Abstract
A glance through the history of biblical interpretation will testify to the preeminent influence of Romans among the New Testament Epistles. In many ways, one can almost trace the major debates in Christian history in relation to prominent theological understandings of this single Pauline letter. Highly educated thinkers have debated exhaustively the Epistle’s interpretation for centuries, yet a key point to keep in mind is that Paul wrote his letter not for scholars, theologians, and philosophers but for a local church. This volume edited by Scot McKnight and Joseph Modica brings this original intent back to the foreground.
Rather than ignoring scholarly debates, however, the writers of this volume hope to present the major interpretive methods underlying these debates and then to draw out their implications for the preaching of Paul’s letters within the local church (p. xi). The four major perspectives are (1) the Reformational (old) perspective, otherwise known as the Lutheran perspective; (2) the new perspective; (3) the apocalyptic perspective; and (4) the participationist perspective. The structure of the book follows a logical pattern: part 1 delineates each of the main perspectives, and part 2 supplies three illustrative sermons for each of these perspectives (i.e., 12 sermons total).
Part 1 outlines the major interpretive approaches undergirding the sermons provided. In chapter 1 (“Romans and the ‘Lutheran’ Paul”), Stephen Westerholm outlines the more traditional approach to Paul, in which all humans are considered sinful—Jew and Gentile alike—and in need of God’s grace, apart from human works, through personal faith in Jesus Christ. In chapter 2 (“Romans and the New Perspective”), McKnight outlines the new perspective approach, summarizing the history and presumptions of this approach well and highlighting particularly the distinctions between the new perspective and the Reformational perspective.
In chapter 3 (“Romans and the Apocalyptic Reading of Paul”), Douglas Campbell makes his case for an apocalyptic interpretation that perceives salvation as a cosmic renewal that centers on the death and resurrection of Jesus (p. 47). Finally, in chapter 4 (“Romans and the Participationist Perspective”), Michael J. Gorman stresses the implications of Paul’s language in Romans concerning the believer’s participation in Christ and in his covenantal community.
Part 2 consists of 12 sermons divided evenly into four general sections, the first of which reflects the Reformational perspective: In chapter 5 (“Romans as Ecclesial Theology”), Michael Bird discusses “building multiethnic missional churches” (i.e., the chapter’s subtitle), proposing that Paul wrote Romans to promote a “messianic missional community” focused on a mutual acceptance of one another and unity despite carnal differences (p. 86). In chapter 6 (“God Justifies the Ungodly”), Thomas Schreiner exegetes Rom 4:1–8 and describes God’s relationship with the sinner, in which God justifies the sinner by faith and not works. In chapter 7 (“The Transforming Reality of Justification by Faith”), Carl Trueman interprets Rom 5:1–5 and describes the ways in which justification by faith transforms the individual practically, bringing “peace with God, joyful hope for the future, and a radically transformed attitude to suffering in this life” (p. 98).
Section two contains sermons written from a new perspective. In chapter 8 (“The Balance of Already/Not Yet”), James Dunn explains Rom 8:1–17, balancing the distinction between the already and not yet elements of salvation. Dunn contends that both elements must remain in view if one is to understand Paul well. In chapter 9 (“This Changes Everything”), Tara Beth Leach discusses Rom 5:12–21, exploring the significance of the earth-shattering hope that Christ has brought into the world, along with the implications of this hope on the Christian life. In chapter 10 (“Pass the Peace by Faith”), McKnight analyzes Rom 4:1–4, 13–17, explaining how “passing the peace” would have been practiced in first-century Rome and how it should be practiced today.
Section three encompasses sermons written from an apocalyptic perspective. In chapter 11 (“Immortal Combat”), Jason Micheli expounds Rom 1:16–17 and 5:12–14, emphasizing the nature of salvation as a cosmic battle between God and Satan for souls, which places everyone, even the worst of sinners, on the same plain as captives in need of a savior. In chapter 12 (“In Celebration of Full Communion”), Fleming Rutledge elucidates Rom 3:21–24, describing the need for inclusion based on things more than forgiveness, understanding that God is the one who has made right and continues to make right. In chapter 13 (“Old Adam, New Adam; Old World, New World; Old You, New You”), William Willimon amplifies Rom 5:12–21, contrasting the old man and the new man. Willimon exposes the continued war between the two within the believer, calling the listener to live according to the new man by faith in Christ.
Section four consists of sermons written from a participationist perspective: In chapter 14 (“Death Becomes Her”), Timothy Gombis sets forth Rom 6:1–14 and calls the listener to embrace death, particularly in the cross of Christ, as a necessary participatory rite in the body of Christ. In chapter 15 (“Made New by One Man’s Obedience”), Richard Hays explicates Rom 5:12–19, suggesting a four-step process for allowing “our minds to be remade” (p. 156). Hays argues that the believer’s participation with Christ results in an identity “positively redefined by [Christ’s] faithfulness rather than by our own disloyalty to God” (p. 158). In chapter 16 (“Breathing Well”), Suzanne Watts Henderson clarifies Rom 8:12–30 using the shared terminology in Greek between the concepts of breath and spirit to emphasize the restful power of living by the spirit in a world of death and destruction. Modica concludes the volume with a short chapter on implications.
While this volume is generally helpful, particularly in the first part, the limitations are notable. Primarily and most simply, the volume is not large enough to accommodate the number of sermons. As a result, most of the sermons are unprofitably brief and usually only implicitly associated with the corresponding interpretive perspectives, leaving readers to intuit for themselves how each sermon uniquely represents the associated perspective. In addition, and despite the brevity, some contributors were nevertheless unhindered in taking the opportunity to propagate their various political perspectives, obscuring the stated expositional aims in the process. On the other hand, one of the volume’s primary insights regard the complementary natures of the four perspectives. While proponents of each perspective necessarily emphasize the unique aspects of Paul’s theological viewpoint, many of the contributors in this volume successfully and insightfully communicate each perspective’s importance, not in contradiction to but in harmony with the others, which is an insight itself worth meaningful consideration.
Preaching Romans is a volume most suitable for students of Paul who wish to incorporate some of the major Pauline interpretive theories into their preaching ministries. Another group most served by this book would be those who wish simply to see how one may apply many of the more theoretical debates on Paul’s perspective to specific texts for the edification of local churches. As a result, the target audience encompasses academic-minded pastors and seminary students alike.