Friday 16 October 2009

Background

One of Paul's biggest challenges, both in his own mind and inhis continuing arguments with Jews and with Jewish Christians, washis own deep-seated conviction that God had been involved in thehistory of his own people. Being Jewish still meant something, evenif he wasn't always sure what that something was.

A key figure in that history was Abraham, the man God had called tobe the 'father of many'. In Jewish tradition, he was the first manto be circumcised. This was the key distinguishing feature whichset Abraham's (male) descendants apart, and was (and still is) oneof the central characteristics of 'Jewishness', along with Sabbathobservance and kosher diet. These characteristics were probablywhat Paul meant by "works". In a very Jewish argument fromScripture, Paul suggested that the key characteristic of Abrahamwas not the fact that he was circumcised, but rather that hetrusted God and believed the promise God made to him. And in thatway he was the father, not just of Jews, but of all (non-Jewsincluded) who trusted God and believed God's promises.

So how could ungodly people be made righteous? How could the guiltybe forgiven and made innocent? How could those whose lives fellshort of God's standards of goodness be transformed? Only by theaction of a righteous god. And how could this become effective inhuman experience? Only by trust and belief in God. Not by works.Not by being Jewish.

This was not the end of the argument for Paul however. As a goodJew he couldn't overlook the fact that God had made some particularand exclusive promises to Israel, and that the Law/teaching (Torah)which Jews held dear had, indeed, come from God. But that issomething Paul would return to later in his letter to the Romans.For now, he had established his central argument - that Jews andGentiles (non-Jews) were united in the community of the redeemed byfaith in Christ, and on no other basis.

To Ponder

In the Old Testament God is often referred to as"the god of our ancestors" (eg 1 Chronicles12:17 and Ezra 7:27). Howdoes that help you in the way you think about God today?

The things that distinguish religious Jews arestill fairly obvious. But what distinguishes Christians? How doesfaith make itself visible?

Do you think that Israel still has any specialclaim on God? Why? Or why not?