Romans In Different Versions Essay, Research Paper
Romans is a very important addition to the Bible. This
is written by Paul to the Roman church. Much of Romans is
showing the righteousness of God in different ways. ?Romans
road? passages are a great description of how to lead
someone to christ (His saving righteousness). Falling into
this importance is Romans 3:21-26. This is the basis of
God?s righteousness in the Death of Jesus (Schreiner p.25).
Refering to the different versions of this text, there
is not much of a variation. Several words and phrases are
changed but the same meaning is kept. The two versions of
the text which will be shown as examples are the New
International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard
(NAS). Others versions were used but these two were the
best examples that I found. Verse 24 has ?gift? in the NAS
version, but ?freely? is used in the NIV. Also found is in
verse 25 is the differing between what God was trying to
demonstrate. The NAS says: ?…this was to demonstrate His
righteousness…?, but the NIV says: ?He did this to
demonstrate His justice…?. The last variation between
these versions is in the final verse (31). The NAS says:
?…we establish the Law.?, but the NIV says: ?…we uphold
the Law.? These differences are somewhat small, however
they could alter the meaning slightly. Finding the meaning
is the reason we compare different versions.
The basic structure of Romans is fairly simple. It is
called letter-essay style by some, though there is no proof
that it was read to any group of people. It is the gospel
of God?s righteousness. Sections of Romans are even
dedicated to showing the basiscs of christianity like the
?Romans road?. This basic knowledge allows for a good
foundation as a christian.
Some historical contex must be discussed before the
text can be taken apart. Paul wrote to the Romans from
Corinth during his three month stay. Paul was on a
missionary trip passing through the east and was on his way
to Rome. It was one of two letters; One to Rome and the
other to Ephesus. They must have already had churches
started in Rome because ?We can safely assume that the
church was not planted by an apostle?(Schreiner pg.11). The
Church was most probably started by Jewish Christians. Thus
leading into the text.
The literary context is thought to be easily
identified. The target text is part of a letter which is
written in the same genre as the rest of Paul?s letters.
?The style of Romans fits with Paul?s other letters that are
accepted as authentic…?(Schreiner pg.2). The text also
fits in very easily with the rest of the scripture around
it. It starts off the section about the saving
righteousness of God which continues from there
(3:21-4:25).
The theological context is very broad since Biblical
principles are built from the target text. There are many
texts which involve salvation in the Scripture. Some of the
obvious texts are John 3:16, Ephesians 1:4-8, some other
parts of the ?Roma
due to the fact that there are many different parts of texts
which also add to the Salvation texts but are not directly
related. Salvation is the most important concept in
theology. It is the key concept which opens up the rest of
the scriptures.
Just as important as context, content must be carefuly
looked at in this target text. A basic outline and list of
terms defined of this passage follows:
?The Great Turning Point-?But Now??(D.M. Loyd-Jones pg.23)
1)Intro to salvation
a)how
b)who is it available to
2)God prepaired this
3)faith comes in
a)not by works
b)not by keeping the Law
4)Jews and Gentiles fit into the plan
5)We must establish the Law
A list of terms:
righteousness – the following of God?s rules
faith – trusting something unable to be seen
redemption – turning something into another
all – everyone, including Gentiles
demonstrate – to show, give a guideline
principle – something generally followed by a specific
group, pre-planned rule
uphold – to keep, stay with a pre planned idea
Paul wrote this passage so that the Roman church would
learn two important things. The first is the salvation
plan. The other is that the Jewish were not the only ones
able to be saved. Gentiles are allowed also. God shows his
mercy and caring for his people through this text. The
people, the church of Rome, needed to hear the salvation
message. Some things can be infered by the topics choosen
to be written about. Mabye the church was having a problem
with Jew/Gentile relationships. Also, following the Law may
have been stressed instead of heart matters. That was the
main content in the passage.
The life issues, being salvation, legalism, and Gentile
acceptance,in this text were very important. These can be
applied in my life in several ways. One is actually using
the text directly in my life. This could be not just
following Laws set out for me,but find the reasons behind
them. Make these ritualistic acts a heart matter. The
other way I can apply this scripture to my life is put it in
my witnessing. I can use what I learned to help lead others
to christ. I can also be a more effective witness. That is
exactly why I need to study and find out the real meaning of
scripture.
I did not use all of these sources
directly, but I would like to acknowledge the books,
references, and other resouces that I did read. 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?
(Michigan;Dunham Publishing Company,1969). pages 76-108
Other resources:
Strong?s Concordance
young?s Analytical Concordance
Harper?s Bible Dictionary
NIV Application Commentary