1023480 Essay 1 for TH5902 Introduction to Pauline Theology May 2012

Exegesis of Romans 1-3.

1. Introduction.

In Romans 1-3, Paul writes to the Christians in Rome about a major theme in his

theology, the righteousness of God which has been revealed through the gospel. In

this passage Paul describes the universal sinfulness and guilt of humanity that

results in the wrath of God, before beginning to reveal the solution faith in Jesus

the Messiah.

2. Contexts: Author, Audience, and Situation.

In Pauls introduction to the letter, he identifies himself as a servant, or slave of

Christ Jesus, an apostle, and set apart for the gospel (Rom. 1:1). In that way he

provides the readers of the letter with a brief explanation of who he is and why he is

qualified to be writing to them. He describes his role to bring faith to the nations,

both to Greek and non-Greek (1:14), and that he is an apostle to the Gentiles (1:13).

He is writing to the Christians in Rome in approximately AD 55-59.1 He has not yet

visited them, but states that he longs to do so (1:11), and that his previous attempts

had been thwarted (1:13). He is, however, known to many of the believers and he

adds his personal greetings at the end of the letter (Rom 16:1-16). He wants to see

them in order to impart spiritual gifts that would strengthen and encourage them

and see more believe in the gospel (1:11-13).

The situation that Paul addresses is the problem of humanitys universal sinfulness,

characterized by idolatry and immorality, which has resulted in the wrath of God on

the unrighteous, and that Gods covenant people, the Jews, are as guilty as the rest of

humanity. Paul Achtemeier writes, It is a story of Gods chosen people ignoring the

1N. T. Wright, Romans in The New Interpreters Bible (Vol. X; ed. L. Keck; Nashville, TN: Abingdon,
2002), p. 396.

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1023480 Essay 1 for TH5902 Introduction to Pauline Theology May 2012

law God gave them to guide their lives and doing instead the very things that law

opposed.2

3. Response: Pauls Letter.

In the passage under consideration, Paul is writing a theological letter to the

believers in Rome and is beginning to describe in detail a major theme in his

theology, the righteousness of God revealed by the gospel.3 He presents a series of

arguments in order to explain his theology, starting with a description of the

problem of humanitys universal sinfulness (1:18-32), which has brought about

Gods wrath on the unrighteous (1:18-2:11).

He discusses the relationship between Gods judgement and the law (2:12-29). He

goes on to explain how the Jews, the people of the covenant, have become part of the

problem, even though they were to have been the solution (3:9-20). He concludes

with revealing that the gospel of God, that is to say saving faith in Christ Jesus, is the

solution to humanitys problem (3:21-26).

The tone and style of Romans is different to his other letters. James Dunn notes that,

Paul introduces himself with an unusual degree of elaboration4 and he gives an

unusually lengthy exposition after he has set out the main theme. 5 In Romans 1-3,

Paul describes the problem of humanitys unrighteousness in detail and sets up the

scene for describing the solution at length in the rest of the letter.

4. Text and Themes: Issues, Topics, and Terms.

The theme of the letter is summarised in 1:16-17, where Paul announces that the

gospel of God reveals the righteousness of God ( , dikaiosyn theou).

N. T. Wright argues that to understand the phrase righteousness of God it is

2 Paul J. Achtemeier, Romans (Interpretation; Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 2010), p. 27.
3 Wright, p. 397.
4 James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1-8 (Word Bible Commentary 38A; Dallas, TX: Word, Incorporated, 2002),

p. 3.
5 Ibid.

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1023480 Essay 1 for TH5902 Introduction to Pauline Theology May 2012

necessary to realise that Paul had the worldview of Second Temple Judaism. 6 Wright

explains this phrase summed up sharply and conveniently, for a first-century Jew

such as Paul, the expectation that the God of Israel ... would be faithful to the

promises made to the patriarchs.7

Righteousness conveys a meaning of justice, but also of covenant faithfulness 8

which Wright describes as Gods loyalty to the covenant with Israel. 9 God would

put things right and would fulfil the promises he had made. Paul also lived in the

Roman world, where the emperor, Caesar was proclaimed as Lord. The Roman

worldview was that Caesar had put things right and brought peace and prosperity

to the citizens of the empire.

However, Paul provides the counter argument that God rather than Caesar had

brought his righteousness, or covenant faithfulness. He had done this through the

gospel (, euangelion) of Jesus the Messiah. The righteousness of God

comes through the announcement that Jesus is Lord, and therefore by implication

that Caesar is not.10 Paul would go on to demonstrate through the following chapters

that this gospel is for Jew and Gentile. Wright adds that in the Messiah ... God has

been true to the covenant established with Abraham and thereby brought saving
order to the whole world.11

5. Pauls Theology and Christian Life & Ministry.

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13), believed Gods purposes for Israel had

indeed now been fulfilled, it was time for the Gentiles to come in.12 Pauls image of

God is that of a faithful god who keeps his promises. And the promise has now been

extended to include the whole of humanity. This is despite the problem of sinfulness

6 Wright, p. 401.
7 Ibid., p. 398.
8 Ibid., p. 404.

9 Ibid., p. 398.

10 Wright, p. 405.

11 Ibid., p. 405.

12 Ibid., pp. 401-402.

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1023480 Essay 1 for TH5902 Introduction to Pauline Theology May 2012

that had entered into the narrative with the sin of Adam. God had provided the

solution to the problem. Thus Paul demonstrates the faithful love of God for his

creation.

Pauls ministry was to take the gospel message to the Gentile world, to explain that

the faithfulness of God now included the whole world. This explains why he called

himself the apostle to the Gentiles. Rome, at the heart of empire, would be exactly

the right place to make sure that the gospel message would be preached in order to

have maximum impact. It would be less than three centuries later that the Roman

emperor would himself convert to Christianity.

The lesson that should be drawn today is that the gospel message should be

preached to counter any alternative claim to the truth that Jesus is Lord. Whether an

opposing ideology, personality or worldview, it is Gods righteousness, revealed in

and through the good news of Jesus the Messiah, that is sufficient to restore a world

in rebellion.

6. Conclusion.

In this passage, Paul has made known that the problem of the universal sinfulness of

humanity has been solved by the righteousness of God that is revealed in the gospel.

The good news is that Jesus has been proclaimed Lord and not any other power. The

challenge today is to counter any counterfeit claims of lordship.

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Bibliography

Achtemeier, Paul J., Romans (Interpretation; Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 2010).

Dunn, James D. G., Romans 1-8 (Word Bible Commentary 38A; Dallas, TX: Word,
Incorporated, 2002).

Fee, Gordon D., New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (3rd
edition; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).

Wright, N. T., Romans in The New Interpreters Bible (Vol. X; ed. L. Keck; Nashville,
TN: Abingdon, 2002), pp. 393-770.