Roaming through Romans - Human Guilt (Romans 1:18 – 2:11)

During the next few months, the SPC Thursday Evening Bible Study will be looking at Paul's Letter to the Romans, the single work that may best offer his theology and ethic. You see, in this letter, he explained to the church in Rome his understanding of human nature, faith, righteousness, and God's intention for everybody. He also offered practical ways we can live as Christians within the world and the church. And as we'll see during the seventeen session, what he had to say to the Romans is just as applicable today as it was almost 2,000 years ago. We'll following the schedule below:

• July 18 - The Reason for the Letter (Romans 1:1-17)
• July 25 - Human Guilt (Romans 1:18 – 2:11)
• August 1 - Including the Jews and Everyone Else (Romans 2:17 – 3:20)
• August 8 - But There's Faith (Romans 3:21 – 4:25)
• August 15 - Faith and Righteousness ( Romans 5:1-21)
• August 22 - The Living Dead ( Romans 6:1-14)
• August 29 - Sin, Slaves and Spouses ( Romans 6:15 – 7:6)
• September 5 - Sin Remains( Romans 7:7-25)
• September 12 - New Life ( Romans 8:1-39)
• September 19 - Back to the Jews (Romans 9:1-29)
• September 26 - But They Rejected Jesus ( Romans 9:30 – 10:21)
• October 3 - God's Ultimate Plan (Romans 11:1-36)
• October 10 - Now What We Should Do (Romans 12:1-21)
• October 17 - Obedience and Love (Romans 13:1-14)
• October 24 - Concern for Brothers and Sisters (Romans 14:1 – 15:6)
• November 7 - Tying It Up (Romans 15:7-33)
• November 14  - Personal Greetings (Romans 16:1-27)

During our second session, we looked at Romans 1:18 – 2:11 and discussed why pagans and Christians need to hear the gospel. The recording of our discussion and the passage we discussed are below.

Romans 1:18 – 2:11 [New Revised Standard Version]

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.