The Book of Romans pt 6

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

As a believer, I can read this and not be offended. God speaks to us about our sins. He tells us that if we want to hear Him, we need to deal with this or that sin that hinders us. Israel had the same thing happen to them. They stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and heard the audible voice of God. Their response was that they would listen to Moses, but they didn't want to talk to God. I can't comprehend this. If our God speaks, then why would you not want to hear Him? The truth is that when He spoke He gave commandments. These commandments spoke straight to the sin of the Israelites that they were already practicing since they came out of Egypt.

God doesn't only speak against sin. There are many more grand things that He tells us. I think that sin is the one thing that hinders us from hearing His voice, though. When we're unwilling to give up our sin (whatever it might be), we are unwilling to hear the voice of God. God will speak to us about it and tell us how to overcome. But if we would rather keep the sin, then we have now treasured an idol.

This goes back to our last Scripture in Romans 1. In fact, since verse 18, we have seen this getting more and more clear from Romans. No one is without excuse. It is obvious that God must exist. Anyone who claims He doesn't has a predetermined mindset to rule Him out. This is why we have atheists who tell us that the world looks designed, but we need to continuously remind ourselves that it isn't. In physics this is known as the Anthropic Principle. Other scientists call it the Teleonomic Argument. Everything looks designed. The way that everything interacts together would suggest that it can't happen by chance.

What is the result of atheism?

The result is that we worship created things instead of the Creator. We make idols. We will serve something. It will either be God who created all things or it will be a demonic power represented by animals, reptiles, the sun, government, or other created things.

Idolatry is the sign of unbelief. We think that people who have idols are people that believe in some sort of God. This isn't true. People will give their lives over to dumb idols. Sometimes they aren't obvious like Molech or Ba'al. Sometimes they come in the form of sports figures that make $50,000 per pitch of the baseball. Then we want to complain about the wealthy getting wealthier. Why would we complain about the wealthy getting wealthier while the middle class gets poorer if we're supplying the wealthy with all their money through our idol worship?

Think about all of the celebrities that make insane amounts of money for singing one song, or playing in one movie, or being endorsed by Coke or Pepsi. All the while, we continue to complain about how we don't get any of the wealth that the big corporations we're working for are making. Walmart is a super-huge industry that barely pays its employees. Yet the Walmart CEO makes just under $1 million a year salary.

How do we define atheism?

Atheism cannot be merely the outspoken belief that there is no god. It has to be the inward value system that expresses all too well that they believe there is no god. People who might not be atheists that act in a way that says they don't believe in a moral higher power, or that they would be judged by this moral higher power, are atheistic in their thinking. They might not be outspoken atheists. They might serve their god with fervor. However, somewhere down the line they have just decided not to question the outright obscene acts that they perform.

Atheism is a mindset that claims that there will be no judgment. There is no higher moral standard that we need to uphold. The moral standard is given by the community. Thus, Hitler did the right thing. Of course, the rest of humanity disagrees, but the state of Germany continued to imprison and terminate Jews and Christians alike. If we say that the world population is what decides morality, then we have no basis to claim there is morality. What about issues like abortion? If the world governments all conclusively decide that abortion is not immoral, does that really mean that it isn't immoral?

Lets take something that we all know is wrong: rape. Lets make it an extreme. Say that the world governments say that it is okay to rape women to death. It is okay to sexually assault women to such an extreme that they even die over it. It isn't immoral. Does the majority opinion that it is okay to do such things make it okay to do them? Where is the moral standard?

The reason I get into this is because when we look back at Romans 1:24-27, Paul is bringing these things together. Why do we have such rampant sexuality in America? You don't need to look any further than idolatry. We worship our televisions, celebrities, sports teams, government, political views, religious institutions, academia, and have based our whole existence off of serving those idols. We have given over all morality.

Paul touches on homosexuality. He seems to call it a judgment. When a people will abandon the God that created all things to worship the created thing, sexuality in general is the result. This is a preliminary judgment. There will be a greater judgment to come. And if we do not heed the greater judgment, then there will be another yet greater. I'm not saying America will collapse. I'm saying unless we turn back to God, we will suffer judgments unthinkable.

There was a time in Israel and Judah's history when people ate their own children. If God would allow on His own people such extreme famine to occur that they would eat their own children to stay alive, what can we expect for America? Not even 10 years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans (70 A.D.), Pompeii was also destroyed. In 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvius erupted. People were trapped in the city to burn alive by the molten lava.

In Germany, the same towns that they had the Nazi death camps, bombs came crashing down onto civilians. The history books tell us that there was so much heat generated by the bombs that the streets and asphalt melted. People were getting stuck within the asphalt only to burn to death or blown up by the bombs. People couldn't flee. They couldn't get out of the cities.

In the year 1937, the Japanese invaded Nanking, China. They absolutely devastated the city. Women were raped to death. Men were hung by their tongues to die. People were used for bayonet practice. Pregnant women were gashed open so the fetus would fall to the ground and be killed. 300,000 people were murdered at the hands of the Japanese soldiers. For what reason? They believed that the Chinese people were dogs and unfit to live. It was all about national pride. When you serve an idol like the Emperor, or the government, the only thing left to take place is grotesque genocide of any other nation or people that you might disagree with.

Japan got bombed at the end of World War 2. The number of civilian deaths in Nagasaki and Hiroshima within a few months after the bombing was 246,000 (166,000 in Hiroshima, 80,000 in Nagasaki). The death toll continued to pile up in the years to follow. The total number of deaths prescribed to these bombings today is numbered at 450,000. God will not be mocked, a man reaps what he sows. In the same way, we can say that the nations will reap what they sow.

Let me jump back to a point I made a couple paragraphs ago. When you serve an idol like the Emperor, or the government, the only thing left to take place is grotesque genocide of any other nation or people that you might disagree with. What is it that America is worshiping? They are worshipping media, political government, atheistic academics, and sexuality itself. What is it that goes against these things? The Church stands against all of them. Who do you think will be the ones persecuted and imprisoned within the next couple decades?

Judgment comes first to the House of God. Because we have not lived in a reality to show the unbelieving world an alternative to their idols, God will send judgment. It comes to the House of God first. This doesn't effect what I believe with Israel being persecuted in the last days. I believe that will come too. The antichrist will bring about a latent anti-Semitism because the principalities and powers know that to destroy Israel is to destroy the Kingdom of God. His rule must go forth from Zion and Jerusalem. There must be a redeemed Israel. This is why Hitler was so passionate about the genocide of the Jews. He was under satanic illusion and deception. They are the gods of the nations. They have the power to influence and manipulate institutions. Governments do not answer to the politicians; they answer to the demonic forces residing over them.

This once again goes back to the point that Paul makes. It is the belief in these demonic systems that causes immorality. Morality itself is not given esteem. It is attacked and mocked. These demonic forces do everything within their power to degrade human life and to destroy the idea of morals. This is why we see in America an all out attack on gender roles, family importance, sexuality, pro-life/pro-choice, freedom of speech, freedom of choice in health insurance (including whether or not to have it), etc.

The gods of this world are influencing the nations, and they are influencing most heavily the next generation. I don't think that churches will last another 2 generations. If we continue the way we've been going, we simply won't exist. There has to be a change. We have to get back to basics. We have to start wrestling with these powers. The next generation won't survive if we aren't willing to die for their sakes. If we aren't willing to put away our lives for the purposes of God, then Christianity in America will be close to non-existent.

Certainly God has the power to keep us. We are in a critical time now. We will either need to choose to be apostolic or we will choose to be apostate. The two extremes are the only options. If we don't conform our lives now to the image and purposes of God, then the Church in America will be an apostate church. It is very possible (and highly probable) that we will have both extremes. What needs to be decided from you is whom shall you serve? The Creator, or the created thing? Nothing is outside of your grasp as far as immorality if you will not repeat the words of Christ: "Get behind me Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.'"

The Book of Romans pt 5

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 people are without excuse. 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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

I have been recently watching videos on creation and evolution. In fact, it is an interest of mine. I am a strange duck when it comes to how I view it, though. Time and time again I see that people who teach creation science teach it because evolution is wrong. They don't always have good intentions. They don't always have good ideas. The don't always have a proper perception.

I say this as someone who believes in a literal 6 day creation 6,000-10,000 years ago (I don't know that we can give a valid year, but we can come close). What I've been looking at lately has been fascinating. You really can learn a lot. There are a lot of arguments, even among other young earth creationists. However, what I find that a lot are missing is the perception of the principalities and powers. Many times it seems like they believe that evolution is at fault for the degradation of society. Many times they thing atheists are the reason evolution is being taught. Neither of these are true. It was first conceived by Satan and then played out by human pawns.

I make this statement because I have felt the need to write out some of what I've been learning lately. These aren't scientific claims that I'm about to make. These are things that I have recently heard of that colleges are teaching and courses are being developed around these things. Our youth are being indoctrinated into a certain kind of mindset that looks too Nazi to ignore. I can't help but think that the persecution of Christians (concentration camps and violence, not just the suppression we experience today) is coming within the next decade or two. I don't see how it can be any longer.

So the focus of this is on that verse that says, "Proclaiming to be wise, they became fools..." Because men have hardened their hearts to God and have given themselves over to deception, they have been brought further and further into foolishness and lies. Have you heard that we are no longer homo sapiens? We are now homo sapien sapien. We are the "wise wise man." Just when did we become the wise wise man instead of just the wise man? Professing themselves wise they became fools.

The Book of Romans pt 4

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 people are without excuse.

I think another Scripture that should go with this is found in the book of John: Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own (John 7:17). There is something intrinsic about obedience and truth. Truth isn't discovered through study of the Scripture. It is revealed by the Holy Spirit through obedience. Scripture can be expounded by the Spirit, but study alone will not bring truth.

The reverse of this is also true.

By wickedness the truth is suppressed. When I was an atheist, I claimed to be a seeker of truth. I wanted to know what was true and false, real and fake. I think every person wants to believe the Bible is true. No one wants to go to hell. We want to believe that there is a God that loves us and that He made a way for us to dwell with Him forever. I think even the most anti-theistic atheists would agree with this much. Christopher Hitchens admits that for him, to dwell with God in heaven would be hell. But that doesn't mean that he is opposed to the idea of heaven. Who doesn't want a perfect system? Who doesn't want utopia? Who doesn't want eternal bliss? The problem comes from two things: hatred of God and love of darkness.

I want to spend this time talking a little bit about science. What is it that science says? I know that there are a lot of scientists that tell us the universe created itself and there is no god. But those are the scientists speaking. What does the evidence say?

I'll use a story to help us out here. Galileo discovered that objects will fall at the same "speed" no matter how heavy the one is from the other. A penny will fall and hit the ground the same time as a boulder if they are both dropped from the same height at the same time. He discovered this by using a ramp and letting different weighted balls roll down the ramp. They would hit the stopper at the same time. He repeated this experiment hundreds of times. Galileo was able to come up with an equation that described fairly accurately what he saw.

He discovered that they balls roll faster as they go down the ramp. This seems obvious, but it means that they accelerate. What isn't obvious is the rate of acceleration. He came up with a pretty accurate formula to figure this out. Now what did the science say?

Well, the science said that the balls roll down the slope at the exact same acceleration. Neither ball has a greater force of gravity upon them than the other (according to Galileo). The science needed to be interpreted to discover the depths of gravity. Newton came along later and added to Galileo. With Newtonian physics, we can accurately predict the orbit of the planets around the sun. However, there was a time in the late 1800's when "dark matter" was discovered. Mercury's orbit wobbled. Newtonian science couldn't explain why.

So scientists said that there must be an asteroid belt between Mercury and the Sun. This asteroid belt wasn't able to be seen, and so it was dark matter. Other scientists said this was preposterous. They said there was a planet behind the Sun that we can't see from Earth. They called it planet Vulcan. It was dark matter. So when the science they knew couldn't explain why Mercury reacted the way it did, they invented an unseen substance called dark matter.

Einstein then came along with his General Theory of Relativity. In this theory he was able to explain why Mercury's orbit wobbled. Thus, dark matter was obsolete.

So maybe you can tell me what the science said.

As far as I can tell, the science (evidence) only told us that gravity works as an inverse law. The closer you get to the object that is pulling you downward, the stronger the force becomes. This is why there is acceleration. What it does not tell you is that gravity is the same here on planet Earth as it is everywhere else in the universe. That is an assumption. No one has been to Andromeda to test whether gravity works the same or not.

So when we come to evidence about the world and universe, we have to understand that there is a bit of predictability, but it is finite. The further back in time we take a theory (like the Big Bang), the less predictable the theory becomes. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the Moon could have been orbiting the Earth for 10,000 years. That doesn't mean it has been for 10,000 years; it means that it is possible. But the Moon is receding from the Earth about 1/4 inch every year. Remember that gravity is an inverse law. The further back in time we go, the closer the Moon comes to the Earth, and the stronger the gravitational force is upon the Earth and Moon via gravity. If you take it back thousands of years, we're fine. If you take it back millions of years, now we're reaching some problems. The tides on the Earth would have been enormous. The gravitational pull between the Earth and Moon could have knocked the Earth's orbit around the Sun slightly. If we go back billions of years, then the Moon has already touched the Earth.

Science doesn't come up with theories like the Big Bang. Evolution isn't a fact. Theories that take billions of years for the universe to come to maturity are absurd. The science doesn't show that. The science and evidence will relate to us here and now what is happening. To say that there hasn't been any kind of flood, volcano, massive storm, fire, or any other substantial natural disaster in the past million years is completely ridiculous. Science can't tell you that. Actually, I am one who thinks that much of what we see in the realm of Earth science only makes sense if there was a worldwide flood about 4500-5000 years ago.

What is it that causes scientists to speculate that there has never been a worldwide flood on the Earth (which has enough water to cover the planet a mile deep) and then to speculate that Mars has had a recent planet-wide flood? Mars doesn't have any water on it. Just because there are erosion patterns does not mean that there has ever been water on Mars. This is sheer fantasy and speculation. It isn't factual at all. Science doesn't tell us what happened in the past. It tells us what is happening now. It can make a certain amount of predictability to the past or future, but it cannot guarantee those predictions.

So the real reason that scientists are so certain that there is no God and that the universe created itself has nothing to do with the science. Every scientific model that has been created falls flat on its face. Nothing works. You need stars before you can have stars made naturally. You need a universe before you can have a universe made naturally. You need an atmosphere without oxygen for life to begin on Earth naturally, but you need oxygen in the atmosphere for the "simple cell" to survive after coming to life. You need collections of information to be put within the DNA of cells in order to evolve from one organism to a more complex organism. Where did the information come from? Was it already within the eobiant (simple cell)?

No, the reason scientists are certain of a godless universes is because they are wicked. Wickedness brings forth falsity. Truth and reality are obtained through righteousness. This is why everyone is without excuse. It is obvious that God had to create this world. And what do I mean by God? Well, before there is space-time, there is nothing. So God must be outside of space and outside of time. This means that He is present everywhere and also eternal. In order for Him to create the universe, He has to have power to do so. This means that (in our eyes especially) He is all powerful. He has to know how to create the universe. It isn't sufficient for God to create something and test out through the Big Bang and evolution how to make this work. God must be all knowing, and therefore get it right the first time.

Well, if He must be all present, eternal, all powerful, and all knowing (we can continue in this logic to show more attributes that must be true), then I would say that the God of the Bible fits it perfectly. The question is raised, "Who created God?" This shows the ignorance and arrogance of the doubter, not of the believer. If God is timeless, then He has no beginning. How can you create something without giving it a beginning? Nonetheless, this is like asking the questions, "I can see that the God Delusion was made by Richard Dawkins, but who made Richard Dawkins?" That isn't the point. It is a non-question. It is a stupid argument that has no ground whatsoever.

Before any argument is made, let the atheist explain to me why we even have logic and reason to begin with. Our brains are nothing but chemicals, and yet we can argue about morale, logic, reason, and philosophy? How does that work? Nothing creates nothing. Chemicals reactions don't create life. If something is living, then it has desire, reason, logic, hope, fear, and attraction. Why would the living creature desire to procreate? Why would the living creature desire to mate? Why would the living creature desire life at all? Why would the living creature fear death? It makes no sense if we are only chemical reactions. Physical matter has no living attribute. It isn't until life is placed within that matter that there is living attribute.

So to sum this all up, the believer is not the one who has to prove God's existence. The onus is upon the skeptic. It makes perfect sense that there would be a God. Everything around us shows that God exists. Everything around us shows His deity and His attributes. In fact, I even oppose the term bestial. If something is bestial, then it is something that the animals (or beasts) would do. However, we use the term in a far different way. Animals don't systematically annihilate other species. Animals don't murder for no cause. Animals don't rape. Animals don't find traumatic ways of oppression. Animals don't have euthanasia, abortion, suicide, genocide, or any form of torture. The onus is upon the atheist to explain to me why it is that humans seem to have this ability, but the rest of the animal kingdom doesn't. The Bible explains it quite simply.

Before we get into what Paul starts calling out as blatant sin, I felt the need to discuss how nature itself tells us of God and His Law. We're not talking about "the Bible says." We're discussing that even nature tells us the truth, but when we desire wickedness, we reject truth. I came to this realization as an atheist. It isn't my Christianity that compels me to make these statements. It is truth and reality that compel me to make these statements.

The Book of Romans pt 3

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 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.

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, 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.

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

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

In my former blog post I talked about the Gospel according to the prophets. I mentioned how if you read the prophets, you can't really tell heads or tails about two comings of Christ, whether the Messiah was supposed to suffer or reign as King, that the Gospel would entail death and resurrection, or many other details that we think of as "the Gospel" today. It is all kind of a mishmash, and many details are just simply not there unless you're specifically looking for them. How do we make sense of all of this from the Old Testament?

Well, Paul does try to spell it out for the Romans. In this section of the epistle, Paul encourages the Church in Rome because their faith has been heard of throughout the world. He has not yet visited them, yet he has heard of their faith. It is mentioned later in Romans that Paul hopes to stop by Rome while traveling up to Spain. However, there isn't any significant historical evidence (that I've seen) that would say Paul ever made it to Spain. I believe it was Martin Luther that said 13 of the 12 apostles have their graves in Spain. It was a joke.

On a more serious note, the reason why Paul desires so much to visit Rome is mentioned here: "I am obligated to the Greeks and non-Greeks, both the wise and the foolish." We like to think of Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles, but it seems like Paul first and foremost went to the Jews. In verse 16 Paul even mentions that the Gospel is to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. When I read Acts, I see Paul engaging debates in the synagogues and among the devout in the marketplaces. This brings up a couple questions to me: why would Paul be the apostle to the Gentiles and yet go straight for the synagogue, and what are the devout doing in the marketplaces?

The marketplace was not a place to get your groceries. It can be likened to a modern day mall. This is where people gathered and socialized. It was where you have an orgy of the senses. You go to behold the merchandise. You go to "meet" other people. Buying, selling, and trading were not the only things that take place in the marketplaces. This isn't a place for the devout. However, it does seem like in the places where culture and societies are most shaped, there is where we find the Jews. I'm not going to say any more than that currently.

So Paul wants to speak to the Church in Rome - some of which is Gentile and some of which is Jewish - and give an expression of what this power of God is. We will be diving into the power of God in resurrection when we reach chapter 6 of Romans. For now, lets examine the simple and brief statements made about the "righteousness of God." When I read this last (about 2 weeks before writing this) I had to stop when I reached this point.

Paul makes the statement that the Gospel shows forth the righteousness of God.

Yeah, I got that. I've heard that before.

What I haven't ever heard preached, nor exposited, was the next statement: a righteousness that is by faith from first to last... It makes sense when we're talking about the faith that we as humans have in Jesus Christ for salvation. It makes sense that there is the belief about Jesus, but that isn't enough and needs to be turned inward to a belief in Jesus. I've heard that message. I got to hear it a lot.

What I hadn't heard is what Paul is implying. Paul is making this statement about God. The righteousness of God is displayed in the Gospel - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Does anyone else see my conundrum? What does it mean that God's righteousness is also bound up in faith? Can we logically say that when we're talking about a man's righteousness we're talking about his faith in God, but when we're talking about God's righteousness we're talking about something else entirely?

And what happened to the definition of righteousness being about doing what is right or wrong? If you do the right thing you are righteous. If you do the wrong thing, you are not righteous. This is what I was taught in youth group. Paul flips the tables and says, "Righteousness is from faith and faith alone." He doesn't even mention doing the right thing.

But still, what does it mean that God's righteousness is bound by faith?

It sounds funny.

I didn't toss the idea aside right away. I think what is being expressed here is practical. Have you ever noticed how Jesus never once took credit or glory for Himself? His words were Spirit (John 6:63). He did nothing except what His Father had told Him (John 5:19). Jesus always defers the glory to another part of the Godhead. He never takes it up for Himself. He never promotes Himself. The Father promotes Him, and the Spirit promotes Him, but Jesus never speaks on His own account.

I wonder if this is what it means that righteousness is by faith.

When we can defer everything over to God, then we have obtained righteousness. When our deeds are no longer our own deeds, but we only do the things that the Father has shown us through Jesus Christ and our deeds are proven by the Spirit, then we have obtained this faith unto righteousness. We no longer brag unless it is boasting in the Lord. Everything has now been brought down to death so that it might be raised to life by God. If God doesn't give life, then it remains dead.

What would this imply for community?

We no longer take up a name. We continue to give credit and honor and glory to those around us. We boast in the God that is displayed in the faces of those whom we've surrounded ourselves with. We don't speak high and lofty things, but we remain humble. We take no glory in self, but glory in God alone - even when we esteem the godliness or statements of another brother/sister.

Faith is not simply taking a belief and making it personal. I can't simply say that I have believed in the Lord Jesus and now I am saved. Faith isn't enough. Belief won't sustain. The evidence that my faith has led to righteousness is that I defer any glory or self-satisfaction away from self and toward God. I guess this even gets into the debate of why God has laws. Does following the Law spelled out in the 5 books of Moses bind us? Is it oppression to obey God? The paradox is that God gives these laws that "constrain" us in every human sense, but we find the more we place ourselves under that Law we find freedom. It is freedom to not commit adultery or look at other women with lust. It is freedom to not boast about myself. It is freedom to not hate. It is freedom to love my enemies, bless those who curse me, and pray for those who mistreat me. It isn't oppression; it is freedom.

And thus I conclude that faith without works is dead. If our faith in God only goes to the depths of believing that the Bible is true and that Jesus died and rose again, but lacks the gumption to work out our salvation, then we have not truly been born again. Paul is right when proclaiming that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. I think this verse goes hand-in-hand with 1 John 3:3, "All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure."

Anyone who has this hope of the Gospel that the prophets have spoken - there is a time when the antichrist will rule and oppress the people of God and the consummation of the age will be the return of Jesus and the Millennial Kingdom established here on Earth where nations will war no more against each other - will purify themselves just as Christ Himself is pure. To know the whole scope of it is liberating. To know the end from the beginning is empowering. We don't need to be afraid. This gives us something bigger to live for. We're in the midst of something larger than anything else the world has to offer us. This is a cosmic redemption that we get to be a part of. We actually get to help God in redeeming all of creation.

That is the power of God unto salvation: when we don't even fear death because we are so convinced of our own resurrection. Isn't that what Hebrews defines faith as? Assurance of things hoped for; conviction of things unseen? Our own resurrection from the dead and the seal of the Holy Spirit is enough for us to be eternally assured. This is what constitutes faith. We'll continue to look into faith as we reach Romans 4 and 5 and discuss Abrahamic faith. Until then, I think that this is a good foundation to start upon.

The Book of Romans pt 2

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

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

When I read the first section of any epistle I always try to glimpse what it is that the author is trying to express for this epistle. Each letter has a different introduction. I think that this is because of the subject matter that will proceed after this introduction. So when I read in the first few verses of Romans that Paul is referencing the Gospel quite heavily, I immediately strive to find out what this Gospel he speaks of incorporates.

He starts by saying that it is the Gospel of the prophets. We’ll dive into what all that entails, but lets first continue with what Paul has to say about it. The Gospel is the account of the Son of God, who is a descendant of David, and was resurrected from the dead by the Holy Spirit. “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” The last statement there shows forth that this is a Gospel of grace through faith.

Now, this is all fine, but it seems a little shallow. I don’t mean shallow as in selfish. I mean shallow as in lacking depth. Obviously Paul is writing to those who have already been redeemed. This is written to the Church in Rome. It isn’t necessary for Paul to spell out all of the details of the Gospel (at least not at this first introduction) to those who have already received Christ.

So Paul’s motive is something else.

He starts with two things I want to focus upon: the Gospel of the prophets, and Jesus is the son of David.

What was the Gospel according to the prophets? If you take a casual glimpse at any of the prophets, you will find that we are taken into the gutters. We are taken down into the slop of society. The prophets cried out as loud as they could about the injustice and paganism of God’s people. They exposed in a Deuteronomic way that Israel has not kept its covenant with God, and therefore there would be judgment.

However, the prophets saw something else. In the midst of their emphatic exposure of sin, they also bring into focus a time when God would restore all things. The prophets spoke of what Jews know as the Messianic Age. This is a time when the Messiah restores the Kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). He comes as King and destroys the nation of the north’s power. The immanent Northern Kingdom that is continually prophesied about is God’s judgment against His people Israel. However, the release of God’s people from this judgment is the coming of the Messiah.

This Messiah will take away our sins (Isaiah 53). He will establish world peace (Isaiah 2) where nations will beat their swords into pruning hooks and their spears into plowshares. There will be no more cold or frost – no more day or night – in the evening there will be light (Zechariah 14:6). Israel will be sifted through the nations (Amos 9), but will be brought back to the Land again (Ezekiel 11:17-21) together will foreigners that will be united with them (Isaiah 14:1). There would be a time when the powers of heaven above (demons) and the kings of the Earth below will together be thrown into a prison for many days after being released only to be punished (Isaiah 24:22; reference Revelations 20:2). The tabernacle of David will be restored (Amos 9:11, Jeremiah 30:9) and David will rule as King forever. There will be no more tears (Jeremiah 31:12, 15-16). The coming of the Messiah would mean the resurrection from the dead (Daniel 12:2, 13). Never again will Israel be an object of scorn to the nations (Joel 2:19). Many nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord so that they might walk in the path of righteousness (Micah 4:1-2).

This is a general overview of what the Messiah was to fulfill. Yes, there are many Scriptures that also relate how the Messiah must suffer. There are Scriptures that talk about how He will die and be raised again. The Psalms have many Scriptures about how the Messiah would be the redeemer. Micah 6:7 indicates that God had intention of offering His own Son. Zephaniah 3:13 indicates that during the Messianic Age there will be no lying and no deception to be found within Israel.

So my question becomes this: how much of this do we take literally and how much do we blow off as spiritual metaphor? Does God intend for all of this to be fulfilled toward Israel? If so, then when does this take place? If not, then are we the new Israel? Has the Messianic Age started? If the Messiah has come and His name is Jesus, then why have the last 2000 years been marked with wars, violence, and brutality? He didn’t bring world peace like has been prophesied…

We as Christians talk about how there are two comings. The first coming is to fulfill the Scriptures about how the Messiah should take away sin. There should be a great ingathering of Gentiles into the Kingdom. This has taken place. The second coming is at the end of the antichrist’s reign. He comes and destroys the rule of the antichrist and establishes His Kingdom on Earth for 1000 years.

However, we miss a couple aspects too. Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 32 that God would take a people that are not His people and use them to provoke Israel to jealousy. Isaiah prophesied about how eunuchs and non-Jews would be found in the redeemed Israel. Ezekiel talked about Judah and Ephraim becoming one again (I wonder if this was also symbolism of those who are outside of the House of Israel being grafted in).

The second aspect I wanted to focus upon was that Jesus is a son of David. This is where these prophecies come together. God promised David that he would have a descendant upon the throne forever. David then prophesied in the Psalms that this Messiah would be God Himself. “The Lord said to my Lord…” Jesus references this by asking the Pharisees and Scribes what David is talking about.

So the Messiah must be God. Isaiah even hints at this. God shares His throne with no one. Redemption is God’s and no one else gets to share that glory. It must be God to redeem Israel and the Gentiles. Yet it must be from David that the Messiah comes. This is why the prophets spoke of the tabernacle of David being restored, by the way. David’s tabernacle is his throne, lineage, character, etc.

This is why the virgin birth is crucial. According to Numbers, the lineage of David for establishment of his throne can only come through the father. Joseph had to be a descendant of David and the father of Jesus. However, Joseph was neither a descendant of David nor Jesus’ father. In the same chapter of Numbers, it mentions that if there is not a father, that the lineage of the mother is valid. This is how Jesus can both be a descendant of David as well as be birthed by Mary. Joseph wasn’t the father.

Now the reason why I establish this early in Romans…

The book of Romans hits on a lot of subject matter. Paul was writing to Christians. They already knew of salvation. They already had obtained salvation. Paul is reiterating to them the same mystery that he speaks to the Ephesians about. We as Gentiles have been grafted into Israel. They are not forgotten. However, we aren’t to bring our Greek models into the Hebraic faith. So Paul establishes what it means to be a part of this Hebraic faith.

As we continue through Romans we’ll dive into some of the subject matter like sin, faith, salvation, justification, death, and resurrection. We’ll also reexamine the prophets and what they teach about Israel’s redemption and our part in that. We’ll move from there and discourse on how these things relate to everyday life. This is what the book of Romans does. Next we’ll examine verses 8-17 and some of the subject matter contained therein.

Romans pt 1

I have been spending some time reading through Romans. I thought I would thus write out a few of the thoughts I'm having. So to begin, I'll give a quick introduction overview of the book.

When we start in chapter 1, Paul is setting the stage for these believers in Rome that are asking a specific question: since the Jews crucified Jesus, does that mean we are the new Israel? Now, I'll admit that this is mere speculation. However, the more I read Romans the more I find that this is the central topic. Is God done with Israel? Are we the new Israel? What are God's purposes for Israel?

This might be why Paul starts by saying, "the Gospel he promised before hand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead," Romans 1:2-4.

What is this Gospel that was given by the prophets? The Gospel is the whole spectrum from the beginning of time to the end when Jesus returns to this Earth and establishes His Kingdom. The scenario is apocalyptic. God must sift Israel through all nations and redeem them. They will be brought back to the Land with everlasting joy upon their heads - they will be God's people and God will be their God. They will no longer need to teach one another "know the Lord," because they will all know Him. It is the return of Israel to their Land in the last days that brings forth the Messiah. Their return will mean redemption for the nations. All Israel shall be saved. None shall transgress against the Lord their God anymore.

The question now becomes for us: has this happened? Was the establishment of Israel in 1948 the fulfillment of these prophecies or is there something else we need to look for?

The prophets spoke of an end time calamity that would come upon the People Israel from the "northern nation" (cannot be Germany) and that this final calamity would bring the people face-to-face with their God. He would provide for them miraculously. In fact, it will be such an event that they will no longer look back to God bringing them out of Egypt. The new exodus would eclipse the old. In the same way, this end time calamity will eclipse all previous catastrophes that God's people have suffered.

Well this is nice and all, but what in the world are we really talking about?

Paul uses the Gospel spoken of by the prophets to claim that salvation has come to the Gentiles. Romans 1 isn't so much about expressing what this Gospel is and what it encompasses as much as it is to help answer that nagging question: has God forsaken Israel? He makes the statement multiple times in Romans, "to the Jew first, and then to the Greek."

Paul then establishes the first part of the Gospel which we find at the end of the first chapter through chapter 3. All have fallen short of the glory of God. Paul puts all men, whether Jew or Gentile, in the same category: evil. There is no one good, no not even one. I love how Paul seems to major on the minors when it comes to calling people out. "You who say it is unlawful to steal, do you steal?"Do you say with your mouth that it is against the Law to steal while oppressing the poor?

It all comes to the pinnacle at Romans 3:23-26. Why do we need a Messiah? Why does God need a redemption plan for humanity? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God's first installment of this redemption plan was His own Son dying upon the cross and resurrecting from the dead. Because He has taken up our infirmities (Isaiah 53), we have been healed of our sins. We have justification before God. This is our redemption.

However, Paul then takes this up again later to show that God isn't finished with His plan of redemption. He shows later that this is just a part of a bigger story and plan.

In Romans 4-5 Paul stresses what it means to be the people of God. In one sense it is Paul speaking about the two Judaisms - real and false. In another sense it is beyond Judaism. Paul is pointing to what it means to be Hebrew. What does it mean to be the people of God? It takes faith. But faith of what kind?

We must do more than believe. Abraham had a faith that God would give all that He had promised. Abraham died without receiving the fulfillment of those promises. He looked forward to the fulfillment eternally. Abraham's faith is no one of simple belief. It isn't one that says that you trust God. It looks beyond time and into eternity. This kind of faith is what it takes to be truly Hebraic.

And so Paul contrasts the Jews and their traditions without conviction and the faith of Abraham. It all leads up to chapters 6-8, which are about the resurrection. The true faith - what it means to be the people of God - is to be resurrected from the dead. We are no longer subject the the Law of sin. We are now subjected to life. We have been freed from the bounds of death. This is what chapter 7 is all about. When we are still subjecting ourselves to the Law, and we are striving out of human ability to be holy and righteous, we continuously fall. Who can save us from such repeat transgression?

This is why Romans 8 starts the way it does. There is no condemnation. Yes it is a struggle. Yes I have my shortcomings. However, I am not bound by those shortcomings. I am no subject to sin. I am free from sin. I have been resurrected by the same power that resurrected Jesus from the grave. This is what it means to be the sons of God. We are no longer enslaved, but free. God is free, therefore His children must also be free.

When we reach Romans 9-11, Paul starts to express this mystery of Israel's final redemption and what it means for us to now be a part of it. He expresses how we aren't raised from the dead to continue living for same things we've always lived for. We are a part of something much bigger now. We are a part of God's plan to redeem Israel, which is the conclusion of the age. It is the redemption of Israel that means the return of Christ. They won't be redeemed if we are raptured out of the world.

It mentions in Romans 11 that Scripture that says God will take a people that are not His people to drive the Jew to jealousy. What is he talking about? He is talking about you and me. He is talking about those who are not Jewish by descent have been brought into the House of Israel to display the resurrection reality (the true Judaism) and drive Israel to jealousy. They are to actually be envious of what we have. This was promised to them. And yet they don't experience it. It is by this that they will be driven to jealousy - when we can display to them a mode of life that exposes their shallow religion and puts on view the resurrection reality of Christ.

That is why Romans 11 starts with, "I beseech you, therefore brethren by the mercies of God to lay down your life. It will cost you everything. If you have not truly died to self in order to be raised with Christ, then you cannot fulfill God's purposes for you. It takes nothing less than life from the dead. Romans 12-14 is thus a statement of what it looks like to live out of the resurrection.

We reach Romans 15 where Paul starts to express how we are one in Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile. Why? We have been grafted into their root. There isn't a separation. It isn't the Church over here and Israel over there. We are both Israel. We are both the people of God. The only distinction is that of election. Paul says that not all Israel are Israel. In the same way, Zechariah talks about how only a remnant will be saved.

Those who are God's chosen people are God's chosen people. It doesn't matter whether you are Jewish, English, Arab, male, female, black, white, or burgundy. If you are a child of God, then you are a child of God. There isn't any of this "I'm a part of the Church, but they are Jewish..." We're all part of the Church. We're all Jewish. We're all part of Israel. God has grafted us in, and when He regrafts them in, they are no less God's people than you are. The problem comes when we have a Western societal Christianity trying to force the Eastern culture to change their views. The Hebraic faith is Hebraic, not Greek. We can't take our Japheth ideologies and force them upon Shem, whose tent we are entering.

This is probably why Paul goes back into detailed account of the resurrection in the latter part of chapter 15. People have taken that faith that God established at the first and converted it into their personal lifestyle and their mode of being. Instead of being brought out of their lifestyle and mode of being and brought into the "Land that I will show you," we try to force the square peg into the round hole. I think this might be the biggest reason why there are so many stupid small debates about free-will or sovereignty, evolution or creation, eternal security, etc.

In chapter 16, we have Paul's final greetings. This concludes Romans. I'll try to go back in and reexamine each section piece by piece to help better further our understanding. For now, this is a good framework to get you rethinking about how to read and interpret Romans.

The Prophetic Call part 7

To the Nation

            The prophet does not speak to individuals typically. The prophet is to the nation before to individuals. He knows the proverb better than any other, “Righteousness exults a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any nation.” When the prophet speaks an oracle, though it might be to a certain audience, it goes beyond that audience. The prophet speaks as one speaking to the whole people and nation.

            Mankind continues to war against one another. It is the humanity of the nations that brings Rwandan massacre and genocide. It is in the lack of righteousness that causes many African nations to be poor and devastated and suffer severe famine. God has set up the nations and their boundaries. He is the one who has ordained their rule.

            What is strange to evangelicals is that the Proverb doesn’t even mention repentance or coming under the Lord. It is almost as if righteousness and justice and equity bring about a certain kind of living. In the righteousness of itself, we find the nation being exulted. But what is righteousness?

             We’re brought back to that discussion of morality. When a nation can implement torture on war captives, they have lost the righteous ground. When a nation can persecute a certain kind of person because of their race, ethnic background, or culture, we have already lost the righteous ground. The Middle Eastern nations that oppress any other people group that are not masculine dominated Moslems are going to continue to suffer war and famine and destruction.

            The European and American society that scoffs at religion and claims that godlessness (which looks a lot like Satanism) is the only formidable lifestyle will crumble. Righteousness exults a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any nation. Degradation of a generation comes from a national amorality.

            It is the for lack of a prophetic presence (which is supposed to be the Church) that the nations rage and conspire. If they do not follow the path of the Lord, they will follow the path of the gods of this Earth. This is why they are called principalities and powers of the air. They are the powers of the nations. They are the leaders and directors of the nations. This is why they lead the nations against God.

            It all stems back to the tower of Babel. Men made bricks instead of stones. They manufactured something when it was obvious that God had not given the area for something to be built. The generations past had built with stones, but this generation desired to make a tower unto them. They were going to make a tower that reached to heaven that they may crown themselves as gods.  It is the root of national pride.

            What is the root of World War 1 and World War 2? The nations were proud and arrogant. The ethnicities and cultures and differences in nationalities caused for a pride of kinds that would actually devastate and destroy one another. The prophet cries out against this pride. The prophet is identified with something greater than nationality, and therefore is able to oppose the nation and point out the root of its sin. When a culture can be raised on passing by the slums and not thinking anything of it, that generation is heading for destruction. How much more a whole world system that is designed to build slums?

            Of course, it also says something when the nations have their own religions and state churches that cannot oppose them. In Germany, you cannot receive your birth certificate until you have been baptized as an infant. In America, we have 501C3 forms to be tax exempt. In having this tax exemption, you sign over your rights to say anything against the state (meaning government). You no longer can speak truth.

            The government tells the church what they are allowed to say, do, and speak out against. Because of this, we have no power to oppose the demonic system that is government. How can you oppose something that you are a part of? The churches will not bite the hand that feeds them. Thus we have a regression.

            Then you have people getting up into the pulpit saying that there are no such things as prophets anymore. There are no apostles anymore. That was a 1^st century phenomenon. The prophets are only Old Testament. God doesn’t need prophets to speak to His people anymore. They miss the whole point. The don’t understand the function and role of the prophets. The Church is supposed to be prophetic. They lack this prophetic distinctive, and thus I would say that we need prophets very much. I would even use the word dire. They are a dire necessity to our world today.

            The Charismatic movement has set up a band of false prophets for the lack of the true. In this, they have distorted the crux of the faith. What is supposed to be a hinge and foundation upon which the Church is built and swings has now been torn down. If that foundation is false, how can anything true be built upon it?