Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ¹ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ²  in the Holy Spirit –

Romans 4:1-25

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ³  has discovered regarding this matter? ⁴  4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ⁵  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited ⁶  to him as righteousness.” ⁷  4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ⁸  4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, ⁹  his faith is credited as righteousness.

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

4:7 “Blessed ¹⁰  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ¹¹  against whom the Lord will never count ¹²  sin.” ¹³ 

4:9 Is this blessedness ¹⁴  then for ¹⁵  the circumcision ¹⁶  or also for ¹⁷  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁸  4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, ¹⁹  so that he would become ²⁰  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ²¹  that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ²²  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ²³ 

4:13 For the promise ²⁴  to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ²⁵  4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression ²⁶  either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ²⁷  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ²⁸  who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). ²⁹  He is our father ³⁰  in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who ³¹  makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. ³²  4:18 Against hope Abraham ³³  believed ³⁴  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ³⁵  according to the pronouncement, ³⁶  “so will your descendants be.” ³⁷  4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered ³⁸  his own body as dead ³⁹  (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 4:20 He ⁴⁰  did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 4:21 He was ⁴¹  fully convinced that what God ⁴²  promised he was also able to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham ⁴³  as righteousness.

4:23 But the statement it was credited to him ⁴⁴  was not written only for Abraham’s ⁴⁵  sake, 4:24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 4:25 He ⁴⁶  was given over ⁴⁷  because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of ⁴⁸  our justification. ⁴⁹ 

Romans 7:1-25

The Believer’s Relationship to the Law

7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters ⁵⁰  (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person ⁵¹  as long as he lives? 7:2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her ⁵²  husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. ⁵³  7:3 So then, ⁵⁴  if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her ⁵⁵  husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress. 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, ⁵⁶  you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. ⁵⁷  7:5 For when we were in the flesh, ⁵⁸  the sinful desires, ⁵⁹  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ⁶⁰  to bear fruit for death. 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, because we have died ⁶¹  to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. ⁶² 

7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I ⁶³  would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else ⁶⁴  if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ⁶⁵  7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ⁶⁶  For apart from the law, sin is dead. 7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 7:10 and I died. So ⁶⁷  I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! ⁶⁸  7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. ⁶⁹  7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. ⁷⁰  7:15 For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate. ⁷¹  7:16 But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. ⁷²  7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. ⁷³  7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

7:21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 7:25 Thanks be ⁷⁴  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ⁷⁵  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ⁷⁶  with my flesh I serve ⁷⁷  the law of sin.

[9:1]  ¹ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ² tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “has found?”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Or “was justified.”

[4:3]  ⁷ tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.

[4:3]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”

[4:7]  ¹³ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ¹⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ¹⁶ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[4:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “happiness.”

[4:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

[4:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[4:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

[4:12]  ²² tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

[4:13]  ²³ sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

[4:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”

[4:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “violation.”

[4:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”

[4:17]  ³¹ tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.

[4:17]  ³² tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)

[4:17]  ³³ tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:17]  ³⁴ tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).

[4:18]  ³³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ³⁴ tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:18]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ³⁶ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

[4:19]  ³⁵ tc Most mss (D F G Ψ 33 1881 Ï it) read “he did not consider” by including the negative particle (οὐ, ou), but others (א A B C 6 81 365 1506 1739 pc co) lack οὐ. The reading which includes the negative particle probably represents a scribal attempt to exalt the faith of Abraham by making it appear that his faith was so strong that he did not even consider the physical facts. But “here Paul does not wish to imply that faith means closing one’s eyes to reality, but that Abraham was so strong in faith as to be undaunted by every consideration” (TCGNT 451). Both on external and internal grounds, the reading without the negative particle is preferred.

[4:19]  ³⁶ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A C D Ψ 33 Ï bo) have ἤδη (hdh, “already”) at this point in v. 19. But B F G 630 1739 1881 pc lat sa lack it. Since it appears to heighten the style of the narrative and since there is no easy accounting for an accidental omission, it is best to regard the shorter text as original. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[4:20]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[4:21]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and being.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:22]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:23]  ⁴³ tn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “who,” referring to Jesus. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “handed over.”

[4:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “because of.” However, in light of the unsatisfactory sense that a causal nuance would here suggest, it has been argued that the second διά (dia) is prospective rather than retrospective (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 288-89). The difficulty of this interpretation is the structural balance that both διά phrases provide (“given over because of our transgressions…raised because of our justification”). However the poetic structure of this verse strengthens the likelihood that the clauses each have a different force.

[4:25]  ⁴⁸ sn Many scholars regard Rom 4:25 to be poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage.

[7:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:1]  ⁴⁸ sn Here person refers to a human being.

[7:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[7:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “husband.”

[7:3]  ⁵¹ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[7:3]  ⁵² tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[7:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “that we might bear fruit to God.”

[7:5]  ⁵⁵ tn That is, before we were in Christ.

[7:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “sinful passions.”

[7:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[7:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “having died.” The participle ἀποθανόντες (apoqanonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[7:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

[7:7]  ⁵⁹ sn Romans 7:7-25. There has been an enormous debate over the significance of the first person singular pronouns (“I”) in this passage and how to understand their referent. Did Paul intend (1) a reference to himself and other Christians too; (2) a reference to his own pre-Christian experience as a Jew, struggling with the law and sin (and thus addressing his fellow countrymen as Jews); or (3) a reference to himself as a child of Adam, reflecting the experience of Adam that is shared by both Jews and Gentiles alike (i.e., all people everywhere)? Good arguments can be assembled for each of these views, and each has problems dealing with specific statements in the passage. The classic argument against an autobiographical interpretation was made by W. G. Kümmel, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus. A good case for seeing at least an autobiographical element in the chapter has been made by G. Theissen, Psychologische Aspekte paulinischer Theologie [FRLANT], 181-268. One major point that seems to favor some sort of an autobiographical reading of these verses is the lack of any mention of the Holy Spirit for empowerment in the struggle described in Rom 7:7-25. The Spirit is mentioned beginning in 8:1 as the solution to the problem of the struggle with sin (8:4-6, 9).

[7:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “I would not have known covetousness.”

[7:7]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21.

[7:8]  ⁶¹ tn Or “covetousness.”

[7:10]  ⁶³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the result of the statement in the previous verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[7:10]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “and there was found in/for me the commandment which was for life – this was for death.”

[7:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “and through it killed me.”

[7:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “under sin.”

[7:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “but what I hate, this I do.”

[7:16]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “I agree with the law that it is good.”

[7:18]  ⁷³ tn Grk “For to wish is present in/with me, but not to do it.”

[7:25]  ⁷⁵ tc ‡ Most mss (א* A 1739 1881 Ï sy) read “I give thanks to God” rather than “Now thanks be to God” (א¹ [B] Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), the reading of NA²⁷. The reading with the verb (εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ, eucaristw tw qew) possibly arose from a transcriptional error in which several letters were doubled (TCGNT 455). The conjunction δέ (de, “now”) is included in some mss as well (א¹ Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), but it should probably not be considered original. The ms support for the omission of δέ is both excellent and widespread (א* A B D 1739 1881 Ï lat sy), and its addition can be explained as an insertion to smooth out the transition between v. 24 and 25.

[7:25]  ⁷⁶ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[7:25]  ⁷⁷ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[7:25]  ⁷⁸ tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.