Episode Synopsis:

The church in Rome was predominately Gentile–made up of recent converts from Greco-Roman paganism to Christianity. Such Gentiles knew little if anything about the Old Testament, nor its central figures, Abraham, Moses, and David. They knew that Jewish Christians cared about dietary restrictions, as well as circumcision–a surgical procedure which seemed bizarre to former Gentile pagans. They knew the Jews revered the law of Moses–which they claimed to be the very commandments from God. Gentiles ate things Jews did not. They touched things Jews regarded as unclean. As new Christians, Gentiles were learning about the evils of idolatry and the importance of rejecting the libertine sexual ethics and practices of Roman life in favor of a biblical sexuality. But they were also learning about Moses, Abraham, the law, and the covenants God made with Abraham and Moses.

Paul has been clear in the opening chapter of his letter to Rome. “You Gentiles may not have known who Moses was, nor why the commandments God gave to Israel through him at Mount Sinai were so important, but you do know what is right and what is wrong because God has made it plain to you through the created order, which, until coming to faith in Jesus, you tried to suppress in unrighteousness. You may claim ignorance, but you knew deep down inside that the things you were doing lead to death."

But Paul is not finished. Even as he exposes Gentile godlessness and the futility of exchanging the truth of God for pagan nonsense, you can almost hear the Jewish Christians in Rome cheering Paul on. Eyewitnesses of bad Gentile behavior and victims of Gentile oppression, Jewish converts, of course, were thrilled to hear Paul “give it to them good.” “About time someone called out the Gentiles for their sinful and immoral practices.”

But as the second chapter of Romans unfolds, Paul shifts gears and raises the uncomfortable reality of Jewish hypocrisy. “OK, you Jews who criticize the Gentiles, do you do the same things they do?” “How can you judge the Gentiles when you are no better.” The truth is, God is going to judge all people according to their works–Jew and Gentile. The blessing/curse principle will apply to all humanity. Those who do good will receive God’s blessing, while those who do not keep God’s commands will face him on the day of judgment. Yes, Paul has good news to proclaim, but there can be no good news until we realize that we are sinful, law-breakers, and deserving of God’s wrath whether we be Jew or Gentile.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

What happens to those who know right from wrong but choose to follow their own path even though their conscience and the Word of God warn them not to go that way? No, lightning does not strike them, nor does the ground open up beneath their feet and swallow them whole. They don’t keel over dead. According to Paul, what does happen to those who willingly exchange the truth of God for a lie and who willfully suppress the truth in unrighteousness is far more consequential than it seems at first glance. In exposing Gentile sinfulness, Paul warns of how God gives such people over to the consequences of their sin. If this is the path they persist in taking, well then, God will let them follow it to the end—an end, Paul says, that is deserving of death.

While it is common for Christians to emphasize those sexual sins that figure prominently in Paul’s vice list in Romans 1:18–32 (and indeed they do), the sins mentioned here by Paul are universal to all of Adam’s fallen race and include things we might consider “little” or insignificant sins—envy, gossip, and disobedience to parents. The point of this list is to show the Gentile Christians in Rome that despite the fact that they know neither Moses nor the law of God, their sins are self-evident and condemn the entire human race. No one will be able to stand before God on Judgment Day and claim, “But I did nothing wrong.” And “if I did something wrong,” it is certainly not worthy of eternal condemnation. But since God is holy and cannot look upon sin, Paul’s vice list makes clear the sobering fact that all of us are sinners who have sinned against God and whose hearts are filled with sin and darkness.

Those who don’t think this is fair are those who compare themselves to their neighbor, some of whom are better than they are, while some are worse. But God does not measure us by our neighbor; he measures us by his perfect holiness, which he demands of all his creatures.

The dreaded phrase “God gave them over” reminds us that we cannot stand before God on the Day of Judgment and plead ignorance or claim that our sins really are not that big a deal, deserving of such severe punishment. “I didn’t kill anyone.” Maybe not with my hands, but I’ve done it countless times in my heart, and so have you. Although the phrase “God gave them over” has an eerie finality about it, we also ought to consider that the process of letting sinners feel the weight and consequences of their sins just might be the means by which God is preparing people to come to faith and repentance. The conviction of sin is a work of the Holy Spirit. The conviction of sin is actually a good thing—because we realize that we need to be delivered from the guilt and power of sin. Much better to feel the conviction of sin than to be allowed to continue uninterrupted on our chosen path to destruction.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? I gave you a hint about the good news in the previous episode, in which we took a look at the thesis statement of Romans—Romans 1:16–17. The next time you'll hear good news from Paul—and it is really good news—is when we get to Romans 3:21, which is still a number of episodes down the road. As will become clear, the good news of the gospel must be seen against the backdrop of human sin and guilt before the holy God. Since the vast majority of our contemporaries think that people are basically good and have the ability, if not the desire, to find favor with God, it is important to notice that Paul sees things much differently.

Which is why the bad news is really bad, and why the good news makes no sense apart from the bad. The entire human race is estranged from God by nature and by choice. When Paul is finished with his indictment of the human race—both Jew and Gentile—there is no one left standing. The wrath of God is being revealed against all those who suppress the truth about God in unrighteousness. Because unbelievers inevitably engage in this act of suppressing the truth about God, he gives them over to their lusts and passions so that things run their course and leave such people without excuse. Because all people know that there is a God, but refuse to worship and serve him, they demonstrate that their thinking is futile and their hearts are hardened. And they dare not stand before him on judgment day and make appeal to their goodness, character, good works, or ignorance of the truth.

Paul is clear that the Psalmist is absolutely right to affirm, “The fool has said in their heart, `There is no God.’” As those made in the image of God, he has made us to be creatures well fitted for the world which he also created. We are designed for this world and all of its beauties, joys, and pleasures. This is what makes the suppression of the truth about him so foolish. God has revealed himself to all people—that he is, that he is holy, and that we owe him our every breath. So, when our race fell in Adam, we became a race of rebels who worship and serve created things rather than the Creator. And as Paul is about to explain, the wrath of God is being revealed—not against the innocent who don't know better, but against a race of rebels who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We live as though none of this were true, or we create a god who blesses our rebellion. But there is a tsunami on the horizon, and it is heading our way.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

Paul is eager to come to Rome to preach the gospel. These words have long been familiar to Christians, and we understand Paul’s sentiment. Yet, in Paul’s day, preaching the gospel was an absolutely scandalous message. The gospel is centered on the cross of Jesus Christ. For us, a cross is a well-known Christian symbol. But for those in Paul’s day, the cross was a sign of shame and denigration. It was something people abhorred and would not speak about. The noted Roman statesman and orator Cicero spoke of the cross as so horrible that Roman citizens should never be subject to such a thing, and should never even entertain the thought of such a horrible manner of death, much less speak of it. So why would Paul be eager to preach such a message if it was likely to repulse and offend people, rather than draw or attract them?

Paul knows that this gospel—centered in the cross of Jesus Christ—is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. God uses this scandalous message to call his people unto himself, create faith, and grant them eternal life. As Paul tells the Romans, the gospel was first preached to Jews in the types and shadows of the Old Testament, and then through recounting the events associated with the messianic mission of Jesus Christ, which culminated in his suffering and death upon a Roman cross. When the crucified Jesus was raised from the dead three days after his crucifixion, God demonstrated his power—which is of a different kind and far greater than all the military might of Rome. Jesus is truly Lord—not Caesar nor any of the Roman gods. So, when Paul says he desires to come to Rome to preach this message, he is trusting the power of God to do what is impossible for sinful humans: to be given new life, the forgiveness of sins, and to be counted as righteous before God.

Paul is also eager to preach the gospel because in it the righteousness of God is revealed. Sinful men and women can be reckoned or credited as righteous by trusting in the crucified and risen Savior proclaimed by Paul. No amount of sorrow or tears, no enlightened teacher or guru, and no amount of good works can grant this righteous status to sinful people. The only proper response to Paul’s gospel is the empty hands of faith—the reception of this free gift of a perfect and faultless righteousness that is found in the gospel. This is why Paul is eager to come to Rome and preach this scandalous message.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

In the opening words of the Book of Romans, Paul introduces himself to a church he has never visited and to a group of fellow believers, most of whom he has never met in person. Therefore, it is important for Paul to explain his apostolic office as well his role in undertaking the Gentile mission. Paul is making travel plans which include a future visit to the city of Rome. Since the church in Rome was predominantly Gentile (with a Jewish Minority), it is important that both groups understand that all of Paul’s missionary efforts are grounded in the preaching of the Gospel of God–the death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of sinners.

To the Jewish Christians in Rome, Paul must explain that the gospel he preaches was revealed to him by Jesus Christ who was himself a descendant of David (Israel’s greatest king), while at the same time the eternal Son of God who ushers in a new age in redemptive history. This gospel is not a message invented by Paul–a charge he’s heard previously from opponents in Galatia and Corinth. The gospel which he is about to proclaim in the balance of the letter to follow, is the same message proclaimed throughout the Old Testament–though hidden in types and shadows, and a mystery which Paul is about to explain. Furthermore, the gospel is true because its central figure (Jesus) has not only the proper Davidic genealogy, but he was raised bodily from the dead in power in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of his resurrection, Jesus is the Lord–an important bit of information to those living in Rome during the days of Caesar Nero, who thinks of himself as a sort of demi-God. Nero is not Lord, Jesus is.

Since Rome is such an important place–the capital of a huge pagan empire–Paul will make the point that this gospel “promised before hand,” is a gospel for all the nations, as foretold by Israel’s prophets. This gospel summons all those called to belong to Jesus to the obedience of faith. Is faith an act of obedience in our part. Is it a work? Is it the one thing which we must do to be saved? Is there any merit in faith–something God sees and rewards. And what is so-called, “evangelical obedience?”

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

When Paul writes his letter to the church in Rome, he is still in Corinth, having made a difficult visit there to deal with the ongoing problems in the Corinthian church, which we addressed in Season Four (when we covered 2 Corinthians). But things have improved in Corinth to the point that Paul is making plans to continue his Gentile mission. Before that can happen, Paul must make the journey to Jerusalem to deliver the offering collected from the churches in Greece. Having done that, Paul hopes to go on to Spain (at the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea). The midpoint between Jerusalem and Spain is the Italian peninsula and the city of Rome. So Paul writes a letter of introduction to the church there, a letter which we now know as Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

Paul is unquestionably the author of Romans. His epistle was sent by messenger – a woman named Phoebe – from Corinth to Rome early in 57 CE. In this letter, the apostle addresses a number of matters which we will discuss in great detail in future episodes. But if we are to boil down the contents of Romans to a single word, that word would be “gospel.” Paul does not say much about the church to which he is writing–he’s never been there. But we do know from the contents of this letter that like other churches of the Gentile mission, the Roman church was predominantly Gentile, though a number of Jews in Rome had come to faith in Jesus Christ. And so Paul must explain how these two groups fit in God’s larger plan and how they are to get along with each other despite their cultural and religious differences. Paul does this by stressing that both Jews and Gentiles are reckoned righteous, reconciled to the same God through the work of the same Savior in the power of the Holy Spirit, and this through the preaching of the one gospel.

Many Christians are familiar with the Book of Romans, but are likely far less familiar with the city, the situation there, and the recipients of this letter. What was Rome like in the days of Paul? What was it like to be an inhabitant of the city? How did you live, and under what circumstances? Where did you eat or work? What was it like to live under the reign of Nero? Life was brutal and cruel for many of the city’s inhabitants, but luxurious by first-century standards for others. Why were the Jews expelled twice from the city? And how did the gospel first arrive in the capital of this powerful pagan empire? It is an interesting story and I’ll do my best to tell it.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast is underway. I know that for many of you, the Book of Romans is your favorite letter in all the New Testament. When we wrapped up our time in 2 Corinthians a couple of months ago, the clock started on launching Season Five. I love Romans, I’ve preached through it twice using the lectio continua style of exposition, and I have lectured on parts of Romans on a number of other occasions. So I am very excited about season five, and I’ve worked very hard to get this verse by verse deep dive Bible study ready to go.

There can be little doubt that Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is one of the most important letters ever written. As we will discuss in this episode, the Epistle to the Romans has had a tremendous impact upon the course and history of Western Civilization, as well as a huge impact upon the people of God ever since it was written. For reasons we will address momentarily, the Book of Romans has a clarity and power about it which brings Reformation and renewal to Christ’s church whenever it is proclaimed from the pulpit and studied by the people of God.

We open Season Five with two episodes devoted to the importance and historical background of the epistle. In this first episode we’ll take a look at the ways in which this letter has impacted the world in which we live, and we’ll consider some of the key figures in church history and their testimonies about the influence which Romans has had upon them and their ministries. The influence of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is truly remarkable.

That done, we’ll briefly look at some of the main themes of the letter. What ground does Paul seek to cover in this letter to a church in the very capital of a pagan empire? Why did the renewed interest in Romans some 500 years ago generate many of the controversies which led to the Protestant Reformation and the split from the Roman Catholic church? Why does Romans still generate controversies, such as those associated with the New Perspective on Paul? What about those doctrines long associated with confessional Reformed theology? Can we find them in Romans? So, in addition to the themes laid out by Paul in this letter, I’ll identify some of the main controversies we will address when we get into the meat of the letter. I’ll also explain my operating assumptions as we open a new season–why am I approaching this letter from an exegetical, theological, historical, and confessional perspective?

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/