The Christian Life
Introduction
The Book of Romans is what Martin Luther called the most important letter that Paul ever wrote. The theological arguments and implications of Romans are far-reaching and the many topics are interconnected and entirely consistent with one another in argumentation and style. Within this cogent and comprehensive theological statement of belief and faith, Paul writes extensively on what it means to live a Christian life. He combines his understanding of the fall of humankind, the Old Testament law, and the fulfillment of the law in Jesus Christ with the post-Pentecostal period where the Holy Spirit dwells in believers who have professed their faith in Jesus as their Savior. According to Rom 8, the Spirit is integral to the Christian’s sanctification. The life of a Christian is one in which believers should rely on the Holy Spirit to guide them in their daily lives, a life where they are obedient to God and stand in faith on His promises.
Reliance on the Holy Spirit
Paul teaches that the mind is the key to obedience, but that the mind is helpless to the desires of the flesh unless the person has the Spirit active within him or her. Without the indwelling Spirit, a person simply cannot be obedient to God. Paul explains why in Romans 8:5, indicating that the fundamental reason for people’s inability to obey is that their minds are fixed on the flesh without the Spirit’s grace. He states, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” In this sense, the mind is the slave of the body without the Spirit. With the Spirit, however, the mind is the slave of the Spirit. On...
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Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Scholars of the Pauline writings have divided them into the following categories: (1) those unquestionably by Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon; (2) a letter that was probably written by Paul, but has had serious questions raised about its' authorship: II Thessalonians; (3) letters that were not actually written by Paul but were developed from his thought: Colossians and Ephesians; (4) letters that bear Paul's name but clearly come from another time and different set of circumstances in the church: I and II Timothy and Titus (the so-called Pastoral Letters); (5) a letter not bearing Paul's name and which evidences a wholly different thought and religious vocabulary from that of Paul: the Letter to the Hebrews (Kee, 5th Ed. 224).
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Also more were used in research but were not enough to reconize. Schreiner,Thomas R. “Romans” (Michigan;Baker Books,1998). pages 1-27, 178-199 D.M. Lloyd-Jones. “Romans: Chapters 3:20-4:25” (Michigan;Zondervan Publishing House,1970). pgs.23-38 Mills,Sanford C. “A Hebrew Christian looks at Romans”
The Apostle Paul rights about the conviction of the heart (Romans 2:15), when as Christians our perception of right and wrong is only justified by a common morality of other Christian believers. How instead we should live is in our justification of our savior, giving to him our body, sprite and mind and all he asks of it. By using the meaning of our life and our talents to influence those with the naturalistic and pantheism beliefs, shows our God is the creator and alive (Hebrews 11:32-40).
Paul du Plessis, Borkowski’s Textbook on Roman Law, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press Inc., New York (2010), p. 265
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Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
In Romans 8:4-5, " who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." If God is equal to Love, then walking in the Spirit is walking with others and bringing one another into the community. Paul's focus is aimed at the building up of a community. Similarly, Paul states in Galatians 5:16 to "walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Romans. Grand Rapides, MI: Zondervan, 2010.
The social history of the early Christian church is closely related to the kinds of documents and the secular, cultural context that was around at the time. Paul was highly influential on early Christian theology as was other people that wrote under his name. Three canonized works have classically been attributed to Paul, but are now known to be forgeries: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These books are known as “The Pastorals” and they are different from Paul’s authentic works in many fundamental ways. In order to see the historical context in which these letters were written, we must first understand the social history of Christian theology at the time. We will present the social history and changes to early Christian theology that occurred in the time that spans the writing of 1 and 2 Corinthians to the writings of the Pastorals.