2:1
Romans is the most “theological” book in the Bible (I know they are all theological!). However, while it contains great amounts of deep theology, it was not written as an academic treatise. It is written in a more polemical style. The sinful state of man described in the second half of Romans 1 is the sort of thing that the good Jew would heartily approve of, even take great delight in hearing. Now Paul turns his attention to the Jews. Much of the material in chapter two could be applied to any self-righteous person, but 2:17 onwards makes it clear that it is directed primarily at Jewish readers. In some ways this is like Amos 1 and 2 where Amos begins by judging various surrounding nations, and then turns his attention to Judah and then to Israel. Note that the judgements in Rom 1:18-32 are true, and it gives an accurate description of sinful man.
“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges”. Now our world today loves the words “do not judge”, but the problem here is not that the things outlined in Romans 1 are not true, nor that they are not subject to judgement. Right at the start Paul says the wrath of God is being revealed. The problem was people thinking they were not guilty, we're not in need of grace. It is like Jesus’ teaching in Luke 13:1-5 where the lesson that Jesus told the people they needed to learn was to fear their own guilt. So Paul tells them that when they pass judgement they condemn themselves. Not because the Gentiles were not guilty, but because they themselves were just as guilty.
No comments:
Post a Comment