Romans Essay The book of Romans, written by the apostle Paul, generally provides its readers with insight to God’s judgment of sin and saving mercies through Jesus Christ. In chapters one through eight Paul specifically teaches on many issues such as the righteousness of God, the unrighteousness of all people, assurance of hope, etc. This short paper addresses the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture as it relates to Romans, particularly chapters one through eight.
The Natural World In Romans one through eight, the natural world can be described in many ways. For example, in chapter one Paul reveals to us that God’s wrath is reasonable given that his power and divine nature were made plain to the unrighteous, and yet they still rejected Him (Romans 1:18-21). Another way to explain this is that so many individuals today see the natural beauty and complex components of the world, and yet still deny that there is a God who made it all. They instead choose to believe that the world came to be through a “big bang”. Another way to describe the natural world is covered in chapter two. Paul explains that by nature, humans have God’s law written on their hearts. This makes it acceptable for God to judge them, for He has given them a conscience that they cannot ignore (Romans 2:14-16). One last way of describing the natural world in terms of Romans is its “sinful nature”. For sin had entered the world through one man, resulting in eternal death (Romans 5:12). The sinful nature of man is discussed in the next section of human identity. Human Identity Human identity during the time of Romans was a huge issue. Paul indicates to us that the Jews had assumed the position as performers of judgment, and they thought that was completely acceptable. Paul wrote in Romans 2:1 that the Jews are quick to judge but forgot they they are not exempt from God’s judgment also. For they too are “filled with evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness”. They too are “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless” (Romans 1:28-32, ESV). While all humans are sinful in nature, this clearly indicated that the people of this time were very wicked and, like everyone else then, now, and forever, needed salvation through Christ. Paul also indicates to us that humans have “natural limitations”, though he does not specify what those limitations are (Romans 6:19, ESV). Paul addressed the saved and unsaved, Gentiles and Jews. In Romans 2:15, Paul says that, the Gentiles did not have law and the Jews did. Paul states that regardless of …show more content…
The Gentiles were also guilty of substituting natural, God-given relations for those “contrary to nature” (Romans 1:26, ESV). In other words, both men and woman among the Gentiles were performing homosexual acts with one another. The behaviors done by the people of Romans are still seen today as a result of the fall. Those who have read other book of the bible concerning marriage and purity understand that homosexual acts are an abomination. God designed marriage and sex to be between one man and one woman. Romans teaches us that these relationship flaws can be repaired by salvation through Christ, however. This is supported in Romans 5: 9-11. With that comes repairs of more than just relationships, but in every aspect of life. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, …show more content…
People are still sinners in need of a savior. As mentioned before, the sinful actions we see in Romans, including homosexuality, are still prevalent today. One major culture problem found in Romans was in regard to the law. Paul implies that the Gentiles seemed to believe that because the law of the Old Testament was not physically written out for them, they did not have to follow it (Romans 2:12). Today instead, we see conflict between Christian values and governmental laws. For example, Christians believe that murder is a sin and the Bible tells us “you shalt not murder”, and yet abortion is legal in the United States. This just confirms more of what Romans teaches, that the law cannot solve humanity’s problems (Romans
The Natural World In Romans one through eight, the natural world can be described in many ways. For example, in chapter one Paul reveals to us that God’s wrath is reasonable given that his power and divine nature were made plain to the unrighteous, and yet they still rejected Him (Romans 1:18-21). Another way to explain this is that so many individuals today see the natural beauty and complex components of the world, and yet still deny that there is a God who made it all. They instead choose to believe that the world came to be through a “big bang”. Another way to describe the natural world is covered in chapter two. Paul explains that by nature, humans have God’s law written on their hearts. This makes it acceptable for God to judge them, for He has given them a conscience that they cannot ignore (Romans 2:14-16). One last way of describing the natural world in terms of Romans is its “sinful nature”. For sin had entered the world through one man, resulting in eternal death (Romans 5:12). The sinful nature of man is discussed in the next section of human identity. Human Identity Human identity during the time of Romans was a huge issue. Paul indicates to us that the Jews had assumed the position as performers of judgment, and they thought that was completely acceptable. Paul wrote in Romans 2:1 that the Jews are quick to judge but forgot they they are not exempt from God’s judgment also. For they too are “filled with evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness”. They too are “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless” (Romans 1:28-32, ESV). While all humans are sinful in nature, this clearly indicated that the people of this time were very wicked and, like everyone else then, now, and forever, needed salvation through Christ. Paul also indicates to us that humans have “natural limitations”, though he does not specify what those limitations are (Romans 6:19, ESV). Paul addressed the saved and unsaved, Gentiles and Jews. In Romans 2:15, Paul says that, the Gentiles did not have law and the Jews did. Paul states that regardless of …show more content…
The Gentiles were also guilty of substituting natural, God-given relations for those “contrary to nature” (Romans 1:26, ESV). In other words, both men and woman among the Gentiles were performing homosexual acts with one another. The behaviors done by the people of Romans are still seen today as a result of the fall. Those who have read other book of the bible concerning marriage and purity understand that homosexual acts are an abomination. God designed marriage and sex to be between one man and one woman. Romans teaches us that these relationship flaws can be repaired by salvation through Christ, however. This is supported in Romans 5: 9-11. With that comes repairs of more than just relationships, but in every aspect of life. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, …show more content…
People are still sinners in need of a savior. As mentioned before, the sinful actions we see in Romans, including homosexuality, are still prevalent today. One major culture problem found in Romans was in regard to the law. Paul implies that the Gentiles seemed to believe that because the law of the Old Testament was not physically written out for them, they did not have to follow it (Romans 2:12). Today instead, we see conflict between Christian values and governmental laws. For example, Christians believe that murder is a sin and the Bible tells us “you shalt not murder”, and yet abortion is legal in the United States. This just confirms more of what Romans teaches, that the law cannot solve humanity’s problems (Romans