BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Paul jam-packs the first 11 chapters of his letter to Rome with dense theology. Remember, this is community correspondence, not an exhaustive textbook. In his final major literary unit (chapters 12-16), Paul integrates his rigorous theological reasoning into everyday challenges faced by 1st-century Roman readers.

Some Jesus followers in Rome had become divided along ethnic lines, arguing over whether non-Jewish Christians needed to observe Jewish customs. Paul writes to heal the fractured Roman church, and he makes his case with a big-picture explanation of Jesus’ Gospel.

In Jesus, God’s family identity expands to include all people, both Jews and Gentiles. Both groups are made right with God through faith, not through keeping the Torah (Rom. 1-4). So things required to be part of Abraham’s family line, such as circumcision, food, and Sabbath regulations, are not necessary for belonging to God’s expansive family.

Paul has already outlined a theology of life according to God’s Spirit (Rom. 5-8) that, in partnership with Jesus, fulfills God’s promises (Rom. 9-11). Now he’s telling them what that means at work and on the weekends, how to live it out among neighbors and enemies.

If both sides live into their new, Jesus-style humanity and exchange old pride for Jesus’ humble way of love, they should be able to resolve conflict and reunite.

Paul calls his readers to offer themselves as “living sacrifices” (Rom. 12:1-2)—giving up the common desire to conform to mainstream social life by laying down their lives to be transformed through concrete acts of love, day in and day out.

Use your gifts to serve the church. Climb down the social ladder so you can care for others as mutual family members. Welcome the exhausted into your home for a warm meal. Pay your taxes and respect the officials who govern the empire, always remembering your true citizenship in God’s Kingdom, not Rome.

Above all else, Paul writes, love your neighbor as yourself. Get that command down, and you’ve fulfilled the whole law.

Reflection Questions

• Take some time to meditate on Jesus’ teachings about retaliation and enemy love in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38-48). What kinds of actions and attitudes do both Paul and Jesus emphasize in their instructions about Kingdom love that overcomes evil with good?
• Compare Romans 13:1-7 to Jeremiah 29:1-14. What advice do Paul and Jeremiah give to the people of God about living as exiles under the rule of an oppressive empire?