Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
According to the Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion, a
worldview is defined as the, “Comprehensive set of basic or ultimate beliefs that fit together in a
consistent or coherent manner.”1 A worldview would encompass such questions as “What is
knowledge, and how do we gain it?”, “Where did we come from?”, “Does God exist, and if so,
what is He like and what does He expect?” More succinctly, according to Ravi Zacharias, Senior
Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and founder of Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries (RZIM), in an article in RZIM entitled, Think Again – Deep Questions,
he says, “A worldview basically offers answers to four necessary question; origin, meaning,
morality, and destiny. In turn, these answers must be correspondingly true on particular
questions and, as a whole, all answers put together must be coherent.” [Zac14]. In short, it is a
systematic, cohesive interpretation of the whole of reality.
It is within this framework that Paul sets out, in the book of Romans, to answer many of
these questions for the reader. Paul does so in a systematic and coherent approach, explaining a
proper worldview. In the process of doing so, he eliminates any subjective notion that a proper
worldview is fluid and changing with the cultures ideas and values. They are in fact rooted in the
one true God, who does not change, cannot change, and will not change, (Hebrews 13:8
paraphrased). With that said, within the parameters of this short essay, I’ll attempt to provide as
thorough an explanation as can be done. However, it’s important to understand that one’s
worldview can be defined down into any number of subsets. Regardless of how one defines it, it
essentially boils down to two basic worldviews, a biblical worldview where God is the central
character; or, an atheistic worldview where natural law and man have evolved in the absence of
1 Evans, C. Stephen, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (IVP England,
2002), 122.
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
God. The letter to the Romans, is, at least in my opinion, a very systematic theology from the
apostle Paul. It remains very likely the first effort at a truly systematic approach to theology.
1. God: What does Romans teach about the existence and attributes of God?
Paul makes it very clear that no one will have an excuse when it comes to denying the
existence of God. To arrive at a position affirming the existence of God requires faith,
which is God’s gift as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8. Through the faith we are given, we are
able to understand the righteousness of God, Romans 1:17. Paul also tells us in this same
verse that our ability to see God’s righteous character builds our faith even further. The
righteousness of God is revealed from faith, the gift of Ephesians 2:8, and it is for our faith
to help it grow. Therefore, verse 17 then becomes the underlying theme of the letter to the
Romans, because through faith, God’s righteousness is revealed to us. The Bible Knowledge
Commentary adds this, “In response to faith this righteousness is imputed by God in
justification and imparted progressively in regeneration and sanctification, culminating in
glorification when standing and state become identical.” 2 In short, our view of God’s
righteousness is provided to us through the faith we have and it continues to improve our
faith.
In his movement into the realm of God’s wrath, Paul makes it very clear that we are all,
universally subject to be recipients of His wrath as all of us have sinned and fallen short of
what our righteous God demands, Rom 3:23. And, as we will learn, salvation through the
life, death, and resurrection is sufficient for all; yet it will be efficient only for some. “To
establish the necessity of the gospel for salvation, Paul indicts humanity because of its
inexcusable corruption, caused by the deliberate suppression of God’s obvious self-
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
revelation through the human conscience and the natural order.” 3 Because of all of
humanity’s neglect of God’s sovereignty, He gives them up. Not gives up on them, ‘gave
them up’ is a phrase that indicates He allows the natural and logical consequences of
behavior to have it’s full effect. “The human race stands condemned before God and is
helpless and hopeless apart from God’s grace.”4 The statement out of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary provides a fairly good analysis of the entire book of Romans. As Paul makes
his case beginning with creation.
2. Creation; What does Romans teach about origins?
Ex nihilo nihil fit or ‘Out of nothing, nothing comes’. Scripture tells us that in the
beginning, all that existed was the Triune Godhead. The fact that there was nothing is not an
impediment to God. He is something, therefore by Him, “All things were made through
Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” John 1:3 ESV. Paul further
reinforces John’s point when he says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all
things.” Rom 11:36. Additionally, Romans 4:17, “…calls into existence the things that do
not exist.” suggests that what was created was done so from nothing but God speaking it into
existence by shear force of His will. When God spoke, “Let there be…” that was a decree of
command, there was no choice but for the required result to occur. Revelations 4:11 is the
song of the elders in heaven, in which they sing, “…by your will they existed and were
created.” God’s will is the reason things were created and that they continue to exist.
The above is very difficult for the one without faith to come to grips with. However, Paul
makes it very clear that it is in creation itself that, “what can be known about God is plain…
because God has shown it to ‘us’.” As a result, “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal
3 Fee, Gordon D., The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible, (WBE Publishing Co., 2011), 643
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
…” Romans 19-20 ESV. We will not be able to stand before a sovereign Lord and claim we
never new you existed, the order of the universe, the interconnectedness of creation is
clearly evidence of a sovereign Creator. We are not the result of time, plus matter, plus
chance. That excuse will never fly because, as King David said in Psalms 19:1, “The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”
3. Sin: What does Romans teach regarding the problem of evil?
Romans 5:12 plainly tells us that sin came into the world through one man, Adam. The
Greek renders it a little bit differently and seems to be more properly read as, “the sin”
entered the world through one man. If this rendering of the Greek is correct, it would seem
to present a picture that sin, as a noun, was already present and therefore seeking a means of
entry into the world. Paul then reaffirms what God told Adam and Eve in the garden, that
their sin would cause death. Since sin therefore is systemic, it’s impact is going to reach into
all aspects of the created order.
Paul simply is telling us that it is the law that makes evil shine a spotlight on our unholy
unrighteous nature, “Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” Romans
7:7 ESV. Paul would not have known what coveting was if the law had simply kept silent
on the subject. The fact that it calls out to us about aspects to our nature does not in anyway
make the law a problem. Paul answers and emphatic NO, it is right for showing us who we
are. Because it does so, it shows us how we are separated from God. The law demonstrated
to us on a grand scale how “…holy,…and righteous and good.” it is, Romans 7:12. Because
it gives us the benchmark we can strive for in being like Christ.
4. Salvation: What does Romans teach about the solution for the problem of sin?
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
Paul made it very clear that no one is righteous and inherently seeks after God, Romans
3:10-11 and because no one can fulfill the righteous requirements of the law perfectly. We
can strive and work all we want at achieving righteousness via the law, however, he lets us
know there is something within us that prohibits us from hitting the mark, sin. Paul feels
this inability very personally, in Romans 7:15-24 ESV (Summarized), wherein he makes this
observation of himself, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want,
but I do the very thing I hate….It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in
me...Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this (sinful) body of death?” In the
very next verse, Paul let’s the readers in Rome know that it is “Jesus Christ our Lord!” who
is the remedy for us.
Paul uses the example of Abraham, whom God declared righteous after his profession of
faith in His promises. God’s declaration of righteousness came 400 years before the law was
ever given and it came 10 years before Abraham was circumcised. In this circumstance,
timing is everything. God declared Abraham righteous well before the Mosaic Law and the
Levitical rituals were ever enacted. Thereby making the law mirror for us to look into and
see two primary things; 1) our utter inability to satisfy its requirements, and 2) that we will
never achieve the level of righteousness in and of ourselves we desire.
5. Ethics: What does Romans teach regarding ethics and morality?
Paul labors to let us know that despite Christ’s having fulfilled the law perfectly and that
we are no longer ‘condemned’ or scheduled for punishment, our lives should reflect the
character of a Holy and Just God. That those whose faith in God’s promises is akin to
Abraham’s, will by extension have desires and affections that resemble His. Further, it is the
change of affections that is the evidence of a Spirit filled life. What Paul tells us is that a
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
person whose affections have not changed, has a mind that is still set on earthly
achievements, goals, accomplishments. More pointedly, that person is by definition hostile
to God and regardless what they may say, it “cannot” submit to God’s law. In the context of
Romans 7:7, the very fact that the phrase, “tou theou tō nomō” exists in the passage, is clear
evidence that “God’s law” is still intended to be observed. No where else does Paul use this
term in the passage, its counterpart, “Spirit” or ‘pneuma’, is used 10 times in Romans 8:1-
10. On the other hand, the word, “law” or ‘nomō’ is used 5 times, with one of those directly
referring to the Spirit. Paul’s admonishment and focus on this area is the strongest rebuttal
of the antinomians position in Scripture. Being under grace is a gift that should change our
affections to desire to be more like Christ because of how thankful we are. As a result, we
cannot to live as if we have no further constraints. Paul emphasizes setting our minds on
things of the Spirit repeatedly, and that if a debt exists, it is to the Lord and the Lord alone.
6. Eschatology: What does Romans Teach regarding hope for humanity/creation?
Paul in Romans 8:18-25, lets us know that our suffering today is so insignificant, it
doesn’t even bare comparison after what we will experience in eternity with Christ. V. 19
tells us it is not only us, but it is all of the created order that will be restored to it pre-fallen
perfection. Paul comparison is made somewhat more clear in 2 Cor 4:17, “For this light
momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
So magnificent is eternity with Christ going to be, that it is, in Paul’s eyes, ‘not worth
comparing’ because it is, ‘beyond all comparison.”
Paul lets us know that there is a family that God has identified before the creation of the
world. God did not look down the corridors of time and see who was going to choose Him
and therefore say, ‘you’re in the family.’ NO. God chose his family before creation ever
Biblical Worldview in Romans, Essay
Scott Lewis
BIBL 110
began, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined…He also called,…He also justified,
…and He also Glorified.” Each one of those verbs with the exception of ‘Glorified’ are past
tense verbs. In terms of glorified, it is an aorist, active, indicative verb, indicating that it is
an ongoing action that is being done. Jeremiah 1:5 reinforces this entire idea of God’s prior
knowledge of us by name, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,…” Paul then
emphasizes this family identification in Ephesians 1:4, “He chose us in Christ before the
foundation of the world.”
There is a coming judgement, where all men will stand before God and have to give an
answer. The question is, what answer can you possibly give. We can’t cry unfairness,
Romans 9:14-16 answers this question and concern, ‘Is there injustice on God’s part? BY
NO MEANS! …I will have mercy on whom I choose’. Jeremiah 1:5, “I knew you”, stands
in beautiful contrast to Matthew 7:23, the most frightening verse in the Bible, “I never knew
you; depart from me.
He knows his sheep and they will follow, when they hear His voice. That’s why it is up
to us, to sound the call as much as we can, because just like the Lord said to Paul before he
went into Corinth, “I have many in this city who are my people” Acts 18:10, they just didn’t
know it yet.
