Gary North

Romans deals with a whole series of crucial issues: the rebellion of man and its effect on what he thinks about God (1:18-21), the common morality of humanity (2:14-15), the redemption of the curse of nature (8:19-23), the division of labor (12), the legitimacy of civil government (13:1-7), and the reason not to be in debt (13:8).

The section in Romans that deals with the division of labor in the church (12) is paralleled by I Corinthians 12. When Paul says something twice, we should pay attention.

The division of labor makes the church a better tool for the extension of God's kingdom. What is true of the church is true of every other institution.

Adam Smith began The Wealth of Nations (1776) with a discussion of the pin-makers of his day: how specialized tools that were funded by private capital investment make men far more productive. In this sense, Adam Smith's intellectual defense of capitalism was an extension of Paul's observation regarding the church.

Romans