GOD'S OMNISCIENCE AND GOODNESS omnis edge! How unsearchable his judgments! How mysteri- God's ous his way! Who ever knew the mind of the Lord? cience Who has ever been his counsellor? Who has first given and to him and has to be repaid? All things come from him, ness live by him, and return to him. Glory to him forever. Amen. I. Date and Aim of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Paul's letter to the Romans is the best New Testament illustration of an epistle. Upon it Paul evidently expended great thought and care. The Epistle to the Galatians reminds one of a rapid mountain torrent, but in Romans Paul's thought flows more leisurely, winding here and there, gathering a great variety and volume of figures as it flows on to the practical applications with which the epistle closes. It was a dramatic moment in Paul's life when he dictated this letter to the Christian community at Rome. His work at Ephesus and Corinth, and in fact in the Greek world, was nearing completion. Longingly he looked at the great Roman ships setting out from Corinth for the imperial city. As he tells his readers, to visit them was one of the chief ambitions of his life. His long days and nights of labor with Priscilla and Aquila at Corinth and Ephesus had given him ample opportunity to become acquainted with the problems of the Roman church. Doubtless many of his own converts, having gravitated toward the imperial city, were included in its membership. It appears to have comprised both Jewish and Gentile converts, for Paul in his letter evidently had both classes in mind. Even though his heart was in Rome, his face was steadfastly set toward Jerusalem. He was well aware of the opposition and perils which awaited him there, but nothing could deflect him from his purpose to take back as a peace-offering to the saints at Jerusalem the collections which he had gathered in response to the request of the "pillar" apostles from the churches which he had planted in the Western world. The Gentile problem which was still insistent throughout the Eastern church was evidently prominent in Paul's mind as he wrote his Epistle to the Romans. He also felt strongly the call of that larger Gentile world which Rome represented. He longed, as he tells his readers, to take up his evangelistic work among them, but his primary aim was, as has been truly said: "A restatement in the light of his experience, during the long mission now closing, and in view of the fresh propaganda which he was contemplating in the West, of the principle of his Gospel to the Gentiles in its re good (1133-36) lation to Judaism." Romans contains not a system of philosophy or theology, but Paul's great confession of faith. The situation called for the systematic setting forth of his mature convictions and the principles that had inspired him in his work. Here is revealed not Paul the theologian but Paul the Christian mystic and missionary. II. The Structure of the Epistle to the Romans. Into the opening salutation (11-7) Paul puts not only his formal greeting but also his credentials as an apostle and the essence of his Gospel message. In 18-17 is found the usual commendation of those to whom he wrote, a statement of his aim in writing to them, and the thesis which he later defends. Chapters 118-521 contain his main teaching. Here he seeks to show what God has done through the work of Jesus to meet the needs of both Gentiles and Jews. In 61-76 he makes certain practical applications of these principles and defines the obligations of those who enjoy the results of divine grace: it is to dedicate themselves to God and to live, like Jesus, a sinless life. In 77-25 he reverts to the problems that gathered about the Jewish law and declares that it was simply preparatory to the work of Jesus but not able in itself to save Romans 8 is one of the great classical passages in Paul's writings. Here he speaks clearly out of the depths of his own spiritual experience and aims to show what Christ means in the inner life of the individual. "Christ" is not used here in the limited Jewish messianic sense. It stands not only for all that Jesus did and taught and was but also for the crucified yet living Christ whom Paul had beheld through his inner vision. Chapters 9-11 give the reason why the Jews, the favored people, had not been saved: through failure to believe in Jesus they had forfeited their birthright; but in God's plan they were yet to have a place with the Gentiles. Chapters 12-15 contain the practical application of the principles of the Gospel to Christian life and conduct. Chapter 16 is a personal letter that has been appended to the original Epistle to the Romans. men. III. Paul's Estimate of the Jewish Law. In Paul's letter to the Roman Christians the historical student of religion recognizes the many and varied currents of influence which converged in the great apostle to the Gentiles. Most of the figures and many of the ideas expressed in this epistle are the product of his intensely legalistic training. His natural tendency to speak in legal terms was strengthened by the fact that he lived and worked in the rigidly legalistic atmosphere of the Roman Empire in which he proudly claimed citizenship. So often had he pleaded his own case before Jewish and Roman tribunals PAUL'S ESTIMATE OF THE JEWISH LAW that it was second nature for him to speak in the language of the courtroom. Whenever he referred to the Jewish law it was always in terms of highest respect. On its ethical side it still had for him a certain binding authority. He was keenly alive to its historical and practical value as a clear, concrete formulation of fundamental moral and religious principles. To Israel, during the childhood of the race, the law had been, like a Roman pedagogue, a wise guide directing the nation's moral and religious education. But Paul was also well aware of the limitations of the law. It had begotten in the majority of his countrymen self-pride and a sense of moral self-sufficiency which were fatal to all real religious progress. Moreover, Paul knew by painful experience that while the law developed in the mind of a conscientious man like himself a bitter consciousness of sin, it provided no practical way of escape from its consequences. Above all, the law emphasized the judicial side of God's character and provided no way of bringing man into that trusting, loyal fellowship with his divine Father which is the essence of true religion. Hence, Paul frankly declares that, while the ancient law had performed a great service in training men's moral sense, as a means of saving men from the consequences of their ignorance and misdeeds and of leading them into complete and joyous fellowship with God it was a failure. To this he adds the revolutionary but logical conclusion that the Jews who had staked their hope on keeping the law were, after all, on an equality with the Gentiles. Indeed, if their confidence in the efficacy of the law had dulled their consciousness of the need of the personal fellowship with God, their lot was even more pitiable than that of the great heathen world of Paul's day, which was longing and earnestly seeking for salvation and unity with God. IV. The Influences which Shaped Paul's Conception of Jesus. Into Paul's life there had suddenly come a mighty transforming and satisfying spiritual experience. Psychology may explain the form of this experience, but it was regarded by Paul as a supreme miracle. Interpreted into the terms of the psychology of his own day, he had experienced what the contemporary mystery religions promised to their devotees: God (in the person of the crucified but risen Christ) had entered in and taken possession of him. This transcendent religious experience was repeated at many later crises of his life. That such experiences were possible was almost a commonplace of contemporary Greek or Roman religious thought. For centuries the teachers of the Jewish race also had taught that the Spirit of Jehovah at times rushed upon and took possession of the true prophets and even of patriotic warriors like Gideon and Saul. The prophet Joel had predicted that this experience would be shared in common by all classes of men. The primitive church at Jerusalem had felt and seen the marvellous realization of this prediction. In Paul's confession of faith (Rom. 1-11) the influence of many other inherited beliefs may also be recognized. Pharisaic Judaism had taught him to believe in the pre-existence and the supernatural character of the Messiah or Christ. In the light of Paul's own experience it was difficult for him to think of Christ, a spirit, as other than ever existent. In apocalyptic passages, like Daniel 713, "the one like to the Son of man" was represented as coming from the heavens and as standing beside the throne of God. On the other hand, legalistic Judaism, as interpreted by IV Ezra, represented the Messiah as an atoning sacrifice intended to propitiate the divine judge. Although not in the Old Testament, in the contemporary Jewish literature, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, II Baruch (4842, 43), and IV Ezra (37), Adam, the traditional forefather of the human race, is regarded as the source of all the sin and woe which he has transmitted to his descendants. The burdening belief that all flesh was bowed to earth by a crushing, cumulative weight of sin was shared alike by Stoic philosophers and thoughtful Jews. In his own spiritual experience of Jesus and in that of his fellow Christians Paul found the fulfilment of all his inherited hopes and beliefs and the solution of all his spiritual problems. It was also inevitable that he should interpret Jesus and his work in the light of these varied inheritances. To ignore this fact is to misinterpret Paul and to fail to appreciate his permanent contributions to Christianity which are enmeshed in the figures and beliefs of a bygone age. V. Paul's Doctrine of Salvation through Faith in Christ. To understand Paul's teachings it is also important to note that he is fond of using a great variety of figures to set forth the same ultimate truth. This method is a characteristic of most great religious teachers. The more important the truth the more important that it be viewed from many points. Paul, in his endeavor to make clear what Christ has done for him and could do for all men, used four familiar figures, each drawn from the legal vocabulary of his age. It is evident that they all represent the same vital experience in the life of the individual. The first, that of the redemption or emancipation of a slave from bondage, was grimly suggestive and familiar to every citizen of that SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST ancient world. It was probably suggested by Jesus' words, recorded in Mark 1045: "The Son of man has come not to be served but to serve (as a slave) and to give his life as a ransom for many (slaves)." The underlying idea is closely related to Paul's characteristic doctrine of Christian liberty. By its use he declared that Jesus came to free men from the bondage of that merely judical relationship to God of which Paul frequently speaks and which in his experience he found so onerous. Another figure was that of justification or acquittal. This figure, of course, was suggested by the ancient courts of justice, where the culprit was arraigned by the representatives of the state and his release was assured only when his innocence could be proved or palliating circumstance adduced. Here, as in each of these parallel figures, the dominating idea is that deliverance or salvation is attained as the result of the divine love expressed in the work and death of Jesus. A third figure was that of forgiveness. Here the sinner was thought of as a debtor to whom God had granted full forgiveness, because of divine love which Jesus supremely exemplified and proclaimed. The fourth parallel figure was that of reconciliation. It implied that the sinner by his acts had put himself in an attitude of enmity toward God. Jesus is again the one who reconciles him to his divine Father. It is significant that in each of these figures, by which Paul describes the salvation of the individual, the work of an intermediary between God and man is implied, if not absolutely required. It emphasizes the fundamental difference between Paul's own relation to God and that of Jesus. Jesus did not desire nor would he have tolerated any intermediary between himself and God. Paul and the great majority of his fellow Christians in the past, as in the present, crave such an interpreter of God. In supplying this practically universal need, Paul and the early apostles made their supreme contribution to Christianity, for they proclaimed Jesus to be the great interpreter of God to man. Christ in man and man in Christ made personal fellowship with God possible and easy. Here Paul unconsciously joins hands with the Greek mystics. His doctrine of Christ in him and he in Christ was not a mere figure of speech nor a dogma; it was a deep, transforming, spiritual experience which freed him from his consciousness of sin and gave him instead a consciousness of fellowship with God. Sometimes Paul attributed this mystic experience to the presence of Christ, sometimes to the Spirit of Christ, and sometimes to the Spirit of God within him. In Romans 89-11 he uses these three synonyms together: "But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if |