last verse, vs. 32
• Men know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death
• Men know the result is death
• Men continue to sin
• Men approve of those who do the same things
• APPLICATION: Deep down, we all know that we sin.  We all recognize that 'certain sins' leads to death.  But where we fool ourselves is thinking that our sin does not deserve death

2 Kings 23:31-25:30, God's patience with our behavior has limits

2 Kings 23:29-30 (NIV) While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. 30 Josiah's servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

• What is Assyria's status as a world power at this point?
• Very weak since loss of 185K at Jerusalem
• Egypt is meeting up with Assyria to assist or attack (not clear)
• This is right around the time that Nineveh  will fall to the Babylonians

• Why attack Egypt?
• Fear of Egypt / Assyrian union destroying Judah (if intent was "to help")
• Fear of Egypt attacking Assyria and filling the power vacuum (if intent was to attack)
• 2 Chron 35:21, Pharaoh declares his intentions were not to attack Israel

• Since God protected Judah from Assyria before, why attack Egypt now?
• Prudent decision.  Attack Egypt while weaker than when they join up with Assyria

2 Kings 23:31-35 (NIV) Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.

• Apparently, Judah's defeat by the Egyptians puts them under Pharaoh's power, what evidence do we see?
• Changing the rule
• Accessing him in Jerusalem
• Imposing a tax
• Changing his brother's name (a sign of dependence)

• At this point in history, all signs point to Egypt as the power to be.  Jeremiah appears during this time and announces that Israel's judgment would come from the north
• The north is the direction that Assyria had come from
• News of the fall of Nineveh was well known

2 Kings 23:36-24:4 (NIV) Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done.

24 During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him. He sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord's command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.

• Jeremiah is the referenced prophet of this time, although there were others

• Daniel is taken during Babylon's first deportation
• The main reason for God not delaying his judgment is mentioned clearly?
• Sins of Mannasseh (mostly idolatry)
• Shedding of innocent blood

• Jeremiah gives a very interesting prophecy at this time.  Up to now, there is still a chance to delay God's punishment.  But the leaders refuse, as a result, Jeremiah gives the prophecy of the broken pottery.  The key point about pottery that is smashed and broken is?
• It is too late to put it back together
• APPLICATION: God is very patient with our sin, but there comes a point where things cannot be put back together

2 Kings 24:5-17 (NIV) As for the other events of Jehoiakim's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done.

10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, 11 and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. 13 As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and took away all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. 14 He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans — a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.

15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land. 16 The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand craftsmen and artisans. 17 He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

• The famous burning of Jeremiah's prophecy occurs during this Jehoiakim's reign (Jeremiah 36)
• The king cuts the scroll every few lines and throws it into the fire
• It does not say how Jehoiakim dies

• Jehoiachin is actually Jehoiakim's brother, and is the third son (Jehoahaz was the first) of Josiah to rule.  This is the second deportation to Babylon

• False prophets will continue to preach all is well and that those items will remain.  Jeremiah preaches the opposite

• Zedekiah, Josiah's (very much younger) brother, is installed as the king

• Most of Jeremiah's prophecies are fulfilled, except the complete destruction of the city and the temple
• Still, the people and Zedekiah refuse to believe

2 Kings 24:18-25:12 (NIV) Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 19 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 It was because of the Lord's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,  5 but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 6 and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. 7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 10 The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 12 But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

• What is interesting is to read the account in Jeremiah
• Jer 40:2-3 (NIV) When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, "The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. 3 And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.
• The supposedly ungodly commander of Babylon has a better understanding of what is happening than the people of God
• Also, notice how the commander of Babylon is different from the commander of Assyrian, who both used religious themes in their speeches
• It is apparent, that Daniel, now one of the leading people in Babylon has influenced his circle

• Application:  Who influences who in our circle of friends?  Do we lead people toward Christ, or do they lead us away from Christ?  Be hones with yourselves

2 Kings 25:18-26 (NIV) The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. 19 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. 23 When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah — Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men. 24 Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. "Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials," he said. "Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you."

25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 26 At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians.

• Briefly, (story in Jeremiah 40-43)
• Army commanders are guerilla leaders
• They are Jews who fought against Babylon
• Gedaliah tries to get them to work with him and Babylon
• Johanan warns Gedaliah about Ishmael (a descendant of David)
• Ishmael assassinates Gedaliah
• Johanan fails to capture Ishmael and he escapes
• Johanan goes to Jeremiah to ask his advice
• Johanan and the people reject Jeremiahs advice and flee to Egypt
• Babylon then, starts a new attack upon Egypt

• If you go to God for advice and direction, you better follow through on what is revealed
• If God speaks to you, do not ignore him

Rom 1:1-17, Faith leads to obedience; prayer, planning, and prudence to right decisions; and service to energy

Following Notes are from Constable, Notes on Romans, 2010

34	Following his conversion on the Damascus Road, Paul preached in Damascus, spent some time in Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. Next he traveled to Jerusalem where he met briefly with Peter and James.
37-43	He then moved on to Tarsus, which was evidently his base of operations and from which he ministered for about six years.
43-48	In response to an invitation from Barnabas he moved to Antioch of Syria where he served for about five years.
48-49	He and Barnabas then set out on their so called first missionary journey into Asia Minor.
49	Returning to Antioch Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians to strengthen the churches that he and Barnabas had just planted in Asia Minor.
50-52	After the Jerusalem Council, Paul took Silas and began his second missionary journey through Asia Minor and on westward into the Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia.
51	From Corinth, Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He proceeded to Ephesus by ship and then on to Syrian Antioch.
53-57	From there he set out on his third missionary journey.
53-56	Passing through Asia Minor he arrived in Ephesus where he labored for three years.
56	During this time he wrote 1 Corinthians.
56	Finally Paul left Ephesus and traveled by land to Macedonia where he wrote 2 Corinthians.
56-57	He continued south and spent the winter in Corinth. There he wrote the Epistle to the Romans and sent it by Phoebe (16:1-2) to the Roman church. The apostle then proceeded from Corinth by land clockwise around the Aegean Sea back to Troas in Asia where he boarded a ship and eventually reached Jerusalem.
57	In Jerusalem, the Jews arrested Paul and imprisoned him.
60-62	He arrived in Rome as a prisoner and ministered there for two years. During this time he wrote the Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). The Romans freed Paul, and he returned to the Aegean area.
66-68	There he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, experienced arrest again, suffered imprisonment in  Rome a second time, wrote 2 Timothy, and died as a martyr under Nero in A.D. 68.

• Review: Historical review of Paul's ministry.  Argument for writing of letter from Corinth (after the two letters) in the winter of AD 56-57.

• Author is Paul.

• Relationship to the church: Does not know the church. An early church father writes that it was not founded by an Apostle.  Church is well known.  Possible that Jewish Christians as far back as Pentecost started the church

• Purpose:
• Since does not know them, it appears to be a more general letter, dealing with things that any church might experience
• He does talk about visiting the church and then preceding to Spain
• This is also a transition point in his ministry.  He knew he was going to Jerusalem and that danger awaited him there.  It could be he wanted to make sure certain things were written down before he left

• Characteristics:
• Romans is the longest of Paul's letters
• It is one of the very best arguments for the gospel and Jew/Gentile need for salvation

Rom 1:1-7 (NIV) 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 human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

• In the salutation, Paul makes a number of important points up front, what are they?
• Paul is an apostle. This establishes Paul's authority
• Paul is called to be an apostle.  That is, he is designated or set apart by God.  He did not aspire to the honor, it was from God
• The gospel was promised beforehand in the scriptures
• Jesus is both man, a descendant of David, and God, through the Holy Spirit
• His position as Son of God is verified by the power of God through his resurrection from the dead
• As a result of his work, Paul's calling was to bring the gospel to the Gentiles

• The gospel seems to be the thesis statement of the letter.  He will spend most of the letter discussing the gospel and its implication on Gentile (and Jew)

• How does Paul describe his mission?
• To call people (Gentiles) to obedience
• Obedience comes from faith
• The result of the gospel is "belonging" to Jesus Christ

• This is an important distinction. Our belonging is not the result of our obedience.  And our obedience is not the result of our human effort
• Obedience comes from faith.  Therefore as our faith grows, our obedience will also grow
• Our obedience identifies us with Jesus, and so we can know that we belong to God.  But it is are faith that saves us

• APPLICATION: A lack of obedience is an indication of a lack of faith, not a need for more works.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  If our life lacks obedience, what are we doing to help our faith to grow?

Rom 1:8-13 (NIV) 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 with my whole heart 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.

11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

• The first thing to note is that their church is known all over the Roman world
• Argues for their establishment for some time
• Argues that doctrinally they are doing well since the report is good

• Paul is praying for them as he does for all the churches he knows and ministers to currently
• Paul remembers them in prayer
• Paul Is praying that, by God's will, a way will be opened to come to them

• What does Paul say more specifically about his coming to Rome?
• He has desired to do it
• He wants to impart some spiritual gift
• He has planned many times to come (but events and circumstances have prevented it)

• We learn a few principles here.  When a person has a desire on their heart, is it from God or not from God?
• We really can't tell
• His reason was spiritual
• Paul does not assume that the desire equates to God's will

• Is there a spiritual reason or purpose for the desire?
• Yes, to impart a spiritual gift (teaching)
• Yes, to be mutually encouraged
• Yes, to have a spiritual harvest (to see people grow and come to the Lord)

• Does a spiritual reason to fulfill a desire guarantee that it will happen?
• Not at all.  A desire and a spiritual reason for the desire does not mean it is the will of God

• Does that mean one cannot make plans based on a desire and a spiritual reason?
• No, but the plans suggest reasoned thought and not foolish decisions
• Paul's plans were curtailed many times (reasons not given)
• Paul never made a foolish decision because of a desire on his heart (and a spiritual purpose)

• At the point Paul is writing the letter, he is in Corinth, a short trip over land and sea to Rome (a month at the most).  When will he actually get to Rome?
• About three to four years later
• He does fulfill his desire, but many years and many false starts later

• APPLICATION: A desire of the heart does not indicate the will of God nor is it assumed not to be the will of God.  Having a spiritual purpose does not validate it as a "must do now thing."  We are not to make foolish decisions on the basis of a heart desire and a spiritual reason.  We are to pray (as Paul does), we are to plan (as Paul does), and we are to rationally act (as Paul does when circumstances prevent his fulfillment)

Rom 1:14-17 (NIV) 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."

• Paul's ministry was to Gentiles.  Here he divides Gentiles into groups
• Greeks and non-Greeks (or barbarians) divides people by language and culture
• Wise and foolish divides people intellectually

• Why mention these different groupings of Gentiles?
• I think each required a different approach
• The gospel is always the same message but how we approach people will depend on language, culture, and intellectual background (or lack)

• Paul shares three attitudes toward the gospel
• Obligation
• Eagerness
• Unashamed

• Paul felt obligated to preach, why?
• A natural response to salvation is an obligation to share the truth

• Paul was eager to share the good news.  Why?
• I think one of the things that can excite a person is seeing ministry change people's lives.  When we are involved in ministry it excites us.  When we are just a sponge, we grow rancid

• Paul was not ashamed.  Why say that?
• Rome was a sophisticated environment
• The gospel was powerful.  It changed lives.  It still changes lives
• While the gospel was a gift, it requires that a person believe.  Christianity is not universalism.  Only those who believe are saved

• Paul practiced Jew first, then Gentile in all his ministry travels, even though he was called to minister to Gentiles
• As a personal application, I support a ministry to Jews
• I think it is a good idea to have some ministry to Jews as well

• Finally, verse 17 is the starting point and thesis statement for the rest of the letter
• In the Gospel (and only the Gospel)
• A righteousness from God is revealed (this is our problem, we don't have righteousness and we cannot stand before God)
• The righteousness comes from faith (first to last) or from the old covenant to the new covenant.  Work can never save you.  Works can be useful in identifying your salvation to others and yourself, but faith alone saves

• APPLICATION: Ministry can feed our desire to walk more closely with God.  Focusing on self leads to a dreariness in ministry