2 - Exegesis of Romans 1.16–4.25: the basic conception and its problems

Summary

Working in mainstream NT scholarship, we approach texts with existing conceptions, conscious and unconscious, of them and of our task as exegetes. Approaching a Pauline letter, we know who Paul was and what this letter is about. The debate provides this basic conception, a framework within which we formulate our questions and wrestle with the problems the text poses.

The basic conception of Rom. 1.16–4.25 is that it is Paul's account of the way God justifies people. Rom. 1.16–17 is the theme statement for this account and/or for Romans. Rom. 1.18–3.20 presents the human predicament, that all are sinners. Rom. 3.21–6 announces God's solution, justification for all who believe through God's gracious action in the Cross. Rom. 3.27–31 spells out some consequences. Romans 4 deals with Abraham's faith. This account may be seen as a presentation of the gospel or of the doctrine of justification, as didactic or polemical. Paul used the language of his time and place, so to understand it we must work to cross the culture gap, study Paul's terms, and recognize the critical importance of the Jew–Gentile distinction. We shall refer to this basic conception as the justification account or justification framework.

Scholars' acquaintance with the problems of the text enriches the basic conception. There are major problems, such as the role of the law, and apparent inconsistencies, such as the appearance of lawkeeping Gentiles in an argument that all have sinned. There are problems of detail. Is ὁ κρίνων in Rom. 2.1–5 the Jew or any selfrighteous person? Rom. 3.9a; 4.1 present particularly difficult textcritical problems.