Our Discussion

How did Paul reframe humanity’s universal problem in his letter to the Romans? Today we’ll be viewing Romans through a missional lens. We’ll examine the ways that Paul relativized and re-narrated collective identity and social status within Romans. Then, we use this perspective to compare status and identity in our modern world to the biblical world. Join us for a compelling journey of contextualization throughout Romans!

In this episode, we talk about:

• Contextualization of Paul’s letter to the Romans through a missional lens.
• Collective identity, status, and individualism in biblical context and our modern world.
• Honor-shame dynamics of collective identity.

Highlights

• 00:50 How does Paul frame his letters to the Romans?
• 03:05 Why is Paul’s mission to Spain the driving force behind his letter?
• 05:20 How did the Greeks dishonor God through their prejudice against barbarians?
• 07:00 Where does status come from?
• 09:15 How does Paul renarrate status and collective identity?
• 12:30 Why is it helpful to understand collective identity status in biblical context?
• 15:35 What is the common dynamic between Romans 3:9 and 10:12?
• 17:15 What is Paul trying to say about collective identity?
• 19:15 Honor-shame values within collective identity.
• 22:10 Mission ONE midroll ad.
• 23:00 What makes status and identity challenging in our own culture?
• 25:45 Polarization in the modern world and in the Bible.
• 29:05 What is the universal problem of humanity? How does Paul reframe this in Romans?
• 31:55 What (strangely) leads to eternal life in Romans 2?
• 34:30 What other resources merge missions and theology in Romans?

Resources & Links

Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes by Jackson Wu

Defending Shame by Te-Li Lau

Reading Romans Backwards by Scot McKnight

Follow Mission ONE on Instagram | @partnerwithmissionone

Learn more at mission1.org

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