\nwas wandering around old Mirkwood. That little hobbit screwed up his courage
\nand scrambled up one of those dark trees to have a look about—seeing where they
\nwere, where they had come from and hopefully where they were going. Trudging
\nalong the path, the party might’ve lost focus of the point of the trip<\/a> just the
\nfact that they were getting nowhere fast. So, at this point in our study, it
\nwould perhaps be beneficial to take a look at where we are in the book of
\nRomans and simultaneously study some similarities in the lay of the land and
\nsome differences. Perhaps we might even find out where we’re going.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
High hopes, I know. As a side note, at the end of this post
\nthere will be a (very long) list of the Romans series thus far. This post, will
\nthen focus on some structural elements in the book as well as some patterns
\nwithin the thought-flow.<\/p>\n
![\"Frank](\"images\/stories\/wright.jpg\")
See, people like to pull pages out of the Bible and make them
\ndance to their theological tune. If you disassemble Frank Lloyd Wright’s
\nFallingwater House, categorize all its screws, bolts, widgets, wood and sundry
\nparts and then study them you might draw some good conclusions but you’ll never
\nfigure out the beauty of the house or what it is to live in, or why it was even
\nbuilt. All you’ll have is a bunch of lifeless wood, non-running widgets, dead
\nbolts and unscrewed screws. To appreciate all of that you have to study the
\nhouse in its entirety and see how this part meshes with that part and
\nconstantly amazed at the beauty of the thing.<\/p>\n
I guess music can also be another example. You take
\nBeethoven’s Ninth and organize all the notes on a page (all the A’s here, all
\nthe B’s there, etc) all you’ll have is a bunch of notes. You would be ignoring
\nthe purpose of the music, the notes in succession. And if you decided to pull a
\nmovement from the end and place it near the front you’ll have a confusing piece
\nthat wasn’t how Beethoven intended it.![\"Beethoven's](\"images\/stories\/beethoven9.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
So forget trying to organize the bits in Romans into tidy
\ntheological packages and look at the book how it was intended. I find it
\ntremendously exciting to look at the movements of the Book of Romans and how they fit together. <\/p>\n
The book is made up of four major sections, or movements, each
\nwith a major problem and major solution. Section one points at the problem of
\nmen being guilty before a God who judges sin; tremendous problem in that who
\nwill survive the wrath of God? The solution in section one is that God has
\nprovided a means to justify the ungodly via the vehicle of faith. Section two
\npoints out the problem of men dying in sin—but God’s answer is that men will
\nlive in the Spirit. Mind you, there are other problems in these sections (how
\nis a man to live before the Law? How is a man to live at all? Etc.) but there
\nare also given solutions. Section 3 is the problem of God’s historic people—why
\nis it that they don’t believe. Section 4 illustrates the practical problem of
\nGod’s choice people living in this fallen world. Four questions, four answers.<\/p>\n
Interesting when you probe deeper that Movement 1 and
\nMovement 2 both crescendo and climax with the beautiful key of God’s Love. Rom
\n5:1-12 takes us to the peak of God’s love—God who sent His son to die while we
\nwere yet sinners—how much more will He save us now that we are His! Rom 8:28 –
\n39 pointing out how the triune God is on the side of those who believe on Him, and
\nshowing how nothing can ever sever the believer from the love of God. Amen. <\/p>\n
Movement 3, an admittedly difficult section, doesn’t climax
\nwith God’s love—but rather God’s wisdom (Rom 11:25-36).
\nIt would be best to keep that in mind when we study that portion…if we’re not
\nmoved to praise God for His unfathomable wisdom we have missed the heart of
\nthat section and a key point in the book as a whole. Movement 4 also climaxes
\nwith the wisdom of God in Rom 16:25-27—the
\nWise God who is able to establish the believer! <\/p>\n
Four movements then, the first two climaxes in God’s love
\nthe last two in God’s wisdom. The beauty of God’s salvation and righteousness
\nas presented in this book is a combination of God’s love and God’s wisdom—don’t
\nlet philosophy tell you otherwise. Indeed, a walk through the Bible will show
\nus that the Love of God and the Wisdom of God are evident from cover to
\ncover—but that is a subject for another day.<\/p>\n
The first movement also looks at the truth being suppressed
\nin the Mind and the results in wicked action in the body (Rom 1). The fourth
\nmovement would have us look at presenting of our bodies as living sacrifices to
\nGod in the effort of renewing our minds (Rom 12).<\/p>\n
The second movement pits a struggle with the Law against the
\nSpirit (Rom 6-8). The spiritual mind can not thrive if it is in subjection to
\nthe Law of the Flesh. Interesting that body and mind are also coming up again
\nhere—but in this context it deals with the Law’s condemnation versus the
\nSpirit’s glorification. The fourth movement has us look at the practical
\nimplications of living in the Spirit—focused on humility, no condemnation and
\nlove. The believer exemplifies the righteousness of God when living under the law
\nof liberty and love, driven by the Spirit instead of the mandates of the Law
\n(Rom 12 -15). <\/p>\n
Other things that you might see repeated in several
\nmovements is mercy; mercy of God when He so wishes to show mercy (Rom 9), mercy
\non those who believe (Rom 11) and mercy to each other understanding that God
\nwas merciful to us (Rom 15). <\/p>\n
Also note the progression of depravity. (Oh yes, I’m a firm
\nbeliever of Total Depravity but not in the sense that certain theological
\ncircles like to use it). The first movement would show us that we are really
\nbad and guilty. The second movement will show us 1) that we can’t get rid of
\nthe bad, because we were born with it and 2) the bad is made even worse by the
\npresence of the Law. Each of these minor keys of depravity will be augmented by
\na chord of triumph over it!<\/p>\n
So there you have it—not half as long as this
\ncould’ve (and
\nshould’ve been). Here’s a chart as well as all the links. Check
\ntomorrow for when we climb back down from the tree and answer the
\nquestion "Movements? So What?" :)\n<\/p>\n