Stepping from the shadows of the Ausoni Mountains, walking northward along the famous Appian Way, the apostle Paul reached the coastal plains of Italy that stretched all the way to Rome. Some five years earlier, Paul had expected to see the empire’s capital and preach the Gospel there (Acts 19:21). Now drawing near the city and under guard, news of his arrival preceded him. Members of the church at Rome came more than 40 miles to greet him and escort him into the imperial city (28:11–16). They knew the apostle not merely by reputation but also by his most famous letter, penned on their behalf: the Book of Romans.
Only a year before Paul arrived at Rome, Emperor Nero succeeded to the throne. When Paul arrived, the new emperor was peacefully following the counsel of his advisors. The opportunities to preach and teach that Paul enjoyed and Luke described (28:17–31) did not hint at the time, 13 years later, when Nero would order citizen Paul silenced by the sword. The Letter to the Romans presents Paul as the most gifted early Christian theologian and, ironically, as a respectful supporter of the young Emperor Nero’s governance (Romans 13).
Purpose/Recipients
Paul’s aim in writing is delicately but clearly stated in the letter itself. His letter was to prepare for his visit to Rome, but Rome was not the ultimate goal of his travels. It could not be, for Paul had made it his ambition as apostle to the Gentiles “to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named,” lest he build on another man’s foundation (Romans 15:20). The apostle’s task was to lay foundations, not to build on foundations already laid by others (1 Corinthians 3:10). And the foundation had long since been laid in Rome; Paul’s words in his Letter to the Romans indicate that the church there had been in existence for a considerable time (“Your faith is proclaimed in all the world,” Rm 1:8. “Your obedience is known to all,” Romans 16:19. “I have longed for many years to come to you,” Romans 15:23).
Acts 2:10 notes that Jews from Rome were among those who heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon in AD 33—about 22 years earlier. Non-Christian sources indicate that there was a church in Rome at least as early as AD 49 and probably considerably earlier. Since neither Paul nor any other early source points to any single outstanding personality as the founder of the Roman church, we may assume that the Word of the Lord grew and produced a church in Rome through the agency of a number of nameless men, such as the “visitors from Rome” who were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost and later returned to Rome, probably at the time when Saul persecuted the churches of Judea.
Paul planned to spend some time in Rome and to proclaim the Gospel there, to enrich and to be enriched by his association with the Roman Christians (Romans 1:11–13). But he was looking beyond Rome to Spain (15:24, 28); Paul hoped to be sped on his way there by the Romans (15:24). The passage may cover anything from a simple “God speed!” to something more concrete and material in the way of support for a journey, both moral and material, given to missionaries by established churches or individual Christians (Acts 20:38; 21:5; 1 Corinthians 16:6, 11; 2 Corinthians 1:16; Titus 3:13; 3 John 6). Paul evidently hoped that Rome would become his missionary base in the West, what Syrian Antioch had been for him in the East. The Letter to the Romans, the most elaborate and most systematic exposition of the Gospel as Paul proclaimed it, is written in the interests of Paul’s missionary work, testifying to the harmony between theology and practice in the great apostle’s mind.
Characters
Abraham features prominently in Romans 4 as the Old Testament’s chief example of justification by grace through faith, making him a most important character in the doctrinal section of Paul’s letter. The last chapter of the book includes the most extensive list of persons in the New Testament, some of whom we recognize from Acts and Paul’s other letters (e.g., Prisca and Aquila; Timothy) but most of whom are little known to us. Paul greets dozens of people as he prepares to travel to Rome and meet the congregation. Phoebe, the deaconess mentioned at the opening of chapter 16, has served as an important figure in discussions of women’s service from the Early Church to today. In modern times, Junia has become the subject of debate as advocates of women’s ordination have argued that this person served as an apostle, though the basis for such an argument is ambiguous at best (16:7; see TLSB, p. 1942).
Summary Commentary
1:1–17 Paul affirms three callings from God: he is called to be an apostle, the Romans are called to belong to Christ, and they are called to be saints. Paul was sent to the Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and foolish. The righteousness of God removes our shame and is the basis for life and salvation.
1:18–3:20 We might not have committed some of the acts Paul condemns in Romans, but we all have sinned. We have exchanged God’s truth for human foolishness. When we pass judgment on another, we condemn ourselves (2:1). Paul’s teachings are clear: without God’s patience and forbearance, we would all be condemned. He warns against being praised by people but not by God (2:29). Pride desires recognition and praise from the world, but this may come in ways that are inconsistent with God’s will. Human sinfulness shows the radical difference between God’s holiness and humanity’s unrighteousness.
3:21–4:25 Having condemned human sinfulness, Paul unfolds the basis for our righteousness or justification, using the story of Abraham. Abraham’s circumcision did not save him; it was a response to his salvation. Abraham trusted that God was able to do what He promised, especially in sending him an heir through whom all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
Chapter 5 Jesus is the source of our peace with God. He is the Second Adam through whom all mankind is reconciled. God will use afflictions for our good and to bless others. He will keep His promises, and we will overcome our sufferings by faith. Adam’s sin brought guilt, the desire to sin, and mortality to all humans. He sent a Second Adam to begin a new humanity. Christ fulfilled the Law.
Chapters 6–7 Although many people consider freedom to be the ultimate human right, no one is truly free spiritually. We were slaves to sin and bound to death. As the Law confronts fallen human nature, it still accuses and condemns believers, revealing sinfulness and the unreachable standard of God’s holiness. Faithless people may be driven to sin and despair by the Law (7:5). Thanks be to God, in Christ we have died to the Law (7:4). Our struggle with sin is not a past event; it is a present reality. We know God’s will and desire to serve Him, but we cannot overcome sin by our own means.
Chapter 8 Because Christ justifies sinners, God’s life-giving Spirit dwells in believers. He frees us from the bondage of sin and death. The Holy Spirit leads us to trust confidently that we are heirs, privileged to call God “our Father” and to receive eternal glory at the end of present suffering. The Holy Spirit ministers to God’s dear children by giving us hope in our suffering, help in our weakness, and assurance that all things work out to fulfill God’s eternal purposes in our lives. Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation at God’s right hand guarantees our victory over anything and everything that would separate us from His love.
Chapters 9–11 The unbelief of his fellow Jews, to whom God had given so much, caused Paul great sorrow. Countering likely objections, Paul insists that God’s Word has not failed and He is not unjust in His choices. Paul looks backward to God’s election of Israel in history (9:1–29) and forward to the necessity of faith and the guilt of unbelief (10:5–21). Like a loving father waiting for his children to come home, God yearns to show mercy on all (cf Luke 15:11–32). Those who refuse to accept God’s gracious invitation to share in the riches of His grace are accountable to Him for their unbelief. Paul, chosen by God’s grace revealed in Jesus Christ, is a living example that God has preserved for Himself a remnant in Israel. Paul warns the Gentile believers against pride and reminds them of their role in God’s mission to Jewish unbelievers. In ways beyond our understanding, God has acted in mercy to bring salvation to Jews and Gentiles. Human beings cannot exchange roles with God, presuming to sit in judgment of Him.
12:1–15:13 Paul urges us to present ourselves as living sacrifices because it is the proper response to “the mercies of God” (12:1). He repeatedly emphasizes the gracious gifts of God that are received in faith. Here is what a life of genuine love (12:9) looks like in specific detail. It is a life that follows Christ’s example (Philippians 2:1–11) and models His words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7).
While all governments fall short, Paul implies that the first-century Roman government was adequately carrying out its two essential functions: approving those who do good and punishing evildoers. Paul acknowledges that all authority comes from God, to whom ultimate obedience is due. Paul also continues to deal specifically with first-century controversial issues among Jewish and Gentile Christians (foods and holy days). Paul knows all foods are clean, but flaunting his freedoms will give offense in the presence of Jewish Christians who still observe Old Testament food laws. The Old Testament looked ahead to a day when Jews and Gentiles would worship God together.
15:14–16:27 Paul lays out the practice and scope of his mission work as well as his current travel plans. He greets 26 people by name and warns against those who cause divisions, whom God will overcome. Those who advocate a false Gospel are to be avoided entirely. Paul’s closing words encompass the entire Good News of God, from the prophetic Old Testament writings to the proclamation of Jesus Christ being made known to all nations. God’s eternal being, His wisdom, knowledge, and power, are all far beyond ours. He calls those of faith to respond in obedience to His will.
Martin Luther on Romans
The unique place that Romans has in theology generally and in the Lutheran Church is illustrated by Luther’s preface to the letter for his German Bible. Whereas Luther typically introduced a book of Scripture with a page or two of summary and insights, his preface to Romans occupies 16 pages in the American Edition of his works (AE 35:365–80). This mini-commentary from the great reformer, which presents his mature interpretation of the letter, should not be overlooked. The following is just a few selections from his preface.
Blog post adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.“This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. . . .
“In this epistle we thus find most abundantly the things that a Christian ought to know, namely, what is law, gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, righteousness, Christ, God, good works, love, hope, and the cross; and also how we are to conduct ourselves toward everyone, be he righteous or sinner, strong or weak, friend or foe—and even toward our own selves. Moreover this is all ably supported with Scripture and proved by St. Paul’s own example and that of the prophets, so that one could not wish for anything more. Therefore it appears that he wanted in this one epistle to sum up briefly the whole Christian and evangelical doctrine, and to prepare an introduction to the entire Old Testament. For, without doubt, whoever has this epistle well in his heart, has with him the light and power of the Old Testament. Therefore let every Christian be familiar with it and exercise himself in it continually. To this end may God give his grace. Amen.” (AE 35:365, 380)
Read more information about every book of the New Testament in Lutheran Bible Companion: Volume 2.
