The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Romans was likely written while Paul was staying in the house of Gaius in Corinth. The epistle was probably transcribed by Paul's amanuensis Tertius and is dated AD late 55 to early 57. Although the epistle in its ultimate form consists of 16 chapters, versions with only the first 14 or 15 chapters circulated early. Some of these recensions lacked all reference to the original audience of Christians in Rome, making it very general in nature. Other textual variants include subscripts explicitly mentioning Corinth as the place of composition and name Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, as the messenger who took the epistle to Rome.
Prior to composing the epistle, Paul had evangelized the areas surrounding the Aegean Sea and was eager to take the gospel farther to Spain, a journey that would allow him to visit Rome on the way. The epistle can consequently be understood as a document outlining his reasons for the trip and preparing the church in Rome for his visit. Christians in Rome would have been of both Jewish and Gentile background and it is possible that the church suffered from internal strife between these two groups. Paul – a Hellenistic Jew and former Pharisee – shifts his argument to cater to both audiences and the church as a whole. Because the work contains material intended both for specific recipients as well as the general Christian public in Rome, scholars have had difficulty categorizing it as either a private letter or a public epistle.
Although sometimes considered a treatise of (systematic) theology, Romans remains silent on many issues that Paul addresses elsewhere, but is nonetheless generally considered substantial, especially on justification and salvation. Proponents of both sola fide and the Roman Catholic position of the necessity of both faith and works find support in Romans.
General presentation In the opinion of Jesuit biblical scholar Joseph Fitzmyer, the book "overwhelms the reader by the density and sublimity of the topic with which it deals, the gospel of the justification and salvation of Jew and Greek alike by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, revealing the uprightness and love of God the Father."
Anglican bishop N. T. Wright notes that Romans is:
Authorship and dating
The scholarly consensus is that Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans."Finally, there are seven letters that virtually all scholars agree were written by Paul himself: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. These 'undisputed' epistles are similar in terms of writing style, vocabulary, and theology. In addition, the issues that they address can plausibly be situated in the early Christian movement of the 40s and 50s of the Common Era, when Paul was active as an apostle and missionary." Bart Ehrman (2000, 2nd ed.). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. C. E. B. Cranfield, in the introduction to his commentary on Romans, says:
The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius, and transcribed by Tertius, his amanuensis. There are a number of reasons why Corinth is considered most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter, which matches Acts where it is reported that Paul stayed for three months in Greece. This probably implies Corinth as it was the location of Paul's greatest missionary success in Greece. Additionally, Phoebe was a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, a port to the east of Corinth, and would have been able to convey the letter to Rome after passing through Corinth and taking a ship from Corinth's west port. Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16:23, also lived in Corinth, being the city's commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times, again indicating that the letter was written in Corinth.
The precise time at which it was written is not mentioned in the epistle, but it was obviously written when the collection for Jerusalem had been assembled and Paul was about to "go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints", that is, at the close of his second visit to Greece, during the winter preceding his last visit to that city.; cf. ; , ; The majority of scholars writing on Romans propose the letter was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57. Early 55 and early 58 both have some support, while German New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann argues for a date as early as 51/52 (or 54/55), following on from Knox, who proposed 53/54. Lüdemann is the only serious challenge to the consensus of mid to late 50s.
Textual variants Fourteen-chapter form There is strong, albeit indirect, evidence that a recension of Romans that lacked chapters 15 and 16 was widely used in the western half of the Roman Empire until the mid-4th century. This conclusion is partially based on the fact that a variety of Church Fathers, such as Origen and Tertullian, refer to a fourteen-chapter edition of Romans, either directly or indirectly. The fact that Paul's doxology is placed in various different places in different manuscripts of Romans also strengthens the case for an early fourteen-chapter recension. However, while there is some uncertainty, Harry Gamble concludes that the canonical sixteen-chapter recension is likely the earlier version of the text.
The Codex Boernerianus lacks the explicit references to the Roman church as the audience of the epistle found in Romans 1:7 and 1:15. There is evidence from patristic commentaries indicating that Boernerianus is not unique in this regard; many early, no longer extant manuscripts also lacked an explicit Roman addressee in chapter 1. It is notable that, when this textual variant is combined with the omission of chapters 15 and 16, there is no longer any clear reference to the Roman church throughout the entire epistle. Harry Gamble speculates that 1:7, 1:15, and chapters 15 and 16 may have been removed by a scribe in order to make the epistle more suitable for a "general" audience.
Fifteen-chapter form It is also possible that a fifteen-chapter form of Romans, omitting chapter 16, may have existed at an early date. Several scholars have argued, largely on the basis of internal evidence, that Chapter 16 represents a separate letter of Paul – possibly addressed to Ephesus – that was later appended to Romans.
There are a few different arguments for this conclusion. First of all, there is a concluding peace benediction at 15:33, which reads like the other Pauline benedictions that conclude their respective letters. Secondly, Paul greets a large number of people and families in chapter 16, in a way that suggests he was already familiar with them, whereas the material of chapters 1–15 presupposes that Paul has never met anyone from the Roman church. The fact that Papyrus 46 places Paul's doxology at the end of chapter 15 can also be interpreted as evidence for the existence of a fifteen-chapter recension of the epistle.
Subscript Some manuscripts have a subscript at the end of the Epistle: ("to the Romans") is found in these manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, Codex Claromontanus; ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth"): B, D (P); ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth by Phoebe the deacon"): 42, 90, 216, 339, 462, 466*, 642; ("the epistle to the Romans was written by Tertius and was sent by Phoebe from the Corinthians of the church in Cenchreae"): only in 337; ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth by Phoebe the deacon of the church in Cenchreae"): 101, 241, 460, 466, 469, 602, 603, 605, 618, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1932, followed by Textus Receptus.Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2001), p. 477.
Paul's life in relation to his epistle
For ten years before writing the letter ( AD), Paul had traveled around the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelizing. Churches had been planted in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Paul, considering his task complete, wanted to preach the gospel in Spain, where he would not "build upon another man's foundation". This allowed him to visit Rome on the way, a long-time ambition of his. The letter to the Romans, in part, prepares them and gives reasons for his visit.
In addition to Paul's geographic location, his religious views are important. First, Paul was a Hellenistic Jew with a Pharisaic background (see Gamaliel), integral to his identity (see Paul the Apostle and Judaism). His concern for his people is one part of the dialogue and runs throughout the letter. Second, the other side of the dialogue is Paul's conversion and calling to follow Christ in the early 30s.
The churches in Rome
The most probable ancient account of the beginning of Christianity in Rome is given by a 4th-century writer known as Ambrosiaster:TIB IX 1955 p. 367
From Adam Clarke:
At this time, the Jews made up a substantial number in Rome, and their synagogues, frequented by many, enabled the Gentiles to become acquainted with the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, churches composed of both Jews and Gentiles were formed at Rome. According to Irenaeus, a 2nd-century Church Father, the church at Rome was founded directly by the apostles Peter and Paul.Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book III,3,2 However, many modern scholars disagree with Irenaeus, holding that while little is known of the circumstances of the church's founding, it was not founded by Paul:"The Expositor's Bible Commentary", (Ed. F.E.Gaebelein, Zondervan, 1976–92) Commentary on Romans (Introduction)
The large number of names in Romans 16:3–15 of those then in Rome, and verses 5, 15 and 16, indicate there was more than one church assembly or company of believers in Rome. Verse 5 mentions a church that met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Verses 14 and 15 each mention groupings of believers and saints.Geneva Study Bible on Romans 16:5, regarding the "church" (translated as "company" or congregation in some 16th-century translations) says: (b) The company of the faithful, for in so great a city as that was, there were different companies. Vincent's Word Studies (1886) on Romans 16:5 says: The phrase "church that is in their (or his) house" occurs 1 Corinthians 16:19, of Aquila and Priscilla; Colossians 4:15, of Nymphas; Philemon 1:2, of Philemon. A similar gathering may be implied in Romans 16:14, Romans 16:15. Bishop Lightfoot says there is no clear example of a separate building set apart for christian worship within the limits of the Roman Empire before the third century. People's New Testament (PNT 1891) on Romans 16:5 says: . As the early Christians had no houses of worship, they met in the homes of prominent brethren. In the large cities there would be several such groups. One of these in Rome met in the house of Priscilla and Aquila. and PNT on verse 16:15 says: "And all the saints which are with them". Probably another household church, which met with those just named.