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The Series - To All Who are in Rome; The Article - I am not Ashamed (Part 5); Focus Text - Romans 1.16-18

Paul was a logician; his writings contain some of the most skillfully woven arguments about God, His existence, eternity, humanity, and righteousness that one will ever encounter. God is reasonable and so are those who, with His approval, proclaim His word. God used Paul’s intellect and his sense of reason to proclaim and defend, when necessary, the gospel. Paul’s penchant for reason will easily be seen in today’s message. There are actually five fors in the immediate context; four of these fors appear in today’s focus text. We will examine these fors as they build an ironclad case to support Paul’s affirmation of no shame when it came to the gospel; we will pay special attention to the fourth for.

Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”

The word for as used in today’s text explains why something is (or is not) the case. Why was Paul ready to preach the gospel to the residents of Rome (see Romans 1.15)? “For [Because] I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” Why was he not ashamed of the gospel? “For [Because] it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” Why was the gospel powerful toward everyone’s salvation? “For [Because] in it the righteousness of God is revealed.”

The fourth for might seem a bit out of place, but it is just as relevant and just a logical as the three that precede it and it is as appropriate as the one that follows it. Here’s a fact that everyone affirms at one time or another and this fact is directly related to the fourth for. LIFE ISN’T FAIR! The good die young; evil sometimes prevails; truth at times isn’t given a chance; just deserts sometimes are not served to the deserving; wickedness sometimes appears to triumph over evil. LIFE ISN’T FAIR! That was much of Solomon’s issue behind the book of Ecclesiastes. That was the snare that finally induced Job to speak unadvisedly. That was the reason Peter questioned whether or not John would remain in health while he was predicted to die a martyr’s death.

The fourth for declares one element of the gospel that is all too often overlooked: “For [Because] the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” Without a final arbiter, without a righteous judge, without a power that can right every injustice, without a final reconciliation of accounts, life would indeed be unfair. However, life is not without these things! It is true enough that these things do not exist in this life (i.e. our earthly existence), however, that is not all there is to life. Life extends beyond this vale of tears. And on that other shore, the eternal shore, God stands as righteous judge to rectify every wrong that has ever been committed; God stands to make life fair!

The fourth for is the one that makes the spoiling of our goods palatable; the fourth for is the one that guarantees that we really will understand it all by and by. The fourth for makes life worth living!

Questions

1. What does the word for signify in today’s text?

2. Is it true that life is not fair? Does life extend beyond the grave? If it does, how do we know life there is not fair? What assurance do we have that there will not be like life here?

3. Why would we want an impartial judge on the other side of death? If man were the judge there, would life be fair there? Why or why not?

4. Will life be fair in eternity? THINK!!

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One