The book of Romans has a tradition of igniting revival wherever it is preached and studied. Beginning with Augustine in the fifth century, the book has furnished important motivation for a deeper walk with God. Martin Luther launched his reform attempts in 1517 as a result of teaching the book of Romans (he quoted Augustine over 100 times in his writings on Romans!). Alexander Campbell and Walter Scott both depended heavily on Romans in preaching the gospel. In 1963, Jimmy Allen started a class on Romans at Harding University. In that class, 100 students heard “salvation is by grace” for the first time. The exposition and application of Romans changes lives.

The Epistle to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome, meeting in a congregation Paul had neither planted nor visited. The church was likely planted by converts returning to Rome from Jerusalem and the events of Pentecost in AD 33 (Acts 2:10-11). It was written from the city of Corinth, on Paul’s third missionary journey, and dates from AD 55-58. Unlike Paul’s other epistles, there is no clear purpose for the composition of Romans. He is not answering questions or addressing obvious problems within the church. This has led to a great deal of speculation about Paul’s purpose.

One very interesting idea centers around the expulsion of the Jews from Rome in AD 49 resulting from an edict of Claudius Caesar (see Acts 18:2). This very naturally hollowed out the leadership of the fledgling church in Rome. The congregation had probably been primarily Jewish, with a few Gentile converts, until then. While the Jews were exiled from Rome, the church did not falter, but grew rapidly. Then, in AD 54 when Claudius Caesar was poisoned, his edict died with him and the Jews rapidly began to filter back into Rome. In a very short time, Priscilla and Aquila returned (Romans 16:3-4) and one of Paul’s relatives, Herodion, is found in the church there (Romans 16:11). But this rapid influx of strong Jewish Christians created a new tension in the church. What would be the place of Gentile leaders when the former elders returned?

From this background, it seems that Paul is writing Romans to foster unity within the church. He never stresses unity as he does in Ephesians, for instance, but he stresses the common condition of humanity, the centrality of faith, the advantages of the Jews and the grace of God to sweep Gentiles into His redemptive plan. From a proper knowledge of the nature of humanity and the grace of God, unity within the church would develop naturally without overt commands. This may well be the purpose of Romans.

Outlines can be useful to remember the sequence of thought in the book. Here is an outline of the contents that may be helpful:

1:1-15 Greetings and thanksgiving

1:16-17 Theme statement (justification by faith)

1:18-3:20 Gentiles and Jews need justification by faith

3:21-4:25 The nature of God’s saving acts in Christ

5:1-8:39 A presentation of the new life in Christ

9-11 The place of Israel in salvation history

12:1-15:13 Concerning relationships to fellow Christians and the state

15:14-16:27 Concluding remarks

There are a number of themes that should be observed in the book. Each of these has an important part in Paul’s presentation. Some themes can be found developed in certain sections of the book while others seem to weave through the work. Here are a few noticeable themes in Romans:

The gospel is the righteousness of God by faith

The gospel is the power of God for salvation

The gospel and Israel

The gospel and the transformation of life

The tension between the flesh and the Spirit

The sovereignty of God

Christian conduct in public, private, and church life

Paul had not planted this church, yet was familiar with many of its members. Some he had doubtless met in his other works (Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth, for example), yet he may have known others even before they converted to Christianity.

The gospel of Mark is widely acknowledged to have been written to Christians at Rome and contains a reference to a man of Cyrene, “Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus,” (Mark 15:21) as though the first readers should know Alexander and Rufus although they might not know Simon. It may be that the Rufus mentioned in Romans 16:13 is the same character, since both works seem aimed toward the same initial audience.

The discussion about the sinful condition of humanity in the early chapters of the book sound exactly like society today. The need of mankind remains the same, and the remedy for sin remains the same.

Paul makes it undeniably clear that faith in Jesus Christ results in a changed life. Our behavior is altered because we are Christians. Our motivation in life changes in Christ and that affects our practices.

What do you already know about Romans? What are you looking forward to learning in the book? What are you uneasy about studying?

Why do you think Romans has been so often associated with reform efforts? Why is the proclamation of salvation by grace so often life-changing?

How would pointing out the universal problem with mankind foster unity in a church? How would unity be improved by stressing the unique differences between Jew and Gentile?

What difference does it make who founded the church at Rome? Should Paul be concerned about working in a church he had no hand in planting? How do you think his advice would be received?