An epistle to Romans, i.e. the Christian Church in Rome, was written by Paul and addressed to a community of people, in contrast to some personal letters he used to write during his mission as well. It has some signs of hope as well as some challenges. The main topic of the first eight chapters of the text is on understanding the Christian faith and giving practical implications for Christians in this particular community. In this essay I will present Paul’s message to Romans and its possible meaning including my interpretation on it.
Basically, Paul presents two main things in his appeal: the need for salvation and the new life in Christ. In the beginning Paul states that the power of God’s salvation lies in the Gospel and His righteousness is revealed through faith only (1: 16-17). The question of salvation and eternal life is at the core of the letter. Paul argues that salvation is given only by grace and there is no automatic salvation granted for anybody or given as a result of personal merits. For instance, circumcision does not provide a Jew with it and both Jews and gentiles are equal in salvation. It is possible to gain only through faith.
There is a historical reason for these words. A community in Rome consisted of converted Jews and gentiles who became Christians. Probably, some interior tensions took place there, so Paul’s letter urges them to stop misunderstandings and informs that people cannot earn salvation, as it is God’s gift given for free. In other words, obtaining an eternal life is not a result of personal excellence, belonging to a certain group of people, but a gift given for granted. Therefore he encourages the community of faithful and gives them the same status as of Jews. At the same time he is talking to two groups of Christians: Jews and gentiles. He is emphasizing that both of them form one mystical body of Christ and are equal in their salvation.
According to Paul, human identity is not perfect. People are weak natures who can’t resist sins and evil things. But they are redeemed by Jesus Christ through his death. Humans’ relationships and culture are influenced by this as those who live in Christ never lose their hope and believe in eternal life and future glory. Paul declares that “the full restoration of humankind, and of the cosmos, has in principle been achieved, and that those “in Christ” are the beneficiaries”.
This creates a very positive view on life, filling with hope, giving another chance to those, who sinned and want to change. The natural world is described as full of resources but mismanaged because of human’s attitude. Human relationships are depicted in the letter as in need of transformation and renewal. The whole humanity, he claims, is sinful, but through God’s grace it will be dignified. Paul repeats that Jesus died for sinners, as there was no need to die for the righteous. But now we are all redeemed by his death and can be justified.
The fifth chapter gives a justification for humans and reconciliation with God. Thus everybody can hope can rely on salvation despite their previous sins. Chapters six, seven and eight provide a detailed explanation of the fact of the justified sinner’s glorification. provide an explanation of the certainty of the justified sinner’s glorification. The state of the new life is described by Paul lies in the peaceful relationship with God and fellow humans.
Also this chapter touches upon suffering in the world. He says that Christians can rejoice in suffering because they are sure of God’s invariable love. Paul adds that there are two helping factors: our hope and the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Thomas L. Constable believes that Paul's view of history was that of Old Testament revelation. That is why he brings such persons as Adam, Abraham and Jesus as the key figures of world’s history. Indeed, Paul does a great comparison contrasting Christ and Adam as two characters, which changed the history of world’s salvation. As it has been noted, the human nature is sinful. Thanks to Adam’s fall, the whole humanity was penalized. But the good news is that it was liberated through Jesus Christ. Thus the original sin is defeated and people get back their hope for salvation. A person, who lives in Christ, is dead for a sin, but living in love, kindness and mercy.
Talking of life spiritual and physical he claims that those who chose Jesus, died physically but obtained a life in spirit as Jesus was died and resurrected from death. This part of Paul’s reading is quite revealing. As for me, Paul says this to give a hope and encourage people to change their life. I cannot imagine a complete transformation of life and giving up my life in order to obtain a new life, but this challenge fills me with hope, that everybody has a chance, no one is rejected and nobody is privileged. The righteousness of God is revealed in Jesus Christ and can be received by faith only. A human cannot get it by personal characteristics or by belonging to a certain national group.
Bibliography
- Dr. Thomas L. Constable. Notes on Romans http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/romans.pdf
- http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the_relationship_between_justification_and_spiritual_fruit_in_romans_58
- http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/4521/romans-5-basic-bible-commentary
- N.T. Wright. Romans and the theology of Paul. Pauline Theology, Volume III, ed. David M. Hay & E. Elizabeth Johnson, 1995, 30–67.
