But Paul has not yet adequately dealt with the law in regards to his own people. In chapters 9-11, Paul's third proof struggles mightily with this issue, for unless he deals with it, he cannot support his thesis. At the end of his final theological proof, Paul throws up his hands and submits to the superior knowledge of God, whose ways are inscrutable. Paul gives further reasons for having written and informs the Roman Christians of his future plans. I have traced only the barest outlines of one form of the emerging paradigm of Romans interpretation.
Many variations exist.
But the overall perspective remains, and scholarship will never revert to the traditional paradigm. We have learned too much about the first century church in its Greco-Roman setting, and we have become increasingly wary of reading our contemporary assumptions into an ancient text. Certainly God's grace is still available for the individual believer, but that is not the main point of Romans. I have space to suggest only a few. First, it should raise our appreciation for the Hebrew scriptures, for God's original covenant with the Jewish people.