Authoritative Advice

Romans is, as we learned, jam-packed with important advice to follow in our relationship with Christ and others, so it's a bit hard to explain one major concept without referencing and/or bringing up others. That aside, here goes nothing. I'd say that the part of Romans 12-14 that has most inspired me is the very beginning of chapter 12: being living sacrifices to God. To explain it briefly, Paul is saying that in order to become like Christ, we've got to give up on our personal wants - to cut out distractions in our lives and focus on Jesus. This is, put any way, a tough topic, I think, for anyone to accept, but yet it's essential to being in Christ. If the action of dying to ourselves is not present in our lives, it can be argued whether we truly accepted Christ in the first place or not. That's why I think becoming livings sacrifices is such important advice to follow; it's a must-happen of our faith. We should understand as Christians that if we're really committed to following God, we are going to be compelled to shove our previous passions away to maintain relationship with Jesus. There's no room for two focuses. It's just that important.

The reason that this sacrifice is being offered as advice and not as explanation of doctrine is a striking truth: while most Christians would be able to reference it, none could say they've followed it completely. It's hard to do, and some would say it's an unattainable goal. I say, to cheer things up, that it is just the goal. Becoming like Christ is a transformative cycle, and we've just got to be willing to let Jesus take over. No-one is perfect, but we have a choice to strive toward Christ's perfection, or continue to wade in our hopelessness. I'd prefer to lay myself down to Christ, because my simple faith is made powerful through Christ's resurrection, and I will achieve perfection in Jesus when He returns. That's important advice!

Roman's Believe it or Not

Romans, being Paul's letter to Christians in Rome, is a difficult read for someone who isn't familiar with Christian doctrine; to an atheist, the material might even be called laughable. I think this most applies in Paul's discussion of the supernatural in general; in our culture, anything unearthly has serious doubt cast upon it by the looming certainty of science and evolutionary philosophy. To an unbeliever, God's power and intervention in our world appears to be fantasy, and that's a hard belief to shake. Without the supernatural element of God, of course, our faith is nothing, so this point must be acknowledged for the Romans message to be taken seriously. As far as explaining this to a non-Christian goes, it is important to point out the evidence Paul himself takes time to record. In an indirect sense, Paul is doing his best to prove the power of God in his own story. In discussing his many hardships throughout his ministry, it would surprise anyone that Paul is still in the game after enduring and surviving so much, but Paul explains that it his his faith in God and God's power to provide that keeps him going. Paul is saying that the supernatural is explicitly evident in one's life, if they'll only dare to look for it. And once you see it, I'd say that there's no more denying it.

Despite the importance of the power of Christ in the gospel, there are other more philosophical points that Paul makes that would be easily digested by atheist listeners. For example, I think anyone would agree that a person's actions flow from his inward motives, and anyone would admit that love is the most important social virtue. Romans is full of justifications of morals that most people would believe that an ideal society would hold. Throughout the letter, Paul lists important virtues that sprout from relationship with Christ, and these virtues are found also throughout our global society. While atheists would cling to scientific principles behind these morals that shape our culture, the fact remains that they believe that certain behaviors rank better than others, and Paul did, too. Paul's Christian explanation of why these morals matter is an easy transition from simply holding those beliefs, and I think that many non-Christians could track with it. Paul's analytic approach and logical progression through points would stand out as intelligent to any reader, despite their opinion on its content. I believe this is an important fact to establish with those who would read Romans; without it, they may look at it as a fairy tale, but with insight on Paul's intellect, who knows, they might just take it seriously.

De Morte...

The dramatic difference between the Christian theology of death and You-Know-Whose© is the hope of new life ours provides and theirs denies. It is this distinction that Paul wanted to make very clear in his letters to the Corinthians. Put generically, life is not ended when we die, but we are resurrected and given new life in Christ. The impact of the notion of eternal life after death rippled throughout the world as individuals heard the good news. As we discussed in class, Paul teaches that death is nothing to be feared; it's a transition to our eternal lives. The Corinthians, firmly planted in Greek tradition, were unsure of the validity of the idea of resurrection through death, and asked for clarification. Paul eagerly replies. He puts very plainly that without resurrection as described in the gospel, with Christ dying and then being raised, the power of death over our lives is not ended and Christianity as a faith is ridiculous - a baseless tall tale. Death, as Paul explains, kills our sin, but without hope of revival we are left as we were before: hopeless and bound to death. Three days later, however, Jesus was brought back to life, and that seals the deal.

There is, however, a subconscious divide over this issue. In looking at the gospel message, many Christians come away solely with Jesus' death, and as we discussed in class, they're missing the whole point. Christ died for our sins, but he also was brought back to life, and that's the incredible part. It appears as though interpretation of the gospel has been subtly misaligned over the years, but I believe this is a simple problem to correct. As Paul did for the Corinthians, we must emphasize the role of Jesus' resurrection in our conversations with other Christians. We've got to give the message of hope back to the people, because that is, in the end, what really matters. Without it, our faith is a joke, and having that faulty notion in our world is no joke.

Paul's Marriage Counseling Service

Sex. yeah, that's right, I said SEX.

Paul takes it upon himself to be very clear to the Corinthians concerning their private lives, which, as we learn, aren't so private. There is prostitution, incest, and other unruly things rampant among the pagan culture the Corinthian Church has come out of, and Paul wants it gone. Addressing these issues directly as easily as they are dealt with, Paul then comes to a finer issue: Marriage. The Corinthians, even righteous ones, are caught up on issues of remaining single and the morality of divorce. Being frank as always, Paul rather explicitly endorses being single; he explains the freeing nature of bachelorship, being able to go anywhere and do anything for Christ with no home and family attached. He directs the same advice to women, saying that it is in the same way good to be unmarried. Paul also makes the important distinction that it is much better to stick to one person and marry than to be unreliable in one's single life. This can be confusing, but Paul makes it plain that marriage is a difficult decision that must be made individually and with great personal searching. On the subject of divorce, however, the situation gets even more dicey. Paul quotes Christ in saying that a woman that has divorced her husband must rejoin with him or face the single life forever, and that divorce itself in any case is to be avoided. Moving on, Paul then inserts an exception: if there is an unbeliever in a marriage who leaves their spouse, they should be let go; they are not in Christ, and are not sanctified through their spouse. Sifting through the what-ifs in divorce proves to be of great importance to Paul, and he spends a good time going over each one, but continually reiterates his love for the single life. Paul is likely the ultimate example of one married to his work.

I think one would have to be pretty ignorant not to draw a few parallels from the problems of the Corinthians to the problems in the cultures of the modern world; they're everywhere. Divorce is a normal thing, virginity at marriage is smirked at, and single people are all dweebs. The desire of Paul in writing the letter is as relevant as ever; it should be our job as Christians to endorse the morality of the Bible - not to force them, but to make clear across the board that we mean what we teach. On the home front, these issues are seeping into Christian relationships too, and we must be very blunt about correcting these, as Paul is to Corinthian believers. Sexual immorality is a problem that will never go away until Christ returns, but to ignore the consequences of falling into it is to dishonor the body of Christ.