Part 69 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series
David Pawson says that Paul’s letter to the Romans is the longest letter we have from the ancient world, and is very important. Paul is obviously countering arguments. Paul has never met the Roman church so why did he write to them? David believes that chapters 9 to 11, where Paul speaks so much about the Jews, are the key to the whole letter. David asks what the need in Rome was. There were serious social issues there and that is why Paul deals with such subjects as homosexuality, antisocial behaviour, disobedience to parents, uncontrollable violence and crime. Paul seeks to minister to Christians who have to live in the midst of this city of vice and crime. David explains that what had begun as a church of Hebrew believers in Rome had become one of Gentiles as Jews had been expelled by the Emperor Claudius. But then, when the next emperor invited the Jews back for financial reasons, they found that their church had changed in the hands of Gentiles. David says that everything in this letter is to get those two groups back into fellowship. Chapters 9 to 11 counter replacement theology, the thinking that the Church has replaced the Jews.