Thinking about
God
Romans 11: 33 –
36
Introduction
Since
October of last year, I have spent a lot of time preaching about One Focus and
evangelism. In my sermons, I have
encouraged each of us to share our faith with the people who are closest to
us. Then, our church has provided
resources to help you to share your faith.
We even asked each of our church members to invite someone with you on Easter
Sunday so that they could hear the Good News about Jesus—his death and
Resurrection.
We
are not giving up on One Focus. I hope
you will continue to pray for that one person in your life. We are going to give you more opportunities
to invite your One Focus to church to hear how they can become a
Christian. But, we are going to shift
gears a little.
Just
as we have been preparing you for evangelism…As we have asked you to tell
others how they can become Christians…Now, I want to help you define exactly
what you believe as a Christian. After
all, what are you going to say when you try to lead a person to become a
Christian and they ask you, “What does it mean to be a Christian? What do Christians believe?” Are you prepared to answer that question?
One
of my favorite theology books is a book I first read as a Religion major in
college. Thinking about God: An Introduction to Christian Theology by
Baptist theologian Fisher Humphreys (New Orleans: Insight Press, 1974, 1994).
The
title of the book, “Thinking about God,” is basically a translation of the two
Greek words that make up our English word “theology.” Theos
can be translated “God,” and logos
can be translated “logic, reasoning, or thinking.” Therefore, theology is nothing more and
nothing less than “thinking (or reasoning) about God.”
Theology
is not something reserved for academic scholars in seminaries and
universities. Theology is something each
of us does at the breakfast table, lying in bed at night, driving to and from
work or even in conversations with our friends and family members. Anyone can practice theology—and I would add
that everyone should practice theology.
However, not everyone practices good theology…There is some bad theology
out there.
There
are many different disciplines under the heading of “theology.” I am primarily concerned with biblical
theology…shaping what we believe about God and various doctrines from reading
the Bible—in particular the New Testament.
Over
the next few weeks, we are going to examine several different subcategories
within Biblical Theology. We will look
at the categories of sin and humanity, the person of Christ, the work of Christ,
and even what the Bible says about end times.
But, today we begin by looking at the most basic Christian belief of
them all. What do we believe about God?
Romans 11: 33 – 36.
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?” [fn10]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?” [fn11]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
What
we read in these verses is something some scholars call a “doxology,” or what
we might more commonly call worship or praise.
This is interesting, because Paul has inserted a praise song in the
middle of his theological argument. It
is interesting, because it shows us something very important about
theology. We cannot worship God without
good theology. We cannot practice good
theology without worshipping God.
There
are two natural divisions in the Book of Romans. Chapters 1 – 11 make up the theological
section (or the theological foundation).
Chapters 12 – 16 make up the ethical section (or the practical
application of what Paul has taught us about God). The praise song of Romans 11: 33 – 36 serve
as a conclusion to the theological section of the Book of Romans.
Theologically,
Paul began the Book of Romans by describing the human predicament of sin and
how our sins deserve to face the wrath and judgment of God. Then, Paul writes about God’s faithfulness to
us and God’s desire to save us. This
salvation is offered to both Jews and Gentiles in the same way. We are saved as Abraham was saved. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to
him as Righteousness (Romans 4: 3).
Then
in Romans 9 - 11, Paul explores a great mystery. He addresses a question about the Jews. If salvation is by Grace…If Righteousness is
a gift of God to all who believe…Then, what about all of God’s promises to
Israel? The Jews don’t believe in
salvation through Jesus. Has God
abandoned the Jews?
The
simple answer to this question is what we read in Romans 8: 28, “And we know
that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose.”
God can use all circumstances to accomplish his purposes. And, that is what God is doing (and has been
doing) in the history of the Jews.
God
rescued the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt. God sent Moses to Egypt. Moses led God’s people into the
wilderness. And, the people wanted to go
back to Egypt. The Hebrews were not
faithful…But, God was faithful.
God
made a promise to David. There would
always be a descendant of David to rule as King over Israel. And, the people kept following the wrong
kings. The people were not faithful…But,
God was faithful.
God
sent his Son, Jesus. Jesus was the fulfillment
of all the promises in the Old Testament.
And, the Jews refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. The Jews were not faithful…But, God is
faithful.
God
can use both good circumstances and bad circumstances to accomplish his
purposes. God can take the faithlessness
of the Jews and use it for a good purpose.
The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah. This is not a good situation. But, God took what was not good and used it
to expand salvation beyond the racial and political boundaries of Israel. When the Jews rejected Jesus, God made a
universal offer of salvation—salvation is offered to all races and to all
nations.
Romans
9 – 11 tell us that when people reject God, God responds with Grace! And, this leads Paul to an outburst of praise
to the God of mercy.
Romans 11: 33 – 36.
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?” [fn10]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?” [fn11]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
As
Paul sings praises to God, he makes theological statements about the nature of
who God is…
Paul
sings about the mystery of God. God is
transcendent—or as we often read in Scripture, High and Lifted Up. God is above us and different from us. Whereas we are sinful, God is perfect. Whereas we are finite and limited by our
temporary lifetimes, God is eternal and cannot be threatened by death. Whereas we are influenced by the world, God
is Holy / Set Apart / Heavenly. Whereas
we are predictable (inasmuch as we are influenced by sin and always make sinful
choices), God is unpredictable because God is truly free.
Since
God is transcendent, we can also say that God is so different from us that it
is impossible for us to know God completely.
In some respects, God will always remain a mystery to us. However, God wants us to know him. Therefore, God has made himself known. God has revealed himself through
creation. God has revealed himself
through Scripture (Old Testament and New Testament). God has revealed himself through the life,
death and Resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.
One
way God is transcendent and, therefore, different from us is the fact that we
are imperfect. God is not imperfect…God
is perfect.
Perfect in Goodness
Morality…Law
and God’s demands on the way we live…
God
is not arbitrary…God acts according to his nature…
If
God were not good, then God could not be trusted to provide for our needs and
to give good gifts…Since God is good, God only gives good gifts and does not
cause evil things to happen…
Perfect in Love
Love
of God is described in the Old Testament…The Law was a gift of love which
teaches us about God’s love for us…God’s acts of salvation are motivated by
love and help us to understand how God loves his people…Ultimately, God has
demonstrated his love for us in the Person of Jesus, the Son of God…
Romans 5: 8, “But God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.”
Perfect in Wisdom
When
we talk about God, we talk about the character of God and the activities of God—the
nature of God and the actions of God. I
believe that God has two basic actions.
God creates, and God redeems.
In
creation, we see the wisdom of God through the incredible variety of creation…Interdependence
of the species / life forms on earth…Delicate balance of created order
(gravity, distance from the sun, angle of the earth on its axis, the moon and
the tides)…
In
redemption, we see the wisdom of God through the way God deals with the
Jews. Despite the fact that the Jews
have rejected Jesus and God’s plan for their salvation, God used their
rejection as a means to expand the Gospel to the Gentiles…
Perfect in Power
We
can see the power of God in both creation and redemption…
In
creation, God has done what we cannot imitate.
But, God not only has created, God is also intimately involved in the
ongoing preservation of his created order.
In
redemption, God has done what we cannot repay.
He offers Grace freely to all who will believe
Conclusion
The
story of Israel: God created a people for
himself. Israel rebelled against
God. For the rest of Israel’s history,
God pursued Israel because God wanted to redeem her.
The
story of creation: God created the
world. The world fell into sin. For the rest of history, God has pursued his
creation because God wants to redeem it.
Your
story: God created you. You actively run away from God and his
Grace. Your entire life can be described
as God’s pursuit…because God wants to redeem you.
God
wants to redeem what God has created.
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