The Body of the Letter
Explanation:
The first part of Romans gives us Paul’s theology of how God has justified not
only the Gentiles but the Jews as well through Jesus Christ. In the mysterious will of God, God will
acquit all of their sin on the basis of faith in what God has done in
Christ. The second half of Romans then
plays out what that will look like in the lives of the Christians at Rome, particularly in the
issues that face them.
Patterns and Themes:
- There is a cause-effect relationship between
these two parts of Romans. If the
first part is true, then the second part will follow. The first part presumes the truth that the
Romans’ sins were atoned for and that they were justified through what God
has done in Christ. It then argues
that they were not thereby excused to sin.
Finally, it shows that these truths are all in the overall will of
God, who has grafted the Gentiles into the tree. If these things are true, then the
second half urges them to have transformed minds unlike a mind conformed
to the world. Further, their
fleshly bodies are to die with Christ as a living sacrifice, enabling them
to fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law.