Romans from a First-Century Jewish Perspective

By
Adrian A. Bernal
Frederick, Maryland, U.S.A.
All Rights Reserved © 2013, 2020
 Romans from a First-Century Jewish Perspective
Introduction

The underlying truth of the gospel message in the letter to the Romans is that

Yahweh is the God of the Jews and of the nations equally by the grace of God through

faith in Christ Jesus (Yeshua HaMashiach). This is commonly referred to as the Shema

within Jewish and Messianic Jewish circles:1 “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the

LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4, NIV) 2 meaning, that Yahweh is not only the God for

the Jews but that there is only one God for all the nations on the earth as well. Albeit, the

overall extension of the Shema’s message was not realized among the Jews until the New

Covenant was established by Yeshua and recognized by his followers as such. Thus, the

fullness of the Gentiles had begun and the work among the gentiles was now being

realized through the apostles; especially, through the work of the Apostle Paul (Romans

11:25). Despite the simplicity of Romans, however, its message has been lost through its

various interpretive Christian readings of the letter with their dismissals of Torah

observance and other church doctrines not realized.

No other work in the New Testament (Apostolic Writings) has been more

challenged and expounded on than Paul’s letter to the Romans. It has been the champion

book for both early church fathers and modern exegetes regarding the birth or movement

of Christianity and its theological arguments for or against Paul’s conversion to

Christianity and his dismissal of the Torah and Judaism, which is nothing more than

Supersessionism (Replacement Theology). And, although Romans has been expounded

1
Mark D. Nanos, The Mystery of Romans: The Jewish Context of Paul’s Letters (Minneapolis,
MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1996), pp. 180-181.
2
The Holy Bible: New International Version, electronic edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1996). All Scriptural quotations will be taken from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

1
 2

on throughout the centuries, modern scholars admit to several problems which arise in

their readings of Romans in regards to its apparent impartiality among Jews and Gentiles

(Romans 2:11) and grace over works (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8), for when in one

chapter—chapter two—five passages appear to challenge these views (verses 7, 10, 13,

14-15, and 25-27). Richard N. Longenecker in Romans & the People of God: Essays in

Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of His 65 th Birthday, states:

The first problem text appears in 2:7, 10, where it is said that God will give “eternal
life”—or, “glory, honor, and peace”—to those who persistently do good works . . .
The second is 2:13, where it is said that “those who obey the law [are the ones] who
will be declared righteous,” which seems to be in conflict with Paul’s statement
about no one being declared righteous by observing the law in 3:20, . . . The third is
2:14-15, where there is the parenthetical statement that some Gentiles do by nature
“the things of the law” and “show the work of law written in their hearts” . . . The
fourth problem text is 2:25-27, which appears to be built on the assumption that
righteousness is associated with the practice of the Mosaic law. 3

Therefore, if these problems exist as Longenecker argues in the book of Romans, then

what seems to be the overall evidence for the Christian movement in defense of grace

alone may well be a letter, which is confusing at least and heretical at most in its various

interpretive approaches regarding the dismissal of the Torah (Law). Meaning that if Paul

is not advocating for a dismissal of the Law and its observance in regards to faith in the

Messiah, then the myriad teachings which have followed and have resulted in its

dismissal are heretical or deceptive at best and must be considered false doctrines; yet,

the complete opposite holds true within Christianity today.

Frankly, the word “works” has become a negative concept in Christianity when

connected to one’s salvation regardless of its true meaning within first-century Judaism

and its real cohesive understanding alongside one’s salvation. This is understandable

3
Richard N. Longenecker, “The Focus of Romans: The Central Role of 5:1-8:39 in the Argument
of the Letter,” in Romans & the People of God: Essays in Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of His
65th Birthday (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), p. 52.
 3

when seen in the light of how salvation is granted; however, salvation and works are only

semi-separate concepts; yet, related within Judaism and must be understood as such,

which is exactly how first-century Jewish believers would have understood those

concepts. The idea was not two opposing theologies; rather, two ideas that work in

concert with each other. James (Ya’akov) states it best when he writes:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save him? . . . In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your
faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that
there is one God [Israel’s Shema]. Good! Even the demons believe that—and
shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered
his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working
together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was
fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by
what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the
prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies
and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without deeds is dead (emphases added, James 2:14, 17ff).

In essence what Ya’akov is writing about to his fellow Jewish believers among the

nations is that their labor in serving the Lord through their righteous deeds (walking

according to Torah, or halakhot) was faith in action and a must for one’s declaration of

being a follower of the Messiah. Thus, works are the evidence of one’s salvation, not the

granting of it. Grace alone leads to salvation, but once a person is saved works become

apparent, and not only for the Jew.

During the second-temple period, there were groups of gentiles who became a

part of the greater commonwealth of Israel including attendance at synagogue meetings

and worshiping at the temple. However, there were certain behaviors expected among the

gentile worshipers by the Jewish people if they were, indeed, to be accepted (Acts 15).
 4

Expecting gentiles to walk out their faith (halakhot) in the messiah was not conducive to

the formation of the Church, but rather, it was something already expected within the

Jewish community. And, although some gentiles became complete converts to Judaism

(proselytes) by becoming Jews through the practice of circumcision and other religious

rites, godly gentiles or God-fearers have always been accepted among the Jewish people

as righteous gentiles. Daniel Boyarin states:

By blurring the boundaries between “Jews” and “Christians,” we are making clearer
the historical situation and development of early “Judaism” and Christianity. We can
understand much better the significance of our historical documents, including the
Gospels, when we imagine a state of affairs that more properly reflects the social
situation on the ground of that time, a social situation in which believers in Jesus of
Nazareth and those who didn’t follow him were mixed up with each other in various
ways rather than separated into two well-defined entities that we know today as
Judaism and Christianity.

Among those different types of Jews, we will find “proselytes, God-fearers, and
gerim.”4 The “proselytes” were non-Jews who completely threw their lot in with the
Jewish people and became Jews, while the “God-fearers” remained indentified as
Greeks and pagans but adhered to the God of Israel and the synagogue because they
admired the religion of the One God. The gerim, sojourners or resident aliens, were
Gentiles who lived among Jews in “their” land. As such, they were required to
observe certain laws of the Torah and received certain protections and privileges as
well (emphases added).5

Therefore, despite the fact that some Jewish sects, specifically the believing Pharisees,

demanded circumcision, gentiles who forsook paganism and embraced the Shema and

walked accordingly (practicing halakhot) were allowed to worship within the synagogues

(Acts 15:5).

The phenomenon of the established beginnings of the New Covenant (the fullness

of the covenant is not yet realized), however, was groves of gentiles entering into the

4
Craig C. Hill, “The Jerusalem Church,” in Jewish Christianity Reconsidered: Rethinking Ancient
Groups and Texts, edited by, Matt Jackson-McCabe (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), p. 50.
5
Daniel Boyarin, The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ (New York, NY: The New
Press, 2012), p. 23.
 5

Jewish faith through Yeshua rather than just those who wanted to practice Judaism and

become a greater part of the commonwealth of Israel outside of paganism. The Psalmist

writes, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families

of the nations will bow down before him” (Psalm 22:27). Furthermore, through Yeshua

the promise made to Abraham was now being realized, “You will be the father of many

nations” (Genesis 17:4b). Therefore, regardless if these behaviors were known as the

Noahide Laws6 during that period or not, obviously there were certain criteria expected

among the gentile followers of Judaism; furthermore, those behaviors were no less

expected among the believing gentiles, as seen in the Apostolic Decree (Acts 15:20).

Scholar Mark D. Nanos writes, “While these gentiles did not keep the Jewish Law per se

(the 613 commandments of Torah), they kept what was later referred to in rabbinic

Judaism as the ‘Noahide’ or ‘Noachian Commandments’” (emphases added).7

Oftentimes, the scene taking place in Acts 15, with the debate over the inclusion

of non-Jewish believers, is seen as a first-of-its-kind by modern exegetes; however, it was

more of a carryover of similar halakhot already known, and for which Christ had

mentioned that they would be given authority to establish (Matthew 16:19; 18:18).

In fact, this paper will argue that the letter to the Romans was written firstly to the

gentle believers in Rome who had become conceited in their faith, and secondly to the

Jewish believers in Rome who were battling similar behaviors to that of the Apostle

Peter’s when confronted in Galatia by Paul (Galatians 2:6ff). However, throughout the

entirety of the letter, the primary audience to Paul’s instructions and corrections were to

6
There have been several renditions of the Noahide Laws; however, to summarize they are:
idolatry, blasphemy, shedding of blood, incest, theft, perverting of justice, and the prohibition from eating
from the hind-limb of a living animal. Notice the similarities to the Apostolic Decree in Acts 15:20.
7
Nanos, pp. 50-51. Parentheses not the student’s.
 6

the gentile believers of Rome. Paul first sets out to prove his calling and credentials, and

then explains God’s salvation message and his plan for both Jews and Gentiles within

those realms. Eventually, he admonished the gentile believers for their biblical practices

and how they should properly conduct themselves among those whose “faith is weak”

(non-believing Jews) 8 within proper worship. Thus, the letter to the Romans, from a

Jewish perspective, appears to reveal that Paul had to remind the Roman gentiles of the

Jewish calling that somehow got lost through incorrect ideology and fleshly practices and

attitudes among the gentile believers.

Furthermore, it is possible that the subjects of the book of Romans were those

gentiles that were influenced by the Edict of Claudius in A.D. 49. In this regard, many

Christian scholars have accepted the “fact” that at the time of Paul’s letter, there were no

Jews left in Rome and house-churches had began to function without the auspices of the

synagogue; however, this evidence is not as conclusive as one would believe because the

accounts of the event are not in harmony with each other, including Luke’s account in

18:2 of Luke’s Gospel.9 Despite this, however, Jews must have already returned to Rome

by the time Paul addressed the Roman believers, because the “weak,” as this paper will

show, referred to non-believing Jews as well as his mention of particular Jewish believers

he addresses in his closing remarks (Romans 16:1, 6-7, 11, 17, etc.). At minimum, the

book of Romans should be read as a caveat to modern non-Jewish believers because

similar attitudes have resurfaced which can and will be detrimental to the entirety of the

Body of Christ. And, at most, a clearer understanding of the gospel message, which does

8
Nanos, pp. 119-145.
9
See Nanos, pp. 372-387.
 7

not set grace against works, but reveals how grace opens the door to living an expected,

righteous life both for believing Gentiles and Jews.

Paul has not only heard of their faith, which he gave thanks to God “at all times”

(Romans 1:8), but he was equally disappointed in their ungodly behaviors and judgments

towards others (Romans 2:1). Is it possible that Christians have approached the book of

Romans incorrectly for centuries? Have misinterpretations of this Pauline corpus actually

hindered proper Christian interpretation of grace and law? For example, no one would

build a house starting with the roof; yet, the book of Romans has been approached from

this angle as early on as the formations of Church doctrine. Meaning that most readings

of Romans, among modern scholarship, deals with how the early church fathers

interpreted the book rather than how the book should be interpreted: through first-century

Judaism not early Christianity and moving forward from that position. Thus, Romans

must be read from the perspectives of the first Jewish believers in Yeshua and their

Jewish understandings of the Law and its promises for both the Jews and the nations, “the

gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Romans

1:2). This approach does not advocate a works-only doctrine of justification and

salvation; rather, a balanced approach, which lends credit to Paul’s somewhat conflicting

teachings on law and grace. Furthermore, it properly sheds light on Christian Soteriology

from a first-century worldview to the modern world’s application of both Old and New

Testaments for all believers, Jews and Gentiles.

Throughout this paper, to avoid confusion, the terms: Jews will relate to non-

believing Jews of Rome and elsewhere; Messianic Jews will relate to Jewish believers in

Yeshua; Messianic Gentiles will relate to gentile believers in Rome and elsewhere who
 8

remained in their calling as gentiles, and God-fearers will relate to those gentiles

considered righteous by the Jewish community but, nevertheless, rejected the gospel

message. The term, “Messianic Gentile(s)” is more accurate to the times when the book

of Romans was written; furthermore, it properly reflects the conflicts among these groups

for which Paul was addressing. Additionally, for any gentile believer to be considered a

follower of the Jewish messiah during antiquity, he had to be a member of a Jewish

synagogue to become a member of any house congregation being set up by the ruling

synagogue. Rome gave no allowance for cults to formulate and then gather and worship

upon their own initiative; they had to be a part of a greater whole; in this case, first-

century Judaism. 10

There is a common misconception that as soon as Jews (or gentiles) got saved and

believed in Yeshua, they quickly formed house churches opposing Jewish rituals and

advocating for the immediate separation between the Jews and Christians, as if it were a

boxing match between them. However, the evidence found among archeology—the Dead

Sea Scrolls—historians like Josephus, and the literature at the time including the extra

biblical texts, shows that Judaism “tolerated many different views.” 11 This is supported in

the book of Acts where the disciples continued to attend and worship in existing

synagogues and where Paul established his pattern of evangelistic outreach, first to the

Jew and then the Gentile: “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish

synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles

[God-fearers] believed” (emphases added, Acts 14:1). And, despite the acceptance or

rejection of the gospel message within the synagogues, it appears that all four groups

10
Nanos, pp. 42-50.
11
Ibid., p. 42, see footnotes.
 9

(Jews, Messianic Jews, Messianic Gentiles, and God-fearers) worshiped together in the

synagogues scattered throughout the Diaspora. The argument in Acts chapter fifteen

seems to center around those God-fearers who were accepted as righteous gentiles, but

now were being grafted into the entirely of the Jewish faith including first time messianic

gentiles. Albeit, common special interest groups may have started within the homes to

accommodate those differences within Judaism, but the fact remains that all four groups

worshiped together prior to the destruction of the Second Temple under the auspices of

the ruling synagogue(s); including those communities in Rome, and this is where the

problems in the readings of the book of Romans arises and where making sense of Paul

and his teachings rest. Again, Romans must be read from a first-century Jewish

perspective, not from a western method of interpretation of the text so often applied 12;

especially, a modern one looking backwards through the Reformation and the formations

of previous church doctrines set by the early Church Fathers.

Romans from a First-Century Jewish Perspective

Scholars agree that the book of Romans was written approximately in A.D. 57-

5813 and that the congregation in Rome was not founded by the Apostle Paul. To whom

the letter was written differs among scholars; however, it will be argued that the

addressees of the letter to the congregation(s) in Rome were primarily Messianic

Gentiles: In part, because Paul’s language throughout the letter mirrors that of Luke’s

language in chapter fifteen of the book of Acts; albeit, the book of Romans goes into

12
Longenecker in Romans & the People of God, p. 51.
13
Joseph Shulam with Hilary Le Cornu, A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Romans
(Baltimore, MD: Lederer Books, a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1997), pp. 12-13.
 10

greater detail about the attitudes expected from the Messianic Gentiles by the Jews. And,

in part, because Paul appears to jump back and forth regarding grace and law, which was

a normative among rabbis and teachers during the Second Temple period.14

Although Messianic Jews are mentioned and their roles among all the believers in

Rome are crucial for the advancement of the gospel message, Paul remains focused on

his purpose of the letter to its readers, the Messianic Gentiles:

I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again,
because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might
become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I
glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God
by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and miracles, through the
power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully
proclaimed the gospel of Christ (emphases added, Romans 15:15-19).

Surprisingly, the overall theme of the letter for Paul was monotheism (The Shema

and its congruent message) and the expected attitudes for those coming out of paganism

into a monotheistic form of worship (The Ten Commandments and the Apostolic

Decree). Many churches today have for their mission statements, “Loving God, Loving

People.” In essence, this is the Christian interpretation of the Shema and the Golden Rule.

Yeshua sums up the Law and the Prophets (The Tanakh) similarly to the question when

asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law [Torah]?” (Matthew

22:36), by stating, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind. . . . And . . . Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,

39). Ironically, Christian theology upholds the Shema through their mission statements

14
During the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 5, Yeshua himself reveals this method of teaching. He
first speaks to the grace of God through the Beatitudes, but then teaches a person’s righteousness (halakhot)
must surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law or he would certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven. This method of teaching has confused Christian professors for centuries and it has resulted in
confusing messages to the Body of Christ.
 11

despite not applying its greater meaning to the book of Romans. Christians would also be

surprised to discover that the second part of Yeshua’s answer, “Love your neighbor as

yourself” is a direct quote from the Old Testament in the midst of a long list of laws for

which the Jews were to obey (Leviticus 19:18).

Paul was not only the Apostle to the Gentiles, but was also set apart for that very

purpose (Acts 9:15; 13:2b). Furthermore, he was present with the Jerusalem Council

when the Apostolic Decree was enacted for the Messianic Gentiles and he understood its

importance as being essential to God’s plan of salvation and redemption for mankind:

“So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18b). Thus,

Paul remained faithful to not only his Jewish calling but his being set apart for the work

of the gospel message unto the gentiles, for God was, indeed, the God for the gentiles as

well as the Jews, through his grace first and foremost. Paul understood the mission of the

Jews; specifically the Messianic Jews or the remnant of the Jews, as being a light unto the

Gentiles through their upholding of the Torah—the Word of God—and proclaiming its

message (Isaiah 51:4). As a Jewish believer in the Jewish messiah, he would have

understood his wholeness as a completed Jew in revelation of who Yeshua was, and he

would have realized his significance as a Jew in the role of the gospel message as seen in

the Tanakh (Romans 1:2).

Earlier readings of the book of Romans, specifically after the Reformation, places

its theme as primarily being, “justification,” 15 despite other themes emerging, like:

assurance, sanctification, the place of the Law, the ministry of Spirit, God’s plan for both

John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks
15

Today) (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994, 2001), p. 24.

 12

Jews and Gentiles, and the varied responsibilities of the Christian life. 16 John R. W. Stott,

referring to Krister Stendahl’s work Paul Among the Jews and Gentiles,17 states, “He

[Stendahl] maintained that the traditional understanding of Paul in general and of Romans

in particular, namely that their focus is on justification by faith, is wrong.” 18 These and

other themes, Stott asserts, are “due to the western church’s morbid conscience, and

specifically to the moral struggles of Augustine and Luther, which the church has tended

to read back into Paul” (emphasis added). 19 To some extent Stott agrees with Stendahl by

stating “this is a necessary corrective. For justification is certainly not Paul’s exclusive

preoccupation, as we have seen.”20 Again, these themes have been born from the writings

of the early Church fathers (Augustine, Origen, Jerome, Erasmus, etc), and admittedly,

modern scholars liken much of these readings as coming from personal struggles that the

early church fathers had. For example, Martin Luther, during medieval Christianity,

confesses to his personal struggle with Romans and likens his journey of salvation in

similar fashion to Augustine’s. 21

In her work, Paul Was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a

Misunderstood Apostle, Jewish scholar Pamela Eisenbaum agrees with Nanos’s position

regarding monotheism being Paul’s main thrust by stating, “In contrast to the traditional

view, I assert that the most important theological force motivating Paul’s mission was a

16
Ibid.
17
Krister Stendahl, Paul Among Jews and Gentiles (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1976).
18
Stott, p. 24.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid., p. 25.
21
Ibid., pp. 20-21.
 13

thoroughgoing commitment to Jewish monotheism and how to bring the nations of the

world to that realization as history draws to a close.” 22 Understanding this point to Paul’s

mission is crucial in understanding the entirety of Paul’s message to the Romans.

Mistakenly, Christian scholars have placed Paul’s conversion experience (Acts 9:1-21)

into their own experiences by believing that Paul converted to Christianity and gave up

being a Jew as if being Jewish was a sin. However, if understood in its proper context,

Paul converted from being a murderer of the Messiah’s community to becoming a

believer in the Jewish Messiah (from glory to glory) and later being accepted into that

same community. Therefore, Paul’s message was primarily monotheistic in nature with

the pinnacle being that Yeshua was the Messiah and God was the God for both the Jews

and the Greeks equally through Yeshua by faith in Yahweh’s grace.

The common, and somewhat comical, approach to interpreting the book of

Romans from the average Christian’s perspective, ignorantly, appears to “reveal” that the

Jews had it wrong for thousands of years while the Hellenists were right all along. God

apparently had the Jews running in circles with all that Old Testament stuff while the

non-Jews simply needed to understand that Yahweh was God. Once this was clarified and

accomplished through Jesus, the Jews had to simply stop being Jews and then had to

become pork-eating Christians while non-Jewish Christians were free from obedience to

the Law and were not obliged to observe it. Simple logic could argue the ignorance of

this approach; however, modern teachers of the Bible teach these “truths” weekly from

the pulpit without apology, as if Jews must repent for being Jewish and observing the

Law, while the Gentiles only have to believe and have faith in Jesus and continue in the

22
Pamela Eisenbaum, Paul Was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a Misunderstood
Apostle (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009), p. 173.
 14

patterns of destruction for which they have grown accustomed to. Is this logical? Did the

pagans have it right while the Jews were deceived for thousands of years?

The law of sin and death quoted by Paul in Romans 8:2 is, oftentimes understood

or taught that it refers to the Law of Moses or the Old Testament in its entirety. Sadly,

what some refer to the Torah as being dead or death, Paul calls, “good” (Romans 7:7, 12,

16; 1 Timothy 1:8) and God calls “perfect” (Psalm 19:7). Furthermore, Paul’s first letter

to Timothy encompasses the righteousness or goodness of the Law. Paul states:

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made
not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the
unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for
adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever
else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God, which he entrusted to me (1 Timothy 1:8-11).

Both Christians and Messianic Jews have misused the Torah and its understanding within

the New Covenant. Some Christians have denied obedience to the Torah to the point of

contrarily advocating obedience to man-made laws, while some Messianic Jews (and

other movements like the Hebrew Roots movements) have tried to enforce certain Torah

aspects of the law upon non-Jews, which were only meant for Jews; the truth, however,

lies somewhere in the middle to both understandings.

Paul is using the concepts of the “law of sin and death” and the “law of the Spirit

of life” (Romans 8:2) in Romans in much the same way he is describing the law to

Timothy. Therefore, to fully understand the differences between the two concepts, one

must first understand the terms of the New Covenant.23 In First Timothy regarding those

who were teaching false doctrines, Paul states, “Some have wondered away from these

[true doctrines] and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law

23
Due to the limited space in this paper, only a short review of the New Covenant will be dealt
with.
 15

[Torah], but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently

affirm” (emphasis added, 1 Timothy 1:6-7).

The New Covenant is a covenant bought with the purchase of Yeshua’s blood

being shed for mankind. Therefore, unlike the previous covenants, which were done

through the shedding of blood from bulls and goats, this new one was done by God

through Yeshua his son (Hebrews 8). Thus, this new covenant has replaced the old

covenant (Hebrews 8:13), not because it was wrong or bad, but because the children of

the Israel could not keep it and continuously broke it. Therefore, the covenant itself is

what is referred to as new, not the Law, for the Law of God good. It is God’s instructions;

thus, if Yeshua is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 11:8), than God’s

instructions remain the same. However, the rules in which God’s Instructions or

Teachings (Torah) are applied to the recipients of the new covenant are different.

The Old Covenant is a specific contract through a specific event outlined within

the Tanakh, not the entirety of the Tanakh. The contract starts at Mount Sinai when God

commissioned Moses with a contract to present to the people: “Now if you obey me fully

and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. . . .

These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites” (Exodus 19:5, 6b). The contract is

then agreed upon by the children of Israel, “We will do everything the LORD has said.

‘So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD’” (Exodus 19:8).

This contract was then inaugurated with a wedding procession where God

commanded the people to consecrate themselves by abstaining from sexual relations,

washing their clothes, and being ready on the third day when God was going to present

himself on the mountain (Exodus 19:9-23:33). In this contract were listed the Ten
 16

Commandments, Idolatry and Proper Altars, Kinsmen Servants, Personal Damages,

Protection of Property Rights, Social Responsibilities, Laws of Justice and Mercy,

Sabbath Laws, Three Annual Festivals, and God’s Messenger to Prepare the Way (a

messianic promise), which was again agreed upon by the people stating, “Everything the

Lord has said we will do” (Exodus 24:3). Moses wrote down everything in the agreed

upon covenant that God had spoken with the people (Exodus 24:4a). Bovine sacrifices

and fellowship offerings were then done at the base of the mountain. Moses reread the

covenant to the people, which at this time was called, “The Book of the Covenant”

(Exodus 7a), and the people again agreed to the terms of the contract by stating, “We will

do everything the LORD has said; we will obey” (Exodus 24:7b). The contract was then

sealed by the sprinkling of blood upon the altar and the people before the presence of

YHWH, with Moses stating, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made

with you in accordance with all these words” (emphases added, Exodus 24:8b).

Sadly, no later than forty days and forty nights had passed, the people turned from

their covenant and had Aaron build them a golden calf. In their worship of it and their

celebrations of rivalry and dancing (honeymooning) with their newly formed god, the

covenant of God was broken and the people of Israel were unable to keep it. From that

point forward, despite all the repenting and all the renewing of the contract with

additional laws and consequences for breaking those laws, the children of Israel were

incapable of living up to the perfection of the covenant’s demands.

However, the New Covenant was now based on YHWH’s words (The Torah) and

actions established with his son’s—the exact representation of the Father in Heaven—

words and actions (Matthew 26:17-29). Therefore, in essence, it was God’s blood, not a
 17

bull’s blood that was shed for the atonement of mankind as Yeshua holds to the high

office of mediator, the high priest of the covenant, by making sure this newer covenant

cannot ever be broken by the ill-faded acts of men. Rather, its surety is upheld by the

Father and the Son, which has abolished the curses of the Torah for those who do not

uphold them (Deuteronomy 27:15ff). The Torah or the Law, however, remains. The

terms of the New Covenant are that those laws will be put upon the minds and written

upon the circumcised hearts of men (Jeremiah 31:33b), which began with but not

consummated with the death of Yeshua upon the cross of Rome. The final consummation

of the realized New Covenant will take place during the future millennia reign of Yeshua

in the New Jerusalem and after the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 22:3).

Therefore, the Apostle Paul was getting across to the Messianic Gentiles that the

work which Christ had begun in them was not finished (Romans 8:28ff). And, that their

attitudes towards the Jews were the keys to their growth, “Do not conform any longer to

the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans

12:2). Prior to this instruction, however, Paul warned them of their possible

conceitedness by walking (halakhot) according to their ways and not Gods, “I do not

want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel

has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in”

(emphases added, Romans 11:25). Furthermore, Paul instructs:

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as
election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and
his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have
now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become
disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy
to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy
on them all (Romans 11:28-32).
 18

Additionally, Paul instructed them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and

pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). Again, this was about their behaviors towards their

enemies (non-believing Jews) according to and for the gospel’s sake, but not according to

their table fellowship or honoring their roles as leaders within the synagogues. Expressed

further by Paul, because their fellowship included Jews, Messianic Jews, God-fearers,

and Messianic Gentiles, they needed to understand that they were under the authority of

the synagogue rulers (Romans 13:1-7).24 Even Yeshua admonishes his followers to give

respect to those who are set above them for the sake of the kingdom, “The teachers of the

law and the Pharisees seat in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they

tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not do what they preach. They tie up

heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a

finger to move them” (emphases added, Matthew 23:2-4).

The purity of the gospel message through grace for both Jew and Gentile was the

main thrust that Paul was relating to the Messianic Gentiles. And above all else, it was for

the sake of the gospel and the name of the Messiah, which had to be protected among the

Jews of Rome concerning table fellowship, “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of

everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”

(Romans 12:17b-18). And although their spiritual act of worship included the gifts listed

at the beginning of the chapter (Romans 12:6-8), Paul also makes it clear that their bodies

were to be set apart as the Day of the Lord approaches (Romans 13:12ff).

24
This passage is often understood from the perspective of submitting to secular political authority
and law enforcement officers and the like; however, Nanos argues that although those entities are to be
respected and honored, they do not fit the pattern of being God’s agents. He argues that during the first
century officers and rulers of the synagogues were responsible for collecting the temple tax and obligatory
taxes that Rome enforced among their subjects. See Nanos, pp. 46-49.
 19

Although the Messianic Gentiles were not obligated to abstain from pork and

other non-kosher foods according to the Apostolic Decree in the book of Acts, their faith

was not to be used to dismiss the “weak” faith of the unbelieving Jews (Romans 14:1);

rather, they were to accept the Jews’s “weak” faith as being just as legitimate as theirs. If

anything, at minimum an attitude of graciousness needed to be offered by the messianic

gentiles towards the non-believing Jews, which is at the heart of the gospel message. Not

because their faith in God was actually weak, in the sense of being incapable of doing the

right thing, but that their faith to abstain from unclean foods was where their faith was

settled or determined. This is the main idea behind the strong and the weak concept of

Romans. The strong were not strong by definition of strength, but that their faith allowed

for or was settled with Kashrut (a state of being kosher) as primarily belonging to a

Jewish diet, not a non-Jewish one.

Those whom were weak of faith are identified in earlier chapters; especially, in

chapter eleven where Paul describes that their lack of faith in Yeshua as Messiah gave

room for the gentiles to be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. Paul did not forsake

this theme but expounded on how the gospel can win “some” (Romans 11:14, 17). He

also warned them of their arrogance and pride. Again, according to Jewish halakhah, the

dietary laws were to be upheld by the Jews and the Noachide laws were to be upheld by

the God-fearers and Messianics Gentiles. The strong or weak terms used, then, had less to

do with one’s abilities, but rather one’s settled faith. To the Jews and Messianic Jews,

Kashrut was important to ones belief, while to the Messianic Gentiles revealed through

the Holy Spirit and attested to by the Apostles, their faith was settled on a lesser state of

Kashrut observance, because of the grace of God. However, neither the Jews nor the
 20

Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles were to use one’s faith as a means of opposing

the other’s settled faith (Romans 12:18; 14:19). As Paul writes, “For the kingdom of God

is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy

Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by

men” (Romans 14:17-18). Sadly, the advice given by Paul to the Messianic Gentiles,

regarding arrogance, was not heeded because by the fourth century A.D. allowances were

made for Jews entering the Church through confessions by denouncing anything having

to do with ritual Judaism including Sabbaths, holidays, and foods. 25 One such confession

is as follows:

I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads and sacrifice of lambs of
the Hebrews, and all the other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspersions,
purifications, sanctifications and propitiations, and fasts, and new moons, and
Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants and observances and synagogues,
and the food and drink of the Hebrews; in one word, I renounce absolutely
everything Jewish, every law, rite and custom. 26

CONCLUSION

The Book of Romans has a simple message, but it has become complicated over

the millennia because of its various interpretations. The continuance of misinterpretations

will remain if the book of Romans is read from modern-day exegeses back through

antiquity, instead of the reversal. Furthermore, given that a majority of Christian readings

interpret the book of Romans from the viewpoints of the Reformation and Early Church

Fathers, a more accurate approach would be to read the book from an early first-century

Jewish perspective.

25
Dan Sherbok-Cohn, Messianic Judaism (London, U. K.; New York, NY: Cassell, 2000), p. 6,
citing Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, iii, p. 20. (No other information is given.)
26
Ibid.
 21

Many Christian and Jewish scholars are beginning to apply such knowledge to the

book of Romans and in so doing they are beginning to make sense out of some passages

that appear to counter a salvation-by-grace-alone doctrine. Other passages, which

seemingly appear to be anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic in origin, Jewish scholars are realizing

that those passages are more clearly understood from a Jewish perspective when placed

within the Jewish context of the first century; therefore, they are seen as less anti-Jewish

than previously accused of being. Sadly, regardless of the attempts at trying to bring new

readings of Romans to the surface by interpreting it through the Reformation fathers,

anti-Semitism continues to glow brightly. For example, in Stanley K. Stowers book, A

Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, & Gentiles, he attempts to make sense of many

passages that bring confusion but falls short with the typical rhetoric that dismisses a

Jewish interpretation:

In the Logic of this view, because Christianity is in some sense what Judaism should
have been, the Christian critique of Judaism is justified [In the sense that Judaism
teaches works for salvation—a false assumption]. At this point the Christian
tradition has, above all, drawn on its interpretation of Paul. The problem with
Judaism is that it sought salvation through works of the law and legalism rather than
through true inward and spiritual faith. 27

Frankly, spiritual faith without works is dead, according to Ya’akov. Without proper

exegeses of Romans, one is incapable of removing oneself from such rhetoric that has

oftentimes pitted Judaism and Jews against Christianity and Christians for no other

reason than for false, previously-drawn conclusions and biased positions. Surely, there

are differences among Judaism and Christianity but those theology differences are

oftentimes unwarranted when it comes to the Jewish understanding of salvation,

justification, and redemption when understood from the first century.

27
Stanley K. Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, & Gentiles (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1994), p. 25.
 22

Paul was primarily addressing the Messianic Gentiles of Rome with the intended

background audience being the Messianic Jews; however, Paul never loses focus of his

message. He not only praised them for their faith (Romans 1:8), but Paul also admonishes

them for their behavior in table fellowship with the Jews. Despite the Jews lack of faith in

Jesus as the messiah, Paul calls the non-believing Jews, “brethren,” (Romans 14:10, et

al.) and exhorts his audience to see them as those of the natural olive branches being

supported by the root or first fruits of the remnant of Jews (Messianic Jews), and that

although some have been broken off from the olive tree for a time being, their re-

engrafting is revival from the dead for the whole world (Romans 11). As such, they (the

Messianic Gentiles) needed to remember their place and calling in the Lord and live at

peace with everyone (Romans 121:18), despite the Jews established laws of Kashrut or

other aspects of the Torah not understood through the Messiah, Yeshua. And, because all

four groups worshiped and fellowshipped together, the Messianic Gentiles were to

remain focused on the things of the Lord so that his name would not be profaned among

the non-believing Jews and the other nations (Romans 1:5; 2:24; 15:9).

The book of Romans is of equality, yet distinctions between two classes of people

are what the Bible tends to refer to often; they are: (1) the Jews, and (2) the nations or the

rest of humanity. With this in mind, the New Testament never leaves those distinctions

but draws upon them to clarify certain matters in regards to the Messiah. The Apostle

Paul states clearly that the gospel message and the Messiah are for both classes of people.

And, although he renders for the Jew first (Romans 1:16; 2:9), other renditions of the

Greek word proton may be considered chiefly or principally because salvation is of the

Jews. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the message of the gospel should be brought
 23

to those principally or chiefly held responsible for guarding, protecting, and revealing the

words of the Messiah because it made sense to their already practiced religion. Only then,

the message can make sense to those moving from paganism to monotheism once the

truth of Messiah was realized. However, there was no need to switch one’s calling as a

Jew or a Gentile once the gospel message was made; rather, Paul makes it clear that they

are to remain in their calling once they became believers: “As far as the gospel is

concerned, they [Jewish non-believing brethren] are enemies on your account; but as far

as election [their calling as Jews] is concerned, they are loved on account of the

patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (emphasis added, Romans 11:28-

29).

Finally, among the Romans, Paul was trying to relate that although grace is a

given for salvation in Christ, obedience to the Torah (Instructions of God) that comes

from faith in the Messiah was not (Romans 1:5). To the Jews of the first century, a

separation from the nations was ideal to maintain their faith in God (monotheism). There

were already established behaviors expected among the God-fearers that attended the

synagogues to worship the monotheistic God of the Jews (being separate from

polytheism). Regardless of whether or not these expectations were coined the Noahide

laws, like they are today, evidence in the Jewish literature of the period enforces the

belief that godly gentiles were expected to live according to some aspects of the Torah.

This did not change with the coming of the Messiah and the outreach to the nations other

than Israel. And, in Acts chapter 15, after much debate it was determined that with the

four directives of the Jerusalem Council, messianic gentiles indeed had points of

obedience that had to be met. Although they were free from the covenant responsibilities
 24

of Jews like circumcision and certain kosher laws, they had to maintain a godly lifestyle

of love, peace, and forgiveness according to gospel of the Kingdom of God.

 25

BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERENCE WORKS
Le Cornu, Hilary., and Shulam, Joseph. A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Romans.
Baltimore, MD: Lederer Books, a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1997.

The Holy Bible: New International Version, electronic edition. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1996.

BOOKS
Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ. New York, NY:
The New Press, 2012.

Eisenbaum, Pamela. Paul Was Not A Christian: The Original Message of a

Misunderstood Apostle. New York, NY: HarperOne, A Division of Harper
Collins Publishers, 2009.

Hill, Craig C. “The Jerusalem Church,” in Jewish Christianity Reconsidered: Rethinking

Ancient Groups and Texts, edited by, Matt Jackson-McCabe. Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 2007.

Nanos, Mark D. The Mystery of Romans: The Jewish Context of Paul’s Letter.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1999.

Sherbok-Cohn, Dan. Messianic Judaism. London, U. K., and New York, NY: Cassell,
2000.

Shulam, Joseph. Hidden Treasures: The First Century Jewish Way of Understanding the
Scriptures. Jerusalem, Israel: Netivyah Bible Instruction Ministry, 2008.

Soderland, Sven K., and Wright, N. T., co-editors. Romans & the People of God: Essays
in Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of His 65 th Birthday. Grand Rapids,
MI: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999.

Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press,
1976.

Stott, John R. The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World. Downers
Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001.

Stowers, Stanley K. A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, & Gentiles, reprint edition.
New Haven, CT., and London, U. K., Yale University Press, 1997.