The epistle for Lent 3 is Romans 5.1–11; the gospel is Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well in John 4.
In Romans 5, Paul effectively sets out his stall for the second main section of the letter, chapters 5 to 8. This is not about the consequences of justification, so much as what justification actually means—reconciled with God, we experience his peace and love, and despite our suffering, this forms in us the hope for what is to come by the gift of his Spirit in us.
Michael Gorman’s commentary on Romans can be found here,
and his Grove booklet on Peace in Luke and Paul here.
Phil Bray’s ‘butcher’s look at Leviticus’ can be found here.
My article on reconciliation in Paul is here.
And the written commentary on John 4 is here,
with the video discussion here.
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John Root writes: The diocese of London has been awarded a grant of £730,000 from the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit to develop its racial justice work over a three year period. This is part of a national strategy of giving grants to address the issue. In this blog I want to question whether … Continue Reading / View Article
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Here and in Romans 4
The Lectionary writer has brought together
two passages under one umbrella by way of
“Introduction of the Gospel”- into hopeless situations.
In deed the focus of Paul’s Gospel In Romans
can be summed up in his closing prayer
in Rom. 15:13, which is a theme throughout the letter.
In many of his letters he draws out the many multicoloured facets of the Gospel.
For those who do not have Leon Morris’s
“The Cross in the New Testament to hand I
Recommend T. Austine-Spark’s book
“The Gospel According to Paul” Ch.1 on line
“The Gospel According to Paul” focuses on restoring a deeper, “full-orbed” understanding of the Gospel, arguing that it is not merely about personal salvation but is a massive, divine, and triumphant revelation of Jesus Christ as the center of God’s eternal purpose, which demands a reorientation of Christian life.
Key themes and aspects of the book include:
Christ Centeredness: The Gospel is defined as a revelation of God’s Son, not just a set of doctrines or “things” to be learned, but a person to be known.
The “Whole Counsel”: Sparks argues that the modern understanding of the Gospel has become too limited, and it needs to be seen as the “full counsel of God”.
A “New Race”: A key focus is the generation of a “new race” through faith in Christ, which is brought to spiritual maturity.
The Body of Christ: The Gospel is about the constitution of the Body of Christ, bringing many sons to glory.
Contextual Breakdown: The book covers the Gospel as revealed in Paul’s letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, and Timothy.
A Triumphant Gospel: The Gospel is presented as the good news of Christ’s complete victory and triumph in the whole circle of heaven and earth.
The book is, in effect, a study of the Pauline Epistles, focusing on what Christ has secured through his death and resurrection. It is available for free at Austin-Sparks.net.
I do love the brief note in Act 8:5 Philip had sooo much more to tell them. It really is a Full Gospel!
It is unfortunate that, in general, I have found that
many do not get beyond the introductions of the gospel.
What some might call the“the simple gospel,”are somewhat believed but never really experienced of the “fountains of living water springing up”
Perhaps due to the sacerdotalism’s that keep folks in a state of perennial infancy through 20 minute homilies rather than serious investigation into a gospel that consumed the Apostles and turned the world upside down.
That was/is a glorious gospel of the glorious liberty of the sons of God that results in Christ bringing many sons into, glory and perfection. Shalom