Month: <span>January 2016</span>

In Romans 5-6, Paul wrote that justification provides believers with righteousness, life, and grace, triumphing over sin and death. But what about the Mosaic law, which Paul referred to in Rom 5:12-14? In the midst of the unit of Romans 5-8, Romans 7 provides a historical perspective on the relationship between God’s good law and the sinfulness of human flesh. Paul wrote that Israel’s failure was not because God’s law was deficient to instruct God’s people. Rather, the law aroused Israel’s sinfulness and rendered them incapable of meeting God’s standard. Paul’s analysis of the relationship between human sinfulness and God’s holy law in Romans 7 contributes to Paul’s argument throughout Romans. Paul wrote Romans 7 to halt any who would embrace the law for righteousness, and not Christ. Paul thus hoped to dissuade the Jews in his audience from relying on the law. He hoped that, along with Gentiles, the Jews would receive God’s righteousness in Christ so that together Jews and Gentiles in Rome would “glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice” (Rom 15:6).

In Romans 7, Paul argued that the law of Moses had to be understood within the narrative of the Old Testament and the ministry of Jesus.

(1) In Rom 7:1-6, Paul employed the metaphor of marriage to portray believers as belonging to Christ the way that Israel belonged to God. Repeatedly, the prophets used marriage as a figure to describe the Lord’s relationship with Israel. When the Lord brought His people out of Egypt, He acted as a husband toward His people (Jer 31:32; Hos 2:15). But Israel committed spiritual adultery against the Lord (e.g., Isa 50:1; Jer 2:32; 3:6-10, 20; Ezek 16:32-34; Hos 1:2; 2:2). Though the Lord divorced Israel because of her idolatry, He promised to act as a redeeming husband (Isa 54:5-8; 62:4-5; Hos 3:1-3). In Rom 7:1-3, Paul noted that death cancels marital obligations. Paul wrote that through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, believers have died to the law so that they would belong to Christ. As Christ’s bride, believers have been liberated from the law so that they might bear fruit in the new way of service that has been established in the coming of the Spirit (Rom 7:5-6; 8:12-16; Gal 5:15-26).

(2) In Rom 7:7, Paul wrote that the commandment against covetousness exemplifies how the law incites sin in all who attempt to obey it. According to Paul, the tenth commandment, “You shall not covet” (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21), produced every manner of coveting (Rom 7:8; Gal 3:19-26). To be human is to covet, Paul proposed, and thus the law condemns Jews and Gentiles alike. In Rom 5:12-14, Paul wrote that sin was in the world before the law and that sin produced death. The law showed why sin produced death: because humans are sinful from the inside out.

(3) In Rom 7:10, Paul wrote that the law was intended to give life, echoing Moses’ statement in Lev 18:5. In Leviticus 18, Moses wrote that when Israel entered the land, they were to live distinctly unto the Lord. They were to leave behind the habits they observed in Egypt and were to avoid the lifestyles of the Canaanites inhabiting the land they would possess. Moses promised that Israel would live in the land if they obeyed (Lev 18:5). In accord with Moses, Paul esteemed God’s instruction to give life but both Moses and Paul knew of the sinfulness of humanity. Paul’s mindset in Romans 7 reflected the prophecy Moses uttered in Deut 30:1-10. There Moses predicted that Israel would fail to obey the law and be sent into exile. Not until the day when the Lord circumcised the hearts of His people, Moses said, would Israel fulfill God’s requirements (Deut 30:6). The law was given to expose sin and provide a register of why God was righteous to condemn humans to death. The law, Paul concluded in Rom 7:12, was not the problem.

(4) In Rom 7:13-25, Paul’s description of the wretchedness of those sold under sin’s power reflected the psalmists’ and prophets’ portrayal of those under God’s wrath. Paul used the first-person personal pronoun, “I,” to describe one who seems so different than what he previously described in Romans 5-6. Paul’s autobiographical language in Rom 7:13-25 reflected the prophets’ use of the first-person singular to designate a corporate body with whom they felt the highest kindred spirit. The prophet Micah employed this literary technique when describing Israel’s future vindication (Mic 7:8-10). Corporate solidarity played no small part in the life of national Israel, as Paul expressed in Rom 9:1-5. Israel time and again confessed that they wanted to do the good of the law but failed to overcome their idolatrous ways. Paul said that before his conversion he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man” (1 Tim 1:13). Israel, and Paul looking back at life before his conversion, could confess, “What a wretched man I am!” (Rom 7:24). They wished to serve the law of God with their mind, but their rebellious behavior revealed that they in fact lived in slavery to sin. In Romans 5-6, Paul repeatedly noted that believers enjoy a state of grace and righteousness. Their state could not differ more from the state of those trying to be right with God through the works of the law, those in Paul’s view in Rom 7:13-25. When Paul described the sinful state of humanity in Rom 3:16, he cited Isa 59:7, “Ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.” Isaiah noted that Israel’s behavior had separated them from God, their lifestyle gave no evidence of His redeeming love or the power of His word. In Isa 47:11, the prophet declared that disaster would come upon Babylon, placing them in a state of destruction that they would not be able to avert. The psalmist likewise portrayed Babylon in a state beyond hope, destined for destruction (Ps 137:8). Jeremiah announced the destruction and ruin of Jerusalem, placing the city in a state of hopelessness (Jer 4:13, 20).

In Romans 5, Paul proposed that all of humanity is either represented by Adam or Christ. Those in the former lived under the reign of sin, death, and the law of Moses, those in the latter under the reign of righteousness, life, and grace. Paul went on in Romans 6 to set forth the implications of union with Christ. The apostle argued that if one is united with Christ, they have been freed from the forces that rule those in Adam. Thus, as those free from sin’s ruling power, the justified should practice ethical righteousness.

Paul anticipated that some in the Roman congregation might respond with sarcasm when considering his thesis that the profound gift of righteousness is offered freely to sinners simply by faith in Christ. Paul thought some might consider the wonder of God’s grace in Christ only to retort, “Should we continue in sin that grace may multiply?” (Rom 6:1); or with the mocking question, “Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” (Rom 6:15). To both of these, Paul replied in the strongest of terms, “Absolutely not!” (Rom 6:2a, 15b).

(1) In Rom 6:3-6, Paul described the believer’s union with Christ in language more intimate than Israel’s close association with God. When the Lord instituted the covenant of circumcision for Abraham and his descendants in Gen 17:7, the Lord promised to be the God of Abraham’s family and that they would be His people. When the Lord called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, He said, “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God” (Exod 6:7a). Jeremiah exhorted the people of Judah to obey God so that He would be their God and they would be His people (Jer 7:23). Jeremiah also promised that when the Lord restored Israel, they would be known as God’s people and the Lord would be known as their God (Jer 30:22; 31:33). Ezekiel announced to the exiles that God would gather and lead His people again. Yet again, the Lord promised, “I, the LORD, will be their God” (Ezek 34:24a). Israel’s close, covenantal association with the Lord surfaces throughout the Old Testament. However, Paul’s portrayal of the believer’s union with Christ in Christ’s death and resurrection suggests that believers enjoy a deeper personal relationship with God. Paul wrote that the believer’s death-and-life union with Jesus is portrayed in Christian baptism. The believer’s immersion corresponds with Jesus’ death, and exit from the waters with His resurrection. According to Paul, Christian baptism not only signifies the believer’s union with Christ but also the new way of life they are to pursue because of their relationship with Christ. Since sin’s dominion over the body is abolished through the believer’s union with Christ, those united with Christ are no longer enslaved to sin’s ruling powers (Rom 6:6).

(2) In Rom 6:17, Paul described the Roman believers’ obedience in language anticipated by the promise of the new covenant in Jer 31:33. Jeremiah announced the new covenant saying that in the day when the Lord would restore His people, He would place His law on their minds and write it on their hearts. In Rom 5:12-14, Paul introduced sin as a reigning power—holding sway over all in Adam. In Rom 6:16, Paul probed the implications of sin’s rule, asking, “Do you not know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?” Every person is in Adam or in Christ, enslaved either to sin or to obedience. Paul encouraged the Romans, saying, “Thanks be to God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness” (Rom 6:17-18).

In Romans 1-4, Paul argued that Jews and Gentiles—all of humanity—have sinned against God. Since God judges impartially, all are guilty before Him. Only by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection can anyone be made right before God. And since neither Jew nor Gentile has a claim on God, no nation can boast over another. In Romans 5, Paul personified biblical concepts, contrasting righteousness, life, and grace with sin, death, and the law. These themes surface again in Romans 8, suggesting that Romans 5-8 should be read as a unit.

Throughout Romans 1-4, Paul emphasized the severe consequences that sin had brought to humanity. Nonetheless, as Paul looked back and compared the actions of Adam and Christ, Paul declared that the degree of consequence of Jesus was greater than that of Adam. Thus, after generations of trespass, Christ’s one sacrifice was sufficient to cover the sin of all who humbly trust in Him—with the result that they might “reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17). Thus, the solution to the historical problem of sin arrived in the gift of Christ—and resulted in the reign of righteousness, life, and grace for all who believe apart from works of the law (Rom 5:18-21). Christ’s death and resurrection for sinners provides “life-giving justification for everyone” (Rom 5:18)—both Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s reflection on Adam, Moses, and Jesus in Romans 5 gave his audience a survey of the Old Testament from a Christian point of view.

(1) In Rom 5:5, Paul described the pouring out of God’s love by the Holy Spirit in language Ezekiel used to prophesy of the day of restoration when the Lord would cleanse His people and put His Spirit within them. Ezekiel prophesied to Israel in the time of the Babylonian exile. The prophet proclaimed both judgement and restoration. Ezekiel proclaimed that the Lord would restore His people by cleansing them with clean water and pouring out His Spirit upon them (Ezek 36:24-27). In Ezek 37:14, the prophet recorded the declaration of the Lord concerning the future of His people, saying, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I have spoken, and I will do it.” In Rom 5:5, Paul echoed Ezekiel’s language to describe the experience of those who receive the righteousness of God by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection. For Paul, the hope that Ezekiel prophesied had been realized by sinful Jews and Gentiles through their belief in Jesus.

(2) In Rom 5:12-21, Paul referenced Adam’s sin to explain the origin of sin and its sway over all peoples. Paul argued that all human sin finds its roots in the sin of Adam recorded in Gen 3:6. Adam’s sin resulted in death (Gen 2:17; 3:3, 17-19) and a death sentence for all of humanity (1 Cor 15:22). Paul proposed that the mortality of all people from the time of Adam to the time of Moses was evidence that sin dominated humanity even before the law was given at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20). Through Adam’s sin, all people were condemned. Historically speaking, all that Paul wrote about human sin in Romans 1-3 was the result of Adam’s transgression in Eden.

(3) In Rom 5:12-21, Paul noted that the Mosaic law was not able to curb sin but only multiplied it. Through Moses, God issued the law to Israel. Near the end of his life, in Deut 30:1-2 Moses recognized Israel’s ability to keep the law and even predicted the exile. “The law came along to multiply the trespass,” Paul wrote in Rom 5:20. Paul had only to look at Deuteronomy, Moses’ final instructions on the Plains of Moab, as evidence that Israel had failed to keep God’s commands from the earliest period of the nation’s history. Paul’s frame of mind in Rom 5:12-20 anticipates Rom 7:1-12 where he wrote that the law was not to blame for Israel’s covenant failure. Sin so corrupted humanity that the law was of no use for righteousness. In Gal 3:19-26, Paul noted that the law was intended to curb sin until the coming of Christ but in each instance of Israel’s failure, the law multiplied Israel’s sinfulness.

In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul set forth a framework for understanding the righteousness of God as a judge. God’s impartiality toward Jews and Gentiles placed both groups in need of an alien righteousness before God’s judgement bench. Paul warned the Jews that reliance on the law would profit them nothing—since they did not practice it (Rom 2:1-10; 17-29). Gentiles likewise needed God’s grace in Christ because they were incapable of consistently maintaining even their own standards—let alone God’s (Rom 2:12-16). Paul’s presentation of the righteousness of God in Romans 1-3 laid the foundation for his purpose in the letter. Paul argued that since only faith in Christ—and not works of the Mosaic law—provided one with the righteousness of God, Jews and Gentiles in Rome should set their spiritual pride aside, receive one another in love, and speak with one voice the praises of God (Rom 12:1-2; 15:1-7). To where could Paul turn to find illustrations of faith as the means by which sinners can be made right before an impartial God? Paul turned to Scripture’s storyline. He cited Abraham—the father of the Jewish people—as an example of one who was made right with God by faith even before the law was given. And Paul saw in David’s words in Ps 32:1-2 a text that supported his proposition that God grants His righteousness to sinners by faith and apart from works of the law.

(1) In Rom 4:1-12 Paul cited Gen 15:6 and Ps 32:1-2 to explain how God credits righteousness to sinners apart from any Old Testament law. In Gen 14:1-16, Abraham rescued his nephew Lot from the kings that raided Sodom. Abraham risked his life for a family member but still had not received God’s blessing of a son. When would God’s promise come about? In Gen 15:1-4 the Lord spoke to Abraham and reassured the patriarch that He would protect him and provide him an heir. The Lord told Abraham to look at the night sky and promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars Abraham saw shining in the black of night. In response, “Abraham believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). In Rom 4:3, Paul cited Gen 15:6 as scriptural proof that God grants righteousness to those who believe His word. Performing the works of the Mosaic law, even circumcision, Paul argued, was not the means of being made right before God. In Rom 4:7-8, Paul cited David’s words in Ps 32:1-2 to establish that God grants righteousness to sinners. Paul identified in Ps 32:1-2 a reference to the kind of people whom God forgives and to whom God grants His righteousness: sinners. Psalm 32 is attributed to David and in Rom 3:4, Paul cited another psalm of David, Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is David’s confession of sin following his immorality with Bathsheba. Paul’s use of Ps 51:4 in Rom 3:4 anticipates his citation of Ps 32:1-2 in Rom 4:7-8. Paul cited David’s life as an illustration of gospel forgiveness apart from the legal requirements of the Mosaic law. Works of the Mosaic law (circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, food laws, etc.), Paul argued, could not merit righteousness for someone who was by nature and practice a sinner. Paul then turned again to Gen 15:6 to identify the period in Abraham’s life when God made Abraham the promise and the patriarch believed unto righteousness. Abraham’s faith commitment was expressed before the Lord instituted the sign of circumcision in Gen 17:9-14. Paul wrote that Abraham received circumcision as a sign of the righteousness that he enjoyed by faith alone before the sign of circumcision was established in Israel. In this way, Abraham was the father of faith for both Jews and Gentiles (Rom 4:12).

(2) In Rom 4:17-18, Paul quoted Gen 17:5 and Gen 15:5 to reinforce his position that faith is the means by which God grants righteousness to sinners of all nations. Paul noted that when the Lord established the covenant of circumcision for Abraham’s physical descendants, the Lord changed the patriarch’s name from Abram to Abraham (Gen 17:5). “For I will make you the father of many nations,” the Lord said (Gen 17:5). Paul saw in Gen 17:5 an opportunity to recall for his audience in Romans that the Lord had first made this promise to Abraham in Gen 15:5—before the covenant of circumcision was established. Paul argued that faith and not circumcision (often thought to represent the Mosaic law part-for-whole) is the key characteristic of Abraham’s true descendants (Gen 15:5).

(3) In Rom 4:22-23, Paul quoted Gen 15:6 to underscore God’s faithfulness in granting righteousness to sinners who believe in the same manner that Abraham believed. Throughout Romans 4, Paul argued that faith is the means by with God grants righteousness to sinners. And Paul saw in Abraham’s faith an exemplary manner for trusting God. God called Abraham to believe that even though he and Sarah were far beyond the years of natural conception, God would yet provide them a biological heir. Abraham was fully convinced that what God had promised, God would bring to fulfillment (Rom 4:21). Against all observable circumstances, Abraham believed. And because Abraham believed in that manner, it was credited to the patriarch for righteousness. Paul concluded Romans 4 by stating that God grants righteousness to all sinners who believe that God will grant them righteousness by their faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom 4:23-25).

In Romans, Paul described the righteousness of God reaching out to sinners of every ethnicity. Paul hoped that as the divergent Jew/Gentile population of the early church understood God’s indiscriminate kindness in Christ, they would humble themselves and present a united witness to the world. Despite the fact that the prophets warned Israel time-and-again against their haughty attitude as God’s chosen people, they continued to display an arrogant disposition toward God and the Gentiles. At the end of Romans 3, Paul set out his justification for writing so much about the sin of Jews and Gentiles: both groups needed to humble themselves under the righteousness of God—and cease from their boastful ways. He says, “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith…Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Rom 3:27, 29-30). Paul used the Old Testament in Romans 1-3 to help his readers understand God’s righteousness and human sinfulness.

(1) In Rom 1:17, Paul quoted Hab 2:4 to establish a scriptural precedent for faith as the means of righteousness before God. Habakkuk prophesied during a time of crisis in Israel. The Lord had raised up the wicked Chaldeans to come against His elect—and the Lord’s work made no sense to Habakkuk. The Lord told Habakkuk that the righteous one would live by faith in what God was doing to discipline His people despite the appearance of injustice on God’s part (Hab 2:3-4). Paul employed Hab 2:4 to help unify his Jew/Gentile audience in Rome. If all nationalities related to God by the same means, faith in Christ, then no nation could claim superiority before God. Jews could thus no longer boast in their historical privileges of election and possession of the law. Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Rom 1:16-17, citing Hab 2:4).

(2) In Rom 2:6, Paul quoted Ps 62:12 to establish God’s fairness as a judge. In Psalm 62, the psalmist chided those who lied about him and hypocritically blessed him with their mouth while cursing in their heart (Ps 62:3-4). The psalmist concluded his poem trusting in God to repay each person according to their works (Ps 62:12). Following Paul’s indictment of Gentiles for their sin in Rom 1:18-32, he turned to confront the Jews in Romans 2. Paul chastised the Jews for their hypocrisy: they condemned the Gentiles for their sins but then walked in the same patterns of life as the Gentiles. If Jews thought they were saved because of lineage to Abraham or possession of the law, Paul stated otherwise. Citing Ps 62:12, Paul said that God “will repay each one according to his works” (Rom 2:6). God shows no favoritism, Paul said in Rom 2:11. The Jews’ boasting of possession of the law was actually grounds for their condemnation—since they failed to practice the law.

(3) In Rom 2:24, Paul quoted Isa 52:5 to condemn Jews for not accurately representing God before the Gentiles. In Isaiah 52, the prophet proclaimed that God would restore His people to Jerusalem. Historically speaking, Isaiah said that when Israel was in Egypt or in exile, God’s name was blasphemed. The Egyptians and Assyrians were the agents who blasphemed God by taking God’s people captive (Isa 52:1-6). Paul employed Isa 52:5 to confront the Jews because on account of their hypocrisy, God’s name had been blasphemed among the Gentiles (Rom 2:23-24). Paul thus turned Isaiah’s prophecy—originally pejorative against the Egyptians and Assyrians for their continual oppression of Israel—against the Jews, saying, “You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” (Rom 2:23). Even circumcision—the identity marker of Israelite descent—was of no benefit if one did not observe the law (Rom 2:25). Paul’s point was that Jews were just as culpable as Gentiles—and likewise needed salvation.

(4) In Rom 3:4, Paul quoted Ps 51:4 to confirm God’s righteousness in condemning Jews because of their sin. In Psalm 51, David lamented his sin with Bathsheba. The author of 2 Samuel described David’s greed when the king looked at Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, took her, slept with her, had Uriah killed, and took Bathsheba to be his wife (2 Samuel 11). When Nathan confronted David in 2 Samuel 12, the Lord convicted the king of his sin and Psalm 51 provides a window into David’s repentant heart. David confessed that He had, ultimately, sinned against God alone and that God was right to condemn him for his evil acts recorded in 2 Samuel 11. In Romans 2, Paul argued that the Jews of his day exhibited hypocrisy when they condemned the Gentiles but practiced the same sins as the Gentiles. Though the Jews enjoyed historical privilege as God’s chosen people who had been entrusted with His word, God was faithful in condemning them because of their sin. In his use of Ps 51:4 (“that You may be justified in Your words and triumph when You judge”) in Rom 3:4, Paul portrayed God’s condemnation of Jewish sinners as a demonstration of His righteousness. In Romans 1-3, Paul established God as the righteous judge who evaluated every human based upon their works. Since Israel failed to be faithful with what God entrusted to them, God’s faithfulness would be demonstrated in condemning them.

(5) In Rom 3:10-18, Paul wove together passages from Psalms and Isaiah to portray the complete sinfulness of humanity. In what may have been especially difficult for Jewish ears, Paul backed his proposition of human depravity with a string of quotations from the Psalms and Isaiah. Paul assembled the Jewish Scriptures to testify that both Gentiles and Jews were guilty before God and in need of salvation in Christ. The descendants of Abraham could expect no favors from God. Paul proposed that the Jews’ total inability to keep the law would render them helpless before God on judgment day, and their mouths would thus be silenced before Him. Paul argued that far from being the means of justification, the law of Moses would be the grounds of condemnation for any who attempted to live by it, saying, “No flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). Since there was no distinction in the way that sin had marred the spiritual condition of both Jews and Gentiles, Paul urged his audience that they could only be justified by trusting in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:22).