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Introduction
Salutation (1:1-15)
Theme: Righteousness from God (1:16-17)
The Unrighteousness of All Mankind (1:18-3:20)
Gentiles (1:18-32)
Jews (2:1-3:8)
Summary: All People (3:9-20)
Righteousness Imputed: Justification (3:21-5:21)
Through Christ (3:21-26)
Received by Faith (3:27-4:25)
The Principle Established (3:27-31)
The Principle Illustrated (Chapter 4)
The Fruits of Righteousness (5:1-11)
Summary: Man's Unrighteousness Contrasted with God's Gift of Righteousness (5:12-21)
Righteousness Imparted: Sanctification (Chapters 6-8)
Freedom From Sin's Tyranny (Chapter 6)
Freedom From the Law's Condemnation (Chapter 7)
Life In The Power of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 8)
God's Righteousness Vindicated:
The Problem of the Rejection of Israel (Chapters 9-11)
The Justice of the Rejection (9:1-29)
The Cause of the Rejection (9:30-10:21)
Facts That Lessen the Difficulty (Chapter 11)
The Rejection Is Not Total (11:1-10)
The Rejection Is Not Final (11:11-24)
God's Ultimate Purpose Is Mercy (11:25-36)
Righteousness Practiced (12:1-15:13)
In the Body- The Church (Chapter 12)
In the World (Chapter 13)
Among Weak and Strong Christians (14:1-15:13)
Commendation, Warning, and Greetings (Chapter 16)
I. The Significance of the Epistle
But when a profound reflection had, from the secret depths of my soul, drawn together and heaped all my misery from the secret depths of my heart, there arose a mighty storm, accompanied by as mighty a shower of tears...I flung myself down, how, I know not, under a certain fig tree, giving free course to my tears and the streams of my eyes gushed out, an acceptable sacrifice unto Thee. And, not indeed in these words, but to this effect, spake I much unto Thee: But Thou, O Lord, how long? How long, Lord, wilt Thou be angry forever?...Why is there not this hour an end to my uncleanness? I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo, I heard the voice as of a boy or a girl, I know not which, coming from a neighboring house, chanting and often repeating, "Tolle lege! Tolle lege!" (Latin - "Take up and read!)...So quickly I returned to the place where Alypius was sitting, for there I had put down the volume of the apostles, when I rose thence. I grasped, opened, and in silence read that paragraph on which my eyes first fell - "Not in rioting and drunkeness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:13-14) No further would I read, nor did I need; for instantly, as the sentence ended, by a light, as it were, of security into my heart, all the gloom of doubt vanished away." (St. Augustine, Confessions, VIII, 12)
I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, "the righteousness of God," in chapter 1:17 because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous...At last, by the mercy of God, meditating night and day, I gave heed to the context of the words...and there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning...and whereas before the "righteousness of God" had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to paradise. (Martin Luther, Preface to Latin Writings,1545, 34, p.337)
This Epistle is the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, which, indeed, deserves that a Christian not only know it word for word by heart but deal with it daily as with daily bread for the soul. For it can never be read or considered too much or too well, and the more it is handled the more delightful 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 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 from Scripture and proven 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 summ up briefly the whole Christain 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. (Martin Luther, Preface to the Book of Romans, 1546, 35, p.380)
Forasmuch as this epistle is the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and the most pure "evangelion," that is to say, glad tidings, and that we call gospel, and also a light and way unto the whole structure; I think it meet that every Christian man not only know it, by rote and without the book, but also exercise himself therein evermore continually, as with the daily bread of the soul. Truly, no man can read it too often, or study it too well; for the more it is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is; the more goundly it is searched, the more precious things are found in it, so great is the treasure of spiritual things that lie hidden therein. (William Tyndale, Doctrinal Treatises, p. 484)
I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. (Charles Wesley, Journal, 1878)
Most, if not all, of the great revivals and reformations in the history of the church have been directly related to the Book of Romans...It has been said that Romans will delight the greatest logician and captivate the mind of the consummate genius, yet it will bring tears to the humblest soul and refreshment to the simplest mind. It will knock you down and then lift you up. It will strip you naked and then clothe you with eternal elegance. The Book of Romans took a Bedford Tinker like John Bunyan and turned him into the spiritual giant and literary master who wrote "The Pilgrim's Progress" and "The Holy War."...It is no wonder that Frederick Godet, the Swiss commentator, once exclaimed, "O St. Paul! Had thy one work been to compose the epistle to the Romans, that alone should have rendered thee dear to every sound reason." An anonymous poet wrote these moving words that capture much of the heart of the Book of Romans:
O long and dark the stairs I trod; With trembling feet to find my God
Gaining a foothold, bit by bit, Then slipping back and losing it.
Never progressing, striving still With weakening grasp and faltering will,
Bleeding to climb to God, while He Serenely smiled, not noting me.
Then came a certain time when I Loosened my hold and fell thereby;
Down to the lowest step my fall, As if I had not climbed at all.
Now when I lay despairing there, Listen, a footfall on the stair,
On that same stair where I afraid, Faltered and fell and lay dismayed.
And lo, when hope had ceased to be, My God came down the stairs to me!
(John MacArthur, Commentary on Romans, I, p.xii,xiii.)
Romans has always been highly praised, and it is beyond question the most dynamic of all New Testament
letters, even as it was written at the climax of Paul's apostolic career. Early given the first place in the list
of Paul's letters, Romans still holds that place in our Bibles in spite of the actual chronology of Paul's
letters...To this day, the truth laid down in Romans forms the Gilbralter basis of doctrine, teaching and
confession in the true evangelical church...In his "Table Talk" Coleridge feels constrained to say: "I think
St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans is the most profound work in existence." (R.C.H. Lenski, Romans, p.8,9)
II. Authorship and Origin
The great missionary apostle Paul is the undisputed author of the Letter to the Romans. No voice, from the early church to the present, has ever been raised against his authorship. The historical references included in the letter agree with the facts of the life of Paul. The doctrinal content and style of the letter is also fully consistent with that of the apostle. Lenski notes:
All the old orthodox, as well as all the old heterodox testimonies without a single exception ascribe this epistle to Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. Stronger even than this united ancient testimony is that embedded in the epistle itself. The great chorus of commentators, down to the present day, presents a full harmony on this point. So few have been the later efforts to shake this fact by means of hypotheses that they scarcely deserve mention. (Lenski, p.5)
The letter was written in the middle of the first century, between 55 and 58 AD, at the conclusion of St. Paul's third missionary journey. The apostle is in the Greek city of Corinth, making preparations to return to Palestine with the offering from the Gentile churches for the saints in Jerusalem. Paul viewed his work in the eastern Mediterranean as virtually complete and he was looking forward to establishing a base of operations in Rome for outreach to Spain and the West.
As the glorious capital city of a thriving empire, Rome harbored a large Jewish community. Some scholars estimate that 40,000 to 50,000 Jews lived in Rome at this time. A century earlier, the Roman orator Cicero had lamented: For you know how numerous the Jews are, how clannish, and how they can make their influence felt. (Bruce, p.380). In 41 AD, the newly crowned emperor Claudius prohibited public assembly among the Jews, and when that failed to limit the growth and influence of their community, he expelled all Jews from his capital in 49 AD. Aquila and Pricilla, whom Paul met in Corinth, were Jewish exiles from Rome (cf. Acts 18:2). It would seem that their Christianity predated their arrival in Corinth. The imperial decree was not lifted until after the death of Claudius in 54 AD. Jews from Rome are mentioned among those present at Pentecost in Jerusalem and it may be that they brought their new faith home with them (Acts 2:10). In any case, it would appear that the typical pattern described in the Book of Acts also prevailed in Rome, namely that Christian missionary efforts began in the synagogue and spread out from there.
Ambrosiaster, a fourth century Latin commentator, writes: The Romans had embraced the faith of Christ, albeit according to the Jewish rite, although they saw no sign of mighty works nor any of the apostles. (Bruce, p.379) The absence of an apostolic founder for the church in Rome finds further support in Paul's comment: It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. (Romans 15:20) Thus the Roman Catholic tradition that Peter was the founder and first bishop of the church of Rome, serving in that capacity for twenty-five years, is without reliable historical support. Peter did get to Rome, but not until after Paul's first imprisonment. He was martyred there in 64 AD, prior to Paul's second imprisonment and execution.
The content of the Epistle suggests that by the mid-fifties, the congregation in Rome was predominantly Gentile with a substantial Jewish minority. The relationship between Israel and the church, and Israel's rejection of its Messiah are major themes of the letter. The church appears to have lacked formal organization, and most probably consisted of a cluster of informal household churches.
Romans is the most systematic and substantive of the Pauline epistles. It reads more like an elaborate theological essay than a letter. Its reliance upon the Old Testament is also noteworthy. The Epistle quotes the Old Testament fifty-seven times, more than any other New Testament Book. The letter is regarded as Paul's doctrinal system, as summary of his theology, in a sense, "the dogmatical and moral catechism of the apostle."