For those of you who spend life hanging of every word of this new blog, I will get back to the “goodness of creation” thoughts, through an early Buddhist lens, soon. But, I have had this long lost book of Romans on my mind.
How is it that when dealing with the Book of Romans, and the core of the Christian faith, that the American church can enjoy chapters 1-5 and jump straight to chapter 12 (or for some in the Reformed world chapter 9). In the literature as well as short evangelistic tracts, it is as if chapters 6-8 of Romans are a lost book.
Paul structures his letter to the Romans as the “faith that leads to obedience.” When unpacking the “faith” Paul deals with both justification and new life – not merely justification. His section on new life takes up as much text as his famous section on justification. This “new life” is not merely for us after death, but is a life (His life) in which we now share. What does this “new life” provide for us?
You ought to check out the Lost Book of Romans for yourself. You’d be surprised just how encouraging this lost part of the “faith” can be for each of us.
I find Paul’s commentary on the relationship between sin and the law to be an interesting part of this passage. Thanks for posting, Aaron!
It’s a great part of that section. The encouragement comes in the last verse of chapter 7 and through verse 11 of chapter 8. The new life we share in Christ, as those raised with him, gives us the strength we need in our daily struggles. I think 8:11 is where the encouragement meets daily life.
As far as the discussion of law and sin is concerned in chapter 7, we have to keep in mind what Paul establishes in 1:20 and 2:14-15. There is a core sense of moral right and wrong that is consistent with the Torah, but, most likely, lacking ritual or ceremonial specificity of many parts of the Torah, that exists within those who have never read or heard the Torah. The struggle with Law in chapter 7 is most likely in direct relationship with the Torah, but there is no reason to exclude a non-Jew from such a struggle in her/his life with an inherent sense of right and wrong. Thanks for posting, Christopher!
great post, thanks for sharing