Romans Part 1-A Introduction to Epistle of Romans

• published: 14 Jan 2015
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Introduction to Epistle of Romans In the book of Acts we first meet Saul as a persecutor of the Christian faith. He led the charge against Stephen, the first martyr of the church, he watched the clothes of those who stoned him (Acts 7:58). Saul had men and woman dragged off into prison who confessed the faith (Acts 8:3). He was headed to Damascus with authority of the High Priest to hunt and find Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. On the Road to Damascus Saul met the resurrected Jesus who appeared to him and commissioned to carry on the work of spreading the Gospel. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9:4-6 In Damascus the Lord had Ananias commission Saul (Paul) as an apostle to the Gentiles. But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." Acts 9:15-16 Paul would later make three missionary journeys to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire. On Paul’s third and last missionary journey, after he spent three years in Ephesus, he was going to return to Jerusalem. While he was in Corinth, he wrote to the Epistle to the Romans. He had not yet been to Rome, but he planned to visit in the future. Phoebe a sister in Christ would deliver the epistle to the “saints” at Rome (Romans 16:1). Paul would later be sent to Rome as a prisoner, who appealed to Caesar while being held in a prison in Caesarea (Acts 26:32). The letter was written in A.D. 57; Paul would arrive in Rome as a prisoner in A.D. 59. While in prison Paul would write the epistles later known as the “Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians and I Timothy). Authorship: Paul as author of Romans is not in dispute, he is clearly indicated as author in Romans 1:1. The letter also contains internal evidence, Paul claimed to be of the tribe of Benjamin (11:1, Phil. 3:5). He sent greeting to his fellow workers Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3) who he had left in Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19). Paul referred to his journey to Jerusalem with gifts from the saints in Macedonia and Achaia (Romans 15:25-27) these facts are confirmed in the book of Acts (19:21, 20:1-5; 21:15, 17-19). Paul also mentioned in Romans and Acts that he planned on visiting Rome (Romans 1:10-13, 15 Acts 19:21). Recipients: The letter is not addressed to a specific church at Rome, but to “all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). There were several groups or churches in Rome, one group met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla (Romans 16:5), so the letter was to all the saints in the city. In the letter we can see to groups being addressed directly, both Jews and Gentiles. According to Josephus there was a large Jewish colony living in Rome. Paul addresses the Jews directly in Romans 2:17. He also addresses the Gentiles directly in Romans 11:13 and their distinction from the Jewish believers. Who founded of the church at Rome? This is not clear, it could have been founded by returning Jews and Gentiles who were impacted in Jerusalem. This letter is written 24-years after the crucifixion and Pentecost, so the church would have grown organically as people returned home from Jerusalem. Place and Date: The letter was written at the close of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey in late winter or early spring of A.D. 57 or 58. Phoebe was on her way to Rome from Cenchrea, a port in the region of Corinth (Romans 16:1). Paul had just left Ephesus where he spent 3-years in ministry.