The case for Torah .... Romans In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains the relationship between the Law and believers, both Jew and Gentile. We argue the following to be true: Pauls use of the law is not static. He develops the theme of the law throughout the letter, at first more generally, later focusing on certain aspects of the law. Paul maintains a positive view of the law throughout Romans (3:1-2,31; 7:12). All people, Jew and Gentile alike, have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. All disobey Gods law (ch. 3). Our being justified, being credited with righteousness, occurs APART from the law, just as it was with Abraham (Gen 15:6). Justification (which all need since all have sinned) is not by works but rather by faith in Christ (ch. 3-4) just as occurred with Abraham. Our faith does not overthrow the requirement to obey Gods instructions found in His law, but rather upholds the law (3:31) just as Abraham did following his being justified by faith (Gen 26:5). One purpose of the law is to reveal and increase trespass (the breaking of Gods commands), revealing the depravity and carnality of human beings resulting in the reign of sin, which leads to death. When the “old self” or carnal nature encounters Gods commands, the result is the breaking of these commands. It is THIS aspect - the enmity of the carnal nature against Gods law - from which believers have been freed, having died to the dominion of sin through Christ! Paul calls this “the law of sin and death,” and contrasts it with “the law of the Spirit of life,” which we are now under. In Christ, we now have freedom from the law of sin and death, the carnal natures hostility against Gods law, so that we CAN obey His commands! (ch. 5-8) The law points to and declares the work of Christ. Therefore, when we obey the law, we proclaim who Christ is (9-10). The book of Romans, written by the apostle Paul, is often used to prove that believers in Christ are free from any obligation to obey the Mosaic law. There are many “freedom passages” in Pauls letter to the Romans, and it is our purpose to examine each in detail and see if Paul (and God) really is granting believers this liberty. Whenever the topic of following Gods instructions from the Old Testament comes up, the almost universal rallying cry springs forth, We are not under law but under grace. This reminds me of a line in The Princess Bride. Throughout the movie, Vizzini repeatedly proclaims Inconceivable! with an emphatic lisp, and then finally, Inigo Montoya says in his Spanish accent, You keep using that word. I do not think it means, what you think it means. The same thing applies to the book of Romans. Rather than pull the freedom passages out of context, we need to examine how Paul uses each of them to see if it matches what we have been taught. Good biblical hermeneutics and proper exegeses (the methods by which we accurately interpret the bible) are essential if we are to discover the truth of what Paul is teaching. Continue. .. casefortorah/content/romans-introduction
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 13:20:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015