Romans 1 (NASB)
Posted by anakainosis on January 22, 2008
Let’s get into Romans, and maybe we can stick to the NASB. It’s such a deep letter, fret with theological implications and some really dense topics. I know that we’ve each taken a look at Romans pretty in-depth at some point in life, but I personally would like to take another look, this time at one of the most literal translations of the letter, to keep as much interpretation out as possible.
And FYI, I don’t plan on taking out any of the superscripts.
The Gospel Exalted
1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, (A)called as an apostle, (B)set apart for (C)the gospel of God, 2which He (D)promised beforehand through His (E)prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3concerning His Son, who was born (F)of a descendant of David (G)according to the flesh,
4who was declared (H)the Son of God with power [a]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5through whom we have received grace and (I)apostleship to bring about the (J)obedience of faith among (K)all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
6among whom you also are the (L)called of Jesus Christ;
7to all who are (M)beloved of God in Rome, called as (N)saints: (O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8First, (P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because (Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
9For (R)God, whom I (S)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly (T)I make mention of you,
10always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by (U)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
11For (V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;
12that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13(W)I do not want you to be unaware, (X)brethren, that often I (Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some (Z)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
14(AA)I am [b]under obligation both to Greeks and to (AB)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15So, for my part, I am eager to (AC)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16For I am not (AD)ashamed of the gospel, for (AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the (AF)Jew first and also to (AG)the Greek.
17For in it (AH)the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “(AI)BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
jlimgarfield said
(hmmm… dunno how to include the superscripts on post) whew! dense passage! just some quick thoughts..
v.1 “bond-servant of Christ”
-Paul declares his identity first as a “bond-servant” or “slave” to Christ. His purpose, value, goals, desires, allegiance are all committed to the Person of Christ (not just the “cause” of Christ)
v.8 “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world”
v.10 “always in my prayers”
v.11 “I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you”
-a reflection of Paul’s heart for people, and also for how much he treasures the Gospel
v.13 “I do not want you to be unaware”
-interesting to see how Paul takes great care to clarify any potential misinterpretation of his actions (not visiting sooner).
a person’s earnestness alone (in a matter) isn’t just good enough, perceptions of other people do matter too. Paul doesn’t have this cavalier attitude and say “well, God know in my heart that I’m being genuine so what other people think doesn’t really matter”… he knows that his witness doesn’t just involve his speech and actions, but also includes how other people may interpret them
v.16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation”
- BAM! what a statement! what a truth! after living in this overtly anti-Christian subpopulation for about a year, I surprisingly find myself repeating this verse over and over again to remind myself that even though I am in the extreme minority of what I believe in (the Gospel), it is still true and has spiritual power. the longer I live in this hostile environment, the harder it is for me to make publically known my identity as a Christian… I never thought in a million years that I would come to that point in my spiritual walk. I’m now realizing that there’s a HUGE difference between hanging out in a den of lions and walking around in a zoo, watching the lions behind bars
Prayers this week for missionary friends around the world, particularly in Kenya and China. The civil unrest in Kenya has made it dangerous for missionaries to even leave their own mission compounds just to get basic food and necessities. In China, 2 different friends in danger in being caught and “interrogated” by the authorities for their faith.
these are truly “bond-servants” of Christ who value the Gospel above all else. and when I share about them with my SF Christian & non-Christian friends, they are completely mystified by their dedication to Christ even at the expense of their own safety in these countries.
that just makes me smile =)
anakainosis said
v. 1-6: this is the introduction, the heading to his letter. This is like me saying,
“Ed Sohn, attorney at law from the firm King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta, GA, and a director-at-large of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, now writes to you…”
etc etc. You would know it’s from someone pretty important, and you could measure the worth of my words from the weight of my qualifications.
But Paul’s list of credentials and qualifications totally points to God. It’s completely about Christ, what Christ has done, what great credentials Christ brings to the table. Paul’s worth, value, and weight as he writes is totally in the work of Christ!
Is that how my life looks? Is everything I am really found IN Christ?
v. 8-10: the famous faith of Rome! But Paul wants to VISIT the Roman church. Why? Because he loves them so much? Sure, partially. But also, because Paul wants to be in Rome. He’s got lots of plans for Rome, as he outlines over the next few verses. Paul is a Roman citizen, and I wonder about the heavy significance of what he’s talking about here. Is Rome not the enemy of the church? Yet, he waits on God.