NARRATIVE THEOLOGY AND PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS: PRELIMINARY EXPLORATIONS

By

Joel Swearingen

completed in partial requirement for the class BIB 452

Dr. Daniel Ebert Clearwater Christian College

December 2006

2

INTRODUCTION

The study of Paul’s letter to the Romans in the last 25 years, and especially in the last 10, has

been consumed with talk of the New Perspective on Paul advanced by N.T. Wright and others.

However, outside of the study of Romans, a different issue confronts the church with

overwhelming magnitude. That issue is the church’s response to postmodern culture, especially

as is evident in the Emerging Church. A great deal of work has been done in applying the New

Perspective to Romans, and study on postmodernism and the church’s relationship to culture and

Scripture abounds. A study of Romans in light of postmodernity, particularly with regard to the

postfoundational work of men such as Franke and Grenz,1 is not prominent in the current

spectrum of theological studies. This paper will record some preliminary study done on Romans

in light of the postmodern enrichments of theology that have been suggested by James Smith in

Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? The primary issues that will be addressed are the starting point

for Christians who come to the text of Romans, reading Romans in light of its underlying

Trinitarian narrative, and some suggestions will be made for further study in this area.

STARTING POINTS

Of primary importance to the study of Romans is the believer’s starting point in coming to the

text. In other words, what is the place of reference from which I read the book of Romans? Do I

come to Romans as one who has no preconceived ideas, with the intention of coming to a

rational understanding of its teaching? The answer to that should be apparent for anyone who has

taken a class in philosophy or apologetics. Everyone has presuppositions that they bring to the

table. 1 See John Franke and Stanley Grenz, Beyond Foundationalism (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000) and Stanley Grenz, Renewing the Center (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000).

3

What then is my starting point? Do I come to the text as a Reformed Presbyterian Christian or

a Baptist and Fundamentalist? Or should I come to the text merely as a Christian? How does

orthodoxy fit in? Do we automatically assume the integrity of orthodoxy, or do we willingly let

orthodox beliefs be challenged?

The above questions are difficult to answer, because all readers of Scripture (and any text)

come from a particular cultural and ideological tradition that influences the way they think.

Without providing all the answers that are needed, perhaps the following would give a basic

starting point from which to read the book of Romans. We read Romans as the community of

God’s people, who are created, redeemed, and empowered by the Triune God, and as such, we

have a vital continuity with the community in Rome that Paul was writing to. This is our basic

starting point—as members of the people of God. The other questions are still there, but this is

where we start from. Certain orthodox truths come out as we examine what the community is.

For example, the Trinity is essential for the Christian community. However, in order to nuance

this starting point and understand how it fits into the big picture of the book of Romans, another

question should be asked: what was Paul’s starting point?

Perhaps this question will guide us further in the right direction as we read the book of

Romans. What did Paul presuppose or assume as he wrote the letter to the Romans? What

guided his thinking? Was it a set of orthodox propositions? Paul obviously makes clear

propositional claims about theological matters. For example, “the just shall live by faith,” and

“the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.” He rationally explains justification,

sanctification, and many other doctrines. What lies underneath all of this?

4

The way that I will attempt to answer these questions is to read Romans in one sitting, and

observe what underlies all of his teaching in the book. If I was a non-Christian, with no

conception of Christian orthodoxy, would a certain narrative or worldview become clear in

Paul’s letter? In order to answer this question, I have read straight through Romans, observing

the underlying narratives within the letter. These observations will now be noted.

READING ROMANS FOR UNDERLYING NARRATIVE

Romans is often regarded as the magna cum laude of Christian propositional proclamation.

Who has not read Romans 6 or 9 and been impressed with the clear reasoning that Paul uses to

make his points? However, is it right to read Romans as a tightly wound set of propositional

statements of truth?

Before examining in detail the underlying narratives found in Romans, I must briefly address

“narrative truth” as it is talked about in Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? by James Smith:

First, narrative is a more fully orbed means of communication (and hence revelation), activating the imagination and involving the whole person in a concrete world where God’s story unfolds. Second, Christian faith-unlike almost any other world religion (with the exception of Judaism)—is not a religion simply of ideas that have been collected. The faith is inextricably linked to the events and story of God’s redemptive action in the world: Christian faith rests on the work can only be properly proclaimed by being narrated, by telling a story. The notion of reducing Christian faith to four spiritual laws signals a deep capitulation to scientific knowledge, whereas postmodernism signals the recovery of narrative knowledge and should entail a more robust, unapologetic proclamation of the story of God in Christ. This is why the Scriptures must remain central for the postmodern church, for it is precisely the story of the canon of Scripture that narrates our faith.2

. Several important thoughts arise from this passage for a narrative, contemporary reading of

Romans. First, the problem with reading Romans as a set of propositions that are true is not that

true propositions are lacking in Romans. Paul makes propositionally true statements in Romans.

He would have agreed to the proposition, “Man is only justified by faith in Jesus Christ.”

Second, the “recovery of narrative knowledge” is a powerful statement regarding the underlying

2 James Smith, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 75.

5

basis of Romans. For example, a simple statement such as “God is love” really has very little

meaning without the narrative framework provided by the biblical narrative. Any number of

religions could say that God is love. That proposition is not distinctively Christian. But when it

is set in the context, not of more propositions, but of the divine acts in history, the real meaning

of the covenant love and faithfulness of God to his people through his Son by the power of His

Spirit is evident. This same sort of idea can then be applied to a narrative reading of Romans.

Let me clarify one point before moving into a brief perusal of the main underlying narrative

in Romans. It would be a stretch to say that Paul bases his entire epistle around the

chronological sequence of the Biblical narrative. He doesn’t move fluidly through the book of

Genesis and then into the judges and kings and prophets and so on. He is writing a letter to the

community of faith at Rome, and as such, has many things that he wishes to tell them that relate

to their specific circumstances. The opening presents his personalized greeting to them, and in

Chapter 16 he refers to many people by name. He’s not developing the biblical narrative per se.

But what I am suggesting is that underneath everything that Paul says is the assumption of the

Judeo-Christian worldview and narrative, which roots everything that he says in truth and reality,

rather than in the abstract realm of ideas. We now turn to an examination of the underlying

narrative in Romans, beginning with creation.

Creation

In terms of the biblical story, creation out of necessity comes first. Genesis 1 and 2 narrate

the story of creation. This is the beginning of the drama that will be played out throughout the

pages of Scripture. This biblical-theological narrative theme underlies the book of Romans at

more than one point. In chapter 1, Paul is dealing with the ungodliness that was going on at the

time. He roots everything that he says in creation in verses 19-20, “For what can be known

6

about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes,

namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation

of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” While Paul is not

in these few verses trying to structure the entire beginning of his letter around the creation story,

it does provide the basis for what he is saying.

And it does not provide the basis in a modernistic, rationalistic way, appealing to some

abstract truth about creation. Rather, Paul appeals to the “things that have been made.” The

story of Genesis 1 colorfully illustrates the beauty of the creative act of God in history—the birds,

the trees, the flowers, the land animals, and most of all, man, both male and female. Paul further

notes about those people who are wrapped up in wickedness, “Claiming to be wise, they became

fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds

and animals and reptiles.” Again, while certainly we can learn propositionally about the imago

dei from this passage, what is it that grounds this verse in reality? Is it not that God breathed

man into existence in order to have a relationship with a creature that is in His image? The

creation narrative that underlies this brief mention of creation in Paul’s letter is highly relational

rather than propositional.

Fall

Chapter 1 has the underlying fall narrative in view also, for it refers to the effects of the fall

that continue up to the present day. 3:23 also evidences this, “All have sinned and fall short of

the glory of God.” However, chapter 5 especially shows that Paul has the biblical narrative in

mind as his starting point for his letter. Verses 12-14 say,

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

7

Clearly the fall narrative of Genesis 3 is in view here. Paul isn’t simply explaining propositions

here. He is placing the gospel experience of the Roman believers in light of the biblical story

which relates the fall of man, specifically Adam.

Redemption

Redemption is clearly evident in the book of Romans. Paul spends a great deal of time

addressing redemption in Christ. In fact, shortly after addressing the Fall and sin in chapter 3, he

moves to the justification achieved for us by the grace of Christ. In Chapter 5 he expands greatly

on the way that we have life through Christ. He places the work of Christ in the context of the

biblical story by relating it back to the Fall narrative—“as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all

be made alive.” This teaches the great narrative of the Bible clearly—in Genesis 1, God made a

perfect creation. In Genesis 3, man fell, and with him the whole creation suffered the effects of

sin. From Genesis 3 to Christ, the promise of redemption by the Messiah is consistently

interwoven throughout Biblical history. Paul has this story at the heart of everything that he says,

from talking about Abraham in Chapter 4, to dealing with the law, which covered a long period

of Biblical history, and finally to Christ, who brought forgiveness to those whose sins God had

passed over. Paul is not talking about justification by faith or any other doctrine in Romans in a

vacuum. He talks about everything with the reality of the Biblical story in mind.

Restoration

In Romans 8, Paul addresses the restoration of the creation. Verses 18-23 say,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

8

These verses reflect the creation, fall, and ultimate restoration of the world. This passage

demonstrates what is so important to the Biblical narrative—a linear view of history. God

created the world, and He is directing it to a certain point, when he will restore all things. While

the coming of Christ brought forgiveness and freedom from sin, God is doing more than just that.

God is bringing the whole world to completion.

Summary

The above could be considered a simple sketch of the Biblical narrative—creation, fall,

redemption, and restoration. It is the model suggested especially by Reformed thinkers such as

Vos and Schaeffer. It represents not propositions, but movements in the story of the Bible; not

logical syllogisms, but the acts of God in history.

To perhaps clear up what exactly is intended by all of the above, let me ask a question. What

would be your impression of Romans if you were not Christian, had no familiarity with the Bible,

and were simply trying to read and understand what Paul was saying to the Roman Christians?

While I am not able to so strip myself of my presuppositions, upbringing, and tradition, I believe

that it would be fair to suggest the following: one would realize that in order to understand what

Paul is saying, he or she must understand something that lies barely underneath everything that

Paul says, namely, the biblical narrative which reveals the work of God in history. When Paul

talks about creation, you would have to go back to the Old Testament to understand what that is

talking about, for the Biblical account of creation is very different than that proposed by other

worldviews. When Paul talks about sin, the question of sin’s origin naturally arises. Usually that

is regarded as a philosophical question, but in reality, it is a question of story. How did life

become so difficult? Go back to Genesis 3 and find out. What is with the Israelites and

Abraham? Go back and read the biblical story. What’s this about Jesus? Go back to the gospels

9

and read the stories about Jesus. Who is this Paul character? Go back and read in the book of

Acts about Paul’s experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. What is the

restoration that is spoken about? Go and read the story that John tells in the last part of

Revelation. Romans is rooted in stories, and above all, the story. It shaped everything that Paul

talked about. He wasn’t writing a work of fiction; Paul was writing a letter to the Roman

believers. But underneath all of his talk about creation and the fall and redemption and

restoration is a grand drama that resonates with us because it is really our story as well.

What is noticeably missing from this discussion? To this point, the place of the Trinity in the

narrative of Scripture has not been addressed. This is a problem, because the Biblical narrative is

at its heart a Trinitarian narrative. This is an area that demands further attention, and some space

will be given to it when the prologue to the epistle is looked at later in this paper.

SUB-NARRATIVES IN ROMANS

The last post was spent examining the main underlying narrative in the book of Romans. That

narrative is the storyline of the Bible, concisely seen as a drama with four acts—creation, fall,

redemption, and restoration. However, there is much more under the surface of the book of

Romans than simply the main storyline of the Bible. There are sub-narratives that reinforce and

help to explain the big narrative. Those smaller stories will now be examined in order to enrich

my examination of the main underlying narrative in Romans.

Types of Sub-Narratives

The sub-narratives in Romans can be divided into two categories: Old Testament stories, and

the personal stories. The personal stories can be further divided into two groups: Paul’s story

and the Roman believers’ story. The two main categories can be observed even in the first 8

10

verses of the letter. While they will be deal with in more detail later, several features can be

noted at this point. One, Paul relates part of his own narrative, how he was called by Christ to be

an apostle to be a witness to the nations (a typical epistolary feature for Paul’s writing). Two, he

relates some of the big-picture story of the Bible, that Jesus came in the flesh, but was the Son of

God, and died and rose from the dead. Three, the Trinity is interwoven throughout the verses,

referring to God who sent His Son, and the Spirit of holiness. Four, the narrative of Paul’s

witness to the Roman believers is assumed as he refers to their community of faith. Because

Paul is writing a letter to the Romans, there is a great deal of narrative background that must be

assumed in order to understand what he is talking about. Indeed, the full impact of the letter on

the Roman community of believers can only be felt when one realizes that Paul is writing to

them with the story that changed their lives in mind. He is also writing to them as their friend,

brother, and spiritual mentor, because of the story played out in history in which God used Paul

as his witness to the people who are now formed into a community of faith that is called to be

like Christ.

Old Testament Stories that Support the Main Narrative

In this section I am simply going to catalogue the Old Testament stories that jump out from

the text when one reads it with narrative in mind. The references cited are not meant to indicate

that it is simply the one verse that suggests an underlying Old Testament story, for often Paul

goes on extended discourses that require understanding of a particular Old Testament narrative.

I will include the mainline narrative that was already discussed in the last post. This list is not

exhaustive, for Paul is so thoroughly biblical—meaning that he is grounded in the stories and

teaching of the Old Testament—that his letters ooze with the Old Testament. The 16 uses of “it

is written” alone would be enough to indicate this.

11

� 1.3 David and his royal line leading to Christ

� 1.20 The creation narrative in Genesis 1-2

� 2.12 The law given to the Jews in the Old Testament (especially through Moses)

� 2.25 Circumcision, especially the narrative of God’s covenant of circumcision with

Abraham in Genesis 17

� 3.23 The Fall narrative of Genesis 3

� 3.24 The redemption narrative that starts at Genesis 3:15

� 4 The faith of Abraham narrative in Genesis 12-22

� 5 The Fall narrative of Genesis 3 (and correlation with the redemption narrative that

starts in Genesis 3 by interrelating the first and last Adam)

� 7 Law narrative (provides background for Paul’s discussion of the struggle with doing

right when one’s heart is evil)

� 8:19 Creation and Fall narrative of Genesis 1-3

� 8:23 Restoration narrative that is a theme throughout the OT

� 8.26-30 Pre-creation narrative of Triune intention to save

� 9:1 The narrative of the Israelites leading to the birth of Christ

� 9:6 Abraham and Isaac narrative from Genesis 17, 21 and following

� 9:10 Jacob and Esau narrative from Genesis 25 and following

� 10:21 The recurring theme in the OT of the Israelites breaking covenant with God

� 11.1-4 The Elijah narrative

� 11:17 The narrative of God’s building of his covenant people through the symbol of an

olive tree

12

� 15:8 The expectation of the OT regarding the salvation of the Gentiles (expected

narrative in promise/shadow form)

� 16:25 Reflects the big narrative of promising Christ, who finally came

It is important to not simply view the underlying sub-narratives as background information.

They are more than that—they are the acts of God in history that reveal Himself to His people.

Thus the sub-narratives give the divine context of the big narrative. The biblical story—creation,

fall, redemption, and restoration—was and is acted out in space and time, through the covenants

with Adam, with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, with Moses, with the nation of Israel, with

David, and through the deliverance God provides for his people continually. This then further

reinforces the understanding that the truth of the book of Romans is rooted not in timeless

propositional statements, but rather in the reality of God’s revealing of himself in history through

the biblical narrative.

Personal Narratives in the Book of Romans

What I am calling the “personal narratives” in the book of Romans includes both the story of

Paul’s conversion and ministry and the conversion and life of the community of faith in Rome.

The first 8 verses contain the underlying conversion and call narrative of Paul, as well as the

calling of the Roman believers. However, this continues throughout the book. What follows is

another listing of these personal sub-narratives, though again, it is not an exhaustive list.

� 1.1 Paul’s conversion and calling to apostleship

� 1.5 Paul’s call to preach the gospel to the nations

� 1.6 The Roman believers were called to be God’s people

� 1.8f Paul’s desire to travel to see the Roman community

� 12.3-13 Narrative of life in the community

13

� 13.1 Representation of how the Christian community’s story should play out in relation

to government

� 15.22 Paul’s personal travel narrative, with his desire to travel by Rome on the way to

Spain

� 16.3-16 So many stories of individuals who came into contact with Paul (by name)

� 16.17 Stories of division in the body by divisive people

� 16.21-23 More stories relating to individual people

So not only is there a host of Old Testament allusions that enrich our understanding of the

biblical story, but there are personal stories that shed light on how the biblical story intercepted

the stories of individual people and communities. To know the stories of every person

mentioned in chapter 16 would be a wonderful testimony of the working of the grace of God in

history. The biblical story is not something that relates only to “biblical” figures (which for the

New Testament believers would have been the Old Testament saints). The biblical story

includes the present aspect of the story, which is the building of the church of Jesus Christ. And

the biblical story is truly experienced when the old man is put to death, and the new man in the

image of Christ is built up as one who has trusted in Jesus.

NARRATIVE IN THE PROLOGUE

The prologue to Romans is a passage that is thoroughly rooted in the main biblical narrative

as well as the in Old Testament and the personal narratives of Paul and the Roman believers.

The first 8 verses will now be analyzed, looking specifically for six things:

1. The main biblical narrative underlying Paul’s thought.

2. The Trinitarian overtones of the biblical narrative.

14

3. The Old Testament sub-narratives that enrich the main narrative.

4. The personal narrative of Paul’s conversion and ministry.

5. The personal narrative that documents the formation of the Roman community.

6. The ultimate global concern of the narrative as lived out by Paul.

I will argue that all six of these features are clear in the first 8 verses, and that they provide us

with a “model” for reading the rest of the book with narrative concerns in mind. As I work

through the six features, it is important to remember that they are all woven together, not

separately stated. They work together to provide a beautiful picture of the story of the Bible that

changed Paul, changed the Roman believers, and will ultimately change the world.

The Main Biblical Narrative

Driving Paul’s thinking in the first 8 verses is the Christocentric narrative of the Scriptures.

This doesn’t mean that Paul includes every major movement of the Biblical narrative in these

verses. But it does mean that Paul has the mainline narrative of Scripture girding up his opening

thoughts. Consider the following features of the verses:

� Verse 2 sets the gospel in terms of the big picture of promise/fulfillment: “which he

promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.”

� Verses 3 and 4 deal with the coming of Christ, both his incarnation and his resurrection,

which brings about redemption for the people of God.

� Verse 5 gives a hint of the restoration motif, in that the “obedience of faith” will be going

to all the nations. Christ is restoring the whole world, and will one day finally bring

about the new creation, in which everyone will confess Him as Lord.

Nothing in these verses is said about creation or the fall specifically. But what is being argued is

that underlying all of Paul’s thought is the main story. And everything in a story is dependent on

15

what happens before it. So when Paul talks about the Son, and David, and the resurrection from

the dead, it assumes a beginning to the history in which all this happened, as well as some

problem that happened in the world that Christ came to resolve. So even though not every

feature of the mainline story is there, the structure of biblical history is still retained.

The Trinitarian Basis of the Biblical Narrative

Consider the explicit mentions of the persons of the Trinity in these verses:

� Christ was declared to be the Son of God (so this explicitly refers to the Father and the

Son).

� The Spirit of holiness worked in the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

These are very explicit references to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It

even reveals to a certain extent how Paul views their respective roles in the outworking of the

biblical narrative. For example, it shows implicitly that God the Father sent the Son, for He

refers to the promises He made about the coming Savior through the prophets. It also

demonstrates that the Spirit is the source of life-giving power, especially through the resurrection

of the dead. Verse 6 assumes the work of the Spirit, for it refers to those who are called to be the

people of God. The calling of God is through the Spirit, who changes men’s hearts so that they

will respond with the “obedience of faith.” The Trinity is thus inextricably intertwined with the

story of the Bible which shapes the Christian worldview.

Old Testament Sub-Narratives Which Enrich the Main Narrative

These 8 verses contain two primary allusions to Old Testament narratives which support the

main narrative. Verse 2 talks about the promises being made through the prophets in the

Scriptures. That sentence is loaded with meaning for one who has read the Old Testament

prophets. The prophets were those who declared the Word of God to His people, who warned of

16

God’s judgment and promised God’s mercy to those who were faithful to the covenant. There is

story after story about the prophets, as they struggled with the unfaithfulness of the people, and

at times, their own hearts. Yet they all proclaimed the mercy and faithfulness of God even in the

most difficult times. This mirrors the main story of Scripture, for God is working in the world to

save His people, bringing it ultimately to the restoration of all things. But it localizes the big

story in specific situations in which servants of God experienced God in their lives.

Verse 3 refers to David being the one from whose line the Christ was to come. David was a

main character in the history of God’s people in the Old Testament, and his story abounds with

tales of faithfulness and faithlessness. This one who committed adultery was the one who

established the kingdom of God, and whose kingdom Christ was to inherit forever. David was

moved by the promise of the biblical narrative, for he expected a descendant who would right

everything that went wrong in his life and kingdom. He experienced God in a powerful way.

This story, which is assumed in Paul’s prologue, also helps to localize the big story of Scripture.

It is important to realize that the big story is not an up-in-the-clouds kind of story. Graeme

Goldsworthy says,

Since the Bible does not consist of a lot of abstract ideas or philosophical thoughts, but rather emphasizes the acts of God within creation and in history, it is necessary for biblical theology to avoid the merely abstract and to concentrate on the actual events and their interpretation as given in the Bible.3

So when one reads Romans, it important to see that this big, wonderful narrative happened in the

lives of real people, emphasizing the “acts of God within creation and in history.” That is where

the power of these verses lies—everything that Paul says is rooted in a story that makes sense of

all of history because it really happened in history.

The Personal Narrative of Paul’s Conversion and Ministry

3 Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 77.

17

As is typical of Paul in the prologues to his letters, he describes himself as a servant of Christ

who was called to be an apostle by the grace of God, in order that he could bring about the

“obedience of faith” in the nations. Paul realizes (as he does in Galatians 1) that he was set apart

for the gospel of God. His own salvation is recorded in Acts 9, and that story shapes his thinking,

which is demonstrated in his letters. Further, the book of Acts chronicles how God called Paul to

be an apostle and to take the gospel to the nations, and the sense of identity that Paul has in his

calling further shapes his letter. The biblical story deeply confronted Paul on the Damascus road,

and his calling in life from that point on was to bring the biblical narrative to others. So not only

does the narrative of the Scriptures gird up Paul’s writing, but his own experience shapes it. This

further strengthens the reality that the biblical story works in actual history, changing the lives of

real people.

The Personal Narrative of the Roman Community of Faith

While no details are given as to how the believers in Rome came to faith, underlying Paul’s

letter is the understanding that the believers were changed by the Spirit. There is a story behind

their formation as the community of faith at Rome. Paul knew that story, and he writes to them

as a community of people changed by the Spirit of God for the mission of God in the world.

Again, this shows that the biblical narrative is not a series of abstract principles, but a living

story that takes place within human history.

The Ultimate Global Concern of the Narrative

Paul understood that the story was always meant to go to the ends of the earth. His particular

calling as an apostle was to take the story of Christ to where he had not yet been named.4 This

global concern is fundamental to his understanding of the biblical narrative. The story of the

Scriptures is one of God’s mission in the world. God created the world perfectly, but it fell and 4 See 15:20

18

He promised redemption in His Son, who changes the lives of people by the Spirit. This story is

missional in nature, and the mission is global, looking forward to the time when all the nations

will confess Christ as Lord.

Searching for Integration

I would suggest that the above understanding of the first 8 verses can provide a model for

working through the rest of the book of Romans. If Paul is writing with the big global narrative,

the sub-narratives, his own narrative, and the Romans’ narrative in mind, then we should expect

to see those features underlying the whole book. The following diagram helps to explain how all

of what was presented above can work together as a model for the rest of the book.

At the heart of the prologue is the main biblical story. This roots all of Paul’s teaching in reality

and in the power of God. This story radically changed the course of Paul’s life, and his

experience of the risen Christ shapes his thoughts in the letter as well. Paul’s letter is also

thoroughly community-minded, for he writes to the Roman believers with the story of their

coming to faith being foundational to his letter to them. All of this is rooted in Paul’s mission in

19

life: the expansion of the Lordship of Christ to the whole world. So when one reads the book of

Romans, these “narrative circles” can provide a model for understanding. The big story shapes

everything, but it comes to life as it is experienced by Paul and other believers.

I would like to suggest further that not only does this provide a sound framework for

understanding Romans, but it also gives a sober call for the community of faith in the 21st

century to embrace its calling in the world. James Smith says, “Crucial for our discipleship and

formation is being able to write ourselves into the story of God’s redeeming action in the

world—being able to find our role in the play, our character in the story.”5 With the above

model in mind, Smith’s words are helpful, because they urge the community of faith in the 21st

Century to “write itself into God’s story,” which means taking part in God’s mission. The

community of faith, in its worship and teaching, is centered on the biblical story, but this story

has come to its own communal life, and sends it out to embrace the mission of God in the world.

So the church must be involved in the expansion of the gospel to all the nations, because that is

its place in the biblical story.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Much information has been presented about the underlying narratives in the book of

Romans. What has been said should be regarded as explorations into the narrative character of

Romans, rather than definitive statements about how Romans should be understood. The

essence of what is being claimed here is this: Romans can best be understood when one reads it

in light of the grand Trinitarian narrative of Scripture which underlies everything that Paul says,

because the reality and power of Romans lies not in propositional statements, but in the

missional story of God that began in Genesis and continues in the church today. 5 Smith, 75.

20

With that being said, there are many areas left unexplored and undeveloped. Some of them

are vitally important to this effort to read Romans in a way that is faithful to the text and

sensitive to the underlying concerns of Paul.

1. Work needs to be done on how particularly the underlying narrative of Romans is

decidedly Trinitarian.

2. I hinted at several times the way in which Romans should be read as the community of

faith. Along with integrating the narrative with the Trinity, the basis for community in

the Trinity should be explored in Romans.

3. The missional theme of Paul’s life should be explored along with the missional nature of

the entire Biblical story.

Those three points could have been developed more in my study, however, this is merely a

preliminary exploration into this area. The model suggested by the diagram above should

provide a foundation to build from, so that further study can be done to understand how Romans

aids the church in fulfilling her role in the missional story of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

21

Works Cited

Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Smith, James. Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.