Romans 1-2

Again, there is a whole host of things to deal with in this passage. However, I'm going to try to keep my observations limited to what really stood out for me this time through. Paul spends some time expressing his desire to visit Rome to preach the Gospel personally. It's amazing that a Christian community could grow and flourish in Rome with Ceasar claiming to be a god and everything. Just flying under the radar, I suppose.

Anyway we see God's wrath against the godlessness and wickedness -- not precisely against those who practice it. Of course it is because they have rejected God and God "let them go" (giving them over to a corrupt heart, a depraved mind and their sinful desires). I hadn't noticed before that there is no specific reference to atheism here. These people have "gods" of one sort of another. Images which look like people or birds or animals are mentioned specifically here, although at one point in Scripture Paul writes about the people whose "god is their stomach" so the idea of living like there is no God exists. Still it seemed that everyone had their own god. It could be argued that today's atheists have a god as well -- themselves.

Here also we have the condemnation of homosexuality which so many try to skip past or twist it's meaning. Perversion is how that "alternate lifestyle" is described. Any attempt to justify homosexuality must deal honestly with this passage.

Beginning with chapter two, Paul tears into people who are hypocritically judging others. They are not practicing what they preach. They overlook their own sins while denouncing the sins of others -- even when the sins are the same. Here we get the discussion of the Law written on our hearts. Conscience. That inner knowledge that what you're doing is wrong. This is where the Bible expressly talks about it, saying that even those who don't have the Law (or haven't heard about Jesus) still know right from wrong. How does this play out in terms of eternal judgment? Will a person who has never heard of Jesus go to heaven? Paul writes that they have a Law unto themselves, or that they are judged by a different standard. To those people who do not have the light of Christ is an inner leading which directs not only their morality, but also points them toward Christ. When a person truly seeks out more light than they have, more light will be given. I'm sure that the landing of missionaries all over the world has been physical answers to prayers of people seeking more light.

Finally Paul addresses the Jews who consider themselves special because of circumcision or their godly ancestor. Their hypocrisy, he writes, disgraces God. I think about all the people who run God's name through the mud because of the ridiculous public sins. Pat Robertson may be a committed Christian, but he really hurts the cause of Christ when he sticks his foot in his mouth
on a weekly basis!

But Paul says that circumcision is a sign that you accept the Law. Yet if you break the Law, cirucumcision means diddly-squat (loose translation). Faith is something inside which shows up on the outside. Thinking of faith as being an act of obedience, whethercircumcision or baptism or church attendance, is wrong. Christianity is based inside of us.