An Introduction to Romans 

by Robert Thomas

 

One of the main ways He spoke to His people was through the written words of the prophets, historians and leaders. Their writings took the form of poems, songs, historical records, prophecies and letters. These written words continue to speak to us and are relevant to our lives as Christians in the world today.

The divinely inspired Gospel of Christ in the letter to the believers in Rome is the burning bush of the New Testament. The book of Romans stands out as a centerpiece of scripture. Nowhere else is the plan of salvation so thoroughly developed. The doctrines of justification, sanctification and glorification stand out like jewels in a crown. The message points to how a lost, helpless person can find redemption in Christ and describes what is included in this redemption.

This letter to the Romans has inspired people over the centuries. While translating this text from Latin into German, Martin Luther was confounded by the meaning of the words, "the righteous shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). He made the tremendous discovery, inspired by The Holy Spirit, that God's righteousness was imparted to imperfect humans only through faith in God's grace. This led Luther to begin what eventually would be referred to as "The Great Reformation" - the beginning of the modern Protestant movement.

Romans has become the antidote for the speculations of the many false gospels of our day. Romans spells out in detail the only true Doctrine of Salvation. 

There are several issues surrounding this great letter. What was the cultural and spiritual climate in Rome at the time? Why did Paul write such a theological letter? What was the composition of the body of believers at Rome?

Historical background 
At the time of Paul's writing, the city of Rome was the physical, economic and governmental hub of the known world. Rome's great network of roads reached most of the world's population base. 

Rome was as cosmopolitan as New York or London is today and most folks wanted to visit the great city at least once in their lives. Its grandeur
cannot be overstated, but amid all its splendor was abject poverty. Slums
were encroaching on the homes of the wealthy. It is estimated that over a
million people lived in Rome in the first century. This suggests severe overcrowding.

Christians numbered as high as one fifth of Rome's population. These estimates are derived from the numbers of people buried in the Christian burial tombs called the catacombs. Although the numbers are not certain we can reasonably conclude that there were enough Christians in Rome to have an important impact. 

Historical records show that the Emperor Claudius expelled Jews in A.D. 49 because of frequent disputes concerning "Christus." Probably these disputes were between Jews and Christian Jews, and Roman authorities did not bother to distinguish between the two.

Socially the city was very corrupt. The book of Revelation equates it with
Babylon as a symbol of sin (Rev. 17-18).

Authorship
There has been little doubt over the centuries about the authorship of Romans. Paul uses a self-inscription to begin the letter (Rom. 1:1). His greeting (Rom. 1:1-7) may also have served to fully identify him as the author since Paul was not the founder of the church in Rome.

Paul was in the process of taking collections for the Christians living in poverty in Jerusalem. This completed, he personally traveled to Jerusalem to deliver them himself (Rom. 15:25-26). From there he wants to "preach the gospel" in Spain and reach there via Rome (Rom. 15:20-24). This roughly establishes the date and place of writing as late 57 A.D.

Corinth is likely to be the place the Roman letter originated, during Paul's third missionary journey, since he would have been there during the time of writing. Also Phoebe was from the church at Cencheria which was at the eastern port of Corinth. She is commended by Paul to the church at Rome (Rom. 16:1-2) and was likely to have acted as its postal carrier. Paul mentions Gaius as his "host" in Rome and one who sends his greetings (Rom.16:23). He points to the fact he (Paul) baptized this person who was part of the Corinthian congregation (1Cor. 1:14).

Purpose
Why did Paul write such a theologically intense letter? Why didn't Paul just write a note saying something to the effect of, "Hey folks, I'm comin"? It was probably because he wanted to spell out the Gospel in case he didn't make it to Spain. Paul realized that there were people who wanted to take his life. Only recently a plot against him had been uncovered (Acts 20:1-5). If this is the reason, we can be thankful; because of the plot of a few, many have benefited from this great letter. 

Some scholars over the centuries have questioned the ethnic composition of "the saints in Rome" (Rom. 1:7). Answers to this question are at best speculative. One of the arguments that the ethnic groups were racially divided is fueled in part by the Apostles' choice not to call the "saints in Rome" a church (Rom. 1:7). Since the title of the book was not included in the original manuscripts, we cannot look to it as evidence. Church buildings as we know them didn't exist in the first and second centuries, and most believers met in small groups in peoples' homes. Thus Paul's choice of words may have been just a matter of literary style. However some believe the reason for the omission was that these Jewish and Gentile believers were racially divided. Either there were cliques within a single congregation or multiple congregations with an ethnic base. Those who would hold this position point to verses like Romans 1:16 and 3:29 as support. They cite Paul's frequent use of the terms "Jew" and "Gentile" as evidence.

These scholars also look to a fourth century writing by "Ambrosiaster" which credits the founding of the church at Rome to Jewish believers who left a significant Jewish flavor on the church.

We cannot know for certain whether the church at Rome was predominantly Jewish or Gentile, nor can we be certain of the extent of racial divisions. In any event, none of these considerations have any impact on matters of interpretation that are not supported by other parts of the New Testament.