God's Righteousness Upheld [Paul shows that the Jews have an advantage over the Gentiles but that both need Christ’s grace.] 1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? [Paul imagines someone breaking into his argument to ask these questions. Paul has said that biology and a literal circumcision do not make one a Jew. Circumcision, however, is an advantage when one believes in the promises of God, for it is the mark of a true receiver of and beli

God's Judgment and the Law Continued 17 But if you call yourself a Jew [being proud of being a member of the chosen] and rely on the law [given to you at Sinai as a “get out of jail free card”] and boast in God [in a monopoly of monotheism] 18 and know his will [insider information] and approve what is excellent [as you set divine standards], because you are instructed from the law [and you cannot be wrong!]; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind [

God's Judgment and the Law 12 For all [the Gentiles] who have sinned without the law [the Mosaic law] will also perish without the law [the Gentiles will not be condemned by a law they did not possess but on other grounds (1:18-20) by the light and logic of creation available to them], and all who have sinned under the law [the Jews] will be judged by the law. [Jews and Gentiles, despite having and not having the law, are in the same boat of sin and death. All will be judged

God's Righteous Judgment and the Critical Moralizers 1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? [When judging others by our

1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. [Paul unmasks those who agree with his statement of divine wrath on the Gentile world (1:18-32) but assume they are immune. Often we tend to be critical of others but lenient toward ourselves. We are the “O man.”] For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. [Paul’s teaching agrees with Jesus. See Matthew 7:1-5.] Having declared the depraved G

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness [Paul’s aim in this section is to show the whole of humanity is morally bankrupt, desperately in need of God’s mercy and grace.] 18 For the wrath of God is revealed [in the facts of human existence] from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness [moral decay follows theological rebellion] of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. [Fallen humanity seeks to hinder and obstruct the truth of God.] 19 For what can be known a

St. Paul The Righteous Shall Live by Faith [The Gospel according to Paul begins here.] [A note on righteousness: The Hebrews understood right and wrong as if they were to be settled before a judge. They are not so much moral states as a legal status. The word “righteous” means “in the right” and the word “wicked” means “in the wrong.” God is righteous and people are righteous who are in a right relationship with him and his law. The gospel tells us how sinful men and women

Longing to Go to Rome 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ [as grace comes to us from God through Jesus, so our thanks goes to God through Jesus, our representative] for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. [Paul is commenting on how many places Christianity has spread. Faith is not just in Rome or in particular house-churches but is spreading all over the world.] 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,

Greeting [All ancient letters began with a greeting, usually X to Y. Here it is Paul to all those in Rome with much expansion in between. The most likely dating of this letter is AD 57 +/- several months when Paul was in Corinth before his trip to Jerusalem (Acts 24:17).] 1 Paul, a servant [or slave, which in Greek is “doulos”] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle [an official messenger of the gospel; see Galatians 1:1], set apart for the gospel of God [the joyful procl

Why did Paul write to the Christians in Rome? While Romans was a new kind of letter for Paul to write—he had previously written at least nine of the New Testament letters—he was not thinking through ideas for the first time. Romans is an exposition of ideas he had tried, tested, and worked out in detail. In Romans Paul poured out his Jesus-focused teachings that together say more than the sum of their parts. Tom Wright says that we should listen to Romans in the way we woul