romans

In Romans 6-7, Paul works through a series of rhetorical questions, preemptively heading off objections to his teaching that marginalizes the role of the Law of Moses for followers of Jesus. Here in 7.7-25, in two closely related paragraphs, he asks whether, because he’s said that there is no accounting of sin where there is … Continue reading The Law and Sin: Romans 7.7-25

In Romans 6-7 Paul addresses a series of concerns about his message being a license to sin. In chapter 6, he argued that marginalizing the role of the law doesn’t promote sin, because the law was part of the old order of sin, to which we died at our baptism into the new order of … Continue reading Freedom from the Law: Romans 7.1-6

Last time, we looked at the first of three rhetorical questions Paul asks in Romans 6-7. In answering the question of whether we should continue sinning since sin prompts God to act graciously, Paul develops his argument that that we have died with Christ and since Christ’s death destroyed sin’s power, sin has no power … Continue reading A Second Exodus: Romans 6.15-23

Last time, we looked at the second half of Romans 5, in which Paul contrasts two different ways of being human: the normal course of human life in the kingdoms of this world, which is to follow in Adam’s footsteps into sin, and the course of a new, renewed humanity in the Kingdom of God, … Continue reading Participating in Christ: Romans 6.1-14

In the last post, we looked at a transitional section of Paul's Letter to the Romans, which brought together all the themes of the letter to date: that all stand as sinners before God, but have been made right with God through the way of faithfulness, the good-faith way of life and peace revealed in … Continue reading The Case of Two Adams: Romans 5.12-21