Marginal Christianity

2 Samuel 7:1-11,16   Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38 This last Sunday of Advent this year falls on Christmas Eve. In addition to the Annunciation story (Lk.1:26-38) and Mary’s Magnificat (Lk.1:46b-55), 2 Sam.7 and Psa.89 narrate and extol God’s covenant with David. Rich stuff, yes? But it may be Paul’s great doxology at the end of his letter to the Romans that aligns best with overlap of the fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve. Many families have a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve as a foretaste of the gift-giving to follow the next day. I want to liken Paul’s Roman’s doxology in this week’s reading as that present we may open early on Christmas Eve. In it Paul praises God and the one whom he has sent to fulfill all his purposes. Here’s his doxology: 25 “ Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the my...

Romans 1:1-7 (3) 1   Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2  which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3  the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4  and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6  including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7  To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.   Paul writes the Romans that the church seeks the obedience of faith “among all the Gentiles” among whom are the Romans themselves “who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” (v.6). Paul ...

Romans 1:1-7 (2) 1   Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2  which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3  the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4  and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6  including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7  To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.   “Gospel” – a word badly misunderstood in the West for half a century now.   Gospel is a big, big word!   It’s about God achieving his “eternal purpose” (Eph.3:11), what he had...

http://timgombis.com/2013/01/07/what-sort-of-text-is-romans/ By timgombis   I’m beginning a two-week intensive course on Romans today and thought I’d re-post this rumination on reading Paul’s text for what it is rather than for what many expect it to be. What sort of communication from Paul is Romans?  It’s been quite common to assume that Romans is a systematic treatise on the Christian faith.  Many commentaries contain an outline of Romans structured according to systematic theological categories.  Paul deals with the  doctrine  of justification here, the  doctrine  of sanctification there, the  doctrine  of election over there. If Paul had any  practical  purpose, it’s that he is informing his readers of his theology in an attempt to establish his orthodox credentials.  He wants to secure Rome as a mission base for his eventual goal of reaching Spain with the gospel (Rom. 15:24). Such a perspecti...