Romans Flashcards
(28 cards)
Historical Context of Romans
Author: Paul Date: 57-58 CE Place of Composition: Corinth Audience: The house churches at Rome Unity and Integrity: maintained Occasion or Purpose: To give a careful explanation of his “gospel to the Gentiles,” particularly the doctrine justification by faith and the place of both Jews and Gentiles in the divine plan for human redemption. Paul wanted to unify a fractured community. When he wrote Romans, Paul was getting ready to go to Jerusalem to deliver the “collection.”
Romans is…
Paul’s “Greatest” Letter / Paul’s “Gospel”
Some claim that to understand the letter to the Romans is to understand Paul
Martin Luther: “Romans contains in itself the plan of the whole scripture, and is a most complete epitome of the New Testament or Gospel”
What motivated Paul to write Romans?
- The Roman Christian community was not different from other communities.
- There were Jewish members, and the earliest Christians were Jewish
Gentiles came into the community little by little. - It became a mixed community
- Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome
- This is an important part, because the Acts of the Apostles is in line with this…
- Acts mentions Paul meeting Priscilla and Aquila, who were expelled Jews from Rome, then 5+ years later, he writes Romans
- After 5 years, Jews were allowed to return to Italy
- Confirmed: in the greeting of Romans, Paul greets Priscilla and Aquila
- This community was experiencing tensions between Jewish and non-Jewish members
- Paul wanted the Roman Church to become unified
- He wanted it to become a staging ground for him to move his missions West
- This motivated Paul to write his gospel; Romans is the fullest expression of what Paul thought the gospel (good news of Jesus) consisted of
The importance of Paul’s greeting in Romans and its historical significance
- Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome
- This is an important part, because the Acts of the Apostles is in line with this
- Acts mentions Paul meeting Priscilla and Aquila, who were expelled Jews from Rome, then 5+ years later, he writes Romans
- After 5 years, Jews were allowed to return to Italy
- Confirmed: in the greeting of Romans, Paul greets Priscilla and Aquila
Noteworthy Background Circumstances
Paul writes Romans to unify a fractured community.
When he wrote Romans, Paul was getting ready to go to Jerusalem to deliver the “collection.”
After that, he planned to go to Spain, most probably, to evangelize in “virgin territory.” (Spain: Wild West of the Roman Empire). Paul’s dream was to start a community in Spain because he would avoid the interference of other missionaries.
But since his communities were so far, he wanted to befriend a community closer to Spain and have a “base” for his mission” and seems to have thought of Rome as such a base.
So he introduces himself to a community that he had not founded, to make it his base between his communities and Spain.
Paul wrote Romans as a systematic expression of his “gospel” message. He is calm, unlike in Galatians.
Key Features of Paul’s “Gospel”
Who was this Jesus?
- Jesus (the) Christ is the Lord!
- Example: Philippians 2:1-11 and Romans 10:9
- Lord: Dominus (the title of the Emperor)
- Caesar Augustus begins this Divine title of the Emperor
- Paul is saying that the real Lord is not Caesar, it is Jesus
- Jesus is the one with divinely established supreme authority who rules over all
Life “in Christ”
- If you have accepted Christ as the Messiah, how should you live?
Justification, not by “works,” but by grace
- How do you enter the realm of salvation?
- By Faith and God’s Grace
Key Terms in Pauline Thought
Grace
Giving something precious freely to someone who has not “earned” it. (God’s Action)
- Something given freely to someone who has not earned it.
- In Paul’s thinking, this is God’s action.
- God gives us grace in the person of Jesus Christ in order to save us from our sins
Key Terms in Pauline Thought
Faith
To put your trust in someone. In Paul’s case, his allowing himself to be led by Jesus after his conversion. (Human Action)
- To put your trust in someone, and in effect, it is receiving what is freely given because you trust that giver
- Accepting the gift of God of faith
- The human response to grace. The human part of the action.
Key Terms in Pauline Thought
Justification
To consider someone as righteous. God considers humans righteous through their faith, i.e. their acceptance of his grace of salvation offered through Jesus. (End Result).
- To consider someone as righteous, even if they do not deserve it
- The end result of God’s Grace and Human Faith
Romans 1:16-18
Paul’s Thesis Statement
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to Jew, then to Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Divine and Human Relationship in Romans
The letter begins with Paul presenting the Divine and Human Relationship as having “broken down” because of human sin
All are Guilty: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
About the Gentile world: Paul condemns the Pagan world for its practices (e.g. idolatry)
About the Jews: They have the Law but they disobey it and are also guilty
The Law in Romans
Paul talks about the Law and sin…
- Yes the Law defines what sin is.
- However, when something is identified as sin, it is the nature of humans to desire that sinful thing all the more!
Noteworthy: Romans 7:14-25
Some say, also contains an important autobiographical element about Paul’s struggle with sin? Or some other thing?
In Adam, all Sinned
Adam being the first human being, we are all connected with him in some way
Whatever he did had repercussions for all of humanity
Solidarity: In Rom 5, Paul presents a notion of human “solidarity” with each other both for evil and for good
First kind of solidarity: when Adam, the first human, sinned, all humanity sinned in him
When Adam sinned, all of us sinned in him
Sin/death entered the world
Humanity became helpless, so God stepped in with a master plan
God’s Master Plan: Jesus Christ
Jesus saves us
Jesus is the new Adam, he acts like a new Adam so much so that if the old Adam brought sin into the world, the new Adam’s redeems everyone (by accepting to sacrifice himself for God
God’s Plan for Helpless Humanity
Mired in sin and death, humanity was helpless
Death is the ultimate wage of sin
Here, God steps in. God’s master plan? Jesus Christ
Jesus acts like the New Adam: Just as everyone sinned in Adam, everyone can share the obedience of Christ, thus reversing the curse of Adam
In Adam, all Sinned
Romans 5
- Adam being the first human being, we are all connected with him in some way.
- Whatever he did had repercussions for all of humanity
- Solidarity: In Rom 5, Paul presents a notion of human “solidarity” with each other both for evil and for good
First kind of solidarity
- When Adam, the first human, sinned, all humanity sinned in him
- When Adam sinned, all of us sinned in him
- Sin/death entered the world
- Humanity became helpless, so God stepped in with a master plan
God’s Master Plan: Jesus Christ
- Jesus saves us
- Jesus is the new Adam, he acts like a new Adam so much so that if the old Adam brought sin into the world, the new Adam’s redeems everyone (by accepting to sacrifice himself for God
Jesus Christ is God’s Plan for Helpless Humanity
How are Humans Saved?
Through God’s Grace, Faith and Justification (Romans 3:22-26).
Ethical Living as a Consequence of God’s Grace/Salvation.
Key Terms: Grace, Salvation, Redemption, Faith, Justification, Living in Righteousness.
Grace
God’s free offer of salvation to us.
We can never merit this offer
This offer of salvation is given through Jesus Christ.
Salvation
The process of being saved (rescued from death or catastrophe).
Redemption
The process of being “redeemed” (that is, to get back by repaying a loan)
Jesus “paid the price” for God to redeem humanity
Faith
What is faith? Faith is doing what Abraham did - trusting God, taking God at his word (Rom 4), believing God will accomplish what God promised
Faith came before factors like the Law, circumcision, etc.
Faith was the very first thing that Abraham displayed, and God made him righteous because of his faith
Abraham was considered righteous before God because of faith, not by following the LAW, or being circumcised, etc.
Justification
When we accept God’s offer of salvation in Christ through faith we are justified, that is, put in a right relationship with God and treated as righteous before God
In Greek, the verb is “dikaioun” meaning: “to treat as” “to reckon as”
Therefore, when God justifies sinful humans, He treats them as righteous, even though they are undeserving
God treats us as righteous, even though we are not (since we have tendencies to sin)
This issue sharply divided Catholics and Protestants
Protestants thought that no amount of good works can make anyone righteous, because we are rotten to the core
When God saves us, he covers us with the white cloak of Christ, through the salvation of JC, and God approves of us as righteous because Jesus saved us
Living in Righteousness
Living in righteousness is NOT in order to earn God’s grace. We can never do this.
Instead, Living in righteousness is a CONSEQUENCE of having been loved and saved unconditionally by God.
Jesus Crucified: How to Make Sense?
Deuteronomy: “for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse”
- Early Christians struggled to answer this question
- Paul and other teachers came up with brilliant answer to explain why Jesus was “hung on a tree” (crucified)
- They associated Jesus’ death with the sacrificial lamb
Christ as Sacrifice of Atonement / Christ as the Lamb of God
- In the temple, lambs (animals) were offered as atonement sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Blood was thought of as having atonement value.
- Blood for the ancient Hebrews, carried life; blood was thought of as the most precious thing
- They offered God the most precious thing, blood (life)
- Abraham was about to kill Isaac, and is topped by the angel, and offers the ram he finds in the bushes instead
- When this story was transferred to the Christian world, Isaac is a symbol of humanity and God stops the sacrifice of humanity, by offering humanity Jesus, instead
- The trend of comparing God to lamb (sacrifice) began…
The “Abusers”
Some reacted in the following way to Paul’s message of justification through faith:
If grace can cover all sins, why don’t we go on sinning so that grace can operate all the more.
People understood Paul’s message as they could do anything they want (sin) since everyone receives God’s grace, using it as an excuse to sin
Paul answers to the “abusers” with a resounding NO…
Paul’s Response to the Abusers: Dying and Rising with Christ
Paul compares Baptism to dying and rising with Christ…
- When we are plunged into the water, we “die” with Christ (we died to sin)
- When we rose from the water, we rose to a new life free from sin, full of grace
- Conclusion: we cannot continue to commit serious sins after Baptism
- Living in Righteousness is NOT in order to earn God’s grace. We can never do this, because God gave this to us as a free gift before we were even justified.
- Instead, living in righteousness is a natural CONSEQUENCE of having been loved and saved unconditionally by God.
