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New Testament · Letter

Paul's Letter to the Romans: Author, Context and Complete Study

Romans is Paul's fullest explanation of the gospel: all people are guilty before God, and God declares sinners righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. It goes on to describe new life in the Spirit, God's faithfulness to Israel and a life of love that unites Jews and Gentiles.

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What is Romans about?

Romans explains the good news that God saves sinners through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul first shows that Gentiles and Jews alike are under sin (Romans 1:18-3:20), then that God gives his righteousness as a gift to all who believe, as he did with Abraham (3:21-5:21). He describes the new life of those united to Christ and led by the Spirit (6-8), wrestles with Israel's place in God's plan (9-11) and spells out what a life of love and mutual welcome looks like in the church and in society (12-16). Its thesis is that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (1:16-17).

Author
The apostle Paul, who names himself in the first verse (Romans 1:1); Tertius wrote it down as Paul dictated (16:22). Paul's authorship is accepted almost universally.
Date
c. AD 57 (some say AD 55-58), from Corinth, near the end of Paul's third missionary journey.
First readers
The believers in Rome, a mixed church of Jewish and Gentile Christians meeting in house churches, whom Paul had not yet visited but hoped to see on his way to Spain.
Genre
Letter
Chapters
16 chapters
Key verse
Romans 1:16-17

Historical context

Paul wrote Romans around AD 57, during a three-month stay in Greece, probably in Corinth (Acts 20:2-3), as his third missionary journey was ending. He had preached from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum (Romans 15:19) and was about to take to Jerusalem the offering that the churches of Macedonia and Achaia had gathered for the poor believers there (15:25-26). After that he planned to visit Rome and, with its help, carry the gospel to Spain (15:23-24, 28). Nero had been emperor since AD 54 and was still in the early years of his reign, some years before the persecution of AD 64.

No one knows who founded the church in Rome. Visitors from Rome were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:10), and believers may have carried the gospel back home. The city had a large Jewish community, and around AD 49 the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2); the Roman historian Suetonius links the expulsion to disturbances over a certain Chrestus, which many scholars take as a reference to Christ. Jewish believers such as Priscilla and Aquila had to leave. By the time Paul wrote, they were back in Rome (Romans 16:3), probably after Claudius died in AD 54, and the congregations had been shaped for some years by Gentile believers. The tensions over food and holy days (14:1-15:13) and over Israel's place in God's plan (9-11) reflect that situation.

Geographical context

Rome, capital of the empire and one of the largest cities of the ancient world, drew people from every province, including a large Jewish community. The believers there met in homes: Paul greets the church in the house of Prisca and Aquila and several other household groups (16:5, 10-11, 14-15).

The letter itself was written in the Corinth area. Phoebe, who probably carried it, served the church at Cenchreae, Corinth's eastern port (16:1-2), and Gaius, Paul's host, and Erastus, the city treasurer, send greetings (16:23). The horizon of the letter is the whole Mediterranean: Jerusalem, where Paul is taking the collection; Macedonia and Achaia, which gave it; Illyricum on the Adriatic coast, the limit of his work so far; and Spain, at the western edge of the known world, where he hoped to go next (15:19-28).

Why does the book of Romans exist?

Romans is the most systematic of Paul's letters, but it is still a letter written for a specific moment. Paul wanted to visit a church he had not founded, so he introduced himself with a full account of the gospel he preached, hoping to be refreshed by the believers and helped on his way to Spain (1:11-15; 15:22-24). He also needed to answer misunderstandings: some slandered him as if he taught people to do evil so that good might come (3:8), and others asked whether his message of grace made the law worthless or left God's promises to Israel unfulfilled (3:31; 9:6).

Above all, Romans aims at unity. Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome were judging one another, and Paul shows that both stand on the same ground: equally guilty, equally justified by faith, equally grafted into God's people by grace (3:22-23; 10:12; 11:17-24). That is why the letter moves from doctrine to practice, from the righteousness of God to a church where the strong and the weak welcome one another as Christ welcomed them (15:7). Paul also asks for prayer for his dangerous trip to Jerusalem (15:30-32). For the whole church, Romans became the classic statement of justification by faith and of the Christian life that flows from it.

Outline of Romans

  1. Chapters 1-2

    The gospel and a world under judgment

    Paul greets the Roman believers and states his theme, the righteousness of God revealed through faith (1:16-17). He then shows God's wrath against those who exchanged the truth for idols, and against those, Jews included, who judge others while doing the same things.

  2. Chapters 3-4

    Justified by faith

    Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, and no one is justified by works of the law. Now God's righteousness is given through faith in Christ, whose death atones for sin; Abraham, counted righteous by faith before he was circumcised, is the father of all who believe.

  3. Chapter 5

    Peace with God and the two Adams

    Justified believers have peace with God, a hope that does not disappoint and the assurance of God's love, shown in Christ's death for sinners. As sin and death came through Adam, righteousness and life come in far greater measure through Jesus Christ.

  4. Chapters 6-7

    Dead to sin and released from the law

    Grace is no license to sin: united with Christ in his death and resurrection, believers offer themselves to God as instruments of righteousness. The law is holy, yet it cannot free anyone from sin, and Paul describes the anguish of wanting to do good and failing.

  5. Chapter 8

    Life in the Spirit

    There is no condemnation for those in Christ. The Spirit gives life, makes believers children who call God Father, helps them in weakness and assures them that God works all things for good and that nothing can separate them from his love.

  6. Chapters 9-11

    God's faithfulness to Israel

    Paul grieves over Israel's unbelief, shows that God's word has not failed because he always worked by election and mercy, calls everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord to salvation, and reveals that Israel's hardening is partial and temporary, ending in praise of God's wisdom.

  7. Chapters 12-13

    Living sacrifices

    In view of God's mercies, believers offer themselves as living sacrifices, serve with their gifts in the one body, love sincerely, overcome evil with good, submit to governing authorities and live as people of the day, because love fulfills the law.

  8. Chapters 14-15

    Welcome one another

    Strong and weak believers must stop judging one another over food and special days and build one another up, as Christ welcomed both Jews and Gentiles. Paul explains his mission, his plan to visit Rome on the way to Spain and his request for prayer.

  9. Chapter 16

    Greetings and final words

    Paul commends Phoebe, greets more than twenty believers by name, warns against those who cause divisions, passes on greetings from his companions in Corinth and closes with praise to the God who strengthens his people through the gospel.

Famous passages in Romans

  • Romans 1:16-17

    Not ashamed of the gospel

    Paul states the theme of the letter: the gospel is God's power to save everyone who believes, the Jew first and also the Greek, because in it the righteousness of God is revealed by faith from first to last. He supports it with Habakkuk 2:4, that the righteous shall live by faith, a verse that has changed lives throughout church history.

    Study Romans 1 →

  • Romans 3:21-26

    Righteousness through faith in Christ

    After showing that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (3:23), Paul announces the turning point: God's righteousness is now given freely through faith in Jesus, whose death deals with sin and satisfies God's justice. God is shown to be both just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

    Study Romans 3 →

  • Romans 5:1-11

    Peace with God

    Justified by faith, believers have peace with God and can rejoice even in suffering, because suffering produces endurance, character and hope. Verse 8 is among the best known in the Bible: God shows his love for us in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

    Study Romans 5 →

  • Romans 6:23

    The wages of sin and the gift of God

    Paul contrasts two outcomes: sin pays its wage, which is death, while eternal life is God's free gift in Christ Jesus our Lord. The verse closes his argument that grace frees believers from slavery to sin, and it is often used with 3:23, 5:8 and 10:9 to explain the gospel simply.

    Study Romans 6 →

  • Romans 8:28-39

    Nothing can separate us from God's love

    Paul assures believers that God works all things together for good for those who love him, that the God who did not spare his own Son will give them all things, and that no hardship, power or created thing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus. It is one of the most loved passages of comfort in Scripture.

    Study Romans 8 →

  • Romans 10:9-13

    Confess and believe

    Whoever confesses with the mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in the heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved. Quoting Joel, Paul adds that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, with no distinction between Jew and Greek, which makes this a favorite text for evangelism.

    Study Romans 10 →

  • Romans 12:1-2

    Living sacrifices and renewed minds

    In view of God's mercies, Paul urges believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice and not to be shaped by the pattern of this age, but transformed by the renewing of their minds. These verses open the practical section of the letter and describe the whole Christian life as worship.

    Study Romans 12 →

  • Romans 13:1-7

    Believers and the governing authorities

    Paul teaches that governing authorities exist by God's appointment to restrain wrongdoing and promote good, so believers should submit to them and pay taxes, respect and honor. Written while Nero was emperor, it remains a key text on faith and government, read together with passages such as Acts 5:29.

    Study Romans 13 →

Main themes

The righteousness of God
God's righteousness is both his own justice and the right standing he gives to sinners. Through the death of Christ, God remains just and at the same time justifies the ungodly who believe, counting their faith as righteousness, as he did with Abraham (3:21-26; 4:3-5).
Sin and judgment
Paul shows that idolatry, injustice and self-righteousness all spring from turning away from God. Gentiles with their conscience and Jews with the law are equally without excuse, and through Adam sin and death spread to all (1:18-32; 2:1-16; 3:9-20; 5:12).
Grace and faith
Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned. Faith receives what God promises, as Abraham trusted the God who gives life to the dead, and grace reigns where sin increased (4:16-21; 5:20-21). Paul insists that this grace leads to holiness, not to license (6:1-2).
Life in the Spirit
Union with Christ means death to sin and a new life led by the Holy Spirit, who gives life, the assurance of adoption, help in prayer and the hope of a renewed creation that now groans in expectation (6:4; 8:1-27).
Israel and the nations
Romans 9-11 affirms that God's word has not failed: he keeps a remnant chosen by grace, uses Israel's stumbling to bring salvation to the Gentiles and has not abandoned his people, because his gifts and calling are irrevocable (11:1-5, 11, 29).
A transformed community
The gospel creates a people who offer themselves to God, serve with their gifts, love without hypocrisy, respect authorities, pay what they owe and welcome one another across their differences, so that together, with one voice, they glorify God (12:1-15:13).

Main characters

Paul
The apostle to the Gentiles, writing from Corinth to a church he longs to visit. The letter reveals his heart: eager to preach in Rome, grieving over his fellow Jews, ambitious to proclaim Christ where he has not been named, and dependent on the prayers of the church (1:8-15; 9:1-3; 15:20, 30).
The imagined objector
Paul argues in a lively dialogue style, voicing the questions an opponent might raise: Is God unjust? Should we keep sinning so that grace may increase? Is the law sin? He answers each one, often with an emphatic By no means (3:1-8; 6:1-2; 7:7).
Abraham
Paul's chief example of faith. He believed God's promise and it was counted to him as righteousness before he was circumcised, so he is the father of all who believe, whether Jews or Gentiles (Romans 4).
Adam
The first man, through whose disobedience sin and death entered the world. Paul presents him as a pattern of the one to come: what Adam lost for humanity, Christ, through his obedience, restores in far greater measure (5:12-21).
Phoebe
A servant, or deacon, of the church at Cenchreae and a patron of many believers, Paul included. He commends her to the Romans and asks them to welcome her and help her in whatever she needs; she probably carried the letter to Rome (16:1-2).
Priscilla (Prisca) and Aquila
The couple Paul calls his fellow workers, who risked their lives for him. Back in Rome, they host a church in their home, and Paul greets them first among the many names of chapter 16 (16:3-5).
Tertius
The secretary who wrote the letter as Paul dictated. In a rare personal touch he adds his own greeting in the Lord (16:22), the only time one of Paul's secretaries speaks for himself in the letters.
Gaius and Erastus
Two believers in Corinth who send greetings: Gaius, host to Paul and to the whole church, probably the Gaius whom Paul baptized there (1 Corinthians 1:14), and Erastus, the city treasurer (Romans 16:23).

In-depth study of Romans

Introduction

Few books have shaped Christian faith as deeply as Romans. It is the longest of Paul's letters and the most carefully argued, a sustained explanation of what the gospel is, why humanity needs it and how it changes individuals and communities. Yet it is not an abstract treatise. It was written to real house churches in Rome, by a missionary with travel plans, a collection to deliver and a deep concern for the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers.

Reading Romans is like following a lawyer, a pastor and a worshiper at the same time. Paul builds his case step by step, answers objections, pauses to grieve over his people and breaks out into praise when the argument reaches its heights (8:31-39; 11:33-36).

Who wrote Romans and when?

Paul and his secretary

The letter opens with Paul's name and his calling as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). Paul dictated it to Tertius, who adds a greeting of his own (16:22). Its authorship is among the most secure facts of New Testament study; even scholars who doubt other letters treat Romans as a model of Paul's thought.

The setting in Corinth

Several clues place the writing in Corinth around AD 57. Paul is about to travel to Jerusalem with the offering from Macedonia and Achaia (15:25-26), which matches his three months in Greece before that trip (Acts 20:2-3). He commends Phoebe of Cenchreae, Corinth's port (16:1), and sends greetings from Gaius, his host, and Erastus, the city treasurer (16:23). Some date the letter a year or two earlier or later, but the setting is not in doubt.

Chapter 16 and the final doxology

Because Paul greets so many people in a city he had never visited, some scholars once suggested that chapter 16 was really sent to Ephesus. Most now accept it as part of Romans: travel was common, Priscilla and Aquila had returned to Rome, and naming mutual friends helped Paul win a hearing. In some ancient manuscripts the closing doxology (16:25-27) appears after 14:23 or after 15:33, a sign that the letter circulated in more than one form in the early centuries.

Literary style and structure

A letter with a long argument

Romans follows the shape of an ancient letter, with greeting, thanksgiving, body and closing, but its body is a carefully built argument. Connecting words carry the logic: therefore at the great turning points (5:1; 8:1; 12:1), and the question What then shall we say? whenever Paul moves to a new step (6:1; 7:7; 8:31; 9:14, 30).

Dialogue and Scripture

Paul uses the diatribe, a teaching style of his day in which the speaker raises objections from an imaginary opponent and answers them, often with an emphatic By no means (3:4; 6:2; 11:1). He also quotes the Old Testament more often than in any of his other letters, stringing passages together like pearls, as in the series of quotations on universal sin (3:10-18) and the texts on the Gentiles praising God (15:9-12).

The flow of the letter

  1. Introduction and theme (1:1-17).
  2. The need: all are under sin (1:18-3:20).
  3. The answer: justification by faith (3:21-5:21).
  4. The new life: union with Christ and life in the Spirit (6-8).
  5. The question of Israel (9-11).
  6. The response: a life of worship and love (12:1-15:13).
  7. Paul's plans and greetings (15:14-16:27).

Romans in the story of the Bible

Romans reads the whole Old Testament story in the light of Christ. Adam's fall in Genesis 3 explains the reign of sin and death (5:12-21). God's promise to Abraham and his faith in Genesis 15:6 show that righteousness has always come by faith (4:1-25), and David's psalm about the blessedness of forgiveness confirms it (4:6-8; Psalm 32:1-2). Habakkuk 2:4 provides the theme verse (1:17).

In chapters 9-11 Paul draws on the stories of Isaac, of Jacob and Esau, and of Moses and Pharaoh (9:7-17), on Hosea and Isaiah, on Deuteronomy 30 (10:6-8) and on Elijah's complaint that he alone was left (11:2-4). Joel 2:32 grounds the promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (10:13). Near the end, Paul's assurance that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under the believers' feet (16:20) echoes the first promise of the gospel in Genesis 3:15.

Within the New Testament, Romans develops themes Paul had argued more urgently in Galatians, such as justification and the example of Abraham, and complements James, who uses the same story of Abraham to show that true faith works. Romans stands first among Paul's letters in our Bibles not because it was written first, but because it is the longest.

Romans and Jesus Christ

The gospel of Romans is the gospel concerning God's Son. Paul introduces him as descended from David according to the flesh and declared Son of God in power by his resurrection (1:3-4). God put him forward as a sacrifice that deals with sin and displays divine justice (3:25); he was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (4:25); he died for the ungodly at the right time (5:6-8).

Christ is the second Adam, whose one act of obedience brings life to many (5:18-19). Believers are united with him in his death and resurrection (6:3-11). God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh (8:3), and the risen Christ now intercedes at God's right hand (8:34). He is the goal of the law for everyone who believes (10:4), the Lord to be confessed (10:9), the Lord of both the dead and the living (14:9) and the root of Jesse in whom the nations hope (15:12). Many interpreters also read 9:5 as a direct statement that Christ is God over all, blessed forever, though the punctuation of the verse is debated.

Interpretive challenges

Election in Romans 9

Paul speaks of God choosing Jacob over Esau before they were born and of mercy given according to God's will (9:10-18). Some read the chapter as teaching God's choice of individuals for salvation; others see the election of peoples and roles in history, Israel and the Gentiles, rather than individual destinies. Both readings must also account for chapter 10, where Paul stresses human responsibility and the call to believe.

Will all Israel be saved?

In 11:25-27 Paul says that a partial hardening has come on Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. Many interpreters expect a large turning of the Jewish people to Christ before his return; others understand all Israel as the full number of believing Jews through history, or as the whole people of God, Jews and Gentiles together. All agree that salvation comes through Christ the Deliverer and that God has not rejected his people (11:1-2).

Obeying governing authorities

Romans 13:1-7 calls believers to submit to rulers as servants of God. Paul is describing government's proper role of punishing evil and rewarding good, not approving every command. Elsewhere Scripture shows believers obeying God rather than men when rulers forbid what God commands (Acts 5:29), so most interpreters see real but limited obedience here.

Little-known facts

  • The secretary signs his name. Tertius is the only one of Paul's scribes who greets the readers personally (16:22).
  • Chapter 16 names many women. Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis and Julia are among those Paul commends or greets, several of them as hard workers in the Lord (16:1-15).
  • A possible link with the cross. Paul greets Rufus and his mother (16:13). Mark mentions that Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus' cross, was the father of Rufus (Mark 15:21), and Mark may have written for readers in Rome; some think this is the same family.
  • An inscription at Corinth names an Erastus who paved a public square at his own expense in return for his office. Some scholars identify him with the city treasurer of 16:23; others think the link is uncertain.
  • Romans has changed history through individuals. Augustine's conversion in AD 386 came as he read Romans 13:13-14; Martin Luther's study of the righteousness of God in Romans 1:17 shaped his teaching in the sixteenth century; and in 1738 John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed while hearing a preface to Romans read aloud.

How to study Romans

Read it whole, then slowly

Read the entire letter in one sitting, which takes less than an hour, to see the big picture. Then go section by section, following the argument rather than isolated verses. Write a one-sentence summary of each chapter, and watch for the connecting words therefore, for and but now (3:21), which show how each step leads to the next.

Questions to ask

  • What problem is Paul answering in this paragraph?
  • What does this passage say about God, about Christ, about the Spirit?
  • Which objection is Paul anticipating, and how does he answer it?
  • How does this teaching affect relationships between different believers?

Teaching it in a class or small group

A twelve-week series works well: the gospel's power (1:1-17); the human problem (1:18-3:20); justification (3:21-31); Abraham (4); peace and the two Adams (5); union with Christ (6); the struggle with sin (7); life in the Spirit (8); Israel (9-11); living sacrifices (12); authorities and love (13); and welcoming one another (14-16). Encourage the group to memorize a key verse each week, beginning with 1:16-17, and end every session as Paul does at the end of chapter 11, with worship.

Romans chapter by chapter

Every chapter of Romans with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about Romans

Who wrote the book of Romans?

The apostle Paul wrote Romans; he names himself in the first verse, and almost no scholar doubts it. He dictated the letter to a secretary named Tertius, who adds his own greeting near the end (Romans 16:22). Paul writes as an apostle called to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations (1:5), introducing himself to a church he had not yet visited.

When and where was Romans written?

Around AD 57, though some propose AD 55-58, during Paul's three months in Greece at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:2-3). The details point to Corinth: Paul commends Phoebe of Cenchreae, the nearby port, and sends greetings from Gaius and Erastus, both linked to Corinth (Romans 16:1, 23). He was about to take the offering for the poor to Jerusalem (15:25-26).

What is the main message of Romans?

All people, Jews and Gentiles, have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but God freely declares righteous those who believe in Jesus, who died for sins and was raised. United with Christ and led by the Spirit, believers live a new life, rest in God's love and are joined into one people who glorify God together (Romans 1:16-17; 3:23-24; 8:1; 15:7).

How many chapters does Romans have and how is it organized?

Romans has 16 chapters. After the opening (1:1-17), Paul explains humanity's need (1:18-3:20), justification by faith (3:21-5:21), new life in Christ and in the Spirit (6-8) and God's faithfulness to Israel (9-11). Chapters 12-15 apply the gospel to daily life and to the unity of the church, and chapter 16 closes with commendations and greetings.

What is the Romans Road?

It is a simple way of presenting the gospel with verses from Romans: all have sinned (3:23), the wages of sin is death but eternal life is God's gift (6:23), God showed his love when Christ died for sinners (5:8), and whoever confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him will be saved (10:9-10, 13). The name is modern, but every step comes from the letter itself.

What does justification by faith mean?

To justify means to declare righteous, as a judge does. Paul teaches that God declares sinners righteous not because of their works of the law but on the basis of Christ's death, received through faith (Romans 3:24-28; 5:1). It is a gift of grace that brings peace with God and leads to a new life of obedience, not an excuse to keep sinning (6:1-4).

Who is the wretched man of Romans 7?

In Romans 7:14-25 Paul describes someone who wants to do good but does what he hates. Some read it as Paul's experience as a mature believer still fighting sin; others as a person under the law without the Spirit, described from a Christian point of view; others as Israel's experience under the law. All agree that the answer is the deliverance through Jesus Christ celebrated in 7:25 and in chapter 8.

What does Romans 8:28 really promise?

It promises that God works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. The next verses define that good: being conformed to the image of his Son and sharing his glory (8:29-30). It does not say that everything that happens is good, but that God turns even suffering toward his saving purpose for his children.

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