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If gentiles are now coming to faith in Jesus, and many Jews are not, has the word of God and his promise to Israel failed? That is the critical question Paul starts to address in Roman 9.1–5, the epistle for Trinity 9 in Year A. This passage cannot be read in isolation, as Paul uses … Continue Reading
Romans 7.15–25a is the epistle for Trinity 5 in Year A, and includes the famous ‘I’-passage over which there has been much debate. Is Paul speaking in the first person recounting his own experience as a Christian? Or in his pre-Christian life? Or is he recounting the experience of Israel under the law? Or of … Continue Reading
The lectionary epistle reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Romans 1.1–7, which is a single sentence in Greek! Paul offers not just an opening greeting, but a programmatic introduction to the whole of his letter. It is relentlessly focussed on what God has done for us, before it ever touches on what might … Continue Reading
Some years ago, Martin Saunders (of Youthscape) wrote an excellent article highlighting four issues which often prevent evangelicals from understanding what has been happening in the Israel/Gaza conflict—and these problems come up each time the conflict hits the news. It seems particularly pertinent at the moment. First, he comments ‘It’s not as simple as good … Continue Reading
I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word, phrase, or idea in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore the importance … Continue Reading
The NT epistle for the First Sunday of Lent (Lent 1) in Year C is Romans 8b–13. It is a slightly odd choice by the lectionary, since the passage starts in verse 5, and you really need to read from there. Paul does two important things as he reads the Old Testament. First, he notices … Continue Reading
Dr Gary Burnett has published a short study on the writing and theology of Paul under the title Paul Distilled. I had the chance to ask him about his book—why he wrote it, what approach he takes, and why it could be of help to us. IP: How did this book arise, organised in a series … Continue Reading
A few years ago, Martin Saunders (of Youthscape) wrote an excellent article highlighting four issues which often prevent evangelicals from understanding what has been happening in the Israel/Gaza conflict—and these problems come up each time the conflict hits the news. First, he comments ‘It’s not as simple as good guys vs bad guys’, something which … Continue Reading
With the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, one of the issues for Christians that arises again and again is whether the existence of the modern State of Israel is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. I am therefore reposting a pair of articles that I wrote in 2014, which explores carefully whether this is the … Continue Reading
In my previous post, looking at the function of the land in the OT, I concluded that the land is the arena in which the people of God both receive God’s blessings, and take on the responsibility of obedience to God’s commands. How is this idea developed and adapted in the New Testament? There are … Continue Reading
Anyone using Scripture Union’s Encounter with God for their daily Bible readings will be exploring Romans 9–14…with me! Romans 9–11 is one of the most debated texts in Paul, and here are my reflections on approaches to reading it: These chapters of Romans bring together some of Paul’s most densely argued and disputed material along with … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
