Romans 1 Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Paul opens chapter one with a shame element. He says, “I am not ashamed.” This opening sets the stage for the entire book. Romans 1:20 "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Power distance is important in shame and honor cultures. Who is in charge? Who serves? Paul speaks in chapter one of God by referring to “His eternal power.” Paul is laying the foundation that God’s power is not time limited. It is eternal and has no boundaries. Therefore, He alone is worthy of honor. Romans 1:21 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Linus Morris in his book on Romans, "The Divine Expedition", talks of the societal slide that occurs when a culture rejects God. Those who fail to give honor to God begin a slide from Indifference, to Idolatry or Idea-olatry, Immorality, Identity-Confusion, and ultimately, Insanity. Romans 1:22 "and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." God made humanity to enjoy His glory. However, all of humanity exchanged this glory for lesser things. Romans 1: 24 "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves," God responds by giving them up, a phrase Paul uses three times in verses 26-28. The first two times this phrase is linked directly with honor. He gives them up to their own devises. Romans 1:26 "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." Romans 1:28 "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." The third use of “God gave them up” also ties in with honor but uses the word “debased.” Romans 1:29 "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." Another related concept dealing with culture is the concept of envy. Paul does not leave out this element either. Paul closes chapter 1 by talking about disobedience to parents. As a Jew who was commanded to honor parents, this closing statement about disobedience in chapter 1 holds much significance for those who approach relationships from an honor perspective. Take Your Next Step, Doug PS If you are interested in us coming to your church, small group, or business to teach, please email us: [email protected]
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:48:46 +0000
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