What makes Romans unique?

New Testament scholar James Edwards describes Romans as “the most commanding exposition of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith ever written.” Of all the letters written by the apostle Paul, this is the only one addressed to a congregation that he did not know personally. In this letter, Paul provides his most detailed summary of the gospel—the good news about Jesus Christ as he interpreted it. Throughout the letter, Paul wrestles with questions about the role of Jews and Gentiles in the plan of God, the relationship between grace and the Law, the resultant effects of Christ’s death and resurrection on Judaism, and even with his own identity as a Jewish Christian and as God’s apostle to the Gentiles (1:5, 13; cf. Galatians 1:16; 2:8). In his effort to grapple with these profound, thorny issues, Paul crafts a very detailed and complex argument and presents his readers with a rich description of foundational Christian theology.

Why was Romans written?

The apostle Paul wrote this letter about A.D. 55–56 to introduce himself to the followers of Christ at Rome, who likely included new Gentile Christians as well as Jewish Christians who had returned to Rome after being expelled some years earlier. These Christians, as well as Christians in other parts of the Mediterranean world, had more than one way of understanding the good news. Jewish Christians in Rome and in Jerusalem continued to follow the Law of Moses, but Gentile Christians did not follow the Law. So, who was right? What place, if any, did the Law of Moses provide for Gentile Christians? And how did the people of Israel fit into God’s plan for sharing the good news? And how were members of the Church-those who together make up the body of Christ (12:5)—supposed to conduct themselves in society and in relation to one another?

Jewish Christianity (i.e., a Torah-abiding version of Christianity) was by no means unusual during this period; in fact, it was more than likely the norm (see e.g., Acts 15:1, 5; 21:20-21; note also that Matthew’s Gospel was written from a distinctly Jewish-Christian perspective). Christianity may have continued indefinitely as just another sect of Judaism if Paul had not tipped the scales so decisively. Therefore, Paul’s letter to the Galatians represents a major turning point (see the Study Guide for Galatians.) Although the Letter to the Galatians was written in response to a specific crisis, it is here that Paul began to articulate fully his theological understanding of salvation as a gift of God that comes through having faith in what Jesus Christ has accomplished through his death and resurrection (viz., deliverance from sin) rather than by careful observance of the Mosaic Law. Paul then developed this idea further in his Letter to the Romans, which reads like “an expanded second edition” of Galatians; it later became one of the most fundamental doctrines of Christianity.

It is essential that we remember that Paul’s view of the Law was positive. Paul regarded the Torah as authentic revelation of God indicating how human beings should live in relation to God and the world around them (Romans 7:12). But in a manner similar to Jesus, Paul was able to reduce the Torah to one central commandment: one should love one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18, quoted in Galatians 5:14; cf. Matthew 7:12; 22:37-40). Of course, it is not necessary that one be a Jew in order to fulfill this law of love, which Paul calls “the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Therefore, according to Paul, observing the Law is neither a prerequisite nor a guarantee of salvation. What is essential, however, in order to fulfill the law of Christ, is that an individual be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 5:16-26), which is possible for every Christian as a result of being baptized in Christ. Through baptism, believers have been “crucified with Christ.” Now, the risen Jesus lives and acts in the believer through the Holy Spirit, resulting in a life that is pleasing to God (Romans 6:3, 4; Galatians 2:19, 20; 3:27; 5:24, 25).

Paul teaches in the Letter to the Romans that the good news was based in the beginning on God’s promise to Israel’s ancestor Abraham, whose faith made him acceptable to God (4:13). The Law, given later to Moses and the people of Israel, revealed how God’s people were to live. Still later, God sent Jesus Christ to forgive sins and make people acceptable because of their faith, something which the Law on its own could not do (3:21-26). This did not mean the Law was useless or that the people who followed the Law (Israel) were no longer part of God’s people. But, according to Paul, it is faith in Jesus Christ that provides salvation, and it is faith alone—which is itself a gift of God—that makes one acceptable to God.

What’s the story behind the scene?

A group of believers who trusted in Jesus Christ as God’s Messiah existed in Rome long before Paul planned his trip there. By A.D. 49 or 50, Jews who were not Jesus’ followers and this new group of Jesus’ followers were fighting so much that the Roman Emperor Claudius made them all leave Rome (see Acts 18:1-4). Among the followers of Jesus who left were a married couple, Priscilla and Aquila, who later worked with Paul as tentmakers in Corinth and Ephesus (Acts 18:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:3). Eventually, some of these followers returned to Rome, and Paul hoped to visit them on his way to bringing the good news to Spain (15:28). But before he could make this trip, Paul wanted to take to Jerusalem the money he had collected from Gentile Christians in Macedonia and Achaia to give to the church in Jerusalem (15:26-29). He hoped that the teachings he had presented in this letter would also be acceptable to the Jewish Christians there (15:30-32). The author of Acts reports that Paul eventually got to Rome when he was taken there as a prisoner of the Roman emperor (Acts 27 and 28). The Bible does not say whether or not he ever visited or preached the good news in Spain.

How is Romans constructed?

A simple outline of Romans is as follows:

• Paul introduces himself and the good news (1:1-17)
• Everyone is guilty before God (1:18—3:20)
• How God accepts people (3:21—4:25)
• Living the new life of faith (5:1—8:39)
• God reaches out to the people of Israel (9:1—11:36)
• Life in the body of Christ (12:1—15:13)
• Paul’s plans and personal greetings (15:14—16:27)