Lessons

The third lesson in the Romans study was given on February 1, 2009 and covered the first eleven verses in chapter 2. Before the study dived into chapter two, there is a 10 minute commentary on the Boy Scouts of America and the homosexual issue in the country today. Christians have become desensitized to what is called wrong by God. There is moral relativism, value clarification and the like that is taking the place of scripture in defining what is good. The Boy Scouts in Madison, WI, were sponsored by the Orchid Ridge United Church of Christ but the church decided to pull their sponsorship because the Boy Scouts fought to deny homosexuals from being troop leaders. We should hate the sin, but love the sinner but that doesn’t mean we should tolerate the sin. In chapter 1 of Romans, we learn that there are Jew and Gentile believers in Rome and there is a difference between them in how they worship. There are lots of problems between the two groups and the theme of Romans is to adjust the interaction between the Jew and the Gentile and then to adjust both of them to the gospel. When we get to chapter two, that is what the Apostle Paul is doing between the two groups. It is common the read chapter two as if Paul is speaking like a moralist… but Paul is talking about the Jew vs. the Gentile. We see Paul addressing the Jew in Romans 2:17 “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,” We learn from Romans 3:1-2 “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” The remainder of the lesson talks about this relationship between Jew and Gentile. The study also includes references to “My Gospel” which is the message the apostle Paul was giving during the Acts period prior to the mystery after Acts 28:28. This lesson continues the series in Romans