Epistle to the Romans
Introduction
All of Paul’s letters were written to suit the needs of the churches he addressed. The Epistle to the Romans is similar but not quite as ad hoc. It was written under conditions of greater leisure and composed with greater care than any of the rest. As a result, it is the most systematic and inclusive statement of Paul’s faith. Some Protestants consider this the most important theological book ever written. It was clear that a collection of Paul’s writings existed before the end of the first century. There was considerable discussion about the order of these epistles. Which was the most important, which was the earliest, and even length, became a factor in determining the sequence. Length was a factor because if the order was modified just right, all the epistles could be written on two scrolls. Hauling around another scroll was more significant than adding a couple of pieces of paper.
Romans 15:15-33
There is not complete concurrence, but it is believed that this epistle was written no later than 53 AD, in Corinth while Paul was completing the relief collection for Jerusalem. Paul felt his work in Asia Minor and Greece was finished. He was an evangelist, not a pastor. He believed his calling was to plant – not to water. He not only does not want to build on other people’s foundations, he does not really enjoy building on his own.
Some historians believe he wrote this letter to appeal for the co-operation of the Roman Christians in his efforts toward Spain. Others believe he was expecting a less than warm welcome and wanted to assure the Romans of his good intent before his arrival. Some believe he desired to make a fairly complete and comprehensive statement of the message of salvation he is called to declare.
Galatians 2:9-14
There is a persistent tradition that Peter founded the church at Rome but he was still in Jerusalem when Paul wrote this epistle. Writings from 95 AD indicates that both Peter and Paul were
martyred in Rome. At that time, Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. Peter was established in Jerusalem and Antioch when Paul was living in Corinth and Ephesus. It is likely that Paul reached Rome before Peter and that the Roman church was started by Christian Jews moving to Rome.
It is often said that Paul was a preacher and evangelist as opposed to a theologian. This does not imply that he was not concerned with theology. It says his theology had a practical and realistic character and orientation as opposed to an intellectual or speculative one. Paul’s theology is soteriology, a doctrine of salvation. He was more concerned to proclaim the fact of the salvation in Christ than to formulate and explain it.
Romans 7:22-25
Sin for Paul is more than an act or attitude of rebellion against God or a transgression of his law. Sin is an outside demonic power, alien to man’s true (created) nature, which has gained entrance to man’s life and has reduced him to bondage and made him a transgressor. Paul’s analysis included all of mankind. When God made Adam, he made man; when Adam succumbed to sin, all mankind became enslaved. When Adam transgressed, all men became guilty.
There are several psychological terms Paul used rather loosely with neither precision nor consistency. "Flesh" means the physical stuff of human life, and "body" the organization of that stuff in the form of an individual. "Soul" is the animating principle of the fleshly body and sometimes refers to an element in the natural man – which may also be designated "mind" and "heart". These three are used to distinguish man from beast.
Some would say that Paul was a dualist, regarding the fleshly and material as evil and the spiritual as good. Paul had no problem saying that flesh was actually sinful because sin had taken over the flesh and corrupted it. Flesh was not essentially sinful. The essentially evil thing is the "sin in the flesh." It is there that sin brings the whole personality under bondage and destroyed the original balance and harmony of God’s creation.
Romans 8:2-6
Paul was a good Jew and never doubted the divine origin of the law – both what we should call natural law and the written law, the Torah. At the same time he knows – probably from his own experience – that no peace is to be found through the law. The divine intention in giving the law was to awaken mankind to his condition so he would not perish without warning. According to Paul, the law succeeds only in making one miserably aware of one’s bondage to sin.. It cannot release him from slavery to sin or save him from corruption and death.
Release from slavery and salvation have been accomplished through Christ. "God has done what the law . . . could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." Paul does not attempt to explain the nature of Christ. He concentrates on the work of Christ. He represents Christ as paying for us a ransom or debt which we could not pay, as offering on our behalf the sufficient sacrifice which we could not offer, or as winning a victory over our demonic adversaries which we could not win.
Paul represents Jesus as the head of a new humanity, a spiritual humanity. "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22) Adam headed the old, natural humanity. Christ heads the new spiritual humanity as part of a new and heavenly order. Much of Romans is concerned with setting forth the nature of the new life. The key term is "Spirit." The new life is spiritual life – God’s own life imparted to us and therefore our own true life. This spirit is love, brings reconciliation within and without, or what Paul calls "peace." The Spirit also brings powerful reinforcement to our own "spirit" so we are able to triumph over the sinful desires of the flesh and to know something of the original order and peace of God’s creation.
Paul characteristically thinks of the ethical life as the "fruit of the Spirit" – not the achievement of moral effort, but the inevitable expression of the new spiritual life. The age of the spirit is yet to come, but the Spirit itself has been given as an advance installment of our inheritance. The new life is therefore essentially a hope, but it is a hope which has already begun to be fulfilled and thus more than a mere hope. The Church is a "colony of heaven," and anticipation of the kingdom of God and the guarantee of its reality and its nearness.
Romans 1:16-17
The theme of Romans is God’s gracious action. It is available to Jew first and then Greek. Faith is the sole condition of our receiving God’s grace. Paul sets for a way of salvation which is not the way of obedience to the law. It is the way of justification in response to faith in Jesus Christ.
This letter has been used throughout the ages to arouse the church from lethargy and provide a vital understanding of its faith. This book is read frequently in our lectionary but portions are not easy to understand. Still, certain passages awaken a response and have kept this book relevant over the last two thousand years.
Paul believed human life must have some meaning. Any other approach produces only futility. Any significance in our life must be to something beyond our self. If we recognize our creaturely status, we begin to see life both in its true nature and in its proper perspective. It is God’s high purpose which gives meaning to our life and this saves us from any sense of triviality or insignificance.
Paul was horrified at what the law had done to men’s conception of God, to their relationship with him, and to their attitude one toward another. If we are to meet the demand of life successfully, we must know the nature of the God with whom we deal, we must find a relationship with him which will bring our lives to their true fulfillment and we must create with others the kind of fellowship which should unite those who find that they are the children of God.
Romans is sometimes dismissed as an ancient classic of religious literature, but now possessing neither relevance nor interest. On the contrary, Romans deals with subjects which never lose their importance. It treats the eternal themes of God and man, of the true nature of each, and of the relationship which should unite them in any age.