Role of Faith in the First Century of the Christian Era - Essay Example

The Apostle Paul has written a letter advising the Romans of his intention to visit on his way to Spain. An important theme of his letter concerns the role of faith as a unifying element in the deliverance of various peoples to what he sees as the supreme reality, Jesus Christ. In essence, he seeks a synthesis and détente that will include all citizens in the new monotheism.

In Wills (2006) faith is equated with trust. God promotes people into partnership with Him through the Son. Also, Wills sees faith as meaning something very different in ancient times than what it connotes today. Then, faith meant belief in a person, not dogma as in recent times (Wills 2006, pp.183-184). The powerful personality of Jesus had much influence on potential converts.

Ehrman (2005)shows the division of faith in Rome at this time. To the Jews, Jesus was weak, and not the Messiah. To them, the Romans had all the temporal power needed to dominate the world. The earliest Christians disagreed by asserting that Jesus was the Messiah and that His death was an act of God designed to bring salvation to the world. Indeed Paul claimed that salvation could come to Jews and Gentiles alike not by a scrupulous adherence to the law but by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans, 10:3-4, New Jerusalem Bible). Here Paul delineates perhaps the main reason why the Jews would not recognize Jesus. Ehrman also notes that Paul held that the Jews were not justified by obedience to the law, and reminds Gentiles not to follow the law too closely but to remain as they are and to follow Jesus. Paul also believed that both faiths traced to Abraham—the “father of many nations”. His faith was surely put to the test, and Abraham was justified by this faith, for it guaranteed his salvation (Ehrman 2005, pp. 188-189).

Ludemann (2002) also agrees with Paul that salvation is achieved through Christ alone (Thessalonians 1:9-10). By having faith in Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles become members of a third group - both qualified and eligible - to enter the new synthesis. There is a three-step process as an admission requirement: first, faith in Jesus, then baptism as a rite, and finally inclusion in the church as a social body (Ludemann 2002, p.154).

Grant (1976) is focused more on the sub-theme of sin and notes that the ancient Greeks had a different definition of it than did Paul. To them, sin was a consequence of ignorance, and a rational mind could nullify it through reason. Paul was obsessed with the concept of sin and linked it closely with that of flesh He seemed to think that men and women were predestined for sin (Grant, 1976, pp.31-32). In this, there is a surprising foreshadowing of Calvinism many centuries later! Grant also notes that the Jews had a different idea of faith. For them, what counted as a deed, not a creed. While the Torah (law) stressed works, Paul emphasized faith in Jesus. He again held that the law was derived from intermediaries, not directly from God (Grant, 1976, pp. 91-96). Here Paul decisively breaks with traditional Judaism.

Vidler (1972) would seem to anticipate Grant in the interpretation of Paul as being obsessed with guilt as an inevitable outcome of sin. That is, humans are collectively guilty, but in the reception of Christ, they are somehow justified and join a community that Paul calls the body of Christ. Again, Vidler stresses that Paul links justification to faith alone, and describes it as akin to grace. No work of the law but exclusively faith in Jesus alone guarantees salvation (Vidler, 1972, pp. 146-147).