 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
The Letter To The Romans
Intoduction
Background of Romans
The Letter to the Romans is the longest, most influential and rewarding of Paul’s undisputed letters. It may well be the last he wrote. He seems to have written it in Corinth (in modern Greece) during the stay recorded in Acts 20:3. Cenchreae, its port, was where Phoebe was a deacon (16:1), and the Gaius mentioned in 16:23 may well be the Gaius whom Paul baptised in Corinth (1 Cor 1:14). The date was around 57. We cannot be sure of the exact year, but certainly it was written before the publication of any of the written gospels and it comes after I Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians and the Corinthian correspondence.
The church in Rome seems to have been founded some time in the 40’s, probably by Jewish Christians from Judaea or by Jews who had been converted to Christianity while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. That the church was composed largely of Jewish Christians is evidenced from the fact that riots occurred in the Jewish quarter of Rome, “led by a certain Christus”. This famous quote from the Roman historian Svetonius probably refers to riots between Jews who accepted Jesus as the “Christus” and those who did not. The riots prompted the emperor Claudius to expel all Jews from Rome in 49. It is reasonable to suppose that this left the leadership of the church in the hands of Gentile Christians, different in attitude from the Jews, and that the Gentile church continued to grow. Paul, in Romans, seems to indicate that the church is largely Gentile. Jews, including Jewish Christians, were permitted to return shortly after 54. Finding the church with new leadership and different attitudes undoubtedly led to tensions between the two groups.
Paul normally did not write to or preach in churches he had not founded but, with his consciousness of his mission to the Gentiles, it is unthinkable that he would not feel some responsibility for the capital of the Gentile world. It is reasonable to suppose that Rome had heard of Paul and that they (the Jewish group in particular) may have heard distorted accounts of what he preached, especially about the relationship of the Mosaic law to justification. There was a good deal of travelling between Rome and Jerusalem at that time so the Roman church could not have been totally ignorant of Paul and his career. In his letter Paul seems to assume this, since he does not go to any great lengths to introduce himself, only his doctrine.
Paul had never visited and never evangelized the church of Rome though, as “minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles” (15:16), he longed to see them (1:11). Rome was the most important city in his world. Its government, represented by Pontius Pilate, had executed Jesus in far-away Judea. Luke in Acts describes Paul’s eventual arrival there as a prisoner (Acts 28:14). The Christians of Rome, at the centre of the Roman empire, had many contacts (Acts 28:21). But Paul never tells the readers directly why he wrote to them.
Message of Romans
The doctrine that Paul develops concentrates on three major elements: the need of all people for the unmerited justification that can be found only in Christ; the new life of hope and freedom in Christ that God’s love has given to all through this justification; and the problem of the failure of Israel, God’s favoured people, to attain this life. The discussion of justification necessarily leads Paul to discuss the relationship of the Mosaic law to its fulfilment.
A fundamental problem facing Paul in this letter is the relationship between Jews and non-Jews. Both the gospel and the election of Israel were important to him. The apostle insists on Jesus as both Messiah of Israel and Lord of the Gentiles. The church is obliged to become more Jewish, that is, more biblical in its thinking.
The Pauline writings and the four gospels agree that Christ’s death is the most important event in history, that it has fulfilled God’s plan, and was the sacrifice for sins.
Relevance of Romans in Africa
Romans is of a great importance for African theology and Christianity. Paul stresses the universality of salvation because all have sinned: Jews and Gentiles. God has revealed himself not only to the Jews through the Mosaic law, but also to Gentiles through his creation and natural law (see esp. chs 1 and 2). Today we are aware of the fact that many peoples in Africa knew God even though they concentrated their veneration mostly on the ancestors. They knew that even the ancestors can do nothing if they are not supported by God. Africans who have served God and kept his law as revealed in creation have been saved and redeemed.
For African theology it is important to see that the encounter with the gospel of Christ does not mean abolition of the gifts God gave to Africa at creation. Africans ought understand revelation through their own traditions and thereby show clearly the richness and immensity of the inexhaustible mystery of God. So in exegesis, in theology, in ethics, there are many different approaches to understanding the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. If Paul is, for example, speaking of a Trinitarian God, this need not be explained using the same philosophical system as the West. According to the African understanding of the spoken word, we can say: the Word of God the Father to the world has been made flesh, it is Jesus Christ. Now, this Word as Son is in dialogue with his Father. The dialogue, the speaking between Father and Son, is so efficacious that it is another person: the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit as dialogue between Father and Son, the one God is recreating the world, making the world stronger and powerful since the word spoken by him cannot remain without being effective. In this way we can say that the Holy Spirit is at the same time the life force given to the world by Father and Son.
Another aspect we can emphasise in Romans is the conception of community according to ch. 12:3ff. The Pauline concept of the body with different members characterizing the Christian community can be used to reflect further the idea of church as family in Africa. The family that Africans are speaking of is not nuclear, but extended, involving the living, the dead, and the not-yet-born. In this family concept there is room for all the members who are united by a blood pact, and some kind of alliance (=covenant). In Jesus Christ we are all relatives and family in an African sense, for we are all united through the Blood of Christ on the cross. This covenant and family bond is a reality which is renewed especially in the eucharistic assembly. The church as family is not a patriarchal one, but it is basically a community of brotherhood/sisterhood.
In regard to the problem of community we can also mention the importance of the conscience (2:15). In the African context conscience should not be understood only as individual. It must be seen in the context of African dialogue in which every private word and thought has to be confronted with community realities. The word that constitutes conscience is to be interpreted in community.
Main Structures of Romans
I. Address (1:1-15)
II. Humanity Lost without the Gospel
(1:16-3:20)
III. Justification through Faith in Christ
(3:21-5:21)
IV. Justification and the Christian Life
(6:1-8:39)
V. Jews and Gentiles in God’s Plan
(9:1-11:36)
VI.The Duties of Christians (12:1-15:13)
To order
| Web Design by Paulines Publications Africa © 2007. All rights reserved | Terms of use |