You Tube Theology

Part of a lecture on Paul's Letter to the Romans given by Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Here Dr. Gagnon discusses the message of church unity in Romans 15:5-12. When the apostle Paul unfolds his gospel to the Roman believers, he states as his goal that the Roman believers will glorify God in a united voice for this wondrous grace in saving through Jesus Christ. Believers should experience such joy in thinking about what Christ has done for them that they have no time for majoring in minors that divide the community (in Rome, matters of diet and calendar). Worship thus becomes a means by which church unity can be achieved. Part of the key is discerning the difference between matters of indifference and matters of significance (14:17). While Paul regarded matters of diet and calendar as matters of indifference (14:1-12), he did not so regard sexual immorality (13:11-14).