Faith & Reason Nexus

AUTHOR: Paul

TIME WRITTEN: 57 A.D. from Corinth in Greece

POSITION IN THE BIBLE:

• 45th Book in the Bible
• 6th Book in the New Testament
• 1st of 21 Epistle Books (Romans – Jude)
• 6th of Paul’s 13 books
• 21 Books to follow it

CHAPTERS: 16

VERSES: 433

WORDS: 9,447

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ROMANS:

• Paul’s Greatest Work: Romans is often considered Paul’s greatest theological work and has been called “The Gospel according to Paul.”
• Significance: The book explores the profound significance of Christ’s sacrificial death and the doctrine of salvation.
• Greetings: In Romans 16, Paul greets by name approximately 26 or 27 individuals in a congregation he has not yet visited.
• Timing: Written near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey.
• Historical Context: People from Rome were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10). By 64 A.D., under Nero, Christians were persecuted, referred to by Tacitus as “an immense multitude.”
• Frequent Terms: Words like “righteousness,” “faith,” “sin,” and “law” each appear at least sixty times in the book.
• Background of Rome:
• Founded in 753 B.C.
• Capital of the Roman Empire during the 1st century.
• The population during Paul’s life is estimated to have been between three and four million people.
• Notable Opinions:
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Regarded Romans as the most profound book in existence.
• Godet: Called it “the cathedral of the Christian faith.”
• Meyer: Described it as “the greatest and richest of all apostolic works.”
• Martin Luther: Called it “the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest gospel,” emphasizing its profound impact and the importance of its continual study.
• Four Great Doctrines:
• Righteousness: The quality of being right or just with God.
• Justification: God’s act of declaring those whose sins are forgiven as righteous.
• Election: The doctrine that God has predetermined a means of salvation.
• Sanctification: The process of being set apart from evil ways.
• Key Verse: Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

The Book of Romans provides foundational Christian doctrines and has significantly influenced Christian theology and thought.