You're Reading Romans 13 Wrong! Here's How to Read It Correctly

acquired his own store of merit or “righteousness,” which he is then able to transfer (the technical term being “impute”) to those who believe in him. This has been a major theme in some expositions of Paul’s theology, particularly his teaching on justification. It has therefore been assumed that the life of Jesus contributes to this result: the “a

The people of Israel, therefore, focused narrowly on the works the law demanded and missed the larger demand of God to submit to him in faith. Thus they failed to obtain righteousness.

states that the ruler “in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

I am convinced that his final point is basically correct: where conflict occurred, it was because of Jesus’ eschatological beliefs and agenda, rather than because of a clash of abstract religious or moral values or teachings.

A third possibility, sometimes adopted, is to take certain well-known and highly controversial passages and to attempt an exegesis based on each verse by itself, working eventually towards some kind of synthesis. This, which can look fine to begin with, actually puts the cart before the horse. It is unhelpful simply to begin with tough, gritty apho