Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn
and this is Dr. Tom Sheperd
00:00:15.41\00:00:19.65
from Andrews University Seminary
where he is the Professor of...
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well, this is a long title,
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Professor of New
Testament Interpretation
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and also the Director
for the Doctoral Programs
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in the Ph. D. in Religion
and Th. D. which is in Theology,
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okay, Doctor of Theology,
and the series' title is:
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Love, Marriage, Sex and Divorce
according to the New Testament.
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We have just
been learning so much
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and we appreciate Dr.
Sheperd coming here because
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Tom, we're learning
as we go and this is...
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I'd love to go to Seminary,
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this is just such
a fascinating thing
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to sit here as your student.
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Today we're going to be
talking about three revelations
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that set the pattern
for our world's history,
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Creation, Wrath
and Righteousness,
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specifically,
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but we are going to
be looking at Romans
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chapter 1... is going to be...
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grab your Bible because
you'll want to follow along
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and this is a topic
that we're going to approach
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if you will, and
Paul speaks about
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homosexuality in this...
this is a very hot topic.
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It is.
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Homosexuality
and same-sex marriage
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are very hot topics today,
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so, what does the New Testament
have to say about this?
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Well, there are several
passages in the New Testament
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that actually address this
subject of homosexual practice
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and as you said,
it's a very hot topic
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it's a topic where there
is a lot of misunderstanding
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and so we have to address
it carefully, respectfully,
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we recognize that all people
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no matter who they are,
what they do or have done,
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they're all made in God's image
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and we know that
God loves all people,
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the Bible does speak
specifically about this question
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and we want to look at it,
the passage in the New Testament
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that everyone turns to
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when it comes to the
subject of same-sex marriage
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or same-sex
relations, is Romans chapter 1,
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there are some
other passages as well,
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several others, maybe,
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but this is the
most important one
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that everybody takes a look at,
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so, the passage, unfortunately,
is often misunderstood,
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misinterpreted,
looked at in different ways
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and has created a lot
of dispute and debate,
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so, I want to walk
through this a bit slowly,
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and place the
discussion of homosexuality
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that is there
in Romans chapter 1
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within its wider context
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because if we just go and
focus in on just those verses,
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it's possible to misunderstand
what Paul is saying,
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okay? Okay.
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So what we want to do
is turn to Romans chapter 1
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and we want to read verses,
Romans 1 verses 16 to 23,
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now you'll notice
that in the verses
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that I'm just mentioning here,
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he doesn't even mention
same-sex relations at all,
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that's later,
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first we wanted
to understand well...
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the context in
which he is talking,
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okay, so, Romans
chapter 1 verses 16 through 23,
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Romans chapter 1 and verse 16,
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"For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ,
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for it is the
power of God to salvation
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for everyone who believes,
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for the Jew first
and also for the Greek.
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For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed
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from faith to
faith; as it is written,
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'The just shall live by faith. '
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For the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven
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against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men,
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who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness,
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because what may be known
of God is manifest in them,
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for God has shown it to them.
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For since the
creation of the world
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His invisible
attributes are clearly seen,
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being understood by
the things that are made,
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even His eternal
power and Godhead,
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so that they are without excuse,
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because, although they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God,
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nor were thankful,
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but became futile
in their thoughts,
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and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
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Professing to be
wise, they became fools,
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and changed the glory
of the incorruptible God
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into an image made
like corruptible men...
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and birds and four-footed
animals and creeping things. "
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Okay, so that's where we
first go to... is these verses
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now, let's get the wider,
even bigger context of Romans
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the book of Romans
is about the gospel
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that's why Paul starts off
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and says that he's
not ashamed of the gospel
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it's kind of a thesis
statement for the entire book,
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Romans chapter 1 to 8,
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Paul argues over the
subject of salvation,
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chapters 9 to 11, he
will talk about Israel,
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how does Israel
relate to the gospel,
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then when he gets to
chapter 12 through 15,
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he talks about practical
applications of the gospel...
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ethics for the Christian,
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chapter 16 is kind of a
close off of wrapping up
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and greet all the
people there in Rome.
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Paul had never been to
Rome when he wrote this book
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but he's writing to a
church because, actually,
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he's planning to go
as a missionary to Spain
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and he's kind of like
a... one of these itinerant,
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you know, musicians who go,
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so now... they'll give
a concert in the church,
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and when they give a
concert in the church,
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what do they do at
the end of the concert?
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They take up a little offering.
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They take up an offering,
right, so, Paul is actually...
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wants their support,
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and he introduces
that very, very, carefully
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in the beginning of the chapter,
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of chapter 1 and then
he comes back to it...
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back in chapter 15
after he has shared this
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wonderful gospel
that has become...
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this book has been
the impetus of Revivals
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throughout Christian history,
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Luther was converted and
changed through this book,
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John Wesley was,
other people, you know,
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they have this wonderful
experience from this book
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so this is a fantastic book.
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If you had nothing
but the book of Romans,
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you would understand
God's plan of salvation.
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Yeah, it's
really, really beautiful,
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now, he sets up his argument,
it's in Romans chapter 3
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that he's going to
come in verses 21 to 26
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to the amazing expression of
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these five little
power-packed verses
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that explain the
gospel really, very briefly,
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but he has to get
people ready for that
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and he gets them ready by...
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Romans 1, 2 and
the first part of 3,
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illustrating that the
entire world is lost under sin.
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Everybody needs help, I
don't care who you are...
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everybody needs help,
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everybody is lost, it's
only God who can save us
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so he has to
explain that to people
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because... well some people,
maybe, just didn't get it,
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our world is a world of sin
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and so we have hard
time understanding "sin. "
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When you only
live in one culture,
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and you've never
visited another culture,
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you don't understand
your own culture too well
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if you're a fish in water,
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you don't know what "water" is
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until they take
you out of the water,
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then you know what water
is and you want it again.
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Yeah...
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So, because we
live in a world of sin,
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we sinners don't tend to
understand how terrible it is.
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That's good.
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See, we don't quite get
that so, chapters 1 to 3,
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in chapter 1, Paul
especially talks about the
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Gentiles and
what's wrong with them
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and how they are
lost and in great trouble.
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In chapter 2, he
will talk to the Jews.
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so, Gentiles and Jews
that's a common way of dividing
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the world among
Israelite religious thinkers,
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it's Israel and the
world... the Gentiles
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and so he says the Gentiles
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are going to destruction.
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Well, everybody knew
that, then in chapter 2,
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he describes how the
Jews also have problems.
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So, he eventually
comes in chapter 3,
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quoting a long
series of Scriptures,
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you know, how,
"wealth is an open grave,"
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you know, "the poison
of asps is on their tongue"
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and then they are...
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"no man is
righteous, no not one"
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so everybody is
lost and you look like,
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like... "Well, then
we're all just going to die. "
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and then he says,
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"but now, the righteousness
of God is revealed,
00:09:03.34\00:09:06.37
apart from the law
but justified too... "
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and then he describes
how salvation is through
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faith in Christ. Shelley: Amen
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So it's really
beautiful but this section
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is the set up for that,
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and there's...
there's a very interesting
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characteristic that
takes place in these first...
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like four verses of the
chapter that we've been reading,
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in chapter 1:16 through
19, if you start with verse 16,
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a verse that everyone loves,
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"For I'm not
ashamed of the gospel:
00:09:35.44\00:09:36.77
for it is the power
of God for salvation
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to everyone who believes;
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to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. "
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Then he begins a series
of three... "for statements,"
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okay, "for this...
for this... for this... "
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okay, so in verse 17,
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"For in it, the righteousness
of God is... " what?
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what does your Bible
say? Shelley: Revealed...
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"... is revealed
from faith to faith:"
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okay, so in the
gospel, there is a revelation,
00:10:00.30\00:10:04.37
a revelation, now, we
could say there are...
00:10:04.40\00:10:07.84
there are many ways
or several different ways
00:10:07.87\00:10:11.27
for us to know things right,
00:10:11.31\00:10:14.08
scientists will study
some kind of plant, you know,
00:10:14.11\00:10:21.18
and they'll test and do
different tests on it...
00:10:21.22\00:10:23.85
on an animal or something,
00:10:23.89\00:10:25.22
we call it an
inductive method of study,
00:10:25.25\00:10:27.56
they do an experiment,
they see what happens,
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they do another experiment
they see what happens,
00:10:29.42\00:10:30.83
again... they keep going...
they build up to... eventually,
00:10:30.89\00:10:33.73
what they call, "Law," you know,
00:10:33.76\00:10:35.43
like the Law of Gravity,
00:10:35.46\00:10:36.80
if you let
something go, it will drop,
00:10:36.83\00:10:38.17
and you let... you
know... all that...
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to see what it
is... it just happens,
00:10:39.57\00:10:40.90
all right, so, they start
inductively with experiments
00:10:40.94\00:10:44.24
and they come up to
some kind of knowledge,
00:10:44.27\00:10:47.04
some kind of Law, now,
00:10:47.08\00:10:48.41
there's another way of learning
00:10:48.44\00:10:50.31
or knowing things
and that's by deduction,
00:10:50.35\00:10:52.45
so instead of
inductive, "from below,"
00:10:52.51\00:10:54.58
you go from above,
00:10:54.62\00:10:55.95
this is what
happens in Geometry,
00:10:55.98\00:10:57.62
where you have these two
parallel lines and you say,
00:10:57.65\00:11:01.42
we make this so
we get a theorem,
00:11:01.46\00:11:03.09
now you use that and
you build another theorem
00:11:03.12\00:11:05.89
you know, and you
make these deductions
00:11:05.93\00:11:07.83
so you come from above,
00:11:07.86\00:11:09.20
and you come down to
particular understandings,
00:11:09.23\00:11:12.33
I suggested that
there's a third way of knowing
00:11:12.37\00:11:15.44
and that's what I would call...
not inductive... but conductive.
00:11:15.47\00:11:19.17
Revelation?
00:11:19.21\00:11:20.54
Revelation, exactly,
00:11:20.58\00:11:21.91
if God did not
want us to know Him,
00:11:21.94\00:11:24.25
we wouldn't know Him.
00:11:24.28\00:11:26.11
Yvonne: That's true, not
by inductive or deductive...
00:11:26.15\00:11:29.65
You cannot by searching...
find out God, says Job,
00:11:29.68\00:11:33.19
so, you have to...
00:11:33.22\00:11:34.56
this has to come
from God Himself,
00:11:34.59\00:11:36.76
so He conducts it... as...
00:11:36.79\00:11:38.39
He gives the
information in Revelation,
00:11:38.43\00:11:40.26
so, here is a truth that
we would not know, otherwise,
00:11:40.30\00:11:44.23
but God reveals it
and it's in the gospel,
00:11:44.27\00:11:46.30
the revelation of the
power of God for salvation
00:11:46.33\00:11:50.24
the righteousness of God
is revealed in the gospel.
00:11:50.27\00:11:54.11
Read verse 18.
00:11:54.14\00:11:55.58
Verse 18, "For the wrath of God
00:11:55.64\00:11:58.71
is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness
00:11:58.75\00:12:02.65
and unrighteousness of men
00:12:02.68\00:12:04.19
who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness. "
00:12:04.22\00:12:07.02
Okay, so, now,
here's another revelation,
00:12:07.06\00:12:09.79
notice, "the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven. "
00:12:09.82\00:12:14.66
So here, right
next to each other,
00:12:14.70\00:12:16.36
you have two very
interesting revelations.
00:12:16.40\00:12:18.50
Righteousness of God is revealed
00:12:18.53\00:12:19.87
and the wrath
of God is revealed.
00:12:19.90\00:12:21.44
Right, and, we're not done,
00:12:21.47\00:12:22.80
there's a third
revelation, that's in verse 19.
00:12:22.84\00:12:24.77
Verse 19 says,
00:12:24.84\00:12:27.21
"Because what
may be known of God
00:12:27.28\00:12:30.08
is manifest in them for
God has shown it to them,"
00:12:30.11\00:12:33.92
so He has revealed, again.
00:12:33.95\00:12:35.72
All right, now where
has He revealed this?
00:12:35.75\00:12:38.59
He has revealed this
00:12:38.62\00:12:39.95
in the creation of
the world, in nature.
00:12:39.99\00:12:42.52
Okay, so we have
three revelations.
00:12:42.56\00:12:44.63
We have the revelation of
the righteousness in the gospel,
00:12:44.66\00:12:47.40
righteousness of God.
00:12:47.43\00:12:48.76
We have the
revelation of the wrath of God
00:12:48.80\00:12:50.67
against all unrighteousness,
00:12:50.70\00:12:52.13
and we have the revelation
of God's power in nature.
00:12:52.17\00:12:55.17
Which came first?
00:12:55.20\00:12:57.17
Power in nature.
00:12:57.21\00:12:59.11
Yes, revelation in
creation, that was first.
00:12:59.14\00:13:01.61
Which came
second? Yvonne: Wrath.
00:13:01.64\00:13:04.75
Wrath came second
because sin came in.
00:13:04.81\00:13:07.68
Yeah, wrath came before
He showed righteousness.
00:13:07.72\00:13:10.62
Then comes... the
last is righteousness.
00:13:10.65\00:13:13.36
Paul flips them, inverses them,
00:13:13.42\00:13:16.16
and speaks of
the last... first...
00:13:16.19\00:13:18.73
he speaks of the
righteousness of God, first.
00:13:18.76\00:13:20.66
Why does he do that?
00:13:20.70\00:13:22.23
Because that's
the theme of his book.
00:13:22.26\00:13:24.27
But he's going to illustrate
how the world needs the gospel
00:13:24.30\00:13:30.97
you see, if we never
recognize that we're sinners,
00:13:31.01\00:13:35.71
we have no sense
that we need the gospel.
00:13:35.74\00:13:39.11
That's true.
00:13:39.18\00:13:40.52
Jesus said that it's the
sick who need the doctor.
00:13:40.55\00:13:44.52
You know, if
you're feeling well,
00:13:44.55\00:13:46.42
and everything is going well,
00:13:46.45\00:13:48.39
you know you've
just run a marathon
00:13:48.42\00:13:50.33
and you know your
cholesterol is low
00:13:50.36\00:13:52.19
and your...
everything... you say,
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.63
"I'm feeling so good, I
think I'll go see the doctor"
00:13:53.66\00:13:55.73
well, no.
00:13:55.76\00:13:57.87
Even if you've been treated
for something previously,
00:13:57.90\00:14:02.07
like I recently was,
00:14:02.10\00:14:03.44
and then you've got a
follow-up appointment,
00:14:03.47\00:14:05.01
but for the follow-up
appointment, you're thinking,
00:14:05.04\00:14:06.81
"I'm feeling too good
to go back to the doctor"
00:14:06.84\00:14:08.18
so you don't go.
00:14:08.21\00:14:09.54
So you go... when
you're sick, see...
00:14:09.58\00:14:11.31
so people need to
know that they're sick.
00:14:11.35\00:14:13.18
Now, if we look at these two
verses, verse 17 and verse 18,
00:14:13.21\00:14:17.35
in some Bibles, verse 18 does
not begin with the word, "For. "
00:14:17.39\00:14:21.46
Mine does.
00:14:21.49\00:14:22.82
Mine does as well,
it's there in Greek,
00:14:22.86\00:14:24.93
it's kind of unfortunate
when they remove that.
00:14:24.96\00:14:28.23
Sometimes they
remove that saying...
00:14:28.26\00:14:29.60
"Aww, that's
not really important
00:14:29.63\00:14:31.03
for the point
that Paul is making,"
00:14:31.07\00:14:32.50
I'm sorry, I'm
afraid that it is,
00:14:32.53\00:14:34.30
because if you take it
and just put it in Greek,
00:14:34.34\00:14:37.01
you see in Greek, they
don't have to put the words
00:14:37.04\00:14:39.64
in the same orders as we do
00:14:39.67\00:14:41.01
because they... where
they inflected the words
00:14:41.04\00:14:44.48
they could move
the words around,
00:14:44.51\00:14:46.65
all right, so,
actually the way that
00:14:46.68\00:14:48.68
Paul wrote it, goes like this,
00:14:48.72\00:14:50.62
if we were to
literally translate it,
00:14:50.65\00:14:52.55
"Righteousness
of God is revealed,
00:14:52.59\00:14:55.19
is revealed the wrath of God. "
00:14:55.22\00:14:58.03
Those are the two verses, okay.
00:14:58.06\00:15:00.80
So it's the
chiastic structure...
00:15:00.86\00:15:02.26
It's the chiastic
structure, A... B... B... A...
00:15:02.30\00:15:04.60
so, exactly because he
put them in that pattern,
00:15:04.63\00:15:09.34
he wants you to
focus and usually,
00:15:09.37\00:15:11.14
in a chiastic structure,
the center of the chiasm,
00:15:11.17\00:15:14.28
A... B... B... A...
the center of the chiasm
00:15:14.31\00:15:16.88
is the important
aspect that you want to...
00:15:16.91\00:15:18.85
where he wants to
catch your attention,
00:15:18.91\00:15:20.78
and that's the word
revealed, there's a revelation
00:15:20.82\00:15:24.55
in fact there
are two revelations
00:15:24.59\00:15:26.05
and they stand side by side
00:15:26.09\00:15:27.49
but they're
antithetical to each other,
00:15:27.56\00:15:29.79
they're
contrast with each other,
00:15:29.82\00:15:31.86
one is saving, and
the other is damning,
00:15:31.89\00:15:35.60
one is about salvation...
one is about being saved,
00:15:35.63\00:15:39.03
the other is
about being lost, okay,
00:15:39.07\00:15:41.84
so these two are put
right next to each other,
00:15:41.87\00:15:45.61
all right, it's
interesting that most people
00:15:45.64\00:15:49.84
love the idea or are
compatible with the idea
00:15:49.88\00:15:54.02
the righteousness of
God, they're about His grace,
00:15:54.05\00:15:56.99
but they shy away
from the idea of His wrath.
00:15:57.02\00:16:01.12
There are some people
who focus on the wrath of God
00:16:01.16\00:16:06.19
rather than the
righteousness of God,
00:16:06.23\00:16:08.00
and then there are other people
00:16:08.03\00:16:09.43
who focus on the
righteousness of God
00:16:09.46\00:16:11.23
and deny His wrath,
that's... either way...
00:16:11.27\00:16:14.84
It's interesting,
one time I was asked
00:16:14.87\00:16:17.34
to give a radio program
on heaven, and then I was...
00:16:17.37\00:16:20.08
later, I was asked to
give a radio program on hell,
00:16:20.11\00:16:22.74
which one do you
suppose got more phone calls?
00:16:22.78\00:16:25.08
The one on hell.
00:16:25.11\00:16:27.18
It did... it got
more phone calls,
00:16:27.22\00:16:28.92
people tend to misunderstand
this idea of the wrath of God.
00:16:28.95\00:16:35.36
Now, the timeline in
Romans begins with Creation
00:16:35.39\00:16:39.19
then man rebelled in
ungodliness and injustice,
00:16:39.23\00:16:43.03
and that brings
the wrath of God.
00:16:43.06\00:16:46.10
So there's a
history of revelation
00:16:46.13\00:16:49.10
that is intermingled with the
history of sin and salvation.
00:16:49.14\00:16:54.14
So it looks like this, it goes,
00:16:54.18\00:16:56.24
Creation then you have the Fall,
00:16:56.28\00:16:58.38
where Sin enters in rebellion,
00:16:58.41\00:17:00.58
then you have Wrath revealed,
00:17:00.62\00:17:02.72
then you have
Humanity going downward,
00:17:02.75\00:17:05.45
and then you have
Righteousness revealed.
00:17:05.49\00:17:08.09
Right, so, intermingled
with the three revelations,
00:17:08.12\00:17:12.73
is this whole sin
problem of the human race.
00:17:12.76\00:17:15.76
How would you describe...
00:17:15.80\00:17:17.67
I have a
definition for God's wrath,
00:17:17.70\00:17:19.90
how would you describe it?
00:17:19.93\00:17:21.47
Well, I'd like to hear
your definition, what was yours?
00:17:21.50\00:17:25.34
Oh, I think, I'm
trying to remember
00:17:25.37\00:17:27.01
how I wrote it in
"The Grace Pipeline"
00:17:27.04\00:17:29.78
but that it was His
holy reaction to sin.
00:17:29.81\00:17:32.51
It's a good way
to put it, I agree,
00:17:32.55\00:17:35.78
I call it His
holy anger against sin.
00:17:35.82\00:17:38.15
It's His reaction to
the choices of rebellion.
00:17:38.19\00:17:41.16
Now, whereas
God's love is eternal,
00:17:41.19\00:17:44.93
it's an eternal
quality of His character,
00:17:44.96\00:17:48.10
God's wrath is a
reaction to ungodliness
00:17:48.13\00:17:51.23
and therefore, it is temporary.
00:17:51.27\00:17:52.70
That's good.
00:17:52.73\00:17:54.07
When ungodliness is gone,
00:17:54.10\00:17:56.10
the wrath of God
will disappear, all right.
00:17:56.14\00:17:59.14
Oh, well we see that over
and over in the Old Testament.
00:17:59.17\00:18:02.38
Well, we tend to think of wrath
as something ugly, actually,
00:18:02.44\00:18:05.51
something harsh,
00:18:05.58\00:18:07.35
it's an outburst
of hateful emotion
00:18:07.38\00:18:09.48
but it's not like
that with God, okay,
00:18:09.52\00:18:11.59
since He is the
epitome of goodness and love,
00:18:11.62\00:18:14.36
anything ungodly is that
which is badness and unloving.
00:18:14.39\00:18:17.83
For God to punish or
remove such expressions...
00:18:17.86\00:18:21.56
expressions, no
badness or evil on His part
00:18:21.60\00:18:25.23
when He removes
that which is evil,
00:18:25.27\00:18:26.87
it's rather like a
doctor cutting out a cancer.
00:18:26.90\00:18:29.77
So it's not
unloving, it's a loving action.
00:18:29.80\00:18:32.11
Yeah, well, no one
cries over the cancer.
00:18:32.17\00:18:34.44
That's true, that's true.
00:18:34.48\00:18:36.64
Now, sometimes I give
an illustration of this
00:18:36.68\00:18:38.68
to my students to
help them understand
00:18:38.71\00:18:40.92
a little bit about
how God's wrath works.
00:18:40.95\00:18:43.08
Just suppose you were walking
into a big supermarket one day,
00:18:43.12\00:18:46.65
and as you were walking there
and you were getting close,
00:18:46.69\00:18:50.19
you really saw a
big six-foot-five
00:18:50.23\00:18:53.80
250 pound guy coming out
00:18:53.83\00:18:56.20
and he's dragging a
little girl behind him
00:18:56.23\00:18:57.87
and she's crying
00:18:57.90\00:19:00.07
and he says to her,
00:19:00.14\00:19:02.24
"I told you not
to touch that candy"
00:19:02.27\00:19:03.87
and he slaps
her across the face,
00:19:03.91\00:19:05.47
you're shocked and
you're walking into...
00:19:05.51\00:19:09.64
well... the store, you know,
00:19:09.68\00:19:11.38
and you see this going
past you, and you hear,
00:19:11.41\00:19:13.01
"You just wait till we get home"
00:19:13.05\00:19:14.38
and you forgot your cell phone,
00:19:14.42\00:19:17.59
you don't have your
cell phone, how do you feel?
00:19:17.65\00:19:21.79
Totally helpless.
00:19:21.82\00:19:23.69
Totally helpless, okay,
00:19:23.73\00:19:25.39
and you're
walking around the store
00:19:25.46\00:19:29.20
and you're buying your food,
what are you thinking about?
00:19:29.23\00:19:32.03
I'm thinking about
that poor little girl.
00:19:32.07\00:19:34.34
You're thinking
about that poor little girl
00:19:34.37\00:19:35.70
and do you feel guilty at all?
00:19:35.74\00:19:38.14
Oh yes, I wished I could
have intervened to do something.
00:19:38.17\00:19:41.04
Yeah, you wish you'd
stepped up to him and said,
00:19:41.08\00:19:42.58
"You leave that
little girl alone," right?
00:19:42.61\00:19:43.95
Yes.
00:19:43.98\00:19:45.31
Right, and you feel guilty
because you didn't do that
00:19:45.35\00:19:48.08
or you didn't have
your cell phone and you say,
00:19:48.12\00:19:49.82
"Why didn't I bring my cell
phone, I'll call 911 right now"
00:19:49.85\00:19:52.02
I mean, what
he's doing is wrong.
00:19:52.05\00:19:55.19
Now, what you
feel is a sense of,
00:19:55.22\00:19:58.26
sometimes you call it,
"righteous indignation. "
00:19:58.29\00:19:59.76
Yes.
00:19:59.79\00:20:01.23
Yeah, that is a human
feeling or sense of something
00:20:01.26\00:20:06.07
that is like the wrath of God.
00:20:06.10\00:20:07.77
God's wrath is His
holy hatred of sin,
00:20:07.80\00:20:10.61
you remove all the
human dross, all the...
00:20:10.64\00:20:13.41
and you multiply
it a million times
00:20:13.44\00:20:14.78
and you have this holy,
bright, strong, hatred of sin
00:20:14.81\00:20:18.91
that just cannot accept
00:20:18.95\00:20:22.82
that sin will
destroy the universe.
00:20:22.85\00:20:24.79
So, it's going to step in
and do something about it.
00:20:24.82\00:20:29.22
That's the wrath of God.
00:20:29.26\00:20:30.59
I like that.
00:20:30.63\00:20:31.96
It's not ugly, it's not evil,
00:20:31.99\00:20:36.33
it's actually a
holy part of who He is,
00:20:36.36\00:20:39.63
He is the epitome
of what sin is not.
00:20:39.67\00:20:42.70
He is totally
different from that.
00:20:42.74\00:20:45.71
So, to understand how
Paul develops this idea
00:20:45.74\00:20:49.01
of revelation of God's
wrath, it's helpful to see
00:20:49.04\00:20:52.58
how He steps through
the rest of the passage,
00:20:52.61\00:20:56.08
we have a graphic that
people will be able to see,
00:20:56.12\00:21:00.32
Paul's thesis is in
verse 18, we read that already,
00:21:00.36\00:21:04.53
"For the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven
00:21:04.56\00:21:06.46
against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men
00:21:06.49\00:21:09.00
who by their own unrighteousness
suppress the truth. "
00:21:09.06\00:21:11.53
Then he talks
about what has happened,
00:21:11.57\00:21:16.57
why did this occur?
00:21:16.60\00:21:17.94
Because they saw that
they did not praise God
00:21:17.97\00:21:21.24
or acknowledge God. Right, yeah.
00:21:21.28\00:21:22.61
They saw the revelation,
they recognized the revelation,
00:21:22.64\00:21:26.45
they recognized God behind this.
00:21:26.48\00:21:28.65
Now, there are
people today who want to say
00:21:28.68\00:21:31.65
that God is not there,
00:21:31.69\00:21:34.66
that nature
doesn't reveal who He is,
00:21:34.69\00:21:36.93
but I'll tell you what,
00:21:36.96\00:21:38.29
the more and more
we learn about nature,
00:21:38.33\00:21:40.80
the more we see
about how incredible it is,
00:21:40.83\00:21:43.47
and life, it
just leads us to say,
00:21:43.50\00:21:45.70
"Wow! there has to be
something behind this. "
00:21:45.73\00:21:48.77
Now, that leads to result is...
because they don't praise Him,
00:21:48.80\00:21:53.78
because they don't turn to Him,
00:21:53.81\00:21:55.84
then they end up
losing the light,
00:21:55.88\00:21:57.85
and then he goes through
00:21:57.88\00:21:59.78
a series of
causes and expressions,
00:21:59.81\00:22:02.18
causes and expressions...
00:22:02.22\00:22:03.55
we'll look at this
in more detail next time
00:22:03.59\00:22:05.35
but it always
starts with people,
00:22:05.42\00:22:08.22
it's interesting here, it
always starts with people.
00:22:08.26\00:22:12.86
In verse 23, in
verse 25 and in verse 28.
00:22:12.89\00:22:17.37
The people do something,
00:22:17.40\00:22:19.67
first they
exchange God for idols,
00:22:19.70\00:22:22.34
next they
exchange truth for a lie,
00:22:22.37\00:22:24.94
finally, people do not approve
to have God in their knowledge,
00:22:24.97\00:22:28.21
so, in each case, the
people do something first
00:22:28.24\00:22:32.05
and then, God responds,
00:22:32.08\00:22:35.58
and in each case, it
was as he hands them over,
00:22:35.62\00:22:39.95
this is the
expression of the wrath of God
00:22:39.99\00:22:42.42
that Paul is
describing in Romans 1,
00:22:42.46\00:22:44.36
so they do something
and then God responds,
00:22:44.39\00:22:46.93
remember we said that
wrath is not a permanent
00:22:46.96\00:22:50.07
characteristic of God.
00:22:50.10\00:22:51.43
Shelley: It's a reaction...
Tom: It's a reaction.
00:22:51.47\00:22:52.90
Shelley: Holy hatred.
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.27
Yeah, it's holy hatred so,
first is described their sin,
00:22:54.30\00:22:57.14
then is
described their reaction,
00:22:57.17\00:22:59.37
now, interestingly,
00:22:59.44\00:23:01.11
we'll talk about
this more next time,
00:23:01.14\00:23:02.61
but interestingly, we notice,
00:23:02.64\00:23:04.45
that actually, the
homosexual activity
00:23:04.48\00:23:07.88
that he has
described is not the part
00:23:07.95\00:23:11.32
where they're doing
something that God responds to,
00:23:11.35\00:23:14.66
it actually falls under
the part of God's response,
00:23:14.69\00:23:17.93
and what happens
after he hands them over.
00:23:17.99\00:23:21.63
So, it's a rather
interesting twist and turn
00:23:21.66\00:23:25.27
so, there's... in each case...
they exchange God for idols,
00:23:25.33\00:23:30.94
then they go into
uncleanness and dishonoring,
00:23:30.97\00:23:33.71
they exchange truth for the lie
00:23:33.74\00:23:36.44
then they end up with
dishonorable passions,
00:23:36.48\00:23:38.91
then they won't have
God in their knowledge,
00:23:38.95\00:23:41.35
they end up with
a disapproved mind,
00:23:41.38\00:23:43.22
and so that leads them down to
the experience of what they have
00:23:43.25\00:23:48.39
at the end of this passage.
00:23:48.42\00:23:50.86
But then, what does it
mean that God "hands them over?"
00:23:50.89\00:23:55.43
I mean, isn't He a God of love
00:23:55.46\00:23:56.93
and why would He
hand them over to evil?
00:23:56.97\00:24:00.94
Yeah, now, that's the part
that challenges us to think
00:24:01.00\00:24:06.14
more about what
He... this means,
00:24:06.17\00:24:07.91
some people maintain
00:24:07.94\00:24:09.28
that God's wrath
is passive in nature,
00:24:09.31\00:24:11.35
He just lets people have the
consequences of their choices
00:24:11.38\00:24:16.08
but Paul didn't put
it in the passive voice
00:24:16.15\00:24:20.16
and he doesn't describe it,
00:24:20.19\00:24:22.12
he actually describes it
as an active part of God,
00:24:22.16\00:24:24.79
God hands over.
00:24:24.86\00:24:26.19
Paul actually presents
it in these active terms,
00:24:26.23\00:24:29.16
God hands these people over
to be ruled by evil passions
00:24:29.20\00:24:32.07
and we wonder,
"Well, why... that's crazy,
00:24:32.10\00:24:34.40
why would a loving God, do that?
00:24:34.47\00:24:37.04
Why would He hand them over?"
00:24:37.07\00:24:39.57
What is going on
here is God giving people
00:24:39.61\00:24:42.34
the result of their
rebellion against Him.
00:24:42.38\00:24:45.28
They did not want Him...
00:24:45.31\00:24:47.52
so He gives
them over to be ruled
00:24:47.55\00:24:49.78
by the passions
that they've chosen.
00:24:49.82\00:24:52.05
Now, He hands
them over but it's...
00:24:52.12\00:24:54.32
you could say it's rather
00:24:54.36\00:24:56.06
typical sense of
Biblical justice.
00:24:56.09\00:24:59.26
Isn't that kind of
though like... when, in Exodus,
00:24:59.29\00:25:04.13
Pharaoh had hardened his heart
00:25:04.17\00:25:06.57
but then it says that
God hardened the heart.
00:25:06.63\00:25:09.37
Yes, God pushed him into
a corner to make a decision.
00:25:09.40\00:25:13.34
Yes.
00:25:13.38\00:25:14.71
First Pharaoh
active... then God responds.
00:25:14.74\00:25:16.54
Yes.
00:25:16.58\00:25:17.91
And actually, when you
look at that whole story
00:25:17.95\00:25:19.85
of Pharaoh, God
gave him ten chances.
00:25:19.88\00:25:21.82
Amen...
00:25:21.85\00:25:23.18
There were nine... he
could have let them go
00:25:23.22\00:25:24.75
before losing his son.
00:25:24.79\00:25:26.12
So each time it got a bit worse,
00:25:26.15\00:25:27.72
it got a bit worse,
it got a bit worse...
00:25:27.76\00:25:30.16
and each time,
Pharaoh was just stubborn.
00:25:30.19\00:25:32.59
He just wouldn't give in
00:25:32.63\00:25:34.30
so this sense of
judgment goes like this,
00:25:34.33\00:25:37.17
"The measure you use
is the measure you get. "
00:25:37.20\00:25:40.20
Shelley: That's the
Kingdom principle, Amen.
00:25:40.24\00:25:42.57
Yeah, this is not to suggest
that these people are hopeless.
00:25:42.60\00:25:45.81
See, some people say,
"Well, God hands them over
00:25:45.84\00:25:48.34
so that they'll just be
destroyed by al of that,"
00:25:48.38\00:25:50.81
no, no, remember,
00:25:50.85\00:25:52.81
you have to think
of the wider context
00:25:52.85\00:25:54.95
that Paul is talking about,
00:25:54.98\00:25:56.32
he's talking about
people who are lost,
00:25:56.35\00:25:57.69
why is he talking
about people being lost?
00:25:57.72\00:25:59.15
In here, because of
sin and because they...
00:25:59.22\00:26:02.19
they exchange the glory
of God for something else,
00:26:02.22\00:26:06.16
it's something that they did.
00:26:06.19\00:26:08.03
So, what does Paul
want for these people?
00:26:08.06\00:26:09.40
Shelley: He wants salvation...
Tom: He wants them to be saved.
00:26:09.43\00:26:11.33
He says, "All have sinned
00:26:11.37\00:26:12.70
and have fallen short
of the glory of God. "
00:26:12.73\00:26:14.10
So, he says, "This is happening,
00:26:14.14\00:26:16.47
so that they'll
turn back to God. "
00:26:16.50\00:26:18.67
So "Why does a loving
God let them turn over?"
00:26:18.74\00:26:21.91
If you've ever read C.S.
Lewis' "Screwtape Letters,"
00:26:21.94\00:26:25.01
it's kind of a...
helpful little description there
00:26:25.05\00:26:27.98
where the Chief Devil is
saying to the younger Devil,
00:26:28.02\00:26:30.79
and he says, "Don't
push this guy too far
00:26:30.82\00:26:33.09
because if you do, he
may turn to the 'enemy. '"
00:26:33.12\00:26:35.86
Tom: And, of course, in...
Shelley: The "enemy" being God.
00:26:35.89\00:26:38.09
Tom: the "enemy" being God...
he may turn to the "enemy"
00:26:38.13\00:26:40.33
and that seems to
be exactly what happens
00:26:40.36\00:26:42.90
as so many
times, people are pushed
00:26:42.93\00:26:44.47
and pushed and
pushed, until they realize,
00:26:44.50\00:26:47.34
"You know, I can't
make it on my own. "
00:26:47.40\00:26:49.30
You know, when
you think about that,
00:26:49.34\00:26:51.17
that's... in Exodus... I
mean, in the Old Testament,
00:26:51.21\00:26:55.78
God, often, when the
Israelites, the Hebrew children,
00:26:55.81\00:27:00.38
when they were just
rebelling against Him,
00:27:00.42\00:27:03.49
He would send
Jeremiah or some prophet
00:27:03.52\00:27:06.12
some prophet that
would preach and preach
00:27:06.15\00:27:08.69
and warn them of all the
things He was going to do,
00:27:08.72\00:27:10.43
and when they wouldn't do it,
00:27:10.46\00:27:12.46
He would give them over to their
own destruction for a while
00:27:12.49\00:27:17.57
and that always
turned them back to Him.
00:27:17.60\00:27:19.47
Yeah, see, Jesus said that the
harlots and the tax collectors
00:27:19.53\00:27:21.97
go into the Kingdom
of God before you...
00:27:22.00\00:27:23.84
talking to the Pharisees...
00:27:23.87\00:27:25.21
see, harlots and tax
collectors know they're bad,
00:27:25.24\00:27:28.11
they know that they need
help, they need a Savior,
00:27:28.14\00:27:30.68
so that's exactly
what's going on here in Romans,
00:27:30.71\00:27:33.18
Paul is
describing the sinful world,
00:27:33.21\00:27:34.95
it's under the wrath of God
00:27:34.98\00:27:36.58
but there's a
brighter day coming
00:27:36.62\00:27:38.55
if they will turn to
the righteousness of God.
00:27:38.62\00:27:40.29
Okay, we're going to see
00:27:40.32\00:27:41.86
what this has to
do with homosexuality,
00:27:41.89\00:27:44.29
in our next Program
so please stay tuned.
00:27:44.33\00:27:46.70
Dr. Tom Sheperd,
thank you so much
00:27:46.73\00:27:48.76
for being here
with us again today
00:27:48.80\00:27:50.77
and we are so glad
that you're joining us
00:27:50.80\00:27:53.84
and hope that you
are really taking note
00:27:53.87\00:27:56.81
and learning what the
Bible has to say about:
00:27:56.84\00:27:59.34
Love, Marriage, Sex and Divorce.
00:27:59.37\00:28:01.04
Now, our prayer for you is that
00:28:01.08\00:28:03.21
God will multiply His
mercy, love and grace to you.
00:28:03.24\00:28:06.01
Thank you.
00:28:06.05\00:28:07.72