Corpus-Paul

[Loren Rosson <rossoiii AT yahoo.com>]

[Moon]

> I want to paraphrase Rom 6:14-15 as follows:

> 14(a) Sin will not be the master of you.
> 14(b) It is because  you are not under the Law,
> i.e.not under the obligation to keep the Law
> as a Law-people,but you are under grace [which 
> motivates you not to sin].

> 15    What then? Shall we sin because we are 
> not under the obligation to keep the Law as
> a Law-people, but under grace?

> In this paraphrase, the fact that "you are 
> not under the Law" has nothing to do with the
> declaration "sin will not be the master
> of you", but the fact that "you are under 
> grace" has. 


[Loren]

If “you are not under the law” has nothing to do with
“sin will not be the master of you”, then why did Paul
go to such lengths to clarify the relationship between
the two in 7:7-25 -- where they turn out to have a lot
to do with each other, after all?

Moon, is it your contention that Rom. 6:14-15 -- and
Rom. 5-8 in general -- focus as much on the
Jew-Gentile question as on the eschatological one
relating to a believer’s dying at baptism (ch 6) and
rising at the end of all things (ch 8)? Your emphasis
on “keeping the law as Law People” gives me the
impression that you’re leaning in this direction
(somewhat like Dunn). But I see nothing in the
language of this section which indicates that the law
is being discussed apropos the Gentile issue. Rom. 5-8
seems concerned with the question of how well
commandments can be kept in light of an eschatological
tension and interim period (between dying and rising),
not with the question of how well Torah can be kept by
Gentiles (which is dealt with in chs 2-4).

Loren Rosson III
Nashua NH
rossoiii AT yahoo.com


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