ENJOY THE
RICHES OF ROMANS

Speaking of riches and wealth, Bill Gates comes to mind as one of the richest men in America. But then there are rulers such as the Sultan of Bahrain whose wealth is apparently too great to measure. Also I am reminded of the Aga Khan, whom his people revered as a direct descendant of Mohammed and served as a kind of deity on earth. On the silver Jubilee of his reign as king, his followers presented him with his weight in silver. He was a big man, weighing close to 250 pounds.

On his golden Jubilee, his weight was measured to him in gold. The next anniversary was celebrated in Bombay where he received his weight in diamonds. And what did he do with his millions or billions? According to the press, a mountain of money flowed across the gaming tables of the French Riviera and the rest followed his stable of racehorses. He wasn't a happy man. The super rich seldom are.

THIS
POOR
MAN
CAME
CLOSE

His name was Ali Hafed, a dirt-poor farmer who knew nothing about diamonds and their wealth. His land was dotted with all kinds of stones, which he viewed as a nuisance. But they were diamonds. Since he didn't have a clue as to their worth, he sold his farm and went off to seek his fortune elsewhere. When his money ran out, he was overtaken by despair and committed suicide.

The man who bought his farm didn't know diamonds either. But one day he was intrigued by a black stone, lying in the shallow brook running through his garden. It had an "eye of light" in it. So he picked it up and took it into the house to decorate his mantle.

A few days later a priest stopped by to visit. When he saw the stone with its flash of light in it, he asked if he could look at it. Now this priest knew gems. He recognized the stone as a large diamond. This was the discovery of the Golconda diamond mine, the greatest in the world. Poor Ali Hafed. He owned a field of diamonds without realizing the treasure that was his!

AN OLD STORY

This story is repeated in the lives of those who own New Testaments and occasionally glance at Romans. Christians hastily read this book and breeze past its diamonds totally unaware they're there. They have no idea what they're missing. All of the gems of the Gospel are compressed into it. It's the most comprehensive book of the New Testament, a work scholars have labeled, "the greatest piece of literature in the world." This book is crammed with insights, yet readers skim over its diamonds of truth with no realization of the treasures they're ignoring.

You may have sailed through this book yourself, reading it because you felt you were obliged to do so. But this is a book that requires LABOR to extract its treasures. It's loaded with diamonds of truth.

ROMANS OFFERS DEEP TRUTHS

It's around A.D. 58. The apostle Paul is seated on the floor in Gaius' home in Corinth. His fingers fly as he weaves tent materials. With his hands busy, his mind is able to think more clearly. Right now he has to think clearly, for he is dictating an urgent letter to Rome. Seated beside him is Tertius, his secretary.

When you know what Paul was trying to accomplish with this letter, you'll understand why Romans is so deep.

This letter was to be his insurance policy. I'll explain. Paul knew God wanted him to go to Rome.

His work in Asia (biblical Asia) and Greece was now finished. The next logical step was Rome...and then on to Spain. As far as Paul was concerned, his ministry to the Gentile world would not be finished until he had taken the capitol of the Gentile world for Christ. Many in Rome were waiting for him, ready to help him. But he wasn't ready to go there—at least not just yet. There was something else he wanted to do first.

HE WANTED
TO RETURN
TO JERUSALEM

A serious famine in Palestine made the plight of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem truly desperate. Paul thought he could use the situation to heal the breach between the Jewish and Gentile factions in the church. So he collected a HUGE SUM of money from the Gentile churches of Asia and Greece and purposed to take it as relief money to Jerusalem. To accomplish his purpose, he felt he had to deliver the money—IN PERSON.

So great was his determination to go to Jerusalem, no one could dissuade him, not even his beloved Dr. Luke (Acts 21:12). Driven by an inner desire, which we recognize as his love for his Jewish brethren, Paul made the trip under the impulse of his own spirit (Acts 20:22, 23). But Jesus didn't want Paul DEAD IN JERUSALEM, He wanted him ALIVE IN ROME. But the great apostle couldn't help himself (Rom. 15:23-25).

SO TO INSURE HIS COMMISSION

Knowing God wanted him in Rome, how could the apostle GUARANTEE the great truths entrusted to him by the Holy Spirit would reach the Romans? There was but one way—write down all the critical truths in a letter and see that it goes to Rome even if he can't. As it turned out, Phoebe of Cenchrea was going to Rome on business. She agreed to take this precious document and deliver it in person.

The apostle you see, didn't dare risk death at Jerusalem without first making sure these great truths were on deposit in the capitol. Then should anything happen to him at Jerusalem, the believers at Rome would have an IN-DEPTH STATEMENT as to the mysteries God had revealed to him through the Holy Spirit. It was a sort of insurance policy—just in case.

Now you can see why Romans is such a deep book. It's packed with all those mysteries God revealed to the apostle. This is why it's so easy to gloss over its fabulous truths. Believe me, they're deep. Unless someone brings out those diamonds and polishes them, the average reader is not going to know what he has in his hands, even though he's reading a modern version.

THE JOB GOD GAVE ME

 It became my task to extract the "diamonds" of Romans and set them forth as "LIGHTS." That's what I call them. Actually, they're paragraphs set among the verses and marked by a little light. These put the mysteries at the reader's fingertips. That way you can enjoy the insights as you read through the text and at the same time, see how it all fits together.

 It took me two years to mine the truths of Romans, working five days a week. The diamonds have all been cut and displayed so that you won't miss them. After you read a few verses, you come upon a paragraph set in different typeface and indented. That's the LIGHT. The LIGHTS unveil the hidden meanings of the text. You'll be astounded at what was in the verses you just read—yet didn't realize it.

SAMPLE THIS
FABULOUS TRUTH

There is a truth in Romans that once you lay hold of it, you'll never be the same again. It's found in Ch. 7:14- 8:1. You might decide to look it up and then you'll say, "That's easy, it has to do with the two natures of the believer." You're right, of course. But that's not the diamond. The diamond has to do with how a man can be born again and yet do those things which God hates. He may not want to do them, but finds himself helpless and unable to stop doing them. What a problem this poses for the new Christian.

It is difficult for a new believer to find himself thinking and doing things He knows he shouldn't; yet he can't stop. How then is he to know this is a mysterious process God has installed in all believers, one absolutely necessary for Christian growth—yet which brings no condemnation whatsoever? That's the diamond of the passage. Wait until you see how that diamond looks on you!

This truth in Romans is so fundamental, so critical for Christians, that I have devoted a whole book to it. It's called DYNAMIC TRUTHS FOR THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE. Master this book and you'll never be baffled by the mystery about yourself. Oh, yes, there's much about all of us that remains a mystery, and we can become very puzzled at times. You may have already asked yourself, "Why am I so far from being all that I could be for Christ?" Until we have the key that unlocks those mysteries we'll never be able to answer that question.

ARE YOU A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER?

Imagine yourself before your class. There you stand with all these exciting mysteries bubbling in your spirit. You look into the faces of your students, knowing their eyes are going to be as big as dollars in a few moments. Their mouths fly open as you drop one INSIGHT BOMB after another. Their hearts pound as they wonder if they can take any more.

Well, the same thing is going to happen to you when you open your copy of LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON ROMANS. Your heart will sparkle as these "diamonds" explode in your understanding. You never dreamed Bible study could be such an adventure. Look at these books at our Online Bookstore. Take advantage of them. With these truths roaring inside you will find yourself truly...

ENJOYING THE RICHES OF ROMANS!

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This article is Copyright 2001 by Dr. C. S. Lovett and is found on www.cslovettbooks.com