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48PaulRomansNew.docxChapter Forty-Eight
PAUL
the Letter to the ROMANS
Author and Date. Ancient and modern commentators agree that the Apostle Paul wrote Romans. His name is attached to it (1:10), and its contents are consistent with our knowledge of Paul’s mind and ministry from the Book of Acts and his other New Testament epistles. It is similarly agreed that Paul must have written the letter during the final months of his third missionary tour (Acts 18:23-21:16), probably during the winter of late A.D. 57 or early 58. This is based on information from Romans 15, where Paul mentions his fund-raising efforts in Macedonia and Achaia (modern Greece) for “the poor among the saints at Jerusalem” (15:26). According to Acts 20:1-3, Paul went through these regions just before setting out for Jerusalem with the relief offering in A.D. 58. The letter was probably dispatched from the Achaian city of Corinth or its nearby port of Cenchreae (Romans 16:1).
Destination. In Paul’s day, Rome was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire and the most populated metropolis of the Mediterranean world. Although predominantly pagan and notoriously corrupt, the city was also home to more than a dozen Jewish synagogues. The birth of Christianity in Rome is one of the unsolved puzzles of history. The good news may have first reached the city through Jewish pilgrims returning from Jerusalem (Acts 2:10). Tradition also remembers the Apostle Peter ministering in the capital during the 40s (see note on Acts 12:17). Whatever its first contact with the gospel, Rome had a glowing reputation for its faith by the time Paul wrote to the Christian community (Romans 1:8). Hints scattered throughout the letter suggest the Roman Church at this time was a mixed community of Jewish (2:17; 7:1) and Gentile believers (11:13; 15:15-16). The majority were probably Gentiles, since most of the individual names listed in chapter 16 are Greco-Roman and only a handful are distinctively Semitic. In any case, many scholars hold that the Roman Church was still closely associated with the synagogue communities of the city where it seems to have first taken root.
Purpose. Three principal aims underlie the Letter to the Romans. (1) Paul wrote to introduce himself and his teaching to the Roman Christians in preparation for his planned visit (1:11-13). The Church in Rome was one of the few to which Paul wrote before making a personal visit. (2) Paul hoped to establish the Roman Church as his missionary base for a new phase of evangelization. Having completed his work in the eastern Mediterranean, Paul was now ready to turn his attention and energies toward Spain in the west (15:23-24). The letter is Paul’s initial attempt to enlist the support of the Romans in carrying out these apostolic plans. (3) Paul also hoped to ease tensions that were straining the unity and fellowship of the Roman Church itself. Boasting, it seems, was a problem for Jews and Gentiles alike: the Jews took pride in the blessings and advantages of the Old Covenant not shared by the Gentiles (2:1-3:20); and the Gentiles claimed to have replaced Israel as the new and beloved people of God (11:13-32). For this reason, Paul argues at length for the unity and equality of all peoples in Jesus Christ (3:28-30) and challenges believers of every nationality to welcome one another as servants and worshippers of the same Lord (10:12; 15:7-12).
Themes and Characteristics. Romans is a work of profound theological reflection. As such, it has probably influenced Christian thinking and history more than any other epistle of Paul. It is his longest letter and, in the eyes of many, his most mature. Indeed, Paul had been preaching and defending the gospel for two decades before he wrote Romans, leaving us a work that is stamped with the imprint of his wisdom, depth, and spiritual energy. Even more than his other writings, however, Romans is full of things that are “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). His style is more formal than usual, and his thoughts weave back and forth through a maze of theological mysteries concerning sin, judgment, righteousness, justification, sanctification, salvation, suffering, law, grace, sonship, election, mercy, sacrifice, and the triune God. If any New Testament epistle can claim to resemble a theological treatise, it is Romans. The body of Romans divides neatly into three major parts.
(1) Salvation in Christ (1:16-8:39). The letter begins with a sweeping indictment of mankind, declaring the world guilty before God. Here Paul states that the cancer of human rebellion that spread rampantly among the pagans (1:18-32) has also infected Israel (2:1-3:20). As a result, all nations without distinction stand trapped in the same predicament: entangled in sin and in desperate need of salvation (3:23). God responds to this tragedy by sending forth his Son, Jesus Christ, whose dying and rising rescues the fallen family of Adam and restores them to a righteous standing with God (5:1-21). At several points throughout this section Paul reflects deeply on the mystery of sin (6:12-23; 7:7-25) and the salvation we experience in Christ through the Spirit (8:1-39).
(2) Restoration of Israel (9:1-11:36). The central section of Romans examines the place of Israel in the new economy of grace. Though many in Israel have repudiated the gospel, Paul insists that God has not abandoned his covenant people but is planning to save “all Israel” in Christ (11:26-27). This, according to Paul, is consistent with the pattern of God’s dealings with Israel in the Scriptures. These chapters also examine how the Gentiles are related to Israel as branches grafted onto the trunk of an olive tree (11:17-24).
(3) Christian living and Epilogue (12:1-16:23). The final chapters of Romans are a practical application of the theology expounded in earlier chapters. Here Paul considers the obligations of the believer in the Church and society. His catechesis follows the main contours of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels (12:9-21). In this section we find Paul’s most explicit instructions on the Christian’s relation to the State (13:1-7) and the need for believers to exercise Christian freedom with prudence, lest we cause others to fall (14:1-23).
Prologue (1:1-15)
1. Prologue (1 :1-15)
1. Salvation in Christ (1:16-8:39)
2. Theme: The Righteousness of God (1:16-17)
3. Condemnation: The Universal Corruption of Gentiles and Jews (1:18-3:20)
4. Justification: The Gift of Grace and Forgiveness through Faith (3:21-5:11)
5. Jesus Christ: The New Adam (5:12-21)
6. Sanctification: Holiness in Christ (6:1-8:11)
7. Glorification: The Spirit, Sonship, and Suffering (8:12-39)
2. Restoration of Israel (9:1-11:36)
8. Israel’s Election (9:1-29)
9. Israel’s Rejection of the Gospel (9:30-10:21)
10. Israel’s Resurrection and Salvation (11:1-36)
3. Christian Living (12:1-14:23)
11. Christian conduct in the Church (12:1-21)
12. Christian Citizenship and love (13:1-14)
13. Christian Fellowship and Flexibility (14:1-23)
Epilogue and Doxology (15:1-16:27)
14. Epilogue (15:1-16:24)
15. Doxology (16:25-27)
Theological Commentary on Romans
Prologue
(1:1-15)
1. Prologue (1:1-15)
1.1 Greeting (1:1-7)
1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul adapts and expands the conventional introduction of ancient epistles by filling it with Christian elements. In addition to his name (1:1) and the destination of the letter (1:7), he states his apostolic calling (1:1), introduces the gospel (1:2-5), and replaces the customary wish for good health with one for grace and peace (1:7).
1.2 Prayer of Thanksgiving (1:8-15)
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, 10asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13I want you to know, brethren, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: 15so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Part One
Salvation in Christ
(1:16-8:39)
2. Theme: The Righteousness of God (1:16-17)
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.”
This is Paul’s thesis statement and this is what he wants to prove: the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, is the way of salvation for everyone in the world. There are not two ways to salvation: Moses for the Jews and Jesus for the Gentiles. Jesus is for everyone. The Good News is a way to be right with God (the righteousness of God) that starts with trust and continues by trusting God every step of the way (“through faith for faith”).
The righteousness of God is a towering theme of the Book of Romans. It has two related meanings. (1) It denotes the covenant faithfulness of YHWH revealed through the history and Scriptures of Israel. God shows himself righteous when he keeps his promises and fulfills his covenant commitments to bless the righteous and rain curses upon the wicked. (2) It also denotes an inward grace that establishes the faithful in a right covenant relationship with God (5:17; Philippians 3:9). These two meanings work together in Romans, especially in 3:21-26.
From start to finish, the Christian life advances by faith. The expression that Paul uses here suggests he envisions a steady increase in faith. In the citation from Habakkuk 2:4, Habakkuk receives a word of hope in the midst of a message of a message of judgment. Although YHWH was sending Babylonian hordes to punish Israel for its sins, he promised to spare the just man who keeps faith. Received in faith, Paul’s gospel offers the same hope of deliverance in the face of the coming judgment.
3. Condemnation: The Universal Corruption of Gentiles and Jews (1:18-3:20)
Paul paves the way for good news with the bad news of human sin. He declares all nations guilty before God, the Gentiles for rejecting the natural revelation of God in the world (1:18-32), and Israel for spurning the supernatural revelation of God in the scriptures (2:1-3:20). Both Gentiles and Jews need salvation, even though the Jews already have the laws of Moses.
3.1 God’s Wrath against Man’s Wickedness (1:18-32)
Paul reflects on the moral and spiritual depravity of the Gentiles. Although God placed himself and his law within the reach of their rational minds (1:19), they defiantly turned their backs on him, piling ingratitude upon impiety (1:21) until their sins smothered his truth within their consciousness (1:18). This is the underlying cause of foolish and idolatrous ways.
3.2 The Righteous Judgment of God (2:1-16)
2:1-3:20 Paul narrows his indictment of the world to target the failures of Israel. He charges the Jews with committing the same sins as the Gentiles (3:9), even though they have the light of the Torah to order their worship and guide their behavior. Stylistically, Paul begins in this section to employ a writing technique called a “diatribe”, which consists of a lively debate between a writer (Paul) and a hypothetical conversation partner (a Jew, 2:17). Authors in Greek antiquity used this question-and-answer format to explain their ideas and anticipate objections. The technique is utilized throughout Romans (2:17-23; 3:1-9, 27-29; 4:1, etc.).
After showing that everyone needs to be saved, Paul will restate his thesis: the only way to become right with God is through faith in Jesus Christ, not by keeping the laws of Moses (3:21-30).
3.3 The Jews and the Law (2:17-3:8)
[…]
3.4 None is Righteous (3:9-20)
[…]
4. Justification: The Gift of Grace and Forgiveness through Faith (3:21-5:11)
4.1 Righteousness through faith (3:21-31)
3:21-26 Paul turns from the tragic history of sin (1:18-3:20) to the redeeming work of Christ (3:21-8:39). These transitional verses resume Paul’s discussion of the “righteousness of God” introduced in 1:16-17.
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to is, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24they are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25in whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus. 27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith. 28For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.
3:28 Faith is a gift of grace that moves us toward God (Philippians 1:29). It leads to justification because it leads to Baptism (6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 7:11). The object of justifying faith is both personal and propositional: it embraces God as well as the revealed tenets of the Gospel. Faith does not act alone in this process but reaches out with hope for divine mercy and love for the Lord. Faith manifests itself in the lives of believers through obedience (Romans 1:5), love (Galatians 5:6), and good works (Ephesians 2:10). Man, by his own efforts and works, can never merit the initial grace of justification that makes him a child of God and a member of the New Covenant. This grace is an entirely free gift from Jesus Christ conferred in Baptism.
In the next few chapters (4-7), Paul then answers three objections to his thesis that he expects Jewish Christians will probably raise:
[1] Objection 1: Paul’s thesis basically overthrows the whole Old Testament (Romans 3:31). On the contrary, Paul says, the Old Testament itself shows that salvation is a matter of faith, not simply keeping the laws of Moses (4:1-5:21)
[2] Objection 2: Paul’s thesis implies we can keep on sinning since we don’t have to obey the laws (6:1). On the contrary, Paul says, in Jesus we died to sin and have begun to live a new life (6:1-7:6).
[3] Objection 3: Paul’s thesis implies that God’s law in the Old Testament was an evil thing (7:7). On the contrary, Paul says, God’s law in the Old Testament was fine; it just wasn’t enough to save us (7:7-25).
4.2 The example of the faith of Abraham (4:1-12)
Paul expounds the spiritual fatherhood of Abraham. He aims to show from Scripture that faith, not circumcision or observance of the Mosaic Law, makes us children of Abraham.
4.3 God’s promise realized through faith (4:13-25)
4:18-24 Paul sees a parallel between Christian faith and Abraham’s faith. Abraham believed that God could bring new life (Isaac) from his and Sarah’s dying bodies. Christians believe that God brought new life to the crucified body of Jesus by raising him from the dead.
4.4 Results of Justification (5:1-11)
1Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The justified are endowed with theological virtues. By faith, they live in peace with God and have access to his grace; in hope, they long for the glory of God that awaits them; and through love, they show that the charity of the Spirit dwells in their hearts. Equipped in this way, believers can become more like Christ through endurance and suffering.
5. Jesus Christ: the New Adam (5:12-21)
12Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned – 13sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 20Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
5:12-21 Paul compares and contrasts Adam and Christ. They are similar because their actions have had a great impact on the world, but dissimilar because Adam filled the world with misery and Christ redeemed the world from slavery to sin. Paul is stressing that the grace of Christ more than compensates for the damage done by Adam’s rebellion.
5:12-13 Sin invaded the world through Adam, who allowed the temptations of his wife and the devil to overpower his commitment to God (Genesis 3:1-7; Wisdom 2:24). God warned Adam that death was the penalty for disobedience (Genesis 2:17). His willful defiance in the face of this threat brought about the immediate death of his soul and the eventual death of his body (Genesis 3:19).
As the father of the human family, Adam turned away from God on our behalf. His rebellion was thus a representative act that not only injured himself, but dragged the entire family of man into suffering and separation from God.
5:14 Death was the covenant curse set before Adam (Genesis 2:17) and Moses (Deuteronomy 30:19). Although no positive law threatening death was issued during the centuries that intervened, men and women continued to suffer and die. This shows that the sin of Adam had a lasting and devastating effect on the world quite apart from the behavior of his first descendants. Just as all who descend from Adam inherit death, though they do not eat from the tree themselves, so all who are joined to Christ inherit righteousness, though they do nothing to produce it themselves.
5:20 The Torah aggravated the problem of sin because it defined the boundaries of wrongdoing (7:7) but could not restrain Israel from crossing them (7:12-24). The purpose was to induce Israel to acknowledge its weakness and cry out for divine help. The law was given that grace might be sought; grace was given that the Law might be kept.
6. Sanctification: Holiness in Christ (6:1-8:11)
6.1 Dying and Rising with Christ (6:1-14)
6:1-23 Paul addresses a potential misunderstanding: If our sins let loose a flood of grace (5:20), then why not continue in sin to unleash ever more grace? Such logic betrays the very purpose of grace, which is to forgive us of past sins and to assist us in avoiding future ones. For Paul, our liberty in Christ is not a license to sin (Galatians 5:13).
6.2 Slaves of Sin or of Righteousness (6:15-23)
6.3 The Analogy with Marriage (7:1-6)
7:1-6 Paul illustrates Christian freedom in terms of death and remarriage. Just as a woman is freed from the law of marriage when her spouse dies, so believers are freed from the law of Moses (7:6) when they dies to sin in Baptism (6:1-11). So, too, as the widow is free to remarry, the baptized are freed for a new marriage with Christ (7:2-4). Note that Paul is using the marital analogy to make the general point that death liberates us from law.
6.4 The Law and Sin (7:7-12)
7:7-25 Paul contemplates the mystery of sin and man’s natural inability to resist it. He defends the law and Moses as innocent and good (7:12), but accuses sin of murder and enslavement (7:11, 23). To dramatize this, he personifies “sin” as a predator lurking in our members who deceives, kills, and wages war on our desire to follow God. Paul is approaching these issues from a Christian perspective, where the experience of grace magnifies the reality of sin. His consciousness of sin was not nearly so acute when he was a Pharisaic Jew (Philippians 3:5). The Law was given neither to create sin nor to remove sin, but merely to make it known. Thus, the Law, in giving the soul a sense of guilt rather than innocence, makes it ready to receive grace.
6.5 The Interior Conflict between Good and Evil (7:13-25)
6.6 Life in the Spirit (8:1-17)
Romans 8 unveils the solution to the problem laid out in Romans 7. It is a divine solution orchestrated by the Trinity: The Father sent the Son to redeem the world from sin (8:3) and sent the Spirit to raise the world from death to new life (8:9-13).
Paul explains the difference between the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant. He calls the Mosaic the “law of sin and death” and the New the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” Now the Mosaic Covenant, the Law, was fine as far as it goes; it taught what was right and wrong, but its major limitation was that it did not give people the power to do what was right. That is the big difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant: the pouring out of the Spirit, which gives us the power to keep God’s law. God sent Jesus to take on himself all the punishment for sin that was required in the older covenants in salvation history and to pour out the Holy Spirit so that his disciples could actually live lives pleasing to God. This is taught in Romans 8:3-4:
3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
God sent Jesus to pay the price for sin and give us the Spirit so that we can keep “the just requirement” of the law. What is the “just requirement”? It is to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. As Paul will teach later, “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
7. Glorification: The Spirit, Sonship, and Suffering (8:12-39)
7.1 […] (8:12-17)
8:14-25 Paul reflects on the sonship of believers in Christ. Though Christ is the eternal Son of God by nature, we share in this life and become adopted sons of God by grace. This takes effect through the Spirit, who is poured into our hearts (5:5) and shows us the way to the Father (8:15). Paul’s discussion of sonship has parallels with the Exodus story. The sonship of believes (8:15) recalls the sonship of Israel (9:4; Exodus 4:22; Isaiah 63:8). Calling God our Father (8:15) echoes the title first given to YHWH at the end of the Exodus journey (Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16). Being led by the Spirit out of slavery (8:14-15) calls to mind how Israel was led out of the bondage of Egypt by the pillar of fire (Exodus 6:6; 13:21), which biblical tradition sees as an image of the Spirit (Isaiah 63:10-14). Even the groan of the believer, still awaiting the fullness of redemption (8:23), reminds us of Israel groaning in bondage (Exodus 2:23-24; 6:5) for the Lord’s redemption (Exodus 6:6; 15:13). For the Christian, the Exodus has begun but is still in progress, for he is delivered from slavery to sin (6:6-7, 17) but not yet from the slavery of corruption (8:19-23). For Paul’s teaching that the Church relives the Exodus experience of Israel, see 1 Corinthians 10:1-11.
7.2 The Glory to be Revealed (8:18-30)
8:18-25 Paul contends, on the basis of cost-benefit analysis, that even our heaviest burdens of suffering are far outweighed by the glory that awaits us (2 Corinthians 4:17). Though the afflictions of our time on earth are inescapable, the Spirit helps to make them bearable (8:26). Suffering is all part of God’s plan to mold us into the image of Christ (8:29).
7.3 God’s Love in Christ Jesus (8:31-39)
Part Two
Restoration of Israel
(9:1-11:36)
The middle section of Romans turns from the salvation of the world in general (chaps. 1-8) to the salvation of Israel in particular (chaps 9-11). Faced with a theological and pastoral conundrum, Paul takes the opportunity to explain how God’s election of Israel in the past is perfectly consistent with Israel’s widespread rejection of the gospel in the present. His discussion is difficult to follow because the argument winds through a dense forest of echoes, allusions, and citations from the Old Testament.
In general, Paul follows the story line of Israel’s history set forth in the Bible: he starts with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (9:6-13), moves through the Exodus (9:14-18), looks at the Exile (9:25-29), draws on passages about the time of restoration (10:1-21), and ends with a vision of Jacob-Israel saved in the New Covenant (11:26-27). Nearly a third of all Paul’s references to the Hebrew scriptures in the entire collection of his writings are packed into these three chapters.
In Romans 9-11, Paul takes up the difficult question of the role of the ethnic people of Israel who have not accepted Jesus as the Christ and entered the New Covenant. This causes Paul great sadness. As an Israelite himself, from the tribe of Benjamin, his deepest desire is that all the ethnic descendants of Israel would recognize Jesus as the Messiah promised by the prophets and enter into his kingdom.
Paul’s discussion of the issue is often complex, and he digresses into related theological problems in these three chapters. But we can summarize the main points he makes about the old covenant people of God.
[1] Biological or ethnic identity alone has never been enough to guarantee a right relationship with God. Throughout the Old Testament, we see examples of one brother who embraces the covenant and another who rejects it. “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants” (Romans 9:8). In many periods of history, the majority of ethnic Israel rejected God’s covenant, and only a minority held fast. So we shouldn’t be surprised that a similar thing is happening now that the New Covenant has arrived.
[2] In fact, the prophets themselves predicted that the majority of God’s chosen nation would reject his salvation: “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved’” (9:27); and “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” (10:21).
[3] Despite all that, God has not rejected his people. There is a remnant of Israelites who have accepted Jesus, including Paul himself. This is just like earlier times in Israel’s history, such as the days of Elijah, when only a few thousand in Israel stayed faithful (11:2-5).
[4] Finally, God still waits with open arms for any of Israel who wish to come to him. The Church can be compared to an olive tree whose trunk is Israelite but many of whose branches are Gentiles “grafted” in (11:17-24). If God can graft Gentile branches onto the olive tree of Israel in order to create the Church, he can surely graft back in the broken branches of Israelites onto their own tree. God’s heart is always tender toward the people of Israel because “they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (11:28-29).
In fact, Paul sees God working, in a mysterious way, to save all Israel: “I want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved” (11:25-26).
Who is all Israel? According to some, Paul is talking about spiritual Israel, that is, the Church made up of Jews and Gentiles converted to Christianity. According to others, Paul envisions the salvation of ethic Jews, either from every generation or from the last generation of history. IT is more likely, however, that “all Israel” is a reference to ethnic Israel, that is, the assembly of faithful Israelites from all twelve tribes down through the ages. In other words, Paul is thinking of the whole nation of covenant people descended from the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob (renamed Israel, Genesis 32:28).
How is all Israel saved? At least two different views of how Israel comes to salvation are current today.
[1] The two-covenant view, developed in modern times, holds that Israel will be saved apart from Christ and apart from any acceptance of the gospel. In other words, proponents of this view envision a bi-covenantal arrangement where the Mosaic covenant continues in force alongside the New Covenant, with the former intended to save the Jews and the latter to save the Gentiles. In support, advocates contend that “Christ” is never explicitly mentioned in Romans 11, that “the Deliverer” foretold by Isaiah refers to YHWH rather than the Messiah (Isaiah 59:20 cited in Romans 11:26), and that the “covenant” of forgiveness mentioned by Isaiah is the Mosaic covenant rather than the New Covenant (Isaiah 27:9, alluded to in Romans 11:27).
[2] The New Covenant view, held by the vast majority of interpreters though the ages, holds that Israel will be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. This second view is far more probable than the first, as it alone is consistent with the immediate context of Romans 9-11 and the wider context of Paul’s theology and writings. In point of fact, the bi-covenantal view collides with the whole message of Romans, namely, that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings “salvation” to Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans 1:16), that one must confess faith in Jesus to be “saved” (Romans 10:9), and that Paul thinks of his missionary efforts among the Gentiles as a means to “save” his Israelite kinsmen (Romans 11:14). There is every reason to suppose, moreover, that Paul is thinking of Christ and the New Covenant when he quotes the words of Isaiah in Romans 11:26-27. For Paul, the risen Jesus is our Deliverer (1 Thessalonians 1:10) and the one who takes away sin through the sacraments of the New Covenant (Romans 6:1-11). By contrast, the Mosaic covenant is something that condemns rather than saves (Acts 13:38-39; Romans 3:20; 2 Corinthians 3:4-11). In Paul’s mind, then, there is no “alternative way” of salvation for Israel apart from the grace of Jesus Christ that comes through the preaching and acceptance of the Gospel (Romans 10:14-17).
The climax of Paul’s discussion is the revelation that Israelites from all twelve tribes will be saved by the Messiah through the mercy and forgiveness of the New Covenant (Romans 11:26-27). Seen in this way, the teachings of Paul simply echoes the teaching of Jesus, who not only selected twelve apostles to signify the messianic restoration of Israel (Matthew 10:2-5), but sent them out to recover the “lost sheep” of Israel (Matthew 10:6) and promised to seat them on twelve thrones over the “twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). None of this is surprising when we consider that the Church, which is the messianic kingdom of Jesus (Matthew 16:17-19; Luke 22:28-30), is modeled on the ancient kingdom of David, which unified all twelve tribes under the anointed king (2 Samuel 5:1-5; 1 Kings 11:42), even as it stretched beyond the borders of Israel to encompass the Gentiles (1 Kings 4:21; Psalm 2:8; 72:8-11).
“All Israel”, then, refers to a representative body of all twelve tribes that will be saved by means of the incoming of the Gentiles in accord with Isaiah’s oracles, not only because of the jealousy of the “Jews”, but also because the Gentilized northern tribes are assimilated among the Gentiles and come with them, although this is not visible to the human observer.
This interpretation allows us to align Pauline eschatology with the other New Testament eschatologies – especially in the Gospels and Revelation – that combine the portrayal of Jesus as the Davidic Messiah with the restoration of Israel (symbolically inaugurated in the Twelve) and the ingathering of Gentiles.
8. Israel’s Election (9:1-29)
9. Israel’s Rejection of the Gospel (9:30-10:21)
10. Israel’s Resurrection and Salvation (11:1-36)
Part Three
Christian Living
(12:1-14:23)
The final section of Romans is Paul’s moral catechesis. His teaching in this section is not an afterthought, but a practical application of the theology expounded in earlier chapters. Instructions are given on matters of worship (12:1-2), life in the Church (12:3-21), responsibility toward civil governments (13:1-7), and avoiding scandal (14:1-15:13).
Paul’s guidelines for Christian living all surround the central command of love. The heart of his message is found in Romans 13:8-10: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” We need to combine his instruction here with his teaching from earlier: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). That gives us the full picture of Paul’s view of the Christian life. We don’t do good to earn our way to heaven. We trust in Jesus, and Jesus gives us the Spirit. The Spirit fills us with love and changes the way we live.
In this section (chapters 12-15), Paul makes various applications of the principle of love: out of love, we should “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship” (12:1). This is how we love God, the first commandment. Offering sacrifice is a priestly duty; baptized Christians are all priests. And this is called the common priesthood or “royal priesthood”. The sacrifice we offer is our “bodies,” which means our whole lives. By offering all the realities of our day as a sacrifice to God, we obey Paul in Romans 12:1 by preforming our priestly duty in the New Covenant.
Paul makes other applications of the principle of love: Christians should be humble (12:3-8), using whatever gifts God has given them to love other, recognizing that no one’s gifts are more important or more necessary than anyone else’s. We all have something to share in Christ’s body, so we should not be proud of our own gifts, nor threatened by others.
11. Christian conduct in the Church (12:1-21)
11.1 The New Life in Christ (12:1-8)
11.2 Marks of the True Christian (12:9-21)
12. Christian Citizenship (13:1-7)
13. Love Fulfills God’s Law (13:8-14)
14. Christian Fellowship and Flexibility (14:1-23)
14.1 Do Not Judge One Another (14:1-12)
14.2 Do Not Hinder a Brother (14:13-23)
Epilogue and Doxology
(15:1-16:27)
15. Epilogue (15:1-16:24)
15.1 Please Others, Not yourselves
15.2 The Gospel for Jews and Gentiles Alike
15.3 Paul’s Reason for Writing So Boldly
15.4 Paul’s Plans to Visit Rome
15.5 Personal Greetings
15.6 Final Instructions
16. Closing Doxology (16:25-27)
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