Romans

Anyone who knows me at all knows that Romans Chapter 12 is my favorite chapter in the Bible. If anyone ever asks me how to live the Christian life I tell him or her to read and apply all that’s contained in Chapter 12.

Martin Luther wrote: "[Romans] is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but 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."

Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians was written in approximately 57 AD, which means some 27 or so years have passed since Christ’s death and resurrection, and 20 years or so since Paul’s Damascus Road conversion. This indicates that Paul has had twenty years of experience in addressing the concerns of the Jews, winning the confidence of the converted Jews (whom he use to persecute), and in starting and building churches made up of both Jews and Gentiles. This experience is evident in the depth and breadth of the content that Paul pours into the Roman Epistle.

In the winter of 57-58 AD, Paul was in Corinth at the end of his Third Missionary Journey. A woman named Phoebe, from a suburb of Corinth called Cenchreae, was sailing to Rome. Since there was no postal service in the Roman Empire except for official business, Paul took advantage of Phoebe’s trip to Rome and asked her to deliver it for him when she arrived there.

With the end of Acts and the "biographical and historical" books of the New Testament, we move into the "epistles" or "books of doctrine" portion of the New Testament, which begins with Romans. The first nine epistles (Romans through 2 Thessalonians) contain many doctrines and "essentials" of the Christian faith, and they were all written to Christian assemlblies, or churches.

In summary, Romans will cover the righteousness of God, the reality of sin, the depravity of man, the means of salvation, law versus grace, flesh versus Spirit, the sovereignty of God, the security of the believer, the place of Israel in God’s redemptive plan, Christian liberty, and life and love in the body of Christ. But at the heart of it, Paul is writing to prepare a body of believers to be co-laborers in spreading the Good News. He is writing to you and me.