_In this Bible study on Romans 3, we will go through the three processes of Understanding, Application and Communication.
___ A. The Process of Understanding
We use the acronym "START" to determine how the original receivers understood the message.
1. Situation
Biblical
scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul,[1] to explain
that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is by
far the longest of the Pauline epistles, and is considered his "most
important theological legacy".
The main purpose of the epistle is
given by Paul in Chapter 1:1, where he reveals that he is set apart by
God for the purpose of preaching the Gospel.[27] He wishes to impart to
the readers a gift of encouragement and assurance in all that God has
freely given them (see Romans 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 2:12).
Romans 3: 21-26 is in Prose form. The form of Prose is Explanation. There are no instructions in this passage.
Hint: All the letters (epistles) of the New Testament is in this genre.
3. Analyze the passage
The structure is very simple and easy to determine.
A - verses 21-22: Faith puts in the right relationship with God B - verse 23: We all fall short to the glory of God C - verses 24-26: The sacrifice of Jesus made us right with God
__Message of Romans 3: 21-26Sin (self-centeredness) has separated us
from intimacy with God. The only way to bring us back (reconcile) to God
was through the sacrifice of Jesus which paid for the penalty of sin.
The
sacrifice of Jesus has put us right with God and that is not because we
are good but because of undeserved kindness shown by God.
4. Relate the message to the rest of the Bible
In this step we determine whether the findings of the previous steps relate to the rest of the Bible.
The
message relates to the rest of the Bible. It is very clear that this
message is an essential and therefor applicable to us. There is no
references to the triple C's (Ceremonial - and Civil law as well as
Cultural practices).
5. Test your findings
In this step you test your own findings (Biblical interpretation) against those of others.(e.g. commentaries and study Bibles)
The commentaries and study Bibles confirm that the message to the original receivers is:
The message to the original receiver is:
Sin
(self-centeredness) has separated us from intimacy with God. The only
way to bring us back (reconcile) to God was through the sacrifice of
Jesus which paid for the penalty of sin.
The sacrifice of Jesus
has put us right with God and that is not because we are good but
because of undeserved kindness shown by God.
B. The Process of Application
In
this process we determine whether the message to the original receiver
is applicable (essential) or not (incidental) to our situation.
It is very clear that this message is an essential. There are no references to the triple C's (Ceremonial - and Civil law as well as Cultural practices).
C. The Process of Communication
In this process we communicate the message to a specific target group.
Discuss the following questions …
Scenario for group discussion: Your friend got a promotion and following the promotion she / he experienced that some of her / his colleagues were very jealous and did not treat her / him very well.
1. Discuss in the group how you will comfort her / him.
2. Share in your groups of situations in your life where you also experienced arrogance and jealousy and how you dealt with it.
3. Read Day 28 from “The Bible as Your GPS” or Page 36 from “Hearing God’s Tweet”
Ask the group how they feel about this devotion and how it can help to address the problem of jealousy.
