Romans 3, Introduction
Jun 10th, 2009 by Micah Tillman | Start the Discussion |
[ Romans 1 | 2 | 3: Intro, 1-18, 19-31, Summary | 4 | 5 ]
To this point, Paul has been focusing on his Jewish brethren in the Roman church, preparing them to accept their Gentile brethren as equals, and thus preparing the way for unity in the church.
Unfortunately for said Jewish brethren, however, this “preparation” took the form of getting torn down, while the Gentile brethren were elevated.
Paul, like James (in James 2) is using rhetorical tools to lead his readers toward a better vision of things. (That is, you can’t stop with what Paul is saying in chapters 1, 2, and 3; Paul is trying to take his readers somewhere. You have to find out where he’s going to judge what he’s saying. The steps Paul is taking and the moves he is making in chapters 1, 2, and 3 are means to an end, not ends in themselves.)
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And the rhetorical moves continue in chapter 3, as Paul begins to restore all parties to a single level.
After a chapter of tearing his Jewish brethren down, he begins chapter 3 by celebrating them.
But then he argues that everyone is equally in need of salvation, no matter what they are (Jew or Gentile), and thus all equally depend on the salvation offered by Christ.
The restoration of unity has begun.
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