Romans 1 & 2
I remember in my Uni days doing a study on Romans with a woman who was the Aunty of one of the blokes at College. ‘Aunty Shirley’ had served as a missionary in Indonesia for a long time and she taught the Bible to people over there. Well as a bunch of 18-21 year old males at University we thought we knew everything there was to know…about pretty much…everything. What’s that saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know!’ Well after a few months of studying Romans with Aunty Shirley we realised what we didn’t know…and it was a lot. So…to write a couple of paragraphs about two whole chapters of Romans is a tough task. So just a couple of points…
Firstly this letter to the church in Rome (Romans) is all about Paul speaking to both Jews and non-jews in a non-jewish culture. Paul’s total focus is to share with these people the good news of Jesus Christ and to teach and equip them to live lives that is a witness to this good news. The book of Romans is filled with amazing truth about God’s grace and love and the extravagence in which God shares this with all of us through Jesus Christ, the giving of the Holy Spirit and the living of this in this new community called ‘church’.
Secondly the way Paul does this is through the combining of reason-argument, historical faith, cultural context and personal experience. This is a great example of the work of every Christian – to know scripture, know our society, know our experience and be prepared to give reason for our faith in Jesus Christ. Through this Paul speaks to the Jew and to the Non-Jew. To those with faith Paul challenges them to not give in to the culture as if their nationality makes them exempt from personal ethical behaviour and relationship and he challenges the Non-Jew as also being without excuse from seeing faith in Christ as a gift which requires-results in personal transformation. Faith is neither merely a cultural norm or a intellectual idea. Faith changes people and impacts communities…even all of creation.
Through Romans Paul not only shares that faith in Christ is personal but that through the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit this new community called ‘church’ becomes the transformative agent in the world.
Paul’s definitive statement is early in chapter one “The Gospel is the power of God saving all people, whether Jew or Gentile” The Gospel saves personally, communally and globally and it is grounded in our personal ethical behaviours and relationship…not ideas, concepts or cultural heritage. The gospel is here, it is now, it never leaves you the same…and it is eternally good!
[Prayer – LORD may I have the power of the gospel shake my world and bring me to a knowledge of the never-failing love of God that I may be a witness to this eternal reality…everyday!. Amen.
