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Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 37
way: “We may sum up these things by saying that the Christian – according to God’s thoughts – is not only forgiven, justified, reconciled, with the Spirit pouring out the love of God into his heart; but also sees the divine condemnation of sin and the flesh at the cross, and discovers that his own vital ties before God are not with fallen Adam, but with the risen Christ. Consequently, he is in Christ Jesus, with the Spirit dwelling in him, so that, controlling him and filling him with Christ, as a bright and righteous Object before his eyes, he may walk in happy deliverance from the power of sin and be joyfully fulfilling the will of God. Nothing less than this is what the gospel proposes. What do we think of it? We proclaim that it is magnificent!” (Paul’s Epistles, vol. 1, p. 32)
Technical Terms Used in Paul’s Doctrine in Relation to Sin
“Through sin death” () – Refers to how sin entered creation and ruined everything, and thus all creation has the curse of death upon it.
“Dead to sin” () – To be separated (positionally), by the death of Christ, from the entire order of sin under the headship of Adam (, 7:6; ; ).
“Justified from sin” () – In the death of Christ, we had an honorable (judicial) discharge from our relations with the old master (sin) and, therefore, we cannot be accused of sins, of self-will, of lust, etc., because all this cannot be charged to a dead man.
“Sin dead” () – A person who is not aware of the presence and activity of his sinful nature because he is fully identified with it and, therefore, is unconsciously carried along by its power.
“The law of sin” () – A universal principle that operates in the sinful nature of all men and causes him to move according to his appetites and desires.
“Dead because of sin” () – The members of our bodies are deprived of power when we put the principles of deliverance into practice.
“Dead in sins” () – Lost sinners, without the divine life, living their lives in pursuit of their sinful desires and ambitions, separated from God.
Summary of Contrasting Pairs
Two heads of races – Adam and Christ (chap. 5:12-21).
Two masters – sin and righteousness (chap. 6:1-23).
Two husbands – the Law and Christ (chap. 7:1-6).
Two principles of life (chap. 8:1-17).
DISPENSATIONAL
Chapters 9-11 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD UNVEILED IN HIS DISPENSATIONAL WAYS Chapters 9-11
In chapters 3:21 to 8:39, we had the righteousness of God declared in the gospel. Now in chapters 9-11 we see the righteousness of God unveiled in His dispensational ways.
The Reconciliation of the Gospel with God’s Promises to Israel This part of the epistle deals with the main objection that the Jews have against the gospel that Paul preached. In their minds, his message was that God had finished with Israel and that the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob about the blessings of the nation were now null and void. And all this because God, by a whim, decided to make a new start toward the Gentiles with the gospel!
Since this is contrary to what is declared in the Old Testament Scriptures, which are full of unconditional promises regarding the blessing of Israel, the Jews naturally rejected Paul’s gospel. Israel’s prophets portray a coming day when that nation will be blessed by God under the reign of its Messiah. Many earthly blessings will be granted to them, such as: supremacy over the Gentile nations, wealth, long life, etc. The hope of every God-fearing Jew is to be part of that coming scene of earthly glory. If it were true that God had broken off His dealings with Israel and now everything was over for them, then God would have broken His promises! The Jews knew that this was something God could not do, because He would be denying Himself (). (And they are quite right about that!) Thus, they concluded that the gospel Paul preached was something spurious and heretical, and they rejected it completely.
Knowing that what he preached could be a stumbling block to the Jews, if it were not understood correctly, Paul immediately goes on to clarify it correctly. In the next chapters (9-11), he shows that the Jews had wrong information about what he taught regarding the gospel and God’s promises to Israel. He carefully explains that the gospel of the grace and glory of God (which he preached) in no way annulled, set aside, or even touched God’s promises to Israel. In fact, Paul taught that the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still stand as God gave them, and they will be attained by Israel in a coming day, in a literal sense – which is
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totally orthodox from the Jewish point of view.
It is important that we understand this, because, unfortunately, there are Christian instructors (Reformation theologians) who erroneously teach a system of doctrine (called the Theology of “Supersession” or “Covenant”) which claims that Israel’s hopes are null and void! And that the promises God made to the patriarchs will not be fulfilled for Israel in a literal sense! Instead, we are told that these promises have been fulfilled in the Church today, in some spiritual sense! In view of these serious equivocations, Paul’s teaching in this part of the epistle has a double purpose today. First, it shows the Jews that God’s promises to Israel were neither annulled nor invalidated by the gospel and thus all of them will be fulfilled literally, as God said in His Word. And second, it shows that those who have absorbed Reformed Theology are, unfortunately, mistaken with their ideas about God’s promises to Israel being “spiritualized” in the Church.
Thus, in these next three chapters, Paul reconciles the teaching of the gospel with God's promises to Israel. He quotes the Old Testament no fewer than 30 times in this section of the epistle. This shows that he was writing predominantly to those who knew the Scriptures – that is, the Jews. He shows from the Word of God that He has not gone back on His promises to Israel.
A Suspension in God's Relations with Israel
Although God will not go back on His promises to Israel, the Scriptures indicate that He would temporarily suspend His dealings with them, and they would be set aside nationally because of their unbelief and rejection of Christ, the Messiah. This should not be a surprise to the student of the Old Testament Scriptures, for there are several places that indicate this (; ; ; , etc.). There are types that also indicate this – in Joseph, Moses, David, etc. (Gen. 37; Ex. 2; 1 Sam. 17). There are also prophecies that indicate that after the Jews pass through a time of distress yet to come (, 12:1; ; ), God will again deal with them, when a remnant of the nation will then repent and receive the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, and afterward be blessed in His millennial kingdom. However, the Scriptures do not say that this coming blessing for the nation of Israel (which will be the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) will be the portion of every Israelite. Many of them will prove unfaithful and will lose this national blessing (; , 20:38; ; ; , etc.).
Paul's teachings in the New Testament, therefore, do not interfere in any way with the earthly blessings that God promised to Israel. His preaching and teaching have to do with what God is doing at present, while Israel is temporarily set aside. He shows that God is at present visiting the Gentiles in favor and privilege, and is calling them through the gospel of His grace () to be part of something completely new that Christ is building – the Church of God, which is His (mystical) body (; ). This is a heavenly company of believers, separate and distinct from (restored) Israel and from the Gentile nations that will be blessed with Christ on earth in His kingdom in a coming day. Thus, there is a wonderful and glorious future for Israel, as its prophets foretold.
The reason for this present call of the gospel is that it is God's purpose that when Christ comes to reign publicly in His kingdom, He will have both a heavenly company and an earthly company of blessed people to reign with Him (). The present call is simply the gathering of those who will form the Church, which will be part of the heavenly company. It will consist of the Church (; Phil. 3:20; , 12:22-23a; -22:5), of the Old Testament saints "made perfect" being resurrected and glorified ( – "the saints of the most high places" (JND); ; b), and of children who died below the age of understanding, who will also be resurrected (). The earthly department of the kingdom will consist of restored Israel and of converted Gentile nations.
Those who today respond to the call of the gospel are made part of the Church. As mentioned, it is a heavenly entity with heavenly blessings and hopes, having a heavenly destiny. Paul does not reveal the details of this new beginning toward the Gentiles (called the Mystery), here in the epistle to the Romans, because he is occupied mainly with the things that concern Israel. Thus, this intervening heavenly call is like a parenthesis in God's dealings with Israel; this call neither alters nor annuls the promises He made to them. Paul's purpose in Romans 9-11 is to show the Jews that the nation of Israel has lost nothing of what had been promised to it. If they repent and receive Christ – which a remnant of them will do in a coming day – everything that was promised to them nationally will be theirs in the fullest sense. Paul also shows in these chapters that some Jews today "pre-trusted" (JND) in Christ, believing the gospel of salvation that Paul preached (). He calls them "a remnant according to the election of grace" ( – JND) and "the Israel of God" (). As a result of having received Christ now, they have become part of the Church ().
The day will come when God's reaching of the Gentile nations through the gospel of His grace will end, and "the fullness of the Gentiles" will have "come in" (chap. 11:25). This means that the total number of Gentiles who will believe the gospel according to the election of grace will be complete. The Rapture will then take place (), and all who have believed the gospel (Christians) will be taken to heaven, when God will then begin to deal again with Israel, to bring a remnant of the nation to blessing, with Christ on earth in His millennial kingdom. This simple sequence in God's ways with "the Jews" and "the Gentiles" and "the Church of God" is called "Dispensational truth" ().
An Overview of Chapters 9-11
Chapter 9 – Paul shows that Israel's sovereign election still remains, and that God, being Sovereign, has every right today to call the Gentiles to blessing.
Chapter 10 – Paul presents man's moral responsibility to believe the gospel – whether Jew or Gentile. He relates that the Jews failed in that responsibility and this opened the door for the blessing to go to the Gentiles, and many of them have come to the blessing by faith.
Chapter 11 – Paul explains that Israel's stumbling is only temporary; the final rejection of grace by the Gentiles will prepare the way for the restoration of Israel, at the time when the promises to their fathers will be fulfilled.
This section of the epistle (chaps. 9-11) begins with a tone of sorrow (chap. 9:1-2), but ends on a note of triumph and rejoicing (chap. 11:33-36). It ends on a happy note, because, as Paul explains, God is in total control of everything, and He will work all things for His own glory and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and also for the blessing of those who believe. Knowing this gives Christians the confidence to trust God in His dispensational ways, and to praise Him even now, for His ways, before we see His plans for the blessing of the world come to pass in the kingdom of Christ.
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