Romans

Composition

Romans is a New Testament book believed to have been written by the apostle Paul. Paul was the most influential leader of the early Christian Church. Romans is one of the epistles, or letters written to the early churches. Scholars believe that Paul wrote Romans about 57 CE as a letter to the church in Rome. Scholars believe that Paul wrote between seven and thirteen epistles, which are referred to as the Pauline epistles.

At the time Paul wrote to the Romans, had been preaching for about twenty years, but had not visited the congregation. Before converting to Christianity, Paul was a Jewish leader who had taken part in the persecution of the Christians. According to the book of Acts, Paul converted to Christianity after he received a vision from God while on the road to Damascus. He became a stanch advocate of Christianity and traveled throughout the Mediterranean region spreading the faith.

Paul was eventually imprisoned and taken to Rome for trial. He spent several years there under house arrest where he was allowed visitors. Many Roman Christians came to see him during this time. Paul is believed to have died sometime after 64 CE. Details about his death are unknown, but Christian tradition holds that he was beheaded.

Summary

Paul begins the letter with an address. He introduces himself and states that he considers himself to be an apostle and “a slave of Christ Jesus.” Paul is not demeaning himself with this term, but is letting his audience know that he serves God and his commitment to the Church is unwavering. Paul also acknowledges his audience and says he believes the Church in Rome is very faithful to God. Paul notes that he has long desired to visit Rome, but he has not had the opportunity. Later, Paul indicates that he does have some acquaintances among the Roman congregation.

After his opening address, Paul starts into the body of his letter. He lays out a broad understanding of his understanding of the gospel. Paul states his belief that all people are lost without the gospel. He points out early in his letter that gospel is for both Jewish people and Gentiles.

He also talks about the laws that Christians should follow. He points out that people sometimes follow the letter of the law but still sin and displease God in other ways. He points out that he believes God’s followers do not need to be Jewish or follow Jewish laws to follow Jesus Christ. In a similar way, he says that all people, including Jews and Gentiles, have sinned and should be equally punished for their sins. All people need God in Paul’s eyes because all people have sinned and distanced themselves from God.

In the next section, Paul references the Old Testament to help him make his theological points. Paul’s use of the Old Testament—also known as the Hebrew Bible—is significant because of his history as a devout Jew. He clearly understands the lessons of the Old Testament and uses them in an attempt to convince Jewish believers to convert to Christianity. Paul tells his readers that they can find salvation only if they have faith in God. He uses the biblical patriarch Abraham as an example, pointing out that Abraham’s faith in God was more important than his following the law. Paul also talks about Adam and Adam’s sin. He says that Adam brough sin into the world, and he compares Adam bringing sin into the world with Jesus’s willingness to die for the sins of all people.

Paul declares that since all people sin, all people need God’s grace. He states that people will be “slaves” either to sin or to obedience to God. He also states that the “the wages of sin is death,” and God gave up his Son to pay for people’s sins. Paul states his belief that the death of Jesus and his resurrection changed humanity’s relationship to the laws of the Old Testament. This part of the letter again shows that Paul believes that people do not have to follow Jewish laws and traditions to be part of the Church. He argues this was true because Jesus’s sacrifice changed the relationship between God and his people.

Although Paul says that the relationship between humans and God has changed, he still believes that sinning against God is akin to death. He exhorts the Romans to turn away from sin by focusing on the spirit and not on the body, saying, “For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit.”

Paul returns to the idea that all people are sinful and that all people need God and God’s grace. Paul says that God willingly gives people both forgiveness and grace. He states, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” He says that God gave up his son, Jesus, for the people of the world, so he has shown that he is willing to give up everything to save them from their sins. Paul believes that God’s love and dedication to his people has no end.

In the next part of the letter, Paul addresses how members of the Church should act to embody holiness and please God. He tells members of the Church that they should work together and get along with each other. He uses a metaphor to compare the Church to a body, with the different parts of the Church being similar to parts of a body. He states that the Church is one body in Jesus Christ, and that just as different parts of the body play different roles, different people in the Church will play different roles. People should use their unique gifts to help the Church. They should not assume that they are better or worse than other members of the Church just because their talents are different. Paul also says all the members of the Church should love each other and treat each other with respect. He exhorts the Romans to treat all people with love. He even tells them that they should treat their enemies with kindness stating, “Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”

Paul uses the last section of the letter to further explain what it means to live a holy life. For example, he states that members of the Church should respect and honor authority figures. He also tells the people that they can fulfill God’s laws by loving one another. Paul also warns the Romans that they should not be distracted from God by sin.

Themes

Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of the twenty-one epistles in the Bible. Romans is unique among the epistles because it provides Paul’s broad theological beliefs in numerous areas. Since Paul has not yet visited the Church in Rome, he does not have a strong understanding of its problems or individual traits, so the letter has a broader tone than many of his others. For example, in his letter to the Corinthians, he gives specific guidance and rebukes to the group. In his letter to the Romans, Paul gives guidance about living a proper, faithful life, but the majority of the letter focuses more broadly on Paul’s faith and the faith of the Church. Although the letter lays out beliefs about Christianity, it does not lay out Paul’s complete theology.

Early in his letter, Paul notes that he believes that both Jews and Gentiles need the gospel. Paul’s inclusion of the Gentiles set him apart among the early Christians because many leaders of the early Church were Jewish and focused mainly on converting other Jews to the faith. Although Paul was himself a Jew, he was a Roman citizen and was not from the Roman province of Judea. He became known as the apostle to the Gentiles because he focused on converted them to the faith. Paul states in Romans, as he does in some of his other letters, that he believes God’s followers do not need to be Jewish or adhere to Jewish laws to be followers of Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Romans that faith, not one’s allegiance to Jewish traditions, would bring people to salvation.

Paul’s focus on faith in Christ as the source of salvation is a theologically significant part of Romans. The letter calls the congregation in Rome to keep their faith, and indicates that they should not try to dissuade Gentiles from being part of the Church merely because they do not follow Jewish traditions. During the Protestant reformation of the early sixteenth century, Paul’s letter to the Romans became a basis for Martin Luther’s teaching that people are saved by faith alone—a main reason for Luther’s separating from the Roman Catholic Church.

Bibliography

Berzon, Todd. “Historical Context for Romans by Paul.” Columbia College, www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/romans/context. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

Bolt, Peter G. and James R. Harrison. Romans and the Legacy of St Paul: Historical, Theological, and Social Perspectives. Sydney College of Divinity, 2019.

“Luther on Romans.” Christian History Institute, christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/luther-romans. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

Rendell, Ruth. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to The Romans. Canongate Books, 2010.

“Romans.” United States Conference of Bishops, 2022, hbible.usccb.org/bible/romans/0. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

“Romans 1.” Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201&version=NIV. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

“Romans, Paul’s Letter to the.” In A Dictionary of the Bible, W. R. F. Browning, Ed. Oxford Biblical Studies, www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1639. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.

Smith, William Benjamin. “Address and Destination of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 20, no. 1, 1901, pp. 1–21.