Our hearts and minds are still swirling from a great, fun, but heartbreaking trip to NY City. Will get back to normal PBJ next week.
Romans Chapter 1 is a very sobering chapter. In my mind’s eye, Paul sat in an upper room in Corinth writing this letter to the Church in Rome. His letter in front of him, I believe the scrolls of the Septuagint sat next to him on the table. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. At that point, there was no assembled New Testament like what’s in the Bible we have today. It’s interesting to note that when the New Testament speakers and authors quoted the Old Testament, they cited passages from the Septuagint. There might have been some early scrolls nearby that became the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
Sitting in his room and looking out at Corinth, Paul saw a city that was the crossroad of East and West. Ship owners often sailed into Corinth’s East harbor, put their ships on huge carts, dragged them across the isthmus to the west harbor, and continued their voyages to Roman ports. Storms in the Mediterranean dictated this safety measure to avoid sailing around the Greek isthmus. In turn, Corinth was one of the most pagan and immoral crossroad cities in the Roman empire. This shaped what Paul wrote to the church in Rome. After a fascinating weekend in NY City - I think I know how Paul felt. By the way, the faithful are vibrant, alive, and well in NY City. Pray for them.
John MacArthur preached a sermon a decade ago on the National Day of Prayer on Romans 1: 18 - 32, applying this passage to the demise of our nation. Beginning with failing to thank God, this is the simple minded in scripture from Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah and other OT authors. This is the first step God takes back from a sinful nation. The second step backwards details sexual immorality as a nation moves from simple to Fool. The third step God takes backwards is when a nation moves to Scoffer - those in active rebellion against God. This is detailed by good becoming evil, evil becoming good, and a nation praising those doing evil. Paul was very familiar with these passages and the process detailed in the Septuagint… the Old Testament poetry, wisdom literature, prophecies, and history of Israel. He witnessed this in the throngs moving through Corinth.
It would be easy to despair for our own nation in this analysis.
Yet, Romans 1: 17 is the bookend before Paul details the steps God takes back from a nation moving from Simple to Fool to Scoffer.
Rom 1:17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
This is a quote from Habakkuk 2: 4 and Paul will use it again later on in Romans and the book of Hebrews. This is one of many reasons why I think Paul’s copies of the Septuagint probably were not far away as he wrote his epistles.
I believe Paul is telling us that no matter what happens in a nation moving from Simple to Fool to Scoffer, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH! Yes, there are many just living in NY City by faith, but the heavy weight of that city’s condition took me to thinking too many are already Scoffers.
As our nation swirls around weaponization of the DOJ and FBI, Slow Joe Biden’s senile incompetence, our military being destroyed, election turmoil… We are to be the Just who live by Faith.
Jay