Epistle to the Romans
Paul's Epistle to the Romans is one of the most extensive statements of theology in the entire Bible, because in it he attempts to outline and describe the entire process by which mankind is initially condemned for its sinful nature, and thus doomed for a final judgment according to the actions taken in life, but is offered the chance for redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul simultaneously confronts some of the most pressing theological issues at the time of the epistle's writing, such as the relationship between God and Israel as well as the redemption of Gentiles, but he also provides more general insights into how the beliefs expressed in Romans should influence and inform the everyday life of a Christian.
By examining the process of condemnation, justification, sanctification, and preservation described in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, one can begin to appreciate the enormity of Paul's contribution to Christian theology as well as continuing centrality of Jesus' message to everyday Christian faith and experience. Paul highlights the fact that the only means to salvation is through faith, and not actions, but that actions nevertheless play an important role in the outward expression of God's will as enacted in the Christian life.
Before addressing the theological content of Romans in more detail, it is necessary to address previous and ongoing considerations of Paul's message. As Brendan Byrne notes, there are two general interpretations of Romans that, while not mutually exclusive, have frequently been posited as such. On the one hand there is the presumption that Romans represents "a systematic exposition of Pauline theology, that is, […] a stately procession of theological themes (e.g. justification, sanctification, law, spirit) embedded in a theological treatise cast in the form of a letter."
This is contrasted with an approach that views Romans:
Not as an exercise in dogmatics but as a protest on Paul's part against Jewish particularism [and accounts] for the content of Romans in light of the circumstances of Paul and his addressees, specifically the relationships between Christian communities adopting differing attitudes to the practice of the Jewish Torah.
However, even a cursory examination of Romans reveals that far from representing two oppositional views, in reality one must consider "that the letter, though addressed to concrete circumstances, does offer a unified and structured exposition of the gospel and of its consequences for the life of communities of believers," especially because the elements of Romans that seemed directed to a specific historical audience nevertheless serve to reiterate the larger theological argument.
This will be seen both in Paul's discussion of mankind's condemnation due to the universal stain of sin, as well as the particular historical example he uses to illustrate the notion of justification through faith. Thus, it is necessary to treat Paul's "theological statements in view of their text-external function while simultaneously recognizing and assessing their inherent theological import," because these two levels of reading can only serve to inform and explicate each other.
This fact can be seen most clearly when one considers the first crucial element of Paul's message, which is the universal condemnation of mankind. Paul states explicitly that:
For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
While Paul is obviously arguing against Jewish particularism, this argument is largely incidental, rather than central, because as Paul states later on, the central point of his message is that "Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin [….] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Recognizing this is crucial because it allows one to understand how mankind's condemnation due to sin is universal; that is, in Romans, "sin is Sin -- not a lower-case transgression, not even a human disposition or flaw in human nature, but an upper-case Power that enslaves humankind and stands over against God."
Arguments concerning Jews and Gentiles become obsolete in the face of sin's power over mankind, because this power transcends these divisions, and all who sin are condemned to an eternity in hell.
Upon recognizing that all of mankind is condemned, regardless whether they are Jew or Gentile, one can understand...
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