This Book begins with the salutation, "Paul,
a servant (actually, in the Greek, a "doulos" or
"slave") of
Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of
God" (NKJV). Paul, the author of this magnificent
epistle (letter), wrote Romans in a question-and-answer format,
giving us an unprecedented understanding of Jesus Christ, of people,
and of life. This Book teaches us how to live.
The Book of Romans was regarded by the Early Church as written initially to the people of the
Church in Rome (Romans 1:7, 15), though there were a few early
manuscripts that omitted mentions of "Rome" in the first
Chapter. Note that
Paul wrote this letter through an "amanuensis" (secretary) named Tertius, who added his own greeting in Romans 16:22.
Paul did not found the Church at Rome, and despite
the tradition that Peter founded the church there, it was more
likely founded by displaced Christians who traveled from Asia and Greece.
They received the Lord through Paul and others such as Barnabas, then traveled to Rome and
established churches in the center of the Italian peninsula.
In the Open Bible Commentary, it is stated that Paul
wrote this letter in AD 57, near the end of his third missionary
journey (Acts 18:23-21:14), indicating it was probably written during his
three-month stay in Greece (Acts 20:3-6). He evidently gave
this letter to Phoebe of the Church at Cenchrea, near Corinth, and
she carried it to Rome (Romans 16:1-2).
In the Book of Romans, mankind is presented as
utterly depraved, unable to be just, honorable, or to escape from
the clutches of sin. God through Christ is presented as the
only solution to the dilemma of this ruined race we call humanity.
To those who receive Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God is given,
enabling those who cannot, on their own, serve the living God, to
become His sons and the ambassadors of God's grace to this earth.
The central theme of the Book of Romans is found in
Romans 1:16-17, which can be summed up by Paul's quote from Habakkuk
2:4, "The just shall live by faith." Keywords in this Book
include, "righteousness, faith, law, and sin."
You are encouraged to test yourself after the
completion of “The Book of Romans”, using an essay (written) format.
What does Romans mean to YOU? The next section in this study is entitled “Questions” and it is
suggested that you may 1) answer one or more of the questions in
that section, and 2) send your answers to
Ron@FridayStudy.org.
If you would like, your
answers will be “graded” and responses given.
There are excellent websites where you may
visit and copy or print the writings of some truly remarkable
theologians from past centuries. A good, simple to use “search
engine” for that purpose is “Google,” where you can enter words like
“Bible Commentaries” to search for some really great Bible
commentaries from the past, including the following suggested
locations:
