N.T. Wright on the Bible's Most Misunderstood Verse

5 snips

Nov 29, 2023

The podcast discusses N.T. Wright's new book on Romans 8, exploring topics such as salvation, atonement theories, fear of judgment, covenant faithfulness, and the groaning of creation. They also touch on prayer, women in ministry, and the authenticity of Christianity through the resurrection of Jesus.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Romans Emphasizes Vocation Over Rulekeeping

The Romans Road compresses Paul's message into moral failure and a checklist, missing Paul's fuller covenant storyline.
Romans emphasizes human vocation as image-bearing, not merely moral rule-following.

ADVICE

Read The Story Slowly To Test Its Power

If someone is curious about Jesus, read the story slowly and attentively, switching off distractions.
Give an hour or two and imagine yourself as a spectator to see if God's love cracks something open.

INSIGHT

Penal Language Within Covenant Narrative

Romans 8:3-4 frames Jesus' death as God condemning sin in the flesh of Jesus, which is penal and substitutionary.
Properly located in the Bible's covenant narrative, penal language avoids pagan parallels and shows covenantal rescue.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Many evangelicals are taught to share the gospel according to “The Romans Road,” which charts a path through the book to explain the path to salvation. But English theologian and prolific author N.T. Wright says that while anything that highlights how God’s love reaches out to humanity is good news, the book of Romans itself paints a far more beautiful picture of salvation than The Romans Road can encapsulate.

On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Wright and Moore discuss Wright’s new book on Romans 8, Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul's Greatest Letter. Their conversation includes the storyline of Scripture, what it means that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8), and what keeps people from realizing that God is love. They talk about atonement theories, fear of judgment, and embracing the fact that Christians do not need to fear, for God is with them (Psalm 23).

Moore and Wright consider the meaning of covenant faithfulness, covenant justice, and the groaning of creation. They discuss the ecological impact of eschatology, how Romans can be a comfort to the hurting, and the meaning of the term “predestination.” Their conversation covers prayer, women in ministry, and how Wright knows for sure that Christianity is true.

Tune in for an episode that is both theologically rich and characterized by humility, kindness, and joy.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul's Greatest Letter by N.T. Wright
In Christ Alone by Keith and Kristyn Getty
Endpoint and Other Poems by John Updike
Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire, Demanding Justice by Sylvia C. Keesmaat and Brian J. Walsh
Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul's Theology of Glory in Romans by Haley Goranson Jacob
After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters by N.T. Wright
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.

Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.

“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper

Host: Russell Moore

Producer: Ashley Hales

Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill

Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens

Audio engineering by Dan Phelps

Video producer: Abby Egan

Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices