Daily reflections

In Romans 4 Paul continues his attack on the idea that it's by 'works of the Law' that people are made right with God. That can't be true, he says, because Abraham was accepted by God as 'righteous' before he was circumcised...

There's a clear theme in this chapter, though – like the rest of Romans – it is dense and rich in argument. Paul is overwhelmed with a sense of the scope and scale of salvation. It's not enough for God to have forgiven...

Paul has thought deeply about what the death of Christ means. Death is an ending; it cancels everything about a person's life. If we are baptised into union with Christ and 'share' in that death (verse 4), our old life is...

There's no chapter in Paul's writing that has been discussed and argued over as much as Romans 7, and it's certainly complicated. But there are some straightforward truths here too. He says the Law 'made me know what sin is...

Here Paul delves into the long conflict between good and evil in human nature. Now, he says, we have a divine power, the Holy Spirit, on our side. The death of Christ was a decisive moment, and we share in his resurrection...

Romans 9–11 is a separate section in Paul's letter; some have even suggested that he might have included here something he'd already written. In these chapters, he's exploring what it means to be a Jew in the light of God...

Paul in this chapter continues his argument that we are made right with God through believing in Christ. But most Jews, and all Gentiles, would be completely nonplussed by this. Jews would need the Scriptures explaining to...

Paul explains more here about the position of the Jews within God's plans. Most, he says, have historically not responded to his grace, and it's the same in his own time. However, God's covenant with them remains. They are...

There's a sharp change in tone between chapters 11 and 12. From technical arguments about Jews and Gentiles, Paul soars into a meditation on what God's mercy means for our conduct. In a society where status was everything...