Paul wrote the Book of Romans to prepare the
saints in Rome for his expected arrival after he first passed through Jerusalem
(~ 57 A.D.), (Rom 15:24-25). Paul’s letter to the Romans outlined his
position on salvation for both the Jew and the Gentile before his audience in
Rome became prejudiced by the general reports about his ministry, (Acts 21:20-21). Upon Paul’s arrival, he learned that the Jews
in Rome had not received any letters concerning Paul, but they had heard about “this sect [of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:14), more commonly called “the Way,” (Acts 9:2)] and “it is spoken
against everywhere,” (Acts 28:21-22).
Paul’s Roman audience of first century Jews and
Gentile proselytes largely believed that salvation came automatically to the physical
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. John the Baptist refuted this same understanding
in Judea saying, “Do not suppose that
you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to
you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham,” (Matt 3:9). Jesus, likewise, encountered a similar attitude,
“They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham
is our father.’ Jesus said to them, If
you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham,” (John 8:39). Salvation predicated only on a physical
lineage has little need for a Messiah in matters of personal salvation.
By the first century, the descendants of
Israel had concluded that the only path to salvation for the Gentile was to be
circumcised following the example God gave to Abraham, “Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout
your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with
money for any foreigner…shall surely be circumcised,” (Gen 17:12-13). Circumcision was the singular act that
brought an individual into the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Rom 3:1), and into salvation, “Unless you are circumcised according to the
custom of Moses, you cannot be saved,” (Acts
15:1). However, this understanding
failed to answer the broader question as to how God could be the God of the
Jews and the God of the Gentiles (Rom
3:29), if only physical Jews could be saved?
Paul offered a unique answer to the Gentile question
of salvation, one he received as a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, (Gal 1:12). Jews and Gentiles can be saved through a
common single faith (Rom 3:30), a
unifying faith (Gal 3:28), a “faith in Jesus Christ,” (Rom 3:24), “From faith (of the Jew) to
faith (of the Gentile); as it is
written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith,” (Rom 1:17). In faith “the promise will be guaranteed to all the
descendants [of Abraham], not only to
those who are the Law [Jews and Gentile proselytes], but also to those who are of faith of Abraham [God-fearing
Gentiles],” (Rom 4:16). According to
Paul, Gentile salvation came through the “promise”
given to Abraham (Rom 4:13), and did
not require a physical lineage to the nation of Israel through circumcision.
Paul’s understanding was radically different,
even among the other apostles, (Gal
1:12). So unique was Paul’s revelation,
he would refer to it in personal terms as “my
gospel” (Rom 2:16), and defend
it by saying, “I am not ashamed of the
gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek,” (Rom
1:16). In Romans and Galatians, Paul
supported the revelation he received from Jesus Christ with a myriad of proof
texts from the Hebrew scripture. Paul
often interpreted these proof texts using the accepted rabbinic exegesis
techniques of his day, which were much more liberal than the framework of
today’s biblical hermeneutics. As a
result, believers accept many of Paul words on faith alone, not appreciating
the underlying techniques Paul employed to reinforce the revelation he had
received. By the time Paul wrote Romans
(~57 A.D.), he had firmly outlined “my
gospel” in the principles of:
(1) PERSONAL FAITHFULNESS, “From faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall
live by faith,” (Rom 1:17);
(2) INDIVIDUAL BELIEF, “Abraham believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3),
(3) THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM, “The
promise…that he would be heir of the world was…through the righteousness
of faith,” (Rom 4:13),
(4) THE INADEQUACY OF THE PHYSICAL
LINEAGE, “not the children of
the flesh (i.e., physical descendants of Abraham) who are children of God, but the children of the promise (i.e.
spiritual descendants of Abraham) are
regarded as descendants. For this is the word of the promise,”
(Rom 9:8-9), and
(5) JESUS AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE, “Scripture has shut up everyone under sin,
so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who
believe,” (Gal 3:33).
Paul’s letter to the Romans was the culmination
of a teaching ministry begun fifteen years earlier on Paul’s first missionary
journey to the saints at Antioch,
“We preach to you the good news
of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise
to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the
second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You,” (Acts 13:32-33)
In the Book of Galatians,
written shortly after Paul returned from his first missionary journey, Paul
refuted the accepted position that Gentiles could only be saved through a physical
attachment to the nation of Israel by circumcision. Paul argued that salvation is not obtained
through the flesh, but through the promise, “For
if the inheritance is based on the Law (i.e., being Jewish), it is no longer based on the promise; but God
has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise,” (Gal 3:18). Further, if circumcision
was sufficient for salvation, then the gospel of Christ would cease to have
benefit (Gal 5:2), and “faith [would be] made void and the promise…nullified,” (Rom 4:14). However, “Scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,
saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed by you,’” (Gal 3:8). In Paul’s
understanding, access to the promise came through Jesus Christ, “And if you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise [i.e.,
not the physical flesh]” (Gal 3:29),
and “You brethren, like Isaac, are
children of the promise,” (Gal
4:28).
In Galatians Paul “allegorically” compared the two positions on salvation to that of
the “bondwoman” and the “free woman,” (Gal 4:21-27). The bondwoman
had a son “born according to the flesh,”
while “the free woman” had a son “through the promise,” (Gal 4:23). The first son [Ishmael] represents the
outcome obtained through the human effort of Abraham; this is comparable to the
circumcision of the proselyte made by the hands of men. The second son [Isaac] represents the outcome
through the promise of God. Isaac is
comparable to belief/faith in the promise given to Abraham, which results in “a circumcision made without hands, in the
removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,” (Col 2:11).
If the physical act of circumcision is sufficient, then the death of
Jesus has no benefit, “Behold I Paul, say
to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you,” (Gal 5:2).
Paul argued repeatedly in his writings against
circumcision as a requirement for Gentile salvation, “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything,
but faith working through love,” (Gal
5:6, 6:15). By the time Paul wrote
to the Corinthians around the middle of his ministry (~ 55 A.D.), he had
condensed his discussion on circumcision into a single “rule” for all the
churches,
“Was anyone at the time of his call
already circumcised? Let him not seek to
remove the marks of circumcision. Was
anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised?
Let him not seek circumcision. For
neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the
commandments of God. Each one should
remain in the condition in which he was called…So, brothers, in whatever
condition each was called, there let him remain with God,” (1 Cor 7:18-24, ESV).
Believers can remain in the condition each
was called because faith in the promise takes precedent since faith came before
the commandment to circumcise, (Rom 4:10). The promise does not depend on circumcision,
but on circumcision of the heart (by the Spirit), as written “He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter,”
(Rom 2:29). In these words, Paul alluded to the words of
Moses (Deut 30:6-8) and the promise
of obedience made possible through the actions of the Spirit, (Ezek 36:26-27). Paul preached obedience as the true sign
of the circumcised heart, (Rom 2:25-6). So who are the true children of Abraham,
those who “do the deeds of Abraham,” (John 8:39).
Paul’s consistent argument against the
requirement of Gentile circumcision for salvation was misinterpreted during his
time (and in our day also) as a position against obedience to the commandments
of Moses, (Acts 21:21). James unequivocally stated that this understanding
of Paul was incorrect, (Acts 21:24). Paul concurred with James and demonstrated
his agreement by his actions, (Acts
21:26). Upon his arrival, Paul told his
Jewish audience in Rome, “I had done
nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers,” (Acts 28:17). Paul had a high respect for the Law,
referring to the Law as “Holy and
righteous and good” (Rom 7:12), and
the “embodiment of knowledge and truth,”
(Rom 2:20). The Law is a reflection of the Lawgiver. To keep the Law brings honor to God, while
transgression brings dishonor (Rom 2:23)
and receives judgment (Rom 2:27). The Law was given to the nation of Israel (Rom 9:4), requiring obedience from
both the Jew and Gentile proselyte who had become a Jew, (Gal 5:3). Yet, Paul’s
gospel did not submit Gentiles to the full weight of the Mosaic commandments, (Gal 5:3).
The standard for all is not to hear the Law,
but to perform the Law, “for it is not
the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law
will be justified,” (Rom 2:13). When Paul wrote “you are not under law, but under grace” (Rom 6:14), he referred to the liberation from the condemnation of
judgment contained in the law, but not the law itself, (Rom 8:1-2). When Paul
wrote, “We have been released from the
law” (Rom 7:6), he referred to
our inability to accomplish the commandments through our own flesh, but our
need for the promised Spirit (Ezek
36:26-27), since the “Law is
spiritual,” (Rom 7:14).
For far too long, most
believers have framed Paul’s argument for salvation in terms of “faith” verses
“works”. The more accurate understanding
is salvation through the promise verses salvation through the physical lineage. Salvation does not come to an individual
based on a physical lineage descending from Abraham (remember Ishmael), but through
faithfulness in the promise of the Messiah given to Abraham (remember Isaac). Fifteen years after Galatians, Paul stood before
Heord Agrippa, reciting a position established prior to his first missionary journey,
“I am standing trial for the hope
of the promise made by God to our fathers; the promise to which our twelve
tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O king, I am being accused
by Jews,” (Acts 26:6-7).
From Austin - Scott
