Romans 1 Special Changes

The Apostle Paul writes the letter of Romans to Christians, so it can’t be that they are the ones lost in darkness, blackness, sin, death, or idolatry, which is why in chapter one he speaks of lost sinners as them, or those. But to have Paul stand up in front of a crowd of such people and speak about ‘them’ and ‘they’ in a clinically detached way is clunky- we don’t have discussions about ourselves in the third person. Therefore all the third person references became the first and second addresses, and as a result this comes off perhaps stronger than Paul would actually preach to a crowd. Indeed, when he was before Agrippa or Festus, the magistrates at Philippi, or the captain at Jerusalem, he displayed a winsome tact, whereas these words sting. On the one hand that’s good, all of these sins lie in my heart, on the other hand, that’s not what the Bible says exactly. The other thing is, and this is the more important point, Paul has reserved the you for chapter 2. Part of what makes that chapter hit home is that Paul has dealt in the abstract until now, where he makes it personal. That's worth remembering when working through this book. That's why these are called out as special changes to chapter 1.

The to His (Romans 1:4)

That to the (Romans 1:27)

The to an (Romans 2:26)

Who to while (Romans 1:32)

Them to you (Romans 1:19, 24, 26, 28)

They to you (Romans 1:20, 21,22)

They to we (Romans 1:21, 27)

Their to you , your (Romans 1:21, 24,26 , 27)

Themselves to yourselves (Romans 1:22, 24, 27)

Themselves to ourselves (Romans 1:22)

The to you (Romans 1:27)

Their to our (Romans 1:27)

Was to is (Romans 1:27)

Your to our (Romans 16:16)

Professing to profess (Romans 1:22)