Bible Study on Romans Session 12

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans;

A Bible Study Based upon the Homilies of St John Chrysostom (SJC)

Study Guide – January 29, 2019 – Romans 6.5-18 – Homily 11

Prayer before reading of the Holy Scriptures: Shine within our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel. Instill in us also reverence for Your blessed commandments so that, having conquered sinful desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing all those things which are pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give glory, together with Your Father who is without beginning and Your all holy, good and life giving Spirit, always now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Chapter 6, Verses 5-11

  • Paul weaves doctrine with moral teaching to increase likelihood of acceptance
  • There are two deaths – Two dyings SJC “The first is accomplished by Christ in baptism; the other should be accomplished by ourselves through the zeal of our lives after baptism. That our former sins were buried came about through the gift of Christ. That we remain dead to sin after baptism must be the work of our owns earnestness and zeal.” (Pg. 200 #2)
  • Baptism has greater power because not only does it defeat sin, it gives us strength to keep fighting
  • Paul emphasizes union with God = Theosis (Communion with God SJC “So also our bodies, when buried in baptism, bore as their fruit justification, sanctity, adoption, and countless blessings. Our bodies will hereafter bear as fruit the gift of resurrection.” (Pg 201 #4)
  • Paul speaks of the COMING resurrection SJC “But when he spoke of the resurrection, he did not say that we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, but that we shall be of the resurrection itself. He did not say that we have been, but that we shall be. By these words he makes it clear that his is referring to the resurrection that has not yet occured but that will take place in the future.” (Pg 202 #7)
  • Paul equate baptism to the Cross. Through baptism we die to sin to rise again. SJC “For he wishes this body to be dead in this way, not so that it die and disappear, but so that you sin no more.” (Pg 202 #10)
  • If you commit sin, you are destroying the gift of God
  • Christ died once and for all. There is no second death, and therefore no second chance.
    • SJC “He means that Christ was not subject to that death, but that He died because of our sin. The reason that Christ died was so that He might take away that sin and cut off its sinews and its power.” (Pg 203 #12)
    • SJC “For the one who lives in this way will lay hold of every virtue because he has Jesus Himself as his ally. For that is what Paul means by “in Christ.” For if Christ raised the dead to life, much more will He be able to keep them alive when they are not dead.” (Pg 204 #16)

Chapter 6, Verses 12-14

  • Christ did not come to destroy our nature, but to restore our choice. We must CHOOSE Christ.
  • The choice between Christ and sin is difficult, but it is only a temporary struggle.
  • It is possible to avoid sin through free will choice. SJC “But is is possible for one who has a mortal body not to sin. Do you see how abundant the grace of Christ is? For Adam slipped and fell even though he had a body that was not yet mortal. Yet although you have a body subject to death, you will be able to receive a crown. Someone will ask how it is, then, that sin rules? It does not rule of its own power, but because of you indifference and sluggishness.” (Pg 205 #20)
  • Battle between evil and virtue is won through intentions. SJC “Take the eye as an example. If the eye ogles the beauty of another person, it then becomes a weapon of wickedness, but not because of its own operation. For the operation of the eye is to see, not to see with wicket intent. The wickedness comes from the mind of him who commands the eye. If you bridle and curb your eye, it becomes a weapon for justice. The same is true of the tongue, the hands, and all the body’s other members.” (Pg 206 #23)
  • God has provided strong weapons for the battle, but we must use them for good!
  • Prior to Christ, sin was easier. Now we have Christ to help us. SJC “Man was like a resistant and ill-bridled horse that ran but often went astray. The law stated what must be done and what must not be done, but it did not propose to those in the contest anything more than counsel and advice through its words. After Christ’s coming, the struggles became easier, but greater goals were set for us because we had a greater share of help.” (Pg 207 #30)
  • Baptism is compared to the Law. Law was supposed to help us, as was baptism. The law ended up not helping, but making things worse. Don’t allow the same to happen with baptism.

Chapter 6, Verses 15-18

  • Sin only takes hold of you with your full consent. SJC “If, after such a great gift and freedom, sin again takes hold of you with your full consent – because you again bend down low before it as its slave – what is there that sin will not do? Therefore, do not rush into so deep a pit; do not willingly give yourselves up in surrender.” (Pg 208-209 #34)
  • Since Christ will not die again, there is NOBODY left to destroy death. Punishment is forever!
  • Paul reminds us of the dark past to inspire us to move on. SJC “Just as a man who has rescued a captive from a cruel tyrant encourages the captive not to run back again to his master by reminding him of the difficulties of that tyranny, so does Paul show us most vividly the evils of the past by giving thanks to God.” (Pg 209 #38)
  • It is worse to return to evil after freely choosing Christ.
  • Two gifts of God
    • God freed us from sin
    • God enslaved us to righteousness 
    • SJC “Paul shows here two of God’s gifts: that He freed us from sin; and that He enslaved us to righteousness, which is a state better than any kind of freedom. This is why God has done, just like one who, receiving an orphan from the barbarians in the land of exile, not only redeems him from captivity, but also makes himself his adopted father, bringing him to a position of the greatest dignity. This is what God has done for us also.” (Pg 210 #41)

Life Application – Choose the “Proper” Death

  • There are two deaths – “One is the death of the body, in which Abraham was alive even though he was dead. For Abraham said, ‘God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’ Another is the death of the soul to which Christ alluded when He said, ‘And leave the dead to bury their dead.’”  (Pg 210, #43)
  • Flee from the death that kills the soul – “Flee from the state of death that destroys the soul and the body. Let us choose the kinds that David called blessed and that caused Paul to marvel, so that, of the other two, we may escape the one and fear the other. For there would be no benefit for us in seeing the light of day and in eating and drinking if the life within us would not be made manifest through good works.” (Pg. 211 #46)
  • There is no benefit from baptism if we do not change – “It will be no benefit to a Christian if he has the faith and has received the gift of baptism but is subject to every passion. For in this way, his impetuous acts will be more violent and his shame all the greater. For just as the man who wears the diadem and the purple robe gains nothing from this garb to enhance his own honor, but wantonly insults his obe and crown because of his own shame, so also the believer who lives a corrupt life will not only fail to br an object of respect because of his faith and baptism, but rather will be a greater object of scorn.” (Pg 211 #47)
  • Sins are worse than worms – “Worms destroy the body, but sins destroy the soul and give rise to greater stench. Yet we do not smell the stench of sin, and therefore we make no effort to get rid of it. For the drunkard does not know how disgusting is the smell of soured wine, but one who does not drink perceives the stench acutely. And so it is in the case of sins. The man who lives a strict life knows the mire and stain in which those others live; but the man who has given himself up to wickedness, like the man who has become stupefied with wine, does not know that he is sick.” (Pg. 212 #49-50)
  • The lust of money is the root of all evil – “What then does Paul tell us is the cause of all evils? It is the lust of money and possessions. ‘Covetousness (φιλαργυρία) is the root of all evils,’ he says. From this come quarrels, enmities, and wars; from this come rivalries, abuses, suspicions, and violence; from this come murders, robberies, and desecrations of tombs. Because of this vice, not only cities and countrysides, but also roads and places that are inhabited and uninhabited, mountains, groves, hills – in a word, all places – reek with blood and murder.” (Pg. 213 #52)
  • Greed is worse than murder – “For is it not murder and worse than murder, I ask you, to hand over a poor man to a life of hunger, to throw him in jail, and, along with starving him, to expose him to tortures and ten thousand torments? Even is you do not do these things to him with your own hands, you are still the reason why he is treated this way, and you are committing these outrages more than those servants who carry out your orders….And what is worse of all is that you are plundering and grasping for wealth not because you are driven by poverty nor because hunger forces you to do so, but so that your horse’s bridle, the roof of your house, and the capitals of your pillars may be covered with an abundance of gold….Because of your avarice, the member of Christ’s body, the one on whose account Christ came down from heaven and she His precious blood, does not have the food he needs to stay alive.” (Pg 214-215 #56-60)
  • God does not destroy us even if we deserve it – “Even though God sees all these things, he does not hurl a thunderbolt from on high, even if these sinful acts deserve much more than thunderbolts to punish them with calamities. But God does not do this. he does not send a tidal wave to wash us away, nor does He burst open the land with an earthquake to swallow us up. He does not quench the light of the sun nor hurl down the heavens, stars and all. He does not remove everything from where it belongs, but he leaves all things in their proper places so that all creation may continue to serve us.” (Pg 215 #62)
  • Aren’t you afraid of being greedy? “Are you not afraid to reckon Christ’s hunger along with the horses, mules, couches, and footstools? Instead, you do not number Him with these luxuries, but you distribute the greater portion of your wealth on these externals while you scarcely give a scant portion to Him. Do you not know that all things belong to Him? ?Do you not know that this includes yourself and all you possess? Do you now know that He fashioned your body and gave you your soul as a gift and that he apportioned out the whole world? Do you give only a small recompense in return?” (Pg. 217 #68-69)
  • It is ridiculous to adorn external things rather than your soul – “Do you see how ridiculous is the man who adorns external things and how easy it is for all reasonable men to despise him? And it is very reasonable. Suppose someone would let your wife be clothed in rags and go neglected while he gave your maidservants bright robes to wear. You would not endure this meekly. You would be inflamed with anger and say that this was an outrage and the gravest insult. Consider, then, how this applies to your soul. When you beautify your walls, floors, furnishings, and everything else but you do not give alms generously or practice your religious life in other ways, this is exactly what you are doing.” (Pg 218 #73-74)

Send-Off – Return to our senses!“Let us return to our senses, even though it is late. Let us become our own masters; let us transfer this adornment from external things to our own souls. For in this way, the adornment itself remains inviolate and unharmed. It will make us equal to the angels and will furnish us with blessings that can never change.” (Pg 218-219 #76)