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  • From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT saint.soongsil.ac.kr>
  • To: corpus-paul
  • Subject: Re: Comments on the Mystery of Romans by Mark Nanos
  • Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 15:46:17



Dear Mark,

I cannot believe that I am "discovering" an interpretation of Rom 10:4-6,
which is less "forced". But before "celebrating" myself, let me clarify
if you and I really communicate here.

[Mark]
[About the point of Rom 10:3-6], I would point to 10:12. When Paul speaks
of the fact
> >> that because of faith in Christ there is no distinction between Jew and
> >> gentile, he draws upon a distinction that still exists in order to make
> >> the
> >> point. In other words, his point is that while the distinction remains,
> >> the
> >> discrimination within the community of Christ-believers does not. This
> >> cuts
> >> both ways. Jewish people in this community should accept gentiles as
> >> equals
> >> in status, as righteous ones apart from becoming Israelites. So too ,the
> >> logic should run, gentiles should accept Jewish people as righteous ones
> >> apart from becoming non-Israelites, that is, as Torah-observant people.
> >> Practicing righteousness based upon Law and faith in Christ is possible
> >> for
> >> Israelites, but not required or, because the age to come has dawned,
> >> permitted for non-Israelites; that is Paul's point, I think.
> >
> >[Moon]
> >This is really a surprising interpretation of Rom 10:4- 10:6.
> >Let me see if I understand it correctly.
> >
> >Ro 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness,
> >and going about to establish their own righteousness,
> >have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
> >10:4 For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness
> >to every one that believeth.
> >Ro 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law,
> >That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
> >Ro 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise,
> >Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?
> >
> >..
> >Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee,
> >[even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith,
> >which we preach;
> >
> >Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be
> >ashamed.
> >Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.
> >
> >
> >What you wrote above suggests the following interpretation of these
> >verses.
> >Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness to EVERY ONE that
> >believes,
> >regardless of whether they are Law-people or not. (Rom 10:4)
> >(Implied statement: The non-Law people (Gentiles) do not need to become
> >Law-people
> >but only to have faith in Christ, in order to be righteoused)
> >Though the scripture requires that those doing the Law live in it (10:5),
> >doing the righteousness from the Law, it is specific to the Law-people,
> >but does not apply to the Gentiles. What applies to the Gentiles (and the
> >Jew as well)
> >is the righteousness from faith (in Christ) (10:6).
> >Rom 10:5 can be considered a clause subordinate to Rom 10:6 in meaning,
> >though 10:5 is conjunctive to 10:6 syntactically.
> >The reason why the righteousness is from faith is that there is no
> >difference between the Jew and the Greek (10:12)
> >
> >What do you thin of this interpretation of Rom 10:5? This is my attempt to
> >fit
> >the paragraph to your conclusion. Did you take it differently to reach
> >your
> >conclusion?
> >
>
> Dear Moon,
>
> We are, as they say, on the same page.
>

[Moon]
It occurs to me that a somewhat akward syntactic structure of verse 10:5
might serve my interpretation. Literally it says,
"For Moses wrote, WITH RESPECT TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS which is FROM THE LAW,
that the man who does those things shall live in them."

So, the implied dialogue between Paul and the "opponents" might have been
as follows:
Paul: Christ is the goal of the Law for righteousness to EVERYONE that
believes, regardless of whether they are the people of the Law or not.
Opponents: But, then what about THE RIGHTEOUSNESS which is FROM THE LAW,
which the Gentile believers do not have? Can they be righteoused without
the
RIGHTEOUSNESS which is from the LAW?
Paul: Good question. But the righteousness from the Law does not falsify
my position.
With respect to that righteousness which is from the Law, Moses
wrote that the people of the Law shall live in the Law. That is
the Law is the way of Israel. Please continue to serve God
by the righteousness of the Law.
But the Law is not given to the Gentiles, and so the righteousness
which is from Law cannot be required of them.
But there is another
righteousness, the righteousness which is from faith
in Christ. Have you not heard that "EVERYONE who believes in him
shall not put to shame"? (Rom 10:11)?

The point is that the syntactic structure of Rom 10:5 indicates that Paul
answers here the implied question,i.e. what about THN DIKAIOSUNHN THN EK
TOU NOMOU? What do you think?

Yours,
Moon
Moon-Ryul Jung
Assistant Professor
Soongsil University
Seoul, Korea




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