Romans 3: the Remedy

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

Throughout his arduous and adventurous life, the apostle Paul has kept one career goal constantly before him: a visit to Rome. In Paul’s day, Rome stands alone, the capital of the powerful Roman Empire, which rules over the entire Mediterranean region. A tiny new church in Rome has caused great excitement among other Christians who know that in some ways the future of the church rests on what happens in Rome. If they expect to make an impact on the world, they will have to penetrate this great city.

Paul prays for the Roman church constantly and has made plans several times to visit there. Since none of those plans has yet materialized, Paul writes this letter, a concise summary of the Christian faith and the notion that Christ holds the answers to all of life’s important questions.

The remedy for human problems, Paul proclaims, is god’s amazing grace- a complete cure available to all. Yet people will not seek a cure until they know they are ill. If a doctor were to suddenly appear on a television news program announcing a cure for, say, the Paraguayan flu, who would care? For his discovery to impress us so deeply that we would seek vaccination, he must first prove the terrible danger posed by this unknown virus.

Thus Romans begins with one of the darkest summaries in the Bible. “There is no one righteous, not even one,” Paul concludes. The entire world is doomed to spiritual death unless a cure can be found. Out of the mournful sounds, however, comes a clear, bright note of wonderful news (verses 21-31), a compact expression of the core message of the gospel.

Reflection
It truly is hard for me to fathom how racial tensions continue to exist after the time of Christ. Paul makes it so incredibly clear that non-Jewish Christians should be considered first-class citizens of the kingdom of God. Faith in Jesus is all that God requires, regardless of age, color, or ethnicity.