EXPOSITION: Chapter 2:1-29 2:1-5—The Jews & the Judgement of God Keeping in mind the direction of Paul's argument throughout the larger passage (1:18-3:20) – that is, to establish the universality of sin and judgement without exception – from 2:1 he focuses on the Jew, confronting their attitude of exceptionalism. Allied with this was their abstraction of the law from … [Read more...]
Romans: Judgement & Justification—Justice Promised, Part 4
EXPOSITION: Chapter 2:1-4:25 We concluded Part 3 (1:18-32) with the assertion that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against man as a covenant-breaker. And that he has therefore come under the retributive justice of God, worthy of the judicial penalty of death. Man is dislocated from God, the cosmos is broken, and all must now be set-to-rights. The next … [Read more...]
Romans: God Revealed & Man Judged—Covenant Disobeyed, Part 3
EXPOSITION: Chapter 1:18-32 False Gospels. Our passage under consideration is the opening one of a far larger section (1:18-3:20). This larger context demonstrates that man, universally (Jew and Gentile), is under sin and that there is no question of his justification apart from faith. It picks up the theme of the epistle presented in v. 17 that the Gospel is the "... … [Read more...]
Romans: Kingdom through Covenant, Part 1
The question will be asked, why another commentary on Romans? First, because Romans provides the ABC's of the Gospel, it is Christianity 101. From the early church to the present day, it has been recognised as the foundational teaching of Christianity, providing the Bible's most complete statement concerning God's purpose for humankind, its fall from that purpose, and his … [Read more...]
The Pauline Correspondence: Its Mode & Message
Part 3 of 3 In Parts 1 & 2 we discovered that Paul's call and commission, as the pioneer apostle to the Gentiles, was unique and normative for the church universally. We will now explore these implications for the apostolic mode and message. Mode As the pioneer – and thus proto-type – apostle to the Gentiles Paul modelled God's strategy for the expansion of the Gospel … [Read more...]
