Romans

Author: the apostle Paul
Place of writing: the city of Corinth
Time of writing: approximately 57 A.D.

Throughout Church history, Paul’s letter to the Romans has been recognized as one of the most important and thorough explanations of the gospel in all the scriptures. Paul wrote this letter near the end of his third missionary journey, and he was already planning to make another missionary journey, this time to Spain; and, even though he had never been there, he hoped that the church in Rome would help him along the way (15:22-29). This explains why Paul gives such a systematic presentation of the gospel: he is laying out the foundations of the faith for a church that might not have had any official apostolic instruction yet, and he is letting them know the content of the message that he wants to bring to Spain, so that they will be motivated to help him. Paul is also aware of the specific needs of the church in Rome, which seems to have been divided over the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers in the church; and so he devotes considerable space to addressing that issue as well.

The theme of this letter may be found in 1:16-17, one of the clearest and most concise definitions of the gospel anywhere in the bible. There, Paul declares that the essence of the gospel is the news about a righteousness which comes from God himself, and is given to all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, so that they might be saved by the power of God, and not by their own works.

Throughout the rest of the letter, Paul clarifies and develops this assertion. First, he demonstrates that all mankind is in need of a perfect righteousness – for all have failed to meet God’s standards, and so they deserve his just wrath. Then, he goes on to explain the good news: Jesus has provided this righteousness for his followers, by taking upon himself the punishment that they deserve, and giving to them in its place the righteousness that he accomplished by his perfect life of obedience – and this righteousness comes as a free gift to everyone who believes in him! Paul demonstrates that this imputation of Jesus’ righteousness to the one who believes is taught in the Old Testament as well, by the examples of Abraham and David; and he further explains the way that this righteousness is imputed to the believer’s account, by contrasting Jesus and Adam. Then, in chapters six through eight, Paul talks about the effects of this free gift of righteousness in the believer’s life: after God has declared him to be righteous because of Jesus, he also changes him in his daily life, so that he begins to act in righteousness, following Jesus’ example. In Chapters nine through eleven, Paul discusses in detail the place that Jews and Gentiles have in God’s plan, and concludes by praising God for his free grace upon all. Then, Paul gives the believers various commandments, on the basis of the gospel truths that he has just explained to them; and finally, he tells the Roman believers of his plans to go to Spain and sends them his concluding greetings.

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