After his instructions on community life, Paul wraps up the paraenetic section of his letter to the assemblies of Rome by connecting the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christ-followers, which has been one of the letter’s major themes, with his hoped-for mission to Spain. Text [Today I’ll provide a summary of this text, which contains … Continue reading Paul’s Final Thoughts: Romans 15.7-16.33
Part 1 of this post introduced the text and many of its general themes. Today we’ll look at its more challenging themes and the difficulties we have in applying them today. Explore (cont.) Ritual Purity While the passage ends up defending those who maintain an idea of ritual purity, it can’t be lost how strongly … Continue reading Difference without Division: Romans 14.1-15.7, Part 2
We’re now well into the paraenetic section of Paul’s letter to the Romans, that is, the portion that calls the audience to action grounded in the arguments of the body of the letter. Specifically, Paul grounds his call to action in the mercy of God, Paul has been exhorting his readers to embody that same … Continue reading Difference without Division: Romans 14.1-15.7, Part 1
After his challenging words about how Christ-followers should orient themselves towards civil authority, Paul returns to his more basic exhortations about how to live out God’s mercy and love in relationships — here turning explicitly to love. Let’s look at the text. Text [13.8] Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the … Continue reading Waking Up to Love: Romans 13.8-14
Paul spent chapter 12 of his letter to the Romans advocating a new kind of community, built on the foundation of mercy and grace. This was a counter-cultural ethic that was the antithesis of the Roman Empire and its values. It’s particularly surprising then, when he starts the next chapter with what seems to be … Continue reading A Tyrant’s Dream? (Redux): Romans 13.1-7
