NT SURVEY ROMANS

NT SURVEYROMANS

BACKGROUND

Author• Paul (1:1)• Jewish• Pharisee• Persecuted the early church• Known for his amazing conversion story• An apostle of Jesus• Wrote most of the books of the New Testament

Recipients• Christians in Rome (a mature Christian community)• Mostly Gentiles• A substantial minority of Jews

• Rome• The capital city of the Roman Empire• Political and geographical importance• Magnificent city structures: public buildings, aqueducts, baths,

theaters, and thoroughfares• Described both as the glorious achievement of mankind and the sewer

of the universe

Purpose• To introduce himself to the Roman Christians• To clarify misunderstandings about Paul’s view of the Christian

faith• To remind them of the central tenets of the Christian faith• To enlist help from the Roman Christians for his mission to the

Western parts of the Roman Empire (i.e. Spain)• To ask for prayer as he heads to Jerusalem

Genre• Ancient Letter• Letter Opening

• Author(s)• Greetings• Recipients• Thanksgiving

• Letter Body• Letter Closing

• Final Greetings

STRUCTURESee handout.

Letter Body• Doctrine & Practice• Doctrine: Universal availability of God’s mercy to all people, Jews

and Gentiles alike (1:11-11:36)• Practice: Implications of such mercy for living together in the

Christian community which now includes both Jews and Gentiles (12:1-15:13)

DISTINCT DETAILS

Distinct Details in Romans• In the canon, it is placed first among Paul’s letters.• It is possibly the last letter we have from Paul.• At the time of its writing, Paul had not yet been to Rome.• Most systematic of Paul’s letters• An unusually lengthy final greetings (16)• Key roles that women played in the early church (16)• The use of rhetorical questions• Clearest exposition of Paul’s understanding of salvation

Important Topics• God’s universal wrath against mankind (1:18-32)• Righteousness through faith (3:21-26)• Abraham as an example of righteousness (4)• Paul’s struggle with sin (7:21-25)• We are living sacrifices (12)• Submission to the governing authorities (13:1-7)

Notable Verses• 3:23• 6:23• 8:1• 8:11• 8:28• 8:31• 8:38-39• 12:1-2

SIGNIFICANCE

Significance of Romans• Incredibly significant for our theological understanding of the

Christian faith• Covers an impressive range of teaching themes including sin,

salvation, grace, faith, righteousness, justification, sanctification, redemption, death, and resurrection