Bible Study on Romans Session 15

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans;

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

Study Guide – February 19, 2019 – Romans 8.12-27 – Homily 14

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 8, Verses 12-17

  • Paul warns us. SJC “Whatever comes to us from God is not a matter of debt, but of sheer grace. But what we do after we are given this grace is no longer a matter of generosity of ours; it is a debt.” (Pg 285 #2)
  • We must control the flesh; not allow the flesh to control us. SJC “For the flesh must follow, not lead. Nor must it control our life, but it must accept the laws of the Spirit.” (Pg 286 #5)
  • We owe a great debt for the blessings to come. SJC “For a blessing once given is not as likely to lead the ordinary man on as is one expected in the future.” (Pg 286 #6)
  • Fight carnal desire, not the physical body. SJC “For surely, seeing, hearing, speaking, and walking are acts of the body. If we are going to put these acts to death, we will be so far from being alive that we will pay the penalty of manslaughter. What deeds does Paul mean for us to put to death? He means those deeds that move us to wickedness, those that advance toward evil, and those that it is impossible to put to death except by the Spirit. For to put to death the other acts of the body is to slay yourself, and that you have not right to do. To put the sinful acts to death can be done only through the Holy Spirit.” (Pg 287 #9)
  • It is the Spirit that is victorious. SJC “Not only have we been freed from our past sins, but the Spirit has made us unconquerable against future ones, because that Spirit deems us deserving of immortal life.” (Pg 287 #11)
  • The Spirit should be in control. SJC “Even if you should receive baptism, but after receiving it you are not going to be led by the Spirit, you are destroying the dignity given in baptism as well as the privilege of being an adopted son.” (Pg 288 #13)
  • OT and NT have different blessings of adoption
    • OT adoption to a spirit of bondage. SJC “In what sense were those letters of bondage? Put before your eyes their whole way of life and you will see this clearly. Surely punishments and retribution were never far away from them, and proportionate recompense immediately followed, just as what we might call the daily ration given to slaves. Many a terror from every side reached its climax before their eyes. Cleansing and expiation only concerned their bodies, and self-control extended only to their actions.” (Pg 289 #19)
    • NT adoption to a spirit of adoption. SJC “That is might be from fear of punishment in the present life, but from our desire for Him, that our virtuous habits and all our good actions would come. Nor did Christ promise a land flowing with milk and honey, but He does make us join heirs with the Only Begotten. In this way He makes us and apart from the things of the present life, and he promises to give us such things that are especially fitting for those who are the sons of God to receive.” (Pg 289-290 #20-21)
  • In the OT, God spoke through others; in the NT He spoke for Himself. SJC “With the Jews He spoke through the mouths of others; with us He speaks in His own person. They do everything they do because they are motivated by the fear of punishment; we, who are spiritual, act of our yearning and desire. They act like hirelings and obstinate men, and never do they stop their murmuring. But we do everything to please our Father. When benefits were given to them, they blasphemed. When dangers come our way, we are grateful.” (Pg 290 #22)
  • OT feared punishment; NT fears the absence of God. SJC “It is enough that we be kept from our Father’s table and away from church for a certain number of days.” (Pg 290 #23)
  • Historical Reference: The Lord’s Prayer was an integral part of the baptism ritual in the ancient Church. SJC “The initiated know how great a thing this is, because with good reason they were bidden to speak their word first in the prayer of initiation.” (Pg 290 #25)
  • NT adoption as true heirs and sons. This is why we say “Our Father”
  • Paul slowly elevates our understanding and blessing. SJC “Do you see how little by little he makes the gift greater? Because it is possible to be sons and not to become heirs – for not all sons are heirs – Paul added this, namely, that we are heirs. For the Jews, along with not having the same sort of sonship as we do, are also cut off from the inheritance…And what is still more, he says that we are not merely heirs, but also ‘join heirs with Christ.’” (Pg 292 #32-33)
  • Paul uses basic logic: if we suffer with Christ, we will be glorified with Christ. SJC “What Paul means is that we have shared with Christ in suffering, much more will we share with Him in the things that are good.” (Pg 293 #36)

Chapter 8, Verses 18-27

  • Paul then launches into a bold challenge to accept struggle. SJC “For us to prevail over the passions within us is not the same thing as to endure those trials – scourgings, the famine, the pillaging, the prison chains, the executions. For these require a spirit that is much more noble and vigorously strong.”  (Pg 293 #38)
  • Where there is glory, there is rest. Therefore, work must come first. SJC “Therefore, put your confidence in this glory. It has already been prepared for you and is waiting for your labors to end…It far surpasses your present condition, and that it is being stored up for you in heaven.” (Pg 294 #42)
  • Paul uses poetic imagery to make his point. SJC “As his discourse becomes more emphatic, he turns this whole created world into living persons by personifying it. The Prophets did this too when they brings the rivers as clapping their hands, the hills as leaping up, and mountains as becoming skittish. The prophets do wish us to think these inanimate things are possessed of living souls, nor would they have us endow them with any power of reason. The inspired writers only wish to learn how great the blessings are. For these gifts are so great that they reach even to things that lack perception.” (Pg 295 #45-46)
  • That which received corruption because of our sin will also receive glory because of our glory. SJC “Just as when your body became corruptible, creation itself became corruptible, so too when you become incorruptible, creation itself will follow and go along with you again.” (Pg 297 #55)
  • We must be good stewards of God’s creation. SJC “For if creation has hope because it came into being in every way for your sake, much more should you have hope, you through whom creation is going to enjoy all those good things. And likewise, when a son is going to appear at an occasion of dignity, men will clothe even the slaves with brighter garments for the glory of the son. So too does God clothe creation with incorruptibility for the freedom of the glory of his sons.” (Pg 298 #58)
  • Gift of sonship cannot be taken away, so our only portion is to offer hope. SJC “For this is the only gift we contribute to God, namely, to trust and believe in Him who has promised the blessings of the life to come. And it was in this way alone that we were saved. And if we destroy this hope, we have destroyed our entire contribution.” (Pg 300 #67)
  • Hope only exists in things we cannot see. Therefore, the Spirit gives the gift of prayer to clergy to intercede for the people. SCJ “There was also the gift of prayer, and this too was called a spirit. The one who possessed this gift prayed on behalf of all the people…For the one who has been deemed worthy of this gifts stands, filled with compunction and groaning in his mind, and then falls down before God to beg for the things that are beneficial for all. In present times the deacon is a symbol of this man when he offers up the prayers on behalf of the people.” (Pg 302-303 #79-80)

Life Application – There is NOTHING God has not done for us

  • The entire creation has been made for us – “On our account He made the world corruptible. For our sake He allowed the prophets to be ill-treated. he sent them into slavery for our sake, and for our sake He let them fall into the furnace and to endure evils beyond number. He made them prophets for our sake, and he made the apostles for us. He gave His Only Begotten for our sake, and for our sake He punishes the devil. He seated us at His right hand, and for us He was reproached.” (Pg 303-304 #84)
  • God never deserts us, even if we desert Him – “Yet even though we stood apart from God after such great blessings, He does not desert us. Again He entreats us and makes others ready to entreat on our behalf, so that He may grant us His grace…It was on this account that God gave the charismatic gift of prayer. He does not do this because he stands in need of entreaty, but so that after we had been saved with little or no effort on our part, we might not become more careless.” (Pg 304 #85 see #86-94 for examples)
  • We must be constantly merciful – “Do you not shudder and blush when you call a man who is begging for bread an impostor? Even is such a person is guilty of imposture, this is why he deserves to be pitied, because he is so pressed with hunger that he takes such a character on himself. And this makes us deserve the charge of cruelty. Because we do not allow ourselves to give readily what they ask, they are forced to contrive countless devices so that they may deceive our unhumanity and soften our hardness of heart.” (Pg 306 #96)
  • God doesn’t send us away – “God never said such words to you as, ‘Get out of here! You are an impostor, because you constantly go to church and listen to My laws. But in the marketplace you set gold, pleasures, friendship, and simply everything above My commandments. Now you are humble, but after your prayer you are bold and cruel and inhuman. Therefore get out of here and never come back to Me.’ For we have deserved to hear these words and many more than these. Yet God has never reviled us in such a way. he is long-suffering; He fulfills everything on His part; and he gives us more than the things for which we ask.” (Pg 307 #98-99)
  • It is better to question our motives than others – “How could it be anything but absurd, when we are in need of so many things for ourselves, to make such a accurate examination of our fellow servants and to do nothing of the sort against ourselves? For you are not showing in this way that he is undeserving of your kindness as much as you are demonstrating that you yourself are unworthy of the loving-kindness of God. For the man who makes an exact examination of his fellow servant will much more find God doing the same to him.” (pg 307-308 #101)
  • There is no comparison between this life and the life to come – “For no words can make clear how great the difference is between the blessings to come and those of the present life. As far as time is concerned, our minds cannot even grasp the difference. How could anyone compare a life that has no end with the present state of our lives?” (Pg 309 #106, see also 107-112 for examples)
  • God will reveal His entire glory – “For on that day the entire heavens will be opened, the gate of those vaults will swing wide, and the only begotten Son of God will come down. he will not be surrounded by twenty or a hundred armed men, but by thousands and tens of thousands of angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, and all the other powers. Everything will be filled with fear and trembling, while the earthy bursts apart with all men who have ever lived since the day of Adam’s birth up to that day. All will rise from the earth, and all will be caught up, when Christ reveals Himself with a glory so great that the sun and the moon and every light will lie hidden when the rays of His glory shine upon them.” (Pg 310-311 #113)
  • There is no excuse for remaining slaves of sin – “For we cannot say that we were ignorant of how perishable the present life is. Each day the things of earth shout out louder than a trumpet how worthless, how ridiculous how shameful, how dangerous are the pitfalls of the present life. What excuse will we have for pursuing with such great zeal these things that are so filled with dangers and disgrace, while we flee from those that are free from risk and make us shine with glory, so that we may surrender our whole selves to the tyranny of money?” (Pg 311 #116)
  • Transfer your wealth to the poor – “Why, then, do we spend all our efforts on those possessions while we neglect ourselves? We cannot take them with us when we depart this life. Often we cannot hold on to them while we are still here on earth. But it is possible to possess our wealth in such a way that w are seen to be wealthy here on earth and also in heaven hereafter…If you have transferred your wealth into heaven through the hands of the poor, you will have transferred it all into your own soul. Even if death overtakes you, no one will take your wealth away from you, and you will go to heaven a rich man.” (Pg 312 #119-120)
  • Nothing else share in God’s glory like humanity – “For of all things visible, nothing is equal to man in God’s esteem. Surely it was for man’s sake that God created the heavens, the earth, and the sea. But He takes greater pleasure in dwelling with men than in the sky.” (Pg 313 #123)

Send-Off – It is not impossible to flee from sin

  • It is not only possible, but it is easy to do so. It is not only easy, but it is far easier to be freed from this destruction than from diseases of the body. How is this true? It is true because the Physician is greater. Therefore, let us bring Him to ourselves and ask Him to help us. Let us contribute our fair share – I mean our good will and our desire. He will need nothing else. It only he gets this much from us, he will contribute his entire share. Let us, then, make our contribution, so that we may enjoy true health and jay attain to the blessings of the world to come. (Pg 313-314 #127)