Chapter # 12 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
August 18, 2019
Humble, Texas
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Thesis:   The "follow-through" on the doctrine of "The Gospel of God" (in Romans 1-11) begins with a summons to respond to His mercies with loving confidence.

Introduction:   In the beginning of his letter to the Romans, Paul made it clear that his "purpose" in life was to be an apostle of the Gospel for God in this present material world (1:1). He also made it clear that this "purpose" also had a "purpose": to be an instrument of God for the transformation of human beings in all of the nations from "sinners" to "saints" who would become "submissive to God out of faith in God" (1:5).

It was to these ends that Paul wrote his letter with all of its deliberately organized content. Thus, we can safely assume that these last five chapters are, in a sense, a declaration of where he has been going ever since he picked up a quill and begin to write. In other words, these last five chapters are a declaration of what he wants to see happen in the lives of those who are "saints among the nations".

Thus, as we commence a look into these last five chapters, we need to be aware that they are a presentation of what is the outcome of "faith". As such, they are a presentation of a "faithful" life and we can use them as a help to us to see if/when we are faltering in trust. They are not to be used as "Law" as it was distorted by the Jews ("dictates" that we must "obey"); rather, they are to be used as "gracious revelation" as the basis for a continual turning to the God of Promise so that they will be reflected by our choices and actions. After all, at its most basic level, a "faithful life" is a life that is dependent upon God to fulfill His commitments; it is not a life that produces a "veneer of godliness" by outward obedience.

To this end, we are going to launch into a consideration of what it means to "believe" God, and what that will look like.

• I. Paul's First Two Words.
  • A. In word order, they are reversed in terms of what he means; in the order of significance they are as the word order suggests.
    • 1. The word order is, literally, "I am presenting a summons therefore...".
      • a. In terms of significance, the "summons" is the critical issue.
      • b. But in terms of interpretation (so that we might know what he meant), the "therefore" is the critical issue (because of the following words and phrase).
    • 2. This word order deserves our thoughtful consideration beyond the fact that it is "typical Greek".
      • a. It is "typical" of Greek that the "conjunction" that ties prior material to present material is often after the main word(s) that is/are designed to build on the previous material.
      • b. But, in Paul's inspired revelation of God's thoughts, he actually reveals the fact that the "therefore" really belongs at the front of our thinking as we move into our attempt to legitimately "interpret" the meaning of his words.
  • B. The word "therefore".
    • 1. It is a deliberate "conjunction" that co-joins the previous material to the present content.
    • 2. As such, we need to understand that his "summons" is directly tied to his previous explanation of the truths that will help to prevent the development of "boastful" "high-minded" and "conceited" attitudes.
      • a. The attempt to squelch the development of such destructive attitudes is critical according to Paul's understanding that all "behavior" that is rooted in those attitudes will produce a hypocritical veneer of godliness.
      • b. Thus, his goal of producing legitimate behavior, which is the burden of these next five chapters, had to be preceded by his previous teaching.
  • C. The word "I am summoning".
    • 1. This is "parakaleo", the word that means "to call alongside" and is translated by whatever English word best suits the context ("encourage", "beseech", "rebuke", etc.).
    • 2. This is not an "imperative" because that leads too easily to "external obedience".
      • a. It is interesting that Paul did issue a series of "imperatives" along a very similar vein in Romans 6:13, 16, and 19.
      • b. However, those "imperatives" were in a context where he was revealing two major facts.
        • 1) The "fact" that "Grace" is not intended to lead to a permissive continuance in sin, nor a use of "freedom from Law" to allow a dismissive attitude toward sinning.
        • 2) The "fact" that there always is a consequence built into actions taken so that one has a rather desperate need to be careful about taking action.
        • 3) Because of these points of focus, the imperatives do not lend themselves to "Law" as perverted by the Jews.
    • 3. It is a "summons" or a "call to adjust".
      • a. In the immediately prior context, the "adjustment" is in view of the pronounced tendency to "boast", "be high-minded", or "be conceited".
      • b. But there is an extended prior context that means the "adjustment" is in view of the over-all series of doctrines Paul presented in the previous eleven chapters.
      • c. The nature of the "adjustment(s)" is/are all "love/faith" issues.
        • 1) This means that, at the "love" level, we are to permit Paul's own development in "love" (as expressed in 9:3) to be a "summons" to us to seek God's development of that same love in us.
        • 2) This also means, at the "faith" level, that we are to turn to God's commitments to us as the foundations for our own commitments (if we do not believe in His commitments, we cannot make legitimate commitments).
      • d. As a "call to adjust", it is a call to respond to what God is doing and has done in one's heart so that it is not a "forced" over-ruling of one's most basic desires.
        • 1) In the first place, a "forced" over-ruling of one's most basic desires will not endure.
        • 2) In the second place, a "forced" over-ruling of one's most basic desires goes against the reality of God's "knowing" what is really going on (He only approves "cheerful" giving).
        • 3) And in the third place, the desire to adjust is a God-thing and, for everyone who has His grace in this area, is not "unwilling".
          • a) There may be some "fears" involved that God has to over-rule by showing us that we cannot "lose" by "adjusting".
          • b) There may be some "idols" involved that God has to over-rule by proving to us that there is no "God" but Himself Who can make "Life" an experience of His Love, Joy, and Peace.

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This is article #002.
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