Today we start a new book of the Bible as we read Romans 1 together. The book of Romans was written by Paul, who we read about in the book of Acts. Romans has one grand theme - God’s grace. Below are some thoughts on chapter one:
- Paul writes that he’s wanted to come to Rome for a long time to teach people about Jesus. He says that he prays for them all the time. Then Paul jumps right into some really heavy stuff.
- In verse 16 Paul introduces this idea of God’s grace. Paul says he's not ashamed of the gospel (the Good News that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead) because it is the power for salvation of everyone who believes. Remember the Jews wanted God to be exclusive, but God repeatedly showed them his offer of love and forgiveness is available to everyone.
- Then Paul starts talking about the “wrath of God” being revealed against the wickedness of men. That may not seem like a message of grace, but it is. It's only because of our sin that God's grace is necessary, and it's only when we understand our sin that we'll truly appreciate the fact that through his grace, God offers to save us from it.
- Paul tells us that God is revealed to all people through nature. He is saying that to deny there is a God is to observe nature and refuse to see there is a Creator of it all. All the fancy arguments in the world do not compare to the beauty and power we see in nature. It just screams of a Creator.
- Next Paul talks about how God dislikes “sexual impurity” of any form, and he speaks specifically of homosexuality.
- This is where it gets tough. This is a very sensitive topic but the Bible talks about it, and we can't ignore that. Unfortunately, many Christians have focused on homosexuality as the sin God is against and have often been very judgmental about it. (Ironically, these Christians ignore the beginning of the very next chapter of Romans where we are taught that we cannot judge.) It is true the Bible does teach that homosexuality isn’t in the perfect plan God has for our lives. However, Paul mentions twenty-one other things God disapproves of in verses 29-31, including some that may be surprising like gossiping, the disobeying of parents and acting "senseless." We've all sinned in these ways (and others) to some degree. The truth is we all sin. That doesn't mean that the sin in our lives is okay, or that we should accept anyone's sin. But it does mean we need to realize we're all in the same boat and so we can't judge each other, and that we need to lovingly support each other as we grow closer to God, better understand His will for our lives, and move towards really living it. God hates all sin in our life because he loves us, and he knows sin keeps us from him and from living the full life he has for us. But God does not hate anyone. And we're not to hate either. And we need to remember that while God hates sin, He offers grace. And we're to do the same. On a quick side note, while Jesus walked with us he never once mentioned homosexuality but he did talk a lot about being hypocrites and judging others. So let’s focus on the things Jesus taught and then once we “master” them we can move on to the other things. I know for me that’ll take a lifetime.
Here's an application from today's reading: It may surprise you that Paul includes a list of sins at the end of this chapter, but until we recognize the sin in our lives we can't appreciate grace, and we can't decide to walk away from that sin. So which of the sins mentioned do you struggle with? Have you asked God for help with it? And do you have someone who can keep you accountable in this area?
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