Transcript Paul`s Letters

Paul’s Letters
About a third of the New Testament is
composed of letters, many of them written
by the apostle Paul.
In Acts he is introduced as a missionary
and church planter. The letters reveal him
as a pastor and theologian.
Paul’s Letters
Paul wrote 13 of the New Testament letters.
 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Earliest and particularly
concerned about Christ’s return.
 Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians. Share
an emphasis on the Gospel.
 Captivity (Prison) Epistles - Ephesians,
Colossians, Philippians, Philemon. Contain
some of Paul’s most profound teaching.
 Pastoral Epistles - 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus.
Practical teaching on church leadership and
organization.
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The Apostle Paul
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Disciple of Gamaliel
 Talmud
 Grandson of Hillel
Native of Tarsus
Died in Rome under
Nero (~AD 66)
A Pharisee before
his conversion (Phil
3:5)
Missionary
extraordinary
 Great letter writer
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Paul the Missionary
Planned to visit
Spain (Rom 15:24)
 Worked in a team –
Col 4:10-14,
Philemon
 Focussed on cities
 Trained the next
generation –
Timothy, Titus
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Anthony Thistleton sees
Corinth as a “postmodern” city. Paul
experienced similar
challenges to the ones we
face.
Chronology of Paul’s Letters
52 AD 1&2 Thessalonians
 55-57AD Galatians
 57 AD 1&2 Corinthians
 57-58 AD Romans
 62 AD Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians
 63 AD Philemon
 64-65 AD 1 Timothy, Titus
 66-67AD 2 Timothy
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Paul’s Letter to the Romans
“The profoundest piece of wring in existence” –
Coleridge.
“The chief book of the New Testament … it
deserves to be known by heart, word for word,
by every Christian” – Luther.
The author was Paul, writing from Corinth
around AD 55-57.
Composition of the Church in Rome
The recipients of the letter are Christians in
Rome. Opinion is divided over whether:
The church was composed of Jewish converts
– an older view
The church was a Gentile-majority Church
The church was an exclusively Gentile Church
– Das
Jews had been expelled from Rome under Claudius
and upon their return there were tensions between the
“weak” (Jews) and the “strong” (Gentiles). It might be
there was a “Jewish” house-group.
Purpose of the Book
The majority of writers see a future mission to
Spain (Rom 16:24) and the desire for a support
base further west as a key reason for Paul
writing to the church in Rome.
Dunn identifies three Purposes of the Letter –
Missionary, Apologetic, Pastoral.
Key Themes
A number of key themes have been
identified.
 The Gospel – Moo
 Righteousness of God – NT Wright
 The relationship of law and gospel - Dunn
 God’s purpose for Israel – CH Dodd (lost
the plot), S & H (appendix)
 The work of the Holy Spirit – Fee
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Structure of Romans
Introducing Paul, his mission and the
Gospel (Romans 1:1-17)
 The heart of the Gospel
 The sin and guilt of all humanity (Romans
1:18-3:20)
 Justification by Faith (Romans 3:21-4:25)
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 The
Hope of Salvation
Life through Christ’s Death (Romans 5:1-21)
 Freedom from Bondage to Sin (Romans 6:123)
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Structure of Romans
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Freedom from Bondage to Law (Romans 7:1 -7:25)
Life in the Spirit (Romans 8:1-39)
The Problem of Israel (Romans 9:1-11:36)
The Transforming Power of the Gospel in
Practice
Christian Living (Romans 12:1-13:14)
A Pleas for unity – the “Weak” and “Strong”
(Romans 14:1-15:13)
Paul’s Mission & Concluding Remarks (Romans
15:14-16:27)
Commentaries
 NT
Wright (NPP)
 Dunn (NPP)
 Moo (Reformed)
 Stott (Practical)
 Achetemeier (Preacher)
 Bruce, Morris, Hendriksem
Cranfield, Murray, Dodd, Barth
New Perspective on Paul
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This is a significant shift in the way some scholars,
especially Protestant, interpret the writings of Paul.
Since the Reformation (c. 1517), studies of Paul’s
writings, the “old perspective”, have been heavily
influenced by Lutheran and Reformed views that
are said to ascribe the negative attributes that they
associated with 16th century Roman Catholicism to
first-century Judaism.
The "new perspective" is an attempt to lift Paul's
letters out of the Lutheran/Reformed framework
and interpret them based on what is said to be an
understanding of first-century Judaism, taken on its
own terms.
New Perspective on Paul
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Paul, especially in his Epistle to the Romans,
advocates justification through faith in Jesus Christ
over justification through works of the Law. In the
old perspective, Paul was understood to be arguing
that Christians' good works would not factor into
their salvation, only their faith. According to the
new perspective, Paul was questioning only
observances such as circumcision and dietary
laws, not good works in general.
The new perspective has been heavily criticized by
conservative scholars in the Reformed tradition
New Perspective on Paul
 Proponents
– Sanders, Dunn, Wright
etc
 Opponents – Carson, Seifrid,
Westerholm, Francis Watson etc.
 Issues – Covenantal Nomism: from
solution to plight, boundary markers,
works of the law, human effort and good
works, faith or faithfulness, grace or
favour, atonement and penal substitution
Sermon Series
Ten Sermons on the whole of
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
Structure of letter follows this
division
Introducing Paul and the
Gospel (1:1-17)
–The Man
•Paul’s Messiah
•Paul’s Mission
•Paul’s Message
•Paul
Sin, Wrath and Judgement
(1:18-3:20)
•The
Wrath of God
•Paul and Judaism
•How much can we know about
God apart from Scripture
•Same-sex relationships
Righteousness and Faith (3:214:25)
•Atonement
•Propitiation
verses Expiation
•Justification by Faith in the OT
•Upholding the Law (3:31)
•Raised to life for our justification
(4:45)
Life through Christ’s Death (5:121)
•Adam
and Christ
•Imputation of Righteousness
•Discussions of Human Origins
•Union with Christ
Freedom from Bondage to Sin
and Law (6:1-7:25)
•The
Role of Baptism in Christian
Experience
•Our Relationship to the Law of
Moses (Torah)
Life in the Spirit (8:1-39)
No condemnation to no separation
•The
Ministry of the Holy Spirit
•Future Hope
•Two outcomes of law
What about Israel? (9-11)
•Israel’s
Unbelief & God’s
Sovereignty
•Christ as the End of the Law and
the Necessity of Gospel
Proclamation
•The Future of Israel
Christian Living (12:1-13:14)
•Total
Transformation
•Humility & Gifts
•Love and its Manifestations
•Christian Responsibility to
Government & Society
•Love and the Law
•Time to Wake Up
The Weak and the Strong (14:115:13)
•Identity
of the Weak and the
Strong
•Disputable Matters
•Kingdom of God
•Paul’s Use of Scripture
Paul’s Mission & Concluding
Remarks (15:14-16:27)
Missionary Strategy
Signs & Miracles
Contribution for the Poor Saints
Women in Ministry
Handling Divisions
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because
it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a
righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written: “The righteous
will live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17