In Chapter 4, Paul headed off accusations of novelty in his gospel or that it was a rejection of God’s covenant with Abraham by insisting that Abraham’s election was itself an act of divine grace that made him right with God (’justified’ him) by faith. Now in chapter five, he returns to his main argument, … Continue reading On Peace and Boasting: Romans 5.1-11
Paul has spent the past two-and-a-half chapters making his case that everyone, both Jews and Gentiles alike, is in the same position before God: in need a salvation that is grounded not in performing the ‘works of the Law’ but a relationship grounded in faith(fulness). But if that’s the case, one might wonder, why would … Continue reading Actually, It’s Been about Faith All Along: Romans 4
Over the past two chapters, Paul has laid out, step by step, his argument that everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, sins and stands in need of God’s grace. This is the first argument he deploys to support his thesis statement: that by bringing Jews and Gentiles together in one community, his gospel demonstrates rather than … Continue reading God’s Justice Revealed, Redux: Romans 3.21-31
Before moving on from Paul’s first big argument, it’s time for another targum, a loose explanatory paraphrase of the text: [1.18-23] Our good and just God shows us the real consequences of the sacrilege and injustice humans wreak on the earth when they willfully refuse to see what’s right before their very eyes. For … Continue reading One Boat: A Targum on Romans 1.18-3.20
Throughout the past two chapters, Paul has been slow building his argument that everyone stands in the same position before God. He started off by talking about the general state of affairs in the world, using traditional stories and tropes (1.18-32). But then moved on to attacking all kinds of religious hypocrisy: those who judge … Continue reading Not Even One: Romans 3.9-20
Matthew Root 