Romans (ACNT)

by Roy A. Harrisville

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 1980

Overview

At every significant juncture in the life of Christian community the letter to the Romans has stood, and for every giant of faith ever raised up to effect some change in that community, it has furnished the fire. The book of Romans figured prominently in the conversion of Augustine, and its themes were central to the efforts of the Reformers. John Wesley found his heart “strangely warmed” at the reading of Luther’s preface to the epistle, and Karl Barth began to understand God amid the ravages of two World Wars while reading Romans. In this volume, Roy A. Harrisville helps illuminate the central themes of Romans and a history of its interpretation. This commentary also includes an introduction to the interpretation of Romans, a detailed outline of the entire epistle, a chapter-by-chapter commentary, and a lengthy bibliography.

Key Features

• Discussion of historical issues, such as authorship, dating, and location
• Textual and literary notes
• Bibliographies and suggestions for further reading and study
• Scripture references linked to your Greek New Testament or English translation

Contents

Top Highlights

“Christian faith is not a new moral doctrine, but a new life—righteousness, justification as life in Jesus Christ, hidden though inevitably hastening toward its goal.” (Page 89)

“but the power and will which proceed from the risen Lord.” (Page 124)

“He has in mind an existence within a sphere of power that energizes and moves the believer with a necessity every bit as compelling as the law or Torah with its demands. In fact, this law of the Spirit is contrasted with and superior to the law of sin (7:23, 25). Thus this ‘law’ is not at all equivalent to the first, for over against the first which exerted influence from without, this ‘law’ dominates from within. More, this law of the Spirit is equivalent to deliverance, and a deliverance precisely from that which characterized the earlier condition of life. So the contrast is not between two laws which differ in degree or quality, but between two mutually exclusive ways of life, one dominated by its relationship to the legal, the other by its relationship to Christ.” (Page 119)

“To ‘think highly,’ however, is to think contrary to what one ought to think, so that the contrast is between thinking highly (keeping one’s nose in the air) and thinking with sober judgment. 1 Corinthians 4:6 yields the same sense: ‘I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit … that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against the other.’” (Page 193)

“‘Conform’ refers to a posture or attitude which may be changed at will, whereas ‘form’ at the heart of ‘transformed’ refers to what grows out of necessity from an inward condition. ‘To be conformed,’ thus means to suit oneself to the changeable, to what is transitory and passes away (cf. 1 Cor. 7:31).” (Page 191)

Product Details

• Title: Romans
• Author: Roy A. Harrisville
• Editors: Roy A. Harrisville, Jack Dean Kingsbury, and Gerhard A. Krodel
• Publisher: Augsburg
• Series: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament
• Publication Date: 1989
• Pages: 351

About Roy A. Harrisville

Roy A. Harrisville is a graduate of Concordia College and Luther Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1949 and served parishes in Minneapolis and Mason City, Iowa. In 1953 he received his Th.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Since 1958 he has been professor of New Testament at Luther-Northwestern Seminaries in St. Paul. He has done post-doctoral work at Tübingen and at other leading theological centers in Europe and America. A gifted speaker and teacher, he is in popular demand to lecture at churches and conferences. He has published numerous books and articles, and has translated significant theological works from German and French.