NT 516 ACTS AND ROMANS
Reformed Theological Seminary
Dr. William Barcley (bill.barcley@sovereigngrace.org)
January 6-10, 2014
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A study of Acts and Paul’s Epistle to the Romans that emphasizes both the original
meaning and the modern meaning (RTS Catalog).
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the overall structure of Acts and Luke’s purposes for writing.
2. To examine the place of Acts within the larger picture of Biblical Theology.
3. To trace the missions activity of the early Christians, and especially the
missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul. To use Acts, then, as a map against
which to understand Paul’s life and ministry.
4. To gain an appreciation for Paul not as “abstract theologian,” but as a missionary,
and to see how Romans serves his missiological purposes.
5. To understand Paul’s letter to the Romans within its first century historical
setting. Biblical studies must always begin with historical questions: Who wrote
it? What were the particular circumstances of the author? To whom is it
addressed? What were the circumstances of the addressees? What factors, either
in the author’s life or in the lives of the addressees, might have caused the letter to
be written?
6. To see many of the implications of Romans both for theology and for daily life.
7. To gain a better understanding of the biblical foundation for many of the rich
theological concepts presented in the letter. These include justification by faith,
sanctification, union with Christ, redemption, reconciliation, covenant,
propitiation and election.
8. To gain insight into the critical question, How does Paul describe the believer’s
relationship to the Law? This has important implications both for understanding
Paul and for understanding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
9. To understand some of the main lines of development in the history of
interpreting Paul, including the so-called “new perspective” on Paul in recent
biblical scholarship.
TEXTS
Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament (2nd edition), 285-414.
G. E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (rev. ed.), 347-93.
P. T. O’Brien, Gospel and Mission in the Writings of Paul
William B. Barcley (with Ligon Duncan), Gospel Clarity: Challenging the New
Perspective on Paul (Evangelical Press)
EVALUATION
Your grade for this course will be based on the following:
1. Completing all of the assigned reading for the course. In addition, students must
read both Acts and Romans twice. On the final exam, students will be asked to
indicate the percentage of the reading they have completed. (10%)
2. A mid-term exam, which will be taken in class on Wednesday afternoon. (25%)
3. A 6 page reflection paper on the New Perspective on Paul (using class lectures,
Gospel Clarity, and other resources of the students’ choosing). This is not a
research paper, per se, but it should demonstrate basic clear and accurate
knowledge of the NPP. One of the primary “rules of engagement” when we
interact with any teaching that we do not necessarily agree with is that we
attempt, as best as possible, to present the views of the other person(s) in such a
way that they would say, Yes, that is an accurate portrayal of what I am saying.
Students’ reflections should include drawing on key passages from Acts and
Romans. This paper is due two weeks after the completion of the class (Friday,
January 24, by 12:00 noon). (15%)
4. A final exam, worth 50% of your final grade. It will be due four weeks after the
class is completed (Friday, 2/7, by 12:00 noon). The exam will be based on class
lectures and all reading assignments. This exam will be cumulative.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Day
Date
Material Covered
1)
1/6
Introduction; Acts
2)
1/7
Acts; Romans
3)
1/8
Romans
Mid-term exam
4)
1/9
Romans
New Perspective on Paul
5)
1/10
Romans