Chapter four serves two purposes in Paul’s explanation of salvation as God’s gift of righteousness that comes only through faith. First, by quoting from two passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, he ensured that his Jewish readers could not escape the knowledge that this truth had in their grasp the whole time. Second, by using two […]
Chapter one begins with Paul’s traditional greeting with his name (Romans 1:1), the recipients (Romans 1:7), and a prayer of thanksgiving (Romans 1:8). However, it is also very untraditional in that he took five verses to set the tone for the letter, specifically the foundation for his gospel message and his authority as an apostle
Chapter five continues Paul’s admonition from chapter four. In Ephesians 4:32 he told us to forgive like God; in Ephesians 5:1-5 we are told to imitate God in every way, specifically in our love for one another. Connecting back to Ephesians 2:1-3 and Ephesians 4:19-20 (and reminiscent of Galatians 5:16-23), the believer’s life should not
