Rereading Romans From The Perspective Of Paul S Gospel

Paul did not write a systematic theology or specific church doctrines when he wrote Romans. His audience was Roman Christians, and his last will was to preach the gospel to all, especially gentiles in Spain. Through this letter, Paul wants to pave the way for a visit to Rome and expects their support on his mission trip to Spain. The question is this: What kind of the gospel does he want to share with them? Traditionally, the letter has been read from the perspective of forensic salvation that an individual justification occurs once and for all by faith in Christ. This view remains with the so-called New Perspective on Paul, and Christ’s faithfulness has not been explored. Rereading the letter with a renewed concept of the good news in the letter, this book challenges the traditional reading of Romans and explores Paul’s threefold gospel that features the gospel that is God-centered, Christ-exemplified, and Christian-imitated. His main concern is how gentiles can become children of God, as well as how Jews may live faithfully in Christ. In Romans, the good news is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. It is not a set of knowledge about God or Jesus. Paul is eager to share this gospel of faith with the Roman Christians and to correct some misunderstandings about him, since his gospel is viewed as anti-Jewish or antinomian.

Galatians has often been read from a rhetorical perspective, with an emphasis on justification by faith, Paul's autobiographical experience, proofs of the gospel, and exhortations to the Galatians. However, it can be read as a "letter" of which the main theme is the gospel--an umbrella term that covers many other topics, including faith, righteousness, freedom, and new creation. Paul writes Galatians not to argue for an individual justification by faith (understood from a forensic salvation perspective), but to make explicit his gospel that all can become children of God through faith. In Paul's logic, what comes first is God's promise, faith is a response to it through Christ, and the law can be fulfilled through faith. The gospel that Paul proclaimed to the Galatians is based on God, who called them in the grace of Christ (1:6). Kim challenges the traditional reading of Galatians, exploring different dimensions of the gospel: (1) God as the origin and root of the gospel; (2) Christ as the exemplifier of God's gospel through faithfulness; (3) the followers of Jesus as the children of God who participate in Christ's faithfulness and continue to proclaim the good news of God through Jesus.

Breaking with the tradition of reading Romans as a theological treatise devoted essentially to 'justification by faith', this 're-reading', drawing upon the insights of the 'new perspective on Paul', views it as a true letter written to Christians in Rome. It argues that Paul's prime concern in Romans is the troubled relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the early church, and specifically in Rome, and it seeks to follow the Apostle's argument and his attempts to bring the separate groups together in unified worship. It also includes a short overview of the early church in Rome, a brief introduction to issues of reading and interpretation, and reflections on the importance of Romans for readers today.

Provides a contemporary reassessment of the Pauline doctrine of justification from both Protestant and Catholic perspectives.

Contributors to this volume, who represent diverse cultures and perspectives of Asian descent, African American heritage, and Latin American culture, explore Paul's gospel in critical contexts and its implications for race/ethnicity. Key questions include: What is Paul's gospel? Is it for or against the Roman imperial order? Does Paul's message foster true diversity and race relations? Or does it implicate a racial hierarchy or racism? This volume engages readers in conversation with the politics of interpretation in Paul's gospel. How much is it political? Which Paul do we read? This collective volume is the clarion call that biblical interpretation is not an arcane genre in the ivory tower but engages current issues in the real world of America, where we must tackle racism, the Western imperial gospel, and the rigid body politic.

Is the Gospel Good News? was the theme of the 2015 H. H. Bingham Colloquium at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, held on June 4–5. The fourteen participants in this colloquium presented their own individual perspectives on the theme from three broad vantage points—Bible, theology, and crucial topics. The “good news” that Jesus proclaimed concerning the kingdom of God became the “gospel” proclaimed by his followers throughout church history. This gospel is about the coming of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of God’s will for humanity. This volume presents some accounts of how this good news has been understood through the ages and continues to be understood in relation to some of the major topics and issues of our contemporary world. The papers in the Bible section discuss this good news from both Old and New Testament passages and themes. The papers in the Theology section address theological topics in light of the question of what constitutes the good news. Finally, the papers in the Crucial Topics section explore new and different perspectives on ways in which the gospel is good news. This volume highlights diverse perspectives and proposals by scholars from various locations in different stages of their academic careers, resulting in a stimulating discussion of the topic of the gospel as good news.

How to Read Paul provides an incisive, yet brief, examination of Paul as a writer and theologian steeped in the cultural, intellectual, and religious crossroads of the ancient world. Through an analysis of Paul's undisputed letters, Yung Suk Kim explores and explains Paul's key theological concepts and situates them in their proper cultural context. By placing Paul in the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds that informed his thinking, this book reexamines familiar themes in his letters, such as gospel, righteousness, and faith. In so doing, How to Read Paul provides teachers, students, and interested lay readers with a clear, user-friendly portrait of the apostle, informed by a critical, yet appreciative, integration of the new perspective on Paul, emphasizing the faithfulness of Christ as well as believers' participation in Christ. The first few chapters give an overview of Paul and his letters, while the remaining chapters deal with key theological concepts and their cultural contexts. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter help students focus their reading and reflection on central elements, features, and themes. How to Read Paul is an ideal textbook for both undergraduate and seminary classrooms and a helpful guide for professors, clergy, and lay readers.

Paul's Letter to the Romans is one of the most influential writings of Christian theology. In this reinterpretation, the author provides a new reading that places Romans within the sociocultural, historical and rhetorical contexts of Paul's world.