The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (160 page)

Author and Date
 Ancient and modern commentators agree that the Apostle Paul wrote Romans. His name is attached to it (1:1), and its contents are consistent with our knowledge of Paul's mind and ministry from the Book of Acts and his other NT epistles. It is similarly agreed that Paul must have written the letter during the final months of his third missionary tour (Acts 18:23-21:16), probably during the winter of late
A.D.
57 or early 58. This is based on information from Romans 15, where Paul mentions his fund-raising efforts in Macedonia and Achaia (modern Greece) for "the poor among the saints at Jerusalem" (15:26). According to Acts 20:1-3, Paul went through these regions just before setting out for Jerusalem with the relief offering in
A.D.
58. The letter was probably dispatched from the Achaian city of Corinth or its nearby port of Cenchreae (Rom 16:1).

Destination
 In Paul's day, Rome was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire and the most populated metropolis of the Mediterranean world. Although predominantly pagan and notoriously corrupt, the city was also home to more than a dozen Jewish synagogues. The birth of Christianity in Rome is one of the unsolved puzzles of history. The good news may have first reached the city through Jewish pilgrims returning from Jerusalem (Acts 2:10). Tradition also remembers the Apostle Peter ministering in the capital during the 40s (
See note on Acts 12:17
). Whatever its first contact with the gospel, Rome had a glowing reputation for its faith by the time Paul wrote to the Christian community (Rom 1:8). Hints scattered throughout the letter suggest the Roman Church at this time was a mixed community of Jewish (2:17; 7:1) and Gentile believers (11:13; 15:15-16). The majority were probably Gentiles, since most of the individual names listed in chapter 16 are Greco-Roman and only a handful are distinctively Semitic. In any case, many scholars hold that the Roman Church was still closely associated with the synagogue communities of the city where it seems to have first taken root.

Purpose
 Three principal aims underlie the Letter to the Romans.
(1)
Paul wrote to introduce himself and his teaching to the Roman Christians in preparation for his planned visit (1:11-13). The Church in Rome was one of the few to which Paul wrote before making a personal visit.
(2)
Paul hoped to establish the Roman Church as his missionary base for a new phase of evangelization. Having completed his work in the eastern Mediterranean, Paul was now ready to turn his attention and energies toward Spain in the west (15:23-24). The letter is Paul's initial attempt to enlist the support of the Romans in carrying out these apostolic plans.
(3)
Paul also hoped to ease tensions that were straining the unity and fellowship of the Roman Church itself. Boasting, it seems, was a problem for Jews and Gentiles alike: the Jews took pride in the blessings and advantages of the Old Covenant not shared by the Gentiles (2:1-3:20); and the Gentiles claimed to have replaced Israel as the new and beloved people of God (11:13-32). For this reason, Paul argues at length for the unity and equality of all peoples in Jesus Christ (3:28-30) and challenges believers of every nationality to welcome one another as servants and worshipers of the same Lord (10:12; 15:7-12).

Themes and Characteristics
 Romans is a work of profound theological reflection. As such, it has probably influenced Christian thinking and history more than any other epistle of Paul. It is his longest letter and, in the eyes of many, his most mature. Indeed, Paul had been preaching and defending the gospel for two decades before he wrote Romans, leaving us a work that is stamped with the imprint of his wisdom, depth, and spiritual energy. Even more than his other writings, however, Romans is full of things that are "hard to understand" (2 Pet 3:16). His style is more formal than usual, and his thoughts weave back and forth through a maze of theological mysteries concerning sin, judgment, righteousness, justification, sanctification, salvation, suffering, law, grace, sonship, election, mercy, sacrifice, and the triune God. If any NT epistle can claim to resemble a theological treatise, it is Romans.

The body of Romans divides neatly into three major parts.
(1)
Salvation in Christ
(1:16-8:39). The letter begins with a sweeping indictment of mankind, declaring the world guilty before God. Here Paul states that the cancer of human rebellion that spread rampantly among the pagans (1:18-32) has also infected Israel (2:1-3:20). As a result, all nations without distinction stand trapped in the same predicament: entangled in sin and in desperate need of salvation (3:23). God responds to this tragedy by sending forth his Son, Jesus Christ, whose dying and rising rescues the fallen family of Adam and restores them to a righteous standing with God (5:1-21). At several points throughout this section Paul reflects deeply on the mystery of sin (6:12-23; 7:7-25) and the salvation we experience in Christ through the Spirit (8:139).
(2)
Restoration of Israel
(9:1-11:39). The central section of Romans examines the place of Israel in the new economy of grace. Though many in Israel have repudiated the gospel, Paul insists that God has not abandoned his covenant people but is planning to save "all Israel" in Christ (11:26-27). This, according to Paul, is consistent with the pattern of God's dealings with Israel in the Scriptures. These chapters also examine how the Gentiles are related to Israel as branches grafted onto the trunk of an olive tree (11:17-24).
(3)
Christian Living
and
Epilogue
(12:1-16:23). The final chapters of Romans are a practical application of the theology expounded in earlier chapters. Here Paul considers the obligations of the believer in the Church and society. His catechesis follows the main contours of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels (12:9-21). In this section we find Paul's most explicit instructions on the Christian's relation to the State (13:1-7) and the need for believers to exercise Christian freedom with prudence, lest we cause others to fall (14:123).

OUTLINE OF THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE ROMANS

1. Prologue (
1:1-15
)

   A. Greeting (
1:1-7
)

   B. Prayer of Thanksgiving (
1:8-15
)

2. Salvation in Christ (
1:16-8:39
)

   A. Theme: The Righteousness of God (
1:16-17
)

   B. Condemnation: The Universal Corruption of Gentiles and Jews (
1:18-3:20
)

   C. Justification: The Gift of Grace and Forgiveness through Faith (
3:21-5:11
)

   D. Jesus Christ: The New Adam (
5:12-21
)

   E. Sanctification: Holiness in Christ (
6:1-8:11
)

   F. Glorification: The Spirit, Sonship, and Suffering (
8:12-39
)

3. Restoration of Israel (
9:1-11:36
)

   A. Israel's Election (
9:1-29
)

   B. Israel's Rejection of the Gospel (
9:30-10:21
)

   C. Israel's Resurrection and Salvation (
11:1-36
)

4. Christian Living (
12:1-14:23
)

   A. Christian Conduct in the Church (
12:1-21
)

   B. Christian Citizenship (
13:1-7
)

   C. Love Fulfills God's Law (
13:8-14
)

   D. Christian Fellowship and Flexibility (
14:1-23
)

5. Epilogue (
15:1-16:23
)

   A. Admonition (
15:1-7
)

   B. Summary of the Epistle (
15:8-13
)

   C. Paul's Ministry and Travel Plans (
15:14-33
)

   D. Personal Greetings (
16:1-23 [24]
)

6. Closing Doxology (
16:25-27
)

THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE

Chapters

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Essays and Charts

The Salvation of All Israel

Salutation

1
 
*
 
Paul
, a servant
^a
of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle
, set apart for the gospel of God
²
which he promised beforehand through his prophets
in the holy Scriptures
,
³
the
gospel
concerning his Son
, who was descended from David according to the flesh
⁴
and
designated
^a2
Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
⁵
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about
the obedience of faith
for the sake of his name among all the nations,
⁶
including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;

7
 To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

8
 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed
in all the world
.
⁹
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers,
¹⁰
asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.
 
*
¹¹
For
I long to see you
, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,
¹²
that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
¹³
I want you to know, brethren, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest
 
*
among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
¹⁴
I am under obligation both to
Greeks
and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish:
¹⁵
so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Power of the Gospel

16
 For
I am not ashamed
of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
¹⁷
For in it the
righteousness of God
is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live."
^b

God's Wrath against Man's Wickedness

18
 
For
the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness
and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.
¹⁹
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
²⁰
Ever since the creation of the world
his invisible nature
, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse;
²¹
for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless
minds were darkened
.
²²
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
²³
and
exchanged the glory
of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.

24
 Therefore
God gave them up
in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
²⁵
because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.

26
 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
²⁷
and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with
passion for one another
, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

28
 And since they
did not see fit
to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.
²⁹
They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips,
³⁰
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
³¹
foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
³²
Though
they know God's decree
that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.

The Righteous Judgment of God

2
  Therefore
you have no excuse
, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.
²
We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things.
³
Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will
escape the judgment of God
?
⁴
Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and
forbearance
and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
⁵
But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
⁶
For he will render to every man
according to his works
:
⁷
to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
⁸
but for
those who are factious
and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
⁹
There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
¹⁰
but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
¹¹
For God shows
no partiality
.