Recap

So far in Romans we've read through the section on how the gospel is good news for both Jew and Gentile, how it creates a new humanity, what happens to the Jews now, and started the section on the gospel in practice. We looked at how Paul was writing to a church of both Jews and non-Jews, Gentiles, drawn into a culture war. And we saw that from the beginning of the letter, Paul wanted to address this. 

Paul began his letter by emphasising his calling to share the gospel. This gospel is rooted in its Jewish heritage but is meant for all humanity, both Jew and Gentile. He explained that all humanity is trapped in sin, including the Jews. Their special relationship with God carried responsibility, not special privilege. The solution is faith in Jesus, who frees people from sin. Paul highlighted Abraham, who was saved by faith before the law. He serves as the father of all believers, making all who have faith in Jesus part of one family.

Paul then explained how the gospel creates a new humanity, where believers are justified through Jesus and made right with God. We rejoice in suffering, as it shapes us to be more like Jesus. While Adam’s sin brought death and sin, Jesus’ death and resurrection bring life, forming a new humanity through grace.

This new humanity is embraced through baptism. Baptism symbolises dying to the old self and rising to new life in Christ. Paul then clarified that freedom in Christ doesn't mean we can live in sin, as sin enslaves us. Instead, offering our lives to God brings true freedom and life. Though the law was meant to guide against sin, sin used it to trap people.

But through Jesus, believers are no longer condemned. We are no longer accountable to the law, but to the Spirit. Paul described his struggle with the power of sin in his life, but reassured us that the Spirit empowers believers to live in freedom. By following the Spirit, not sin, believers are made children of God and heirs of His promises. Although the struggle with sin continues, it is nothing compared to the future hope when all creation will be fully transformed by the Spirit. Meanwhile, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Paul addressed the question of Jews who have rejected Jesus and God's promises to them. He explained that throughout history, not all descendants of Abraham participated in the promises. There were descendants of the flesh and descendants of the promise. Some Jews rejecting Jesus allowed Gentiles to become part of the promise. These Jews have opted out by rejecting Jesus, but they can opt back in by accepting him. Paul also warned the Gentiles not to boast, as the Jews carried the faith they now share, and if pride led to the Jews' exclusion, it could happen to the Gentiles too.

Having finished working through the theology of the gospel, Paul switched to the practice of the gospel. The gospel should lead to believers living their lives for God and allowing themselves to be transformed in line with God’s will. It looks like believers working together as one body to support one another. Each person has been given gifts by God to benefit the whole. Paul encouraged believers to show genuine love, support one another, live peacefully, and overcome evil with good. He highlighted the importance of serving others, showing hospitality, and refraining from seeking revenge.

Romans 13-14

Next up, Paul encourages the believers to submit to civil authorities and rulers. This passage has caused all sorts of tensions and disagreements amongst readers. Surely we shouldn’t alway submit to authorities and governments? What about wicked dictatorships? Or corrupt governments that oppress the poor?

While there is a lot of debate, it would seem to me that Paul defines the kind of governments and rulers he is talking about. Those are working to bring order to society, and to stamp out chaotic and wrong behaviours. In short, obedience to governments is an opportunity to practise what he has just told the believers to do inside the church, outside the church.

It would be illogical to believe that Paul is asking the believers to do something that is against the will of God just because the government told you to do it. But it does require us to examine ourselves, to weigh up if what we’re wanting to stand up for is worth it. Paul gives the specific example of taxes. If you are due to pay taxes, pay them.

In other words, rebellion against governments and leaders should be avoided at all costs, unless not doing so would be against God’s will. Where possible, we are called to redeem our communities, not overthrow them. We can see this by the verse before all this, Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We saw a similar thing back in Jeremiah 29:7, when the Jews were exiled in Babylon. “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Paul was likely speaking into a context where there were rebellious individuals who still saw the hope of the kingdom was to overthrow the Roman empire and free themselves from its control.

Continuing on with this theme, Paul encourages the believers to live peaceably with their neighbours, likely those outside the church. They should love their neighbours.

And why is all this important? Because Jesus will return and so we want to make sure that 1) we are living rightly, according to his ways, and 2) through our lives we should hope for others to be saved. This involves living honourably, avoiding the things that lead to breakdowns in trust like drunkenness, debauchery, quarrelling, and jealousy.

Paul then turns back to our relationships inside the church and addresses some of the topics the church might disagree on. Some believers, likely the Jews, avoid eating certain foods, while others, likely the Gentiles, eat whatever they want.

Some believers, again likely the Jews, see one particular day as special, such as the Sabbath. Meanwhile, others, likely the Gentiles, see all days as the same.

Paul’s stance is that these issues don’t matter. Let each person decide as they will and live according to their own convictions. Don’t quarrel or fight over them. You shouldn’t judge one another for these convictions, because there might be good reasons for a person to have such convictions and ultimately it is between them and God.

But on top of that, we should prefer and support one another in our convictions. Paul gives the specific example of food. As far as he’s concerned, nothing is unclean and you can eat what you want. But if you sit down for a meal with someone who finds certain foods unclean, and you eat those foods in front of them, it will cause tensions and hurt.

We eat together to grow in relationship together. To show love to one another. If we cause offence in this way, we’re not showing love. So we should look to honour one another in our convictions.

As Paul points out, the kingdom of God isn’t defined by what foods you eat. It is defined by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. So regardless of individual convictions, we should seek peace and to build one another up. It’s also worth noting this isn’t limited to food or what days are special. Any area where one may have a conviction that isn’t core to the gospel and God’s community needs to be honoured and cared for.

Paul also encourages people in their convictions. Don’t ignore them, but hold on to them before God. If there’s something inside you that genuinely says it’s wrong to eat a particular type of food, and then you eat it, you are choosing to do something you believe is wrong. That can only serve to indulge and feed the power of sin in your life.

Psalm 137

This psalm isn’t attributed to anyone in particular and falls into the category of lament psalm. In this psalm, the psalmist is lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem from their perspective in exile in Babylon.

Psalm 137:1-3 - Mourning in Exile

Psalm 137:4-6 - Holding on to Jerusalem

Psalm 137:7-9 - Judgement against Edom and Babylon

The psalmist reflects on their time in Babylon. They would sit by the rivers of Babylon and weep because of how Jerusalem was destroyed. They hung up the harps they had used to worship the Lord because now they feel far from him. And to add to their pain, their captors would mock them asking for songs about how great Jerusalem was.

This caused the psalmist to feel torn and conflicted. How could they sing songs about the Lord’s goodness to Jerusalem when Jerusalem is destroyed and they are here in exile? But at the same time, how could they forget Jerusalem? How could they give up their hope that one day they will be restored to Jerusalem?

This leads the psalmist to turn to their enemies and ask the Lord to bring judgment on them. They point to the Edomites who helped the Babylonians raid them, and ask that the Lord remember that. And may Babylon be paid back for all they’ve done.

Then comes potentially the most violent verse in the Bible, “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!”. It’s a graphic image with the psalmist blessing anyone who violently kills the infants of Babylonians, just as many of their own infants were killed. It’s a verse that stands in complete opposition to the Bible’s call to love our enemies, and so we’re left with the uncomfortable question of what to do with a verse like this.

For me, the psalms can serve as an expression of real human emotion. In lament, we get to experience unfiltered pain, hurt, anger, and frustration. Too often in Christian circles, we suppress these emotions because we see them as too ugly and unbecoming of a godly man or woman.

But the reality is what we suppress festers and leaks out of us in other ways. A better way is to bring the ugly emotions we feel and let them out before God so we can work through them with him. The psalm should not serve as a justification of violence against children or our enemies. But it should serve as permission to bring all our pain, hurt, anger, and frustration and let it out before God so he can work in us and redeem us.