Bible Study on Romans Session 11

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans;

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

Study Guide – January 22, 2019 – Romans 5.12-6.4 – Homily 10

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 5, Verses 12-17

  • Three-fold proof of justification
    • Patriarch Abraham
    • The Holy Spirit
    • Death of Christ
  • All have become mortal after Adam fell to sin
  • “For until the law…” evidence of ancient ‘debate’ on meaning of this?
    • “Some say” this means before the law was given
    • “Some say” sin in Paradise
    • “I think it means this” SJC “That, after the law was given, the sin that came from the transgressing of the law prevailed and continued to prevail as long as the law existed. For sin can have no existence, Paul says, where there is no law. What he means is this. If this sin that comes from transgression of the law produced death, how is it that all those died who were born before the law was given? If death had its origin from sin, but sin was not taken into account when there was no law, how is it hat death conquered and prevailed? From this is becomes clear that it was not the sin that come from transgression of the law, but the sin that came from Adam’s disobedience, that destroyed all things. And what proves this? The fact that all men died before the law was given.” (Pg. 182, #3-5)
  • Adam is a ‘type’ of Christ because he is the cause of death, whereas Christ is the cause of life.

Chapter 5, Verses 18-19

  • Paul’s emphasis on “one” focuses our attention on Christ
  • Sin and grace are not equivalent
    • SJC “It is much more reasonable that God’s grace is far stronger than sin. For one man to be punished on account of another man does not seem to be very reasonable. But for one man to be saved by another is both much more fitting and more reasonable. Therefore, if the first of the two took place, the second may all the more be likely to happen.” (Pg. 183, #10)
    • SJC “What gave death its weapons against the world? It was that only the one man ate of the fruit of the tree. If, then, death received such power and strength from the one sin, when some men were found who had received grace and justification far greater than sin, how can they thereafter be subject to death?” (Pg 185, #16)
  • God pours out His grace overflowing (recall the image of muddy water from session 10) SJC “We became brothers of the Only Begotten, His joint heirs, and of the one body with Him. Indeed, we were counted as His flesh and were joined to Him as a body to its head.” (Pg 185, #17)
  • Christ paid much more than we owed – SJC “Suppose someone threw into jail a man who owed him a few cents – not only the man himself, but his wife, children, and the servants too, because of the man who owed the money. Suppose, then, that another man should pay off not only the few cents, but should add a free gift of ten thousand dollars to the debtor, and bring him from prison into the royal palace, and to the throne of the highest power. Suppose this benefactor should make the debtor share in the loftiest honor and every kind of magnificence. Suppose this benefactor would never thereafter remind him of the few pennies he had owed. Such was the situation in which we were.” (Pg 185-186, #19)
  • We can avoid death IF we lived a holy life – ALAS! WE DO NOT! – SJC “Not only have we been in no way harmed by this death and condemnation if we will live a sober life, but we will even benefit, despite the fact that we have become mortal and subject to death…Surely, the presence of death and the expectation of dying ourselves persuade us to be moderate, to practice self-control, to be subdued, and to keep ourselves away from all wickedness and evil…It will be just as if we were under instruction in a kind of school in the present life where we learned from disease, tribulations, trials, poverty, and other things that seem to be deserving of dread, so that we might become suited to receive the blessings of the world to come.” (Pg 187, #25-27)

Chapter 5, Verses 20-21

  • Law failed not because it was bad, but because it was only temporary. SJC “Because the Jews were vulgar, dissolute, and indifferent to the very gifts that were bestowed on them, the law was given to them for this very reason, namely, that it might convict them the more, and teach them clearly in what a state they were, and, after increasing the accusation against them, might repress them all the more…The law gave countless commands. Therefore, because they transgressed them all, sins abounded. Do you see how great is the difference between grace and the law? For the law added to their condemnation; grace gave its gifts in superabundance.” (Pg 188-189 #30-32)
  • Sin is the source of death – justification is the source of life

Chapter 6, Verses 1-4

  • Paul wins them back by showing how ridiculous it would be to keep sinning
  • We only need ONE baptism because it made us dead to sin. SJC “For baptism is the cross. What the cross and burial were to Christ, that is what baptism has become for us, even if not in the same way…For His death and ours are both deaths, but not of the same subject. For one death, death in the flesh was Christ’s. Ours is death to sin. Therefore, just as His death was a true death, so also is ours. If ours is truly a death, we again must contribute our fair share.” (Pg 191 #40-41)
  • Since our death is the same, so will be our resurrection – NEW LIFE SJC “He demands another resurrection, the new way of life, which is brought about in our present existence on earth by a change in our habits. For when the fornicator becomes chase, the covetous man merciful, and the harsh man mind, a resurrection marking a beginning of the future resurrection has taken place.” (Pg 191 #43)

Life Application – Live A New Life In Christ

  • Our NEW LIFE should last – “But I burst into tears and grown deeply when I think of how great is the change of life and habits that Paul demands, and of how deep a sluggishness we have given ourselves over to by returning, after baptism, to our former old age, by going back to Egypt, and by recalling the garlic stalks after we had eaten manna. We do undergo a change for ten or twenty days at the time of our baptism, but then again take up our former ways. But Paul demands that this change in our way of living last not for a set number of days, but for our whole life.” (Pg 192, #45)
  • A sinful soul is weak – “For in this state a soul is driven to the ultimate stage of dotage. It utters inarticulate sounds such as men do who have grown very old and delirious. Such a soul is filled up and running at the nose. It is greatly deranged and forgetful. It has scales before its eyes. It is disgusting and is an easy prey for the devil. And surely the souls of sinners are such. Not so are the souls of the just: they are youthful, well favored, and totally in the flower of their prime. They are fully prepared for any fight or struggle. (Pg. 192 #47)
  • NEW LIFE is immediately possible – “Such a one was the young man who wasted all his possessions and had fallen to the lowest of evil. [Prodigal Son] His condition was weaker than that which any imbecile or invalid has suffered. But after he made up his mind, he suddenly became a new man by changing his mind and by a single resolve. For when he said, ‘I shall return to my father,’ this one sentence provided him with every blessing. Rather, it was not the simple words, but the deed that was added to the words. For he did not say, ‘Let me go back,’ and then stayed where he was. He said, ‘Let me go back,’ and he went back and made the entire journey. (Pg 193 #50)
  • NEW LIFE starts one day at a time – “In the case of sick people, just as getting no sicker could be the beginning of getting better, so too does it happen in the matter of evil. Do not fall any deeper into sin, and your wickedness will come to an end. Even if you do this for two days, you will stay away from sin more easily on the third day. And after three days, you will add ten days, then twenty, then a hundred, and then your whole life. For the further you go on, the more easily will you see that the road is easy. And soon you will and stand at the top of the hill, and all at once you will enjoy many blessings.” (Pg. 193-194 #53)
  • The desire to be loved comes from love – “This desire to be loved exceedingly comes from God’s exceeding love. This is the reason why Christ said to the apostles, ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. This is why Christ commands us to put our soul, which is more closely united to us than all else, second to our love for Him. He does this because He wishes to be loved by us above and beyond all else. For when we have no great feelings for a person, we do not have any excessive need for his friendship and love, even if he is a great and illustrious man. But when we feel a warm and genuine love for someone, even if the person we love is of low rank and humble station, we consider his love to be a great honor. On this account, Christ Himself called it glory not only to be loved by us, but also to undergo those shameful sufferings on our behalf.” (Pg. 195 #57-58)
  • We face danger for the ones we love – “Let us run to face the greatest dangers on His behalf just as if we were running to seek crowns of victory. Let us not think that poverty or sickness or insults or slanders or death itself is burdensome or oppressive when we endure these things for his sake. If we are living a sober life, even the pleasures that are the opposites of these sufferings will bring no benefits to us. Consider this. Is someone insulting you and and fighting with you? Then he is making you ready to be watchful and on your guard. He is affording you an opportunity to become life God.” (Pg 195 #59-60_
  • The only thing that matters is self-control – “We must look to one thing only, namely, how we may properly manage our own affairs. If we do this, the devil himself will never be superior to us, but he will be a great help to us if he prepares us to be watchful and to live a sober life. This is the way Paul aroused the Ephesians when he was describing how fierce the devil is. But we slumber and snore even though we have to deal with an enemy who is so wicked.” (Pg 196 #64)
  • Don’t be fooled by hidden temptations – “If we were aware that a serpent was lurking next to our bed, we would have roused up our energy and zeal to slay it. When the devil is lurking in our souls, we think we re suffering no dire harm, and we fall back to sleep. The reason for this is that we do not see him with our bodily eyes. And yet this is why we must rouse ourselves the more and live a sober life. For is a man might easily guard himself against an enemy whom he can see, we cannot readily escape an unseen enemy unless we are constantly armed for battle.” (Pg. 196 #65)

Send-Off – Be Vigilant against temptations“Be on your guard and on every side defend yourselves with spiritual weapons, so that you may accurately learn his devices. Do this so that he may not make you his captive, but that you may easily make him yours. It was in this way that Paul got the better of him, namely, by learning these things with exactness. this is why he said, ‘For we are not unaware of his devices.’ Therefore, let us take care to learn and avoid his treacherous plots so that, after we have carried off our victory over him, we may be proclaimed as victors both in the present life and in the age to come.” (Pg 197 #67-68)