September 29-30, 2007
1st Presbyterian Church of Hollidaysburg
Hollidaysburg, PA

Romans 5:6-11

There has historically been a lot of debate as to why Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans. It was his latest epistle and also his most theologically dense and comprehensive. Other epistles that he wrote such as those to the Corinthians, Colossians, and Thessalonians as well as to his protégé Timothy have very specific and clear reasons for their occasion. This epistle has a far more general character to it. What we do know is that Paul had not yet been to visit the church community in Rome and that this was a well established community where other epistles are directed to newer communities. If we can sense a particular common theme that runs through this epistle it is that the reconciliation and justification that God reveals to us through the Cross is available to all – both to the gentile and to the Jew. It is through the act of Christ on the cross that levels the playing field for who can inherit the Kingdom of God. So the epistle presents the Romans with a general theological exposition of this justification as Paul understood it later in his ministry to the gentiles as well as a letter offering general advice and direction to the community in Rome not to address specific concerns to the community, but to address concerns that any Christian community would likely have at the time. Continue Reading “The Radical Love of God” »