Lastly, the role of works in the budding Christian religion is a socio-cultural issue that Paul begins to discuss in Romans 2. As stated previously, to Paul, merely hearing or knowing of the Jewish Law is not enough to be excluded from God’s judgment (2:3,12-13). However, Paul does not appear to call for a complete abandonment of the Law simply because neither Jews nor Gentiles can follow it perfectly. While Paul’s overall theology, as explained later in Romans, argues that only faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection will bring salvation, in Romans 2, Paul makes the distinction between “works” (2:6) and “works of law” (3:28). Paul does spend chapters 12 through 15 discussing this argument at length, but it is important to note that
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This assertion only serves to show that Jews and Gentiles are equal, not encourage lawless or immoral activities. Instead, Paul writes that “it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous…but the doers of the law” (2:13). This passage in particular clearly links works with justification but juxtaposing the “doers” with the mere “hearers” (Ortland, …show more content…
Here, Paul is essentially demonstrating that it is personal, individual works of good that will be judged by God, rather than covenantal works such as circumcision (Lamp, 1999). No one can be justified by works of law, but good works are essential in order to be grated with eternal life (Schreiner, 1993). Circumcision will not save a Jew, but a Jew is condemned if they commit immoral acts such as adultery, as explained by Paul. It can be extrapolated from Paul’s words that, in the Roman or similar Christian communities, there were opponents who believed that Paul’s gospel, which argued against strict adherence to the Law, would lead to moral laxity (Wright, 1996; Ehrman, 2016). As these epistles are occasional letters, it is less likely that Paul would spend a chapter (or multiple letters if taking the epistles to the Corinthian church into consideration) on a non-issue; hence, Paul must have felt the need to correct any misinterpretations of his theology. Paul’s usage of certain words like “works” versus “works of law” provides an understanding of both Paul’s world and the tensions that he may have encountered when preaching his
This assertion only serves to show that Jews and Gentiles are equal, not encourage lawless or immoral activities. Instead, Paul writes that “it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous…but the doers of the law” (2:13). This passage in particular clearly links works with justification but juxtaposing the “doers” with the mere “hearers” (Ortland, …show more content…
Here, Paul is essentially demonstrating that it is personal, individual works of good that will be judged by God, rather than covenantal works such as circumcision (Lamp, 1999). No one can be justified by works of law, but good works are essential in order to be grated with eternal life (Schreiner, 1993). Circumcision will not save a Jew, but a Jew is condemned if they commit immoral acts such as adultery, as explained by Paul. It can be extrapolated from Paul’s words that, in the Roman or similar Christian communities, there were opponents who believed that Paul’s gospel, which argued against strict adherence to the Law, would lead to moral laxity (Wright, 1996; Ehrman, 2016). As these epistles are occasional letters, it is less likely that Paul would spend a chapter (or multiple letters if taking the epistles to the Corinthian church into consideration) on a non-issue; hence, Paul must have felt the need to correct any misinterpretations of his theology. Paul’s usage of certain words like “works” versus “works of law” provides an understanding of both Paul’s world and the tensions that he may have encountered when preaching his