Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5 …

This is the first of a series of posts on Romans 1 through 8. The reason I am adding one more commentary on Romans to the hundreds or perhaps thousands that are on blogs or YouTube is because my interpretation of Romans involves believing the foundational verses.

Romans 2:6-7 says:

… [God] will pay back to everyone according to their works:to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life …

This morning I searched this passage on YouTube again, and I got a batch of videos that, in so many words, teach that this passage is not true.

The problem is that it is true, and you need to be taught Romans by someone who believes Paul knows more about salvation than Martin Luther or John Calvin.

How can anyone hope to teach Romans accurately when they don’t believe its foundational verses in Romans 1-2 are true?

The Context of Romans

I only found out about the following recently. It did not change my interpretation any, but it sure helped me understand why Paul wrote the things he wrote.

When Paul wrote the letter, Jewish Christians had recently returned to Rome after being banished by Emperor Claudius (reigned AD 41 – 54). The re-merging of the Jewish and Gentile Christians in the city was difficult. I do not know all the details, but I do know that Paul’s letter to the Romans puts the Jew-Gentile controversy at the forefront.

Interestingly, he attempts to set them on equal footing by identifying both parties as rebels against God. He takes a couple chapters to do it, but ends the argument in Romans 3:23 with, ‘For everyone sinned and is failing to obtain the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23, translated by me).

The letter, at least the first 8 chapters, are about what God has done and is doing to resolve that problem.

The other thing that is important to know (which you probably already do know) is that Paul knew that the Jews already did not like his answer to the problem. They had heard about his Gospel of faith, and it made no sense to them.

Remember, though, that Paul was a Jew. He did not suddenly reject Judaism because he encountered Jesus on the way to Damascus. Paul believed that Jesus was the Christ, which is simply the Greek word for the Messiah. The Messiah was prophesied by Jewish prophets and was going to be the pinnacle of the Jewish religion!

Thus, Paul was not overthrowing Judaism for Christianity. He was simply following the Jewish Messiah, the prophet that even Moses had said was coming:

Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from among you, of your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him. (Deut. 18:15)

This verse is why the Pharisees asked John whether he was “the prophet” (Jn. 1:21).

The Messiah is the Jewish king. He would establish Israel’s everlasting kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14). Paul was simply announcing the Messiah, his kingdom, and the Messiah’s teachings. He was prepared, from the Jewish Scriptures and as a Jew, to defend his “good news.”

Announcing that the Messiah had come is, by definition, the Gospel. The Greek word euangelion was primarily used for announcing a new king. We know that it has a fuller meaning throughout the New Testament, but for the most part, the Gospel is the announcement of King Jesus and the explanation of how to enter and live in his kingdom (i.e., under his rule).

As we go through the book of Romans, make sure to pay attention to Paul’s use of the Scriptures. Everything he says fits the Old Testament. Everything he says explains the Old Testament. And everything he says reports the Messiah’s teachings.

A Critical Concept Necessary to Understand Romans

In 1 John 3:7, John wrote:

Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Modern teachers argue about whether Paul is talking about imparted righteousness or imputed righteousness whenever he mentions righteousness. “Don’t let anyone lead you astray,” it is both. It always both. They are never separated.

People who live righteously can expect that God will not attribute sin to them. This is not just a New Testament concept. It is King David who first wrote:

Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity,
    in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Ps. 32:1-2, WEB)

*I always use the World English Bible unless otherwise noted. It is a decent translation, and it is the only modern translation I know of that is in the public domain (no copyright).

I hope you’ll join me as we go through the first half of the book of Romans over as short a period as I am able to produce the blog posts.