“As the Christmas Season approaches I am so grateful and humbled by the many hundreds of people who regularly read these commentary devotionals. I am thankful to the many of you who have let me know that they are helpful and edifying to you. This post brings the book of Romans to a close and means that we have gone through more than half of the New Testament now.
I am going to take a little break for the Christmas season to work on some other projects. We will begin going through the book of Luke on January 18th, 2010. In the meantime, any of the previous books that we have gone through are available at www.foxvalleychurch.net on the resource page.
I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a new year of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Michael Burns,
December 18th 2010
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to faith and obedience— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Dig Deeper
Recently I was watching the news and they were covering another sad story of serious allegations of doping being made against a superstar athlete. It seems like another one of these stories comes out every month or so. I think most people have gotten past the idea of being shocked that someone would try to cheat to the point that they are willing to put dangerous substances into their body especially when the long-term effects are still largely unknown. I think the thing that still really bothers people about steroid use is the loss of trust. They feel that they can no longer trust an athlete’s word and so they don’t want to cheer for them. The few who have immediately admitted their use and apologized have been forgiven and people barely even remember the drug use. Those who deny it, though, are never forgiven. It really is an issue of trust. The particular event that I was watching featured this newest target of steroid allegations denying that he had used drugs. He wouldn’t talk about it right now, he said, but when he finally revealed his side of it and laid all the evidence on the table, everyone would see that he was innocent and in the right. They would see that any allegations made against him were false and unfounded. That sounds good, but the sad reality is that I’ve heard that line of talk before when it comes to this issue and in every single case as more details are revealed, the more it makes it obvious that the person was not true to their word and was, in fact, guilty.
Paul began this letter by answering the faithfulness of God. The question was does the gospel reveal that God has been faithful to his covenant promises or by creating a Messiah-shaped people has God let Israel down and broken his promises? Throughout the letter Paul has made his case clear. God has indeed been faithful to his promises that he made to Abraham so long ago. God promised Abraham that his descendants would consist of many nations but would still be one family. It had always somewhat of a mystery as to how God could possibly fulfill such a promise. All of the evidence hadn’t come out but the Old Testament prophets had declared confidently that when all was said and done, God would show himself to be trustworthy and faithful. Now in the Messiah all of the evidence had been laid on the table. All had been made clear but this wasn’t like so many humans who show themselves to be untrustworthy when the evidence really does come out. No, in the Messiah all had been revealed and God has done exactly what he said he would do. He has dealt with sin and evil once-and-for-all.
Paul’s gospel was the declaration that the Messiah, descended from David, had defeated death and in so doing been revealed to the world as the Son of God (Rom. 1:3-4). This meant that the world had a new king who needed to be declared as such to people of all nations. Those who respond in faith and submit to his life will be brought into the one true family of God. Those who were justified or declared to be part of this family were established as the people who had found the forgiveness for sin and the final defeat of death and evil that God had promised for so long.
The promise of the one family whose sin had been dealt with once-for-all was previously been hidden. By saying that it was hidden Paul wasn’t communicating that there was no knowledge of this plan but rather that it could not be previously fully understood or experienced. What could only be promised and hoped for was now available to all. If people would go back to the prophets and read carefully, they would see that they had pointed all along to exactly what was revealed in the Messiah. God’s covenant family was not an exclusive club just for Jews. The final revelation of God’s family would include all people, Jew and Gentile alike. Those who responded in faith and obedience would forever be numbered among God’s covenant children in the Messiah.
The gospel is the answer to the question of what is God up to in the world. It answers not just his faithfulness to his covenant but it also answers questions of God’s justice in general when it comes to evil in the world. The Greek philosopher Epicurus once allegedly wrote a direct challenge to the idea of God: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but unable? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both willing, and able? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither willing, nor able? Then why call him God?”
This is a common complaint against God. If God is powerful and good then why would he allow evil? Why, asks a skeptical world, doesn’t God just destroy evil? That question is often asked as though it puts believers in their place and once-and-for-all ends any silly talk about God being real. Yet, that question is often asked of God without really thinking it through very well. The question purports the idea that if God doesn’t rid the world of evil then he can’t be God, and since evil does exist then there is no God. But let’s presume for a moment that God does exist. If he were to follow along with this line of thinking and get rid of evil, where should he stop? Should he get rid of those who murder, rape, oppress, and abuse others? Most would say “yes.” But where does that stop? Should God eliminate liars, the unfaithful, and the hateful? Should God eliminate evil to the point of destroying those with hateful, lustful, or evil thoughts? If he were to truly destroy all evil, he would have to destroy all humanity. That he hasn’t done so doesn’t prove that there is no God or that he is powerless but that he is merciful and patient.
The gospel is God’s answer to the questions of his justice and ability to deal with evil. When is God going to deal with sin and death and all of the evil in the world? When Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb, dealing death itself its own death blow, God dealt with sin, death, and evil forever. Those who respond to the Messiah in faith and obedience will forever have their sin dealt with and enter into the life of God’s age to come where there is no sin, death, or evil. We become members of God’s family committed to showing the world small glimpses of what that world will look like and calling those who desire to be part of that age to join the family. The resurrection, says the gospel, shows that God has defeated evil and will eventually complete that victory when God restores his creation and resurrects his people to live with them forever. In the resurrection, God has shown that he is both willing and able to deal with evil, but perhaps even more importantly, he is patient and merciful in doing so.
So, why hasn’t God completely wiped evil off the face of the earth? He has already shown that he has defeated evil and will destroy it for good one day, but in the meantime, God has patiently made the gospel available to those who receive the free gift of his Son. When we step back and look down at God’s incredible plan and his incredible mercy it is obvious why Paul calls him the only wise God who is forever worthy of glory. That is absolutely true but Paul adds one more important thought. All of God’s goodness and wisdom are available through Jesus Christ. It is in the life of Christ that God has shown himself to be faithful and just. Finally, all of the evidence has been laid out on the table and God has been shown to be worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. In the Messiah, God has answered all questions about his faithfulness. Now the question is, have you responded to his answer?
Devotional Thought
Throughout the letter of Romans, Paul has made it clear that the proper way to respond to the gospel is with humble faith. Have you done that yet? If you have, then have you been active in sharing the gospel so that those who haven’t yet heard the presentation of the true gospel might have a chance to hear it and believe for themselves?
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