Romans 1:17

Romans 1:17

Welcome to the study of the Bible, the greatest and most important book in the world. Romans 1:17 says, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." In the previous verse Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel means good news, and in this good news is found the righteousness of God. If you have the righteousness of God, then God looks at you as if you were righteous. He gives you His righteousness. That is why salvation is by faith and not by works, and so the verse says the just shall live by faith. The just shall have eternal life by means of faith and faith alone. If salvation came by good works, then you would have to be perfect, and you would never gain salvation because you are not perfect. You are a sinner. You have sinned. But God is good and loves all humans, and therefore He devised a plan by which He could justify us, and save us, and give us His righteousness in spite of who we are and in spite of the fact that we do not deserve it. God’s plan is that salvation comes through faith and through faith that is in Jesus Christ. As if to remind us that these teachings about the gospel and about faith are not based upon Paul’s authority alone, he quotes the Jewish Old Testament in verse 17 when he writes, "the just shall live by faith." This was quoted from Habakkuk 2:4.

So the idea that salvation would be by faith and by faith alone, was first presented in the Old Testament; but then it was expanded upon and revealed more clearly in the New Testament. Verse 17 says, "The righteousness of God is revealed..." The word revealed comes from the Greek word “apocalupto”, from which we get the English word “apocalypse” or "revelation". The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: it starts with faith and it ends with faith. We are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus: nothing but faith. As the years go by and we are blessed to have done some good works for His glory, nothing will have changed. It will still be faith and nothing but faith in Jesus that has saved us.

Righteousness is revealed, the righteousness that is given by faith, and something else is revealed and verse 18 tells us about it. Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness:" This is the reason that we need to be saved. There is such a thing as the wrath of God. God is a holy God, and He is the judge of the whole earth. God does get angry, and He gets angry at sin, and rebellion, and stubbornness.

Notice what the Bible says about those who are in danger of suffering God’s wrath. It says that the wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The unrighteousness of men refers to evil deeds: things that humans do that they should not do such as lying, stealing, and committing adultery. God sees and knows every sinful act that is committed and He hates sin. There is a day coming when every human will have to stand before God and give an account of the things done in his body. Some people are so alienated from God that they do not listen to their conscience. They are capable of anything, but they are also in danger of the wrath of God.

The ungodliness of men refers to an irreverent attitude towards God and towards the idea of God. Some people are so alienated from God that they will not allow themselves to think or to say anything of a reverent or respectful nature about God. Many atheists and agnostics are in this category. Every generation has its share of these kinds of people who come up with new and novel ideas to mock God and to reject God. These people also will one day give an account of what they did with the idea of God. They are in danger of the wrath of God, because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

It says about the ungodly and the unrighteous who are in danger of the wrath of God that they hold the truth in unrighteousness. Notice what it says about these people who are not enlightened and who have alienated themselves from God. It says that they hold the truth in unrighteousness. It is not that they were not offered truth and it is not that they do not know truth. They know the truth. They have heard it, but they do not value it. They hold the truth in unrighteousness. They love that which is ungodly, and they think the truth is what is bad. We are talking about someone who has departed way off from God.

But it happens. It happens to people because of wrong decisions that they make about God and about ideas from God that they could have known. Romans 1:19-20 says, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse."

The French philosopher Decartes in talking about human existence said, "I think, therefore I am." Something similar could be said about the existence of God: "I think about God, therefore He is." The idea that there is a God is planted in the minds of humans from their earliest childhood by God himself. That is why this verse says, "that which may be known of God is manifest in them." And that is why it says about Jesus in John 1:9, "That was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into the world."

Verse 20 says that the invisible things are clearly seen. There are certain things about the existence of God that are obvious, even though He cannot be seen. How can invisible things be clearly seen? The reason that spiritual things that are invisible can be seen, is because the material things are simply images and reflections of the spiritual. He who formed the material is spiritual. The spiritual came first. If you see something that is material or physical, then you know that there is something spiritual behind it. If you see a painting that was created by Rembrandt there will be certain characteristics about that painting that will point you to Rembrandt as being the author and creator of it. You cannot have a painting without a painter, you cannot have a watch without a watchmaker, and you can’t have a universe without a Creator. Anyone who claims otherwise is in danger of the wrath of God, and according to Romans 1:20, "is without excuse."

Romans 1:21 explains the downward path of those who turn away from God. Everyone is heading in a certain direction, spiritually speaking. You are either heading towards God, towards a closer and better relationship with Him; or you are heading away from God. Those who turn away from the innate knowledge that God exists take a treacherous turn into darkness, and Romans 1:21 says, "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

The source for theories on the origin of life that leave out God is not so much scientific but is spiritual. People who did not want to believe in the existence of God, looked for an interpretation of things that would give them the opportunity to forget God and to deny God. That is the source for the Theory of Evolution, and the reason that it is a theory and not a law. The law of gravity is a law. The theory of evolution is not based upon scientific fact the way that the originators of the theory would like you to think; but is actually based upon their philosophy of life and their determination to forget God as the Creator of all things. Today evolution has become like a religion, and most of the proponents of evolution are people who have lost the ability to think for themselves and have swallowed a philosophy of the origin of life that is false.

Romans 1:22 is a memorable verse about those who deny the existence of the creator. It says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." All humans head toward the judgment of God. The day that a person is born, they begin heading toward the day of their death and the day that they will meet God to be judged by Him for the things done in their body. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. We all have an appointment with God. It is therefore the height of folly to deny God, the one great creator of the universe. The Psalmist said, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God."

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." The theory of evolution is one example of this. If you do not think that these people are intelligent, just ask them. They will be more than happy to expound upon their own self-elevated image. They will have many degrees and titles. They will be the authors of books. Over the years they will memorize many statistics, and they will use a large and learned vocabulary. But the sad fact is that this will be their legacy: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

Those who have denied the eternal creator have had other ways in which their foolishness has been revealed. In addition to those who profess themselves to be wise, there are also those who worship created inanimate objects instead of the invisible, eternal God. Romans 1:23 says, "And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."

Whenever we consider the beauty and the existence of anything that is material or physical, we should remind ourselves that the object or the person or the mountain or the tree or the animal that we see was designed by God. He that made all things was God, and that is why matter is neither created nor destroyed but only changes form. Should we look at created things and forget that God created them, we are in danger of thinking the same way that people think who have rejected the idea of God.

Pure pagan idolatry is also one of things that happens to humans when they forget that God is the creator of all things. Any idol that has ever been formed by the hands of man is totally inanimate and is no God. But the foolishness of idolatry is not the end of the journey into darkness that will be taken by those who forget God. Romans 1:24-25 says, "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves; who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."

Every life is dependent upon God and God’s grace. Life is very fragile, and there are many dangers. No one can live except God gives them life. Should a human turn away from God, that human is in danger of having God turn away from him or her; and then how terrible that person’s life can become. We are commanded to draw near to God, and then He will draw near to us. Jesus told us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Therefore, what a horrible fate awaits those who turn their backs to God. Not only a horrible fate in the next life but also in this life, because verse 24 also said that God gave them up.

What unutterable shame and loss becomes the fate of some humans because they come to a crossroads where they must choose to seek and trust and believe in God or not. Horribly enough and sorrowfully enough there are those who go the wrong way and make the wrong choice. Every human was born into the world to serve God, but verse 25 says that some end up serving the creature more than the creator. The "creature" means any created thing. If you do not serve God, then you are serving yourself, or someone else, or some other created thing; and you are in effect an idolater. Whoever does not serve God is an idolater; just as much as heathen who bow down before a graven image.

When Paul mentioned the Creator in verse 25, Paul said that the Creator is blessed forever. The word that is translated "blessed" in this verse is the Greek word “eulogatos” from which we get the English word “eulogy” and it means to speak well about someone. We bless God when we say good things about Him. And we fail to bless God when we say nothing about Him. To think that some humans even dare to speak against God. How vain and useless is such speech, and how ashamed such individuals will be when they stand before the great and eternal One, the Creator of the universe.

Romans 1:26-27 says, "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves the reward of their error which was deserved." Once a person departs from God, that person becomes capable of any kind of evil. If they depart from God, they can also depart from other kinds of truth and goodness, which has God as its source. The biggest problems of the world are spiritual in nature, and many of the problems will not be solved unless the spiritual causes are addressed.

God made man and woman to be attractive to each other. This attraction is good and normal, and was meant by God to be fulfilled in the marriage bond. According to this passage in Romans Chapter 1, those who depart from God may also depart from the natural attraction that men and women have for each other. There are probably several reasons for homosexuality. Destructive childhood experiences at the hands of a mother or a father, and the influence and example of other homosexuals are a couple of reasons. But this passage is very clear that people who depart from God are also susceptible to becoming homosexual.

Paul is not painting a very rosy picture of the human race. That’s because he is comparing sinful humanity to the purity and holiness of God. And there is more to come in this description of the horrible sinfulness of the human race, because Paul continues this theme about our collective sinfulness through Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 of Romans. But you should not be too hasty to say, "I am glad that is not me. I am glad that I am not a part of that sinful group of humans that Paul is describing." My friend, Paul is describing you and me also. That is why he will conclude this detailed description of the sinfulness of man, and will say in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." It will be the perfect introduction to the theme of salvation entirely by grace and not by works, because such sinful humans have no hope in themselves. Our only hope is in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

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