Both Jews and Greeks
Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans with two purposes in mind. First, to prepare the ground for his visit to the city and planned a missionary trip to Spain. Second, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in the churches of Rome. In the Letter’s first half, he explains his Gospel. In the second, he addresses the status of the Jewish people and the specific conflicts in the congregation.
Paul planned to take the Gospel
to the Iberian Peninsula and support from the Roman church would be critical to
this effort. He had not been to Rome in his previous missionary activities - someone
else established the faith in Rome.
And so, the Apostle to the
Gentiles needed to establish his credentials with the community of believers in
the imperial city.
CONFLICTS
But in Rome, the church was
experiencing tensions, including disagreements over dietary restrictions and
calendrical observations. Based on his years of dealing with Jewish and Gentile
believers, Paul was certainly qualified to deal with such issues.
- “I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome… For I am not ashamed of the gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” - (Romans 1:10-12, 15-16 – Emphasis added).
In his first paragraph, Paul points
to the role of the Gospel for both Jews and Gentiles. And by the term “first”
he does not mean that Jewish believers have special privileges over Gentiles as
his subsequent stress in the Letter on the equality of Gentiles before God demonstrates.
The conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers is key to understanding the Letter,
and it has influenced how Paul presents his Gospel in it.
For example, he warns that “tribulation
and anguish will
befall every man who works evil, of
the Jew first, and also of the Greek.” – (Romans 2:9-10).
Israel certainly did receive a great
privilege that was offered to no other nation, namely, the possession of the
Law. But that also came with special responsibilities and heightened penalties
for failure to keep it. It is not the “hearers of the law” who are
justified before God, “but the doers of the law.” And though
they may not possess the Mosaic Law, many Gentiles “by
nature do the things that are required by the law.”
ALL MEN UNDER SIN
Both “Jews
and Greeks are all under sin.” The one God of Israel is also the
“God of the Gentiles.” In the end, both the men who sin “within the
law” (Jews) and “without the law” (Gentiles) will find themselves
judged by the one God of all who will not show partiality on the “Day of Wrath.”
Obedience counts, NOT ethnicity or nationality.
Neither is Paul suggesting that
believing Gentiles are better off than Jewish saints. “Are we better
than they? No, certainly not; for we
before charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.”
All men and women are in the same predicament due to their sins.
In this last verse, the pronoun
“we” refers to Jewish believers in contrast to Gentile followers of
Jesus. All have “sinned and lack the glory of God.” Likewise, all will
be saved in the same way - “through the faith of Jesus Christ for all
that believe, for there is no distinction” – (Romans 3:1-26).
The issue becomes front-and-center in Chapters 9 through 11 where Paul deals with the challenge, “Has the word of God failed?” Despite possessing the ordinances and covenant promises, collectively, Israel rejected her Messiah. So, did God likewise reject the Jewish people? Most emphatically, Paul declares, “No!”
Moreover, not all “Israel are
of Israel, neither because they are Abraham's seed are they all
children.” It is not biological descent that determines membership in the
covenant people, but a faithful response to the Gospel.
FAITH NOT BIOLOGY
Paul himself provides clear
evidence that God has not rejected the Jewish people since he is a Jewish believer
in Jesus. Likewise, many other Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah.
The many “wild branches” (Gentiles) have been “grafted into the olive tree” because of their faith. But many
of the “natural branches” (Jews) have been “cut off” from the ONE olive tree “because
of their unbelief.”
But the “natural branches” may yet be grafted back in if
they come to faith in Jesus, just as the “wild branches” previously grafted onto the tree may yet find themselves “cut off” for unbelief. Once again, faith alone is the
determining factor.
Jesus was sent to Israel to “confirm the
promises to the fathers.” But those promises always envisioned the
inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s one covenant people - (Romans 15:8-12).
In all this, Paul refers to
only one church which is comprised of believing “Jews and Gentiles” who have been justified “from
the faith of Jesus Christ.” The Gospel
he preached is the “power
of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.”
