Charles E. Whisnant outline of Romans 1

1. THE PROMISE OF THE GOSPEL Why the word “holy” is in front of bible on our bibles Romans 1:2 Rivers of Joy Baptist Church Charles E. Whisnant Pastor and Teacher September 20 2009
...Which He Promised Beforehand Through His Prophets in the Holy Scriptures...
(which he had promised afore 4279 by his prophets 4396 in the holy Scriptures. 1124. This Gospel is not something new. This message of the Gospel is not a change of God’s strategy. It was something that was promised long ago. It wasn’t a revolutionary new message. It was an Old Testament promise. Paul was being accused of being Anti-Jewish. That he was preaching a new message. Paul is saying this is not the new good news but the old good news. 1B The gospel of God is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. (Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ.) God's purpose of salvation for men was centered around Jesus Christ. The promises which He made to Eve, Abraham and David all spoke of Jesus as their literal descendant. Indeed, the whole of the Old Testament points forward to, and prophesies about, Christ. The Law of Moses, which Israel had to obey before the time of Christ, constantly pointed forward to Jesus:
The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ
(Gal. 3:24). Thus, at the feast of Passover, a lamb in perfect condition had to be killed (Ex. 12:3-6); this represented the sacrifice of Jesus,
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world
(John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). The spotless condition which was required for all the animal sacrifices pointed forward to the perfect character of Jesus (Ex. 12:5 cp. 1 Peter 1:19). Prophecy: Seed of a woman Old Testament Reference: Genesis 3:14-15New Testament Fulfillment: Galatians 4:4
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put hostility between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall damage thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:13-15)
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, . . .
(Galatians 4:4) It is not a new religion. It is the fulfillment of an old religion. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. What he was preparing and promising then, he fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. As a matter of fact there are 330 prophecies in the OT that are fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. The Old Testament was completed hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born. A large number of prophecies were made in astonishing detail by many people throughout these books. In fact, fulfilled prophecy is one of the distinguishing marks of the Bible, authenticating its claim to be the inspired Word of God. For example, the Old Testament indicated Jesus would be betrayed by someone he trusted.
Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who has shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me
(Psalm 41:9). The New Testament, which records Jesus' life and resurrection, reveals that one of the 12 people Jesus chose to be part of his inner circle betrayed him:
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them
(Mark 14:10). More than 300 Messianic prophecies like this were made in the Old Testament and then fulfilled through Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The chances of one person fulfilling a mere eight of these prophecies are one-in-100,000,000,000,000,000. For one person to fulfill 48 of these prophecies, the number becomes staggering – one chance in 10-to-the-157th power. Add to that the 250 other prophecies, and it becomes impossible for any other person except Jesus to ever fit that particular sequence of time and event The Old Testament laid the foundation for the coming of the New Testament Gospel. Not only was Paul accused, but Jesus also faced the same accusation. “He (Jesus) doesn’t do what we do, He doesn’t belong in the same establishment as we do.” He doesn’t teach what we learned.” The Question thenwas: did Jesus come with a new revelation. No. Matthew 5:17. It’s your teaching that is a perversion of Scripture. Pharisee tradition, not scriptures. The New Testament is completely consistent with the New Testament. “So you are saying:””I can’t become a Christian because I am Jewish? That would be denying my heritage.” Truth is you are denying your heritage when you haven’t become a Christian. Cf. Jeremiah 31:27-40, Ezekiel 26:26-38 The Jewish people of that day, lost the continuity between the Old and the New. THE MODE: Hebrews 1:1-2 By Prophets God would tell the people about the good news. THE METHOD: I Peter 1:10-11 Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Hosea, Ezekiel. Deut. 18:15 In summary, the message of Isaiah is that salvation comes from God—not man. Jesus alone is Savior. John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Next.
He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2:21-25 The lamb was the major animal of sacrifice among the Jewish people at the evening and morning sacrifice (Ex. 29:38-42; Num. 38:3-8), and specials days (Num. 28:11), the Passover (28:16-19), Pentecost (28:26f), Feast of the Trumpets (29:1, 2), the Day of Atonement (29:7, 8), and the Tabernacle (29:12-16). Other personal sacrifices included lambs (Lev. 12:6; 14:10-18,), such as the sin offerings (Lev. 4:32-35). Moreover, the Pascal sacrifice is basic to the whole sacrificial system (Ex. 12:13). Thus the figures in Isaiah 53:7 and Exodus 12:13 come together in the designation of the “Lamb of God.” They compliment each other. THE OLD TESTAMENT SPEAKS OF THE MESSIAH: 2B GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. Hundreds of years go by. The Jews wonder if the Messiah will ever come. They go through horrendous suffering. Then God acts and the promise is fulfilled. This means that God can be trusted. It may look as if he has forgotten his promises. But he does not forget. So verse 2 is not only a statement about the content of the gospel, but is also a reason for believing it. If we can see that God promised Christ centuries before he came and that in many details he fulfils these promises, our faith is strengthened 3BTHESE ARE HOLY, INSPIRED, WRITING WE SHOULD REVERANCE AND BELIEVE Papyrus fragment from Nahal Hever scroll including Habakkuk 2:19, 20 Fortunately, textual critics and paleographers have a large number of ancient manuscripts at their disposal, many of which have been found within the last century. Nearly the entire New Testament exists in manuscripts dated to before 300 AD. Other important manuscripts date to the fourth and fifth centuries. Paul wants to make clear that Scripture was holy, set apart, divine, righteous and Godly. John 5:39, Luke 24:25-27, and Hebrews10:7 FROM GENESIS TO MALACHI YOU WILL SEE THE REVELATION OF CHRIST Holy Scriptures: the origin of scripture is divine. Rom 7:12 2Peter 1:20-21 Notice the tremendously important implications of verse two for our doctrine of Scripture. First there is God; then there is a promise that God wills to make; then there are prophets
through
whom (note well: not by whom, but
through
whom, God himself remaining the speaker) he speaks his promise; then there are writings; and these writings are called holy. Why are they holy - set apart from all other writings and one of a kind and precious? Because it is God who speaks in them. Read the verse carefully: He [God] promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.
God promised in the Scriptures. God is speaking in the Scriptures. That is what makes them holy. This is Paul's understanding of Scripture and should be ours. If you have ever wondered why our Bibles say
Holy Bible
on the front, Romans 1:2 is the answer. Holy Men of God, moved along by the Holy Spirit, wrote the Scriptures, to produce a holy scripture... the pure work of God. Special thanks to my wife Charity for her proofreading. Stop.