Romans and the Christian Worldview Essay

When you think about Christianity, you don’t think about it being a bad thing. Christianity is the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies. This religion came to be one of the largest and most influential religions today. When the Romans thought about Christianity, it was considered a sin. But what exactly was the nature of the conflict between Christianity and the Roman government? The conflict between Christianity and the Roman government was that Christians refused to recognizes the romans beliefs in their religion.

Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity is his heresy- the doctrine of salvation by faith. A salvation available not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to the pagan, non-Jewish world as well. When he was writing to those in the Roman capital, Paul makes the declaration that proved to be the cornerstone of all his writings Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live

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.

Paul’s messages to the Corinthians was that the spirit brings life but the letter of the law kills. While Roman law made a significant contribution to our modern culture, their rejection God’s truth and the security of his absolute values would place them on a path to destruction. History shows the vast success

The book of Romans was written by Paul to present a basic system of salvation to a church that had not receive the teaching of an apostle before. In this book, the basis of a biblical worldview can be illustrated by Paul when it comes to explaining the natural world, our human identity, human relationships, and culture.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is known as one of his greatest theological works. It has been passed down for thousands of years and is still just as relevant today as it was in Paul’s time. How exactly is it relevant the modern day Christian may ask? What with its harsh language that includes strong sentences such as “the wages of sin is death” (6:23) and “the wrath of God” (1:18) one may say that the times have changed. Some may say that these issues in Paul’s time are acceptable in society today. Jesus is all loving not wrathful. What exactly is the Christian to think? The purpose of this short essay is to examine how the Book of Romans relates to the Christian in the twenty-first century and how it helps to shape his worldview.

Then and now religions shared common dimensions that provide society with a doctrine, narrative, ethics, ritual, experience and a social institution. These six dimensions that Ninian Smart derived spell out the framework for comparative study of religions1. The six dimensions hold true when comparing the daily routine Roman religious thought to modern Christianity. Interwoven into the core of both cultures is a strong unifying spirit that built a strong communal bond for its people.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is of his greatest theological works, passed down for thousands of years and still as relevant today as it was in Paul’s time. How exactly is it relevant the modern Christian may ask? What with its harsh language that includes statements such as “the wages of sin is death” (6:23) and “the wrath of God” (1:18), one may say that current times have changed. Some may say that the issues Paul addresses are acceptable in today’s society. What exactly is the Christian to think? The purpose of this short essay is to examine how the Book of Romans relates to the Christian in the twenty-first century and how it helps to shape his worldview.

Religion played a significant role in the Roman civilization but, “many people believe that Rome was not a religious place. What they probably mean is that it was not a moral place.” (Burrell, 65) The Romans had innumerable gods that they worshiped which included giving gifts and sacrificing for their gods. Sacrificing animals was common for ancient Roman civilization. The idea of sacrificing came from the people before the Roman Empire was built. Religion primarily used sacrificing as a means of showing appreciation to the gods but later became a way to get things from the gods. The increases in the expansion of Rome lead to an increasing number of sacrifices. Roman sacrifice was done in many different ways and there were numerous

Christians went from being persecuted to dominating Rome rather quickly. In a world where separation between church and state does not exist, a Christian becoming the sole emperor of Rome symbolized a huge turning point in history. The power switched and the Pagans in turn became persecuted. Christians rose up and took control of all aspects of Roman society. The Pagan past was destroyed, banned, or forgotten about. Those Christians that did not agree with how things were being run either left the empire and became monks or formed their own sect. All of Rome changed.

Due to the "highly subjective nature of most scientific theorizing... [we should] let the Bible speak for itself and modify our scientific view of origins accordingly." (as cited in Downey, D., & Porter, S., 2009).

In looking at Romans 7:7-25 we see that it expands on the passage 7:5 with a emphasis on Paul

There are many texts which involve salvation in the Scripture. Some of the obvious texts are John 3:16, Ephesians 1:4-8, some other parts of the “Romans road”, and the list goes on. This is due to the fact that there are many different parts of texts which also add to the Salvation texts but are not directly related. Salvation is the most important concept in theology. It is the key concept which opens up the rest of the scriptures.

Paul’s letters to the Roman Gentile’s and Jewish leaders in Roman reverberate a statement unlike any other sermon given in power, instruction, or refutation the church has ever heard. From Paul’s heart one can hear his plea, Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?” (Romans 7:1 KJV)

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.