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ROMANS, LETTER TO THE

The longest of Paul’s epistles, placed in most Bibles at the head of the Pauline corpus. It has had enormous influence, attracting such commentators as Origen, Thomas Aquinas, Philip Melanchthon, John Calvin, and Karl Barth. Romans was decisive in the life and thought of Augustine of Hippo, in his conversion and battles with Pelagius over “original sin”; Luther, regarding law and gospel; Calvin, for (double) predestination; and Wesley, on justification and sanctification. In the last century of scholarship, there has been wide agreement on many major points, but new interpretative possibilities have also arisen.

Author, Date, Place

Paul (1:1), apostle to the Gentiles (11:13; cf. 1:5; 15:16, 18), writes from Corinth, during a three-month Greek sojourn, before going to Jerusalem with the collection for the poor among the Christian saints there from his Aegean congregations (Acts 20:3; Rom. 15:25-26). The time of writing is between a.d. 54/55 and 58/59, depending on the chronology followed (51/52, if the less likely “early” chronology). Reconstruction of the circumstances relates to decisions about the text.

Text

The address at 1:7 is “To all God’s saints in Rome,” but there is no reference to a church there until ch. 16, and then only to the house church of Prisca and Aquila (16:5). That “in Rome” is lacking in a few manuscripts at 1:7, 15 is likely due to scribes who wished to give the document a less specific and more universal reference. More important, the doxology found in some of the best Greek manuscripts at 16:25-27, with its pattern of “long kept secret, now disclosed,” appears in many manuscripts at 14:23, in 𝔓46 at 15:33, in some manuscripts after both 14:23 and 16:23, and is omitted in some sources (cf. NRSV mg). Some Latin versions lack ch. 15. All this had led to conjectures about a 14-chapter version, known to Origen and used by Marcion; a 15-chapter version; and a 16-chapter one found in most English Bibles. In the 1950s the view came to dominate that Paul sent a 15-chapter version to Rome, and what is now ch. 16 (at least 16:1-20, perhaps with a copy of 1-15 also) to Ephesus. That meant that the 28 people greeted in 16:3-16, including Prisca and Aquila, were in Ephesus, not Rome. But since 1970 the tide has turned, especially in light of the argument that ch. 16 provides a necessary conclusion to the typical Pauline letter. That means that the five to seven house churches mentioned are in Rome, and further that they are to be connected with disputes between “the strong” (in faith) and “the weak” in 14:1–15:3, likely Gentile and Jewish Christians. While the pertinence of ch. 16 remains disputed, the trend is toward acknowledging, in light of the decision that chs. 1-16 went to Rome, that Paul knew a great deal about the situation among fragmented believers in the capital city.

Circumstances and Purposes

The origins of Christianity at Rome are unknown. Belief in Jesus probably arose in the large Jewish community there through (merchants’) contacts with Palestine. According to the Roman historian Seutonius (Claud. 25.4), the emperor Claudius expelled many Jews because of disturbances “instigated by Chrestus” (Christ), between Jewish followers and other Jews, or between Jewish Christians who had begun to share their good news with Gentiles and Jewish Christians who opposed a gentile mission. This occurred in the year 49 (less likely, earlier, in 42). Some of these Jewish Christians moved eastward; Paul came into contact with them in Corinth (e.g., Aquila and Prisca/Priscilla, Acts 18:1-3; 1 Cor. 16:19), Ephesus, and elsewhere. Later, when tensions cooled (Claudius died in 54), some of these Jewish Christians returned to Rome. But in the interim gentile followers of Jesus had become the dominant form of Christianity in Rome. Through these returning exiles Paul had some knowledge of house churches in Rome for the letter which would be carried there by Phoebe, a minister from the Corinthian seaport of Cenchreae, whom Paul commends (16:1-2). Another historical detail may lie behind Rom. 13, , in the fact that Nero, then in his five years of good rule, considered in 58 abolishing indirect taxes, about the unjust collection of which by publicani there had been wise protest (Tacitus Ann. 13.50-51). In 13:6-7 Paul specifically advises Christians in Rome to pay their taxes as good citizens and not get caught up in movements of unrest.

Several purposes emerge for writing Romans to a now basically gentile group of house churches, with some Jewish Christian returnees.

1. The apostle clearly wants to introduce himself and his gospel to all the Christian communities in Rome. He did not found the churches, and we know of no significant “founder,” but the notion that Paul wanted to provide an “apostolic” foundation is not convincing. Paul writes diplomatically, with a certain mutuality (1:11-15), aware of rumors about himself in some quarters (3:7-8; 6:1-2; 9:1-2). But it is by no means clear that he confronts Jewish Christian counter-missionaries who disputed his positions, as in Galatia. Paul presents his gospel therefore apologetically and winsomely, but without its being a “systematic theology.”

2. Paul seeks rapport in order to have support in Rome for his proposed mission work in Spain (15:23-29; cf. vv. 14-22). Romans is missionary in interest.

3. Paul asks prayers from Roman Christians for his journey to Jerusalem with the collection for the saints there (15:25-27, 30). That he is angling for contributions from Rome is not clearly implied. That he had fears as to how this gift would be received in Jerusalem is likely (15:30-32). But to see the Jerusalem Jewish Christian community as the “secret addressee” for Romans (perhaps through a “carbon copy” sent there) is a view not as strongly supported as a few decades ago in scholarship.

4. That Paul is concerned to have the “strong” and “weak” in Rome mutually accept each other can be seen in chs. 14–15, esp. 15:7. To this extent the letter has an ecclesiological purpose of church unity, while allowing considerable liberty to each position (Paul himself sides with the gentile “strong” against laws concerning food, drink, and special days; 14:2, 5, 17, 21). This has been called a “pastoral” aim, but it is not without its theological aspects (15:7b-13), and Paul’s other aims have pastoral aspects to them.

Romans has been called Paul’s “last will and testament.” It turns out, on certain assumptions, to be the final letter we possess from him. But Paul wrote vibrantly, as he was completing goals in the East, with new ventures in mind in the western Mediterranean (15:28).

Genre and Other Proposals

Romans reflects the letter form in its opening (1:1-17) and closing (15:14–16:23). The pattern of “doctrinal” section (1:18–8:39 or 11:36), followed by parenesis or the ethics section (12:1–15:13), is typically Pauline. But the body of the letter (1:18–15:13) is thus so lengthy that some term such as “letter essay” is warranted. More recently, categories from ancient rhetoric have been applied, designating Romans as predominantly “epideictic” (Lat. demonstrativus, “praising” or “blaming,” strengthening an audience’s ethos), or “deliberative” (persuasive, as in an assembly), or at times “judicial” (as in a law court), even as an “ambassadorial letter” or a “speech of exhortation” (Gk. lógos protréptikos). Much more widely acknowledged is the presence of the “diatribe” form (e.g., 2:1-5, 17-29; 3:27–4:2), where the attempt is made, in interchanges with an (imaginary) interlocator, Jewish or Christian, to criticize arrogant views and persuade to the speaker’s position. Literarily, Paul’s extensive use of OT material (e.g., 1:17; 3:10-20; chs. 9–11; 15:3-12), at times with rabbinic principles of interpretation (which also reflect Greek logic), as at 4:3-12 (the Abraham story), is apparent. There are citations of what many agree are earlier formulations, often Jewish Christian, used to establish common ground with the believers in Rome who had not been taught by Paul (e.g., 1:3-4; 3:24-26a; 4:25; 10:9; 11:33-36). There may be later additions like 16:25-27 (post-Paul, to round out and universalize Romans), but attempts to designate 2:16 or 6:17b, e.g., as glosses have often met with the response that they are the very key to Paul’s argument.

Outline

There is general agreement on major divisions.

I. Introduction: salutation (1:1-7), thanksgiving (1:8-15), theme (propositio), 1:16-17: the gospel as God’s power for
salvation — the righteousness of God, by faith, for Jew and Greek alike

II. The need for God’s righteousness in a world (or “the old age”) where divine wrath is being revealed (1:18–3:20)

A. Upon all of gentile humanity (1:18-32) — failure to honor and thank God results in idolatry and all sorts of sinning

B. Upon Jews too, judgment and wrath (2:1–3:9) — relying on the law of
Moses leads to boasting, not keeping the law

C. All humanity is accountable, unrighteous, under sin, not justified before God (3:10-20, with scriptural support)

III. The gospel as God’s righteouness revealed in justification of ungodly sinners, through Christ by faith (3:21–4:25)

A. Without distinction, all share in God’s righteousness, through Christ Jesus’ sacrificial death (3:21-26)

B. Justification by faith excludes
boasting about works by Jew or
Gentile (3:27-31)

C. Exemplified in Abraham, who was justified by faith, not works, prior to circumcision or the Mosaic law (4:1-25)

IV. Meaning of justification and new life in Christ: the new age now, but its freedoms not yet enirely here (chs. 5–8)

A. Free from wrath and death (ch. 5) — Adam/Christ contrast

B. Free from sin and self (ch. 6) to walk in newness of life

C. Free from the law (ch. 7) — the
dilemma of the “I”

D. Free for life in the Holy Spirit and for hope (ch. 8), living not yet by sight, awaiting redemption (8:23b-25)

V. The gospel of God’s righteousness and the unbelief of (much of) Israel (chs. 9–11)

A. God’s sovereignty and promises: a
failure? (ch. 9)

B. Israel’s failure to respond to righteousness by faith in Christ (ch. 10)

C. Paul’s hopes for the future (ch. 11): Gentile Christians, no presumptions; Israel, to receive mercy

VI. The meaning of God’s justifying righteousness for everyday life (12:1–15:13)

A. Exhortations for Christians in community (ch. 12), with regard to the state (13:1-7), and looking toward “the end” (13:8-14, the love-command and
eschatology)

B. Love and mutual welcome among
believers (14:1–15:13, the “strong”
and the “weak”)

VII. Letter closing: travel section, Paul’s plans for visiting Rome and a mission to Spain (15:14-33); a recommendation for Phoebe (16:1-2), greetings (16:3-16, 21-23), a warning about those who cause dissensions (16:17-19). Benediction, 16:20; v. 24 omitted on textual grounds; vv. 25-27 (added), doxology

Reading Romans

Romans has long been treated with emphasis on chs. 1–8 and such themes as sin and grace; righteousness/justification; faith as belief, trust, obedience, and God’s faithfulness to the divine promises; peace with God and other blessings of the new life in Christ, including the Spirit. Chs. 9–11, about Israel or theodicy (justifying that God’s word has not failed), have sometimes been seen as intrusive or a subsidiary theme. Often statements about predestination (beginning at 8:29; ch. 9) have been the chief concern of interpreters. More recently the focus has been on “salvation history” (Adam, Abraham, Moses, Christ) and the application to Jews (in interreligious conversation), so as to make chs. 9–11 the center of the entire letter. The ethical teachings in chs. 12–15 have at times been the focus of attention — Paul wants to show how his gospel works out in sacrificial service by Christians, not to God but to others in the workaday world (12:1-2). Even if the exhortations in 12:3-21 seem general, not arising directly out of the justification theme, they do rest on all that has been said in 3:21–8:39 (12:1: “therefore,” “by the mercies of God” enumerated in prior chapters). Ch. 13, on the state, reflects the context in which Paul writes, and chs. 14–15 address real problems in Rome of integrating divided ethnic house churches. To “welcome one another” (15:7) can then be termed the climax toward which Paul builds his presentation. Or is the goal to be united for the mission to Spain?

Different eras and interpreters have seen different aspects of Romans as especially pertinent. A balanced reading regards the whole as coherent, in light — and as a development — of Paul’s theme (1:16-17) about righteousness, God’s Christ, and faith.

Bibliography. B. Byrne, Romans. Sacra Pagina 6 (Collegeville, 1996); K. P. Donfried, ed., The Romans Debate, rev. ed. (Peabody, 1991); J. D. G. Dunn, Romans 1–8. WBC 38A; Romans 9–16. WBC 38B (Waco, 1988); J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans. AB 33 (New York, 1993); E. Käsemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, 1980); S. K. Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (New Haven, 1994); P. Stuhlmacher, Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Louisville, 1994).

John Reumann

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ROMANS, LETTER TO THE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)