“Where Romans Lands” Summer Intensive with N.T. Wright was organized by Admirato.org.
Who were these people in the church of Rome that Paul was writing?
There were 1 million people in Rome which was not nearly as expansive as Houston which has 2.5 million people. The best guess is there were 200-300 Christians. Most people in Rome would not have heard of these Christians until Nero made them the scapegoats of the great fire of A.D. 64.
Most likely each church had 6-10 in one, 15-20 in another, and maybe another in the home of a wealthy person with 40-50 people. There were passwords and secret signs to help Phoebe find these meeting places. It’s even possible that not all of the Christians knew each other or even trusted each other as there were Jews and Gentiles in these churches.
50,000 Judeans lived in Rome before being expelled by Claudius around A.D. 45-50 or so. Many returned, but the Gentiles who were Christians had gotten used to life without them..
The new Gentile believers were no longer idolatrous pagans, but their culture was very different than the Judean Christians. There may have been prejudices on both sides.
Paul is writing the church in Rome so that they will worship together and support his desire to journey to Spain.
Why not just let these little churches meet separately based on ethnicity?
Paul knew that unity was essential. He experienced persecution and knew it was coming. They needed to be there for each other!
Civic officials were always suspicious of new religious groups as they posed at threat to their power.
Paul is starting churches that are small examples of the Kingdom!
In Romans 14-15, Paul refers to some who does this and some who do that. He is not calling out the Judeans or the Gentiles by name. He is ratcheting down the tension at first before he does move to the topic of circumcision.
Paul is declaring that the Creator God is now doing what He always promised, and this happens through His Church!
In Galatians, Paul is addressing the fact that the Gentiles are no longer sinners who worship many gods.
In 1 Corinthians Paul is addressing the fact that Gentiles were eating meat sacrificed to idols. He uses the language of “the weak and the strong” in this passage as well.
“Weak” = anxious. “Strong” = robust.
Paul considered himself as one of the “strong” which is probably referring to mostly the Gentiles.
The weak have not thought through the fullness of all the good God is doing!
Paul wants the Gentiles to make every allowance they can for the Judean Christians who have just started returning back to Rome.
The Gentiles had gotten used to church life without them.
Romans 14:1-9
The weak and the strong
Welcome someone who is weak in faith, but not in order to have disputes on difficult points. 2 One person believes it is all right to eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats should not despise the one who doesn’t, and the one who doesn’t should not condemn the one who does—because God has welcomed them.
4 Who do you think you are to judge someone else’s servants? They stand or fall before their own master. And stand they will, because the master can make them stand.
5 One person reckons one day more important than another. Someone else regards all days as equally important. Each person must make up their own mind. 6 The one who celebrates the day does so in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, does so in honor of the Lord, and gives thanks to God; the one who does not eat abstains in honor of the Lord, and gives thanks to God.
The final judgment is the only one that counts
7 We none of us live to ourselves; we none of us die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, then, whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord. 9 That is why the Messiah died and came back to life, so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
“Welcome” is a word that Paul uses repeatedly in Romans 14-15. “Welcome” can mean “bring near.”
God has rescued us and brought us into His presence! What God is doing, the Church is to do!
Gentile believers and Judean believers must get together in shared worship which happened over a meal which is why Paul is addressing what they are eating and not judging others of what they are eating.
“Weak in faith” does not mean that are not yet followers of Jesus or doctrinally off on a topic or two.
It refers to some believers who have not thought through the full implications of the work of Jesus.
In Romans 14:3 means: “the one who eats meat sacrificed to idols or non Kosher meat” should not judge those who don’t and vice versa.
Paul points out that all parties will all be judged by Jesus, the only One who can truly judge us all.
In Galatians 4, Paul has harsh words for Gentile Christians who started going along with Judean holy days as a sort of superstitious addition to their faith. He is doing the same thing here.
This is a vital shift in perspective even though it is subtle and nuanced. Paul is shifting decision-making from the Torah to the individual’s conscience. Paul is assuming a kind of maturity and grown up understanding.
Paul is not just trying to get everyone to get along and forget their issues. He was calling them towards maturity with a renewed understanding of the others and a more Kingdom perspective.
In essence, Paul is saying: “Mutual love is already fulfilling Torah and so we can move on from there.”
We can make demands on others’ charity but not make demands on others’ conscience.
Paul is often telling the strong not to force the issue with the weak!
We need to decide which differences make a difference and which ones do not.
A joke on national laws:
Britain: “Everything is permitted unless it is forbidden.”
Germany: “Everything is forbidden unless it is permitted.”
France: “Everything is permitted, even if it is forbidden.”
Russia: “Everything is forbidden, even that which is expressly permitted.”
Italy: “Everything is strictly forbidden on paper, but practically permitted if you know the judge, have a connection, or just negotiate the exception.”
Food laws were not on the same level as immorality or adultery.
Some things previously off limits are now available.
Christian theology is never isolated. All we do is done before the Lord and with others.
Jesus is the Lord and this changes everything!
