Naselli Romans

A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4335-8037-6
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 232 Seiten

A Concise, Verse-by-Verse Commentary on the Book of Romans, Perfect for Individual or Group Study  Martin Luther called the book of Romans the 'chief part of the New Testament' and 'the purest gospel.' The apostle Paul's letter to the Romans has had arguably the largest influence on believers throughout church history. Paul systematically and formally articulates the gospel of Jesus Christ-the righteousness God gives to sinful humans through faith.  Scholar and author Andrew David Naselli traces Paul's argument for the gospel throughout this concise and accessible guide to the book of Romans. Designed to be read alongside the epistle itself, Naselli provides accessible, standalone commentary unpacking the text verse by verse. This ebook dives into the key themes of righteousness, peace, and God's promises, accompanied by reflection questions on interpretation and application-perfect for individual or group study.  - For New Believers and Seasoned Saints: Ideal for thoughtful laypeople, pastors, and teachers wanting to learn more about God's word - Perfect for Group or Individual Study: Includes interpretation and application questions at the end of the ebook  - Accessible: Straightforward and clear writing 

Andrew David Naselli (PhD, Bob Jones University; PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of systematic theology and New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis. He is planting Christ the King Church in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Naselli, Andrew David

Leseproben

1

Introduction (1:1–17)

Paul introduces the letter with a greeting (1:1–7), a thanksgiving (1:8–15), and the letter’s theme (1:16–17).

1:1–7 The letter’s opening introduces Paul as the author and the Christians in Rome as the addressees. Several themes bookend the letter: the gospel, the Son, the Old Testament, Paul, the obedience of faith, and the nations (see 16:25–27).

1:1–3a Paul describes himself in three ways: (1) “a servant” or bondservant or slave “of Christ Jesus”; (2) “called to be an apostle”; and (3) “set apart for the gospel of God” (1:1). He unpacks the third description by describing the gospel as what God promised “beforehand”: the agents whom God used to make the promise were “his prophets”; the location of that promise is “in the holy Scriptures”—that is, the Old Testament prophesies the gospel (1:2), and the topic of that promise is “his Son” (1:3a). (On the gospel, see “What Is the Theological Message of Romans?” in the introduction above.)

1:3b–4 Paul describes God’s Son in two ways: according to the flesh (i.e., his earthly life) and according to the Spirit. According to his earthly life, God’s Son “was descended from David” (1:3b) and thus fulfills the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Isa. 11:1–5; Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 34:23–24). According to the Holy Spirit, the eternal Son “was declared [i.e., appointed] to be the Son of God in power.” That is, the God-man began to reign as the powerful messianic King ascended to God’s right hand. The basis of that magnificent appointment is “his resurrection from the dead,” which also fulfills the Old Testament.1 God’s Son is “Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:4).

1:5–7 Now the three ways Paul describes himself in the opening lines (1:1) make more sense. Paul serves Jesus the Messiah, who called Paul to be an apostle for a specific purpose: “to bring about the obedience of faith” (1:5; also 16:26), which could mean the obedience that consists primarily of faith (cf. 10:16) but more likely refers to the obedience that comes from faith—that is, ongoing obedience that is the fruit of ongoing faith. For what purpose? “For the sake of his name”—that is, to glorify Jesus. We glorify Jesus when we feel and think and act in ways that show that the triune God is supremely great and good, all-wise and all-satisfying. Where should this happen? “Among all the nations” (1:5), which includes the Christians in Rome, those whom God loves and has effectually called to be “saints” (1:7a)—that is, his holy people. Paul pronounces a blessing on them (1:7b).

1:8–15 Paul explains why he thanks God for the Christians in Rome and longs to see them.

1:8–12 Paul thanks God for the Christians in Rome because people are talking about their faith all over the Roman Empire. Paul continually asks God, whom he serves by preaching “the gospel of his Son,” that he may visit the Christians in Rome (1:9–10). Why? Because he wants to encourage them and for them to encourage him (1:11–12).

1:13–15 Paul qualifies that he has repeatedly attempted to visit the Christians in Rome but has been unsuccessful thus far. He wants to reap a harvest by proclaiming the gospel in Rome among the Christians there and “among the rest of the Gentiles” (1:13). (The gospel is not simply for converting non-Christians; the gospel—especially as Paul unpacks it in this letter—is for building up Christians.2) Why? Because God has commissioned him to reach people who are civilized and educated as well as those who are not.

1:16–17 Paul concludes the introduction with a two-sentence transition that states the letter’s theme: the gospel reveals “the righteousness of God” (1:17), which people can experience only by faith.3 Paul is eager to proclaim the gospel because he is not ashamed of it. He boldly proclaims the gospel, even if it results in suffering. Why? Because the gospel “is the power of God” to save “everyone who believes” (1:16)—first to Jews in the history of salvation and now equally to Gentiles (see Rom. 9–11). God powerfully saves people through the gospel because the gospel reveals that one obtains a right standing with God “from faith for faith” (1:17)—or “beginning and ending in faith” (1:17 ESV margin note). The scriptural proof is Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17)—that is, those who have a right standing with God by faith will experience eternal life.

What exactly does “the righteousness of God” (1:17; 3:5, 21, 22, 25, 26; 10:3 [2x]) refer to?4 There are three basic options (though interpreters combine these options in every way possible when they factor in what Paul says about justification elsewhere in Romans and his other letters):

1. What God is—God’s attribute of being righteous or just. The opposite of “the righteousness of God” (1:17) is the “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (1:18). God is righteous; humans are unrighteous.

2. What God gives—God’s gift of a righteous status to sinful people (see 3:21–22; 2 Cor. 5:21; cf. especially Rom. 10:5 and Phil. 3:9). The metaphor is from the law court (righteousness = judicial [e.g., see Rom. 8:33]); it is not about people living in a more righteous way (righteousness ? transformative). That is, this gift is God’s legally declaring people to be righteous before him; it does not morally make them righteous by gradually infusing righteousness into them.

3. What God does—God’s activity of saving sinful people. He rights what is wrong. Some who hold this view (e.g., N. T. Wright) define God’s righteousness as his covenant faithfulness and define justification as what enables us to know who is part of the people of God, particularly by declaring that God has included Gentiles in his covenant community.

It is too narrow to say that “the righteousness of God” refers to only one of these three options and not the other two. I agree with what John Stott says about these three options: “All three are true and have been held by different scholars, sometimes in relation to each other. For myself, I have never been able to see why we have to choose, and why all three should not be combined.”5

In my view, God’s attribute of being righteous (option 1) is the fundamental concept, and in the context of Romans, that entails both God’s gift of a righteous status (option 2) and God’s activity of saving (option 3, minus the “covenant faithfulness” definition). Of the three options, God’s gift of a righteous status (option 2) is most prominent in Romans. “The righteousness of God” refers primarily to God’s positive attribute of being righteous, and when sinful people experience that aspect of God, God either (a) saves them by righteously giving them a righteous status or (b) condemns them. And while God will faithfully fulfill his promises because he is righteous, the essence of God’s righteousness is not his covenant faithfulness.6

As Stott puts it,

“The righteousness of God” is God’s just justification of the unjust, his righteous way of pronouncing the unrighteous righteous, in which he both demonstrates his righteousness and gives righteousness to us. He has done it through Christ, the righteous one, who died for the unrighteous, as Paul will explain later. And he does it by faith when we put our trust in him, and cry to him for mercy.7

The gospel reveals “God’s righteous way of ‘righteousing’ the unrighteous.”8 So “the righteousness of God” refers not only to what God is when he justifies you but also to what God gives you when he justifies you: God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:26). God righteously “righteouses” the unrighteous.

1  See Jason S. DeRouchie, “Why the Third Day? The Promise of Resurrection in All of Scripture,” Desiring God (website), June 11, 2019, https://www.desiringgod.org/.

2  See Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love (Bemidji, MN: Focus, 2008); Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life: Turn to the Liberating Power of the Cross . . . Every Day (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003); Bridges, The Transforming Power of the Gospel (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2012).

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