Romans
Far from being exclusive, Paul’s letter to the Romans shows how the liberating Gospel of Jesus is inclusive for everyone because God is love.
Introduction
Our notes on Romans
Written in 2020
Talks on Romans
Does God only accept people who play by the rules of Christianity? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at how Paul addressed a church arguing about what was acceptable to God, and how shocking it was that Jesus died for everyone, not just good people. "More than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!" wrote Paul about Jesus. For the life God wants us to have, and to accept everyone he wants to accept, do we need to rethink some of today’s religious laws?
Is there any chance we can all get along? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the society Paul was writing into when he explained the gospel to Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Rome. It looked impossible to close massive divisions between people and many looked to secure their identity in nationalism. We can relate today. What Paul offered was not a new culture to defeat all others, but Jesus' way of reconciling people to God and each other through sacrifice and forgiveness. How can we join in with that now?
Does the Bible say it's wrong to be homosexual? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what Paul wrote to the Roman church, the culture of the time, and why we might misunderstand his words today.
This talk is for a mature audience and contains discussion of sexual practices in Paul's time which were very different from life today.