On May 24, 1738, a discouraged missionary went “very unwillingly” to a religious meeting in London. There a miracle took place. “About a quarter before nine,” he wrote in his journal, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
That missionary was John Wesley. The message he heard that evening was the preface to Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans. Just a few months before, John Wesley had written in his journal: “I went to America to convert the Indians; but Oh! who shall convert me?” That evening in Aldersgate Street, his question was answered. And the result was the great Wesleyan Revival that swept England and transformed the nation.[1]
Our focus is on the life-changing book of Romans. Why was Romans placed first in the canon when Romans was Paul’s sixth letter?
1) Romans is the longest of Paul’s letters (there are 7101 words in Romans). The average secular letter of Paul’s day was 1300 words. The organizers of the canon preferred long letters. Paul’s shortest letter, Philemon, is the last. The longer major prophets precede the shorter minor prophets not because they are more inspired but because they are longer.
2) Romans is Paul’s most comprehensive presentation of the doctrine of salvation. “It is logical that Romans with its clear doctrine of justification should stand first [Hiebert wisely observes]: That is where a course in divine instruction must begin.”[2]
We will examine the “Factual Data” sheet for Romans to understand Romans. The “Factual Data” sheet proves the context of the book in which a passage is studied. What we call in hermeneutics is The Historical/Grammatical Method of Interpretation (click to open). You can click the link to learn about this important method of understanding God’s Word. This is covered in I. Study the Context (Macro Hermeneutics). Also in the “Factual Data” sheet, we discuss how to study the content in each passage. This is called Micro Hermeneutics. You can visit the “Factual Data” sheet on Ephesians for Micro Hermeneutics.
I. Study the Context (Macro Hermeneutics)
Darrell Bock wrote “When one reads the NT, and most especially the epistles of a complex writer like the apostle Paul, a question frequently surfaces. It is, ‘Why did not God reveal His word in strict propositions and within a logical order, like a systematic theology? ....’
It was not written as an exercise in abstraction nor as an attempt to answer philosophical questions. It was pastoral theology, formulated to deal with the issues and situations of everyday first-century life” (Darrell Bock, A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, 299).
Paul was the consummate Pastor/Theologian which is revealed in why he wrote his Epistles. Here is a way to look at Paul’s Epistles that stresses why he wrote them.
Paul, The Missionary
1. Missionary Epistles
(Paul wrote these six letters over ten years of missionary travels)
• Galatians- First Journey (Acts 14-15). Paul wrote this letter after his first missionary journey because false teachers had invaded the churches planted on his first journey.
• 1st and 2nd Thessalonians- Second Journey (Acts 18). Paul wrote these letters to answer questions about Jesus’ return.
• 1st and 2nd Corinthians and Romans- Third Journey (Acts 18:22-20:1). Paul wrote 1 and 2nd Corinthians to solve problems this church was experiencing and Romans (Acts 20:2) to teach the doctrine of salvation for the church of Rome.
Paul, The Theologian
2. Prison Epistles (Paul’s most advanced theology) were written during Paul’s First Roman Imprisonment referred to in Acts 28.
• Ephesians (The theme of Ephesians is Christ is the universal Church). Paul wrote Ephesians to promote unity.
• Colossians (The theme of Colossians is Head of the Body is Christ). Paul wrote Colossians to refute the “Colossian Heresy” which denied the humanity and deity of Christ.
• Philemon (The theme of Philemon is Imputation). Paul wrote his most personal letter to Philemon to move him to free his slave Onesimus. In the process, Paul provided a beautiful example of the doctrine of imputation. Paul admonished Philemon to receive Onesimus just as he would receive Paul and just as God has received us as He would his Son, Christ. God has imputed or put His righteousness on our record and account in heaven. God does see us and our sins not, He sees His righteousness.
• Philippians (The theme of Philippians is The humiliation of Christ). In 2:5-11, Paul described the humiliation of Christ in the incarnation to motivate proud believers to humble themselves.
Paul, The Pastor
3. Pastoral Epistles
· 1st Timothy: The theme of 1st Timothy is The Necessity of Sound Doctrine. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul uses one form or another of the word “teach” over thirty times. One of the major responsibilities of the pastor is to teach sound doctrine.
· Titus: The theme of Titus is The Necessity of Good Works (1:6; 2:7,14). Churches not only need to believe correct doctrine but need to live correct doctrine.
· 2nd Timothy: The theme of 2nd Timothy is The Necessity of Living for God in the Days of Apostasy.
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
To learn the context of a text, basic Bible Study questions should be answered. I am only partially answering some of these questions to demonstrate how “The Factual Data” Sheet works.
1) Who is speaking or writing?
Paul identified himself as the author by name (1:1). Paul referred to himself by name only once, in contrast with several of his other letters, but several other internal details support Paul’s authorship.
He claimed to be of the tribe of Benjamin (11:1; cf. Phil. 3:5).
He sent greetings to Priscilla and Aquila (Rom. 16:3), whom Paul had met in Corinth (Acts 18:2–3) and left in Ephesus (Acts 18:18–19) on his second missionary journey.
Paul referred to his journey to Jerusalem with the love gift from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia (Rom. 15:25–27), facts confirmed in the Book of Acts (19:21; 20:1–5; 21:15, 17–19) and the Epistles to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16:1–5; 2 Cor. 8:1–12; 9:1–5).
Paul mentioned several times his intention to visit Rome (Rom. 1:10–13, 15; 15:22–32), a fact also confirmed in the Book of Acts (19:21). These confirming coincidences between Romans and Acts in particular support Paul as the author of this letter.[3]
2) To whom was the passage addressed?
The letters of Paul’s day had a fixed form as seen in two letters in Acts 15:23-29; and 23:26-30. The letter begins with the author and greetings to the recipient of the letter. Paul followed this form to varying degrees as in Romans 1:1-7. Paul usually added to this form a thanksgiving after the greeting as in 1:8 and sometimes added a greeting of his own at the end (Rom 16:22). Paul also at times would conclude with his own words (2 Thess 3:17; 1 Cor 16:21; Col 4:18) because of one case of forgery (2 Thess 2:1-2).
Paul wrote to believers (1:7) in a local congregation in Rome, Italy (16:5).
Paul had not been to this church (1:13). If Paul had not been to Rome and started the church, who founded the church?
The RCC view is that Peter ministered in Rome twenty-five years after Acts 12 and was martyred in AD 67. The fact that Peter was in Jerusalem in Acts 15 has been stated as a refutation. Peter, however, could have made an emergency trip to Jerusalem to help solve the important doctrinal controversies concerning salvation. There are other reasons this view is not strong.
The preferred view is that Paul’s converts started the church to whom he sends greetings in Romans 16:1-16. Paul would not have left Peter out of the greetings in chapter sixteen if Peter was their founder and pastor. Paul determined not to build on any other man’s foundation (Rom 15:20). Paul identifies 28 friends in Romans 16. Indirectly Paul impacted the church in Rome. At the time of Paul's writing, the church of Rome could have been small made of a few house churches (Rom 16:5, 11). “At the outbreak of the Neroian persecutions in A.D. 64, the historian Tacitus speaks of the Christians in Rome as ‘an immense multitude.’”[4]
Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. All roads led to Rome and all roads led from Rome. Paul wanted the gospel to travel on those roads leading from Rome to all over the empire.
3. Why did Paul write to the Romans?
Paul wrote to the Roman believers
a. To gain their support for his missionary work in Spain. According to William Barclay Spain was “a scintillating galaxy of greatness----Marital, the master of the epigram: Luan, the epic poet; Quintilian, the master of Roman oratory; Seneca, the greatest of the Roman Stoic philosophers; and others of like caliber”[5]
1) Paul had concluded his missionary work in the Eastern part of the Empire (15:20-23). Antioch had been his base of operation in the East.
2) Now Paul needed a new base of operation for his Western campaign for financial and moral support (15:24-25). After he takes the collection to Jerusalem, Paul plans to go to Rome. This has been his goal since Acts 19:21.
b. To promote unity in the church (15:25-28) between the Jewish and Gentile elements, by a Gentile love offering for the Jews (15:25-28) and by the teaching of Romans.
In Romans 1-8, Paul teaches that salvation is for all (Jews and Gentiles are sinners).
In Romans 9-11, Paul teaches this salvation about Israel.
In Romans 12-16, Paul gives practical instruction for unity. In chapters 14-15, Paul addresses the controversy over religious days and diet.
c. To enlist their prayer support (15:30-33) just in case Paul does not survive the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem, the church at Rome will have the message of the Gospel. Paul almost did not live through Jerusalem according to Acts 21:27-32.
d. To warn about false doctrine (16:17-20). Paul almost casually refers to the danger of false teaching of Judaism because Paul had given a full-blown refutation of Judaism in Galatians.
e. To teach them the doctrine of salvation which is Paul’s most comprehensive presentation of the Gospel. Paul gave the milk version in Acts 16:32 to the Philippian jailer and his meat version in Romans. Paul referred to the milk and meat of God’s Word in 1 Corinthian 3:2.
3) Where (locate on the map) was this book written?
a) Paul wrote Romans from Corinth (Achaia in Rom 15:26) on his 3rd missionary journey just before he left for Jerusalem in A.D. 57 (see Acts 20:1-6).
b) Phebe, the letter carrier, was from Corinth (Rom 16:1). Corinth, which was extremely immoral gave Paul many examples of total depravity that Paul discusses in Romans 3:13-20. Paul wrote Romans in A.D. 58.
4) What is the theme of the book? The theme of Romans is the righteousness (mentioned 63 times in Romans) of God through the gospel (mentioned 60 times in Romans).
5) Give the development of the theme (the overall outline of the book).
1. The Righteousness of God is needed in Romans 1:18-3:20 (The doctrine of Sin)
2. The Righteousness of God is declared by faith in Romans 3:21-5:21 (The Doctrine of Justification)
3. The Righteousness of God is imparted in Romans 6:1-8:39 (The Doctrine of Sanctification)
4. The Righteousness of God is defended in Romans 9-11 (The Doctrine of Theodicy)
In Romans 9-11, Paul is answering the objections the Jews were raising in light of all their suffering. That objection is recorded in Romans 11:1: “Has God cast away His people?” These Jews were attacking God’s righteousness. In answering that question, Paul discusses three truths about Israel.
1) In the Past, God elected Israel (Romans 9).
2) In the present, Israel is rejecting their Messiah (Romans 10).
3) In the Future, God will save Israel (Romans 11).
5. The Righteousness of God practiced in Romans 12-16 (Service)
D. Edmond Hiebert wrote of the influence of Romans: “The Epistle to the Romans has exerted a profound influence upon the course of Christian theology and history. It has been said that the influence of this epistle was connected with every great spiritual revival in the history of the Church.”[6]
For example, Augustine in the 5th century was an intellectual pagan and adulterer. He had a Christian mother who influenced him. Augustine was directed to read Romans 13:13-14 and was converted. He became the dominant Bible teacher for the next thousand years.
One thousand years later, Martin Luther a Roman Catholic monk and theologian was the opposite of Augustine. For fifteen years as a priest, Luther tortured himself trying to earn righteousness by fasting, praying all night, freezing all night in the cold. He said, “The frost alone could have killed me.” Luther became a professor of the Bible and while studying Romans 1:17 was converted. He wrote, “Every Christian should know the Book of Romans word for word, by heart and occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.”[7]
[1] Warren Wiersbe, Be Right, (Colorado Springs: David C Cook; 2nd edition, 2008) Logos.
[2] D. Edmond Hiebert, An Introduction to the New Testament, Volume Two, The Pauline Epistles, 21.
[3] John A. Witmer, “Romans” Bible Knowledge Commentary, eds. John Walvoord and Roy Zuck (Victor Books, 1983). Logos.
[4] Ibid., 170.
[5] Robert H. Mounce, The American Commentary: Romans (Broadman & Homan Publishers,1995), 26.
[6] D. Edmond Hiebert, An Introduction to the New Testament, Volume Two, The Pauline Epistles, 181.
[7] Martin Luther, Works of Martin Luther, Vol. VI, 1932, 447.