Use of the Old Testament in Romans by Paul Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 3165 words ( 11 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 10

Page 1 of 11

Paul's Use Of The Old Testament In The Book Of Romans

Paul's main intention in writing the letter to the Romans was to emphasize that it was essential for society to comprehend that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah. He considered that the Old Testament predicted the Messiah's coming and that he needed to relate to this document in order to provide more information concerning the importance of Jewish traditions. Much of the Book of Romans is concentrated on the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Even with the fact that he wanted to highlight the role Jews played in the general scheme of things, he did not want to paint a distorted people of the Jewish community and he practically considered it to be similar to any other community.

The Book of Romans in general

The Book of Romans is filled with accounts that are especially controversial when regarding things from a religious point-of-view. "Election and divine hardening of human beings" (Abasciano 1). are just some of the topics under discussion in the text, this making it possible for readers to understand that they are dealing with a document that is different from ideas present in the New Testament. The fact that Paul introduced controversial ideas makes the Book of Romans particularly exciting to study.

Paul's interest in creating links between old and new Paul's involvement in the Book of Acts actually emphasizes his interest in demonstrating that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah. Paul was determined to show that Jesus was one of David's descendants and he knew that this would play an important role in encouraging Jewish individuals to believe that this was the Messiah. Furthermore, by providing his community with the reality that they were actually no different from other communities that it interacted with, he expected them to accept that they needed to think of Jesus as being their savior. "It seems probable that Jesus' Davidic lineage was proclaimed when Paul established the churches during his missionary preaching"

The Book of Romans is certainly dedicated to highlight the fact that Jesus descends from David. Paul wanted individuals to understand that the common gospel's omission to mention the theme concerning how Jesus was a descendant of David did not actually mean that this person was not actually the Messiah. Paul identifies Jesus as being the Christ in an attempt to emphasize Jesus' Davidic background. What is even more interesting is that Paul does not try to discuss whether or not Jesus is actually the Messiah, as he believes that it would be pointless for someone to argue with regard to something that is obvious. Paul simply wants other people to gain a better understanding of Jesus' role in Jewish tradition in order for them to be able to acknowledge something that he considers to be noticeable.

Jews as sinners according to the Old Testament

The Book of Romans discusses sin in relation to the Jewish community and it is obvious that Paul intended to influence Jews in acknowledging that they too were sinners. Chapter three in the Book of Romans speaks about man's universal sinfulness and it does not attempt to privilege a particular community.

The Book of Romans 3:10-18 is actually concentrated on a series of ideas in the Old Testament with the purpose of showing man's sin. By trying to relate to how all people are sinners, Paul does not attempt to convince Jews that there are other communities that sin. He is actually interested in influencing Jewish individuals to understand that their community is no different from other communities and that they are also sinners as a result of their nature. Paul discusses the beginnings of Jewish tradition as a scene in which the founders of Judaism were saved by faith instead of being saved by works.

Paul did not believe that God intended to favor particular groups and that He was thus interested in saving both Jewish individuals and Gentiles without making exceptions. He related to how even with the fact that Jews initially appeared to be privileged, their rejection of Jesus played an important role in convincing God to consider that it was in the world's best interest for Him to save both Jewish individuals and Gentiles. By taking on this attitude, Paul expected Jewish individuals to accept their sins and to get actively involved in praising Jesus as the true Messiah.

Paul's legacy

While Paul was mainly focused on individuals living contemporary to him, his work can also be applied today in the case of present-day Jewish communities.

Stuck Writing Your "Use of the Old Testament in Romans by Paul" Research Paper?

View All Our Example Use of the Old Testament in Romans by Paul Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

While Jewish communities in the present respect a great deal of values promoted in the Old Testament, many individuals fail to comprehend that there are particular ideas that need to be treated with priority. Paul's determination to use Old Testament ideas in the Book of Romans can assist particular Jews today gain a more complex understanding of their faith.

Paul focused on emphasizing that people could be saved and could be justified by faith only if they focused on maintaining a series of positive attitudes throughout their life. By highlighting this aspect concerning behavior, he intended to have people focus on doing everything in their power in order to cooperate with God rather than to simply think that God considers them to be special in comparison to others.

While the Catholic doctrine might seem controversial for some people, some of the ideas it promotes are largely owed to Paul and to other theologians. Pauline preaching supports the belief that God is going to introduce the divine judgment at some point and that justification by faith is going to be one of the most important concepts that someone can think of. Taking this into account, it appears that Pauline teachings can still play an important role in the present by assisting Jewish communities reconnect with their background. Even with the fact that Jewish traditions are still strong today, Paul's choice to relate to particular events in the Old Testament can prove to be especially significant when considering how certain Jewish individuals understand their history in the present. Jewish communities today can focus on how Paul struggled to create links between the Old Testament and the Book of Romans with the purpose of raising public awareness concerning why it would be important for particular groups to adopt certain attitudes.

It is not necessarily that Paul's Christian-focused theories can play an important role in assisting Jewish individuals gain a better understanding of Christ and change their opinion concerning who he was. It is actually that Paul's theories can enable Jewish communities to acknowledge that in maintaining particular traditions promoted in the Old Testament they risk severing their connection with God. In order for a person to be saved, he or she would first need to concentrate on his or her relationship with God before trying to refute particular theories on the basis of the religious ideology that they are associated with.

It appears that Paul was also concerned about putting across a moral teaching in addition to influencing people in changing their minds regarding their position in the social order. One of his principal lessons concerning this message was related to how it was wrong for people to discriminate. He emphasized that no peoples were privileged in comparison to others in the eyes of God. Paul's main intent was to demonstrate that Jewish individuals needed to abandon their preconceived tendency to judge others on account of their background and to judge individuals primarily based on the actions they performed. Attitude was everything when regarding things from Paul's point-of-view and it is important to acknowledge that his teachings can be applied in the case of Jewish individuals today. Moreover, society as a whole can learn an important lesson from the Book to Romans.

Paul perceived being saved as one of the most important things that one could possibly think of. This was not necessarily because of the end product of salvation. It was also because of the path that an individual would have to embark on in order to achieve salvation.

Genesis 25.23 in relationship to the Old Testament

Paul initially cites this Old Testament passage with the purpose of discussing Jacob's cycle in the Genesis. "The Jacob cycle itself is part of the patriarchal history of the Genesis (chs 12-50), which develops the book's main plot of God's covenantal promises to Abraham and their fulfillment, summed up by Gen. 12.1-3.

This idea was intended to provide a Jewish audience in particular with the chance to look at matters from a different perspective. Paul virtually wanted to relate to Jacob and Abraham as some o the most important figures in Jewish history with the purpose to speaking about a line of promise runs.

Paul's focus on Abraham's family tree as discusses in the Genesis is meant to provide proof concerning how Jesus is connected to a family that is considered to be among the most significant groups in Jewish tradition. It is practically….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Use Of The Old Testament In Romans By Paul" (2013, March 03) Retrieved May 6, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/use-old-testament-romans-paul-86393

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Use Of The Old Testament In Romans By Paul" 03 March 2013. Web.6 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/use-old-testament-romans-paul-86393>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Use Of The Old Testament In Romans By Paul", 03 March 2013, Accessed.6 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/use-old-testament-romans-paul-86393
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example