The Righteousness of
God in the Gospel
Romans 1:16-11:36
Explanation:
Beyond the proposition,
Paul’s argument divides fairly easily into three distinct sections, although
there is some debate about the place of Romans 5 in the scheme. Our placement of it along with 6-8 will
become clear in our more detailed discussion of that section. The first unit largely presents Paul’s gospel
in terms of the Jew/Gentile issue.
Paul’s argument is that all have violated the Law and thus that circumcision
in itself is not adequate for justification.
In contrast, God has provided such justification through Christ.
In
the second section (5-8), Paul speaks of the hope of the glory of God,
something humanity does not have because of sin. He then steps back and tells the whole story
from Adam to Christ. Chapters 6-8 in
particular deal with the role of the Law in it all. Chapters 9-11 then reflect more directly on
the future fate of Israel. If they have not accepted Christ and thus
have rejected the righteousness of God, what will become of them? Paul affirms that they will, in the end, be
saved.
Patterns and Themes:
- The key verses of the letter, Romans 1:16-17,
are a general statement that
plays its themes out in the rest of the letter. The good news is that God has raised
Jesus from the dead, and those who place their
faith in this God and all that this truth entails will be saved on the Day
of Wrath. This good news
demonstrates the righteousness of God, both in that he did not bring
justice before this time and in that he remains faithful to his covenant
with Israel
and his promises. Entailed in the
particulars of 1:16-17 are the themes of righteousness “caused” by faith, God’s
righteousness as the ultimate cause
of salvation, etc…
- Throughout Paul’s entire argument, Paul has in
view the problem of sin,
particularly as caused by Adam,
and the solution to that
problem as accomplished by God in Christ.
The ultimate solution in history is the redemption of the creation,
the resurrection and redemption of the Romans’ bodies, and of course
salvation from God’s wrath.
Involved in the problem-solution theme are the contrasts between sin and righteousness, death and life, etc…
- Paul’s argument in general compares the situation of the Gentiles to that of the Jews as
well. Paul’s primary emphasis
throughout is that both groups are in exactly the same boat. However, a contrast between appropriate and inappropriate paths to
righteousness also appears throughout this half of the book, including the
contrast between the Law and
Grace, “works of law” and the “faith of Christ,” etc…
- There is a logical
cause-effect aspect to the progress of Paul’s argument. The first unit presents the situation of
Jews and Gentiles in relation to sin and the solution to this problem. This leads Paul in the second unit to
ponder more deeply the contrast
between the inadequacies of the Law to provide victory over sin or to
effect righteousness. Paul steps
back and tells the story—thus a kind of generalizing and explanatory aspect to the middle
section. This leads Paul to ponder the eventual fate of Israel,
since they have rejected God’s righteousness. Paul believes they will eventually be
saved.
- As a matter of form, Paul repeatedly uses the diatribe style of question and answer.
These questions and answers are caused by each subsequent claim as the overall argument
progresses. However, these
questions are not thematically related to one another or connected.
- Although it especially climaxes its own individual section (9:1-11:32), 11:33-36 effectively
climaxes the whole first half of the letter.