The Crucified Messiah

Paul explains the Gospel in detail in his Letter to the Romans . He wrote to the Assembly in the city of Rome to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members, and to prepare the ground for taking the Gospel to the western provinces of the Empire. In doing so, he touched on key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation. Believers are justified through the Nazarene’s death, and they are saved and receive immortality through his resurrection.

God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial . God has spoken His supreme Word in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah who “ achieved the purification of sins ” through his “ once and for all ” sacrifice for sins. To now return to the Levitical system with its rituals and repeated animal sacrifices would mean disregarding and dishonoring this Supreme Word and Christ’s sacrifice. By doing so, we invite severe punishment.

In the opening thanksgiving of Philippians , Paul prepares his readers for his discussion on going on to perfection in Jesus in Chapter 3, meaning the future resurrection of believers. That must occur to complete their faith and consummate their salvation. Bodily resurrection is foundational to the Apostolic hope of salvation, which believers receive when Jesus appears in glory.

The Gift of the Spirit is the First Fruits of the bodily resurrection and the Guarantee of our participation in the coming New Creation . The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of the faith, the model for believers to emulate as they live from “ the faith of Jesus .” God counted the Patriarch’s faith as “ righteousness ” while he was uncircumcised and thus justified him apart from “ the works of the Torah .” He is the father of all those who live “ from the faith of Jesus ,” whether Jew or Gentile, and Abraham is “ the heir of the world .”

Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans with at least two purposes in mind. First, to prepare the ground for his visit to the city and his planned missionary trip to Spain. Second, to deal with conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in the assemblies of Rome. In the Letter’s first half, he explains his Gospel. In the second, he addresses the status of the Jewish people and the specific conflicts in the congregation.

Paul began his Letter to the Romans with a lengthy introduction in which he identified himself and his mission. In doing so, he makes several declarations about the identity and victory of Jesus, more specifically, that he was “ marked out as God’s Son ” by the “ spirit of holiness ” that characterized his life, and by his resurrection “ from among the dead .” By raising him, God validated all that the Nazarene had said and done.