General Information | |
| Name | This letter is named for its recipients, the church in Rome. |
| Author And Date | From several clues, the date of the writing of Romans may be very precisely determined. Evidence in the letters to Corinth, Acts, and Romans itself indicates Paul wrote Romans from Corinth during his third missionary journey. In both Corinthian letters, Paul says that a collection was being taken up for the poor Christians in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1-3; 2 Cor 8:1-9:1). By the time Paul wrote Romans this collection had been completed, and Paul was planning on leaving for Jerusalem to deliver it (Rom 15:22-29). The deaconess Phoebe was to deliver the letter to Rome, presumably leaving at the same time. However, a Jewish plot against him forced Paul to leave Corinth prematurely, walking through Macedonia instead of taking a ship directly from Corinth. Paul ended up boarding a ship for Jerusalem from Philippi the next spring. Paul’s stay in Corinth has been dated to have ended in the fall of A.D. 57., so with a relative amount of certainty, the Epistle to the Romans may be dated to the early fall of A.D. 57. |
| Audience | Paul addresses the letter to “all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.” (1:7). At the time of the writing of the letter, Paul had not yet visited Rome. In fact, it isn’t known for sure how the Roman church was started. Some have postulated that it was new Jewish converts returning from Jerusalem after Pentecost who organized the first community of believers in Rome. It is thought that there were as many as 50,000 Jews living in Rome at this time. What is clear, from the contents of the Epistle, is that the Roman believers were in need of an almost systematic theological treatise. They had apparently embraced faith in Jesus; now they needed to “be established” in this faith. The composition of the Roman church is the subject of debate. Some argue that the church was largely Gentile, others say it was majority Jewish, while others say it was a mix of both. If it is true that the church was started by Jewish converts, then it was almost certainly composed mainly of Jews. However, in A.D. 49 emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome (which a Roman historian says was due to strife over someone called “Chrestus” – thought to be Christ). This act would leave the Roman church mainly Gentile. After Claudius’ death in 54 Jews were allowed back in the city. Based on one of Paul’s themes in Romans – unity – it has been surmised that this upheaval lead to conflict between the Gentile and Jewish elements in the Roman church. |
| Message and Occasion | As mentioned previously, Paul included several messages in Romans. Paul stresses the universality of human sin, the need for and way to obtain salvation, the status of the believer before God and the need for harmony in within the community. Paul’s occasion for writing was his planned visit to Rome, on his way to evangelize Spain. He may well have wanted to use Rome as a home base for missionary trips to the western part of the empire, much as he had used Antioch in the east. Paul hints that he may also have wanted the Roman Christians to provide support for these trips (15:24). However, Paul was growing increasingly worried about his trip to Israel, having been warned by the Holy Spirit of “chains and tribulations” (Acts 20:23). Paul may have written Romans with the thought that he may never make it there, and wanted them to have a comprehensive theological exposition. Also mentioned previously, Paul emphasized harmony and unity in Romans, reminding the Jews and Gentiles alike that they were both under bondage to sin, and freed from that bondage by grace through faith. Paul was careful to remind the Gentiles that the Jews had not ceased to be God’s chosen people, but was equally careful to remind the Jews not to rely on their ethnicity for salvation. Paul even included practical, everyday instructions on Jews and Gentiles living together in peace. |
Key Information | |
| Key Verses | 3:21-26 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” 5:6-11 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” 15:7-9 “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. . ." |
| Key People | Phoebe Phoebe the Deaconess, a “servant of the church in Cenchrea,” was tasked by Paul with taking the Epistle to Rome. Paul says she has been the “helper of many and of myself also.” (16:2) Cenchrea was a port town near Corinth. Priscilla and Aquilla Paul says these two are “fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (16:3). Aquilla and his wife lived in Rome, but were from Pontus, were Paul met them, after the Jews were expelled from Rome (Acts 18:2-3). They accompanied Paul to Syria (Acts 18:18) but stayed in Ephesus (Acts 18:19). |
Important Theology in Romans | |
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| The Extent of the Sinfulness of Man | Paul makes several mentions of not only the totality of man’s sinful state prior to conversion, but that all men suffer this affliction. Neither Jews nor Gentiles escape judgment because “all men are without excuse” (1:20) and fall under the curse of Adam. |
| Justification Through Faith | Paul extensively discusses justification by faith in Romans, especially in 3:21-5:11. He uses the now famous example of Abraham, whom Paul says was accounted righteous through believe, not works. Less famous, but just as important, Paul also cited David’s faith. Not only is justification through faith not works, it is not a birthright. The Jews were not (and are not) justified through their being Jewish. Moreover, justification is accomplished through Christ’s vicarious, substitutionary atoning sacrifice. |
| Sanctification | Paul discussed sanctification at length, calling believers to “walk in newness of life,” should “no longer be slaves to sin” (6:4; 6:6) and be “dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:11). He says that although we are sanctified by grace, we should not use our freedom to sin, “that grace may increase." |
| Election | Paul teaches in Romans that election is predestined, and not on the basis of something done by the believer, but according to God’s purpose. Thus, election decided before the person has “done any evil or good” and is obtained and upheld by God, not “of the one who works.” (9:11) Although some may say this is not fair, Paul answers that man is in no position to judge God, in the same way as the clay cannot object to how the potter forms the clay. |
| Israel | Paul devotes a large section of Romans (9:1-11:36) to a discussion of Israel. He says that although the nation rejected Jesus as Messiah, their rejection is neither complete, nor unending. As in the past, there remains a faithful remnant who will eventually enjoy the blessings promised to them. |
General Outline | |
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Introduction (1:1-17)
Universal Sinfulness of Man (1:16—3:20)
Righteousness Imputed to Man (3:21-5:21)
Results of Righteousness in the Life of Man (6:1-8:39)
Israel (9:1-11:36)
Life of the Believer (12:1-15:13)
Epilogue (15:14—16:27)
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Used by permission. ©2017 H. Wayne House, Charting the New Testament. All Rights Reserved.