Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Session 1

September 19, 2024

Romans – Tentative Schedule

Sept 19 Introduction, Salutation, Thanksgiving Rom. 1:1-17

Sept 26 Salutation and Thanksgiving

Sept 28 God’s Judgment Rom. 1:18-4:25

Oct 3rd Living in Hope Rom. 5 – 7

Oct 10th The Heart of Romans Rom. 8

Oct 17th God’s Faithfulness Rom. 9 - 11

Oct 24^th Faithful Obedience Rom. 12:1-15:13

(Oct 31^st, seems busy. We could consider Wednesday Oct 30^th if folks are interested)

Nov. 7th Paul’s Closing Reminders Rom. 15:14-16:27

Nov. 14^th Extra week just in case

Romans – Class Comments�

• Jump in with questions – we are all learning from each other
• Don’t worry about preparing for class (but if you want to read ahead, great(!), but no need either.)
• If you miss a session or two – no worries
• You won’t be lost the next time around
• You can watch sessions you miss
• As we are “Zooming” through Romans, please self-mute if you have background noise, but again… don’t hesitate to jump in!
• Finally, if you have suggestions over the course of the study (e.g. “Bob, could you do more of these things… Bob, could you do less of these things…” just shoot me an email at boballtop@gmail.com!)

This week with Paul

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• Re-introduction to Paul
• Re-introduction to Epistles
• Introduction to Romans

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Paul – An Introduction

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Paul – An Introduction

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• Saul, born in Tarsus (modern Turkey) perhaps as early as 5 C.E.
• Jewish and well educated
• Acts indicates he studies in Jerusalem/Paul indicates he had did not go to Jerusalem until after his conversion
• Acts indicates Paul was a Roman citizen/Paul does not say this in any letter, though he does talk about our citizenship in God’s kingdom (perhaps that is contrast to his having Roman citizenship)?
• Acts places Saul at the stoning of Stephen/This is counter to Paul’s writings, but Paul certainly was a persecutor of the early church.

Paul – An Introduction

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• Conversion experience – on road to Damascus
• Acts and Paul both mention his conversion
• Conversion is not a change in his religion – he is always a Jew – but he professes Jesus as a Jew.
• Emphasizes that his knowledge came directly through his conversion experience
• He was not taught by the original disciples.
• Paul’s ‘credentials’ as an Apostle will be a theme in his letters
• Paul is a Jewish, mystic, follower of the Way
• Clearly had mystical experiences
• Union with Christ

Paul – An Introduction

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Some Key Theological Themes

• God’s grace
• Justification by faith (since we could never fully keep the law – though we are to be obedient to God)
• Faith, hope, and love
• Persistent and a holy life
• Christ’s soon return

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Paul – An Introduction

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Perceptions of Paul

• For some, Paul is almost more important than Jesus
• Paul’s “Salvation by grace through faith alone” is the heart of Reformed theology
• Catholic tradition far less Paul-centric
• Is Paul appealing or appalling?
• It depends on which of the three Pauls we are speaking about!

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Paul – An Introduction

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The Three Pauls

• "The Radical Paul" (of the seven genuine letters, I Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon, I Cor, II Cor, Romans)
• "The Conservative Paul" (of the three disputed epistles II Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians), and
• "The Reactionary Paul" (of the three inauthentic letters Titus, I Timothy, II Timothy).

Thesis: The Apostle Paul is ‘deradicalized’ to fit Roman social norms on slavery, patriarchy, and patronage.

The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon, by Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan

Paul – An Introduction

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Things to keep in mind:

• Original or “Radical Paul”
• No male/female, Jew/Greek, slave/ free
• Pressures Philemon to release his slave Onesimus
• Sees women as apostles - more on that in Romans
• Really wild stuff for the 1^st Century Roman world
• Conservative Paul
• Acknowledges rights of men and women, but there are a lot more exhortations to women
• Salves are to obey; but master are to be just
• Male Roman heads of households would have found this unacceptable, but it is tamer than the Radical Paul.

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Paul – An Introduction

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Things to keep in mind:

• Reactionary Paul
• Women are to be obedient and silent (absolutely counter to the letter to Romans, as we will see)
• Slaves are to serve their master like Jesus; and there is no exhortation on masters to be just
• Brings Christian practice in line with Roman values.
• Paul has been tamed.
• Male householders aren’t going to be threatened.
• This is the Paul modern readers tend to find appalling.

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Introduction to Epistles

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• Epistles/letters – written to a particular place and time
• These are not written as ‘Scripture’
• Very different from Gospels, which are centered around Jesus’ passion/resurrection/ ascension and his ministry that went before
• They become ‘Scripture’ after an effort to collect and preserve them
• Authorship can be difficult to verify. How do we try to do that?
• Consistency in structure
• Consistency in argument
• Consistency in the Greek terminology

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Introduction to Epistles

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• Why do we write letters?

Introduction to Epistles

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• Why did Paul write letters?
• To express his love for communities
• To encourage
• To teach
• To reprove
• To really understand a letter, we need to understand the story behind them

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Introduction to Epistles

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• Remember with Epistles:
• We are reading someone else’s mail!
• So… we are wise to tread lightly, as we never know all the facts and circumstances that would have been obvious to the writer and recipient 2,000 years ago.
• It is helpful to know some of the background story that gave birth to the letter

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Church in Rome�

• Roman Capital
• Seat of Imperial authority and worship
• Probably a million inhabitants
• Perhaps 20,000 Jews within the city prior to Emperor Claudius expelling the Jews (circa 41 A.D. – 54 A.D.)
• Expulsion of Jews from Rome
• Claudius found them to be an unsettling religious influence, did not want them seeking privileges, and did not want more Jews coming from Egypt and other areas.
• His expulsion includes the Jews following ”the Way.” Thus, only Gentile followers of the Way are left in Rome
• The expulsion is why Aquilla and Priscilla have left Rome and meet Paul in Corinth
• When Nero becomes emperor, the expulsion is ended.

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Church in Rome�

• Paul’s Hopes for the Roman Church
• As Jewish followers of the Way return to Rome (such as his friends Aquilla and Priscilla) Paul wants them to be welcomed as equals
• Paul wants to come to Rome and see what he can accomplish there to build out and strengthen the community
• Needs a base of operation and support for a mission to Spain
• What is Unusual about the letter
• This is his only letter to a community that he did not found
• His Gospel may not jive 100% with what others have told them.

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Theology: Roman v. Followers of Jesus�

• Roman Theology
• Caesar is Lord
• Caesar is Son of God
• Caesar is the Victor (emperor)
• Caesar brings the world peace (through conquest – leading to absence of war)
• Paul’s Theology
• Jesus is Lord
• Jesus is Son of God
• Jesus is the victor: The cross matters because of resurrection – resurrection is the ultimate triumph: Caesar’s kingdom cannot defeat God’s
• Jesus brings the world peace (but through love and self-sacrifice – it is shalom, not absence of war)

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Theology: Roman v. Followers of Jesus�

• Paul’s Theology is treasonous
• To claim another is Lord rather than Caesar is a crime worthy of execution on a cross
• Paul seems to intentionally adopt the language applied to Caesar to make clear who Jesus is
• Execution on a cross
• The Cross is a Roman form of execution
• It is reserved for two classes of criminals
• Those who challenge the states authority (revolutionaries – who are often bandits, attacking Roman assets)
• Recalcitrant slaves who, through their refusing to obey their master, challenge the very hierarchy and structure of Rome
• Paul’s conflict
• It is not Christians v. Jews
• It is Jewish/Jesus followers v. Roman Imperialism.

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High-level Overview of the Letter�

• Introduction, Salutation, Thanksgiving
• God’s Judgement
• Living in Hope
• Life in the Spirit
• God’s Faithfulness
• Transformation through Christ (Obedience)
• Hopes and Greetings

Romans

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Pieter Lastman, Ruth Declares her Loyalty to Naomi, 1614.

Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name,

Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To 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.

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Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

What strikes you?

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Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

Comments:

• Who the letter is from
• “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,…” Romans 1:1
• He is an “apostle” –
• a claim that he is one who has seen Christ.
• Validation that he has been “sent”
• Being an apostle isn’t something ‘you decide’ – God decides
• A servant of Christ
• In the OT tradition, a servant of the Lord is often set aside to express God’s word
• Stands in the tradition of the prophets

Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

Comments:

• Paul’s Authority
• Stems from his being set apart as a Gospel
• Caesar has authority – it is coercive or ‘authoritarian’
• Paul has authority – it come from being ‘authoritative.’
• His authority is for the “obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of [Jesus Christ’s] name”
• Yes to God’s grace but
• We are to live like people who know God has called them
• Raises the question of how do we understand our own authority now, or at other times in our lives?
• Coercive?
• Authoritative?

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Greetings – Romans 1:1-7

Comments:

• What is the Gospel he is set apart for?
• Announced through the prophets prophets
• About God’s Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God
• We see here the conflict of Roman versus Paul’s theology.
• Christ Jesus’ power come not through conquest by “through “the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead”, Jesus Christ our Lord”
• This is a treasonous statement – refers to Jesus Christ our Lord

Aside – Conflict with the State

Comments:

• A Challenging part we will get to in Romans is Chapter 13. Here Paul will say civil authorities are:
• Appointed by God
• To be obeyed
• To wield the sword to punish those who merit it
• Yet… here we see Paul
• Denying Caesar as Lord
• Proclaiming a new Lord contrary to the civil law
• And will be beheaded by the civil authority’s sword
• What to make of this tension? Ponder and stay tuned!

An Interesting Phrase

Comments:

• “who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit[a] of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord”
• Sounds very different from John’s Prologue and our creeds, where Jesus is God all along
• This passage can read as though he is Son of God, only after/because of the resurrection
• Some surmise this might have been language from a hymn (known to his readers, even if he might not entirely agree)
• Certainly, consistent with the Latin idea of a human becoming a God by adoption

Another Aside: Who is Bringing the Letter?

Comments:

• Paul has not sent this letter through the United States Postal Service or UPS. It must be hand-delivered
• Who does this?
• The first person Paul mentions in Chapter 16 is “Phoebe” and she is a “deacon” from Corinth. It is very likely that this woman is the one who has carried the letter, and then would read it and explain it to the recipients.
• Keep this in mind when we here is the “taming of Paul” letters that women are to keep silent in worship and only ask their husbands if they have any questions.
• Most certainly, Paul did not send Phoebe to keep quiet, but to speak with authority!

Prayer of Thanksgiving�Romans 1:8-15

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened— 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you…

Prayer of Thanksgiving�Romans 1:8-15

… (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as I have among the rest of the gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, 15 hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Prayer of Thanksgiving�Romans 1:8-15

What catches your ear in this passage?

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Prayer of Thanksgiving�Romans 1:8-15

Comments:

• Thanksgiving and Prayer:
• this is common section in almost all of Paul’s letters (except for Galatians, where Paul jumps right from the greeting to reading them the riot act)
• Thanksgiving for their being known as faithful
• He prays for them
• Want to see them
• Wants to strengthen them (though since he didn’t establish this church, he shift the focus back to “mutual encouragement”.)
• Restates his desire to give them a spiritual gift, for he is charged to aid the Gentiles

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Prayer of Thanksgiving�Romans 1:8-15

Comments:

• “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”:
• In other words, he is “Pumped Up!” about God’s good news
• The Gospel is Power and The Gospel is Salvation
• Not a statement meaning “I am going to heaven when I die”
• Salvation is a transformed life NOW, even if it also includes a future in God after this life.
• Salvation is power
• Quotes Habakkuk: “the righteous live by their faith”
• To salvation to be righteous – to live well!
• It isn’t something we “do” as much as it is a gift from God
• Salvation has the power to change us
• To die to self and be risen to Christ in this life and then the next, as God Conquers death

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Consider…

• Something to ponder this week…
• What would Paul write to us?
• Some thoughts from John Dominic Crossan

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygcBGhkCIKg&t=169s

Tune in next week…

When we tackle judgement - Yikes!

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