Year 4 Week 1 Students: God’s Righteousness and Man’s Sin

God has chosen to save, redeem, and sanctify sinful men and women and to make them His people. He has chosen to use us to help build His kingdom. The call to build God’s kingdom is not just limited to pastors and missionaries; it’s a call that extends to everyone who receives the salvation God offers through Jesus. Whoever we are and whatever we do, if we are followers of Jesus, God has called us into His service.

The Lord spoke to Paul in Acts 23:11 and told him that he would go to Rome. Though Paul traveled all over the Mediterranean world preaching and establishing churches, all the while he kept his eyes upon Rome. His ultimate hope was to also share the Gospel in Spain (Romans 15:22-24).

Paul did not establish the church in Rome, but he wanted to go there to encourage the believers and to establish a launching point for his journey to Spain. How the church in Rome came to be is not altogether clear. Most likely the church was founded by a group of Jewish converts who returned to Rome upon leaving Jerusalem after Pentecost to tell others the Good News of the Gospel (“Introduction to Romans,” ESV Study Bible, pg. 2151). Regardless of its beginnings, the church thrived in the capital city of the Roman Empire and had been doing so for years by the time Paul wrote to them.

The Roman church had not been without turmoil, however. The Jews in Rome had grown increasingly hostile toward the followers of Jesus in the city, and their hostility led to civil unrest. Pax Romana, or the peace of Rome, was foundational to the Roman way of life. Revolts and anarchy were not tolerated, so Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews, including the Jewish Christians, from the city when they began engaging in heated disputes over Jesus. By the time the Jews returned in the middle of the first century, the once predominantly Jewish congregation in Rome was now overwhelmingly Gentile. Paul probably wrote this letter to the Romans about the time the Jews were returning to the capital city. His letter informs them of his journey and his plan to go to Spain and presents them with an account of his theology (Everett Harrison and Donald Hagner, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, pgs. 21-22).

In spite of the many obstacles the followers of Jesus faced, including persecution and learning to accept a multi-ethnic church body, the church was growing. Paul, the other apostles, and all of Jesus’ followers had successfully fanned the Gospel flames into a wildfire that was spreading across the known world. The story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection had made it as far as Rome, and Paul had intentions to take it even farther—all the way to Spain. But before he ever visited the Roman Christians, Paul wrote to tell them of his travel plans and of the God who must deal justly with man’s wickedness.

Paul’s Introduction: Romans 1:1-7

Paul opens his letter to the Romans in the way ancient letters were traditionally written: with a greeting. He introduces himself as Paul, a name the Romans would have immediately recognized. Since their congregation was at one time predominantly made up of Jews, they would have known the story of their persecutor-turned-ally. Paul now saw himself as a “servant” or slave of Jesus. As a slave to a master, Paul was completely committed to Jesus and His purposes. He was also an apostle, an office to which he believed God had called him and set him apart.

In these opening lines, Paul declared that the Gospel was an ancient message, one God had been promising in His Word and through the prophets. Its message centered upon His Son, the human Davidic descendant who was both fully man and fully divine equal with God. The proof for such a claim was Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Through Jesus, Paul and all believers had been given the gift of grace which had resulted in their salvation and their callings. As saints, all of the believers in Rome—whether Jew or Gentile—were called into the same body, the church. They were all God’s people, and Paul was writing to them before his arrival in hopes that he would find them fully experiencing the grace and peace of God.

Thankfulness and Plans to Come to Rome: Romans 1:8-15

For the Apostle Paul, no news was more encouraging than word of a group of faithful saints thriving and ministering together for the sake of the Gospel. Paul was grateful to hear that the Roman church was doing well. Remember that Paul viewed his calling as coming from God, and he saw that calling as a specific ministry to the Gentiles. Since the church in Rome was now primarily made up of Gentiles, Paul saw them resting under his apostolic authority.

Paul’s desire to go to Rome flowed from his longing to encourage and build up the believers in the capital city, and he firmly believed that they would benefit from his ministry. He wanted, however, to be very strategic and not go to visit the Roman believers until the time was right. He knew that, just like every other follower of Jesus, God had endowed him with spiritual gifts to use for the encouragement of other believers. More precisely here, it seems that Paul intended to impart to the Roman church the unity that results from the Gospel. Indeed, this is the thrust of the entire letter to the Roman church. The believers in Rome must put aside petty divisions between Jews and Gentiles and embrace the unity of following Christ. Only then would they be able to continue in effective ministry and help Paul in his mission of taking the Gospel to Spain (Thomas Schreiner, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. 6, pg. 54).

Like Christians of every generation, the believers in Rome faced struggles, temptations, and other realities that come with living in a fallen world. Yet God had designed a beautiful system of fellowship among His followers to combat the weariness that life in a fallen world undoubtedly brings. If you are discouraged, look for the person in the church to whom God has given the gift of encouragement. If you are rebelling, God has given another person the ability to sternly call out your sin. Within the body of Christ, no one should be lacking, for each person is given a gift for the purpose of building up his brothers and sisters. Together, all believers form a whole body that will glorify God (1 Peter 4:10-11).

After talking about the mutual encouragement they would gain from one another as members of Christ’s body, Paul wanted to be sure the Romans understood that he had not somehow forgotten about or avoided them. On the contrary, Paul had often longed to visit the believers in Rome but had been prevented. He gives no explanation as to what had prevented his journey, but his purpose for visiting them remained the same as it did in every city: evangelism. Paul longed to share the Gospel because he knew that there were still undoubtedly people in Rome who were hungry for the Gospel and who could be added to the church.

Paul saw his calling to the Gentiles as essential to the establishment of the church of Jesus Christ. He mentions a similar idea in 1 Corinthians 9:16 when he says that preaching the Gospel is a “necessity.” Whether to the cultured or the cultureless, to the wise or the foolish, Paul saw himself as under compulsion to proclaim the Good News to everyone (Romans 1:14).

“Paul’s sense of obligation to carry the message of Christ was not a burden. To the contrary, he was ‘eager to preach’ to those who were in Rome . . . Obligation need not be joyless commitment to an unpleasant task. Paul’s eagerness grew out of his own transforming experience on the Damascus road coupled with the realization that he was privileged to share the good news with others.” – Robert Mounce, The New American Commentary, Vol. 27, pg. 70

Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Romans 1:16-17

Paul’s eagerness to preach the Gospel in Rome was rooted in his earnest conviction that Christ is the answer to the deepest needs of our hearts. He had no doubt that the Gospel offered something none of the philosophies or pagan deities of Rome could offer. He was not ashamed of the Good News of Jesus. He has seen its power firsthand in the churches he established. The Gospel is the very power of God capable of bringing salvation and complete restoration from sin to everyone who believes.

The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God contrasted with sinful people and offers us salvation through Jesus. Because of Christ, God’s people can stand before Him righteous, just as He is righteous, because He has given us His own righteousness through the Gospel. Salvation from beginning to end is a matter of faith, and Paul called upon the prophets to prove his point. He quotes Habakkuk 2:4 at the end of Romans 1:17 saying, “The righteous shall live by faith.” In this verse, Paul was not talking about the way a follower of Jesus would live. In other words, ethics was not his main concern. Instead, in keeping with his theme of the righteousness of God experienced only by faith in the Gospel of Jesus, Paul was saying that it is the one who receives the righteousness of God through faith who will be saved (Leon Morris, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, Vol. 6, pgs. 70-72).

Righteous Wrath Toward Sinful People: Romans 1:18-23

After emphasizing the importance of faith, Paul makes the transition to the body of his letter. His transition looks something like this: God has revealed His righteousness through the Gospel, and only those who place their faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection can receive this righteousness and live. But why is this important? Paul explains that all people are sinful and unrighteousness. Because of our sin, God’s wrath has been “revealed from heaven” (Romans 1:18). All men and women, both Jews and Gentiles, have sinned against God and stand under His wrath and judgment.

Though the idea is not explicitly stated, Paul clearly communicates that God is well within His rights to be angry and wrathful toward mankind. Though God’s power is clearly visible in nature, we rejected God and chose to follow our own path. Paul is not referring to the power that was revealed through Jesus and the Gospel, although we do oppose and reject that revealed truth of God as well. Instead, Paul is referring to the creative power in the world that everyone can see. Often referred to as “natural revelation,” this knowledge of God is insufficient for salvation but completely sufficient to hold us responsible before God. In creation, God’s “eternal power and divine nature” have been put on display (Romans 1:20). He can be seen all around us—in the celestial bodies, the natural landscapes, and countless other wonders of the created world, which all testify without ceasing to the identity of God (Psalm 19:1-6).

“It would probably be a fair paraphrase of his [Paul’s] argument to say that people have never lived up to the highest and best that they have known. But God intends that they should. They are guilty in his eyes when they do not. And nobody can say, ‘I did not know.’ Our condemnation in each case lies in the fact that we have sinned against the light we have, not against the light we have never received.” – Leon Morris, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, Vol. 6, pg. 79

With such clear testimony to God in nature, we undoubtedly know enough truth about God to know that He is worthy of worship. Creation loudly proclaims it. When the sun rises and the rains fall to make the crops grow, God is responsible (Acts 14:17). But in foolishness, we choose to ignore the beauty of God because our hearts are darkened by sin:

“In a moral universe it is impossible to turn from the truth of God and not suffer the consequences. Ignorance is the result of a choice. People who do not ‘know’ God are those who have made that choice. Understanding God requires a moral decision, not additional information.” – Robert Mounce, The New American Commentary, Vol. 27, pg. 79

By rejecting the truth God has plainly put on display, we may think that we are wise enough to go our own way. Yet our wisdom is nothing but folly. Like fools, we choose to worship the creation instead of the Creator. Instead of worshiping an immortal being beyond compare, the one who is responsible for all that exists, we choose to worship ourselves, the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field. With such vivid imagery, Paul clearly connects our sin to the rebellion of Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. Our rebellion began in the garden as the representatives of mankind chose to believe the lie of serpent over the truth of God.

For our rebellion, we are deserving of God’s eternal wrath. Though you may not worship a golden image of yourself or an animal, you have most certainly exchanged the worship of God for something far less glorious at some point in your life. It might be one of your possessions like a car, cell phone, or piece of clothing. Or you may have idolized something less obvious like pride, accolades, or even humility. Anything that we love or depend on more than God is therefore an idol. We all have things in our lives that we are tempted to value more highly than we value God. In order to escape God’s just wrath against us, we must place our faith in the hope of the Gospel: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Only then can we receive the righteousness of God.

Gospel Truths About God

God does not tolerate man’s decision to worship creation over Him. But in mercy, God has chosen to forgive and extend righteousness to all who will place their faith in Him.

Gospel Truths About Man

Being foolish, man chose to worship the creation over the Creator. With darkened hearts, we rebelled against God, and we now stand under His righteous judgment with no way to escape God’s wrath on our own.

Gospel Truths About Redemption

God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for His people’s sin. Jesus offers righteousness to all who will trust Him. God has called those who have received the wonderful gift of salvation to take the Gospel to the farthest reaches of the world.

For Your Edification (continued . . .)

• Habakkuk 2:4
• 1 Peter 4:10-11
• Romans 15:22-24

• Paul had his heart set upon going to Rome and then Spain to share the Gospel because he felt that those were the places God was calling him to go. Where is God calling you to go and share your faith? Maybe at your work, school, across the street, or even around the world?
• Paul indicated that we can know enough about God through the created world to be deemed guilty before God for choosing to worship creation rather than the Creator. Spend some time thinking about ways creation testifies to God. Consider the changing seasons, the solar system, and other things you can point your students to as examples of natural revelation.
• Paul is clear in this passage that we are only justified by faith. There is nothing that we can do to earn our righteousness. Take inventory of your own life and consider whether or not you have any habits or ways of thinking that could influence you to live as though you could somehow earn your own salvation.

• Paul’s missionary fervor in this passage is strong and palpable. Emphasize it to your students. Make sure they see that the Gospel consumed Paul’s thoughts and his life. Encourage them to ask God to give them a greater passion and more opportunities for the Gospel ministry.
• Be sure to explain to your students the idea of natural revelation. Give them examples of how creation testifies to God. Use the ideas you had this week and allow them to come up with their own. Make sure you clearly communicate that what we see in nature is not the Gospel and is not enough to save us.
• Ask your students to think of one person they know with whom they need to share the Gospel. Encourage them to find someone they trust to hold them accountable for sharing the Gospel this week. Then encourage your students to rearrange their routines in order to spend more time sharing Christ with the lost.