Dunn said about The Letter to the Romans, “It is most important as being the first well-developed theological statement by a Christian theologian which has come down to us, and one which has had incalculable influence on the framing of Christian theology ever since--arguably the single most important work of Christian theology ever written.”1 Christianity in Rome likely began in the Jewish synagogues. Roman gentiles came into the church, but in 49 A.D. Jews were expelled from Rome. When Jewish Christians began to return to Rome there was likely tension between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians regarding orthopraxy (right action).2 It is obvious that Paul, in writing his theological statement that we call Romans had many purposes for writing it, but one of those purposes was to heal either potential or real division in the churches in Rome between Jewish and Gentile Christians.3 Therefore, the apostle begins the letter after a long greeting with a thematic statement (Ro…

If I had to pick a single passage of scripture and say that it was my favorite, I would have to say that The High Priestly Prayer in John chapter 17 is that passage. It is my favorite for a number of reasons, but one of those reasons is in it the Lord prayed to the Father on behalf of the church for unity. (cf. John 17:20-23) In the epistle to the church at Ephesus 2:13-16 the apostle calls the Law of commandments the enmity. It is this enmity that divides the Jew and the Gentile. Paul established in Romans 1-3 that both Jew and Gentile are guilty, the Gentile without law and the Jew under the Law have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, both the Jews and the Gentiles alike are justified through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

J. D. G. Dunn in his Dictionary article “Romans, Letter to the” established three purposes for the apostle Paul in writing the epistle; missionary, apologetic and pastoral.1 With regards to Pastoral he said that Paul wrote to heal both a pote…

In this blog post I would like to discuss the rationale for Jesus opponents. In order to understand their rationale, we need to ask and understand, who were the opponents? The main text for this post will be John 11:47-53. “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.” (John 11:47) The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council. The Sanhedrin (council) was the supreme Jewish religious, political and legal court in Jerusalem in New Testament times.1 According to three Greek sources; the New Testament, Apocrypha and the Jewish historian Josephus there was a single body in Jerusalem.2 The Sanhedrin consisted of lay aristocracy and priest who were sympathetic to Sadducean theology; it also consisted of Pharisaic scribes. According to both the New Testament and Jewish historian Josephus, during the first century the chief priest were the leading figures in the Sanhedrin and the hi…

On a certain day one of the brothers and I were making much of Jesus Christ at a local college campus when one of the students came up and said, “Christianity is a death cult, you Christians worship death.” I do not know where, or from whom this young man got his information, but it could not be any further from the truth. Christianity is a religion of life, we serve a risen Lord; in fact, without the resurrection we are like the apostle Paul said to be pitied. (cf. 1 Cor 15:16-19) Christianity centers on the person of Jesus Christ: (1)His bodily resurrection as witnessed by the apostles. (2)The promised bodily resurrection of all the dead in Christ at his return. Christ’s resurrection is therefore a major theme in Acts, because it is the apostles witness of the resurrection of Christ and his promised return that motivates believers to spread the gospel. The Acts of the Apostles which is a narrative history of the first century Christian Church begins with the resurrection and ascen…