Romans V
This is it.
Back in Rome for a final time.
Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ.
Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine.
How we look at each other. How we talk about faith.
So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, come along as we jump in where we left off and see how Paul wraps things up.
And if you’re new to Commons, step a little closer to a text that’s shaped who we are and who we want to become.
Bonus Material
There is a long and terrible history of Romans 13 being weaponized by those in power against the marginalized. The problem, of course, is that this letter was written not to the powerful at all but instead to a community living in the shadow of a hostile authority.
Chapter 14
Today we are talking about the connection between the metaphor of meat and learning to be for one another.
Bonus Material
In Romans 14 Paul is almost obsessively focused on using the metaphor of diet to talk about difference in the church.
Chapter 15
Bonus Material
In the second half of Romans 15 Paul shifts gears to talk a bit about his travel plans. He wants to head to Jerusalem first, but then he wants to make his way to Rome and on to Spain. He even invites his friends to pray for him hoping that this will all work out. Unfortunately, things don’t go that way.
Bonus Material
In Romans 16 Paul names a number of women in prominent roles within the early church. But then in his letters to Corinth and Timothy, he seems to take a different tone. What is going on here? Should we try to harmonize these passages?
Revisiting a Romans Road
Today we are looking at the major movements of the letter and how they build towards one main point that Paul is making about what it means to be a community following in the way of Jesus.
When we talk about inspiration and the Bible it's important to recognize that we're talking about more than the interaction between one person and God. We are actually talking about an entire community that writes, receives, honours, preserves, and gives authority to these texts and makes them sacred. And for me, there is a certain comfort in realizing that my trust is placed not in a book that fell from the sky but in one that a long, large community of Christ has contributed to as the Spirit has guided us.
Bonus Material
When we say we have “faith in Christ” what we are really saying is that we “trust in the FAITHFULNESS of Jesus.” And this is what sits at the core of the gospel for Paul, the conviction that God has done good for us through Jesus.
