Third Presbyterian Sunday Morning Bible Study - March 7, 2021

Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Romans 1:1-17.

In this day of Emails, do you still like to get a letter, especially one that is hand written? What makes a letter special? (1) Took time to write it. (2) Get to know person better. (3) Can carefully evaluate what is said. I don’t write many letters. One thing is that my hand writing almost guarantees that the letter can’t be read. The only letters I write now are business letters and then on the computer. If it is a nasty letter like the one I had to write this week, I put down all of my arguments and let the letter rest for a day. I pull it back up and see that I was vague in some places and repeated my self in others. I almost always see that my first draft was way too mean, so I tame it down a bit. Again I let the letter rest a day and read it again. About this time, my original anger has subsided and I tone it down some more. Unfortunately, most letters we get today are form letter trying to get us to donate to the Save the Cockroach Society or some other group we really aren’t interested in. After going through the mail, the throw away pile is all ways much higher than the keeper pile.

In today’s lesson we get a chance to read a letter written nearly two thousand years ago and from one of the great Christians. Letters in Paul’s day were the only way for people to stay in touch with people they didn’t see often. Writing a letter then was costly. There was the cost of the paper, generally a form of papyrus, as well as having to find a way to deliver the letter. Letters in Paul’s day had a certain format that nearly everybody followed. First there was the greeting followed by a prayer for the health of the reader. This was followed by a thanksgiving to the gods. The normal “what’s happening” part came next followed by a paragraph of special goodbyes. A lot of the letters that have survive dealt with normal everyday things. One letter that has survived is from a young boy who had joined the Roman army and was writing back to his dad to tell him he had arrived safely after a very stormy cruise. Here is that letter.

“Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus. I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brothers. I thank my Lord Serapis (his god) that he kept me safe when I was in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey money from Ceasar - three gold pieces. And things are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because of that, I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla (his girl friend?) and my friends. I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your health. Serenus sends good wishes to Agathos, Daimon’s boy, and Turbo, Gallonius’ son.”

From this little letter we come to almost know the author. It would be interesting to know what happened to him. Did he survive the battles and come home? Was he left lying mortally wounded on some far off battle field? Did he ever marry Serenilla? Was his picture put in the family photo album? You can see that Apion followed the format for a good letter. As you read Paul’s letters, you can see that Paul follows the same style.

Just like in the letter from Apion, Paul’s letter to the Romans lets us see how he thought. The year is 58 AD. Paul was on his third missionary journey. He had this great plan. As he went from church to church he would ask them to donate some money for the home church in Jerusalem. These were all churches that Paul had started so he felt comfortable asking them to make this contribution. Most of the Christians in these churches were Gentiles and many had some money while the church in Jerusalem was very poor. Wouldn’t it be great to financially help out the home church in Jerusalem with contributions from these new mostly Gentile churches? It would have two very good effects. It would teach these new churches that their money can help other churches in trouble so be generous to other Christians in need. It would be a first lesson in setting aside money for missionary work. In Jerusalem, they would see that it didn’t matter whether you belonged to the oldest church or the youngest church, everybody was important and the church was universal and pulled together.

Paul was in Corinth staying at the home of his friend Gaius a man who Paul had converted to Christianity. It was winter and Paul was tired as he waited for spring to come so he could take the contributions back to Jerusalem. Now would be a good time to write some letters. Now Paul didn’t sit down to a computer I like I do to write a letter. Paul would pace the room dictating his letter to a secretary. We even know the name of one of those secretaries. In Romans 16:22, his secretary, Tertius, slips in his own greeting before closing the letter letting us know who he is.

Paul had always wanted to visit Rome. It was the greatest city in the greatest empire in the world. There were so many people there needing to hear the Good News. Paul didn’t have anything to do with the founding of the church in Rome. In fact there is nothing in scripture to tell us how the church at Rome got started. What probably happened was there was a group of Roman Jews who visited Jerusalem. As they were walking through the city streets, word spread of a great event that had just happened.

A group of men who had been followers of an executed teacher had met and all of the sudden it looked like fire dancing across their heads. The most amazing thing was that as they spoke, foreigners who didn’t speak their language all of the sudden understood them. The Roman Jews hurried down the street to see this miracle. A crowd had gathered around the entrance of the hall where the followers were. The Roman Jews could hear someone speaking and, sure enough, they understood everything that he said. He spoke of this man, Jesus, who was the promised Messiah. That he had lived among them and taught them and was sacrificed for their sins. And because of this sacrifice, all who believe in him will have their sins removed. Some of the Roman Jews heard and accepted the teaching.

When they got back to Rome, they shared this good news with their friends and even the Roman’s who worked for them. They met and formed churches eager to hear more about this Jesus. Some of the Jews went to the synagogue and told the priest that the Messiah that they had been looking for had come at last. This caused a riot when the priest accused them of blasphemy. This disturbance caused the Emperor to banished all of the Jews from Rome. But there were still the Romans who had heard and believed who remained and continued to meet. Groups were formed all over the city, each group being a church.

Now, it appeared that a deaconess of the church at Chenchrea named Phoebe was planning a trip to Rome. Chenchrea was the seaport for Corinth. This is the opportunity that Paul had wanted - a chance to establish a relationship with the Christians in Rome. He called in Tertius and started to dictating his letter. Tertius had to write fast because Paul had a lot to say and was excited about finally planning his trip to Rome. His plan was to stop off in Rome on his way to Spain. Spain was the oldest Roman colony. By Paul’s day, the really intellectual people in Rome had come from Spain - the leading play-writes, historians, philosophers. If Paul could reach these men while they were still learning and give them the Good News, then the most influential men in the Roman Empire would be Christians and through them, Christ would be spread all over the known world.

First he had to take the contributions to Jerusalem. Paul wanted to do this but he had a nagging suspicion that there was danger waiting for him there. He was right to be weary of the trip to Jerusalem. As soon as he arrived, he was arrested and eventually sent to Rome. He finally got to Rome but not the way he wanted. Paul remained in Rome under house arrest for about two years. Finally he was taken outside the city limits of Rome and was executed. He was never to take the Good News to Spain. That would be the task of others appointed by God.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a slave for Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with poer according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is writing to a group that he doesn’t know very well and they hardly know him at all. Oh, he knows some of the Christians in Rome, about twenty seven who he mentions, but, for the most part, these are strangers. So he has to start out telling the Romans who he is and how he has the authority to teach them about the Good News. 

Remember, Paul is dictating this letter. His first sentence would have been torn apart by my English teacher at Granby High School. “Too long. Too many topics. You just run on and on. Chop up this monstrosity into smaller more clear sentences.” But, Paul couldn’t wait to tell them what he knows about Christ, so he tries to jam it all in one long sentence. Poor Tertius must have been sweating bullets trying to keep up with Paul and still make the text readable.

Paul starts out by declaring that he is a slave for Christ. One of Paul’s favorite titles for Christ is Lord. The word used means someone who has undisputed possession of a person. Christ owns him in lock stock and barrel. But, the use of this term of slave also carried with it another identification. In the Old Testament it was used to describe all the great men of God. Moses and Joshua were the slaves of God. The proudest title for a prophet was to be called the slave of God. So by invoking his slavery to Christ, he places himself in the line of the great prophets of the Old Testament. Paul goes on to say that he was called to be an apostle. Again this looked back to some of the great figures in the Old Testament where men heard and answered the call of God. Abraham heard the call of God. Moses answered God’s call. Jeremiah and Isaiah were prophets because against their will, they heard and answered God’s call. Now, Jonah heard God’s call and went in the other direction. It wasn’t until he became the main course of a big fish, did Jonah answer God’s call, but even then without much enthusiasm. You see, Paul didn’t think about life in terms of what he wanted to do, but, in terms of what God wanted him to do.

Paul then says that he was set apart to bring the good news of God. He always felt that he had been set apart by God even before he was born. God has a plan for every man and woman because every man and woman is an expression of the thought of God. Nobody’s life is without a purpose. And that holds as true today as it did for Paul. Paul saw as his mission to bring the Good News of God to the Gentiles. 

Through this experience, Paul had received grace. Grace is a gift that is received absolutely free with no strings attached. It is something that is unearned and undeserved. His and our grace isn’t depended on what we have done for God but on what God has done for us. Grace means that our salvation doesn’t depend on our efforts but on God’s love.

Paul had received a job to do. He was to be an apostle to the Gentiles. This wasn’t an appointment that carried with it great honor but it was an appointment that carried with it great responsibility. So many people waiting to be saved through his words. It must have caused his heart to ache as he thought about how many people needed the Gospel and how in the world he was going to meet that challenge. God had set him apart not for glory but for hard work.

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeeds in coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles, 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, so both to the wise and to the foolish 15 —hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

It’s not hard to see that Paul is buttering them up a bit here. But, if you want someone to keep reading your letter, isn’t it wise to tell them something nice about themselves rather than something nasty? You get a letter soliciting for the Cockroach Society. The first thing they say is how your reputation as a bug lover has come to their attention. How flies swarm around your kitchen. Crickets know that a warm place is always there for them behind your sofa. If you pardon the expression, you can attract more flies with honey. So a little praise up front encourages the reader to read on and not crumple up the letter and throw into the circular file. But there could be a positive part of praising people. It could be that the praise comes from always seeing the best in people and not the worst. When you see the best in people, generally, you get back their best.

Paul assures them that although he might not know them personally, he has heard about them and how steadfast their faith is. During his prayer time, he holds them up and thanks God for their being on the front line in Rome. He truly longs to visit them and to speak with them. In his enthusiasm, Paul slips and tells them he wants to share with them a special spiritual gift. I can see Paul halting as he paced up and down in front of Tertius. “Maybe I better rephrase that last statement so they won’t think that I am putting myself above them. After all, they don’t know me from Adam and this might make them wonder where I get off telling them what to do.” He collects his thoughts and continues on by telling them that what he means is that he and they can share - they can grow as a result of what he can tell them and he can grow from what they have experienced.

Paul tells them how much he wants to meet with them but so far, he has been prevented from coming there. What do you think has prevented Paul from going to Rome? Have you every planned to go on a trip some day - some day - but that day keeps getting put further and further off in the future? I always planned that after I retire, I would take a trip across country and end in California and travel up the ocean highway seeing all the beautiful sights that I have only seen in pictures and movies. It is still a good plan but in all reality, I don’t think that it will ever happen. I’m 86 and haven’t penciled in my retirement date, yet. You see there are always reasons not to go. My retirement date provides me with the reason for not going somewhere that I really had lost interest in. 

Not so with Paul. He wanted to go to Rome but the business of founding churches in the areas west of the Mediterranean seem to be at the top of his “to do” list. Then there were the problems that developed in these churches that demanded his input. But, someday, Paul would find the right time to make that visit to Rome. In fact he could kill two birds with one stone. Spain now looked like a promising new field for planting churches. What better home base for the missionary journey to Spain than Rome? And wouldn’t it be great if the Church in Rome agreed to help finance the missionary trip?

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

With these two verses, the preliminaries are over. It’s time for the main event. You know in many of the great classical piano concertos, the first thing played is a loud chord and then comes the major theme of the music. Do you know why it is set up this way? This was done because the musical piece was generally performed at private gatherings in large open houses. When the musician sat down to play the song, there would still be the buzz and hum of conversation. He would play this loud chord and everyone would be startled and give him their attention. Then he would start to play the melodic theme of the piece. In other words, the music starts after the fat lady sings. Up to this point, Paul has been getting their attention - he has been hitting the loud chord. Now he is ready for the main theme. 

Paul starts by introducing his gospel. He says that he is proud of the gospel message. This coming from a man who was imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Beroea and laughed out of town in Athens. Even in Corinth the Greeks thought his message was foolish at best and the Jews felt that associating with Gentiles wasn’t consistent with their understanding of the Old Testament. Even with this background, Paul can declare that he is proud of that very same gospel. 

Paul outlines the great truths of his gospel. There is the conception of salvation. At this time in history, the people were struggling with salvation and searching for it. The philosophy of the day had become very practical. Rome was powerful, but all around the empire outside of Rome there was fear and doubt about the future. Life had to hold some hope for the common man. Never before in history have more men sought a release from the anxieties of the day. That power, that escape, that release is what Christianity offered. It seemed to be the answer to the yearnings of the world. The salvation offered by Christianity was a salvation from physical illness. It offered eternal security so it was a salvation from danger. It afforded the believer protection from evil and sin all around them, so, it was a salvation from a sick world. The saved person is given a Father and lots of brothers and sisters, so, it is a salvation from being lost and alone. Without a faith in Jesus Christ, we stand condemned before God, so, it is a salvation from the wrath of God. As Christians we look toward to something after our mortal life has ended, so, it is a salvation which extends our lives after we shuffle off this mortal cowl.

Paul then introduces his conception of faith. Faith is a belief. It says that I know that something is absolutely true. If the Good News is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then it is so because I know that it is absolutely true. It all boils down to this. Faith means total acceptance and absolute trust. It means betting your life that there is a God. It means being absolutely sure that what Jesus said is true and staking all time and eternity on that assurance. So how do we get this faith? It begins with a willingness to listen. After listening, we ask ourselves if this makes sense. We first hear and then agree that this is true. But, knowing something is true doesn’t always change the way we act on that truth. We may know that a yellow light means caution and better stop if you can, but, we step on the gas and try to get through on the pink. The final step after mental agreement is complete surrender. We yield to the message and it becomes the compass for our life.

Finally, Paul introduces justification. If we justify ourselves, we produce reasons that prove we are right. If someone else justifies us, he produces reasons to prove that we acted in the right way. But if God justifies us, he doesn’t find reasons to prove that we acted right. It doesn’t even mean that He makes a sinner a good man. What it does mean is that God treats the sinner just as if he had never been a sinner at all. Instead of treating a sinner as a criminal deserving of punishment, God treats us as children deserving of love. You see, justification means that God does not see us as His enemies but sees us as His friends. And this justification allows us to enter into a new relationship with God. A relationship of love and confidence and worship, instead of a relationship of distance and fear. 

So now we have the first part of Paul’s letter. And we can see that this isn’t any junk mail. In fact it is a letter that could have been written to the Third Presbyterian Church in Norfolk from Paul. Paul doesn’t know us personally, but, I am convinced that he would be excited about visiting us. To share with us his gospel as he listens to us tell of how God has worked in our lives. Everything that Paul tells the Romans, he could be telling us today. Who knows, maybe there is somebody out there who might just need this kind of letter from you and I. The only thing that has to be settled is who wants to be my secretary?

Prayer: Father, please forgive us when we try to complicate the Good News. Teach us to see that we have salvation through faith and through faith we have justification. Let us be the instruments who can bring this Good News to the searching ones around us. Amen.