
19 Dec Pauls Footsteps #357
“I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit” Rom. 9:1, RSV.
Footsteps #357. Romans 9:1 signals a major shift in Paul’s subject matter. In Romans 1:1-17, we met Paul and the Roman Christians and saw his themes. Then in Romans 1:18-3:20, Paul introduced us to the problem of sin and its universality among both Jews and Gentiles. Thirdly in Romans 3:21-5:21, he revealed how God’s gracious gift of justification met the sin problem for those willing to accept it by faith. Fourthly in 6:1-8:39, Paul helped us see that those who were in a faith relationship with Jesus would walk with Him in the principles of God. The apostle climaxed his treatment with a great hymn of victory and assurance.
In this next section of his letter to the church in Rome, Paul will help the Jews see how they fit into God’s plan. It is an integral part of his presentation. After all, in the keynote of Romans in 1:16, Paul noted that the good news is “about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile” (NLT). He is now ready to show what the gospel means for the Jewish people.
The “Jewish question” is a big one for Paul. The Jews had been God’s chosen people, but now seem to have been displaced by a largely Gentile church. If the Jews are the “elect”, why are most of them now outside the Christian community? What part do they have to play in the plan of salvation?
It is to such issues that Paul now turns. But he starts out on his three chapters on the topic in a very strange way. Three times in Romans 9:1 he emphasises the truthfulness and sincerity of what follows: “I am speaking the truth in Christ”, “I am not lying”, and “My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit”.
The apostle feels that some of his readers will have grave doubts about various points of his presentation. He wants them to know that he is speaking to them with the utmost heartfelt sincerity.
- I find myself compelled to move more quickly through the remaining 8 chapters of Romans as I have tarried too long on the first 8. In the next three chapters, Paul is dealing with God’s election of Israel to service and why the majority of Israel rejected the gospel and its Messiah. Why? Because of legalism and faith in their own achievements.
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