Romans by Dennis McCallum (2008)

The religious paradox is that people who believe they are righteous commit wrongdoing when they pass judgment on others who do not meet their standards. In this way, religious self-righteousness is sinful and self-contradictory. Paul addresses the problems of the religious mindset that had permeated Judaism in Rome.

Writing to both Jews and Gentiles in Rome, Paul explains that no one is made righteous by the Law. Rather, one's righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were used to atone for sin. Christ's death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice of atonement, where Jesus took upon himself the punishment deserved by all of humanity - separation from God. It is only through this act of sacrifice that anyone can be made right with God.

Turning to key figures from the Old Testament who would have been very well known to the Jewish Romans, Paul uses Abraham and David to explain what faith looks like. Faith is not equivalent to works, rituals, or the Law. Instead, it is a willingness to act based on God's truth with complete dependence on Him.

The Good News of the Bible is that we can have a close, personal relationship with the God of the universe. We have to come to Him on His terms though, not on our own. God's terms are just that we have faith in the good news that He sent His son to die as payment for our sins on the cross. Jesus' life and death was predicted by several sources hundreds of years before he walked on the earth. The Gospel is the power of God. It's the only thing that makes us right with God and is accomplished from start to finish by faith.

The argument from design supports Paul's statement in Romans 1 that attributes of God are apparent in creation. The presence of design in our world implies that there is a designer, as the idea of life coming from non-life (abiogenesis) is highly implausible. By examining creation, one can also discover characteristics of the creator, such as intellect and power. Despite the evidence, some still choose to suppress the truth and not believe. Video clip included with Dean Kenyon, author of "Biochemical Predestination," discussing the unlikelihood of such a concept.

By exploring the areas of morality, freedom, and human dignity through the views of pantheism, animism, and theism, we see that it is only possible to remain internally consistent with our beliefs under one worldview: Christianity. To believe people are significant, free, moral beings implies that they were created with a spiritual nature and aren't simply matter. Romans 1:19 says that God "made Himself evident within us," and our actions show that at some deep level, we know this to be true.

Despite the existence of an all-powerful, all-good God, evil still exists in this world. Every worldview has to account for the problem of evil; it is not only a problem for Christians. Looking at atheism, pantheism, animism, and biblical theism, we see that only biblical theism has an answer.

What we do arises out of who we are. Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden resulted in all of his descendents (us) being born with a sin nature. However, just as spiritual death was brought through Adam, spiritual life was brought through Christ. When one is baptized into Christ, he is given a new identity because he is identified with Christ. It is this new identity that is the key to lasting change and spiritual growth.

In Adam, we were slaves to sin and alienated from God. Once we are in Christ, we have a new identity. Not only is it essential to know what this new identity is, it is just as important to learn to apply these truths to ourselves. As we begin to look at ourselves the way God looks at us and present ourselves to Him with this new identity in view, we can depend on Him to begin powerfully transforming us into the image of Christ.

The Law was put in place to define sin and stimulate our sin nature. It also leads people to Christ and convinces those already in Christ that only God can change them. Paul explains what this looked like in his own life, while also describing the inward tension he experiences between his old sin nature and his desire to follow God's Law. Paul understands that, on his own, he is a wretched man who desperately needs someone to save him. The chapter ends with him thanking God for doing just that.

Having been set free of the law of sin by Christ's death on the cross, Christians are now free to walk according to the Spirit. A mind that is set on the things of the Spirit is focused on Christ, others, grace, and eternity. Several things are necessary in order to have a spiritual mindset: presenting yourself to God as one who is alive from the dead, prayer, Scripture, fellowship/service, and the discipline of the Holy Spirit. It is when we are focused on the things of the Spirit that we allow the Spirit's power to transform our lives.

In order to walk according to the Spirit, we must be rooted in Scripture. The Word is powerful, God-breathed truth. It transforms our minds, satisfies us spiritually, allows us to encounter God, and builds us up. It is essential for us to not only read the Bible, but to study it in depth and put it to use.

Growing in our relationship with God not only involves building up our inner spiritual person, it also requires our outer man be broken. Paul says later in chapter 8, "If by the Spirit, you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." God uses outward circumstances to crack our outer man, and as that outer man is put to death, the Spirit of God within us become more visible. In order to experience this life out of death, we have to actively cooperate with what God is doing in our lives, reject illegitimate pain reducers, and have a position-oriented perspective.

God's choice is to use Israel in His plan up to a point in time. If interpreted incorrectly, this passage can be misunderstood to be about predetermined eternal destiny. By examining this passage within the context, using exegesis, we see that this passage is about God's choice to use Israel, NOT about personal salvation. Human free will is the determining factor in salvation.

Even in the Old Testament, God has not wanted to relate to people through works, but instead through grace and faith! The nation of Israel thought that they could keep the law themselves. And, though they have been God's chosen people throughout all of human history, He chose to stop working through them for a time because they rejected His grace and subsequently, hardened their hearts. This does not mean that God has forgotten or rejected the Jews, He will still carry out His promises to the Jews after the Church Age. God is continuing to execute His vast, eternal plan of rescue and is choosing to use anyone and everyone who wants to following Him.

Paul challenges believers in Rome to give their whole life over to God. Part of giving their whole life over to God means not conforming to the ways of the world but allowing God to transform their mind. All believers who do not want to conform to the world need to be able to see the difference between God's wisdom and the wisdom of men.

Paul reminds the church in Rome that love fulfills the law. All people were created to experience love relationships with God's love at the center. To start the love relationships we were created for we must understand God and start to experience Him, first. God is love and He is the initiator of all love.

The way that the world describes love is very different than the description Paul gives for God's love. We can see where the world's love is failing all around us. God's love is sacrificial, righteous, forgiving, and emotional. These are four important dimensions to God's love that we can experience in our own relationships, with His help.

Believers in Christ have the ability to move relationships from being casual to intimate. Key ways to develop close relationships include appropriating the power of God for change and being persistent in prayer.

God calls believers to be unified to all people. When conflict arises we can use the opportunity to enhance communication, build continuity, and demonstrate God's love through relationship. There are many practical steps we can take to preserve unity while experiencing conflict. We can change our orientation to glorify God, recognize our own fault, consider a unilateral resolution, and clarify issues within the conflict.

Forgiveness is at the center of God's Will and brings wisdom in conflict. Once forgiveness in conflict is extended, people can move towards reconciliation. Being able to reproof if necessary, negotiate, and continue to leave room for God's transforming work is central to the Christian life.

Paul has detailed multiple places in scripture what it looks like to live out your freedom in Christ under grace. The driving principle is the law of love. To figure out His will for your life in gray areas it is important to depend on His guidance and sacrificial love.

Paul's view of ministry starts with others-centeredness. The new form of worshipping God in the New Testament is ministry. This means caring for the whole person, not just in easy ways but speaking a word of admonition when necessary as well. When it comes to evangelism or missionary work, our post-modern culture deplores these practices, viewing them as forms of imposing Christian culture on others. Instead, evangelism and missionary work is not about changing another's culture but sharing the truth of God's love with others.

All authority comes from God and He has ultimate authority over the world. God has decreed governments to exist and they exist as part of His permissive will. In Paul's letter to the Romans he describes how believers in Christ should interact with government. That peacefulness and good behavior is the ultimate goal and is used as a powerful witness for Jesus.