Introduction to Romans

Authorship: Paul

• Secretary: Tertius (16:22)
• Letter carrier: Phoebe (16:1-2)

Date: AD 56–57

Place of writing: Corinth

Addressees

The standard model

1. Paul was writing to the church in Rome, which was composed of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.
2. The main evidence is Rom 14:1–15:13, where Paul addresses “the weak” and “the strong” and exhorts them to get along and accept one another. On this model, “the weak” are Jewish Christians and “the strong” are Gentile Christians
3. This view makes much of the fact that in AD 49-50 Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome (Act 18:2), but some were trickling back and returning to a Gentile-dominated church.
4. This allegedly explains the “double character” of Romans:
   1. On one hand, involved discussions about the law.
   2. On other hand, addressed to Gentiles (majority).

Critique of the standard model

1. Paul addresses letter to Gentile Christians only (1:5-6, 13; 11:13; 15:14-18).
2. They “know the law” (7:1) from the time when they attended the Jewish synagogue as Gentile God-fearers, and still continue to study the LXX in the Christian church.
3. The standard model can’t explain Paul’s exhortation not to boast against the Jews because of their unbelief (11:13-25). He is clearly talking to Gentiles here.
4. There is no evidence that “the weak” (14:1; 15:1) are Jewish. They could just as easily be Gentiles who continued to keep aspects of Jewish food laws and Sabbath, practices continued from their former time while attending the Jewish synagogue as God-fearers.

Purpose of Romans

1. Debate over the purpose of Romans
   1. Older view: Romans is a timeless, situation-less theological treatise.
   2. Modern view: all of Paul’s other letters are pastoral responses to situations and problems in specific churches (e.g., Gal, 1-2 Thess, 1-2 Cor).
   3. But this is an overstatement (e.g., Eph).
2. My view of the purpose of Romans:
   1. Other letters were written to churches Paul himself had recently planted, and he is giving them pastoral counsel to deal with problems that have arisen after he had departed to confirm them in their faith.
   2. But church at Rome was not planted by Paul. He isn’t writing to address problems that had arisen after he left. Romans has more to do with Paul’s own situation than that of the Roman Christians.
   3. Paul has “fulfilled” (15:19) his gospel ministry in the east, is about to wrap it up by bringing the offering to Jerusalem. Now he is setting his sights for a mission in the western part of the Roman Empire, as far as Spain (15:24, 28). So he writes to secure the support of the Roman Christians. After he delivers the offering, he is coming to Rome to set up base for western mission.
   4. However, Roman Christians had heard about Paul and had questions about his gospel, particularly since many of them were attracted to the law. They were worried that his law-free gospel was antinomian. They also thought the Gentiles had replaced the Jews in God’s plan, so he writes to warn them against being wise in their own sight and boasting against the Jews (11:13-25).
   5. Paul wrote to teach his gospel to a church that he did not personally plant, but which he views as under his authority as the apostle to the Gentiles (11:13; 15:20). He needs to gain their support for his gospel, put to rest their fears and objections, and get them on board with his mission to Spain.
   6. This explains why Romans is the least situational and most like a didactic essay, without denying that there is a very real rhetorical situation informing the letter.

Theme: The Righteousness of God Apart From the Law (ROGAFL)

1. “The Righteousness of God” (5x: 1:17; 3:21-22; 10:3 [2x])
   1. Subjective or possessive genitive (θεοῦ)? God’s own attribute of righteousness?
   2. Genitive of source or author: the righteousness that comes from God.
2. Not God’s own righteousness, but the righteous status that we have.
   1. Hab 2:4 quote, “the one who is righteous by faith” (1:17), as proof (“as it is written”).
   2. Participle “being declared righteous” (δικαιούμενοι – 3:24) explains “the righteousness of God.”
3. The gift idea
   1. “The righteousness of God” is received “by faith” and given “to faith, to all who believe” (1:17; 3:22)
   2. “Freely” or “as a gift” (δωρεάν) (3:24)
   3. “The free gift (δωρεά) of righteousness” (5:17; cp. 5:15; 6:23)
4. “Apart from the law” (3:21), “apart from works of the law” (3:28; cp. 4:6).
   1. Abraham was declared righteous apart from (before) the law (4:1-3, 9-13).
   2. The law came in later (5:20).
   3. Not under the law (6:14-15).
   4. Died to the law (7:4); released from the law (7:6).
   5. Set free from the law; God has done what the law could not do (8:1-4).

Outline of Romans

1. 1:1-15: Letter Opening: Paul’s Devotion to the Gospel
2. 1:16–11:36: Body of the Epistle, Pt. 1: Teaching the Gospel to the Roman Christians
   1. 1:16-17: Thesis Statement: The Gospel = ROGAFL
   2. 1:18–3:20: Humanity’s Plight and Need of the Gospel
   3. 3:21–4:25: God’s Gracious Provision of ROGAFL
   4. 5:1–8:39: Implications of ROGAFL for the Christian Life
   5. 9:1–11:36: Implications of ROGAFL for the Status of Israel
3. 12:1–15:13: Body of the Epistle, Pt. 2: Practical Instructions for the Roman Christians
   1. 12:1–13:14: By the mercies of God: Exhortations to practical Christian life
   2. 14:1–15:13: Call to the weak and the strong to live in harmony
   3. 15:14-33: Letter Closing: Paul’s request for help in his mission to Spain
4. 16:1-27: Appendix: letter of recommendation, greetings, warning, doxology

Key Contributions of Romans

1. Paul’s fullest statement of the gospel (chs. 1-4)
   1. Thesis statement (1:16-17)
   2. There is none righteous (1:18–3:20)
      1. Immoral Gentiles (1:18-32)
         1. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven (1:18).
         2. They “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (1:18).
         3. God has revealed himself “in the things that have been made” (1:19-20).
         4. Therefore, they are “without excuse” (1:20).
         5. The exchange: worshipping creature instead of Creator (1:25).
         6. God’s threefold “gave them up” (1:24, 26, 28).
         7. Idolatry leads to an immoral, debased way of life.
      2. Judgmental Moralists (2:1-11)
         1. Moralists won’t escape God’s wrath.
         2. God requires perfect obedience: “patience in well-doing” (2:6-10).
         3. “God shows no partiality” (2:11).
      3. Jews (2:12–3:8)
         1. The requirement is “doing the law” not hearing the law (2:13).
         2. A true Jew is one who is circumcised in heart, not just in flesh.
         3. What advantage has the Jew? (3:1-8)
      4. All men stand guilty (3:9-20)
         1. “There is none righteous” (3:10).
         2. “By works of the law no human will be justified” (3:20).
   3. The revelation of the righteousness of God (3:21–4:25)
      1. Return to thesis (3:21-22)
      2. The atonement as satisfaction of divine justice (3:23-31)
         1. Redemption metaphor (3:24)
         2. Propitiation in his blood (3:25)
         3. LXX background ([ἐξ-]ἱλάσκομαι, ἱλασμός)
         4. God’s wrath in Romans (1:18; 2:5, 8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9)
         5. A sacrifice that turns aside God’s wrath
         6. “Mercy seat”?
         7. To demonstrate God’s justice (3:25-26)
         8. Boasting excluded (3:27-30)
         9. Faith upholds the law (3:31)
      3. The faith of Abraham (ch. 4)
         1. “The father of all who believe” (4:11; cp. Gal 3:7)
         2. “Guaranteed to all his offspring” (4:16)
         3. “The father of us all … in the eyes of God” (4:16-17)
         4. Gen 15:6 was written for us (4:22-24)
         5. Summary of the gospel (4:25)
2. Implications for the Christian life (chs. 5-8)
   1. The results of justification (5:1-11)
      1. Textual issue: “we have peace” or “let us have peace” (5:1).
      2. Peace with God or reconciliation—objective with subjective effects
      3. Imputation and the two Adams (5:12-21)
      4. Transitional paragraph (Janus)
      5. Looking backward: summarizes argument about justification
      6. Looking forward: two Adams as two spheres, setting up for ch. 6
      7. The first Adam: one sin brought death to all men.
      8. The second Adam: one act of righteousness brings justification and life.
      9. “Made (= reckoned) sinners/righteous” (5:19)
   2. United with Christ in his death and resurrection (ch. 6)
      1. The antinomian objection (5:20–6:1)
      2. What baptism signifies (6:2-4)
      3. Reckoning yourself dead and alive in Christ (6:5-14)
      4. Freed from dominion of sin, slaves of righteousness (6:15-23)
   3. Life in the flesh vs. life in the Spirit (7:1–8:17)
      1. The marriage analogy (7:1-6)
      2. Key verse that outlines the rest (7:6)
      3. “The old way of the written code” explained in 7:7-25
      4. “The new way of the Spirit” explained in 8:1-17
      5. Old life under the law: The law’s inability to restrain passions (7:7-25)
      6. The “I” is rhetorical, not autobiographical (7:9)
      7. Describing someone prior to conversion trying to keep the law, such as these former God-fearers who are still trying to keep the law (cp. 8:15)
      8. “Sold under sin” (7:14)
   4. New life in the Spirit (8:1-17)
   5. The certainty of eschatological glory (8:18-39)
3. The reason Israel stumbled (9:30–10:4)
   1. Israel’s stumble = failing to believe in Israel’s Messiah.
   2. Why did they stumble?
      1. Because they thought they could attain righteousness by works. Theoretically, this is possible (2:13), but after the fall, no one does the law and so no fallen human being can be declared righteous that way (3:20).
      2. Because they wanted to establish their own righteousness, rather than submitting to the gift of righteousness, the righteousness of God (10:3).
   3. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (10:4).
      1. Chronological end = terminus
      2. Teleological end = aim, goal, fulfillment
      3. Christ is the one in whom the law’s aim (“a law that would lead to righteousness,” 9:31) is attained and realized.
      4. The righteousness of God = the righteousness of faith
4. “All Israel will be saved” (11:25-27): main views
   1. National conversion and restoration of Israel in land with temple
   2. Mass conversion of most Jews in the end time
   3. The total number of elect Jews saved throughout church age
   4. The Israel of God, Jews and Gentiles (Augustine, Calvin)
      1. Reference to the new covenant (v 27; Isa 59:20-21)
      2. “… until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. And in this way …”
      3. The olive tree analogy
      4. Paul’s redefinition of Israel (2:28-29; 4:11, 16-17; 9:6-8, 24-26)

Romans and Galatians Compared

Similarities between Rom and Gal

1. In both, P is teaching the gospel
   1. Gal 1:7, 11-12: “The gospel of Christ”
   2. Gal 2:5, 14: “The truth of the gospel”
   3. Rom 1:1, 15-17
2. In both, defines the gospel as justification by faith in Christ not by works of law
   1. We are justified (counted as righteous) by faith not by works of Law (Gal 2:16 = Rom 3:21-28).
   2. The reason we can’t be righteous by law keeping is that the Law requires perfect obedience, and no one can do that (Gal 3:10 = Rom 2:13; 3:20).
3. In both, the obedience of Christ is the ground of our righteousness
   1. Rom 3:24-25: we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood.”
   2. Gal 2:20–3:1: “… the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”
4. In both, P appeals to Abraham as the paradigm of faith
   1. Quotes Gen 15:6 (Rom 4:3 = Gal 3:6)
   2. Abraham is “the father of us all” (Rom 4:16)
   3. We are the sons of Abraham (Gal 3:7)

Yet important Differences

1. Different rhetorical tones
   1. In Galatians, Paul is fiery and urgent, dealing with the immediate crisis at hand: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Gal 1:6).
   2. In Romans, the dust of the conflict with the Judaizers has settled, and he writes a calm essay. The voice of the Jewish objector is present but more of a distant echo.
2. Different banner statement
   1. Galatians: “Gospel Liberty in Christ” (Gal 5:1).
   2. Romans: “The Righteousness of God” (Rom 1:17; 3:21).
3. The rhetorical opponents are slightly different - both are adherents of the Law, but …
   1. In Gal, Paul’s opponents are the Judaizers - Jews who are professing believers, trying to force Gentiles into slavery under the Law
   2. In Rom, Paul has in view unbelieving Jews who boast in mere possession of the Law without keeping it.
      1. Thus, in Rom, Gentiles and Jews equally unrighteous and in need of “the righteousness of God” (Rom 1:18–3:20, 23)
      2. Equally fallen and condemned in Adam (Rom 5:12ff)
   3. Whereas in Gal, Judaizers profess Christ but have distorted the gospel by resurrecting the Mosaic Law after it has been fulfilled by Christ as if coming of the Messiah made no difference, essentially denying the gospel.
4. The difference in opponents explains the narrower vs. broader redemptive-historical perspective.
   1. In Gal, responding to the Judaizers, Paul needs to explain the purpose of the Law in redemptive history.
      1. Paul directly asks, “Why then the Law?” (Gal 3:19). If righteousness does not come by the Law, why did God give it?
      2. And then gives a detailed and compelling answer in extended section (Gal 3:15–4:7)
      3. Key to unlocking OT: promise (Abraham) - law (Moses) - faith (Christ)
      4. Christological answer: the Law was given to lead us to Christ
   2. In Rom, Paul does of course touch on the Christological purpose of the Law (e.g, 5:20-21; 10:4), but his focus is much broader. He explores the history behind Abraham, going back to Adam/creation (Rom 1:19-20; 5:12-21).
      1. In Gal, Christ is the Offspring of Abraham (Gal 3:16) and the Law is the matrix in which he is born (Gal 4:4).
      2. In Rom, Christ is the Second Adam (which is same thing, per Gen 3:15) and the Covenant of Works is the matrix in which he comes and accomplishes righteousness (Rom 5:18-21).
      3. In keeping with the universal scope of man’s plight and God’s provision in Christ, Romans has the broadest historical perspective. Galatians goes back to Abraham, but Romans goes back to creation and Adam—a panoramic view.