Abstract:

This article seeks to demonstrate that, apart from the divine revelation Paul received from Jesus Christ, the primary resource he employed in articulating the gospel was the Hebrew Bible specifically the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. By tracing Paul’s key statements to the Romans concerning sin, humanity’s separation from God, divine judgment, and the promise of redemption, we will uncover their deep roots in the Hebrew Scriptures. In doing so, we begin to see that Paul’s presentation of the gospel cannot be divorced from its Jewish foundations. Rather, the gospel must be understood through a Jewish lens, revealing it as the fulfillment not the replacement of God’s covenantal promises to Israel, through which the blessing of salvation extends also to the Gentile nations.

The Gospel Through the Jewish Eyes of Paul

When Christians speak of the gospel, the instinctive point of reference is often the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans. For many, Romans has come to be viewed as the definitive starting point for articulating the message of salvation. Yet a closer examination of Scripture reveals the necessity of returning to the Hebrew Bible to grasp the true depth of Paul’s proclamation. By “Hebrew Bible,” I am referring to what Christianity has traditionally called the Old Testament. I note this deliberately, for through my studies I have come to prefer the designation “Hebrew Bible.” The term “Old Testament,” while deeply rooted in Christian tradition, is frequently misunderstood. The word old has too often been taken to imply obsolescence, as though the Hebrew Scriptures hold diminished value in comparison to the Apostolic Writings (New Testament). This misconception has, in part, contributed to the development of replacement theology, which asserts that Israel is no longer a participant in God’s covenant promises. Such reasoning obscures the reality that the gospel, as understood by the apostles and the earliest disciples of Christ, was grounded not in newly written apostolic texts, but in the Hebrew Scriptures the very Scriptures employed by Jesus Himself.  

As we begin, we observe that in his letter to the Romans, Paul declares in chapter 3, verse 23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” This verse is often treated as the entry point for explaining the gospel message. From this foundation, Paul moves directly to the proclamation of redemption through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24) the good news that salvation is the free gift of God’s grace. It is here that Paul underscores the assurance of salvation, grounded not in human works but in faith: faith in the redemptive act of Christ on Calvary and in His victorious resurrection.

As one engages this passage, it is easy to overlook the historical reality that when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he did not have before him a leather-bound Bible containing both Old and New Testaments. The apostolic writings what we now call the New Testament were only in the earliest stages of formation. Thus, the Scriptures that served as Paul’s authoritative reference point were the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, collectively known today as the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Every theological affirmation in Romans finds its roots and foundational strength within these ancient texts. To be sure, Paul’s illumination of these Scriptures came from Christ Himself, as Paul testifies in Galatians regarding his time of divine instruction following his conversion. Yet what was revealed to him was the fulfillment of the very Scriptures that bore witness to Jesus the Messiah and His completed work.

Paul was not presenting the apostolic writings as a replacement for the Hebrew Bible; rather, he was demonstrating that the promises and prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures reached their intended fulfillment in Christ the Messiah in whom Paul, along with countless others, had placed his faith at the time he penned this epistle to the Romans.

In order to fully appreciate what Paul is communicating to the Romans and by extension to us as we read this epistle, we must first consider his context. Paul was addressing a congregation composed of both Jews and Gentiles, believers living in the very heart of the Roman Empire. Within such a setting, pressing questions naturally arose concerning identity, covenant membership, and the ongoing role of the Law not merely as abstract theological concerns, but as matters that shaped the daily life, vision, and mission of the early church. These issues were central to defining what it meant to belong to the people of God in a diverse and contested environment. Therefore, recognizing the role of the Hebrew Bible in shaping Paul’s thought is essential. It enables us to read the apostolic writings with greater depth, enriched by the awareness of Paul’s Jewish heritage and rigorous education, which formed the very foundation from which he proclaimed the gospel.

A Torah Truth Before Paul Wrote It

Romans 3:23 is not a new revelation. Paul echoes the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple: “If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them…” (1 Kings 8:46). Likewise, Ecclesiastes 7:20 affirms, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” These verses declared the universal problem of sin centuries before Paul put pen to parchment. He was not inventing guilt but confirming a truth Israel already confessed in its sacred literature.

This reality is woven throughout Israel’s covenant history. From Adam to the wilderness generation, from the monarchy to the exile, the Hebrew Bible presents a consistent portrait of humanity’s inability to maintain perfect covenant faithfulness. The Psalms frequently voice this awareness: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3), which Paul quotes directly in Romans 3. By invoking these texts, Paul positions himself not as a theological innovator but as an interpreter of Israel’s own testimony.

Moreover, the Jewish understanding of sin is not merely about individual moral failure but about covenant breach, a relational rupture between God and His people. In Deuteronomy 9:7, Moses reminds Israel, “From the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.” Paul’s declaration that “all have sinned” thus aligns perfectly with the covenantal framework his Jewish audience would recognize, while also applying it universally to Jew and Gentile alike.

Sin Separates from God — Isaiah’s Timeless Warning

Paul’s depiction of humanity’s estrangement from God in Romans 3:10–12 echoes the lament of Psalm 14:1–3, which describes the absence of any who truly seek after God. This same reality is powerfully expressed in Isaiah 59:1–2: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you.” In the prophetic imagination, sin operates as a barrier, severing access to the divine presence and disrupting the covenant relationship.

This theme of separation finds its roots in the Torah itself. The expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden in Genesis 3 signifies more than a change of location; it reflects the loss of unmediated fellowship with the Creator. Likewise, the Levitical purity laws underscore this principle, as sin and impurity render one unfit to draw near to God’s dwelling place. Paul’s framework of the gospel assumes this same theological reality, yet now proclaims the Messiah as the One who removes the barrier and reconciles humanity to God (cf. Ephesians 2:14–16).

Second Temple Jewish literature further testifies to the seriousness of this condition. Works such as the Psalms of Solomon and the Dead Sea Scrolls often interpret exile, suffering, and foreign domination as tangible expressions of God’s distance, brought about by Israel’s sins.

Against this backdrop, Paul’s announcement that reconciliation has been accomplished in the Messiah is not an innovation, but rather the long-anticipated reversal of Israel’s deepest tragedy.

The Wages of Sin — From Eden to the Prophets

Paul’s assertion in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” is not a new doctrine but a concise restatement of a principle first articulated in Genesis 2:17: “…for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” This covenantal warning reverberates throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Ezekiel 18:4 declares the same truth with clarity: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Paul’s words thus summarize a theological conviction embedded in Israel’s sacred texts from the Torah through the Prophets.

This death is both physical and spiritual the loss of life lived in communion with God. In the Torah, covenant disobedience carries the threat of exile, a form of national “death” that mirrors the alienation of the individual from God (Deuteronomy 30:15–20). The prophets interpret the Babylonian exile as the covenant curses reaching their full measure, with Israel’s estrangement manifesting in judgment and displacement. Paul operates within this same covenantal logic, but extends it to all humanity, proclaiming that sin’s penalty remains universal apart from divine intervention.

Later rabbinic traditions preserve this understanding, associating sin not only with immediate consequences but also with eschatological judgment. Paul’s Jewish hearers, therefore, would have recognized the continuity of his claim with the Hebrew Bible, even if they disputed his identification of the Messiah. His central claim is that Jesus’ resurrection decisively breaks the cycle of sin’s wages, offering eternal life as an unmerited gift of God’s grace.

Redemption in Christ — Foreshadowed in the Hebrew Bible

When Paul speaks of redemption through the Messiah’s blood (Romans 3:24–25), he draws upon the language of Israel’s greatest deliverance—the Exodus. The Hebrew term go’el (“redeemer”) pervades the Torah and Prophets (Leviticus 25:25; Isaiah 59:20), signifying God’s act of rescuing His people from bondage or restoring them to covenantal inheritance. Redemption is not an abstract theological construct but a covenant reality, rooted in Israel’s history with the God who saves.

The Passover narrative stands as the clearest foreshadowing. The blood of the lamb upon Israel’s doorposts signified covenant obedience and divine protection, so that judgment “passed over” them (Exodus 12:13). Paul interprets the Messiah’s death through this imagery, portraying Jesus as the ultimate Passover Lamb whose blood secures deliverance from sin’s judgment (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7). Likewise, the Day of Atonement rituals (Leviticus 16) reinforce this theme, as the sprinkling of blood upon the mercy seat symbolized purification and reconciliation. Paul’s gospel proclaims that what the high priest enacted in symbol, the Messiah accomplished in reality. In this sense, the cross is not a departure from the sacrificial system but its climactic fulfillment.

Paul — A Jewish Scholar with Faith in the Messiah

To grasp Paul’s argument, one must also consider his identity. Trained as a Pharisee under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), Paul was steeped in the Scriptures of Israel and zealous for the law. His encounter with the risen Messiah on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) did not erase this identity but reoriented it around Christ. His writings in Romans bear the marks of his rabbinic training—employing interpretive practices such as midrash, remez, and pesher. Far from setting aside the law, Paul insisted he upheld it (Romans 3:31), but understood its ultimate purpose as realized in the Messiah. For Paul, the promises to Abraham and David remained intact; what had changed was the unveiling of their fulfillment in Christ.

Recognizing Paul as a Jewish scholar prevents us from reading Romans as a manifesto for a new religion detached from Israel’s story. Rather, it is a proclamation that the covenant God of Israel has acted decisively through His Messiah for the salvation of both Israel and the nations.

This is the heartbeat of Paul’s gospel, pulsing in rhythm with the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.

Why This Matters for Us Today

Such recognition matters profoundly for the Church today. If Romans is read apart from its Hebrew roots, the gospel risks being reduced to an individualistic transaction, severed from the covenantal narrative of Israel. Paul’s message cannot be divorced from the storyline that begins in creation, advances through the calling of Abraham, and culminates in the Messiah of Israel. To miss this is to risk succumbing to replacement theology, which wrongly suggests that the Church has supplanted Israel in God’s redemptive plan. Paul’s own argument in Romans 9–11 soundly rejects this, affirming that “the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29).

The gospel, then, is not the negation of Israel’s story but its fulfillment. In an age when much of the Church has become estranged from its Jewish foundations, recovering Paul’s Hebrew Bible context is essential. It deepens our theology, enriches our proclamation, and strengthens our witness. To read Romans through Jewish eyes is to perceive anew the unbroken faithfulness of the God who began His work with Abraham’s seed and who will bring it to completion in Messiah.