Law and love

I admit to struggling with Paul’s writing style, especially in the letter to the Romans. The writing we have from Paul are letters mainly written to churches, or groups of churches. Generally, they are written to churches that Paul started or had visited.

Romans is different, as far as we know, Paul had not visited Rome when he wrote this letter.  

While this is the first of Paul’s letters in the Bible, they are in order of length, not when they were written. Romans is first in the list, because it is the longest.

A couple of things that stand out for me in this letter.

One – this passage is written in the plural.[i] 
We know,
our sin,
God has accepted us, …..
Often we talk of faith as being personal, so it is my faith, or faith God has given to me. Paul doesn’t write of his faith, or even your faith, he writes of our faith.

How does this change the way we think about this passage?

………….

Two - the Law will not save us!

I have had people tell me they have kept the ten commandments – well usually they tell me how someone else is sinful because that someone else has broken one of the commandments and imply that they have not.  

Here Paul reminds us that the Law points out our sin,
the law does not save us,
the law tells us we need saving,
we need a new way of living.

And that new way of living comes through Jesus.

…………

Some of you will be more familiar with:  Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 5:1 KJV], here it is translated as ‘By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God.’ and a wonderful Aussie paraphrase: It was our faith that put us back in the good books with God.[ii]

Grace and love are not something we earn, but something we receive. some places have entry requirements, prior learning, or a dress code. I keep thinking i will get a bit fitter before i start paying gym fees 😊

In the same way i have heard people say they need to clean up their life before God will want to have anything to do with them.

Paul tells us, “While we were still showing no signs of ever offering God anything but contempt, Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us.” [iii]

Does that sound like we need to have our lives sorted before will have anything to do with us?

…

One thing that I find comforting is that God didn’t wait for me to get my act together, God didn’t wait until I could explain all about Christianity, God didn’t wait until I knew some memory verses.

As we say in the Baptism service – we love because God first loved us.

………..

As a teenager it seemed that coming to faith, to an awareness of the love of God and responding to God’s love and grace, was the end of the story. After that it was about telling others, so they to would come to that awareness.

“It is very clear that Paul does not think that having been justified is the end of the story but the beginning. It is a beginning that offers entrance into a radically different way of living.”[iv]

“Faith is not simply a matter of a one-off response to the gospel message. It places our entire life on new ground.” [v]

I wonder what this new way of living looks like?

………..

One aspect of this passage I particularly struggle with is about suffering and endurance and character and hope.  This was written in a time when Christians were persecuted including imprisonment and stoning.  Paul is not telling us that God causes suffering, or that all suffering produces endurance. I wonder if one reason I struggle with this is because we are not persecuted as a community.

We don’t see news reports claiming all Christians are terrorists; Christians, as a group, are not subject to imprisonment if we refuse to worship the Government.

For me suffering is the flu, or panful knees, blocked sinuses, all of which are a pest, but do not compare to the suffering of the early church.

Paul continually reminds us that whatever is happening in our lives, good or bad or indifferent, God is with us, loving us, freeing us sin and guilt.

……………….

This week I noticed a sign that said: What is it that unites us?[vi]

I wonder:

Is it our language?

Is it the food we eat, the clothes we wear?

What is it that unites us?

Is it doctrine or denomination or law?

I would say, what unites is a story.
A story that tells us we are loved, forgiven, set free.

A story of God, God who loved people,
who despaired at their separation from God and each other,
God who acted through people,
God who came and lived and died and rose.

What unites us, or can unite us, is a story;

a story of love
a story that says you are valuable
a story that says you are more than your worst moments or days or years
a story that says you matter.

Do you want to know how much you matter? - Christ’s death is evidence of God’s love.[vii]

…….

I find Paul’s style of writing complex, big words and big ideas.

In all of this, may we know that we are loved, forgiven and set free,
to be the people we are,
people of hope,
people living in peace with God
each other,
and ourselves.

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[i] http://words.dancingwiththeword.com/2016/05/suffering-together.html

[ii] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net 

[iii] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net 

[iv] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3881&fbclid=IwAR3sWWrMr_cSgcAhoS0e-tnhk_4x-mP7Yk77xytcANamVoIajnEabWyJ8D0

[v] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2440&fbclid=IwAR0j8cDq6aHWDy4AgtyEu8vrmjF_UOReNzjalAPC2gKqG3_aJLl3EEwRqZU

[vi] https://www.facebook.com/brenebrown/photos/a.194293500585767/2655018884513204/?type=3&theater

[vii] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3881&fbclid=IwAR3sWWrMr_cSgcAhoS0e-tnhk_4x-mP7Yk77xytcANamVoIajnEabWyJ8D0