In Romans class we talk a great deal about how the New Testament in general and Romans in particular does not know an individual Christianity. This means that the way we treat Christianity today, this “I have a personal relationship to Jesus” isn’t in the New Testament world. Everything they do is as a community.
In our churches we might say “read your Bibles individually to bolster your individual relationship with God” or “pray to get into a better place with God” etc, but in the New Testament times my relationship with God is indistinguishable from anyone else’s. That being true, our teacher suggested that our pursuit should be a communal one, not one where individual relationships are grown. In other words, we should act like it is “our relationship to God” and not “my personal relationship to God.”
