Second interview with Paul

2nd Interview with Paul the Apostle on his letter to the church in Rome.

JWE: I’d like to revisit some of the verses we skipped over in our last interview. In your letter to the Romans you spend a lot of time addressing the Jewish segment of the church, why?

Paul: There are a couple of reasons that take the forefront; firstly, many Jews have an introductory knowledge of the Torah (Scriptures), at the very least. The Torah contains the law and the prophets who spoke of Jesus. The vast majority of Gentiles would have been totally ignorant of the Torah. Romans 1:2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures…

JWE: I’ve heard that many Jews were jealous of the Torah and tried to restrict the Gentiles’ access to it.

Paul: Yes, there was a sense of “specialness” that we felt because God chose us to be His people and to have His Law. Romans 3:1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

JWE: Why did God choose the Jew to be His people?

Paul: God chose them because of Abraham. His faith in God brought a special favor. God’s promises to Abraham, the ancestor of the Jews, were extended to Israel. God pledged that Abraham would be a blessing to the world through his offspring. Genesis 18:18 “…Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

JWE: Was part of that blessing Christ?

Paul: Yes, and that brings me to the second point of why I spent so much time writing about Jewish believers and the Law. Perhaps some of them would have heard Jesus preach. Some probably would have known the 12 Apostles. Some were influential leaders in the Roman church.

JWE: I get the sense that you are writing against being a Jew. Do you believe they must become Gentiles to be followers of Christ (Messianic Jews)?

Paul: No, I am constantly fighting against the thinking that one must become a Jew first, before becoming a Christian. Likewise, I fight the teaching that one must become a Gentile to be a Christian. That was a huge problem in the 1st century and remains so in the 21st century. Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

JWE: The Law is another very prominent in your letters. But it seems you use the term in different way.

Paul: True. That is because the Law is composed of three inter-related parts: Ten Commandments, ceremonial and civil. The Ten Commandments are the moral laws that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. God also gave the ceremonial law to Moses as well, regulating the sacrificial system. The civil law also given by God, detailing laws that dealt with injuries or who can marry whom and etc. Sometimes they are all included in my use of the word Law.

JWE: I see that you use the word 50 times in the letter to the Romans.

Paul: To the Jew the Law was very important. It set them apart from the rest of the world. They also thought that was their salvation.

JWE: Well, wasn’t it their way of salvation? I’ve heard many say that “all roads lead to Rome.” Aren’t there different ways to get to heaven?

Paul: The law reveals sin. It shows the shortcoming of each one who knows the law and tries to keep it. It can’t be done. Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

JWE: You wrote: RO 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Doesn’t this prove that it is possible to get to heaven by keeping the law?
Paul: Yes, if anyone could keep the law! But look all you want, and you will find only one man in all of human history that has lived without sin.

JWE: Christ?

Paul: Yes, aside from Christ, I repeat, ” … all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

JWE: I’ve got a question about what you meant there. What does glory mean?

Paul: The Greek word I used there doxa δοξα has the primary meaning of expectation. That doesn’t mean that glory is wrong, but it loses something. Then the word sinned harmatano ημαρτανο, as well can mean generally, fail of one's purpose, go wrong.

JWE: “…all have gone wrong and fallen short of the expectations of God?”

Paul: Yes!

JWE: Gentiles and Jews are failures.

Paul: Whatever we do to match up to God’s expectations is not enough. We still fall short of His expectations.

JWE: Dosen’t this throw into doubt the sincerity of God? How can He expect something from us that we can’t do. Didn’t He make us like we are. Aren’t we born sinners?

Paul: This is a complicated series of question? No, the truthfulness of God is not in doubt. No, we can’t blame our sinfulness on God. He is just, we have failed in our obligation. God has never failed, in fact He kept his commitment to reconcile man to Himself.

JWE: How did He do that?

Paul: Look at what I wrote in Romans chapter 3. There I show that salvation is based on one thing for all people, for all time, That is faith.

JWE: What do you mean by faith?

Paul: Faith is the conviction that what God said would come true. In chapter 3 verse 21, I said that God’s righteousness, as told by the prophets, was proved by His faith in Jesus Christ. God operates on faith as well!

JWE: So, God’s faith in Jesus to complete the “assignment” was borne out but his finishing the job of reconciliation?

Paul: On the cross he said, “It is finished.”

JWE: We will continue our discussion later.

Paul: Great!