On Romans 1 and 2

Someone in an online discussion about same sex marriage asked me how I filtered Romans 1 and 2 through the lens of Christ.

First let's do what Jesus does and consider the individual person and situation. Just as each of the gospels is written by a different individual having different gifts and backgrounds and speaking to different audiences, so do the epistles. In this case we are talking about Paul. A Pharisee, someone who never spent time with Jesus or observed him in action. Called by God to make use of his education, skill, and passion to make up for the persecution of those who walked in The Way.

The audience is the nascent church in Rome. The gentile population in Rome was exposed to the worship of multiple gods. (I've stood within the Pantheon that is still located there which points out that reality.) Paul speaks to the young Christians and acknowledges that even the pagans had an understanding of "God" in their hearts, despite not having grown up with the Jewish understanding. And he warns this group to be careful that now that they have been informed about Jesus, they should not mingle their theology with the old ways. He mentions making idols that look like birds and animals etc. And those old ways of worshiping lower case gods were characterized by many negative characteristics, including debased sexual practices.

Paul pulls out his extensive understanding of scripture to try to convince the population that bad things will happen if they try to mix gods and God. Just as it was bad for the band that had been freed from Egypt.

He talks about lusts. Lusting is bad. It's often coupled with coveting, fornication, and adultery. And that goes for all humans, regardless of orientation. In verse 24 he talks about dishonering of their bodies, perhaps in reference to masturbation (an action clearly not limited to homosexuals.) In verse 27 he talks about being "consumed with passion". God does not want us to be consumed with anything but him. He wants all of our being to focus on him, and our sexuality to be channeled through that relationship.

But it is interesting that there is such a focus on just the sexual statements, when the list of bad stuff is long. And many of those bad behaviors run just as rampant in Christian circles as in pagan.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ... 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

I wish that I could say this list of crappy behaviors is not found among Christians. But sadly that would be a lie. In recent online discussions about the same sex marriage ruling by the Supreme Court, I have seen countless examples of Christian malice, slander, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness, and heartlessness. The passage above says that the wrath of God is against ALL the ungodliness and unrighteousness included in that list. But unlike those very Christians who act in these ways, I will not proclaim, as if carrying God's holy hammer of justice, that they will burn in hell.

For God himself knows more than all of us. And he sent Jesus Christ so that we could be saved by grace, through faith. And Romans warns us that reliance on law makes us subject to the law.

As for me, I accept Jesus' offer which Paul describes. I return to the covenant of Abraham; a relationship that took place prior to Moses and his thousands of rules.