Class Notes: 11/14/2021

The book of Romans part 14 Doctrine of the Gospel

https://youtu.be/bPMN_WpJuGo

We are in a verse-by-verse study of the book of Romans and got through verse 1 with the expanded translation: "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called an apostle, through having been appointed because of the Gospel from God."

In the verse we found 3 doctrines to explore: the doctrine of adjustment to God's justice that Paul had done, the doctrine of apostle that was Paul's office, and the doctrine of the Gospel that was Paul's message.

We are presently in a study of the doctrine of the Gospel and before we stopped last time we had noted that the imputation of God's righteousness at the moment of salvation through faith in Christ is superior to any system of human self- righteousness, pseudo-spirituality, or the arrogance of legalism.

The imputed righteousness of God is the foundation for building a system of perfect virtue righteousness based on grace that is far different from relative self-righteousness based on works. Self-righteous people are always stuck on themselves because they have to try to be perfect and they can't.

Virtuous people are always in a perfect relationship with God on the basis of grace so they can be relaxed about all of the failure, sinfulness, and evil around them, because it does not in any way jeopardize their relationship with God.

No unbeliever can establish two conflicting systems of righteousness in his life. Either he will accept his own self-righteousness and morality for salvation, or he will accept the righteousness of God by believing in Jesus Christ that is the basis for the imputation of God's righteous for salvation.

After salvation a conflict the believer engages is between the legalism of spirituality by works versus spirituality by grace.

Confusion as to what constitutes the Christian way of life comes from taking precedence for the Church Age from the Age of Israel and the Mosaic Law instead of taking precedence for the Church Age from Jesus in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union. Rom 10:4; Heb 12:2; John 14:6;

Rom 10:5, "For Moses wrote about the righteousness by means of the Law (Lev 18:5), `The man who does it shall live by it.'"

At this point, the context begins to distinguish between works righteousness and faith righteousness. This is an idiom that means that if a person takes his chances in living on the basis of the Law. He will end up in the lake of fire since the only way of salvation in any dispensation is on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ.

In other words, this verse says, "If you try to be saved by keeping the Law, you must accept the consequences." The consequences are a life of great misery as a self-righteous person who cannot ever be good enough.

The most difficult people to live with are self-righteous people, because they are always blind to their own sins and failures and always making excuses for themselves, but at the same time constantly being critical of and judging everyone else.

This quote is a reference to the post-salvation plan of God for Israel, classified as the lifestyle of the Jews. This is in contrast to the lifestyle of works-righteousness being propagated by the Judaizers. Lifestyle is not the basis for salvation; only instant faith in Jesus Christ is the basis for salvation.

Arrogance distorts the lifestyle of works into a way of salvation. But Eph 2:8-9 corrects the impression. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that (salvation) not from yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast."

No lifestyle, including the relative perfection of morality, can open the gates of heaven for eternal life nor provide any form of happiness in this life. Only the salvation work of Jesus Christ on the cross can do that.

Self-righteous people are never satisfied with anyone else. Therefore, no one else is every satisfied with them, and the result is a disaster. Doing is a lifestyle, but faith in Jesus Christ is eternal life. So do not confuse a moral lifestyle with salvation.

The failure of Israel is the failure of all arrogant, self-righteous, legalistic people. It's the failure of choosing the wrong righteousness. In arrogance you choose your own righteousness. In salvation, you choose God's righteousness by believing in Jesus.

The wrong righteousness is any form of works righteousness. When we believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, we receive the perfect righteousness of God which can only be classified as faith righteousness.

Pursuing the wrong righteousness describes the people in our country who believe in the arrogant self righteous demonic democrat dictatorial "woke" religion. 2Tim 3:1-5; If any of these people are also believers in Jesus then they are also enemies of the cross of Christ. Phil 3:18-19;

Before looking at Rom 10:6-8; we will look the predicate in Deut 30:10-14; Paul used the language of Moses and translated it into Greek in order to explain the Jews' problem.

Deut 30:10, "If you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in the book of the law; if you will turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul."

"Turning" is a metaphor for faith in Jesus Christ ("Adonai Elohiym", the Lord your God), resulting in salvation.

"Your heart and soul" can be translated "your heart, even your soul," because the heart is the thinking part of the soul. Only the heart, not the mouth, is mentioned here because "with the heart man believes resulting in righteousness."

There are two "ifs" in verse 10. The first "if" refers to keeping the ritual plan of God as a believer. The second "if" refers to becoming a believer, that must occur first.

This verse order in the Hebrew is normal Hebrew syntax that shows that one thing is predicated upon another. It explains that in order to properly execute the ritual of the Mosaic Law as God's plan for Israel a person had to become a believer first.

The predicate for believing first was the example of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Gen 15:6; Exod 3:15;

Deut 30:11, "For this commandment (turn to the Lord for salvation) which I command you today is not too difficult for you (not unattainable), nor is it too far away (not unavailable)."

Salvation is not unattainable, so you don't have to depend on your own righteousness. Salvation is not unavailable, so that you do not have to cross an ocean or go to Hades to receive it.

Salvation is as close to you as your heart and your mouth. The mouth is the way you express your salvation to God, since the mouth is used to express what is in the thinking of the heart.

Deut 30:12, "It (salvation by faith) is not in heaven, so that you will say, `Who will go up to heaven and get it (salvation by faith) for us and make us hear it, so that we may do it (believe in Christ)?'" Paul quotes this verse in Rom 10:6;

Deut 30:13, "Neither is it (salvation through faith in Jesus Christ) over the sea (the Mediterranean Sea), so that you will say, `Who will cross the sea that he might bring it (salvation to us) and cause us to hear it so that we might do it (believe in Jesus Christ)?"

The Mediterranean Sea is a reference to the Greeks who came over the sea to get to the land of Israel and they certainly didn't have the Gospel.

Deut 30:14, "But the word (the doctrine) is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it (believe in Jesus Christ)." "The word" is the fact that the "Lord your God" is very near you. It's not unattainable in heaven, and it's not unavailable across the sea in Greece. It's closer to you than heaven or Greece.

Moses is saying that salvation is as close to you as your mouth and heart, which is a lot closer than heaven or Greece.

So in Rom 10:6 and 8, Paul quotes Moses. Most of the Jews had memorized Deuteronomy, a favorite among them. Paul uses Moses' phraseology to explain how they could be saved in the Church Age.

Rom 10:6, "But the righteousness which is by faith communicates in this manner (Deut 30:12), `Do not say or think in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down from heaven),'"

The Jews were saying that Jesus was not the Savior; and His work on the Cross was not efficacious. So they were returning to the Mosaic Law. But Jesus Christ had already accomplished salvation on the cross, so He doesn't have to come back to do it again.

"Righteousness by faith" refers to the righteousness of God that is imputed at the moment anyone who believes in Christ for salvation. 2Cor 5:21b;

Paul is saying that in the previous dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, Jesus Christ had already come down from heaven. He repeatedly presented the Gospel, and then fulfilled it by being judged spiritually for our sins on the cross, dying physically, and then being resurrected.

The dispensation off the Hypostatic Union was finished so the work was already finished. John 19:30;

Beginning in Rom 10:6; we see the emergence of faith righteousness in contrast to works righteousness. Faith righteousness is defined as the pattern of Abraham in Gen 15:6; quoted in Rom 4:3: "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness."

Works righteousness is defined as keeping the Law for salvation; therefore, dependence on human righteousness for eternal life. That is impossible and blasphemous.

Works righteousness and faith righteousness are mutually exclusive; you can only have one or the other. Only faith righteousness can provide eternal life. Rom 10:7; "or (Amos 9:2;), `Who will descend into the Abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)."

Paul could have quoted Deut 30:13; here. But crossing the sea in Paul's day was very common. Paul crossed the sea himself at least five times on his way to and from Greece.

Paul must communicate the same idea: that salvation is not unavailable. Salvation was available in Greece. So Paul quotes Amos 9:2, that also lines up with the resurrection of Jesus.

Amos 9:2; "Though they dig into Sheol, from there My hand shall take them, and though they ascend into heaven, from there I will bring them down."

So Paul updates the concept of unavailability to match the situation in the first century, so he uses Sheol or Hades, that can't be reached until physical death.

By replacing the "across the sea" phrase of Deut 30:13; with the Sheol phrase of Amos 9:2, Paul makes reference to our Lord's physical death on the cross.

After finishing the salvation work, our Lord dismissed His human spirit to the Father in heaven, and His soul went to Hades. First His soul went to the compartment of Paradise, and later to the compartment containing fallen angels, the Abyss. The Holy Spirit accompanied our Lord's human soul in Hades.

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