Paul wrote the book of Romans. Out of all of Paul’s writings, it is the book of Romans that is considered to be the most extensive theological writing. (Towns and Gutierrez, 2012) There are many things that Christians can learn from the book of Romans, chapters 1-8, mainly the topics of the natural world, human identity, human relationships and culture.
God formed the natural world with just with the command of his voice. We read in Romans 1:20.” Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (NKJV) Paul is teaching that the pagans in the world have rejected the knowledge of God that is made available to them by just looking around at creation. This world is so magnificent that the existence of God should be obvious to us. That knowledge of knowing our God should implore us to want to know Him and want to live for him.
Our human identity should be found in God for we were created in His imagine. Fall of Adam created a separation from God. Paul writes throughout the first eight chapters of the book of Romans about how it’s human nature to sin. In Romans 5:12 Paul writes, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” (NLT) So because of Adam’s actions, it is human nature to sin. None of us are exempt from sin. Paul writes about the struggle that each of us endure because of our sinful human nature in Romans 7:18-20, “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.” (NLT)
God understood that we cannot escape the sinful human nature that Adam brought into this world. That’s why he sent his son Jesus (the second Adam) to make a way for humanity to redeem itself. Paul explains in Romans 5:18, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.”
Some of the most complicated things in life that we can experience are the relationships we have with one another. Relationships can be confusing and cause heartbreak. In Romans 1:21-32 it reads:
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
We can learn from this passage that we are fallen human beings. Since we are fallible, it is in our nature to sin against another. It would be harder to sin against one another if we look at one another as creations in Christ. Being kind and loving to each other would come easier if we see each other the way that God see us, as His children. Paul fought many culture differences. Paul stayed flexible on how he evangelized but never sacrificed the integrity of the Gospel. (Earley and Wheeler, 2010) During the time this book was written instead of people identifying with The Creator they identified with the culture. The Jewish people were feeling self- righteous being under the law. (Towns and Gutierrez, 2012) They felt that the Gentiles should be forced to circumcise to show their faith. Paul assures the Jews that Jesus came to set the believer free from the Law. (Romans 7:1-6) We must remember that no matter what culture dictates God word is final. Paul writes a sound theological guide for us to live our lives by. We can learn how God has formed us in the world. Because God has formed us by His hand in His image we should form our human relationships with God in the center. Our culture may go against the Word of God. Since Jesus came to set us free by dying on the cross for us we must remember to live by His word.
REFERENCES
Earley, Dave, and David A. Wheeler. Evangelism Is--: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2010. Print.
Towns, Elmer L., and Ben Gutierrez. The Essence of the New Testament: A Survey / Elmer L. Towns, Ben Gutierrez, Editors. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2012. Print.
