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We come now, gentlemen, to the last five chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, and I make no pretence of doing more than just to sketch in a few leading ideas. On the overhead film here, I have listed some of the main topics that fill these five chapters. These are exceedingly practical things, of course. But let's notice how Paul's exhortations begin. I beseech you, brethren, say the English translations, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. I think myself that we should not use that old English translation, I beseech you, and certainly not substitute the verse, I implore you, because he is doing this on the basis of God's mercies. God's mercies that have been outlined in the foregoing chapters, in the giving of his son, in the richness of his forbearance, in the glories of his salvation. Tell me, gentlemen, in the light of that, does God have to get down on his knees and implore you to yield your bodies. The Greek word parakalo is a word a general would use of his troops. Doesn't implore his troops. He exhorts them, challenges them, bids them, commands them. And here is the apostle, in the name of the mercy of Christ. Oh, what a, what an insult to God it would be if I had to get down on my knees and implore you, gentlemen, to yield your bodies a living sacrifice. Let's notice the order to yield your bodies a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service. And be not fashioned according to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Two things then, body and then mind. Not mind without body, nor body without mind. The body needs to be presented, the mind needs constantly to be renewed. Our minds are renewed, gentlemen, by reading God's word and absorbing God's standards and God's ideas. That is a constant process of renewal, and we're called upon to make that renewal of our minds. Doesn't come automatically, not a matter merely of emotional feelings. It is a deliberate call, like a army general to his troops to prepare for battle. And they better see to it that their kit is in order, and they are prepared physically and emotionally. Yes. But you'll notice that the, uh, Paul mentions the body first and then the mind. If we waited till we understood everything, we might be a long while, uh, uh, um, uh, presenting our bodies. Be like the centipede of whom it is said, uh, this centipede once fell into a, a bit of a ditch, and as it was there lying on its back, it wanted to get up, of course. But then it pondered the fact, now which leg do I put first when, when I want to walk? Now, is it the first one on the right or the first one on the left? Or do I push with my back feet first and then the rest, or what do I do? You know, it spent so long time pondering this, uh, physical, this philosophical problem, which foot was to be first, it never did get out. There is a danger too. We have to decide, now my body and all that is me, I dedicate to the Lord. Let me then keep renewing my mind all the way through my pilgrimage by absorbing God's word and his ideas by the help of his spirit, that I might use my body ever more closely to what God's will is. And so there are these various elements, the believer's gifts and his duties. The believer and the wrath of God. Individually, we're not to avenge ourselves, but we are to submit to the state, for the state is God's minister of wrath. The believer's attitude to the fulfilling of the law. Uh, you'll see. And then the living in the light of the coming day. For the night is far spent and the day is at hand. A chapter on the attitude of the weak and the strong, those whose faith is weak and those whose faith is strong, and what their attitude is to be towards each other. Chapter fifteen, the importance of unity between Gentile and Jew. And then the comfort of God's encouragement, the God of endurance, of comfort, and of hope, and of peace. Followed by greetings to individual believers. The assurance of final victory in our struggles. The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. And then the final doxology. The pattern in all four parts, isn't it? Each part ends with the doxology. The first two, the doxology to the praise of God's love. This one, as the third one, a doxology to the praise of God's wisdom. I have not the time, of course, to, um, consider with you all these individual details. What I would like to do is to show that this fourth section... how it integrates with the rest of the book. So here I have put for you items chosen from the first... The first part of the book. Where Paul points out that those who reject God and the evidence of the Creator eventually come to dishonor their bodies. How God gives them over to a depraved mind. How their motivation is perverted. They were not grateful, they didn't give thanks to God. If you are an atheist and you don't believe in a personal God, and you believe it all happened from a bit of slime originally, or something or other. Very difficult to be grateful to a bit of slime, you know. Or to say your prayers and thank evolution, dear lady. Very difficult. And gratitude for the wonders of creation is a something common to the human heart. If we refuse the creator, of course, it becomes impossible to be grateful in that sense. They worshipped and served. Greek verb, latrevo. Worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. So the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. Though chapter five reminds us that we believers shall be saved from the wrath. Then citing the case of Abram, as we remember, chapter four says that he was strengthened in his faith. Chapter three says that the point of the law is that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world come under the judgment of God. Christ's death is mentioned. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And the question of Jew and Gentile is raised. Jew and Gentile must be saved and justified on exactly the same grounds. Yes? So said the first major part of the gospel, of the Epistle to the Romans. Pray notice now the effect of salvation and justification and sanctification, the expected effect on the believer. Look at his body. Instead of dishonouring our bodies, we're to present our bodies holy, acceptable to God. And our mind, instead of under the judgments of God delivered over to a depraved mind, our mind transformed, we transformed by the renewing of our mind. Constantly need new ideas, gentlemen, not out of the blue, but out of God's word. Minds renewed. And our motivation, they neither give thanks, is said of the sinners of chapter one. Our motivation, I beseech you, by the mercies of God. Service. The ungodly, they worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator. Salvation by faith, justification, sanctification, they ought to lead to this. A living sacrifice, a vigorous sacrifice, which is your spiritual, your logical, however the word is to be translated, service. It's the same word. Here it is in the noun, the other was in the verb. They worshiped and served. The question of God's wrath. The topic is reverted to chapter thirteen. The government is a minister of God's, uh, of God, an avenger for wrath. Therefore submit not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience's sake. Abram, dear old boy, was, um, uh, strengthened in his faith. It did wobble occasionally, did Abram's faith, but in the course of life was strengthened. In the final part of Romans, we come to a long discussion because of the fact that some believers, they are believers, but their faith is weak, and others whose faith is strong, and how they are to treat each other. God's judgment. We are told that in his judgment, every mouth may be stopped, may be silenced, and the whole world be accountable to God, liable to God's punishment. Thank God we are delivered. We shall be saved from the wrath. There is now, therefore, no condemnation. I pray, remember, gentlemen, we shall all stand before God's judgment throne. Every tongue will confess to God. Each of us will give an account of himself to God. As God inquires what we did and why we did it, and surveys our works. And that can be a serious thing, as one Corinthians three reminds us, that our work shall be tried by the fire of Christ's criticism. And if our works survive that, they shall receive a reward, and our work shall abide. Two things, what we've done abiding for eternity, plus a reward, which will take the form of further work. You remember the story of the talents and so on, the man that used, um, uh, 10 talents, well, pounds or whatever they were, he was rewarded with ten cities. Well, it's a job enough and full-time work to, to administer, uh, uh, 10 pounds, maybe. It'll take a lot more work to administer ten cities, what ho? Gentlemen, if you don't want to be busy in eternity, don't work for the Lord now, whatever you do. But in heaven, everybody will want to work. And the more work, the more wonderful. Where nobody gets tired anyway. Yes. We stand before the judgment seat of God to examine our works. If our works are burned up, we ourselves will be saved, says the apostle on Corinthians three, because salvation was never dependent on our works. So if the works be burned up, we shall ourselves be saved, but so as by fire, like Lot escaping out of the flames of, of, of Sodom and Gomorrah. And then, of course, there's a question of Christ's death. In the first part, it was Christ, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, so that we can be saved from the wrath of God through him. But as in this last, this fourth part, Christ died and lived again. What for? That he might be Lord. Mm-hmm. It's another aspect of the death of Christ, isn't it? We need to embrace them all. And then there is the question looming large in the first part, where Paul asserts that Jews and Gentiles have to be saved on exactly the same ground. If that is true in the gospel, gentlemen, it has very big practical implications between the, uh, practical relationships of Jews and Gentiles in the church. And if we preach a gospel in which Jews and Gentiles are saved on exactly the same ground, then Paul exhorts his fellow believers that they must be very careful not to force divisions in the church between Jew and Gentile, by their behavior. So then my point is made here, if I can show you how the practical section is related here to the first. Because this is an integral whole, and the message of salvation, because it works, then it may be shown to work. And we must behave in our practical life and in the life of the church on the basis of what we preach in the gospel. But let me go further than that, if I may, and show you the, uh, connection between section three and, uh, the final section. In section part three, we were considering Israel's failure, chosen to be a testimony for God and given the glory, the very presence of God, and the service of God. That sacred ministry given to them in tabernacle and temple, the service of God to be a witness to the Gentiles. And they miserably fail. You'll see the, uh, the, the strong appeal, won't you, when you relate three— section three to section four? I beseech you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to yield your bodies a, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your reasonable service. It's the exact same word, latreia. Possible, gentlemen, for us, isn't it? So to behave, in spite of the mercies of God, that we fail in that very thing. And fail as a testimony to the world, instead of our service of God being a testimony for him. Notice the difference between what he said about the law in part 3. There, Paul says, Christ is the end of the law. In part 3. There, Paul says, Christ is the end of the law. To those that are in Christ Jesus. He's the end of the law for righteousness. Now, do understand what that means. He is the goal of the law, end in the sense of goal. That you can not come to understand if you read Paul at the end of Galatians chapter three. The law was our schoolmaster, if you like, or pedagogue unto Christ. That was the point of the law, to make the Jew aware in the end that he needed a savior, and therefore to prepare him for the coming of Christ. Not the end of the law, so we don't need to take any more notice of the law. The second major part of Romans informs us believers, it is the purpose of God that the righteous demands of the law should be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Not saved by keeping the law, but the law, uh, showing us our sinfulness and leading us to Christ for salvation, and then, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, the power to fulfill the demands of the law. And, uh, how would you go about doing that? Well, love is the fulfillment of the law. Now, pray notice what that doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that so long as you are lovey lovey and you love everybody, that is a fulfilling of the law, isn't it? There have been great philosophical systems of ethics built on that false premise. If you really love somebody, then fornication doesn't matter. It might be the right thing to do, and so would be adultery. It's difficult to prove that murder would be, but that, you know, who knows? Ah, do see. Uh-huh. Doesn't mean that. It means that the law commands you to do this, this, this, and this, and the other, and the true love of Christ will lead you to do that. For the law is summed up in these two principles. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. That doesn't mean so Lord, so long as I love you, Lord, I can do as I like. If you really love the Lord, you'll keep his commandments, as our Lord pointed out. And the second principle of the law is that you shall love your neighbor as yourself. In practical terms, therefore, love will lead us to the fulfillment of the law. Paul, in the third part, as we have now seen, talks about Jews and Gentiles and the relation between them when it comes to salvation. Now, in this section, the question of Jewish-Gentile relationship crops up again. All Israel shall be saved, says part three, pointing forward to the future. And in part four, advising us how we ought to behave, we are reminded our salvation is nearer than when we believed. To go further than that, let me put here some further details between three and four. In three, he is talking about his office and glorifying his office in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to jealousy and save some of them. Now in four, he talks again about the relation of Jews and Gentiles. He uses a marvelous expression. He should be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable. Going out to get Gentiles converted and offering them to God, in so to speak, as a sacrifice, as a gift through his labours. Pray that thy my ministration for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints. Apostle to the Gentiles. But because he was a Jew and wanted to, to comfort the Jews' heart, he organized a, a collection of money from the Gentile believers to be sent to Jerusalem, particularly after the famine in Jerusalem, as a token of the oneness of Gentiles and Jews, and of the gratitude of Gentiles towards the Jews, that Jew and Gentile might be cemented together. And Paul was statesman enough to see what a colossal danger there was here, that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be preached, and the Gentiles would believe, and some Jews would believe, but they wouldn't agree among themselves. And so there should arise two forms of Christianity. An utter scandal in the world. And Paul bent every muscle in his body to stop that happening. The grievousness of true believers who won't touch each other. What a sorry testimony it is to the world. And then, of course, their loss of, the Jewish loss has been the riches of the Gentiles, as you become partaker with them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree, don't boast over them. Now, on the other side, the Gentiles are debtors indeed, for if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister to them in material things. This is Paul the statesman. Now talking to the Christian churches, and particularly to the Gentile churches, and to his Jewish brethren, that the Gentiles shall show their gratitude to the Jew and hence cement the worldwide unity in Christ of believers, be they Jew or Gentile. And so the other things from the prophets, as you see. So, thus far, a few suggestions to, uh, uh, make the point that the practical things now said are not to be viewed separately as though they were just tacked on in the end. They are the outflowing, in a practical sense, of the truth of the gospel. And we're called upon to be, like Paul was, statesmen in our day amongst the people of God. To do our very best. To promote the unity of the people of God. And not to fall out over stupid little things. So, you will see in chapter fourteen, the weak and the strong. And And here here we have to make a distinction, careful distinction, between what Paul is talking about in chapter fourteen and what he talks about in one Corinthians chapter eight. For in one Corinthians chapter eight, the question is, is it right to eat meat offered to idols. And of course, there is a sense in which idolatry is the basic sin of all sins. Therefore, there are situations in which Paul must tell believers that they must not join in the eating of meat offered to idols. Other occasions when it doesn't matter, uh, being offered to idols hasn't, um, altered the quality of the meat. And so long as it is not in active engagement in the temple restaurant, eating food just recently offered to idols and being therefore a partaker in their ceremony, if you bought meat in the marketplace and you don't know where it comes from, or don't ask any questions, eat it in your home, and that's that. But if anybody were to point out to you this is offered to idols, you are not to eat. Because here the honor of God is concerned. We're not to provoke God to jealousy. For if we do, we shall learn he's stronger than he, and he'll deal with us. So the question of eating meat offered to idols is a very serious matter. This is not that. In Romans fourteen, it is a question, as he says, one man hath faith to eat all things, but he that is weak eateth only herbs or vegetables. Do you see? It is marvelous how things like that have divided God's people down the centuries. And Paul now tells the weak and the strong how they are to behave. Let not him that eateth set at naught him that eateth not. Typical of those with a strong conscience, and they can eat anything, and they look down and despise this poor little brother who has a weak conscience and he dare eat turnips or something, he only eats turnips or something. Despising them. The danger of the weak brother is that he judges. Let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth, for God has received him. The two tendencies, the strong to despise the weak, the weak to judge the strong. Don't do either, says Paul. And now enunciates what in these things must be the guiding principle. These are things where God's word doesn't say. Do you know any place in the New Testament elsewhere where it says you may eat turnips and not, not cabbages or something? No. The guiding principle must be that whatever we do, in word or deed, we shall do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, and we shall do it to the Lord. The principle he enunciates now, uh, do you see, one man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully pers- assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord. And he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. That is to say, it's not that we live as isolated things. Paul isn't calling out against that. He's calling out that whatever we do has to be done unto the Lord. We don't live to ourselves. So in gr- things great and small, what we have to consider is, I'm about to do this. I have no specific command in scripture that tells me I should or I shouldn't. I'm about to do this. Do I judge? It is pleasing to the Lord. That's a principle. And if I decide it's okay to eat, uh, meat, but I must decide that before the Lord, and to the Lord I eat it and give thanks. If I decide I don't think the Lord would have me eat meat, well, to the Lord I don't eat it then. Now here is an exceedingly important principle. You see, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. We've heard that Christ died for the ungodly and will save us from the wrath of God. We heard that we died with Christ. Yes. Now we're told another thing about the death of Christ. He died so that he might be Lord. And that means Lord of everything, doesn't it? And we are to remember that one day, as Paul points out now, verse eleven, verse ten, we shall stand before the Lord, and he will call us to account. Now, if the Lord calls me to an account and says, Gooding, do you know, old chap, you, you ate that pork steak, didn't you? Bit of pork. I say, yes, I did. Mm, Lord, I'm afraid I did, yes. Mm-hmm. And when you ate it, Gooding, you thought really in your heart of hearts it was wrong, didn't you? Eating pork. And you thought it wouldn't please me. Well, that's true, Lord, I did, that's really what I did think. But you went and ate it. You see, Gooding, it is the fact that I cancelled the food laws. Remember what I said, Mark chapter seven and Matthew chapter 15, and what I said through Paul in Corinthians. It was okay to eat pork as Christians. Remember the lesson God had to teach Peter when he let down that sheet from heaven full of all sorts of crunchy things, and thereby declared all meats clean, you see. It was actually, wouldn't have been sinful. That isn't the point, he would say, Gooding. At that moment, you thought it was sinful, didn't you? You thought it was wrong, and you thought it would displease me, and yet you went and did it. That's the pointed issue. And he will call me to an account. And if I say, well, yes, oh, I'm sorry, I went and did. Well, why did you do it, Gooding? Well, there was this Harry Smith, and he said I was a silly little fellow, narrow-minded little wurchin, and got these funny ideas in my head, and okay to eat pork, eat pork, and he made me feel such a fool in front of all the other guests that I ate it. Well, it was Harry Smith, was it? And who is Harry Smith? Did he die for you? That he should overbear your conscience. That is the issue at stake, isn't it? And I must live as someone that must give account of himself to the risen Lord, of what I have done, for he records the workings of our hearts and our minds and our secrets. It is in that sense a very good thing that our risen Lord has not given us six hundred and eighteen commandments like the Jews say they have, so we just look on the rule book. There are things where the Bible doesn't say this or that. Of course, where the Bible does say this, then I must listen to the Bible and do what the Bible says, and where it says I'm not to do this, I must listen to it. We're talking now about the one hundred and one thousand things where the Bible doesn't say any particular rule. It's a very good thing. Well, that makes me say, no, well, now I've got to decide, but I must decide before the Lord, as unto the Lord, so that when I stand before Christ and he says, why did you do it? I can honestly say, Lord, I thought it would please you anyway. I thought it was okay to do it. Sorry if I did wrong. I really thought it was pleasing to you. That's what we shall be called upon to answer. I must be very careful lest I overbear your conscience. And you, my dear brother, must be very careful not to overbear my conscience. So chapter fifteen tells us, him that is weak in the faith because of these things, what are we to do with him? We are to receive him as God received us. Gentlemen, that is not talking about simply entertaining other believers in our homes. This is written in the epistle to the Hebrew, uh, to the Romans, the great exposition of the gospel. How has God received us through Christ? Be we Jew or be we Gentile? On what ground has he received us? Romans gives one unified answer. He's received us as bankrupt sinners on the basis of the work of Christ, and has justified Jew and Gentile and all his people on the same ground. If the gospel says that Christ has so received us, God has so received us, we must see to it that our practice with one another is based on the very foundation of that gospel. You will count before, you will mention before me cases of exception, of course you will. How that when a believer persists in behavior that casts doubt upon his profession of faith and is a scandal upon the gospel, then there has to be healthy church discipline. Now we're talking about small things, of which there is no commandment, and the basis upon which we receive people. On the basis that God has received us, not according to our knowledge, but on the basis of our faith in Christ. So Paul goes on to talk to them. He's an apostle to the Gentiles, but he didn't found the, the church at Rome. And Paul's letters are normally written to churches that he has founded, and because he founded them, he is not inhibited in talking to them. But he didn't found the church at Rome. Church in Rome was in existence even before Paul got converted. But he writes to them that they're Gentiles, and how gracious he is. I hope to come to you and be helped by you, my dear brothers. Not I'm the apostle, and I'll put you in order. I hope to be helped by you and be profited spiritually by you. Yes. I wish you'd pray for me. I've got a difficult task, he says. And in particular, I'd like you to pray for this. The Gentiles, after my, my suggestions, have got together a sum of money to send it to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. And I'm going there to take it. I'd like you Gentile Christians to pray for me. What for? That this offering of money from the Gentile believers to the Jewish believers may be accepted by the Jewish believers. You say, what does that mean? Was he afraid that the Jewish believers wouldn't accept it? Could have happened, couldn't it? This is Gentile money, filthy money. And we're not going to accept it. Oh, what a, what a stab in the heart of Christian unity that would have been in those early days. Pray that this gathering of together of money sent by the Gentile churches to the Jews to cement their unity may be acceptable to the Jews. Paul the statement, the statesman. And almost his final word, mark them that cause division, contrary to the Christian doctrine. Yes. This is not unrelated to what has gone before, of course. The great statement of the gospel that says we're all alike, Jews and Gentiles, under the condemnation and wrath of God, can be saved solely as bankrupt sinners through Christ, and in Christ God has received us, be it Jew or Gentile. That is to be worked out in practice, in the practical relationships between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, and in the predominantly Jewish churches, and in the predominantly Gentile churches. And now our time is up, a minute over, in fact. But I have made enough of my point in this last section, crudely though I've done it, of course. I've labored to try and show that the practical exhortations in these very practical chapters are not arbitrary. They are integral part of the gospel that Paul preaches here in this epistle, as he writes to his fellow believers in In Rome. Rome. Let's end by prayer. Shall we pray? Our Father, we bless thee from our hearts, for choosing out the Apostle Paul as an example to us, a vessel of thy mercy. An example to us who subsequently have believed on the Lord Jesus to salvation. We bless thee for him. For his labours, to which ultimately we owe our very salvation, we who are Gentiles. And for these wonderful letters that thy spirit inspired him to write, for them too we thank thee. And for the glories of the salvation that he preaches. That even as with our little grasp we have contemplated them, move our hearts to worship thee for thine abounding love and for thy divine wisdom. We thank thee for what understanding that thou has given us thus far of thy great gospel. We pray for our Jewish friends. Have mercy on them, we pray. Hasten the day when Israel as a whole shall be saved. We bemoan before the Christendom's attitude that has inclined Jews to believe that the Christians were responsible for the gas chambers of Germany, for the inquisitions in Spain, for the oppression in England under King John. For what a sad misrepresentation of the gospel of Christ that has been. We pray for Israel's restoration. We pray, Lord, for wisdom, if thou should give us the opportunity of how to spread thy gospel sympathetically to Jews. And we pray now as exalted by thy word, we yet again present our bodies to thee, to be a living, vigorous sacrifice, acceptable to thee. Help us, Lord, to renew our minds diligently and systematically and continuously through thy word and the ministry of thy gracious Holy Spirit. Impress on our hearts that one day we must stand before the Savior who died that he might be our Lord. Help us, we pray, to live in life's details, intent on pleasing him. Forgive us where so often we come short. And bless us now as we think, Lord, of our day and generation. We thank thee for this apostle who came out to us Gentiles. Help us, Lord, in our day to take up the torch of the gospel and not be content with our private understandings, but to branch out to the endless Gentiles around us that are without God and without Christ, and so without hope in the world. Bless us, Lord, then, as now we depart. Help us to reflect upon thy word that it may mature in our hearts and souls and bring forth its fruit in good time, in the salvation of others, and in the glory of Christ, in whose name we ask these things. Amen.