Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TWO (Part IV)

The apostle Paul did not want the believers in Rome to forget the richness of God’s unconditional love and grace. When God introduced Himself to Moses on Mount Horeb in Sinai, He responded to Moses’ request that He define Himself. His reply was: “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. He shows His faithful love to thousands of people. He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but He does not forget to punish guilty people.”¹ Yes, says the psalmist Asaph, “God was merciful. He forgave their sins and did not destroy them. Many times He held back His anger. He never let it get out of control. He remembered that they were only people.”² In this way Paul admonished the Roman believers not to misinterpret God’s grace and patience as a lack of interest or care.

Instead, Paul invoked the same message the prophet Isaiah gave Israel: “The Lord is waiting to show His mercy to you. He wants to come and comfort you.”³ So Paul was also asking the Romans to do what Isaiah asked the Israelites to do: “Remember the kind things the Lord has done and don’t forget to praise Him. The Lord has given many good things to the family of Israel. He has been very kind to us. He has shown us mercy. He said, ‘These are my people. These are my real children.’”⁴

Paul was also able to tell young Timothy that he had experienced God’s patience firsthand: “I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that He has patience without limit. Christ showed His patience with me, the worst of all sinners. He wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in Him and have eternal life.”⁵ No wonder Paul was writing to the Roman believers with such compassion and conviction. Instead of this being Paul’s version of Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,”⁶ it was, “Sinners in the Hands of a Patient God.”

The great preacher Chrysostom had this to say about where he saw Paul heading in this narrative: “Sinning, by itself, is not as serious as falling into the sins one has accused others of committing. See how Paul makes the whole thing more serious! For if you punish a person who has committed smaller sins … how will God not turn the tables on you and punish you who have committed greater transgressions?… And if you say that you know you deserve punishment but think that because God is patient with you that you will escape it and, therefore, do not take it seriously, this is all the more reason to fear and tremble! For the fact that you have not yet suffered punishment does not mean that you will not suffer it but that you will suffer more severely if you do not repent.”⁷

Augustine of Hippo adds his thoughts: “Is the fact that some persist in their wickedness any proof that God does not persist in His patience, punishing very few sins in this world, lest we fail to believe in His divine providence and, saving many for the last judgment, to justify His future decree?”⁸ At first, this idea of Augustine’s that God holds off punishing sinners in this world for their wrong doing because He already knows they will be held accountable in the world to come may seem like a stretch. But when taken in light of the Apostle John’s words: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through Him, the world might be saved,”⁹ it seems to make more sense. Imagine, if you will, a fireman trying to save a person from a burning building that caught fire because of their own carelessness. Suddenly, he tells the other first responders to take a break while he goes into the inferno to confront the person inside who is close to being cremated. He wants to chew them out for playing with matches. Such an idea may be at the heart of what Augustine was trying to explain why God wants to save us more than punish.

Reformer John Calvin took this approach: “As orators teach us, that we ought not to proceed to give strong reproof before the crime has been proven, so Paul may seem to some to have acted unwisely here for having passed so severe a censure, when he had not yet proved the accusation which he had brought forward. But the fact is otherwise; for he adduced not his accusation before men, but appealed to the judgment of conscience; and thus he deemed that proved which he had in view — that they could not deny their iniquity if they examined themselves and submitted to the scrutiny of God’s tribunal. And it was not without urgent necessity, that he with so much sharpness and severity rebuked their fictitious sanctity; for men of this class will with astonishing security trust in themselves, except their vain confidence be forcibly shaken from them. Let us then remember, that this is the best mode of dealing with hypocrisy, in order to awaken it from its stupor, that is, to draw it forth to the light of God’s judgment.”¹⁰

Calvin goes on to comment on the fact that no one will escape the final judgment. He writes: “This argument is drawn from the less [to the greater]; for since our sins are subject to the judgment of men, much more are they to that of God, who is the only true Judge of all. Men are indeed led by a divine instinct to condemn evil deeds, but this is only an obscure and faint resemblance of the divine judgment. They are then extremely befuddled, who think that they can escape the judgment of God, though they allow not others to avoid their own judgment. It is not without an emphatic meaning that he repeats the word ‘man’; it is for the purpose of presenting a comparison between man and God.”¹¹

Charles Hodge shares his observations on this subject: “The truth that God’s judgment is just, and will fall on those who themselves commit the sins which they condemn in others, is so plain, that the apostle cries out at the folly of those who seem to deny it. The emphasis lies on the word ‘you,’ in the middle of the verse. ‘Do you think that you, because you are a Jew, will escape the righteous judgment of God?”¹² Hodge sees the apostle pointing out a sense of bias on the part of the Jewish members of the Roman community of believers. Since they did not come into the knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah out of the darkness from which the non-Jews were drawn, they, therefore, had an advantage. They thought that God would somehow treat them differently since they were heirs to the promise given to Abraham. Paul wanted them to know there was no such thing as a preferred sinner, just because they lived by a higher moral standard than others did.

Some modern Bible commentators say this: “Moral people are presumptuous in their thinking. They strive to live a principled life, but do not (usually) act like those in Romans One, yet assume that God will overlook their occasional moral lapse because they really do strive to be good. They do not have as many practical manifestations of God’s judgment in their lives as those who do not strive to be good, as seen in chapter 1. They mistake this lack of present judgment for God’s approval, and as proof that they will escape His eschatological judgment. That God does not vent His wrath upon them to a great extent in this life is designed by Him to cause them to recognize His goodness and turn to Him (repentance). But if they do not repent, they will face the righteous judgment of God.”¹³

Verses 4b: But you think nothing of His kindness. Maybe you don’t yet understand that God is being kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.

The Apostle Paul knew that oft times believers became so comfortable in God’s blessings and favor that they began to take His goodness and kindness for granted. For some, to wake up in the morning in good health and strength is still not enough to start the day by saying “Thank You,” to the Almighty. He didn’t want the Roman believers to become so careless and ungrateful that they would start to believe that God owed it to them because they served Him. Old Testament saint Job, looked at it the right way. He told his friends that God could allow people to suffer the consequences of their sins without bothering to try and help them, but that’s not God’s way. Says Job: “God will do things for people again and again. He wants them to be saved from death so that they can enjoy life.”¹⁴

We also find that as the pilgrims were on their way to the Temple for the Day of Atonement, one of the hymns they would sing had these words: “Lord, if you punished people for all their sins, no one would be left alive. But you forgive people, so they revere and respect you.”¹⁵ That’s why Isaiah was able to tell the Israelites: “The Lord is waiting to show His mercy to you. He wants to come and comfort you. The Lord is the God who does the right thing so He will bless everyone who waits for His help.”¹⁶ And when it looked like the children of Israel were afraid to approach God for forgiveness, the Spirit gave the prophet Jeremiah this message: “This message is from the Lord. ‘I will stop frowning at you. I am full of mercy.’ The Lord says, ‘I will not be angry with you forever.”¹⁷ So Jeremiah encouraged them: “Just say, ‘Yes, we will come back because you are the Lord our God.”¹⁸

Jesus faced the same thing when He came to deliver the Good News of a new agreement being offered by God. When He pointed out all of their hypocritical ways and false doctrines, changing their allegiance from the word of God to the words of man, they were reluctant to accept His message. So Jesus told them the story of a man who had two sons, one of which stayed home and the other who went astray. When the wayward son realized his mistake, he came back to his father embarrassed because of his failure. He told his father: “I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.”¹⁹ But the reception he received was different than what he expected. “While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and felt sorry for him. So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him… The father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him… My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’”²⁰

Whenever we hear someone referred to as a “person of virtue,” no doubt we conclude that they live and practice the highest moral standards while dealing with others in everyday situations. Few individuals do not strive to be known as a virtuous person. But, 1925 Nobel Prize winner in Literature Irish playwright and author George Bernard Shaw, once described virtue as: “Insufficient temptation.” However, this certainly seems to be a passive description of an active ingredient. Virtue should never be thought of as something that reveals itself only when there is not enough temptation to push you over the edge.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy indicates that Virtue is tied to Ethics and as such emphasizes the role of one’s character when either doing one’s duty or acting to bring about good consequences. Recently, I read this definition of Virtue that gives us a very clear idea of what is to be expected of a virtuous person: “Virtue, by definition, is the moral excellence of a person. A morally excellent person has a character made-up of virtues valued as good. He or she is honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for example. Because of these virtues or positive character traits, he or she is committed to doing the right thing no matter what the personal cost, and does not bend to impulses, urges or desires, but acts according to values and principles. Some might say that good qualities are innate and developed through good parenting, which they are, but we’re not perfect. Virtues need to be cultivated to become more prevalent and habitual in daily life. With the habit of being more virtuous, we take the helm of our own life, redirecting its course towards greater fulfillment, peace and joy.”¹

For any Christian, a list of virtues, that should be their guide in developing the character that would earn them the reputation of being a person of virtue, are found in the Fruit of the Spirit written by Paul the Apostle in his letter to the Galatians.² They read this way: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These are not self-manufactured, they are the by-products of the Spirit living and working within us. So if you want to be known as a virtuous person, asking God to fill you with His Holy Spirit would be the best way to start. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

Years ago a TV star named Art Linkletter hosted a program called: Kids Say the Darndest Things. It was a laugh-filled time for the whole family. Recently I ran across some letters to God written by children that I thought you’d enjoy and have them put a smile on your face.

Kids’ Letters To God

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TWO (Part III)

Perhaps you’ve heard the well-known saying that goes: “It may be bitter medicine, but it is good for your health.” In fact, there is a homeopathic supplement on the market called, “The Bitters.” Nutritionists and dietitians will tell you that from the wines that are infused with herbal concoctions used by Ancient Egyptians up to 16th-century prescriptions written by the famous physician Paracelsus and beyond, elixirs brewed from carefully selected bitter herbs have been treasured as cure-all remedies across the ages. Studies have confirmed, that getting an adequate amount of bitter flavor is important for digestive balance and linked with many related health benefits. Eating bitters regularly has been shown to do the following: Curb sugar cravings; Soothe gas and bloating; Relieve occasional heartburn; Promote digestive enzymes, bile & HCL production; Calm upset stomach and nausea; Increase absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K; Help maintain healthy blood sugar levels; Balance appetite; Ease constipation and regulate bowel movements; and support liver function and healthy skin.

So it is with the “bitters” in God’s Word. These are truths that are sometimes hard to swallow, but they have excellent spiritual-medicinal qualities. They can cure cravings, lower pride levels, relieve anxiety, promote understanding, calm doubts and fears, increase the perception of truth and honesty, help keep a healthy attitude; balance desires, ease selfishness, and support a fit lifestyle and outlook on life. Thousands of believers have learned this to be true. Jesus said it Himself: “If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”¹

Early church scholars have several things to point out in what Paul says here: Ambrosiaster writes: “This means that we are not unaware that God will judge these people in truth, for we judge them ourselves. If what they do is displeasing to us, how much more will it be so to God, who is truly just and efficient in carrying out His work.… Paul is instilling fear, so that although the ungodly say that God does not care, in fact, He will judge the wicked and most severely render to each one according to what they deserve, not sparing any.”² It is important to see that Ambrosiaster believes that when it comes to how people judge us or others, we are free to test their words and actions according to what we know as Biblical truth. So, if they do not pass our examination, how much less of a chance do they have of qualifying under God’s scrutiny?

Chrysostom adds to this by saying: “Paul shows that the ungodly had fallen even with a knowledge of God. Such knowledge that they possessed even from their conception.”³ In other words, even without God saying anything, as our Creator, He built into our hearts and minds enough consciousness of right and wrong that we can already perceive bad behavior before God or anyone else says anything. That is why early church Bishop Mopsuestia felt that God’s judgment, in this case, refers to the final judgment seat of God. He goes on to say: “And as if to make the condemnation of the wicked certain, Paul added, ‘His judgment is right.’”⁴

Then early church writer Pelagius talks about how foolish it is to think that God doesn’t mind such attitudes and actions. He writes: “If you, as a sinner, pass judgment upon another sinner like yourself, how much more will God, who is just, condemn you as being unjust? If He did not do so, it might appear that evil is pleasing to Him while good is not. But God has no favorites, and He spared neither His friends (the patriarchs) nor His angels when they sinned! Human judgment, on the other hand, is imperfect in many ways. The integrity of judges is often compromised by love, hate, fear, and greed, and occasionally mercy is allowed to overturn the rule of justice.”⁵

Bible scholar Charles Hodge makes this valid observation: “This verse contains the second general principle of justice, according to which all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, are to be judged. The whole hope of the Jews was founded on the assumption that the judgment of God regarding them would be guided by some other rule than truth. He was not to judge them according to their real merits, but according to their national and ecclesiastical relations, just as men now hope to be saved because they belong to the true Church.”⁶

Verses 3b-4a: Let me ask you this, do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing what they do, but overlook it when you do the same thing? Don’t you realize how patient He is with you? Or don’t you care?

Apparently, Paul became aware of some possible nasty attitudes among the believers in Rome. It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the whole basket. Paul asks a very sobering question. It’s almost like a judge who says to a police officer caught speeding, “Just because you arrest others for speeding, did you think you could get away with it just by being a cop?” Why is it that some believers think that when they do something a sinner does, it’s different because they are Christians? They believe that they shouldn’t be punished as harshly because they are a respectable person most of the time.

Solomon composes it in a somewhat crass way when he said: “A beautiful woman without good sense is like a gold ring in a pig’s nose.”⁷ We could rephrase that to say: “A beautiful Christian without any morals is like a gold ring in a pig’s nose.” In English, we have the term, “double-cross.” It comes from a genetic process for producing hybrid-stock. In other words, you tell a pet shop owner you want to buy a Cocker Spaniel. But to breed a pedigreed Cocker Spaniel is very expensive, so he cross-breeds the one he has with a look-alike Springer Spaniel. So what you get is not what you asked for. In a way, you have been double-crossed. Paul was basically saying, you may act like a Christian, look like a Christian, but you are not a real Christian. And by doing so, you have betrayed the One you say is your Savior, and you have deceived the ones who accept you as a real brother or sister in Christ. No wonder when Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” He said more that what we may have realized.

Jesus, more or less, accuses the Pharisees of the same thing. He tells them: “People look at you and think you are godly. But on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and evil… You prove that you are descendants of those who killed the prophets… You are snakes! You are from a family of poisonous vipers! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and have a fiery end!”⁸ I’m sure that Paul did not want the community of believers in Rome to deteriorate into such a muddy quagmire of pretension and artificiality.

So Paul calls on them to examine themselves morally, mentally, and spiritually. In other words, he did not want them dumping the baby out with the bathwater. There was more to be kept than what must be thrown away. The worst thing that could happen in Rome was if the believers started thinking like the pagans around them: “They say to themselves, ‘God is not interested. He is not watching. He won’t pay any attention to what we are doing’.”⁹ This attitude develops when the conditions that Solomon describes exists: “Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come, and that makes other people want to do bad things too.”¹⁰

But such thinking was foolish. God expressed how much He despised these ideas: “If you commit sins, do you think that you can stand before Me in this Temple that is called by My name? Do you think you can stand before Me and say, ‘We are saved,’ just so you can continue to do such terrible things?”¹¹ Not only that, but conditions like that produced doubt in God’s ability to carry our His Word and His will. In fact, the LORD told the prophet Ezekiel: “Son of man, isn’t there a proverb in the land of Israel that goes [like this]: ‘Time keeps passing by, and yet none of the prophesied visions are ever fulfilled?’ Well, tell them this: Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will put an end to that proverb; never again will they use it as a proverb in Israel.’ Tell them, ‘The time has come for the fulfillment of every vision.’”¹²

Also, several apostles found out that doubt had begun to creep in among some in the community of believers scattered around the world. The apostle Peter addressed this in his second letter: “It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live while following the evil they want to do. They will say, ‘Jesus promised to come again. Where is He? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made’.”¹³ No doubt this was based on the words of Christ Himself who also warned: “There will be so much more evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved.”¹⁴

Paul’s intent here is to remind the believers in Rome of all that God has done, is doing, and will continue to do to fulfill His promise of salvation by grace through His Son Jesus. So he cautions them not dismiss or overlook God’s patience in waiting for them to come to their senses. Paul made the same inference in his letter to the Ephesians: “We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace. God gave us that grace, fully and freely. With full wisdom and understanding, He let us know His secret plan… I pray that God will open your minds to see His truth. Then you will know the hope that He has chosen us to have.”¹⁵ Paul goes on to tell them: “God did this so that His kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show throughout time yet to come the amazing richness of His grace.”¹⁶

Paul also encouraged the Philippians to remain grateful for what they had already received: “My God will use His glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus.”¹⁷ And to the Colossians Paul wrote: “God decided to let His people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That hidden truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, His people. He is our hope for glory.”¹⁸ Paul also saw what effect such oscillation in commitment to the truth was having on another community of believers, so he wrote to Bishop Titus: “The kindness and love of God our Savior were made known. He saved us because of His mercy, not because of any good things we did.”¹⁹ Why is it so hard for some believers to trust God to do the right thing, even though they have to wait for Him to act? After all, if they could see the world the way God does, and see all the things down the road that they will face, then their attitude would be different. But since we can’t see and know all that God sees and knows, we are left with a decision: Either keep trusting Him, or keep testing Him.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TWO (Part II)

Bible scholar Charles Hodge makes an important observation that relates to the context in which this verse is to be understood. He writes: “The connection between this chapter and what precedes, as indicated by the particle, ‘wherefore’ (or, ‘that’s why’), is somewhat doubtful. Some suppose the inference to be drawn from the doctrine taught from verse 18 of the preceding chapter. God is just, and determined to punish all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men; wherefore they are without excuse who commit the sins which they condemn in others… It is not so much the inexcusableness of sinners as their exposure to punishment, that follows from the justice of God. Most commentators, therefore, consider the inference as drawn from the last verse of the preceding chapter. It is there said that all men knew that those who sin are worthy of death; and the inference is, that they which commit sin are without excuse, however censorious their self-conceit may render them towards others.”¹

However, a more recent commentator points out, the context in which this is said does connect with what was stated in the previous chapter. He writes: “‘That’s why’ (v. 1) connects with the idea of God’s judgment mentioned by Paul in 1:18-19, a judgment that encompasses all of humanity. You have no excuse (or ‘no defense’) picks up the idea from 1:20, where people have no defense before God on the day of judgment, for everyone suppresses and rejects the knowledge of God they have from creation. God’s judgment rightly (lit., ‘according to the truth’) comes upon people. That is, it comes upon them ‘according to the truth,’ according to the facts of how they actually live.”² Needless to say, this must have been hard for these church leaders in Rome to swallow. But as good medicine often does, it may taste bad, except it is so good for you.

John Stott has this to say: “Many commentators (perhaps most) believe that having portrayed and condemned Gentile society in 1:18–32, Paul now turns his attention to Jewish people. This is an understandable viewpoint, since the classification of the human race into Jews and Gentiles is mentioned on numerous occasions throughout the letter, and one of the apostle’s main purposes in writing is to demonstrate that Jews and Gentiles are equal in sin and equal in salvation.”³ Stott goes on to say, that this may be more of a guess than actual fact since it takes until verse 17 before Paul involves a Jew in direct conversation. However, Paul has just finished giving a graphic picture of the ancient Gentile world. Not to condemn them, necessarily, but to show how those converted Jews who feel that simply because they bear circumcision as a mark of being chosen by God as heirs of His promise to Abraham, does not make them morally no better than their non-Jewish neighbors since all men are in need of salvation. Both Jews and Gentiles.

Verses 2-3a: God judges all who do such things, and we know His judgment is right. And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you as well.

Here Paul strikes out at an unfortunate human trait, and by so doing speaks against an attitude prevalent in our own day. How many people have quickly condemned a person who murdered with a knife or gun, while they are attacking other people’s reputations with hate and envy; jealousy and pride; ridicule and rejection, to the point they no longer feel alive? How many are quick to judge a robber while they plagiarize and misappropriate, and act with greed and covetousness toward what others have? How many speak evil of those caught in adultery while they commit adultery every day in their hearts? Paul says that God will judge everyone with justice according to the evidence of their wrongdoing, but these false accusers will get twice the penalty.

Abraham learned this principle of how punishment must fit the crime when he bargained with God to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because his nephew Lot and his family lived there. We read: “Then Abraham approached the LORD and asked, ‘Will you destroy the good people while you are destroying those who are evil? What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? If that happened, those who are good would be the same as those who are evil – both would be punished. As the judge of the whole world, surely you would do the right thing!”⁴ And as we know, not even ten good people could be found in those twin cities so God did exactly what He said He would do.

This same sense of being fair and balanced in judgment was ascribed to God by Elihu in his speech to Job: “Can someone be a ruler if he hates justice? God is not only powerful, but He is fair.”⁵ And in one of David’s psalms, he sings: “You listened to me from your throne like a good judge, and you decided that I was right… The LORD set up His throne to bring justice, and He will rule forever. He judges everyone on earth fairly. He judges all nations honestly.”⁶ And in another psalm, David says: “The LORD always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right. Those who live good lives will be with Him.”⁷ Then David soars with poetry as he describes God’s judicial ethics: “Your goodness is higher than the highest mountains. Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean.”⁸

This knowledge of God’s fairness in judgment led the Prophet Jeremiah to admit: “LORD if I argue with you, you are always right.”⁹ But some in Israel didn’t see it that way. So God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel: “You people might say, ‘The LORD isn’t fair!’ But listen, family of Israel. I am fair. You are the ones who are not fair! If good people change and become evil, they must die for the bad things they do. And if evil people change and become good and fair, they will save their lives. They will live!”¹⁰ Even a pagan king recognized God’s superiority: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise, honor, and glory to the King of Heaven. Everything He does is right. He is always fair, and He is able to make proud people humble!”¹¹ And the prophet Zephaniah came to this conclusion: “The LORD… continues to be good. He does not do anything wrong. He continues to help His people. Morning after morning He makes good decisions for them. Not a day passes without His justice. He never gives a decision that is crooked or is something to be ashamed of.”¹² Why is it so easy then for people today to blame God for everything that goes wrong in their lives, while those who do not acknowledge Him seem to be getting by handsomely? We could say, it is like a western rancher who feeds his prize stallion the same thing he gets for his wild horses because he knows that one they too will be tamed and serve him as he pleases.

Then, there was the time when Paul was in Athens where he spoke to the philosophers and Areopagus council members on Mar’s Hill and said to them: “God has decided on a day when He will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this, He will use a man He chose long ago. And He has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising Him from death!”¹³ Of course, Paul was talking about Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. Later, when Paul wrote to the believers in Thessaloniki, he told them how proud he was of their faith under persecution and suffering through hard times. Then says: “This is proof that God is right in His judgment. He wants you to be worthy of His kingdom. Your suffering is for that kingdom. God will do what is right. He will punish those who are causing you trouble. And He will bring relief to you who are troubled.”¹⁴ So we see how Paul arrives at God’s fairness in judgment so he can tell the believers in Rome about their conduct in dealing with those around them, be they Jews or Gentiles.

But the main point Paul wants to drive home is that they needed to stay away from the old mindset: “Don’t do as I do, do as I say do.” Wise man Job was dealing with this, and his friend Elihu said to him: “Job, it is not fair for you to say,‘I am more right than God,’ because you also ask Him, ‘What’s the use of trying to please You? What good will it do me if I don’t sin?’”¹⁵ So the LORD asked Job where did he get such foolish ideas? He then cautioned Job, prepare yourself for the questions I’m going to ask you.¹⁶ Then God goes on to ask Job who he believed created everything on earth and in the universe. Job was intimidated and felt so ashamed.¹⁷ So God continues to ask more questions. Finally, Job confesses: “I know You can do everything. You make plans, and nothing can change or stop them. You asked, ‘Who is this ignorant person saying these foolish things?’ I talked about things I did not understand. I talked about things too amazing for me to understand.”¹⁸

It is evident that Paul did not want some of these Roman believers to develop the same attitude that they knew better than anyone else what should or should not be said or done. Especially, when they all ought to rely on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide them in their decisions. It would be far easier to just say nothing and let things work themselves out. I’m sure Paul recalled what God said through the Psalmist: “You sit around talking about people, finding fault with your own brothers. When you did these things, I said nothing. So you thought that I was just like you. But I will not be quiet any longer. I will correct you and make clear what I have against you.”¹⁹

It also might remind us of the time when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Temple guards came to arrest Him, Peter pulled out a dagger because he thought his way of handling this situation was the best way. But Jesus quickly intervened and said to Peter: “Put your sword back in its place. People who use swords will be killed with swords. Surely you know I could ask my Father and He would give me more than twelve armies of angels. But it must happen this way to show the truth of what the Scriptures said.”²⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TWO

Verse 1: That’s why those of you who judge other people have no excuse, O man. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself.

How often do some people condemn gossip, while gossiping themselves? Furthermore, most people gossip to tear other people down. What they are really want to do is make themselves look better by comparison. Not only that but so often they judge and denounce in others what condemns their own behavior. Yet, because they are unable to correct and control their own shortcomings, they condemn themselves by chastising others. But the harsher their words, and the more vehemently they criticize them, it should be known that when they judge others through ridicule, they denounce themselves. To put it bluntly, if people don’t know the truth, how can they judge what’s true; so if they don’t actually know what’s wrong, how can they judge the error involved? It is so encouraging when some who’ve sinned and received forgiveness from the Lord, become compassionate and understanding when they see that same sin in others. But on the other hand, there are those who after being forgiven of the same sin, become extremely vocal and vicious in their condemnation.¹ Paul makes it clear, that what people do in response to others and their shortcomings says more about them than it does the one they are labeling as wrong or unacceptable.

We see this played out so clearly in the encounter between the prophet Nathan and King David after David had Bathsheba’s husband killed so he could marry her. Nathan told a story about a rich man with many sheep who stole the one sheep of a poor man just to entertain some visitors. After hearing the story, David became outraged over that rich man’s wickedness. So he said to Nathan: “’As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are that man!’”² Also, one of Asaph’s sons writes a hymn on this subject. In the song, we hear the LORD saying: “What right do you have to quote my laws or discuss my covenant with others when you hate to receive instruction from me [so much] that you fling my words behind you?”³

Perhaps Paul heard others tell him about what Jesus taught: “Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you. If you judge others, you will be judged the same way you judge them. God will treat you the same way you treat others.”⁴ If so, it may have inspired the apostle to write these instructions to the believers in Rome. Also, when Jesus was confronted by the elders demanding His verdict on a woman they caught in the act of adultery, Jesus said to them: “Anyone here who has never sinned should throw the first stone at her. When they heard this, they began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others.”⁵

We can also see that Paul and the apostle James were in harmony with this idea of believers staying away from self-incrimination when choosing to judge others. James writes: “Brothers and sisters, don’t say anything against each other. If you criticize your brother or sister in Christ or judge them, you are criticizing and judging the law they follow. And when you are interpreting the law, you are not a follower of the law. You have become a judge. God is the one who gave us the law, and He is the Judge. He is the only one who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge anyone.”⁶

Early church scholars had various views on what Paul was trying to say in this the portion of the letter. For instance, Ambrosiaster sees Paul eliminating all excuses for bad behavior when writing: “Paul shows that the man who does evil and consents to others who do it is deserving of punishment, for fear that perhaps the one who does it and pretends not to approve of others who do it … might think he can be excused because he can conceal his sin for a time.… It is not right to give in to someone who pretends to be better when in fact he is worse. Such a person appears to escape notice and to be worthy of honor when in fact he should be punished.”⁷

Then Chrysostom points to the fact that those for whom Paul meant this message were condemning themselves by their own behavior. He writes: “Paul says this with the rulers of the city in mind because at that time they ruled the entire world. He was telling them … that when they pass sentence on someone, they are passing sentence on themselves as well.”⁸ While most Bible scholars accept that some of these Messianic Jews were leaders in Rome, they were most influential in the community of believers, not among the political class.

Then, in the writings of an early church scholar using the pen name, Constantius, we find where they say: “Here it is shown that each person knows that he will be judged by God in what he judges and condemns another man for doing.”⁹ And the great Augustine of Hippo points this out: “Paul is speaking here of sins already committed. And when he says ‘O man, whoever you are,’ he includes not only the Gentile but also the Jew who wanted to judge the Gentiles according to the law.”¹⁰ Then Pelagius adds: “This concerns those who are in a position to pass judgment. Judges and princes are being put on trial. By a natural process, everyone pronounces a sentence which fits the crime and knows that righteousness deserves reward while wickedness should be punished.”¹¹

Reformer Martin Luther sees this teaching by Paul as a way of pointing out people he calls unconscionable misers who usually accuse and condemn adulterers while they forget their own sins. The result of such an attitude, says Luther, it is impossible for such wicked judges to be guiltless.¹² As we know, Jesus touched on this when he accused people with beams of wood in their eye trying to remove a small splinter from another person’s eye.¹³

Some of the other early Reformation writers have a different take. John Calvin gives his view: “This reproof is directed against hypocrites, who dazzle the eyes of men by displays of outward sanctity, and even think themselves to be accepted before God, as though they had given Him full satisfaction…Now the inference is too simple and plain for anyone to wonder how the Apostle derived his argument; for he makes them inexcusable, because they themselves knew the judgment of God, and yet transgressed the law; as though he said, ‘Though you consented not to the vices of others, and seem to be avowedly even an enemy and an admonisher of vices; yet as you are not free from them, if you really examine yourself, you can not bring forward any defense.”¹⁴

Calvin then goes on to make an interesting point found in the wording of the text. He says: “Besides the striking resemblance there is between the two Greek verbs, to judge and to condemn, the enhancing of their sin ought to be noticed; for his mode of speaking is the same, as though he said, ‘You are doubly deserving of condemnation; for you are guilty of the same vices which you blame and reprove in others.’ It is, indeed, a well-known saying, — that they who scrutinize the life of others lay claim themselves to innocence, temperance, and all virtues; and that those who allow in themselves the same things which they undertake to correct in others are not worthy of any leniency.”¹⁵

The great German scholar Johann Bengel suggests that to fully understand what Paul is saying here we must accept that he now addresses the Jewish component of the congregation in Rome. He points this out by making a note of the phrase Paul uses here which the KJV renders, “O man.” This corresponds with a common term that the Jews later put into use that we know today by the Yiddish¹⁶ word: “mensch.” It literally means “human being,” but philosophically it refers to, “a person of integrity and honor.” This fits the narrative because Paul calls out those Jews who consider themselves superior to the Greeks and Barbarians. Says Bengel: “Self-love – the worse it supposes [of] others, [the more it] thinks the better of [it]self (Galatians 5:4).”¹⁷

Methodist scholar Adam Clarke makes an interesting observation on such hypocrisy by these church leaders in Rome. Says Clarke: “You assumes the character of a judge, and in that character condemn others who are less guilty than yourself.”¹⁸ To put it another way, they were judging others before looking into the mirror to judge themselves. This is good advice for any believer, in that it suggests we should carry around a spiritual and ethical mirror so that just before we criticize another person for their thoughts, actions, or behavior, we look at ourselves first.

Albert Barnes makes these points: “Remarkable zeal against sin may be no proof of innocence; compare Matthew 7:3. The zeal of persecutors, and often of pretended reformers, may be far from proof that they are free from the very offenses which they are condemning in others. It may all be the work of the hypocrite to conceal some unethical design; or of the man who seeks to show his hostility to one kind of sin, in order to be a balm to his conscience for committing some other. The heart is deceitful. When we judge others, we should make it a rule to examine ourselves on that very point. Such an examination might greatly mitigate the severity of our judgment, or might turn the whole of our indignation against ourselves.”¹⁹

Henry Alford notes, it was known that Jews were very judgmental of others to a great extent, that they were the ones who pronounced all Gentiles to be born in sin and under condemnation. But at the same time, there were doubtless some among the Gentiles some who were also arrogant critics. Yet, they were not the ones to whom this rebuke applied, such were not on the Apostle’s mind. He was singling out those who may have resented that after all these centuries of God’s special relationship with the Jewish people, now Gentiles were being allowed into the family of Abraham without having to go through the required rite of circumcision and adherence to Jewish laws and customs.²⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER ONE

Before we begin the study of the next chapter, I wanted to give all of you the opportunity to ask any question, request any additional information, or post any comments on what you read in our study of Chapter One.

This will give you a chance to express yourself on what Paul said in chapter one before we go on to chapter two.

Also, feel free to ask any questions that may relate to the subject of chapter one so that we can deal with it before we move on.

God bless all of you richly for taking the time to study His Word and enrich yourself with the knowledge and instructions contained in the message He inspired through the Holy Spirit for our benefit.

Remember, you are not doing this for me or for yourself, you are doing it for the One who loved you, called you, redeemed you, and sanctified you for His kingdom. I know you don’t want to let Him down.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER ONE

Paul is writing from Corinth to a congregation he had never visited and a church he did not start, nor was it the product of another Apostle’s ministry. But it is evident from the tenor of his writing that he did have some familiarity with several people who were part of this body of Christ in the capitol city of Rome. Instead of beginning the letter with his Jewish pedigree, Paul initiates the conversation with an open and unapologetic claim that the message he had to share was one verified by the Jewish prophets of old: That the Jesus he preached was not only a descendant of King David but the Son of God. Furthermore, because God sent His only Son into the world, he wanted people like Paul to spread the word that salvation is available to all through His grace in a second covenant.

He goes on to share the burden of his heart to visit this great city and share some spiritual gifts with them that God had given him through the Holy Spirit. But above all, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of which he was not ashamed. This Gospel was so powerful that it was intended not only for the Jews but for every person around the world. Everyone, especially the Jews, was trying their best to get right with God and stay right with Him. And Paul wanted them to know that this could never be accomplished without receiving and believing in the Gospel given to him by Christ. No longer was God pleased with those who tried to get to heaven on their own. There was only one path, and that was to walk by faith in the One who died for all.

Paul spends the rest of this chapter explaining why the Gospel was so important. God despised wicked and evil behavior, whether or not practiced by the enlightened Jews or the barbarous heathens. And even though God had blessed the people of Israel with the teachings of Moses and the commandments, the heathens were also without excuse because God had also revealed Himself to them through creation. Who could look up at the stars at night, and then around them at the beauty of the fauna and flora during the day and not be impressed with its complexity and creativity? But instead of seeking the One who made all these things, they rather decided to worship the objects they saw, even going so far as to fashion out of wood, metal, silver, and gold, statues that resembled the gods of their imagination. Once these things were made, then the heathens began to worship them as though they were bowing before a real God.

As a result, says Paul, things only got worse. They not only wallow in all types of immoral activities, but they excelled in greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, insolence, arrogance, boastfulness, godlessness, and lawlessness, but they promoted and encouraged those who did. It got so bad that they repressed everything they knew that was correct and godly until all that once was bad became good, and all that was wrong became right. But Paul is not finished. In the next chapter he calls into account all those who judge the heathens for their debauchery and revelry, yet practiced some of the same things under the false impression that because they claimed to know God, it was different.

God bless all of you who have allowed God to instill a love for His Word in your hearts and minds, and are committed to being the kind of person King David spoke of in Psalm 1. May the Lord bless you and inspire you to go even deeper in His Word and higher in your understanding.

IF YOU CAN’T TRUST YOURSELF, WHO CAN?

There was a time when every young person recognized his name, William Shakespeare, the brilliant English playwright. One of his most famous lines reads: “This above all: to thine own self be true.”¹ It involves a conversation between Laertes and his sister Ophelia about the trip he is taking. Their father, Lord Polonius walks in and tells his son to hurry up and get going. He instructs him to behave well and not to become involved in things that could lead him astray. He tells him to listen and not talk too much. Also, don’t judge others falsely. But, at the same time not to misrepresent himself with fancy clothing. Then comes these words of advice: This above all: to thine own self be true.

I like the thoughts that psychologist Irene Matiatos who shares that while most of us are familiar with the above quote taking from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but how many of us know the rest of this verse? It goes: “And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” She continues to say that unless we are true to ourselves first, we can’t be true to others. She asks: “How many of us have a hard time being true to ourselves?” In other words, those of us who have turned over the running of our lives to others, thereby loosing who we are in the process, will certainly have a hard time being true to ourselves. Dr. Matiato continues: “Allowing someone else to define who we are, we lose our ability to discover and grow inwardly. We no longer are able to discern truth from a lie. For many of us, we have accepted lies for so long, that finding out what is true takes time. Having done this very thing, I know how difficult the journey to self-discovery can be.”²

It all starts with being honest with ourselves. Believe it or not, when we go to God in prayer, we are sometimes not honest with Him because we are not being true to ourselves. Since God sees, hears, and knows everything, who do we think we are fooling? When it comes to our spouses and our children, don’t be deceived, they know a lot more about our pretensions than we think they do. And what about our friends. The longer we’ve known them, the more they can tell when we are not being truthful with them. As Shakespeare said, the reason we cannot be truthful with them is that we are not being honest with ourselves.

God doesn’t answer prayers like that, and pretty soon both our spouse and children will begin to dismiss much of what we say as being untrue. And our former friends? That’s why they are no longer our friends. So let’s take these words to heart. When we say something, mean it. When we tell someone something, make sure it is true. But most of all, when we look into the mirror, make sure we inform the one we are looking at the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us, God. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

This beautiful story may not relate exactly to anything that happened to you or to someone you know, just like many of Jesus’ parables, but the key to this moving saga is how God answers pray in ways we don’t always expect but end up excepting. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

The Old Man and the Dog 
By Catherine Moore

     “Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!” My father yelled at me. “Can’t you do anything right?”

Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for another battle.

“I saw the car, Dad. Please don’t yell at me when I’m driving.”

My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home, I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions and had placed often.

The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his accomplishments.

As the years marched on relentlessly, there came the time he couldn’t lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it again. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn’t do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing.

At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived… But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone He obstinately refused to follow doctor’s orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.

My husband and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.

Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on my husband. We began to bicker and argue.

Alarmed, my husband sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session, he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad’s troubled mind.

But the months wore on, and God was silent. Something had to be done, and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered in vain.

Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, “I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article.”

I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen, a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world’s aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed.

Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog “Can you tell me about him?”

The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement. “He’s a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago, and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow..” He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in, I turned to the man in horror. “You mean you’re going to put him to sleep?”

“Ma’am,” he said softly, “that’s our policy. We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.”

I looked at the pointer again. Those calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I’ll take that one,” I said.

I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house, I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch. “Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!” I said excitedly.

Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. “If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don’t want it!” Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples. “You’d better get used to him, Dad. He’s staying!”

Dad ignored me. “Did you hear me, Dad?” I screamed.

At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate.

We were standing there glaring at each other like duelists when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw as if to shake hands.

Dad’s lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. The next thing I knew, Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne.  Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and  Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and  Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne’s cold nose poking through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke my husband, put on my robe and ran into my father’s room. Dad was laying in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. I wrapped his still form in the rug he had slept on. As my husband and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad’s peace of mind.

The morning of Dad’s funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life. And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

“I’ve often thanked God for sending that angel to you,” he said, looking in my direction.

At that moment, for me, the past events dropped into place. It completed a puzzle that I had not seen before after that sympathetic voice read the right article to me. Cheyenne ‘s unexpected appearance at the animal shelter and his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. Now, the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.