Idle musings by a once again bookseller, always bibliophile, current copyeditor and proofreader. Complete with ramblings about biblical studies, the ancient Near East, bicycling, gardening, or anything else I am reading (or experiencing). All more or less live from Red Wing, MN
Monday, September 02, 2024
Transformation
God’s grace is displayed in the midst of human unrighteousness, not because God is morally indifferent (that would undermine his capacity to judge the world, [Rom] 3:6), but because he intends to transform the human condition. As apostle to the Gentiles, Paul is perpetually conscious of the incongruity of grace as gift to the ungodly and disobedient; but his goal is not their continuing disobedience, but “the obedience of faith” (1:5). Deriving from faith, this obedience is the product of a life created through God’s incongruous gift; as obedience, it is committed to patterns of behavior that befit its new allegiance. That the life of a believer thus remains an incongruous gift at the same time as it conforms to the holiness of God is a paradox we shall carry into the study of Romans 5-8.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 492
No comments:
Post a Comment