#14. Romans 1:16 - Five Reasons Not to Be Ashamed of the Evangel, Part II

 Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

…[the evangel] is God’s power for salvation to everyone who is believing…

Part Three – Salvation

The third progressive point concerning Paul’s lack of shame of the evangel is found in the fact that the evangel is God’s power into salvation. This power is unique in that it must do the impossible: save that which not only should not be saved, but in many respects does not want to be saved. The simple fact is that human beings may recognize that they need saving, but they do not care that they need saving. If they did, they would not seek to purposefully pervert or mindlessly discard the truth in favor of inconsistent and/or depressing and nihilistic theology. Man can only comment on death, for it is all we perceive in the flesh.

The concept of salvation as presented in Scripture is the process of reversing the curse of “death” that has been placed on humanity. This word introduces us to the core theme of Romans – salvation.

“Salvation” is not the evangel. The evangel concerns “Christ.” But the evangel, the good news of Christ, is God’s power into the salvation of an individual. The evangel’s contents are not given here, but the purpose of the evangel is given more context. Those that have read “Part I” of this study know that the purpose of the grace and apostleship given to Paul and his pals is for our faith-obedience (Rom. 1:5.) This “salvation,” that is, the theme of Romans, highlights the nature of this faith-obedience. It is not something that occurs immediately, but is effected over the course of your life, which crafts the faith-obedience.

I hope I don’t get too confusing when I stress the word: process. It is so important that we know this now, in fact, that I will re-word it, even more clearly: “salvation” is not an immediate action, as many presume, but a journey that occurs over the course of your life.

I’m stressing this because the prevailing idea is that “salvation” is that little moment where you kneel at the church altar, put your hands together, and pray for the Lord Jesus to enter your heart. This theory proposes that, once you pray fervently in just the right way, God will look down at you from heaven, roll His eyes a little bit, shrug, and say, “Okay, okay. You, too. I forgive you, and I love you. Never forget that. If you do, I expect you to re-commit yourself at this same pulpit next week. Can you spot me a $20?”

To many in Christendom, salvation is either a one-and-done deal, or a cyclical return to church. Both ideas, however, face criticism from God in the Scriptures (Gal. 5:3-4, Acts 17:24-25.) I will propose, as we study Romans, that there is a middle ground that amends and reconciles the passages that, on the surface, may seem contradictory.

That middle ground is called “a process.”

Back at the beginning of this Romans study, I broke down the structure of Romans. However, I did not break down why we must cut Romans at those exact intervals. The reason is because of salvation. As it is the central theme of Romans, “salvation” in full will be considered, and serves as the manner by which Romans should be divided (the theme drives the writing.)

This Part 2 of our Romans study is going to be concerned first with our need for salvation. It will do so by highlighting the conduct of humanity, and, by all accounts, what humanity deserves for it (Rom. 1:18-3:20.) It is going to be a rather dark portion, but it is necessary in showing us why we need saved, and will serve as a necessary precursor to the evangel itself, which concerns Christ and His accomplishment on the cross.

As such, Rom. 3:21-4:25 will concern us with the salvation itself. Rom. 5:1-8:30 will concern us with the blessing that we realize with salvation. And Rom. 12:1-15:7 will concern us with the effectual change because of salvation (that is, our new conduct, and the beauty that comes with being saved.) With this, we can see Romans’ perfect argumentative layout in favor of God’s method of salvation, while simultaneously disposing of our reasonings about it.

So… what is God’s method of salvation? What makes it so powerful?

It takes us back to Christ and His death on the cross. This will transpose into His entombment, and, finally, into His resurrection. These three core components concerning Christ’s crucifixion will be considered in many different ways throughout this letter, and each represent a separate aspect of the process of salvation, which also has three core components. To quote George Rogers in his Romans study:

“‘Salvation’ comprehends the full result of acceptance of the gospel beginning with rescue from wrath, and issuing in conformity to Christ in glory… There is a past salvation from the penalty of sin dating from the time we first believed. Then there is the present deliverance from the power of sin by which we are saved from sinning and attain maturity. Finally, we shall be saved from the presence of sin altogether, at the advent of a Savior Whom we await out of heaven (13:11, Phil. 3:20-21.)”

These three aspects of salvation correlate with the three components of Christ’s crucifixion. The past salvation from the penalty of sin correlates with His death. The present deliverance from the power of sin correlates with His entombment. And the future expectation that we will be removed from the presence of sin altogether correlates with His resurrection. We will be covering these ideas successively throughout this letter.

Salvation, in sum, informs us of the power of God. The literal action of salvation is powerful. Being “saved” is not just God saying, “Yeah, you’re saved, homie! Now lavish yourself with powdered donuts!”

…Not that God takes issue with powdered donuts (at least, I don’t think He does.)

Nor does salvation consist of man saying “Yeah, I accept your salvation, Homie! Now I’ll lavish myself with powdered donuts!” I understand that many will point, then, to something like Acts 2:38 as a ‘prerequisite,’ or a requirement on man’s end for salvation–

Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the pardon of your sins, and you shall be obtaining the gratuity of the holy spirit.

On the one hand, this verse is completely true. On the other, however, it is only true in its context. When a verse is removed from its context, it usually becomes a lie. The context is Peter (who, as we’ve already considered, is teaching an entirely separate evangel than Paul’s evangel – Rom. 15:8-9, Gal. 2:7-8, 2 Pet. 3:15-16) imparting the pre-requisites for salvation in the evangel of the kingdom. Paul, on the other hand, has now firmly established in the first half of Romans 1 that he is not teaching this evangel “of the kingdom,” but that he has been severed for an evangel of God.

For any teacher of Scripture to point at this verse in Acts and say, “This is a blanket statement that concerns all!” either reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of the Bible’s structure and the contents of the book of Acts, or are purposefully acting disingenuous by forcing their perspective into the text.

The power of this evangel specifically brings one into salvation in such a grand fashion. Many will say, “Well, the evangel of the kingdom also saves! Thus Paul is teaching the same message as Peter!”

Here’s the thing, Strawman. With that logic, every other comic I’ve read where Superman bursts through crumbling buildings to rescue poor old widows reflects that he too is teaching the same message as Peter and Paul!

(That was a joke, by the way. I think Superman’s immediate/temporary salvation is a little more effective than the Baptist church.)

There is a different kind of salvation that Paul presents in Romans that we will study. There is no greater salvation than that which Paul presents in Romans. It is greater than the salvation that Peter proclaimed, as Peter’s message could only extend toward (you guessed it) the kingdom. In fact, this message is so dramatically different that Paul clarifies three times in Romans that the point of the salvation of the nations is to provoke Israel to jealousy (10:19, 11:11-14.)

Let me ask you: if Paul’s salvation as taught in Romans is the same as Peter’s salvation as taught in his letters to the dispersion, then why would Israel be jealous? Nothing changes, to them! The evangel of the kingdom already accepts proselytes, to be guests for the coming kingdom. Why would Israel become jealous in the slightest, unless God is now providing a much stronger salvation that He did not originally present to His nation? Why would modern day Israel be so hell-bent on removing the very name of Christ from their plot of land, if the salvation Paul presents through Christ is the same as their provisions for salvation and entrance into the kingdom?

Don’t respond to the previous paragraph; if you don’t see that Paul teaches a separate message, then you’ll obviously consider it a non-sequitur. If you do see that Paul teaches a separate message, then you don’t need to answer, for you already know it’s a leading question. The point I’m making is that the salvation we are considering here is unlike any other in Scripture, rooted entirely in God’s work on the cross. No other could have resurrected His Son from among the dead. No other could have perfectly crucified His Son. Only God could enact this properly. As we proceed through Romans, we will notice just how depraved mankind (in sum) truly is, which will only magnify the grandeur of God’s power for salvation.

There is one more aspect to salvation that we must consider, knowing that it is God’s decision, and not our own: why? Why does He save? Yes, of course, we are in need of salvation, but… what is the purpose of God’s decision to save those that need saving? The answer is found in His heart. While salvation itself is a powerful deed, it is His heart that imparts the why. Apart from recognizing His heart of love, we are unable to see why He would enact salvation at all!

When I think of this, I look back at the beginning of God’s relationship with Israel right before and under law, during their deliverance from Egypt. As I said in the previous part, it is easy for us, in hindsight, to sympathize with God, being dismissed and discredited by a group of slaves He had unequivocally freed (a group which is in no position to dismiss any rescuer, mind you.) By all logical consideration, this God should not have any reason to save anyone, after demonstrating His might and being rejected.

Yet it happened. Christ was sent, as promised. Israel will rule the earth, as promised. And, God is saving, with this very evangel that He entrusted to Paul. The only rational conclusion we can reach is that He cares. He is saving because He cares. Why exert all this power if you don’t care? He already knows the outcome (per the term: all-knowing,) so wouldn’t He save it for something better if He didn’t care?

God will show us, both individually and nationally, in this letter, through the evangel, that He does care, and that His heart is operating a grand, climactic endgame that will resolve all error concerning Himself.

Part Four – To Everyone

This takes me to the fourth reason that Paul is not ashamed of the evangel: it is for everyone. Anyone who is anyone can hear this evangel, and, whether they believe in it or not, it does not change the fact that it is to them. In this sense, Romans is comprehensive. It is covering everyone. The bulk of humanity, who will not ever even hear this message laid out in Romans, are still indebted to hear this message, based solely on Christ’s death, His entombment, and His resurrection.

The most controversial aspect, I think, of the Bible, is whether or not it is for everyone. If it’s not for everyone, then to some, God is righteous for keeping “the wicked” away. Yet if it is for everyone, then this same “some” would claim that God is stupid, for inviting the troublemaker inside anyway.

The reverse is just as true. Some who believe the Bible is not for everyone will claim that God is stupid for “inviting some troublemakers, but not other troublemakers.” They can’t delineate the standard by which God chooses someone for salvation (believing man must accomplish something to win this favor of God.) These same will presume that, if the Bible is for everyone, then God is still stupid for subjecting everyone to a morality that is relative and pointless, if all end up experiencing this salvation that is to them.

The logical trap feels inescapable. How does God get out of this? Well, we must start here. The evangel is to everyone. It is indeed comprehensive in its scope. Regardless of the nuances that we will get to (for example: the very next clause,) it must not be understated that everyone is being given this evangel. You can find yourself somewhere in the nouns, “Greek,” “barbarian,” “wise,” or “foolish,” from 1:14. Paul is indebted to share this evangel with you and me.

Do we deserve it? Spoiler alert: hell no, we don’t deserve it! Not a single person on the planet deserves this salvation, and we will see this shortly with Paul’s first teaching. This already begins to deconstruct the logical trap we are considering. It is to everyone, and no one is worthy of it.

We also learn from this point that the evangel is not for the few, but for the many. This is fascinating, because there are many Christian sects that presume that they are saved, and no one else ever will be. With this idea, the evangel is perverted into something it’s not. The evangel goes from “a good message to everyone,” to “a good message to everyone, that will only help a few because of their acceptance of the facts.” This dramatic limitation of this evangel’s contents is sorely unproven.

Now, if you’re a Christian, I don’t want you to freak out or anything. I know what the next words say. I’m not saying that this verse teaches universalism, because… it doesn’t. There are, however, other verses within Romans that do speak of the eventual salvation of all mankind (Rom. 5:18, for example, but also Rom. 8:20-21, 11:32-36, and more.) We will cover these verses in great detail when we reach them.

What good is good news to everyone if it doesn’t impact everyone? The consensus among scholars is that you decide whether or not you want it to impact you. This conclusion leaves me wanting, for I must then choose where my allegiance lies. Do I agree with the scholars, who state that the good news that is God’s power into salvation only impacts some, or do I believe God, Who says that Paul’s evangel, His power into salvation, impacts everyone?

There are many apologetics on this issue. Many will try to solve this discrepancy by claiming that God may seek to reach everyone, but His message can be resisted. According to these “faith defenders,” God does tell everyone about the evangel, but it is rejected by many, leading to a salvation of some. With this perspective, they conclude that grace can’t be grace if everyone gets saved. To these folk, salvation is a favor from God (which is true,) but they then assume that it is an exclusive favor.

This train of thought is not stated anywhere in Romans, being the presentation of God’s power into salvation through Paul’s evangel.

The “exclusivity” clause erases the very concept of “favor.” If it is “exclusive” to some only, and will not be imparted to all, then it is not a favor to help you; it becomes a favor to make you privileged, and thus create a hierarchy at another’s expense. It’s a sad state of affairs, creating a spiritualized version of the top 1%. God’s will, to save all mankind and bring them to a realization of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4,) would never be accomplished, and as such, the favor would never be fully extended (thus, not fully realized, and not fully understood – undermining the very idea of Christ’s act to begin with.) How, if we are to be learning about the power of God, could we hope to perceive it through a half-measure?

God is not a mindless “weather machine,” or a cosmic Being that transcends all emotion and carries no understanding of what humans are and why we do what we do. God saves because He loves. This is His core. That this message is for everyone shows that He loves everyone. Whether they hear this or not does not change this fact.

- GerudoKing