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Rescuing Paul from Individualism: what Romans 6 and 7 are really talking about

'The book of Romans wasn't written by Luther. The book of Romans wasn't even written by Calvin. The book of Romans was written by Paul, and Paul was a Jew, and we Jews, don't like Gentiles!' Martin Goldsmith, All Nations Christian College, 1991-92.

We are so used to reading Romans through the eyes of Luther and Calvin that we forget that the reason it was written was quite different from the issues those venerable theologians faced. The problem, from a Jewish perspective, is that the Gentiles were considered to be so impure as to be beyond the bounds of God's saving grace. They were the uncircumcised, sexually immoral, idolatrous, unclean people who couldn't possibly by part of God's saving plan. But God's plan did include them (Gen 12:1-3), and Isaiah, amongst others, prophesied that 'all nations' would be included in temple worship (Isa 56:6-8). In this he was correct. Jesus' resurrection and ascension changed everything. No longer was the message for Judeans only, but also for Greeks (Rom 1). 

Now, I don't know about you, but I've always struggled to understand Romans chapters 6-7. Why does Paul suddenly seem to get introspective? Well the answer, it seems, is that he isn't be introspective, so much as historical.

Paul, in his genius, argued that although the Gentile nations seemed to be much worse than those from Judea, in fact Judeans were just as much in need of God's saving grace. Why was this? Because the teaching of the Torah, and the rest of the Hebrew Bible, can't, in and of itself, save you. Neither can belonging to the in-crowd via the custom of circumcision. None of these things actually save us - only faith in Jesus the Messiah. But this faith is not an individual faith. The whole of the community who were in Christ (part of the Messianic Judaeo-Greek world), were included in a new people of God who were chosen, pure, forgiven, and so on. Peter actually puts this more clearly than Paul:

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues[aa] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy,[ac] but now you have received mercy. (aa This verse contains various allusions and quotations from Exod 19:5-6; 23:22 (LXX); Isa 43:20-21; and Mal 3:17. ac The quotations in v. 10 are from Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.)

In Romans 6-7, therefore, Paul is talking about himself as Judean, who has had to die to the law in the sense of relying on it for salvation, in order to be part of this new people, who are in Christ (the Messiah). Salvation is in Christ, not in Judaism. Our ethnic identity is so much smaller than our identity in Christ.  In 7:7-25 the 'I' that has caused so much debate is Paul the representative of his people, the Judeans. He, as a Judean, cannot be saved through the Old Testament, but only in Christ. Likewise all Judeans. Likewise all Gentiles.
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