Chapter 1
1:1-3- Paul’s role as an apostle called by God is ultimately one of servitude. He was a servant of Christ. Paul, like his Lord and Savior, did not come to be served, but to serve. This is the attitude we should have as children of God and especially if in any type of ministry role. This gospel message was not so much a “new” revelation by means of man’s philosophy, but rather a fulfillment of something promised by God spoken through His chosen messengers (prophets), and through a medium of preservation by written oracles (Holy Scriptures). The Bible is holy because it contains the words of the One True Holy God. God does not lie (Num. 23:19, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18) and His word to mankind is true and authoritative. As Douglas Moo notes, “Throughout the letter he is at pains to demonstrate that the good news about Jesus Christ is rooted firmly in the soil of the Old Testament.”So what is this message promised in Scripture? It concerns His Son, who was born “according to the flesh” as a descendant of David (to fulfill prophecy and God’s covenant to David, i.e. 2 Sam. 7). Paul seems to be emphasizing Jesus’ humanity in this verse and in verse 4, he emphasizes His deity.
1:4-5- What was the ultimate confirmation and attestation to Jesus’ deity? Exactly the sign Jesus said He would give in Matt. 12:38-42. That is, His resurrection. Paul is not saying here that Jesus became the Son of God at His resurrection. Paul, in line with other apostolic teaching (i.e. John 1, Heb. 1:1-2) clearly teaches the preexistence of Christ (Col. 1:15-16, Phil. 2:5-8). Rather, Jesus’ resurrection was the ultimate proof that He is the Son of God. Therefore, Robert Mounce is correct when he says of Jesus: “It is the resurrection that sets Him apart and authenticates His claim to deity. Had Jesus not risen from the dead, He would be remembered today only as a Jewish moralist who had some inflated ideas about His own relationship to God and made a number of ridiculous demands on those who wanted to be His disciples.” Paul confesses that this “Son of God” referenced in verse 3 is Jesus Christ “our Lord.”
It is through Jesus that Paul has received grace and a calling to make known the gospel to the Gentiles, for the gospel is not just for the Jews; The Messiah wasn’t going to only bring salvation to the nation of Israel, but just as Isaiah 49:6 says: “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” The phrase “to bring about the obedience of faith” sums up justification before God. That is, faith in the One whom He sent (John 6:29). The good news is only good news insofar as it is received by faith in Jesus. Faith in Christ isn’t some mental assent to a theological doctrine. It necessarily entails repentance of a life not serving God, and obedience to the Living God. This notion was at the core of Jesus’ and the apostles’ message. Consider Paul’s sermon to the pagans in Athens in Acts 17:30-31, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” This “obedience of faith” is summed up in Paul’s letter to former pagan Gentiles in Thessalonica as we are told that they “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” -1 Thess. 1:9b-10.
1:6-7- Like Paul mentions in verse 1 about being “called,” believers in general are also “called” of Jesus Christ. This includes the Gentiles in Rome to whom Paul is writing. They, like Paul, belong to Jesus as they have submitted to Jesus as Lord. The ones to whom Paul is writing are beloved by God and “called as saints.” This is, in one sense, our status before God if we are those who have repented and placed our faith in Jesus Christ as the recipients of this letter had done. This is to be “set apart” for God.
To quote Kenneth S. Wuest: “‘Saints’ is hagios, the noun form of hagiazō, “to set apart for God.” Thus a saint is a sinner who in answer to his faith in the Lord Jesus has been set apart by the Holy Spirit for God, set apart from sin to holiness, from Satan to God, out of the First Adam into the Last Adam, to live a set-apart life of separation. It is interesting to note that the words “saint, sanctify, sanctification, holy, hallow” all are translations of this same root hagi. The root idea is that separation from, to separation to. In its religious use it contrasts the secular from the religious or sacred, that which is unholy from that which is holy.”
1:8-10- Paul’s thankfulness is something we see all throughout his letters. A heart of gratitude and thankfulness to God was so prevalent in his life. The faith of his audience has been known throughout the empire and for that Paul is grateful. The Greek word latreuō, translated as “serve” in this verse can also be translated as “worship.” The definition is “to render religious service or homage, to worship, to perform sacred services.” For Paul, to serve is to worship and to worship God is to serve. Worship is not limited to singing songs of praise to God, but worship unto God is reflected in how we live for God. In verse 10, Paul shows that he relies on and is subservient to God’s will. We make plans, but ultimately, God’s will overrides (Pro.16:9).
1:11-13- “That you may be established” gives context to what Paul meant by saying “that I may impart some spiritual gift to you.” Further context is given in verses 12-17 and especially 15. What is the spiritual gift Paul wishes to impart? He longs to preach the gospel to them! This may seem odd as he is already writing to believers, but as Robert Mounce says of verses 11-12…“He was concerned that believers in Rome become increasingly established in their faith. To this end he wanted to share with them some spiritual insight or gift he had received from the Spirit. His visit with them would provide the opportunity to accomplish that purpose.” Mounce goes on to comment that Paul’s longing to go to Rome wasn’t for personal pleasure (nor were any of his missionary journeys), but it would be for the purpose of spreading the gospel and further strengthening the faith of those who had turned from their false gods to serve the living God as mentioned before in 1 Thess. 1:9. We also see that Paul is greatly encouraged and built up in his own faith by being with believers. In verse 13, Paul reassures the church in Rome that he hasn’t neglected them and has earnestly desired to be with them, but for certain reasons (likely due to Paul’s need to proclaim the gospel where it hasn’t yet been preached), he hasn’t been able to make the journey to see them (see notes on 15:20-23).
1:14-15- In a similar sentiment to what Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:16, Paul is compelled and obligated by his calling from Christ. Commentators note that “Greeks and barbarians” was meant to include all races and classes within the Gentile world. “Wise and foolish” simply means “learned and unlearned.” The universal nature of the gospel is such that it is the truth of all mankind, regardless of position in society, race, gender, nationality, etc. As we will see in the next verses and chapters, all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and the penalty of that sin is death. All need forgiveness that can only be found in Christ. This obligation Paul has is a labor of love, for Paul is eager to preach the gospel and fulfill the calling Christ had for his life. His status as having been saved by God through Jesus didn’t mean he could sit back, try to live for himself and "punch his ticket to heaven”. He had a purpose while on earth and everyone who has been called by God does as well.
1:16- Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, but that begs the question, why is that something Paul would have to state with boldness? Was his gospel message embarrassing to the culture he was in? We have good evidence to believe it was actually looked down on in Gentile culture. For example, in Acts 17, Paul was mocked while at the Areopagus for suggesting that a man was raised from the dead and was going to judge the whole world (Acts 17:32). Furthermore, we have evidence from historical sources that early Christianity was viewed as a religion for the foolish, women, and slaves. This was seen as weakness and a departure from the social order of the time (see Origen: Contra Celsum, Book III, ch. 49). In fact, the earliest known depiction of Jesus is a late second century piece of Roman graffiti known as graffito blasfemo that was meant to be a mockery of Jesus. It depicts someone on a cross with the head of a donkey. A man is standing and “worshiping” this person who is on the cross. The description that accompanies it reads, "Alexamenos worships [his] god” (Michael Squire: Sight and the Ancient Senses, p.231-232). This was at a time when Christianity in the Roman empire was at a minimum mocked, and beyond that, persecuted heavily. But as Paul states here, he is not ashamed of the truth! 1 Cor. 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Beyond that, we know that Paul gave up status and prestige as a “Pharisee of Pharisees” and went from being someone with respect and power in the society of his day, to being persecuted and hated by his fellow countrymen (Phil. 3, etc). Despite this, he is convinced that Jesus is worth throwing away his previous life for the sake of the gospel and isn’t ashamed of the life it brings! Next he states the main message of that very gospel. The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. This is why he is not ashamed. He knows it’s the power of God that brings salvation to all men! Salvation from what, and to what? As we will see in verse 18 and as well as Rom. 5:9-10, we are saved from the wrath of God to come and Douglas Moo notes that Paul often uses salvation to refer to “final deliverance from sin and evil that will come to the believer at death or the return of Christ (see Rom. 13:11).” Robert Mounce comments: “The salvation Paul spoke of is more than the forgiveness of sin. It includes the full scope of deliverance from the results of Adam’s sin. It involves justification (being set right with God), sanctification (growth in holiness) and glorification (the ultimate transformation into the likeness of Christ; cf. 1 John 3:2).”
Concerning “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” Paul is making clear that despite God working through His chosen people in the past (they were first to receive their Messiah. See Matt. 15:21-28) this salvation is now offered to all nations, not just the nation of Israel. It’s interesting to see God’s sovereignty in choosing a certain people to bring about His redemptive plan. There is an extent to which God’s sovereign choice of a people to accomplish His purposes is exactly that. His sovereign choice. Is it unfair? Absolutely not.
Matt. 20:1-16 is a good illustration of this. As Jesus points out in verse 15, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’” God’s election of Israel to accomplish his purposes and their having “first dibs” (especially during Jesus’ earthly ministry) in no injustice to Gentiles. In fact, we even see in the Old Testament examples and vignettes of Gentile inclusion, for whoever called upon the name of the Lord is saved. Think of Rahab in Joshua 2-6 who was a Gentile prostitute justified by her faith in God, or the Gentile city of Nineveh who repented before God at the preaching of His chosen messenger (Jonah). Or as Jesus points out in Luke 4:24-27, the Gentile woman whom Elijah showed grace to. Even before the coming of Jesus, God’s grace would be extended to anyone who called upon His name and served Him, regardless of if they were a “chosen” child of Abraham or not! This truth leads Peter to state in Acts 10:34-35, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
1:17- Paul says that in the gospel God’s righteousness is revealed from “faith to faith.” I think Paul’s quotation of Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous shall live by faith” gives insight to his main point. The righteousness of God cannot be obtained by works, but only by faith. Paul expresses time and time again in his letters that we are made right with God by faith, in the same way Abraham was justified before God by his faith, so are we justified by our faith in Christ. Whether it’s Old Testament faith or New Testament faith (from faith to faith), we are made right with God the same way.
1:18-20- Verse 18 begins what is a “hall of fame” passage about the general revelation of God to all humanity as revealed in His creation. This is a particular reference point in apologetics. As commentators have noted, in verse 17 God’s righteousness is being revealed, but Paul goes on to say in the very next verse that God’s wrath is also being revealed. Being righteous before God can be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ.
The inverse of this is to have God’s wrath revealed through all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth of God. As we will see in the rest of this chapter, God’s wrath is not just limited to an eschatological context (final judgement of sin and the wrath that follows-1 Thess. 1:10), but there is a present reality component to it as well. In verses 19-20 Paul states that by the very fact the world and all the heavens exist declare that God exists. All of creation testifies that there is a Creator. This is not a new concept of Paul. This very doctrine is grounded in what God has revealed about Himself and His creation in the Old Testament. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV), “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” This leaves mankind with two options, acknowledge the truth of God; the Creator, and worship Him, or suppress the truth and worship the creation rather than the Creator (this can manifest itself in a multitude of ways). The latter, of course, is rebellion against God. God is not ‘divinely hidden’ as some would suggest. Adam Harwood states, “God’s eternal power and deity have been clearly perceived through creation so that people are without excuse that God exists.”
1:21-23- Denial of God and turning away from Him starts the downward spiral of depravity. Suppressing the truth of God inevitably ends in a futile mind and a foolish and darkened heart. In a cruel irony, these people will profess to be wise, but will in reality be utter fools (The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. -Psalm 14:1, ESV). Beyond that, we see throughout history (and all throughout Scripture), mankind’s proclivity for idol worship. So much is this the fallen man’s nature that God has to prohibit such insanity for His chosen people as we see in Deut. 4:16-18. We even see how Israel failed to hold to these commands and just like the wicked Canaanites around them, they too fell into all sorts of idol worship that inevitably leads to the worst moral depravity imaginable (Psalm 106:34-39). In Exodus 32, we see how easily and quickly mankind can descend into abject idol worship. Again, as Scripture shows us, “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.” -Psalm 106:20 (ESV). As we’ve established, Paul’s theology comes from the truth of God’s word and what we see in Romans (and the New Testament in general) is a striking cohesion of the truth behind the nature of God and man. The beautiful thing is that the resolution to man’s “problem” as presented in the Old Testament is now made clear and is fulfilled in the New Testament (which is why Paul was a man utterly set on proclaiming the gospel of Jesus).
1:24-25- “Therefore” or “Because they exchanged the glory of God for idols” God gave them up to all the evil and wicked consequences of those aforementioned actions. Paul is showing us the results of divine judgment in the temporal. That is, God allows them to “go their own way” which results in moral depravity of all kinds. Psalm 81:11-12 says: “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels” (ESV). To quote Kenneth S. Wuest, “When men persisted in following their totally deprived natures, God allowed them free reign. The natural result was immorality of the vilest kind.”
We see this very thing happening throughout history and it seems strikingly obvious to me what this looks like in cultures and societies that actively seek to reject God. My own nation, for example, not only approves of, but oftentimes rejoices in, and fights tooth and nail for the “freedom” to murder babies in the womb. We look at the depravity of child sacrifices in ancient cultures and think we are somehow morally superior when in reality, we are just as wicked. The overt celebration of sexual perversion, gender delusion and confusion, normalization of pornography and prostitution, etc. is downright mind boggling to the basic rational and logical person. But when a culture fights against God, worships other things or even themselves, these gross immoralities are the result of such a rejection of God as Paul points out here in our text. I will also note that in these verses and the ones to come, we see that it’s not only “actions” that God defines as sinful, but the actual “desires,” “lusts” and “passions” that are also considered sinful. The lust for and the desire to engage in reprobate behavior is in itself sinful. We see this concept time and time again throughout Scripture. Israel would offer sacrifices to God (providing an external ‘holy’ act), but their hearts would be full of evil desires. A desire to commit murder is not a holy one, but a wicked and sinful one. A desire for unnatural sexual relations is likewise; on and on.
As we move on to the next verses, I’ll end with a quote from Douglas Moo: “God reacts to the human decision to turn from Him by consigning people to the consequences of their actions. As Paul will show, this involves an ever-increasing cycle of sin, but he highlights sexual sin.”
1:26-27- Craig Keener writes, “Having distorted God’s image (1:23), which was originally in male and female humans (Gen. 1:26-27), humanity now distorted its own sexuality (Rom. 1:24-27).” God gave them over to the evil desires and passions of their flesh. Without the context of verse 27, verse 26 might be ambiguous, but Paul makes clear in verse 27 the action taking place. Men sexually desiring one another and carrying out those desires with each other just like the women were doing in verse 26. Note the “Likewise” or “In the same way” that starts off verse 27. Women burning with sexual desire for and having sex with other women and men doing likewise with men. In a pagan society like with the Greeks or Romans, this wasn’t uncommon. To the Jews though, homosexuality was morally reprehensible in their culture and was expressly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Lev. 18:22). It was so serious a moral offense and so sullied the culture of purity that God demanded of His people, that the penalty for such an offense was death for both parties (Lev. 20:13). We even see in Lev. 18:24-25, that because the Canaanites were practicing these things (and much more), God was bringing severe and harsh judgment upon them, meaning that there is a universal moral standard that extends to all people, not just the nation of Israel. In fact, this is exactly what Paul is illustrating in Romans 1-2.
Beyond God’s established order for human bodily design and marriage (Gen. 1:27, Gen. 2:24-25, Matt. 19:4-6) and further clarification of this issue in 1 Cor. 6:9, 1 Tim. 1:9-10, and Jude 7, it’s utterly baffling to see proclaimed Christians try and justify these things in today’s time. We live in a culture where the very acts described in these verses are not only normalized, but celebrated loudly in the streets and in media. The very acts God calls unnatural and abominations are seen as acceptable, normal and rational. Ben Witherington III states, “He quite literally says that those who practice such behaviour have exchanged the natural function of intercourse for that which is against nature… Paul certainly believes there is a natural order of things that God put into creation which ought to be followed.”
Excursus: (Romans 1:26-27 and Homosexuality)
There is no exception or “special provision” made in Scripture that allows for homosexual acts or desires. Some may try to advocate for allowances in the context of a “loving” and “monogamous” relationship. First of all, we know that “love” directed at the wrong thing is sinful (1 John 2:15-17, John 3:19, 12:43,) and by definition love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness” (1 Cor. 13:6). As Rom. 1:26-27 points out, burning with passion and desire does not equal holy and righteous. The simple truth is, Scripture gives no allowance for this sin as it also doesn’t for adultery. There is no justification for committing adultery, for example. God absolutely condemns adultery with no exceptions. Likewise is the prohibition of homosexuality in any context. These few verses are the clearest detailed teaching on the matter.
And, as some erroneously claim, the passage in Rom. 1 is not referring to pederasty within Roman culture. Pederasty is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a boy, usually non-consensual wherein there is an imbalanced power dynamic. Nowhere in the text is this indicated, especially given Paul’s Jewish background and the context of God’s created order and design as the backdrop behind all this in verses 18-23. More obvious is the fact that Paul is condemning both participants in the text. If Paul was referring to pederasty as practiced in first century Roman culture (or simply put, a non-consensual homosexual encounter with a minor), one is forced to conclude that he is proclaiming that the wrath of God falls on minors who are non-consensual participants. This is exegetically absurd. Furthermore, there is no evidence that pederasty was practiced by women who are also equally addressed in this passage. Nowhere is this indicated in the flow of thought and context of Chapter 1. Wayne Grudem notes: “Paul’s absolute indictment against all forms of homosexuality is underscored by his mention of lesbian intercourse in Romans 1:26, since this form of intercourse in the ancient world was not typically characterized by sex with adolescents, slaves or prostitutes.”
Grant Osborne, therefore, rightly concludes that “Paul unambiguously follows biblical precedent and teaches that homosexuality runs counter to the way God has designed human sexuality.“ Osborne goes on to add: “The issue is one of biblical authority. Even when the command runs counter to the current cultural norm, the true Christian must obey God’s command rather than the demands of political correctness.”
*For further study on the topic of homosexuality and the Bible, see Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning, ch.33 (2018) and Robert A.J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (2001)
1:28-32- For the third time in five verses, Paul hammers home the point that a rejection of God results in God giving them over to the moral consequences that follow. Because of the Greek word dokimazō (meaning to put on trial, to test, examine, or to discern) Kenneth Wuest likens it to “Putting God on trial” the result of which is rejection of God. “Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways.”-Job 21:14 (NIV). God therefore, hands them over to a mind that is adokimos (worthless, castaway, rejected, reprobate). Being given over to such a mind produces the moral results listed in the previous verses as well as the “vice list” Paul goes on to reference in 29-32. Paul claims in verse 30 that these debased people are “Inventors of evil.” David Brown notes: “Long before this chapter was penned, the Lesbians and others throughout refined Greece had been luxuriating in such debasements; and as for the Romans, TACITUS, speaking of the emperor Tiberius, tells us that new words had then to be coined to express the newly invented stimulants to jaded passion.” Grant Osborne provides great insight when he writes: “Those who are senseless possess the depraved mind of 1:19-21, 28. Creation has communicated the fact of God to them, and the Holy Spirit has proven to them their guilt before God (Jn 16:8-11). Yet they have neglected that voice of God in every instance. This is not a passive ignorance but a willful rejection, building on the picture of the fool in the Old Testament (Ps. 53:1; 74:22, Prov. 10:14, 21, 23, 15:14).”
Perhaps the worst point in all of this is the recognition by those that practice these things that they are sinful, but instead of feeling any guilt or shame, they revel in these evil actions and “also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” It is reminiscent of Israel’s state of moral decay in Jeremiah’s day as illustrated in Jer. 6:15 (NIV), “Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.” But as mentioned, Paul points out in his letter that the people go even beyond not being ashamed and “give hearty approval” to others in their wickedness. As E. F. Scott comments: “This is really the darkest stroke in the whole picture. Not only were all those vices practiced but the public conscience was dead, and the evil could exhibit itself as if it were good. This is the final and deadliest phase of utter social corruption.” And Charles Hodge adds: “This is the lowest point of degradation. To sin, even in the heat of passion, is evil; but to delight in the sins of others shows that men are of set purpose and fixed preference, wicked.”
While obviously not unique to our culture today (Paul was writing about this nearly two thousand years ago, after all), it’s still very striking to see this very thing play out in the society around us. The decay of sexual ethics (from rampant pornography and prostitution to the participation in and celebration of homosexual lifestyles, etc) has become nothing to be ashamed of, but encouraged and celebrated. Wickedness is being heralded as good while goodness is being condemned as bad, old fashioned, out of date, or even bigoted.
There is a tendency among humans to justify our sinful actions and to even assume that if it feels like a natural desire we have, we must be “true to ourselves.” I speak from experience. However, Paul is showing in this chapter just how helpless and in sin every human truly is. The vice list mentioned isn’t practiced by people because it’s antithetical to our nature, it’s precisely because sin is so ingrained in our nature (thus caters to our debased instincts). As Paul has shown though, sin drives us away from God. As we will see in ch. 6-8, if we follow Christ, we are to die to sin. The call of Christ isn’t “come as you are and leave the same,” but rather, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” -Luke 9:23. Paul will elaborate more on this sentiment in 12:1-2 (see comments there).
I’ll conclude chapter 1 with a quote from Matthew Henry: “Now lay all this together, and then say whether the Gentile world, lying under so much guilt and corruption, could be justified before God by any works of their own.”
Bibliography (Works Cited):
-Douglas J. Moo: NIV Application Commentary, One-Vol. Edition (Romans)
-Robert H. Mounce: Romans, NAC, 1995
-Kenneth S. Wuest: Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Vol. 1 (Romans)
-Adam Harwood: Christian Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Systematic (p. 50)
-Craig Keener: The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Romans)
-Ben Witherington III: Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
-Wayne Grudem: Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning, 2018 (p. 854)
-Grant R. Osborne: Romans, IVPNTC, 2004
-David Brown: Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Bible Commentary, Romans
-E. F. Scott: Paul’s Epistle To The Romans
-Charles Hodge: Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. 1886. Eerdmans, 1950
-Matthew Henry: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible