Bible Study Romans Part 30-In Christ

Paul’s not shy about it, so we won't be either: the Gospel of Christ is God’s power to save, and it reaches “everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16). We slow down over Romans 1:16-17 in the King James and ask the uncomfortable questions people dodge, like why Scripture lays the weight of humanity’s fall on Adam. The answer is bigger than blame. It is headship, representation, and the Bible’s relentless category of being “in” someone.

We talk through what it means to be in Adam by default, why that explains real guilt and real condemnation, and why the born again reality matters because Salvation is a transfer of headship. Then we turn to the hope: being in Christ means what belongs to the Son belongs to His people. That includes the breathtaking promise of being joint heirs with Christ and the unity it creates across every human dividing line.

From there we tackle the engine of the whole letter: the righteousness of God revealed by faith. We challenge works-based and ritual-based preaching with Paul’s plain message of Salvation by faith alone, and we dig into the words themselves. “Power” is dunamis, God’s supercharged ability to save. “Believe” is pistuo, entrusting your eternity to Christ with firm persuasion and certain expectation. If you have ever wondered whether the Gospel is good advice or real rescue, Romans has an answer.

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Transcript

Why God’s Word Matters

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Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries. We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. Never treat what God has said lightly. There's truly nothing more important to you. Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word.

Returning To Romans 1:16

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For the past few weeks, we've been on a sort of side road. Now that that's finished, let's jump back in. We're going to pick it up at verse 16 of the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans. I'm going to read out of the King James. We're only covering a few verses today, but when you do come to Bible study, make sure that you have a Bible in front of you. If you forget, we always have the verses up on the screen. Romans 1:16 out of the King James. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Of course, Paul is not ashamed of such a wonderful, glorious thing, because, well, first of all, no one would ever be ashamed of good news of any sort, but certainly it would be impossible to be ashamed of the good news of Christ, wouldn't you say? But for the sake of argument, why, Paul? Why aren't you ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Well, because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. This gospel carries with it this incredible ability to do something that only the Son of God can do. This is something God has been working towards since that fateful day in the garden when Adam put up that roadblock between the human race and

Why Not Blame Eve

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our Jehovah. You know, I'm about tired of you blaming Adam. Shouldn't the responsibility for this fiasco fall on Eve? She's the one that plucked the fruit. She's the one who let the serpent deceive her. Heck, she's the one that even gave Adam the fruit. Why aren't we blaming her for this mess? Surely every one of us has thought that before, haven't we? I mean, the Bible makes clear that it was Eve who was the one who aggressively disregarded God's word. In fact, we're even told that she saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. That's the complete opposite of what God said. God said, stay away from it. Inferred in that is that it's a bad thing. That's not what she saw. And as you remember in the original, the sense is that she convinced herself of these things. She used her own powers of reason. It was Eve herself who overruled God's opinion. So why do we insist that it was Adam who was responsible for the fall of men? Here we go again. I thought we were studying the book of Romans. Have you forgotten that Genesis is on Wednesday nights? Listen, it all relates, believe me, but especially to what we're going to discuss with Paul. You see, he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Earlier he made a really big deal about Christ's resurrection, the gospel of Christ and Christ's resurrection. I mean, how is the resurrection of Christ and the gospel of Christ something for me to celebrate? Why does he make such a big deal about those things? Why do these things have relevance to me? Now, Paul will go into more depth on these matters later, but in the economy of God, in the way that God does things, he identifies a primary participant and then distributes to those associated with that primary participant. Now, this is a bit difficult to explain because it's rather unique, but the way God renders his favor or disfavor starts with the head, which then travels to the body. This is also described as being in someone else. We covered some of this last time, but I'm going over it again because this is an essential component of New Testament teaching. Now, we also talked a lot about this when we were over in the letter to the Ephesians. Over and over, I actually made it a point to emphasize whenever Paul said something like, We are in Christ. Now, let me give you a few quick examples. When he opened this letter, his letter to that church at Ephesus, he addressed himself to them in the following way: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, of course, you remember that, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Those Christians at Ephesus, like all Christians, are the faithful in Christ. Just a few verses later, verse 3, as a matter of fact, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. In 2 Corinthians, Paul's even more explicit, 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That happens when we are in Christ. And we are placed in Christ. This is a real thing. This isn't a symbolic thing. This is us being in Christ. It has to be this way. And we are placed in Christ at our redemption. This is simply another way of saying that Christ is the head. Christ is the head of us Christians. He's the head of us individually as Christians, and He's the head of the church. It's not just that he's the boss, of course, he is that. But this is much more wonderful. Christ is our head. Christ is the head of Christianity. Christ is the head of the church in exactly the same way that the head on your shoulders is your chief organ. Jesus controls us and we are in him. Now, what does that have to do with Adam? Well, until the moment that Christ became your head, Adam was. Adam was your head. You were in Adam from your birth. It's sort of your default. That's the human default. We are in Adam from birth until we are born again in Christ. That's why the born-again experience is so important. It is so essential to becoming a Christian. You must be born again. Now you may be saying to me, Well, I haven't given my life to Christ yet. I'm still trying to decide. Okay, well, in that case, you're still in Adam and

In Adam Versus In Christ

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he is your head. And I'm hoping in just a moment you're going to realize that's not where you want to be. You don't want to stay that way. Now, bringing this discussion full circle, this is why we don't lay the blame for the fall of man on Eve. Eve is not the head of the human race. Adam is. Listen to me. If Eve would have been the only one to eat that fruit, in my opinion, she would have been the only one to die. And you know what I think also? I think God would have created a new woman for Adam. Now, there are lots of holes in that theory, and that's one of the reasons one shouldn't be overly creative with suppositions. If it didn't happen that way, and it's really dangerous to play the what-if game with Holy Scripture, and I'm only doing so to make a point about Christ and Adam. This theme, this in Christ, this headship, is going to play out over and over in this letter to the Romans. And it's vital for you to grasp it now, or you're going to be lost as we move forward through Paul's doctrine, given to him, of course, by the Holy Spirit. Also, I believe that understanding that we are in Christ answers so many questions. It answers the question of why someone like me can receive the things from God that I receive. When I was born, I was automatically placed in Adam. And I have to say, I feel that every single day. But I don't think it's too hard for us to understand that. He was the first human. He's the physical father of us all. He's the head of the family. It just makes sense. But here's the part that we all struggle with. This is the part that's most difficult to understand. As the head of the family, everything that happened to Adam is felt by every one of his ancestors. Had he not sinned, we as his relatives would have received all the benefits of being in Adam. The things that happened to him, given to him, would have been given to us. We would have had eternal life. We would have had a special bond with the animals. Indeed, we would have had dominance over all of nature, just as God promised to Adam. We would have lived a life of blessed provision. God Himself would have been our friend and we would have been his companion just like Adam. It started at the head and spread to us. That is what our destiny would have been. By virtue of the fact that Adam was our head, since we were in Adam, we would have received all of that and anything else that he happened to have been given. Well, that also explains why we share in his condemnation. That answers that question. We are condemned because Adam was condemned, not because Eve sinned. Adam sinned and was condemned, and therefore we have become condemned. Because the head of the human race sinned, we received the guilt and the curses of God associated with that sin to include banishment from his presence. And it would have remained that way, except God was not going to allow it to continue. He had already set up the precedent of blessing or cursing the head. All he needed to do was shift that. He had a strategy for the human family, and he wasn't going to let a piece of fruit ruin all that. So he implemented a plan, a plan he actually conceived before any of this happened. That's what the Bible tells us. But please don't ask me because I don't know how. Nonetheless,

Joint Heirs With Christ

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the plan he conceived before all this happened was and is to move us from being in Adam to being in Christ. And whatever happens to in or about Christ as our head happens in and about us. And that's why the gospel of Christ is also good news for us. Elsewhere, Paul describes that, describes it as being joint heirs with Christ. By the way, this isn't everyone getting a little piece of the inheritance. If that were the case, I don't think we'd be as enthusiastic about spreading the gospel as we currently are, because every convert would mean a little less left over for the rest of us. But thank God that isn't what being a joint heir means. Listen to me, this is almost too magnificent. Being a joint heir means we all get exactly the same inheritance as Christ. Why? Because he's our head. What he receives, we received. You see, as the Son of God, he's the heir of all things. Try to let that settle in. But your brain's only going to be able to absorb a little of it. But that should be enough to make you shout, hallelujah. Whatever goes to him goes to us too. Whatever he did, we receive the benefit thereof. Listen to me. This is why we are all the same. Jew, Christian, Greek, barbarian, all of us underneath Christ are the same because we are now a part of him. We have to remember that as we look out on the church, we are all in this together. We're all in him together. And most importantly for this discussion, Jesus destroyed sin, so it became destroyed for us. I mean, how can anyone be ashamed of that? For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Doy, who would be? For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Paul is setting us up for the overall theme of this letter. For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone? No, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. Believes what? To everyone that believes that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Why do you interpret it that way, John? Well, because the very next verse makes it clear.

Righteousness Revealed By Faith

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Now we're going to cover it in more detail later. It happens to be my very favorite verse in the whole Bible, but let me just read 16 and 17 together together to help me make my point about verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness, it should be a righteousness, for therein is a righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. The gospel is the power of God to save everyone that believes, because in it, therein, in the gospel, in the content of the gospel, is a righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. Why is that important? Because it is written, the just shall live by faith, by believing. By believing what? By believing that the gospel of Christ contains the power to save those that believe. Because when we believe, we receive what we need to be saved, which is a righteousness of God. Without a righteousness of God, we remain condemned in Adam. We must switch the condemnation with a righteousness of God. And that's what the gospel is. It is the power of God to save us, to give us a righteousness when we believe, a righteousness of His. With a righteousness of God, we are placed in Christ and are saved. Now, many things about the practice of churchy Christianity intrigue me, but this is one of the most intriguing. How can anyone find any ambiguity in this in these two statements whatsoever? What makes you think they do, John? Well, because of what they preach. They preach a works-oriented gospel or a ritualistic gospel or a give money and be saved gospel. And I just can't understand why. I don't know where they get that. And I really don't understand how their church members accept it, other than they like it better than what the Bible says. Or they just ignore the Bible or don't even know what it says. It's as Paul said to the Galatians chapter 1, verse 8. But though we or an angel from heaven, we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than which than that which we preached unto you, let them be accursed. As we said before, verse 9, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Why should they be accursed? Because their gospel is a lie, and it contradicts what God has said. If you read the Bible, if you study the Bible, if it's important to you, if you study the New Testament, how can you, how can anyone preach anything except sola fide, salvation by faith alone? I don't understand. To preach candlelighting or going to confession or cleaning up the church grounds or being the pastor's favorite A V guy or Bowing your head every time somebody says the name of Jesus in church. To preach anything else is going to bring curses upon you. I mean, every preacher, right? Every professional preacher must know these two verses. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written. The just shall live by faith. Right? If you're a preacher, if that's your job, you should know that. You studied the Bible sometime in preparation for your ordination, right? If you're a preacher of Christianity, then you have to

Rejecting Works Based Gospels

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be familiar with Paul. If you're familiar with Paul, then you have to be familiar with his most important work, the letter to the Romans. Therefore, you cannot preach any other gospel than that which he preached unto you. If you do, you're accursed. There are entire denominations that preach anything but this, that call themselves Christian, that read to you out of the book of the letter to the Romans, Paul's book, The Letter to the Romans. They read that to you in your church services. They may even have a Bible study later on in the day where they talk about that and yet they don't believe it. They preach another gospel. You gotta be a good guy if God's gonna save you. You gotta give enough money. You gotta build that church if you want God to save you. You gotta make sure you follow the sacraments. If you don't, you're not going to heaven. I don't understand. Let's keep moving. We can't spend too much more time pointing out the failures of others. Let's just pray for them and make sure we preach the word that is here in the New Testament. Leave the rest to God. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. All right, so let's talk about some of this. Paul says, For I am not ashamed. This is something he says a lot. At the beginning of a sentence, he will indicate that which what he is about to say has relevance, is somehow linked to what he's already said. One of the ways he does that is to use this Greek word gar, which is here translated for, but it's sometimes translated

Power Means God’s Ability

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indeed, sometimes verily, and sometimes therefore, all of which directs the reader to the previous content. In this case, Paul just got finished saying that he's ready to preach, he's ready to go to Rome to preach the gospel. And what follows, we know this because of the word gar, what follows is why he's ready to go to Rome. Verse 15, he says, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, for I am not ashamed of it. In other words, he's thrilled with the gospel and he wants to share it. It's so incredible because it's God's power to save something, those Romans, something we all need desperately. For I am not ashamed of it. Remember, that's a lito tease. Paul is poetically saying, for I am excited about it, and so should you Romans be. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God, and that's why I want to come to Rome to preach it. Listen to me. How could anyone be ashamed of the power of God? It's beyond me, especially when that power is directed in a way that benefits us eternally. And can I say I love this word power? I didn't say I love power. I love the word power. I love the English word power and I love the Greek word. It translates first quickly, the English word. Now, trust me, this is going to help. The English word power comes from an old French word, as many of our words do. The old French word is pouvoir, now spelled with a U, but not originally. And pouvoir means to be able. That's it. To be able. At its heart, our word power means simply to be able. And that fits perfectly here in Romans 1:16. The gospel of Christ is God's ability to save all those who believe. It gives him the ability, it gives him a chance to be saved. Now, when we go to the Greek, it magnifies the idea. Power in almost all instances in the New Testament is translating some form of the Greek word dunamis. Dunamis is where we get our word dynamite from. Isn't that incredible? Doesn't that say it all? This isn't just ability, this is supercharged ability. This is ability with strength behind it, strength to do incredible things. Because saving us takes that kind of ability. It takes supercharged ability. And that should thrill each and every one of us because that kind of power is available for us. Again, I ask, how can anyone not be ashamed? Oh, sorry, how can anyone be ashamed of something as wonderful as that? How can that not thrill you? We don't have to try and save ourselves. In fact, this tells us how impossible that is. We don't have the ability. We don't have the power. We don't have enough dunamis to blow our noses. That's why we need someone else's power. That's why we need someone else's dunamis. The gospel of Christ opens that switch that lets the power of God reach us, those of us who need it desperately, and we all need it desperately. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God, the ability of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Now, we

What Biblical Belief Really Means

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already talked at length about salvation. I hope you know what it means by now. But what about this word believe? Listen, friends, if you do not know what this kind of believing is, then your access to the power of God unto salvation is blocked. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. The power has to make its way to you. And for some reason, believing does that, it opens up that path. We're doing a whole New Testament Greek class today. The word that's here translated believe is pistoyo, and it means believe, but it's a Greek word, and Greek words are rarely just anything. There's almost always an intensity to them, especially when they're used by God. And I argue that's why God waited for the Greek language to be fully developed so that he could leverage its power to talk to us. The word pistuyo is defined by Strong's dictionary as meaning, quote, to have faith, of course, also to entrust, that's better, commit to, good, put in trust with. So Dr. Spiro Zodiades says that pistu means, quote, listen to this, particularly to be firmly persuaded, firmly persuaded as to something to believe, with the idea of hope and certain expectation. When God uses the word pestuo in the New Testament, it is much more than believing. It's resting your entire eternity in the actions and power of one person. And when you do that, God saves you. Well, probably as good a place to stop

Wrap Up And How To Connect

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as any. We're still nowhere near the end of these two verses, so we're going to pick it up right there next time. See you then.

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We hope this study has blessed you. God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption. It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners. Please join us again soon. New content is being added all the time, so make sure you check back often. For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channel and podcasts, please visit www.chapelontheweb.com. And if God has laid it upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our secure giving page. Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization, and your donations to this program are not tax deductible. It's our hope that you do not rely on taxing authorities to decide for you who is worthy of your generosity.