Brit Chadasha Foundations-Concepts in Romans-Chapter 1

Romans 1.1-31 gives us Paul’s greetings; that the world is condemned due to sin and will experience God’s wrath; and the fruits of Gentile lawlessness

v 1… Paul (who lived in the time of the sages called the “Tannaim” who were the “teachers” quoted in the Mishnah. They were between 20-220 AD and Paul was taught by a major Tanna called Gamaliel), a bond servant of Messiah Yeshua, called as an apostle (“shaliach” and he was sent on behalf of Israel to the Gentile world, not to bring a “new” faith to the non-Jew-9.1-5; 10.1; 11.13-14;,25,32), set apart (sanctified with a kedusha) for the gospel (basar, good news) of God

v 2… which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures (Gen 3.15; Psa 40.7)

v 3…concerning his Son, who was born a descendant of David (through his mother) according to the flesh,

v 4… who was declared the Son of God (same as king-Psa 2; 1 Chr 17.11-14; 1 Chr 28.5-7; John 1. 49) with power by the resurrection of the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord,

v 5… through whom we have received grace (kindness, mercy) and apostleship (a “shaliach”; sent) to bring about obedience of the faith (He taught Torah, the body of doctrinal truth) among the Gentiles (his intended audience) for his name’s sake (on his behalf, on account of)

v 6…among whom you are also called of Yeshua the Messiah;

v 7…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called saints (“tzaddikim” or holy ones, set apart): Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah (Paul equates Yeshua with God the Father by saying grace and peace come from him also. If Yeshua was not God, this would be a blasphemous statement).

v 8… First, I thank my God through Yeshua the Messiah for you all, because your faith (faith is proven by action, confidence- Rom 2.13; Jam 1.22, 2.17-26) is being proclaimed throughout the world (the Roman world – Paul uses a rabbinic style to praise his listeners before he corrects them).

v 9… For God, whom I serve in my spirit (heart, desires, thoughts, and intentions) in the gospel of his son, is my witness how unceasingly I make mention of you

v 10… always in my prayers making a request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

v 11…For I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you (they were lacking in something. They were to learn Torah in the synagogue-Acts 15.21-and the disciples were sent to existing communities to confirm them in their faith and to start them on a Torah-based faith-Acts 15.28-29,41. Remember, Paul did not “found” this congregation. It is possible that it was formed after Jews returned from Shavuot in Acts 2);

v 12… that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

v 13… And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you and have been prevented thus far in order that I might obtain some fruit (spiritual fruit is judged by whether or not it lines up with the Torah) among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles (his audience).

v 14… I am under obligation (to preach the truth) both to Greeks and to barbarians (those from other cultures, from other lands), both to the wise and the foolish (a Hebrew parallelism).

v 15…Thus, for my part I am eager (ready) to preach the gospel (although the Roman congregation had some truth about the Messiah, certain incorrect teaching and practices were creeping in, due to a lack of a true, authoritative foundation by one of the apostles) to you also who are in Rome (some are referred to in Acts 2.10).

v 16… For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation (This is the heart of the Shema. The biblical concept of salvation is futuristic and associated with the Kingdom of God. There is individual salvation-Rom 8.38-39- and not to be taken for granted- and national salvation which comes at his return) to everyone who believes, to the Jew first (they were the first to “know”) and also the Greek (Gentiles-Eph 2.11-22 says that the non-Jew is part of the faith of Israel and this should be shared with the rest of the world, bringing harmony and unity of both groups who are now in “Jacob’s tents”).

v 17… For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (righteousness comes by faith from generation to generation) as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”

v 18… For the wrath of God (he speaks to the Gentile world in general judgment and that nobody can judge righteously, we are all idolatrous) is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth (as defined in the Torah, to suppress the truth means they knew it. Paul begins to define the process of falling into idolatry from here to the end of this chapter) in unrighteousness,

v 19… because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them (Gentiles have a knowledge of God even without the Torah).

v 20… For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen (it becomes an intelligible, articulate conviction through what we see).

v 21… For even though they knew God (it is one thing to say “I know God” and another thing to say God knows you in a redemptive way), they did not honor him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their speculations (like Rabbinic Judaism and Replacement Theology Christianity for example) and their foolish heart was darkened.

v 22…Professing to be wise they became fools

v 23… and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (like the paganism seen in Rome -Exo 20.4; Deut 4.15-19 ).

v 24…Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.

v 25…For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

v 26…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions (the inward sin results in outward sin eventually); for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

v 27…and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the women and burned in their desire towards one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

v 28…And just as they did not see to acknowledge God any longer (pushed God away), God gave them over to a depraved mind (a garbage dump), to do things which are improper,

v 29… being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips (but when you inform to avoid gossip, we should be accurate and don’t embellish; ask if it will benefit the other; make sure the information is reliable; that the intention is instructive not vindictive and the information shared must not cause undeserved damage to the person and don’t protect one person at the expense of another- if you can’t fulfill these checkpoint, then it is gossip)

v 30… slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

v 31… without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving (Greek is “astorgas” which means “no family love”), unmerciful,

v 32… and although they knew the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them (but judgment will come-Psa 37).

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament, Verse-by-Verse Bible Studies

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