Pros And Cons Of The Gospel

The Jews viewed the Gentiles as inferior and hopeless in any redeeming qualities. The Jews, seeing themselves as privileged in God’s sight, were unwilling to hear that Paul was preaching to the Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans 1:16-17). Today, racial profiling and bigotry exist to an even greater degree. Each culture, has the belief that their version of the law is correct, so everyone else should align with them. People are separated by cultural differences and are willing to fight for their beliefs. God sent Paul to tell the Gentiles that the good news applied to them also in Romans 1:3-7. Just as the issues in Paul’s day influenced the people then, today’s society is influenced by television, Hollywood, and social media. Man has idols whose culture may or may not be based in the one true God. Godly culture is pushed farther and farther away in lieu of a “me “centered culture. Reality is that sin is sin (Romans 2:12-14).

In conclusion, Paul teachings help us to understand how God views sin and its consequences. His message also reveals God’s righteousness and forgiveness through Christ. Our natural world, our human

In verse 15, Paul writes, "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners" Paul seems to be telling his gentile reader that the Torah has no bearing on their salvation. I feel that he purposely or inadvertently gives the law merit more merit than intended by suggesting that Jews are not sinners because they received the law. He draws a distinction between himself and "the gentile sinners" yet he is telling his audience that the ways, some of which are still a part of his own way of life, are irrelevant. He seems to almost make a separation of culture and religion. He seems to be saying that the rectitude of the Jews dates from birth, because the Jewish religion is a part of their culture. Peter claims to

Islamic, Jewish, West African, the Aborigines of Australia and many other religions and cultures use circumcision as a rite of passage that holds significant meaning. Most preform the act in infancy or early childhood and while some hold it as optional others see it as obligatory and will even make sure to circumcise their deceased before burial. (Darby) In Kenya, boys will wear the razor blade that was used on them around their necks as a sign of “initiation into manhood” (Morris) Some religions, such as Catholicism, have maintained that the act of circumcision is brutal, barbaric and unnecessary.(Wikipedia 1)

Romans 1-4 is the first section of Paul’s letter. This section has two major structural units. The first unit defined the human problem of sin. The second unit of the first section defined the solution to the human problem of sin. Paul’s outline of this solution is the first section’s single most compelling issue. Romans 3:22-24, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” The solution to our human problem, righteousness credited to us as a result of faith in Christ’s sacrifice, is available to all of us only because of God’s compassionate grace.

In Romans 1-8 Paul is writing to teach the doctrine of Christ. Although Paul goes into much more depth in these eight chapters, his message ultimately boils down to the following sentence. We have all sinned and deserve death, however, through the redemption and sanctification of Christ we have been saved and should now lead, Christ centered lives of faith.

In the Book of Romans Paul wrote many letters answering questions about the human world, mankind’s relations with God, the natural world and most importantly the plan of salvation. Paul wrote these letters to tell the truth, to tell that no matter what race or religion, we are all sinner and the only way to truly become righteous is though faith in Jesus Christ. In Rome at that time you had two extremes of people, the heathens, and those who thought they were holier than thou (Jews). In todays society we still have those two extremes but we also have a middle ground, those who are straddling the fence. Paul just wanted the entire human race to know that we are guilty before God for both past and

Paul became an advocate for the inclusion of the Gentiles among the ‘true’ followers of Christianity. Until this moment in history, Jewish Christians believed that non-Jews had to convert to Judaism and follow the law like them, which included many dietary restrictions and circumcision. Gentiles who worship in the synagogue but did not convert were only

Paul begins his letter by saying he is an apostle not from men nor through man, but Jesus

Paul was also concerned how this sin had affected the Corinthian Church. The consequences of our

In the reading on Paul’s take on the law it talks about a consistency within his view of the law being that no one, Jew or Gentile, can live up to the law, only Jesus can. We would never be able to live up to the law even without the traditional “eating of the fruit” fall of man, somehow we would have messed it up and needed a savior, that savior being found in Jesus.

Even though this is good news, Paul knew that not everyone viewed this as good. Of those that choose to reject the saving message of salvation in Christ Jesus consistently, he tells them that God turns that person over to the fulfillment of the shameful inclinations of their own mind. This is shown in chapter 1, beginning at verse 18. Because of the rejection of God, the human situation only gets more and more depraved. We descend to fulfilling our carnal, base cravings, and that is get involved in everything that

As Paul reflects on his escape he starts to understand the need for reliance on another power (as in God)

This argument does not, however, decisively remove the possible use of ‘conversion’ for Paul, as Stendahl’s view that conversion must mean abandonment of a previous religious system is certainly not a necessary condition. In addition to this, to remove the language of ‘conversion’ from Paul’s experience is to remove its decisiveness; its absolute alteration of Paul’s thinking and being that can be seen in Gal 1:12-14. In these passages we see Paul speak of the risen Christ, who gave him his teaching and drew him away from his life in the Law, and as a Pharisee, in which he excelled (Gal 1:14) and which had led him to persecute the Church (Gal 1:13). When this Christocentric language is placed against his former understanding, which had caused him to persecute the Church, one cannot simply speak of a ‘call’, but rather must move to language of radical turning, of ‘conversion’. As this shows, while Stendahl’s argument that Paul should not be considered a ‘convert’ is not strong enough to warrant abandonment of the term, his exposition of Paul as ‘called’ should not be ignored, as, from a missional point of view, he certainly was. This leads us to the conception of Paul’s experience as encapsulating both ‘call’ and a ‘conversion’ dynamic, more fully expressing the reports he and others gave of this time.

A major situation confronting Paul during ancient times was trying to make sense of the barriers between Jews and Gentiles. Ultimately, the solution to breaking the barrier comes through Christ alone. Christ died for all humankind not just one kind. This view of Christ as the true solution is also the answer to the oppositions in the book of Romans. Two major oppositions are seen in Romans 8:1-11, between good and evil and spirit and flesh. Paul, who confronts many issues in Rome, cannot resolve these oppositions. Rather, "he proclaims liberation from the existential rupture in human nature, formulated by means of the figures that express opposition between flesh and the spirit, through participation in Christ." Romans 8:1-11 proves that living in the Spirit results in ultimate freedom and everlasting life. This freedom in the Spirit then means that the bondage of the law of sin and death is released.