Bible Study on Romans Session 19

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans;

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

Study Guide – October 15, 2019 – Romans 10.14-11.6 – Homily 18

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 10, Verses 14-21

  • Paul takes away any remaining excuses from the Jews. They did hear, and someone did preach., but they still ignored the message. SJC “So, what Paul is saying is that when you do not believe us, it is not our message you fail to accept; it is the message which Isaiah sent many years ago, when he said that we would be sent, and that we would preach, and that we would say what we have said.” (Pg 1, #3)
  • The failure to believe was solely their fault, AND OUR FAULT TOO! SJC “Therefore, the Jews’ failure to believe was solely their own fault; everything was completely done on God’s part.” (Pg 2 #4)
  • Paul again invokes the Prophets to show his message is not new, just as we invoke the Apostles.
  • Faith comes from hearing, not seeing. (Remember St Thomas “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20.29) SJC “But since the Jews were forever seeking for signs and wanted visible proof of the resurrection and were open-mouthed in their greed for such miracles, Paul says that the prophet predicted that it was from hearing that we must believe….For we are equally obliged to believe in God and to obey him both when he speaks to us and when he works miracles, since both his works and his wonders are produced from his words.” (Pg 2, #9-10)
  • Ref: 10.18 SJC “If the ends of the world heard, all the more should you have heard.” (Pg. 3, #11)
  • Gentiles received a greater honor because they heard what the Jews did not hear. “For those gentiles, all of a sudden, were teaching things of which neither these Jews nor their ancestors had ever heard. And this was a mark of a heightened honor which would irk them and lead them to envy and to recall the prophecy of Moses which said: “I will provoke you to jealousy with them that are no nation.” (Pg 3, #14)
  • To avoid all pride both for Jews and Gentiles, Paul reminds them of the Prophet Isaiah. SJC “Paul did not say that they had the power of themselves to draw God to themselves, but to take away the proud thoughts of any gentiles as well as the Jews. And to establish that God’s grace has accomplished everything, Paul shows Isaiah, speaking in God’s person and saying: “I appeared openly,” and, “I was found.” (Pg 5, #21)
  • Paul was using jealousy to draw Jews to Christ. SJC “He made them envious and provoked them to jealousy. For you know the power of the passion of envy and how great is the strength which the nature of jealousy possesses when it comes to putting an end to obstinacy and rousing up those who have become careless and remiss. And why need we say this about mankind when these passions show such great strength even in irrational animals and in children before they mature? For a little child, even after he has been called many a time, will not obey his father but remains obstinate. But when he sees attention being paid to another child, the little one comes to his father’s lap, even though the father has not called him. Provoking him to jealousy has accomplished what calling him could not do. God has done the same thing. Not only did God call and stretch out his hands to the Jews, but he also stirred up in them the feeling of jealousy by bringing in men who were far inferior to them. And this, above all else, constitutes a provocation to jealousy.” (Pg 5, #24-25)

Chapter 11, Verses 1-6

  • Even though not all are saved, God still fulfilled His promise. SJC “If God were going to cast off all the Jews, he would not have chosen from that race this man to whom he entrusted the preaching of his message, the affairs of the whole world, all the mysteries, and the entire plan of salvation.” (Pg 6, #31)
  • It is useless to have pride in being saved. What was true for the Jews will be true for us today. SJC “What Paul is saying is this: “God did not cast off his people. For if he had cast them off, he would have received not one of them. But if he received some, he did not cast them away.” Someone might say: “Look! If God did not cast them off, he would have received them all.” By no means! Indeed, if in Elijah’s account salvation came to seven thousand, now, too, it is likely that those who have believed are many. But if you do not know who they are, this is not strange, since even that prophet, who was such a very great man, did not know. But God was managing his own affairs even if the prophet did not share in this knowledge.” (Pg 7, #34)
  • Salvation is a cooperative endeavor. SJC “Notice that each word preserves its own position and rank; each phrase reveals both the grace of God and the reasonable prudence of those who receive salvation. By speaking of choice and election, Paul has shown the approved character of those who are saved; by speaking of grace, he has shown the gift of God.” (Pg 8, #42)
  • The Law will not save you. SJC “The Law will not save you, but you will destroy this gift of salvation. For if you obstinately maintain that you are saved by the Law, you are destroying this grace of God…Someone might object and say that if salvation comes by grace, why were all of us not saved? Because you do not wish to be saved. Even if grace is grace, it saves those who desire it, not those who reject it, or those who turn away from it and keep fighting against it.” (Pg 9 #45-46)

Life Application – Express your thanks through works and deeds

  • Do not limit your thanks to words – “For our thanksgiving is sincere when we do those works and deeds by which God will be glorified and shun those from which we have been set free. For, surely, if, after insulting the King, we have received honor instead of punishment, and then go on to insult him again, because we have been caught in the ultimate ingratitude, in all justice we would have to pay the ultimate penalty–a penalty much greater than we deserved for our former insult. For our first insolence did not show.” (Pg 9-10, #48)
  • Man is far better than the heavens – “For man is far better than the heavens, because he can possess a soul more shining than the skies. Even though the heavens have been visible for so long a time, they have little power to persuade. But Paul preached for but a brief time and still he drew the whole world to himself. For he possessed a soul as great as the heavens and was able to win over all men. Our souls are no match for the beauties of the earth, but his soul can be compared to the skies in heaven.” (Pg 10, #52)
  • Imitate Saint Paul – “So, let us imitate Paul. Then, this heaven will be as nothing compared to us–if that is what we wish it to be. Nor will the sun or the whole world be anything to us. For these exist for us, not we for them. Let us show that we are worthy of having them created for us.” (Pg 10-11, #54) 
  • Protect your soul – “Let those of us who possess a clean soul keep guard over it and preserve its blameless condition. Rather, let us increase its luster. But if our soul is besmirched with sin, let us not despair. For Isaiah says: “If your sins be like scarlet, I shall make them as white as snow; though they be crimson red, I shall make them as white as wool.” When it is God who makes a promise, do not doubt it. Rather, do those things by which you will be able to draw these promises to yourself. Have you committed sins which are outrageous and beyond counting? What of that? You have not yet gone down to hell where no man will confess. Your arena is not yet destroyed; you are still standing in the jumping pit.” (Pg 11, #56-57)
  • Do not waste any time to repent – “Make use of the time as you should. Cancel out your debts; say to the man who owes a hundred jars of oil: “Take your bill and write fifty.” Imitate that steward and do the same thing in matters of money, words, and everything else. Encourage yourself and your kinsmen. It is still in your power to say this. …For you have received only such a length of time as is fixed for you and you have been of help neither to yourself nor any other. …For it is possible, yes, we can make ourselves acceptable to God up to our final breath.” (Pg 11-12, #59-60) 
  • Include the work of Christ and the Church in your estate – “Include Christ among your heirs and give him a portion of your whole estate. Did you fail to feed him while you were still alive? At least, after your death, when you are no longer master of your possessions, give him a share of your wealth. … Put down Christ as co-heir with your children….Therefore, give him your money which is no longer of any use to you, since you are no longer master of your wealth. He will give you a Kingdom which will be of constant use to you. And along with the Kingdom, he will bestow on you the benefits of this life as well. If he will become co-heir with your children, he will lighten the burden of their orphaned condition for them.” (Pg 11, #61-64)
  • While you are alive, devote your wealth to those who are in need – “On this account, I exhort you, while you are still living, to devote the greater portion of your property to those who are in need. If some men should be so mean of heart that they cannot endure to do this, even if it be necessity which forces them, let them become kind and generous to their fellow men. For while you were still alive, you clung to your wealth as if you would never die. Now that you have learned that you are not immortal, get rid of your former conviction and deliberate about your estate with the realization that one day you must die.” (Pg 13, #70)

Send Off – Never stop working“So, after you have weighed all these facts, entreat and beseech him, who alone is Lord, to blot out the bill of particulars written against you and to quench the flame of punishment which awaits you hereafter. In this world, never stop feeding him and clothing him, so that you may depart this world with good hope and, when you have come into the afterlife, you may enjoy eternal blessings.” (Pg 14, #73)