The Jew-Gentile
Problem of Sin
and the Solution of
Faith
Romans 1:18-4:25
Explanation:
It is easy to universalize the content of this unit to think of “all have
sinned” as a statement on the universal sin of humanity—because of course this
is true. However, it is “all” from the
perspective of a world Paul divides into “Jew” and “Gentile.” In that sense, Paul’s “all have sinned” is a
statement that Jews are sinners just as much as Gentiles are. The first half of this unit presents the
problem—both Jew and Gentile have sinned.
The second half then presents faith in what God has done through Jesus
as the solution to the consequences of sin, namely, the wrath of God.
Patterns and Themes:
- The primary relationship between these two
sections is of course that of problem
and solution. The problem is
the wrath of God on sin. The
solution is God’s offering of Jesus as an atoning sacrifice, accomplished as
well because of Jesus’ faith. The
personal solution is faith in what God has done through Christ.
- There is a recurring comparison between Jew and Gentile in this section. They are similar in their problem and
they are similar in their solution.
- The entire thought of this section is captured
by a general statement in
3:21-31, which reminds the audience of the righteousness of God revealed
in the gospel, reminds them that this righteousness starts with God’s
faith/Jesus’ faith and ends in a human faith response. It presents faith as the principle of
justification (3:28) and sets us up for Paul’s later discussion about sin’s
inappropriateness (3:31).
- As a formal characteristic, we see Paul’s
diatribe style in full bloom in this section, his way of making the
argument progress by way of questions
and answers.