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  • From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT sogang.ac.kr>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: The theme of Rom 5 - 8
  • Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 13:54:20 -0400


Loren,

I would like to reopen our discussion on whether Rom 5-8 also
deals with Jew-Gentile issues the most important of which has to
do with the law.

I haven't read it but I heard that Rapinchuk wrote a recent article
for Journal of Evangelical Theological Society on Rom 5:18
( 1999 427-441).

I haven't read it, but Steven from bgreek list summarized the point
of the article for me as follows:

The theme of Romans, which is salvation to all who believe,
Jews first and also Greek, that is, with no distinction between Jew and
Gentile, should govern how we should understand "all men" in v. 18.
Paul's "main purpose is to establish the universal (without ethnic
distinction) problem of sin and the universal (without ethnic distinction)
solution." The phrase PANTAS ANQRWPOUS, rather than automatically
signifying every human without exception, may very well signify Jew and
Gentile without distinction.

As far as I remember, Mark Nanos has the same opinion. In fact, the theme
of no distinction between Jew and Gentile seems to form an unbroken
thread throughout the letter. I often am surprised by verses
Rom 10.11 - 12:

PAS hO PISTEUWN EP' AUTWi OU KATAISCUNQHSETAI.
OU GAR ESTIN DIASTOLH IOUDAIOU TE KAI hELLHNOS,
hO GAR AUTOS KURIOS TANTWN, TLOUTWN EIS PANTAS TOUS
EPIKALOUMENOUS AUTON.

"Everyone who believes in him will not put to shame"
BECAUSE there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
because he is the Lord of all,....

If we read verse 11 in isolation, we would not think that
it has to do with the issue of distinction between Jew and
Greek. But Paul takes the verse so that it has to do with
Jew-Gentile issues.

So, I think we'd better take the thesis of Romans 1:16 so that
it has to do with Jew-Gentile debate, much more seriously than
usual.

DUNAMIS GAR QEOU ESTIN EIS SWTHRIAN PANTI TWi PISTEUONTI,
IOUDIAWi TE PRWTON KAI hELLHNI.

The message of 1:16 is not so different from that of 10:11-12;
10:11-12 seems to repeat the theme of 1:16. I think that
chapters 5 - 8 also have to do this Jew-Gentile issue in
one way or another.

Loren, because you are hesitant to accept this direction, I would
like to point to some contextual indicators which might help you
understand the issue better.

(1) The implied audience of Romans is primarily Gentiles, though many
Jewish issues are addressed in the letter because the main
theme has to do with Jew-Gentile issues. See for the Mystery of
Romans for the audience of Romans.
(2) Romans 5 has many allusions to this Gentile "orientation" of
the letter.
For example, 5:1 "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ". This statement seems reasonable to utter from the viewpoint
of "we" Gentile believers.
5:6 "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
UNGODLY" This "we" the UNGODLY are none other than the Gentiles.
5:8 "while we were SINNERS" and 5:10 "while we were ENEMIES" -
they also reflect that "we" do not refer to individual universal,
but rather collectively to Gentiles, who were sinners and enemies
by definition.
5:18 "condemnation for ALL MEN" - "acquital and life for ALL MEN"
"condemnation for ALL MEN" was the theme of a part of chapters
1 - 3. In sun, the Jew-Gentile issues of chapter 1-4 are strongly
reflected in chapter 5 as well!

(3) Chapter 6 also has several allusions to the Gentile "orientation"
of the letter.
E.g. 6:17. "you who were ONCE SLAVES OF SIN have become
OBEDIENT from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you
were committed." This "you" reminds me of Gentiles.
6:19. "Just as you once yieled your members to IMPURITY (AKAQARSIA)
and LAWLESSNESS (ANOMIA) unto LAWLESSNESS, so .."
Impurity and lawlessness reminds me of typical Gentile sins.

So, chapter 6 does not talk about the sin of an abstract Adam,
but concrete Gentile experience.

(4) Chapter 7 describes an inner talk among Jews about the relations
between the Jews and the Law. The chapter says that the Jews
are dead to the law and this does not mean that the law has
any problem.

E.g. 7:4 & 6: "we are dead to the law". We can take it to mean
that "we" the Jews are dead to the law in the sense that
"we" are now enabled not to comply with the law taht demands
Gentiles to perform the "works of the law", that is, requires
Gentiles to become Jews by doing circumcision, etc. to
become children of Abraham. So, we can understand chapter 7
not to address the universal plight of Adam's race, but to
address a particular Jew-Gentile issue with respect to the
entrance into God's people. We still need to find a better way
to interpret the rest of the chapter in the context of the whole
letter, though.

(5) Chapter 8: It is too late in the night. Later for the
contextual indicators of chapter 8 for the Jew-Gentile
issues.

Moon
Moon R. Jung
Sogang Univ,
Seoul, Korea








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