Thursday 15 April 2021

Psalm 118:1-4

Background

Today’s densely packed reading is a key stage in the entire letter to the Romans. So far Paul has argued that all people are sinners, not only pagan Gentiles with their obvious depravity but Jews also, in spite of God’s covenant with them and God's law revealed to them through Moses. God intended better for all. Now, guilty as we are, through the death of Christ we can be declared righteous, given God’s verdict of acquittal.

Paul uses the language of sacrifice, which was very familiar in the ancient world. The offering of a slaughtered animal was believed to restore relations between the worshipper and God. Paul sees the death of Jesus as having that effect. Older English versions of verse 25, such as the Authorised Version, uses the word ‘propitiation’ while the NRSV has ‘sacrifice of atonement’ and Revised English Bible ‘means of expiating sin’. The modern versions are to be preferred because for Paul the problem lies not in God’s attitude to us – God's needing to be appeased – but in our unworthiness. God’s seeming indulgence in not imposing full punishment for sins might be interpreted as indifference to wrongdoing. The death of Jesus shows that he treats it with full seriousness but desires nevertheless to bridge the gap between himself and us. So our hope lies in not relying on our achievements and still less in boasting about them, but in trusting in Christ.

That is true for Gentile and Jew alike. Although the message about faith is to be found in the Old Testament, because it calls for faith not obedience to the law of Moses it is valid for all. That does not mean that we abandon the law but (as Paul will show later in Romans) we should interpret it in a different way.

To Ponder:

• Does the language of ritual sacrifice carry any meaning in today’s world? If not, what might replace it?
• Does Paul’s language imply that because we are forgiven we can do as we please?
• What does faith in Jesus imply?