The Christian Life
Introduction
Paul’s letter to Rome can be considered one of the most theologically sound and practical epistles ever written. Paul focus was to provide the Jews and Gentiles of Rome a guide line for Christian living. He sought to unify the divided Roman Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, through practical teaching of the Gospel. As Christians we espouse all of the moral, virtues, and spiritual authority that was entrusted to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. With that in mind, the title “Christian” or “Christ-like” should not be looked upon lightly. It is synonymous with faith, righteousness, grace, and love. Paul understood this immense responsibility and set out to pen one of the greatest books of the bible, Romans. His goal was to instill in the Church of Rome unity, sense of purpose, and a moral obligation to live the example of the Christian Life
Rome’s position and place in the Mediterranean vital to the whole region, it was the capital of the empire. Roman and Christian relationship was one of awe and contempt. According to Peter Oakes, “The main provincial attitude to Rome must have been one of awe. Rome was immense in prestige, must power, and wealth. The city of Rome was also very great in population, but the relation in population between Rome and Ephesus, Alexandria, or Antioch was only a factor of between three and five—the other cities would also have seemed enormous—whereas the prestige, power, and wealth of Rome outweighed that of any other city by incalculable amount.” Rome was the envy of the Mediterranean and Paul knew that a major Christian presence would have an enormous effect across the European continent. It is likely that the Church was founded by the Jewish and Gentile Christians. With little information about the structure of the Church of Rome one would assume that it was probably disorganized and in need of structure. But judging by Paul’s letter it is obvious that Paul wanted to provide them with his complete teachings. So, he condensed all of his previous teachings in this one letter to provide the Church of Rome a firm foundation. Paul’s teachings according to Michael A. Harbin could be divided into three sections. Harbin states, “The first section lays out the basic principles of Paul’s message (Rom 1-8)….The second section addresses certain questions brought up by that message (chs 9-11)…...The final section ties together the two previous ones by addressing practical implications of lifestyle that results from the understanding and accepting that Jesus was the Messiah.” This basic message “the Gospel” is the basis for all of Paul’s teachings. It is this through these basic principles that Christians are able to live the abundant life. So what is the Christian life? It is my aim through this essay to explain what the Christian life is and how every believer can obtain that life.
The Gift of Righteousness
Paul starts Romans with a number of powerful statements but none more powerful than 1:16. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul’s use of the word “power” emphasized the importance of the message of Christ. To further comprehend the dynamics of this one verse it is important to revisit the word power. The King James Study Bible used the two terms, dynamite or dynamo, to drive home the point of the how he viewed Jesus. Paul wanted his readers to realize that through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ they have been provided with the liberty of life through sanctification. It is through Christ’s example that Paul sets the stage for the Christian living. But William M. Longsworth correctly assess that his teachings had far more content than at first look. He states, “Careful attention to his letters, however, shows much more content than this. Faith can further be specified as humble faith. Love contains notions of humble appreciation of the gifts of others, not doing harm, doing good, empathy and suffering love. Coming from Judaism as he does with its emphasis upon God's holiness, Paul's stress upon holiness in body and spirit is not accidental to his understanding of the response of faith.” The concept of holiness is not new. God proclaimed, “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” This did not change because of Christ. Because of Christ the “other people” that God spoke of in Leviticus are now considered adopted by Him.
It is through topics such righteousness, justification, the law, and salvation that Paul stresses the tenets of holiness of the body. Paul combines all of the ministries of the Triune God in this one book. Love in the basis for the entire gospel and it is the very reason that God sent his only Son. John said, “That God so loved the Word that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Paul goes on to say that all people are unrighteous before God. The power of God through Christ was provided through His sacrifice (the death of Christ). This was a lesson that Paul made sure that his readers would understand. This was in stark contrast to the unrighteousness of man. The first four chapters of Romans focused on the unrighteousness of man and how we as humans are lost apart from the grace of God. Paul informs the reader in the most simplistic way of God’s wrath on an unrepentant man. He states, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” How did God make it plain to all believers? God made it plain through the law. I will cover this latter in the essay.