Romans 9-16: New Testament Volume 8 (Volume 8)

Reformation Commentary on Scripture #8

by Philip D.W. Krey (Editor), Peter D.S. Krey (Editor)

Writing to the early Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2 ESV). Perhaps more than any other New Testament epistle, Paul's letter to the Romans has been the focus of Christian reflection throughout the church's history, transforming the minds and convicting the hearts of believers. Sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther reflected the church's longstanding emphasis on this portion of the canon: "Let the Epistle to the Romans be the door and the key to holy Scripture for you; otherwise you will never enter into a proper understanding and comprehension of the Bible." In this volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, Philip Krey and Peter Krey guide readers with care through a diversity of Reformation-era commentary on the second half of Paul's letter to the Roman church. Among the difficult issues addressed by Paul and commented on by early modern exegetes were the predestination of God's elect, the destiny of Israel, the role of Gentiles in salvation history, the ethical demands of the Christian life, and the Christian's relationship to the state. Here, readers will encounter familiar voices and discover lesser-known figures from a variety of theological traditions, including Lutherans, Reformed, Radicals, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics. The volume draws on a variety of resources, including commentaries, sermons, treatises, and confessions, much of which appears here for the first time in English. Gathering together these Reformation-era reflections, it provides resources for contemporary preachers, enables scholars to better understand the depth and breadth of Reformation biblical commentary and aids the ongoing transformation of the minds―and lives―of people today.

Genres: Reference

438 pages, Hardcover

Published October 19, 2016

About the author

Philip D. W. Krey (PhD, University of Chicago) is president emeritus and professor emeritus of early and medieval church history at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He is the author of several books, including Nicholas of Lyra's Apocalypse Commentary and For All the Saints: A Short History of the Church, and the coeditor of Luther's Spirituality as well as the volume on Hebrews in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For as long as scripture has been in existence there have been people trying to interpret God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant word. Many years later during the Middle Ages the exegesis of Holy Scripture became last, yet when the Protestant Reformation begin it brought about a excellent exegets like that of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cromwell comma and many others. To read all of the works of these excellent expositors have previously necessitated you to purchase thousands of dollars in commentary and Treatise works, just to get they’re theological interpretation of a few specific passages. Furthermore some of these works are not only expensive but hard to find. Thankfully this is no longer the case.

Recently IVP academic has published a new series of commentaries called the Reformation commentary on scripture. This Commentary series edited by Timothy George combines a variety of reformation era commentaries concentrated around a specific book of the Holy Scripture. This excellently produced commentary on the Acts of the Apostles sees how George has again outdone himself. With this volume he has Enlisted the aid Philip D. W. Krey & Peter D. S. Krey, to edit this specific commentary. And they did a fantastic job. It is a wonderful compilation others asked their best and most notable theological insights into the Romans 9-16. The book of Romans has been linked directly to the start of the protestant reformation, therefore it is fascinating hearing the men who were the spark of the reformation in their own words.

While most commentaries use a verse by verse approach to scripture this commentary engages The Romans 9-16 on a section-by-section basis. This book is not a quick read, nor is it additional devotional commentary, yet it could be used as one if desired. The primary audience of this commentary is pastors and Scholars for they are citing the original sources other than republish copies the reformers works. Furthermore it needs to be mentioned that Pastor can use most of these quotes from the reformers in a variety of ways and they’re preaching and teaching.

Lastly as with most reformers application was on the forefront of their minds when exegeting scripture and it shows in commentary. These pastor-scholars make application the greatest asset in this commentary. I highly recommend this work the pastors and Scholars like whether you are preaching on the Acts of the Apostles or whether you are studying a specific passenger topic or even getting deeper personal understanding into this book of the Gospel you will be blessed by the reading of it.

This book was provided to me free of charge from IVP Academic in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Romans 9-16: Reformation Commentary on Scripture

© 2016 Edited by Philip D. W. Krey & Peter D. S. Krey

Publisher: IVP Academic

Page Count: 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-0830829712

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romans 9 is one of the key chapters of Reformation thinking, so this volume covering chapters 9-16 is pivotal in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) series. Since this volume has been released, an additional volume covering Romans 1-8 has also come out giving us an extraordinary resource in Reformation views on this key book of the New Testament. In this volume (9-16), two Lutheran professors, who happen to be brothers, Philip D. W. Krey and Peter D. S. Krey, culled all of Reformation commentaries to create this fine resource. These two were even raised by a Lutheran pastor, so they have lived in Reformation thinking their entire lives. They certainly have the credentials to assemble this volume of the best that Reformation commentators have to offer. To my mind, they have succeeded.

Their introduction to Romans 9-16 shows their understanding of the issues that were at the heart of Reformation thinking. In our day, many of us would label those views as Calvinist views, though they give the most kudos to Augustine and Luther. They do, however, quote Calvin in several places throughout the commentary itself. It’s clear these editors agree with those they quote in many cases. In that introduction, they will speak of predestination, double predestination, single predestination and offer an excursus on Erasmus and the freedom of the will as well as opposing views that they label as conditional predestination. Still, they get into other key issues that they label the call of the nations, the ministry of the word, and Christian ethics. All in all, it was well done.

The commentary itself is of the quality that I have so far found in every volume in this series that I have reviewed. There is likely an overabundance of primary material to sift through with corresponding choices to be made for what best represents Reformation thinking to share in this volume, but they appear to me to have done an excellent job. I feel one could easily get a full grasp of what the reformers thought about most passages in Romans 9-16 in this compilation. If you grab the one that’s now released on Romans 1-8, you will have a resource well worth having and consulting for this mountain peak of Scripture called Romans.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.