Sermon 20 March 2021

Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Paul wrote to the Christian congregation in Rome during his stay in Corinth over three years before he was taken there as a prisoner. We know this because Phoebe, a member of the Corinthian congregation, was the courier who delivered the letter. The church in Rome was probably started by some of those who heard Peter’s talk at Pentecost. Scripture tells us there were thousands there who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to celebrate Passover. Paul didn’t start the church, but he was aware of it.

To understand the first half of the letter to the Romans, it is important to realize two things. First those who heard Peter’s famous talk at Pentecost were Jews. Jews who were devout enough to make the long journey east across southern Europe, through Asia Minor and finally south to Jerusalem. They were raised in the Law of Moses, which taught God rewarded those who strictly followed the law. The tone of the letter is more like a research paper than most of Paul’s letters. The congregation in Rome was familiar with the Old Testament quotes Paul uses to support his argument. Sometimes he uses several quotes one after another to make his point. I assume from Paul’s letter that the Roman congregation developed and grew much the same as other Christian churches of the time. The Christian movement normally began as a small cluster in one corner of the synagogue. As their members grew, they occupied more and more of the church until they became a threat to the orthodox Jewish leaders, and were asked to find a new place to worship. The congregation initially had few if any gentiles, but as time passed, non-Jews were drawn to the message of love and eternal life. Jesus was a Jew, and many of his followers thought it necessary to become Jewish before becoming Christians. What place did the Law of Moses have in the theology of this new Christian movement? Paul and Peter argued this question at the first Ecumenical Council in Jerusalem. The decision to allow gentiles to become Christians without first becoming Jews is recorded in Acts 15. Paul’s letter to Rome, however, was two years before the meeting. The hierarchy of the church had not yet published the decision recorded in Acts 15. So, the questions about circumcision, food prohibitions, and the law were on-going points of contention within the church, and Paul spends much of the first half of his letter trying to convince the Roman congregation to accept gentile members without encumbering them with Jewish Law.

It is tempting then to say that the first eight chapters are not applicable to us today, but that would be incorrect. Interspersed with his discussion of the Law is a lengthy discussion about original sin. Both PhDs I researched thought his coverage was the “most profound theological passages in scripture.” Paul’s bottom line was that we, you and I, inherited sin from Adam. Adam was the ancestor of all of us and he sinned, therefor, we are all descendants of a sinner and bound to be sinners ourselves. I read and reread and still get lost in the logic. I guess being profound means you need to confuse your reader. I finally gave up and replaced Paul’s logic with Frank’s common sense. You are free to do that as well. As a matter of fact, you are free to do anything you want. That is the basic tenet of Frank’s common sense. Adam sinned because he was human. Humans are not perfect. We talked about that a few weeks ago. All descendants of Adam are human. We inherited Adam’s humanness, but that doesn’t mean we inherited his sin. God created us, and Adam, with flaws and weaknesses, but God also created us with free-will. We don’t inherit the sins of our faithers unless we choose to do so. And I for one am glad. My grandfather was not a good man. He chose a path that would rightfully land him in jail today. My father chose a different path. He became a professional boxer at age 15 and protected his sisters from their father. We do not inherit the sins of our ancestors unless we chose to.

The first half of Romans ends with a something we seldom if ever think about. We concentrate on being Christian and don’t often consider that Christianity had Jewish roots. Paul was a Jew before he was a Christian. He was raised in a Jewish neighborhood. His friends were Jewish and he was educated in a Jewish school. It is natural that he considers what his friends and classmates missed out on. When the Jews rejected Jesus, they rejected the path to salvation. Orthodox Jews believe salvation is attained through strict adherence to the Law of Moses. Paul has a beautiful quote when he says, “There is no injustice in God...” The Jews sought salvation through strict adherence to the rules and failed to achieve their goal of righteousness. Gentiles choose the path of righteousness through faith and found salvation without the law.

Paul kind of changes gears in chapter nine. So much so that the commentary of J Vernon McGee is in two books, one on the first half and another on the second. His style remains much like a research paper supported by Old Testament quotes, but his focus changes to salvation. He still looks back for support but his focus is forward.

Paul continues his letter with a plea for the Roman congregation to submit to the government. Maybe “submit” is not exactly the right word here. He says that those in power have been put there by God. “Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” (Romans 13:2) It seems to me this contradicts Acts 5:29. When Peter and John were told by the authorities to stop preaching in public the responded, “We must obey God rather than men.” Paul’s argument assumes all affairs of men and government are directed by God. I’m not sure that is true. I can’t believe God chose Hitler to rule Germany or Saddam to rule Iraq. I do believe that “God is the blessed controller of all things.”, as it says in 1 Timothy, but I don’t think he directs every move of men any more than you and I control every move of our children. God didn’t appoint Putin to come to power and invade Ukraine, but neither did He prohibit it. Sometimes He allows the affairs of men to run their course. It wasn’t God who demanded Israel have a king, it was man. Every other nation had a king, so they did too. Does Paul’s directive to obey civil authorities mean we should blindly follow despots? I don’t think so. David followed King Saul only as long as King Saul was acting for God. When Saul began acting for himself, David followed the will of God. Democracy has a built-in system of opposition. I can’t believe Paul tells us not to resist our elected officials. If so, we could never have debates prior to elections. Resistance/opposition gives voters a choice. Sometimes God watches and lets the system work. Whether that is good or bad is not for me to say. We can easily get into the question of why God allows bad things to happen, but that is a question for another time. In both the Old and New Testament God cautions us that vengeance and judgement are His responsibility, not ours. Which leads me into Paul’s next, and last point.

Paul finishes his advice to the Roman Christians by urging them to avoid being judgmental. Jesus says in Matthew, “Do not judge so that you be not judged.” Paul’s immediate reference was food prohibitions, but as Jesus said, it applies to all customs and human behavior. If you think something is wrong then it is wrong for you, but not necessarily wrong for others. There were both Jews and Gentiles in the Roman congregation. Jews were taught it was sinful to eat pork for example. Gentiles had no such training. If you think it is wrong than it is. When I was a kid, ladies wore hats to church, and most had no idea why. I observed older ladies criticize the young ones who thought it was OK not to wear hats. Closer to home, if you feel you should wear a mask, you should wear one. And, those who do or do not wear masks should accept the decision of others. It becomes difficult to concentrate on Jesus, when we criticize each other over non-salvation issues.

Pray with me. Father, we look to scripture for guidance. And when scripture appears to contradict itself, we ask you to be our guide. We dedicate ourselves to follow where you lead us. Amen.