The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, also known
as
Romans, is the sixth book in the
New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it
was written by the
Apostle Paul to
explain that
Salvation is offered through
the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. It is by
far the longest of the
Pauline
epistles, and is considered his "most important theological
legacy".
General presentation
The book, according to
Jesuit
scholar
Joseph Fitzmyer, "overwhelms
the reader by the density and sublimity of the topic with which it
deals, the gospel of the justification and salvation of Jew and
Greek alike by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ,
revealing the uprightness and love of
God
the father."
N. T. Wright notes
that Romans is "neither a systematic theology nor a summary of
Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It
dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over
hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same
light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of
it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken
the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent
disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we
are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a
formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking
theological and spiritual vision".
Paul
addresses the faithfulness of God to Israel
, where he
says that God has been faithful to His promise. Paul hopes
that all of Israel will come to realize the truth ( ) since he
himself was also an Israelite ( ) and had in the past been a
persecutor of Christ. These verses could also be indicating that,
even though Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, since
they still believe in God, they will be saved (see
dual-covenant theology). In
Romans 9–11, Paul discussed about how the nation of Israel has been
cast away, and the conditions under which Israel will be God's
chosen nation again: when the
Body of
Christ (believers in Christ's payment for sin) stops being
faithful ( ).
The main theme of this letter is the Salvation offered through the
Gospel of Jesus Christ ( ). Paul argues that all persons are guilty
of
sin and therefore accountable to God. It is
only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that
sinners can attain salvation. Therefore, God is both just and the
one who justifies. In response to God's free, sovereign and
graceful action of salvation, humanity can be justified by faith.
Paul uses the example of
Abraham to
demonstrate that it is by faith that humanity can be seen as
righteous before God.
Dating of Romans
The letter
was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth
, and
probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius and transcribed
by Tertius his amanuensis. There are a number of reasons
Corinth is most plausible. Paul was about to travel to
Jerusalem on writing the letter,
which matches Acts ( ) where it is reported that Paul stayed for
three months in Greece. This probably implies Corinth as it was the
location of Paul’s greatest missionary success in Greece.
Additionally
Phoebe was a
deacon of the church in Cenchreae, a port to the east of Corinth,
and would have been able to convey the letter to Rome after passing
through Corinth and taking a ship from Corinth’s west port.
Erastus, mentioned in , also lived in Corinth being the city's
commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times,
again indicating that the letter was written in Corinth.
The
precise time at which it was written is not mentioned in the
epistle, but it was obviously written when the collection for
Jerusalem had been assembled and Paul was about to "go unto
Jerusalem to minister unto the saints", that is, at the close of
his second visit to Greece
, during the
winter preceding his last visit to that city ( ; cf. ; ( , ;
). The majority of scholars writing on Romans propose the letter
was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57. Early 58 and
early 55 both have some support, while Luedemann argues for a date
as early as 51/52 (or 54/55) following on from Knox who proposed
53-54. Luedemann is the only serious challenge to the consensus of
mid to late 50s.
Context of Romans in Paul's life
For ten years before writing the letter (approx.
47-57), Paul had
travelled round the territories bordering the Aegean Sea
evangelising. Churches had been planted in
the Roman provinces of
Galatia,
Macedonia,
Achaia and
Asia.
Paul, considering his task complete,
wanted to preach the gospel in Spain
, where he
would not ‘build upon another man’s foundation’. This
allowed him to visit Rome on the way, a long time ambition of his.
The letter to the Romans, in part, prepares them and gives reasons
for his visit.
In addition to Paul’s geographic location, his religious views are
important. First, Paul was a Hellenistic Jew with a Pharisaic
background, integral to his identity. His concern for his people is
one part of the dialogue and runs throughout the letter.[5] Second,
the other side of the dialogue is Paul’s conversion and calling to
follow Christ in the early 30s.
The Church in Rome
The most probable ancient account of the beginning of Christianity
in Rome is given by a 4th century writer known as
‘Ambrosiater’:
“It is established that there were Jews living in Rome
in the times of the Apostles, and that those Jews who had believed
[in Christ] passed on to the Romans the tradition that they ought
to profess Christ but keep the law [Torah] … One ought not to
condemn the Romans, but to praise their faith, because without
seeing any signs or miracles and without seeing any of the
apostles, they nevertheless accepted faith in Christ, although
according to a Jewish rite.”
From Adam Clarke:
“The occasion of writing the epistle: … Paul had made
acquaintance with all circumstances of the Christians at Rome … and
finding that it was … partly of heathens converted to Christianity,
and partly of Jews, who had, with many remaining prejudices,
believed in Jesus as the true Messiah, and that many contentions
arose from the claims of the Gentiles to equal privileges with the
Jews, and from absolute refusal of the Jews to admit these claims,
unless the Gentile converts become circumcised; he wrote this
epistle to adjust and settle these differences.”
At this time, the
Jews made up a substantial
number in Rome, and their
synagogues,
frequented by many, enabled the Gentiles to become acquainted with
the story of
Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently,
a church composed of both Jews and
Gentiles
was formed at Rome. According to
Irenaeus,
one of the earliest
Church Fathers,
the church at Rome was founded directly by the apostles
Peter and
Paul.
However, many modern scholars disagree with Irenaeus, holding that
while little is known of the circumstances of the church's
founding, it was not founded by Paul.
Many of the brethren went out to meet Paul on his approach to Rome.
There is evidence that Christians were then in Rome in considerable
numbers and probably had more than one place of meeting ( ).
Jews were expelled from Rome because of Christian disturbances
around AD 49 by the
edict of
Claudius. The conflict developed because Jewish
Christians and Jews argued with one another over the validity of
Jesus as the Messiah. Both Jews and Jewish Christians were expelled
as a result of their infighting. The majority of people left in the
Christian church at Rome would have been Gentile Christians. These
gentile churches developed along a different trajectory from the
Christian circles that grew out of Jewish synagogues.
Claudius died around the year AD 54, and
his successor,
Emperor Nero, allowed
the Jews back into Rome, but then, after the
Great Fire of Rome of 64, persecuted the
Christians. Gentile Christians may have developed a dislike of or
looked down on Jews (see also
Antisemitism and
Responsibility for the
death of Jesus), because they
theologically rationalized that Jews were no
longer God's people. Fitzmyer argues that with the return of
the Jews to Rome in 54 new conflict arose between the Gentile
Christians and the Jewish Christians who had formerly been
expelled. Historians question whether the Roman government
distinguished between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's
modification of the
Fiscus Judaicus
in 96 (Jews payed the tax, Christians did not).
The Roman church would have to accept that the
gospel was for the "Jew first and also to the Greek"
(see ).
Style
While scholars are often able to determine aspects of the context
of NT writers from their letters, it is much more difficult to
understand Paul's letter to the Romans. Scholars often have
difficulty assessing whether Romans is a
letter or an
epistle:
"A letter is something non-literary, a means of
communication between persons who are separated from each other.
Confidential and personal in nature, it is intended only for the
person or persons to whom it is addressed, and not at all for the
public or any kind of publicity...An Epistle is an artistic
literary form, just like the dialogue, the oration, or the drama.
It has nothing in common with the letter except its form: apart
from that one might venture the paradox that the epistle is the
opposite of a real letter. The contents of the epistle are intended
for publicity--they aim at interesting 'the public.'"
Joseph Fitzmyer argues, from evidence put forth by Stirewalt, that
the style of Romans is an "essay-letter."
Philip Melanchthon, a writer during the
Reformation, suggested that
Romans was
caput et summa universae doctrinae christianae
("a summary of all Christian doctrine"). While some scholars
attempt to suggest, like Melanchthon, that it is a type of
theological treatise, this view largely ignores chapters 14 and 15
of Romans. There are also many "noteworthy elements" missing from
Romans that are included in other areas of the Pauline corpus. The
breakdown of Romans as a treatise began with
F.C. Baur in 1836 when he
suggested "this letter had to be interpreted according to the
historical circumstances in which Paul wrote it."
Paul sometimes uses a style of writing common in his time called a
"diatribe". He appears to be responding to a "heckler", and the
letter is structured as a series of arguments. In the flow of the
letter, Paul shifts his arguments, sometimes addressing the Jewish
members of the church, sometimes the Gentile membership and
sometimes the church as a whole.
Purposes of writing
The main purpose of the epistle to the Romans is given by Paul in ,
where he reveals that he is set apart by God for the purpose of
preaching the Gospel. He wishes to impart to the Roman readers a
gift of encouragement and assurance in all that God has freely
given them (see ; ).
The purposes of the apostle in dictating this letter to his
Amanuensis Tertius ( ) is also
articulated in the second half of chapter 15:
- Paul asks for prayers for his upcoming journey to Jerusalem; he
hopes that the offering collected from the Gentile churches will be
accepted there.
- Paul is planning to travel to Rome
from Jerusalem and spend some time there before moving on to Spain;
he hopes the Roman church will support his mission to Spain.
- Since Paul has never been to Rome,
he outlines his gospel so that his teaching will not be confused by
that of "false teachers".
- Paul is aware that there is some conflict between Gentile and
Jewish Christians in the Roman church, and he addressed those concerns
(chapters thirteen and the first half of fourteen). While the Roman
church was presumably founded by Jewish Christians, the exile of Jews from
Rome in AD 49 by Claudius resulted in
Gentile Christians taking leadership positions.
Content
This essay-letter composed by Paul was written to a specific
audience at a specific time; to understand it, the situations of
both Paul and the recipients must be understood.
Introduction (Rom 1:1-15)
The introduction (Rom 1:1-16) provides some general notes about
Paul. He introduces his apostleship here and introductory notes
about the gospel he wishes to preach to the church at Rome. Jesus'
human line stems from David (Rom 1:3). Paul, however, does not
limit his ministry to Jews, though neither did Jesus if the
Great Commission is authentic.
Paul's goal is that the
gentiles would also
hear the
gospel (1:5). He commends the Romans
for their
faith (1:8). The word for faith in
Greek is "pistis." Paul also speaks of the past obstacles that have
blocked his coming to Rome earlier (1:11-13).
Unashamed (Rom 1:16-17)
Paul's announcement that he is not "ashamed" (evpaiscu, nomai) of
his gospel because it holds power (dunamis). These two verses form
a backdrop for the rest of the book. First, we note that Paul is
unashamed of his love for this gospel that he preaches about Jesus
Christ. He also notes that he is speaking to the "Jew first"
(1:16). There is signifiance to this, but much of it is scholarly
conjecture. We are hardpressed to find an answer to such a question
without knowing more about the audience in question. Wayne Brindle
argues, based on Paul's former writings against the
Judaizers in
Galatians
and
2 Corinthians, that rumors had
probably spread about Paul totally negating the Jewish existence in
a Christian world, see also
Antinomianism
in the New Testament. Paul may have used the "Jew first"
mentality to counter such a view.
The Judgment of God (Rom 1:18-32)
Paul now begins into the main thrust of his letter. He begins by
suggesting that some among them have taken up ungodliness and
wickedness for which there will be wrath from God (1:18). These
people have taken God's invisible image and made him into an
idol. Paul draws heavily
here from the
Wisdom of Solomon.
He condemns unnatural sexual behavior and warns that such behavior
will result in a depraved body and mind (1:26 - 27) and says that
people who do such things (including murder and wickedness (1:29))
are worthy of death (1:32). Some claim Paul may undercut the idol
worship system for the same reason that he undercuts the Jewish law
later in the gospel—to bring the people together under
Christ.
Paul's Judgment of Hypocrites (Rom 2:1-4)
On the traditional Protestant interpretation, Paul here calls out
Jews who are condemning others for not following the law when they
themselves are also not following the law. Stanley Stowers,
however, has argued on rhetorical grounds that Paul is in these
verses not addressing a Jew at all but rather an easily
recognizable caricature of the typical boastful person (ὁ ἀλαζων).
Stowers writes, "There is absolutely no justification for reading
2:1-5 as Paul's attack on 'the hypocrisy of the Jew.' No one in the
first century would have identified
ho alazon with
Judaism. That popular interpretation depends upon anachronistically
reading later Christian characterizations of Jews as 'hypocritical
Pharisees'" (Stowers,
A Rereading of Romans [Yale Press,
1994], p.101).
Assurance of salvation (Rom 2:5-8, 9-11)
In chapters five through eight, Paul argues that believers can be
assured of their
hope
in
salvation, having been freed from the
bondage of sin. Paul teaches that through
faith ( ; ), the faithful have been joined with
Jesus ( ) and freed from sin ( ,
). Believers should celebrate in the assurance of salvation ( ).
This promise is open to everyone since everyone has sinned ( ),
save the one who paid for all of them ( ).
In
chapters nine through eleven, Paul addresses the faithfulness of
God to Israel, where he
says that God has been faithful to His promise. Paul hopes
that all of Israel will come to realize the truth ( ) since he
himself was also an Israelite ( ), and had in the past been a
persecutor of Christ. These verses could also be saying that even
though Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, since they
still believe in God, they will be saved (see also
Dual-covenant theology). In Romans
9–11 Paul talks about how the nation of Israel has been cast away,
and the conditions under which Israel will be God's chosen nation
again: when the
Body of Christ
(believers in Christ's payment for sin) stops being faithful (
).
Transformation of believers
In , Paul says that humans are under the law while we live: "Know
ye not . . . that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he
liveth?" However, Jesus' death on the cross makes believers dead to
the law ( , "Wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the
law by the body of Christ"), according to the
antinomistic
interpretation.
From chapter 12 through the first part of chapter 15, Paul outlines
how the Gospel transforms believers and the behaviour that results
from such a transformation. He goes on to describe how believers
should live: not under the law, but under the grace of God, see
Law and grace. If believers live in
obedience to God, study the scriptures,
(and share them with others) and
love everybody, believers are not going
to need to sin. As
Paul says in ,
"love (
ἀγάπη) worketh no ill to
his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of law". See also
Great Commandment.
Concluding verses
The concluding verses contain a description of his travel plans and
personal greetings salutations. One-third of the twenty-one
Christians identified in the greetings are women, some of whom
played an important role in the early church at Rome.
Hermeneutics
Catholic interpretation
Catholics accept the necessity of faith for salvation but point to
for the necessity of living a virtuous life as well:
Who [God] will render to every man according to his deeds: To them
who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour
and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious,
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that
doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory,
honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew
first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons
with God.
Protestant interpretation
To argue their claim that sincere profession of Christ takes
precedence over good works in God's eyes, Protestants hold up
Romans 4:2–5 (emphasis added):
- "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to
glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned
of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted unto him for righteousness".
They also point out that in Romans 2, Paul says that God will
reward those who follow the law (as opposed to
antinomianism) and then goes on to say that
no one follows the law perfectly (see also
Sermon on the Mount:
Interpretation). Romans 2:21–25:
- Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not
thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou
steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou
commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit
sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking
the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles through you, as it is
written. For circumcision
verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of
the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Martin Luther described Paul's letter
to the Romans as the "most important piece in the New Testament. It
is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to
memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily,
as though it were the daily bread of the soul".
The Romans Road refers to a set of scriptures from Romans that
Christian evangelists use to present a clear and simple case for
personal salvation for each person.
Romans has been at the forefront of several major movements in
Protestantism.
Martin Luther's
lectures on Romans in 1515–1516 probably coincided with the
development of his criticism of
Roman Catholicism which led to the
95 Theses of 1517. In 1738, while hearing
Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans read at
St. Botolph Church on
Aldersgate Street in London,
John Wesley famously felt his heart "strangely
warmed", a conversion experience which is often seen as the
beginning of
Methodism. In 1919
Karl Barth's commentary on Romans,
The Epistle to the Romans,
was the publication which is widely seen as the beginning of
neo-orthodoxy.
See also
Footnotes
- http://www.catholicregister.org/content/view/2051/858/
- http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/RM.html
- Fitzmyer, xiii
- Leander E. Keck and others, eds., The New Interpreter's
Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes (Nashville: Abingdon
Press, 2002) 395
- Dunn, xliv; Stuhlmacher, 5;
- Dunn, xliv
- Dunn xliv
- Bruce, 280-281; Dunn, xliv
- Bruce, 12; Dunn, xliii
- Dunn, xliii-xliv
- ; Bruce, 11-12
- Bruce, 11-12
- TIB IX 1955 p. 367
- Ambrosii Works iii 373.
- A.C. 1831 VI p. 3
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book III,3,2
- "The Expositor's Bible Commentary", (Ed. F.E.Gaebelein,
Zondervan, 1976-92) Commentary on Romans (Introduction)
- ; Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve
Caesars, Claudius XXV.4
- Fitzmyer, 77
- Leander E. Keck, The New Interpreter's Bible, 407
- Fitzmyer, 77 also argues that this may be what Paul is
referring to when he talks about the "strong" and the "weak" in
Romans 15; this theory was originally put forth by W. Marxsen,
Introduction to the New Testament: An Approach to its
problems (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968) but is critiqued and
modified by Fitzmyer. Fitzmyer's main contention is that Paul seems
to be purposefully vague. Paul could have been more specific if he
wanted to address this problem specifically.
- A.
Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, 2nd ed
(London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927), 218, 220
- Fitzmyer, 69
- Fitzmyer, 74
- Fitzmyer, 74, who notes that the Ekklesia, Eucharist and
eschatology (espeically the parousia) are not present in
Romans
- For a discussion of the current scholarly viewpoints on the
purpose of Romans, along with a bibliography, see Dictionary of
Paul and His Letters, s.v. "Romans, Letter to the"
- W.A. Brindle, "To The Jew First: Rhetoric, Strategy, History,
or Theology?" Bibliotheca Sacra 159 (2002): 221
- for all of these comparisons see Ben Witherington's commentary
on Romans, p. 63 which is available on a limited preview basis from
Google books.
- For an authoritative discussion of the Catholic viewpoint, see
Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v.
"Epistle to the Romans"
- Martin Luther's Preface to the Letter of St. Paul
to the Romans cf. Luther's comments in his treatise on The
Adoration of the Sacrament (1523) in which he refers to the
words of institution of the
Eucharist as being
"the sum and substance of the whole gospel". Luther's
Works, American Edition, St. Louis and Philadelphia:
Concordia Publishing House and
Fortress (Muhlenberg) Press, vol. 36 (Word and Sacrament II (1959)) , [1], p.277.
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