Romans

Everyone knows what Romans is about. (At least, each is pretty sure he or she does.) It’s about faith versus works; right? The Jews thought you got in by works; Paul argued the opposite: we are made righteous by faith. But those are points in the discussion, not the issue itself. Instead of covering the landscape of Romans with the Reformation’s Protestant vs. Catholic debate, we should recognize that in this immensely important letter, the stunning change, from fallen separation to righteous relationship, is a whole-person transformation—a conversion of both soul and body—made possible in Jesus and initiated in us by our faith. Of course, Paul speaks against any power of works justifying but only because justifying requires more—everything Jesus did from clinging perfectly to the truth, goodness, and beauty (TGB) of God to the putting to death of his cursed flesh in sacrifice so as to redeem it to life with God. And just so does salvation come to each of us as we enjoin our psyche and spirit toward faith in God’s TGB that extends to the offering of our own cursed bodies as sacrifices here and now in the hope of joining Christ’s accomplished redemption. 

Romans requires a slow, thoughtful approach—the kind you appreciate with coffee at an unhurried dawn or with the stillness of a lingering evening. For sure, certain realizations may make us gasp in delight, but like enjoying a fireworks display on one of those lingering evenings, the satisfaction of the whole experience brings both wonder and peace.