I’ve made an error in reading Paul’s letters. Like many people, I assumed that Romans was a dogmatic statement of Paul’s theology. However, like everything else we have from him, Romans is a letter. Now, if you’re reading a letter written to someone else, you have to know who the recipient is. In this case, Paul is writing to the church in Rome, which as it turns out is primarily a Jewish congregation. That makes a difference, believe it or not! In Romans, especially chapter 4, Paul says that adhering to the Torah (the law) is expected of them. Now, having read chapter 4 in Romans, read chapter 3 of Galatians. Does it sound similar? The principal difference is the lack of the importance of the law in Galatians. Paul’s argument in Galatians is that we do not have to follow the Torah to receive the salvation that comes through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That sounds very different than what Paul says in Romans. However, you must also remember that Paul usually writes to the Gentiles (including the letter to the Galatians). That is why we need to acknowledge the differences in Paul’s arguments between letters such as Romans and Galatians.
