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's 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 in the apostle Paul's thought. (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, and it later become one
of the most fundamental doctrines of Christianity.
It is
absolutely essential that we remember 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)
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