Romans

Our church is just beginning a study of the book of Romans. I'm excited about it--partly because I usually like studying books more than I like studying random topics, and partly because there's a lot of truth stated so clearly in Romans that has changed my life. I'm a little behind in my personal study of the book--it seems like someone starts to cry whenever I sit down to start, and it's not always Caleb. In the Sunday messages and the blog, the NET version of the Bible is being used. I'm not familiar with this translation at all, but it lent me a new perspective this past week.

At the end of Romans 1:17, Paul quotes the Old Testament saying, "The righteous will live by faith." (NIV) Only in the NET it reads, "The righteous by faith will live." As a former English teacher, I could have lots of fun dissecting the subtle differences of these two sentences that contain the same words, but I think it'd just reveal my over-analytical, somewhat-crazy brain. It'd also go against the fact that these two translations do have the same meaning. What I've been pondering this week is my personal understanding of this verse. In the past I've misunderstood this verse as saying, "If you are righteous, you will live by faith," which makes the verse into a self-centered, you-must-work-harder command that I must follow instead of a simple statement of fact. It turns it into a personal quest for more faith and more righteousness--as if that's even possible. As I've been thinking about this verse this week, I've seen the promise that it holds. It really is a foreshadowing of the gospel that Paul so carefully explains in detail later in Romans. Through the faith that God gives (Eph. 2:9), I have been declared righteous (Romans 3:22 and others), and therefore I will truly live! It's a summary of the incredibly good news of Christ, and a promise of life--not only eternal life, but also a new life (Romans 6:4, 10-11). Yet another promise to hold closely.

Disclaimer: I'm hesitant about posting this entry, especially now that more than one other person knows I have a blog. This is the personal process document of a sleep-deprived lady who hasn't found a lot to time to study the Bible lately. I'm not out to explain theology or provide commentary on the book of Romans--there are better sources for that.