Romans: Believers Church Bible Commentary

Believers Church Bible Commentary

by John E. Toews

Romans was written by Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. As an apostle Paul spent his life traveling the Mediterranean area preaching the gospel and establishing churches. In the course of his missionary career, Paul wrote numerous letters to the churches he had established as a way to pastor them in his absence. Romans is the longest and most complex of Paul's letters. John E. Toews explores why Paul writes to remind the Roman churches of God's purpose for both Jew and Gentile and to reconcile Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Gentile church relationships.

464 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sagely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always looked a bit sideways at the BCBC series. While careful reflection on Scripture sparked much of the Believers Church movement in the 16th century, my experience with Mennonite churches and presses often exposes a surprising need for original, personal, and critical reflection on Scripture. It seems popular Protestant maxims and pop psychology have often displaced rigor and honesty in our relation to Scripture.

John E. Toew's Romans offers a great exception. In page after page I was surprised by both the depth of interaction with other scholarship and the originality of his approach. While I'll have to continue to weigh some of his conclusions (particularly about sin and the role of Israel), this brief commentary is nothing but provocative.

If I have any complaint, it's the lack of a user-friendly format to his reflections and his propensity to neologisms and jargon. Sometimes the scaffolding, both editorial and intellectual, is a bit intimidating.

Well worth consulting when you're working with Romans.

[Linda Tiessen-Wiebe]

started April, 2012