Romans 9-16

New Testament Volume 8

Philip D. W. Krey, Peter D. S. Krey, Philip D. W. Krey, Peter D. S. Krey

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780830829712
• eBook ISBN:
  9780830899128
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Writing to the early Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2 ESV). Perhaps more than any other New Testament epistle, Paul's letter to the Romans has been the focus of Christian reflection throughout the church's history, transforming the minds and convicting the hearts of believers. Sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther reflected the church's longstanding emphasis on this portion of the canon: "Let the Epistle to the Romans be the door and the key to holy Scripture for you; otherwise you will never enter into a proper understanding and comprehension of the Bible." In this volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, Philip Krey and Peter Krey guide readers with care through a diversity of Reformation-era commentary on the second half of Paul's letter to the Roman church. Among the difficult issues addressed by Paul and commented on by early modern exegetes were the predestination of God's elect, the destiny of Israel, the role of Gentiles in salvation history, the ethical demands of the Christian life, and the Christian's relationship to the state. Here, readers will encounter familiar voices and discover lesser-known figures from a variety of theological traditions, including Lutherans, Reformed, Radicals, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics. The volume draws on a variety ofresources, including commentaries, sermons, treatises, and confessions, much of which appears here for the first time in English. Gathering together these Reformation-era reflections, it provides resources for contemporary preachers, enables scholarsto better understand the depth and breadth of Reformation biblical commentary and aids the ongoing transformation of the minds—and lives—of people today.

COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 9–16

OVERVIEW: In the latter half of his letter to the church in Rome, Paul addresses some complex questions regarding the implications of the gospel of Jesus Christ for both corporate and Christian life. With pastoral concern he elucidates Christ’s fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the thorny issue of the acceptance of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews who did not believe in Christ, Scripture’s definition of the church, and the relationship between Christians of varying understandings and giftings. Seeking to renew and preserve the church, the reformers read the apostle’s words carefully, prayerfully applying them to their own context: for example, the continued unbelief of some Jews, Catholic resistance to the free gospel of salvation in Christ apart from any human merit and the need to proclaim the gospel faithfully without encouraging arrogance or despair. Unsurprisingly, in these ancient sacred pages Reformation theologians and pastors are not disappointed; they find words “for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4 KJV). Even if this lofty subject matter—especially of God’s election and grace—overwhelms and transcends human reason, nevertheless every creature should be silent and marvel at God’s goodness and mercy in his acts of creation and redemption. “O Lord, I am not proud; I have no haughty looks. I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me. But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child on its mother’s breast; my soul is quieted within me. O Israel, wait on the Lord, from this time forth for evermore” (Ps 131 BCP).

Prolegomena: Text, Theology and Traditions

ROMANS IS THE DOOR AND KEY TO SCRIPTURE. MARTIN LUTHER: If you want to engage successfully in theology and the study of Sacred Literature and you do not want to dash against a closed or sealed passage of Scripture, then above all things you should learn to understand sin correctly. And the epistle to the Romans should be your door and key to holy Scripture, otherwise you will never reach a proper understanding and knowledge of Scripture. Once you have done this, however, you will understand what a great evil sin is and that on account of sin God sent his Son to blot out sin by the blood of the Son of God—that indescribable sacrifice. LECTURES ON GENESIS.1

IN THIS EPISTLE PAUL ADDRESSES THE WEAK AND THE STRONG. MARTIN LUTHER: So that we may understand this epistle properly and clearly, we should know that the Romans to whom St. Paul writes were converted to Christ partially from the Jews and partially from the Gentiles. At that time there were many Jews living in every land, as Acts 17 shows, and especially in Rome. Now after the apostle has taught them faith and good works correctly in the whole epistle, he makes some exhortations at the end of the epistle. So that he may preserve them harmoniously in faith and good works, he takes up the reasons that might produce discord and separate them from the unity of the Spirit. There are two reasons that still today, as in all times, strive against the unity of the Spirit, against faith and against good works. Therefore we must see them and note them well.

The first reason is that some Jewish converts, though they heard that in the New Testament all kinds of food, days, clothing, vessels, persons, places and manners are free; and that only faith makes us godly in God’s sight; and that the laws about eating meat and fish, about special days and clothes, about places and vessels, were entirely abolished—nevertheless their weak conscience and imperfect faith were still so severely ensnared because of long-standing customs that they could not use this freedom. They worried that they would sin if they acted differently than their previous customs.

Similarly, both Jews and Gentiles, because of the same weakness, dared not eat the bread and meat that had been offered to idols by unbelievers, even though it was for sale in the market and was sold there. They thought that if they ate they would be honoring the idols and denying Christ, though it was in truth nothing. All food is clean and a good creature of God, whether in the hands of Gentiles or Christians, whether offered to God or to the devil.

On the other hand, the second reason is that those who knew these things and had a stronger faith did not pay attention to the weak, but used their freedom all too boldly and with contempt for the weak by eating and drinking without distinction whatever came before them, which was also correct. But it was incorrect that they did not avoid the weak, but confused them. When the weak saw that they were so bold, they could neither follow nor remain behind. If they followed, their weak conscience would stand in the way and say, “It is sin; do not do it.” If they did not follow, then their conscience again would stand in the way and say: “You are not a Christian, for you do not do what the other Christians do. Your faith must not be correct.” See, thus they could neither stay behind nor run ahead; whatever they did, their conscience was against them. Now, to act against conscience is the same as acting against faith and is a grievous sin. THE CHURCH POSTIL (1540): SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT.2

ON CIVIL AND GOSPEL RIGHTEOUSNESS. PHILIPP MELANCHTHON: It is very helpful to note when reading all of Scripture that there is a twofold righteousness. The first is a civil righteousness, for we will call it that for clarity’s sake, whenever human reason does good works or civil works. But human reason does not see any other righteousness than that. And so it deems that works of that kind suffice for our justification before God. But it does not value any other worship of God other than offering those civil works, such as not stealing, not killing, not lying, not committing adultery, obeying the authorities and restraining pleasures. And it has decided that God’s wrath is placated by such works. Meanwhile, it does not see the uncleanness of the human heart, that it has no fear of or trust in God, and that it has a sinful longing and evil desires of every kind. Therefore the godly have always been at odds with the world. The godly teach some other righteousness beyond that hypocrisy of works. The world, in contrast, teaches the hypocrisy of works to such a degree that it teaches that those works placate the wrath of God and justify a person before God.

But the gospel shows a far different righteousness, which is called the righteousness of faith. For the gospel teaches that Christ, the Son of God, was given on our behalf and that righteousness in God’s eyes is believing that our sins are forgiven us for Christ’s sake, that is to say, that for Christ’s sake we are received into the Father’s grace. Meanwhile, the gospel makes clear our sins and condemns not only outward faults but also the uncleanness of the heart. It shows that the human heart is devoid of the fear of God and is devoid of trust in God. It shows the baseness of human desire inflamed with passion in our members. And so it says that we cannot placate God’s wrath by the hypocrisy of our works, and it shows us another righteousness utterly hidden and unknown to the world, namely, what Paul calls the righteousness of faith. THE ARGUMENT IN ROMANS.3

THREE CHIEF DIFFICULTIES OF THIS EPISTLE. DESIDERIUS ERASMUS: But the difficulty of this letter equals and almost surpasses its utility. And this seems to me to be the case for three reasons in particular. First, nowhere else is the order of speech more confused; nowhere is the speech more split by the transposition of words; nowhere is the speech more incomplete through absence of an apodosis, about which Origen complains time and again, as he struggles and labors everywhere in difficulties of this kind.4 Whether this should be attributed to Tertius, in his role as interpreter or as recorder, or to Paul himself, I leave to others to judge. Paul plainly acknowledges his inexperience in discourse, though he begs his ignorance to be excused. Furthermore, so far from aiming at a discourse composed by human skill, he actually thought that he ought to avoid it, lest it detract in any way from the glory of the cross. And for this reason Origen thought that it was superfluous to search for polished composition in Paul.5 . . . Another factor that contributed to these difficulties of the language was Hebrew, the idioms of which Paul is constantly bringing in, speaking Greek in such a way that nonetheless you sometimes recognize it is Hebrew.

The second cause of difficulty, in my opinion, is the obscurity of things that are hard to put into words; because of them, no other letter is handicapped by more frequent rough spots or is broken by deeper chasms. So much is this the case that he himself, having abandoned something that he had started to say, is compelled to exclaim at one point: “Oh, the depth of riches!” And furthermore as a prudent man he so touches on certain mysteries as to display them as though through a window only, accommodating his speech to the situation of the times and to the capacity of those to whom he writes. Paul knew and saw certain things that it was unlawful for one to say, and he knew to what extent milk and to what extent solid food were needed. He knew the stages of growth in Christ, and what had to be applied to each one. . . .

I believe that a third reason is his frequent and sudden change of masks, while he considers now the Jews, now the Gentiles, now both; sometimes he addresses believers, sometimes doubters; at one point he assumes the role of a weak man, at another of a strong man; sometimes that of a godly man, sometimes of an ungodly man. The result of all this is that the reader, wandering about as though in some kind of confusing labyrinth or winding maze, does not see very well whence he has entered or how he may leave. Origen, in my opinion not less truly than elegantly, compares Paul to a man who leads a stranger into some very powerful ruler’s palace: a confusing place, owing to various kinds of winding passageways and to the recesses from the rooms.6 ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Project Staff
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• A Guide to Using This Commentary
• General Introduction
• Introduction to Romans 9–16
• Commentary on Romans 9–16
• Map of Europe at the Time of the Reformation
• Timeline of the Reformation
• Biographical Sketches of Reformation-era figures and works
• Sources for Biographical Sketches
• Bibliography
• Author and Writings Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Notes
• Praise for the Reformation Commentary on Scripture
• Reformation Commentary on Scripture Board of Advisers
• Series Editors
• Volume Editors
• Reformation Commentary on Scripture
• Copyright Page