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The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans is one of the letters of the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. Often referred to simply as Romans, it is one of the seven currently undisputed letters of Paul. It is even counted among the four letters accepted as authentic (known in German scholarship as Hauptbriefe) by F. C. Baur and the Tübingen School of historical criticism of texts in the 19th century.

The book, according to Joseph Fitzmyer, "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."^[1] N. T. Wright notes that Romans is "neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision".^[2]

Contents 1 Dating of Romans 2 Context of Romans in Paul's life 3 The Church in Rome 4 Style 5 Purposes of writing 6 Theme 7 Content 7.1 Introduction (Rom 1.1-15) 7.2 Unashamed (Rom 1.16-17) 7.3 The Judgment of God (Rom 1.18-32) 7.4 Paul's Judgment of Hypocrites (Rom 2.1-4) 7.5 Assurance of salvation 7.6 Transformation of believers 7.7 Concluding verses 8 Protestant interpretation 8.1 Critique 9 Catholic interpretation 9.1 Critique 10 Exegesis 11 Footnotes 12 References 13 External links

Dating of Romans

The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, and probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius and transcribed by Tertius.^[3] There are a number of reasons why Corinth is most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter, which matches Acts (Acts 20:3) 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.^[4] 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.^[5] Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16:23, also lived in Corinth being the cities commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times, again indicating that the letter was written in Corinth.^[6]

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 (Rom 15:25; cf. Acts 19:21; (Rom 20:2-3, 20:16; 1 Cor 16:1-4). The majority of scholars writing on Romans propose the letter was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57.^[7] Early 58 and early 55 both have some support, while Luedemann argues for a date as early as 51/52 (or 54/55) following on from Knox who proposed 53-54. Such an early date is improbable, and is the only serious challenge to the consensus of mid to late 50s.^[8]

Context of Romans in Paul's life

The exact date and location of writing the letter are less important than how the letter fits into Paul’s life and his other works.^[9] For ten years before writing the letter (approx. 47-57), Paul had travelled round the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelising. Churches had been planted in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Paul, considering his task complete, was looking for somewhere new to preach the gospel, so that he would not ‘build upon another man’s foundation’.^[10] The choice of Spain would allow Paul to visit Rome, an ambition of his for a long time, particularly considering that Paul was a Roman citizen but had never visited the city of Rome. The letter to the Romans, in part, prepares them and gives reasons for his visit.^[11]

In addition to Paul’s geographic location, his religious views are important. Firstly Paul was a Jew with Jewish and Pharisaic backgrounds, integral to his identity. His concern for his people is one part of the dialogue and runs throughout the letter.^[12] Secondly, the other side of the dialogue is Paul’s conversion and calling to follow Christ in the early 30s. The resulting evangelistic activity dominated the later years of Paul’s life. The letter therefore interweaves the concerns of Paul the Pharisee and the follower of Christ.^[13] Thirdly Paul’s missionary work caused opposition from Jews and fellow Jewish Christian. One issue was whether Jewish Christians should continue to carry out laws placed on the covenant people regarding things such as food laws. The disagreement was partly between Paul and the Jerusalem Church, including figures such as Peter and Barnabas. Paul’s upcoming visit to Jerusalem to deliver a collection from the gentiles would therefore help maintain the unity of the Christian movement. The letter to the Romans written during this time includes Paul’s hopes and fears regarding his visit to Jerusalem and the relationship between Gentiles and more traditional Jewish Christians.^[14]

The Church in Rome

• “The most probable ancient account of the beginning of Christianity in Rome is given by a 4th century writer known as ‘Ambrosiater’:

• • ‘It is established that there were Jews living in Rome in the times of the Apostles, and that those Jews who had believed [in Christ] passed on to the Romans the tradition that they ought to profess Christ but keep the law [Torah] … One ought not to condemn the Romans, but to praise their faith, because without seeing any signs or miracles and without seeing any of the apostles, they nevertheless accepted faith in Christ, although according to a Jewish rite.’ Ambrosii Works iii 373.” TIB IX 1955 p. 367

• From Adam Clarke:

• • “The occasion of writing the epistle: … Paul had made acquaintance with all circumstances of the Christians at Rome … and finding that it was … partly of heathens converted to Christianity, and partly of Jews, who had, with many remaining prejudices, believed in Jesus as the true Messiah, and that many contentions arose from the claims of the Gentiles to equal privileges with the Jews, and from absolute refusal of the Jews to admit these claims, unless the Gentile converts become circumcised; he wrote this epistle to adjust and settle these differences.” A.C. 1831 VI p. 3

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, a church composed of both Jews and Gentiles was formed at Rome. According to Irenaeus, one of the earliest Church Fathers, the church at Rome was founded directly by the apostles Peter and Paul.^[15] 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.^[16]

Many of the brethren went out to meet Paul on his approach to Rome. There is evidence that Christians were then in Rome in considerable numbers and probably had more than one place of meeting (Rom 16:14-15).

Jews were expelled from Rome because of Christian disturbances around AD 49 by the Edict of Claudius.^[17] The conflict developed because Jewish Christians and Jews argued with one another over the validity of Jesus as the Messiah. Both Jews and Jewish Christians were expelled as a result of their infighting.^[18] The majority of people left in the Christian church at Rome would have been Gentile Christians. These gentile churches developed along a different trajectory from the Christian circles that grew out of Jewish synagogues.^[18]

Claudius died around the year AD 54, and his successor, Emperor Nero, allowed the Jews back into Rome. Gentile Christians may have developed a dislike of or looked down on Jews (see also Antisemitism), because they theologically rationalized that Jews were no longer God's people.^[19] Fitzmyer argues that with the return of the Jews to Rome in 54 new conflict arose between the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians who had formerly been expelled.^[20]

The Roman church would have to accept that the gospel was for the "Jew first and also to the Greek" (see Romans 1:16).

Style

While scholars are often able to determine aspects of the context of NT writers from their letters, it is much more difficult to understand Paul's letter to the Romans. Scholars often have difficulty assessing whether Romans is a letter or an epistle:

"A letter is something non-literary, a means of communication between persons who are separated from each other. Confidential and personal in nature, it is intended only for the person or persons to whom it is addressed, and not at all for the public or any kind of publicity...An Epistle is an artistic literary form, just like the dialogue, the oration, or the drama. It has nothing in common with the letter except its form: apart from that one might venture the paradox that the epistle is the opposite of a real letter. The contents of the epistle are intended for publicity--they aim at interesting 'the public.'"^[21]

Joseph Fitzmyer argues, from evidence put forth by Stirewalt, that the style of Romans is an "essay-letter."^[22] Philip Melanchthon, a writer during the Middle Ages, suggested that Romans was caput et summa universae doctrinae christianae ("a summary of all Christian doctrine").^[23] While some scholars attempt to suggest, like Melanchthon, that it is a type of theological treatise, this view largely ignores chapters 14 and 15 of Romans. There are also many "noteworthy elements" missing from Romans that are included in other areas of the Pauline corpus.^[24] The breakdown of Romans as a treatise began with F.C. Baur in 1836 when he suggested "this letter had to be interpreted according to the historical circumstances in which Paul wrote it."^[23]

Paul sometimes uses a style of writing common in his time called a "diatribe". He appears to be responding to a "heckler", and the letter is structured as a series of arguments. In the flow of the letter, Paul shifts his arguments, sometimes addressing the Jewish members of the church, sometimes the Gentile membership and sometimes the church as a whole.

Purposes of writing

The main purpose of the epistle to the Romans is given by Paul in Romans 1:1, where he reveals that he is set apart by God for the purpose of preaching the Gospel.^[25] He wishes to impart to the Roman readers a gift of encouragement and assurance in all that God has freely given them (see Romans 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 2:12).

The purposes of the apostle in dictating this letter to his Amanuensis Tertius (16:22) is also articulated in the second half of chapter 15:

1. Paul asks for prayers for his upcoming journey to Jerusalem; he hopes that the offering collected from the Gentile churches will be accepted there.
2. Paul is planning to travel to Rome from Jerusalem and spend some time there before moving on to Spain; he hopes the Roman church will support his mission to Spain.
3. Since Paul has never been to Rome, he outlines his gospel so that his teaching will not be confused by that of "false teachers".
4. Paul is aware that there is some conflict between Gentile and Jewish Christians in the Roman church, and he addressed those concerns (chapters thirteen and the first half of fourteen). While the Roman church was presumably founded by Jewish Christians, the exile of Jews from Rome in AD 49 by Claudius resulted in Gentile Christians taking leadership positions.

Theme

The main theme of the letter is the salvation offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:16-17). Paul argues that all humanity is guilty and accountable to God for sin and that it is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that humanity can attain salvation. Therefore, God is both just and the one who justifies. In response to God's free, sovereign and graceful action of salvation, humanity can be justified by faith. Paul uses the example of Abraham to demonstrate that it is by faith that mankind can be seen as righteous before God.

Content

This essay-letter composed by Paul was written to a specific audience at a specific time; to understand it, the situations of both Paul and the recipients must be understood.

Introduction (Rom 1.1-15)

The introduction (Rom 1.1-15) provides some general notes about Paul. He introduces his apostleship here and introductory notes about the gospel he wishes to preach to the church at Rome. Jesus' human line stems from David (Rom 1.3). Paul, however, does not limit his ministry to Jews. Paul's goal is that the gentiles would also hear the gospel (1.5). He commends the Romans for their faith (1.8). The word for faith in Greek is "pistis." Paul also speaks of the past obstacles that have blocked his coming to Rome earlier (1.11-13).

Unashamed (Rom 1.16-17)

Paul's announcement that he is not "ashamed" (evpaiscu, nomai) of his gospel because it holds power (dunamis). These two verses form a backdrop for the rest of the book. First, we note that Paul is unashamed of his love for this gospel that he preaches about Jesus Christ. He also notes that he is speaking to the "Jew first" (1.16). There is signifiance to this, but much of it is scholarly conjecture. We are hardpressed to find an answer to such a question without knowing more about the audience in question. Wayne Brindle argues, based on Paul's former writings against the Judaizers in Galatians and 2 Corinthians, that rumors had probably spread about Paul totally negating the Jewish existence in a Christian world. Paul may have used the "Jew first" mentality to counter such a view.^[26]

The Judgment of God (Rom 1.18-32)

Paul now begins into the main thrust of his letter. He begins by suggesting that some among them have taken up ungodliness and wickedness for which there will be wrath from God (1.18). These people have taken God's invisible image and made him into an idol. Paul draws heavily here from the Wisdom of Solomon.^[27] He condemns homosexuality and warns that such behavior will result in a depraved body and mind (1.26 - 27) and says that people who do such things (including murder and wickedness (1.29)) are worthy of death (1.32). Paul may undercut the idol worship system for the same reason that he undercuts the Jewish law later in the gospel--to bring the people together under Christ.

Paul's Judgment of Hypocrites (Rom 2.1-4)

Paul here calls out Jews who are condemning others for not following the law when they themselves are also not following the law.

Assurance of salvation

In chapters five through eight, Paul argues that believers can be assured of their hope in salvation, having been freed from the bondage of sin. Paul teaches that, through faith (3:28; 4:3), the faithful have been joined with Jesus (5:1) and freed from sin (6:1–2, 6:18). Believers should celebrate in the assurance of salvation (12:12). This promise is open to everyone since everyone has sinned (3:23) save the one who paid for all of them (3:24).

In chapters nine through eleven, Paul addresses the faithfulness of God to Israel, where he says that God has been faithful to His promise. Paul hopes that all of Israel will come to realize the truth (9:1–5) since he himself was also an Israelite (11:1) and had in the past been a persecutor of Christ. These verses could also be saying that, even though Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, since they still believe in God, they will be saved. In Romans 9–11 Paul, talks about how the nation of Israel has been cast away, and the conditions under which Israel will be God's chosen nation again: when the Body of Christ (believers in Christ's payment for sin) stops being faithful (11:19–22).

Transformation of believers

In Romans 7:1, Paul says that humans are under the law while we live: "Know ye not . . . that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?" However, Jesus' death on the cross makes believers dead to the law (7:4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the law by the body of Christ").

From chapter 12 through the first part of chapter 15, Paul outlines how the Gospel transforms believers and the behaviour that results from such a transformation. He goes on to describe how believers should live: not under the law, but under the grace of God. If believers live in obedience to God and to rightfully delegated authority, (12:9–21; 13:1–10) study the scriptures, (and share them with others) and love everybody, believers are not going to need to sin. As Paul says in Romans 13:10, "love (ἀγάπη) worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of law".

Concluding verses

The concluding verses contain a description of his travel plans and personal greetings salutations. One-third of the twenty-one Christians identified in the greetings are women, some of whom played an important role in the early church at Rome.

Protestant interpretation

Martin Luther described Paul's letter to the Romans as the "most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul".^[28]

The Romans Road refers to a set of scriptures from Romans that Christian evangelists use to present a clear and simple case for personal salvation for each person.

Romans has been at the forefront of several major movements in Protestantism. Martin Luther's lectures on Romans in 1515–16 probably coincided with the development of his criticism of Roman Catholicism which led to the 95 Theses of 1517. In 1738, while reading Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, John Wesley famously felt his heart "strangely warmed", a conversion experience which is often seen as the beginning of Methodism. In 1919 Karl Barth's commentary on Romans, The Epistle to the Romans, was the publication which is widely seen as the beginning of neo-orthodoxy.

Critique

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It is often the starting point of those who argue against the Protestant understanding of Romans, specifically in regard to the doctrine of sola fide, to point out that the same apostle who wrote Romans is also quoted in Philippians as saying "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12).^[29]

A critique of the traditional Protestant view of Paul's salvation theology was given by Lutheran scholar and bishop Krister Stendahl in his 1976 book Paul Among Jews and Gentiles. The following is an excerpt:

The main lines of Pauline interpretation — and hence both conscious and unconscious reading and quoting of Paul by scholars and lay people alike — have for many centuries been out of touch with one of the most basic of the questions and concerns that shaped Paul's thinking in the first place: the relation between Jews and Gentiles.
Especially in the Protestant tradition — and particularly among Lutherans — it is Paul's epistle to the Romans which holds a position of honor, supplying patterns of thought...
A doctrine of justification by faith was hammered out by Paul for the very specific and limited purpose of defending the rights of Gentile converts to be full and genuine heirs to the promises of God to Israel...
We tend to read him as if his question was: On what grounds, on what terms, are we to be saved? ... But Paul was chiefly concerned about the relation between Jews and Gentiles — and in the development of this concern he used as one of his arguments the idea of justification by faith...
If we read Paul's answer to the question of how Gentiles become heirs to God's promises to Israel as if he were responding to Luther's pangs of conscience, it becomes obvious that we are taking the Pauline answer out of its original context...
Paul's primary focus on Jews and Gentiles was lost in the history of interpretation... Justification no longer "justified" the status of Gentile Christians as honorary Jews, but became the timeless answer to the plights and pains of the introspective conscience of the West.^[30]

Catholic interpretation

Catholics accept the necessity of faith for salvation but point to Romans 2:5–11 for the necessity of living a virtuous life as well:^[31]

Who [God] will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.

Critique

To argue their claim that sincere profession of Christ takes precedence over good works in God's eyes, Protestants hold up Romans 4:2–5 (emphasis added):

"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness".

They also point out that in Romans 2, Paul says that God will reward those who follow the law (as opposed to antinomianism) and then goes on to say that no one follows the law perfectly (see also Sermon on the Mount: Interpretation). Romans 2:21–25:

Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Exegesis

Chapter One

1. “From Paul, servant of the messiah Jesus, who was called to be an emissary [apostle] and singled out for the tidings [gospel] of God, 2. of the tidings that God promised from the beginning, in the mouths of prophets, and sacred writings 3. regarding his son, Jesus the messiah our lord, who, according to the flesh, derives from the seed of David, 4. and by the Holy Spirit was demonstrated to be the son of God, through the power of his resurrection from the dead.”

• “Many commentators see [this] … as a concession [by Paul] to the supposed ‘adoptionist’ Christology of the Roman church … [-] the view that Jesus became the Son of God (or the ‘Christ’ or ‘Lord’) at some point after the beginning of [his] earthly life, that God chose or ‘adopted’ him to be the Messiah. … early Christology was almost certainly of this type, the Resurrection being the moment of adoption. … the primitive ‘adoptionism’ represented by certain statements in Acts (e.g. 2:36) was not immediately replaced by incarnationism … There was almost certainly an intermediate stage represented by the letters of Paul and to some extent by the synoptic Gospels. At this [intermediate] stage the pre-existence of Christ is affirmed … only gradually was it realized that [this] entailed a re-telling of the entire story.” TIB IX pp. 382-385

16. a. “I am not ashamed of the tidings of the messiah, which is the power of God to save …”

• “The word salvation [save] … in the New Testament period … had among Jews come to mean … the great deliverance which God would bring to pass in the last days. So it is used by Paul … an eschatological term … for … Paul believed that the ‘last days’ had already begun to come.” TIB IX p. 391

17a. For justification has come”

• “Generally speaking, in the Old Testament it is those who are already righteous whom God vindicates. The meaning is literally ‘justification’ – i.e. … the being treated as righteous, of those who are in fact righteous. It is at this point that Paul’s doctrine of justification diverges from the O.T. conception, for the distinctive thing about the justification made possible by Christ is that it involves the declaring righteous, the treating as righteous, of those who are in fact not righteous. Commentators often seek to get around the difficulty here – the apparent validation of a fiction – by insisting that the verb δικαιοω meant to ‘make righteous’ … the final sigma [ς] … dropped from the adjectival form (δικαιος); such an interpretation can be sustained only by rather violent exegesis.” TIB IX pp. 390 – 391

17b. “from revelation within faith, for the purpose of faith, as is written:

‘and justification will be by faith’” [Habakkuk 2:4]

• “Those who believed the declarations of God when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, having acted conformably to them, they escaped with their lives.” A.C. VI p. 70

18. “And truly the wrath of God appeared from the heavens upon all the evil and wickedness of men, who suppressed, in their wickedness, the truth.”

• “We cannot ‘absolve’ God of responsibility for judgment without accepting in effect the Marcionite belief in two Gods – one of judgment and the other of love.” TIB IX p. 397

Chapter Two

1. “Therefore you, a man who decrees judgment, you have nothing by which to justify yourself. Whoever you be, in your judgment of another you condemn yourself, for you do the same things … 2. We know that God judges, according to the truth, those who do things like this. 3. And you, a man, who decrees judgment upon those who do things like these, yet do them yourself; do you think you will escape the judgment of God? 4. Or you who scorn his abundant goodness, long suffering, and patience; do you not understand that God’s goodness directs you to repentance? 5. In your hardheartedness and rebelliousness against repentance, you store up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, the day the righteous judgment of God will be revealed,” 6. “which will deliver to every man according to his deeds: 7. eternal life to people who diligently do good and seek glory, honor, and immortality, 8. but anger and wrath to the rebellious who listen not to truth but to unrighteousness. 9. Tribulation and disaster upon the soul of every man who does evil, unto the Jew first, and also unto the non-Jew, 10. but glory and honor and peace to all who does good, to the Jew first, and also to whomever is not Jewish, 11. for there is no partiality with God. 12. Because all who sin without law are also lost without law, and all who sin and have law, are judged according to the Torah. 13. So the hearers of the Torah are not justified before God, but it is those who fulfill the Torah whom are justified. 14. Gentiles, who do not have the Torah, but fulfill the things of the Torah known to them by nature [φυσεν phusen, are a Torah unto themselves even though they have not the Torah. 15. They demonstrate that the work of the Torah is written in their heart, so their conscience testifies on their behalf, and their thoughts accuse or acquit them”

• “It was the Stoic doctrine that all of nature is pervaded by a divine principle, the logos. ‘Conscience’ is the human awareness … of this principle … and man’s true life is lived in consistency with this principle … Paul accepts as true the Stoic teachings as far as it goes, and values it as pointing to the fact that God has not left any man without some valid knowledge of the divine character and purpose, and of his own obligation as his creature.” TIB IX p. 411

• “What the apostle says … concerning the Gentile doing by nature the things contained in the law … would lead certain persons from forming erroneous judgments concerning the divine dispensations. We are not to suppose that God is not to be found where his written word does not appear; nor that the salvation of nations yet unblessed with the light of the Gospel is impossible. God has never confined himself to one particular way of communicating his salvation; no more than he has confined his saving grace to one people. … It was the Spirit that gave the word originally; and that same Spirit can speak without this word. It is through his influence alone that the Gentiles do the things contained in his own law; and it is not to be wondered at, that the work is the same, both in the law and in the heart, when it has proceeded form the same Spirit.” A.C. VI p. 50

16. “on the day that God judges the secrets of men, through Jesus the messiah, according to the word of my tidings.”

• “This passage [6-16] … is difficult … because it seems to be out of harmony with Paul’s positions at two points: … a considerable portion of this letter is … devoted to … demonstrating that God is ready to deal with us … not according to our works but our faith … [yet this] seems to assume … that one may be justified by one’s works.” TIB IX pp. 407-408

Chapter 3

1. “If so, what is the advantage of the Jew? Or what benefit is there in circumcision?”

• “… the possession of merely conditional promises is of no value if one fails to meet the conditions… Paul seems to be suggesting that God’s promises to Israel are ultimately NOT conditional … [c.f.] chapter 11.” TIB IX p. 421

2. “Much, in every respect. First of all, into their hands were committed the words of God. 3. And if there are those who do not believe, so what? Does their lack of belief nullify the faithfulness of God? 4. No way!” [με γενοιγο me genoigo

“It needs to be recognized that God is faithful and every man a liar.” A.C. VI

9. “So, are we better than others? No, absolutely not, as has been already proven above, the Jews and the gentiles as one are all enslaved to sin, 10. as is written:

“None is righteous, not even one. 11. None understands. None seeks God. 12. All turned away and together they putrefied. None does good, not even one. [Psalms 14:1-3 & 53: 2-4] 13. Their throats are an open grave, their tongues flatter, the poison of asps is under their lips. [Psalms 5:20] 14. Whose mouths curse, full of bitterness. [Psalms 10:7] 15. Their legs hurry to spill blood, 16. plunder and disaster in their tracks, 17. and the way of peace they do not know. [Isaiah 59: 7-8] 18. The fear of God is not before their eyes.’” [Psalms 36:2]

• “With very little variation, these are the evils in which the vast mass of mankind delight and live. Look especially at the nations of Europe who enjoy most of the light of God; see what has taken place among them from 1772 to 1816; see what destruction of millions, what misery of hundreds of millions, have been the consequence of satanic excitement in fallen ferocious passion!” A.C. VI p. 53 [in 1818]

24. “But they are justified by grace, freely, thanks to the redemption that is in the messiah Jesus, 25. whom God appointed for expiation by his blood, expiation on the basis of faith. All this in order to demonstrate the righteousness of God, who, long suffering, passed over the sins of the past, 26. and to demonstrate his righteousness on this occasion, that He is righteous and makes the righteous Jesus’ believers.”

• “The apostle sees man as actually under righteous judgment because of his sin, and the righteous God, who has imposed that judgment … cannot will to reverse it unless the just demands of the law are met. A price must be paid; a penalty must be suffered; a sacrifice must be offered. One gets the impression from Jesus’ teachings that he thought of repentance as representing the satisfaction of the law, but Paul, who makes no theological use of the idea of repentance, undoubtedly finds in the life and death of Christ the indispensable atoning sacrifice. To be sure, it is God himself who in Christ Jesus provides the necessary sacrifice … there is no way within our human command of making such a fact logically consistent with itself … we are forgiven but God’s judgment upon sin is not compromised.” TIB IX pp. 433-434

28. “And truly we discern that man is justified by faith; [he does] not depend upon works of the Torah. 29. Or what? Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also God of the gentiles? Yes, he is also God of the gentiles. 30. For one God is he that justifies the circumcised on the basis of faith, and the uncircumcised on the basis of faith. 31. Are we consequently nullifying the Torah for faith? No way! On the contrary, we provide validity to the Torah.”

• “I have often differed much from that very leaned and judicious man [Dr. Taylor] … he cannot allow that the death of Christ should be considered as a price paid down for the salvation of man and I confess, I cannot understand the apostle in any other way… We must beware of antinomianism … supposing that because Christ has been obedient unto death, there is no necessity for our obedience to his righteous commandments.” A.C. VI p. 56

Chapter 4

3. “What says scripture?

‘And Abraham believed in YHVA and it was reckoned to him righteousness.’”

• “… the passage suits [Paul’s] polemical purpose – asserting as it does the virtual equivalence of faith and righteousness.” TIB IX pp. 441

9. “Is this blessing [justification imputed for faith without works] only to the circumcised, or also to the uncircumcised? We say that Abraham’s belief was reckoned to him righteousness. 10. When was it reckoned to him? When he was circumcised or when he was uncircumcised? Not when he was circumcised, but when he was uncircumcised. 11. He received the sign of the circumcision as a seal of justification …”

• “Dodd … ‘The Old Testament critic might put the point differently: the early prophetic stories of Abraham know nothing of his circumcision, which J mentioned in the late priestly document.’ … the covenant of God with Abraham described in Genesis 15 … antedated circumcision and the law.” TIB IX p. 443

12. “So the promise, that he would inherit the world, was given neither to Abraham nor his seed on the basis of the Torah, but on the basis of justification which was received through faith. 13. Thus, if holders of the Torah are the inheritors, then faith is worthless, and the promise invalid. 14. The Torah brings punishment, and where there is no Torah there is no transgression of the Torah.”

• [i.e.] “The promise was not conditional upon obedience to the law (although Paul sees to have been looking at the matter somewhat differently in 2:17-25)” TIB IX p. 444

15. “Therefore, through faith, so that all this would be by grace, and the promise be fulfilled upon all the descendents, not only upon sons of the Torah, but also upon sons of the faith of Abraham … …

18. “And with no reason to hope, he believes and anticipates that he would be father to many nations. As was said,

‘thus will be your seed’.

19. His belief did not slacken even when he was 100 years old, and considered his bodily frailty and Sara’s sterility. 20. He never slackened from faith, and did not doubt the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith, and gave honor to God, 21. being absolutely confident that that which had been promised, could also come to be. 22. Therefore this is reckoned to him justification.”

• “The story of Abraham suits the purpose at of the writer to the Hebrews … better perhaps than the purpose of Paul (… Heb. 11:8-12); but obviously both N.T. writers read much more in the story that it was intended to carry. Still there can be no question that Pauline emphasis upon humble trust in God’s mercy and power, as distinguished from good works, was in line with the deepest element in Hebrew-Jewish life and thought, and that the attitude of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:9-14) is as false to the true spirit of Judaism as it is to Christ’s own teaching or to the gospel of Paul.” TIB IX p. 447

Chapter 5

1. “Therefore, after we are justified by faith, we have peace with God thanks to our lord Jesus the Messiah. 2. Through him we have also access,”

• “[while for] Jew[s] … priests have entrance to God as their representatives, carrying before the mercy seat the blood of their offered victim.” A.C p. 63

“through faith, to this grace, in which we stand and boast, in hope of the glory of God.”

• “The restoration belongs ultimately, and essentially … to the new age, the kingdom of God - although Paul rarely uses this phrase – the supernatural age of the Spirit which Paul believed was soon to displace the present world.” TIB IX p. 454

…

6. “While we still lacked strength, when the time came, the messiah died for the ungodly. 7. One is not quick to give his life for a righteous man, although for a good man one might.”

• The Jews divide men, as to their moral character, into four classes. First, those who say ‘what is mine is my own and what is thine is thy own.’ These may be considered the just. The second class, ‘what is mine is thine and what is thine is mine.’ These are they who accommodate each other; who borrow and lend. The third class … say ‘What is mine is thine, and what is thine let it be thine.’ These are the pious or good, who give up all for the benefit of their neighbor. The fourth class say … ‘What is thine is mine, and what is thine shall be mine.’ These are the impious, who take all and give nothing.” A.C. VI p. 65

8. “But God revealed his love towards us in this: the messiah died for us while we were still sinners. 9. And now, after having been justified in his blood when we were still sinners, surely we will be saved by him from his wrath. 10. For if in the time when we were alienated [foes] we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, then all the more so will we be saved by the life of his son now that we are reconciled.”

• “… the distinction between justification and salvation … it is now we are justified; but salvation is off in the future: we will be saved by him from the wrath of God … Jesus would have said that God deals with sin by moving to repentance; Paul interprets Jesus’ … death as an effective means of annulling sin and thus of reconciliation.” TIB IX p. 459

• The destruction of the Jewish nation was not to be prevented; God would spare only those who pledged allegiance to King Jesus. But neither would Rome survive, the Kingdom of God would replace it.

11. “And not only this, we also exult in God, thanks to Jesus the messiah, through whom we have now received the reconciliation, 12. according to which, since by way of one man came sin to the world, and as a result of sin came death, so death passed to all men, because all sin.”

• “…the idea of the transmission of the penalty [of Adam’s sin] to the entire race does not appear explicitly in the entire Old Testament … that conception is not clearly stated till a century or so before Paul’s time in the so-called apocryphal and pseudepigraphical books …” TIB IX pp. 462 & 463

13. “You see, even before the Torah there was sin in the world, but it was not thought of as such without the Torah. 14. At any rate, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even upon those who did not commit a sin like the transgression of Adam, who was the parallel [mirror] image of one that was yet to come.”

• … Paul has for the moment forgotten the natural law and is therefore trying to deal with a logical difficulty which, granted the existence of the [natural] law would not exist …”TIB IX p. 464

15. “But the [consequence of] transgression is not comparable to [that of] the gift of grace; because of the transgression of one, many died, [but] so much more [is] grace, the grace of God and his gifts were poured out to many because of one man, Jesus the messiah. 16. And the gift is not like the work of one man that sinned; for the judgment in consequence of [just] one transgression was condemnation, yet after many transgressions, the gift of grace is justification.”

• “This confusion lies in the fact that the paragraph is given the form of an attempt to show the faults of a really perfect analogy!” TIB IX p. 465

…

21. “And so, just as sin ruled in death, so also will grace rule in the midst of justice. And the result is eternal life, because of Jesus the messiah our lord.”

• “The fact that all come into this world with sinful propensities is proved by another fact, that every man sins … and that no exception to this has ever been noticed, except for the human nature of Jesus Christ and that exempt case is sufficiently accounted for from this circumstance, that it did not come in the common way of natural generation.” A.C. VI p.71

…

Chapter Six

6. “We know that the old man within us was crucified with Him in order to destroy his sinful body, so that we would not transgress in sin any more; 7. “for the dead are free from sin.”

• “Every instance of violence is done to the whole scope of design of the apostle, by the opinion that ‘this text is proof that believers are not fully saved from sin in this life’, because ‘only he that is dead is free from sin’” A.C. VI p. 74

9. “We know that the messiah, having risen from the dead, will not die again; death does not continue to rule in him. 10. For in his death he died once and for all in relation to sin, but in his life he lives for God.”

• “According to the logic of Paul’s position present in this passage, the believer should be free not only from sin but also from temptation.” TIB IX p. 478

11. “In this way, think yourselves dead in relation to sin too, but alive to God in the messiah, Jesus.”

• “If the believers are in fact dead to sin … why should it matter whether they consider themselves so?” ibid

14. “Sin does not rule in you because you are not under the hand of the Torah, but under the hand of mercy. 15. So what? Should we sin, now that we are no longer under the hand of sin, because we are under the hand of grace? Of course not! 16. Don’t you know that you deliver yourselves like slaves to whomever you obey? You are slaves to whatever you obey, either to sin which rules over death, or to obedience to justice. 17. So thank God that you who, prior to this were slaves to sin, listened with all your heart to the way of the Torah [διδαχης didakhes in which you were educated.”

• “One can scarcely believe that Paul intended to say that in the believer obedience to sin had been replaced by obedience to what would seem to amount to a new law, the ‘standard of teaching to which you were committed’.” TIB IX p. 483

18. “And after you were freed from sin, you became slaves to justice. 19. I speak in human terms of your weakness, the weakness of flesh and blood. Just as when, slaves to pollution and evil, you delivered your members to a course of wickedness, so, now, as slaves to justice, deliver your members to a course of sanctification.”

• “Paul’s analogy is not too fortunately chosen since the natural opposite of slavery to sin is emancipation – one can hardly avoid being amused when he shifts the blame to his readers.” TIB IX p. 484

20. “Since when you were slaves to sin, you were free of justice. 21. Yet what produce was there for you then? From the very things of which you are now ashamed? Was not death the product?”

“* This death is essentially eschatological but [also] an empirical fact. The same … can be said of his reference … to eternal life. TIB pp. 485 – 486

22. “But now that you are freed from sin, and are enslaved to God, you have the fruit of sanctification, and its product is eternal life.”

• “Paul now sets over against slavery to sin, slavery to God … and comes … nearer to saying what Paul really meant to say.” Ibid

Chapter 7

1. “Brethren, do you not know – and here I speak to knowers of the Torah – that the Torah has authority over man, all his life? 2. The married woman is joined to her husband by the Torah as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is free from the law of the Torah that joined her to her husband. 3. So if she is married to another man while her husband still lives, she is called adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is freed by the same law, and in marrying another man does not adultery.”

• “The new illustration from marriage becomes even more awkward than the preceding one from slavery.” TIB p. 488

4. “So you too, brethren, died, relative to the Torah, in the body of the messiah, in a manner that you were made associated with another, to him who rose from the dead, in order to bear fruit to God.” …

7. “So what are we saying? That the Torah is under the power of sin? Of course not! But I would not know what sin was were it not for the Torah; I would not know desire had the Torah not said ‘Do not covet’.”

• “Paul … could not, even as a Christian, have brought himself to question the divine origin and authority of the law, ‘the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good’ (vs. 12). But … the law had succeeded only in making him utterly wretched.” TIB IX pp. 492-493

8. “Sin exploits that which is prohibited by commandment in order to arouse within me all manner of desires; so without Torah sin dies.”

• “… [i.e.] sin had no way of making guilty sinners of us until it was able to make use of the law … [Paul] is in conflict [here] with what he said in 5:12-14 … [where] sin is represented as … being in the world before the law was given … and [as] … bringing about even then the rule of death. With such a view Paul’s statement that apart from law sin lied dead is not easily compatible. But we have already seen that we cannot hold the apostle to strict logical consistency.” TIB IX p. 495

…

14. “We know that the Torah is spiritual, but here I am, flesh and blood, and sold to sin. 15. Therefore I do not understand my own deeds, for I do not do that which I desire to do, rather I do just that which is hateful to me.”

• “Who, without blasphemy, can assert that the apostle is speaking thus of men in whom the Holy Spirit dwell?” A.C. VI p. 83

16. “And if I do that which I do not desire to do, I am thankful that the Torah is good, 17. since it is no longer I who does the deed, but the sin that reigns in me. 18. So I know that within me, in my flesh, so to speak, goodness does not dwell. Truly I am able to intend, but to do good I am unable, 19. because I do not do the good that I desire to do, but the evil that I do not desire to do.

• “’I’ here … cannot mean himself or any other Christian believer; if the contrary could be proved, the argument of the Apostle would go on to demonstrate the insufficiency of the Gospel as well as the law.” A.C. VI p. 82

20. And if I do that which is against my will, then it is no more I doing it, but the sin that dwells in me. 21. Accordingly I discovered this law: I would do good but for the evil standing before me. 22. In the inner man within me, I am happy with the Torah of God, 23. but in my members I see a different law, and it wars against the law that is in my mind, and enslaves me to the law of sin that rules in my members. 24. Oh me, wretched man that I am; who will save me from this body, which has death in it? 25. Thank God for Jesus the messiah our lord! Therefore in my mind I am enslaved to the Torah of God, but in my flesh I am enslaved to sin.”

• “… salvation for Paul is primarily and essentially eschatological. It will be realized only beyond history. Paul is so certain of the divinely appointed end of history, and so certain that this end is immanent, that he is often able to disregard the interim and so to talk as though the new age had come … we have been justified, but we will be saved.” TIB IX p. 504

Chapter Eight

1. “Therefore there is no longer any condemnation upon those found in the messiah Jesus, 2. for the law of the spirit of life, which is in the messiah Jesus, frees me from the law of sin and death, 3. which the Torah could not do, because it could not prevail over the flesh,”

• “Paul means, of course, that man has been too weak to accomplish this by his obedience to the law … Paul is using his words loosely, and even, as the reader of the Greek will see, ungrammatically.” TIB IX p. 507

“that God did. He sent his son, clothed in flesh and blood, in the likeness of sinful flesh,”

• “Why does Paul say ‘in the likeness of flesh’? Why not simply ‘in sinful flesh’? Is he expressing some doubt of the reality of the humanity of Jesus? … If it were necessary for us to rely solely upon these passages … we can easily imagine with what eagerness later Doscetists availed themselves of these texts.” TIB IX p. 7

“to be a sin offering, and pronounced judgment on sin in flesh.” 12. “Therefore, brethren, we are obligated, but we are not obligated to live according to flesh. 13. If you live according to flesh, you die, but if, through the spirit, you kill the deeds of the body, you live.”

• “The idea of putting to death the deeds of the body is somewhat strange; why not the desires? … Kirk, ‘the first stage in conquering the “flesh” is to refuse to put its solicitation into effect by deeds. St. Paul has therefore modified the strictly doctrinal form of his statement by reference to practical experience.’” TIB IX p. 515

…

15. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to return to fear, rather you received the spirit of the acquired standing of sons; it is in this spirit we call out ‘father, our father.’”

• “… all of Paul’s theology rests … upon the experience of the Spirit … but there is not a clear doctrine of the personality of the Spirit in Paul’s letters.” TIB IX p. 517

…

17. “And if sons, then heirs, inheriting the bequest of God, and also joint heirs with the messiah, since we suffer with him in order to attain to glory with him.”

• “’… meaning originally the simple possession of the Holy Land, it came to mean (ii) its permanent and assured possession (Ps. xxv. [xxxiv in the Hebrew Bible] 13; xxxvi. [xxxvii], 9, 11, etc.); hence (iii) specially the secure possession won by the Messiah (Is. lx. 21, lxi. 7): and so it became (iv) a symbol of all Messianic blessings (Matt. V. 5; xix.29; xxv. 34; etc.’ (Sanday & Headlam).” TIB IX p. 51

…

21. “Even creation itself is freed from enslavement to corruption by the spirit and glory of the sons of God.”

• “Only very occasionally does Paul draw an illustration from nature … there is no evidence that he was vividly aware of the beauty of nature, found in it, or saw in it the continuing work of God. This failure of Paul’s has left a mark upon his theology and suggests perhaps more than one way in which his theology needs to be corrected by his master’s. It is probable, for instance, that Paul’s attitude toward sex and marriage (as in I Cor. 7) is not unconnected with this failure of appreciation … He is aware of the futility, the meaninglessness, of nature – the ceaseless round, the dreary circle, the endless repetition of existence. The whole universe ... waiting restlessly … for that which will fulfill it and give it meaning.” TIB IX p. 520

22. “We know that all creation groans and bears like birth pangs unto this day.” …

26 “… but the spirit herself interceded on our behalf with sighs deeper than words.” …

37. “… with the help of the lover of us we are more than victors, 38. and we are sure that neither death nor life, nor angels or principalities, neither things present nor things yet to come, not powers, 39. neither heights nor depths, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which is in the messiah Jesus our lord.”

Chapter Nine

“These chapters show conclusively that at the time they were written, shortly after the middle of the first century, the Christian church was already predominantly non-Jewish in membership. It was clear that the future of the movement … lay not among the Jews but among the gentiles. It is this fact, so well established at the time that Paul simply takes it for granted, which constitutes the poignant personal problem with which these chapters deal.” TIB IX pp. 536-537

1. “Truly I say, of the Messiah I do not lie, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2. great is my sorrow, and my heart is in constant anguish, 3. to the point that I was ready to be excommunicated from the messiah for my brothers’ sake, 4. the sons of Israel, who had the standing of sons, the glory, the covenants, receivers of the Torah, the holy offices, and the promises. 5. To them the patriarchs, and from them, from the lineage of men, the messiah …” …

14. “If so, what can we say? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not. 15. He said to Moses

‘I will have mercy on him upon whom I will have mercy, And compassion upon whom I will have compassion.’” …

19. “Then, you say to me, ‘Why does he continue to condemn? Who can stand against His wishes?’”

• “i.e., if we are predestined to fail, how can we be expected to prevail?” TIB

20. “But who are you, son of man, to argue with God? Can the creation say to his creator, ‘Why have you made me thus?’ 21. Isn’t the potter entitled to throw from the same clay one pot for glorious and another for inglorious uses? 22. And so what if God, although he wants to show his anger and to reveal his strength, bears with great long suffering, vessels of wrath, ready for destruction, 23. in order to reveal the richness of his glory in vessels of pardon which were prepared for his glory?”

• “… only a few passages in Paul are more obscure than this one … Dodd remarks ‘When Paul, normally a clear thinker, becomes obscure, it usually means that he has become embarrassed by a position he has taken up.’ … we have here a conditional sentence which is not completed – only the protasis is found. Apparently, when he began the sentence Paul intended to end with an apodosis, e.g. ‘what is that to you?’ … This may be a hard doctrine, and Paul is going to show soon that he is by no means content with it.” TIB IX pp. 548-549

23. “That is to say, we who were also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the gentiles, 24. as he said in Hosea

‘”I will call those who were not mine, my own, and those for whom I had no compassion, I will have compassion.” And instead of saying to them, “You are not my people,” He will say to them “Children of the living God”’”

• “In Hosea the passage is applied to Israel itself … Paul applies this to the Gentiles, as later does I. Peter 2:10” TIB

…

30. “If so, what is there to say? Gentiles who did not pursue justification received justification, but justification on the basis of faith. 31. Israel, despite this, pursued the Torah of justification, but unto the Torah they did not attain. 32. Why? Because they did not seek in faith but in deeds. They stubbed [their toes] on the stumbling stone, as was written,

‘Behold established in Zion a stumbling stone, a tripping rock, and the believer in him will not be shamed.’”

• “… apparently, no empirical datum had so much authority in establishing a fact, as some scripture text which could be plausibly interpreted as affirming it. Thus in 10:18 Paul proves that the gospel has been preached to the Jews, not by citing the current facts of the Christian mission, but by citing incidentally with complete and flagrant disregard of its manifest meaning Ps. 19:4 and yet for all this resort to dubious or faulty exegesis in detail, although Paul is mistaken in having Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 refer to God accepting gentiles, he is not wrong in seeing that the greater prophets shared such a conception …” TIB IX p. 553

Chapter Ten

5. “Moses did write of justification, that from within the Torah, ‘that man do them and live in them.’”

• “’Cursed is everyone who continuith not in all the things that are written in the law to do them.’ Deut. xxvii.26” A.C. VI p. 117

6. “But thus says justification that is within faith …” …

8. “’for the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’. This is the word of faith that we herald.”

• “Deut. 30:11-14 in the LXX text … what makes this passage most difficult … is the fact that Paul applies the phrases he selects from it to Christ … when originally the passage is clearly about the law! … It is hard to see why Paul should have chosen a passage for whose clear original meaning he must substitute almost the exact opposite. We have already seen more than once that Paul has no hesitancy in quoting Scripture out of its context, but this is a particularly flagrant case.” TIB IX p. 556-557

…

12. “And there is no difference in this between the Jew and the non-Jew, for there is one Lord to all, and great mercy to all who call upon him, 13. for ‘all who call on the name YHVH He will deliver’ 14. But how can one call upon one in whom one does not believe?” …

21. “And he said to Israel,

‘I open my arms all day to a stubborn and rebellious people.’”

• “Such a way of interpreting scripture may be, according to our standards, faulty to the point of being absurd, but it conforms to typical rabbinical exegesis in Paul’s time.” TIB IX

Chapter Eleven

• “We have seen that the contention of 9:14-29, … that God has the right to be arbitrary in his judgments, is considerably qualified by 9:30-10:21, where Paul seems to be adding, ‘Yes, but as a matter of fact His judgment in this case is not arbitrary.’ An even more striking shift in point of view seems to be involved in the contrast between the opening section of the whole argument (9:6-13) and this, the closing section. The fact of this shift cannot be denied; either one can account for it by saying, with more modern scholars, that Paul, even as he was writing, became convinced of the fall (or at least the inadequacy) of his earlier position and decided to change it, or one can explain [that] … Ch. 9 (… through vs. 29) is dominated by an ‘if’, or rather, two ‘ifs’, which are, in reverse order, denied by chapters 10 and 11. In Chapter 11 this denial applies to what at the beginning of ch. 9 appeared to be the major premise of this whole section.” TIB IX p. 564

1. “If so, I ask, ‘Did God forsake His people?’ No way! I am too a son of the people of Israel, of the seed of Abraham, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 2. God did not forsake his people, the people whom he knew before. …

5. … there remains a remnant, elected by grace. 6. And if by grace, then no more by deeds, otherwise grace ceases to be grace. 7. So what? Israel did not attain to that which it sought, but the elect attained it; and the rest hardened their heart. 8. As it is written:

‘God gave them a spirit of torpor, eyes not to see, ears not to hear, unto this day’”

• “How can men fail to accept what is so obviously God’s gracious act on their behalf, unless they have been blinded? ... Insensitiveness on so wide a scale, and with consequences so catastrophic, to values and truths so manifest, could be explained only as supernaturally induced and as having meaning only in God’s inscrutable purpose.” TIB IX p. 567

11. “Thus I ask; did they stumble in order to fall and not rise? Of course not! Rather that in their stumbling was salvation to the gentiles”

“to provoke [Israel’s] jealousy.”

• “It was the Jews’ … repudiation of the gospel which explained its … being permitted to assume the form – i.e. non-nationalistic and non-legalistic – which made it possible of acceptance by Gentiles.” TIB IX p. 568

12. “And if their stumble was riches to the world, and their loss riches to gentiles, how much more so would be their requital!”

• “It appears that the argument of 9:6-29 was almost entirely hypothetical, since the origins of Israel and God’s promises to the fathers are now represented as assuring in fact the eventual salvation of the entire nation.” TIB

…

17. “And if some branches were cut off from the olive tree and you, wild olive, grafted in their place, and you shared the root and marrow of the tree …”

• “Paul’s meaning … is clearer than the figure he uses is accurate… branches from a wild olive would not be grafted on a cultivated olive stock (if anything the reverse would be done), and if they were, they would not bear the fruit of the cultivated tree.” TIB IX p. 571

18. “… do not lord it over the [displaced] branches … know ye that you do not bear the root, rather the root bears you.”

…

25. “Thus, brethren, I do not want this secret to be lost on you … Israel is possessed by hardness of heart in some measure, until fullness of gentiles comes in.”

• “… such a time as a multitude of nations … shall be converted … and the Jews shall be excited … to embrace the faith.” A.C. VI

26. “And then all Israel will be saved.”

• “Shall be brought into the way of salvation by acknowledging the Messiah, for the word [‘saved’] certainly does not mean eternal glory: for, no man can conceive a time will ever come, in which every Jew, then living, shall be taken to the kingdom of glory. The term saved, as applied to the Israelites … no more than their being gathered out of the reactions of the world, separated by God, and possessed of the high privilege of being his peculiar people …” A.C. VI

“As it is written, ‘And there shall come out of Zion a redeemer who will take away the sin of Jacob’ said YHVH”, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob’”

• “Now this cannot be understood as the manifestation of Christ among the Jew … and as no remarkable conversion of that people has since taken place, the fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to take place.” A.C. VI p. 128

27. “’And I covenanted this with them, that I will forgive their sins.’”

• “If we wait for the conversion of the Jews til such a time as every gentile shall all be converted … then, we shall wait for ever.” Ibid

…

32. “For God included all in disobedience, so that he could have mercy on all.”

• “Does Paul then believe in a final universal salvation? When he says ‘all’ (vss. 26, 32), is he thinking only of the corporate unities of the Greeks and the Jews … or is he thinking of every individual? It must be answered that if we only had ch.11 on which to base our answer, we could hardly avoid interpreting Paul as intending to proclaim an unqualified universalism … We have seen how naturally a doctrine of salvation by pure grace may lead to a doctrine of predestination … but a doctrine of predestination (given that God loves all men) leads at least equally naturally to a doctrine of universal salvation. If love has complete control, although it may for some reason (cf. 11:25b) delay, it is bound eventually to save. Such is the logic of predestinarianism when it is saturated with the love of God. The obstacle to our believing that Paul means all this – or just this – in ch. 11 is the fact that he shows himself elsewhere so acutely conscious of the realty of sin and judgment” TIB IX p. 577

33. “How deep are God’s riches, how deep his intelligence and knowledge! None knows his judgments, and none grasps his ways. For 34. ‘Who will measure the spirit of YHVH? Is his counsel known to us?’”

• “It is our place to adore in silence and to obey with alacrity and delight.” A.C. VI pp. 129-130

…

36. “For everything is of him, everything is his way and everything is on him. To him the glory for ever. Amen”

• “33-36. This great passage should probably be taken as prompted primarily by Paul’s recognition that there was no way of making neat sense out of the realities evidenced in the believer’s experience of the grace of God in Christ. These realities far outrun any logic – as indeed reality always does. Paul has done his best … to explain the meaning of the revelation of God in Christ; but he recognized, doubtless more acutely than any modern critical reader, how full of gaps and of inassimilable, incompatible elements his arguments have been. But this is true not because he has not done well what he has tired, but because the thing he has tried can never be done well, although we can never cease trying to do it. The problem is not solved; but the perplexity is overcome in an act of worship.” TIB IX pp. 577-578

Chapter Twelve

17. “Do not repay a man evil for evil. Seek the good in the eyes of all men.”

• “[KJV] ‘provide things honest’ It is no sin to die through lack of the necessities of life, when the providence of God has denied the means of support; but it is a sin to take up goods without the probability of being able to pay for them … [God] will bless the poverty while he curses the ungodly man’s blessings.” A.C. VI p. 136

23. “Do not allow evil to overcome good, rather overcome evil with good.”

• “Where the injured man is laboring to do good for evil; to repay … curses with blessings and prayers; his evil passions have no longer any motive, any incentive; his mind relaxes, the turbulence of his passions calmed. Reason and conscience are permitted to speak; he is disarmed, or, in other words, he finds that he has no use for his weapons; he beholds in the injured man a magnanimous friend, whose mind is superior to all the insults and injuries which he received; and who is determined never to permit the heavenly principle that infused his soul, to bow itself before the miserable, mean, and wretched spirit of revenge. This amiable man views in his enemy a spirit which he beholds with horror and cannot consent to receive into his own bosom, whose conduct he has so much reason to blame and whose spirit he has so much reason to abominate, and he knows that as soon as he begins to avenge himself, he places himself on par with the unprincipled man. He who avenges himself receives into his own heart all the evil and disgraceful passions by which his enemy is rendered both wretched and contemptible.” A.C. VI p. 137

Chapter Thirteen

• “To see with what propriety the apostle introduces the important subjects which he handles in this chapter, it is necessary to make a few remarks on the circumstances in which the church of God then was.

• “It is generally allowed that this epistle was written about the year of our Lord 58, according to the vulgar reckoning, four or five years after the edict of the emperor Claudius, by which all the Jews were banished from Rome. And as, in those early times, the Christians were generally confounded with the Jews, it is likely that both were included in this decree. …

• “That the Jews were, in general, an uneasy and seditious people, is clear enough from every part of their own history. They had the most rooted aversion from the heathen government; and it was a maxim with them that the world was given to the Israelites; that they should have supreme rule every where, and that the Gentiles should be their vassals. With such political notions, grounded on their native restlessness, it is no wonder, if, in several instances, they gave cause of suspicion to the Roman government, who would be glad of an opportunity to expel from the city, persons whom they considered dangerous to its peace and security; nor is it unreasonable, on this account, to suppose, with Dr. Taylor, that the Christians, under a notion of being the peculiar people of God, and the subjects of his kingdom alone, might be in danger of being infected with those unruly and rebellious sentiments; therefore the apostle shows them that they were, notwithstanding their honours and privileges as Christians, bound by the strongest obligations of conscience to be the subject to the civil government.” A.C. VI p. 138

1. “Every man is subject to the sovereign authority, for there is no sovereignty except under the auspices of God, so the present day sovereigns are determined by God.”

• “As God is the origin of power, and the Supreme Governor of the universe, he delegates authority to whomsoever he will; and though, in may cases the governor himself may not be of God, yet civil government is of him; for without this there could be no society, no security, no private property: all would be confusion and anarchy; and the habitable world would soon be depopulated. In ancient times, God, in an especial manner, on many occasions, appointed the individual who was to govern, and he accordingly governed by a divine right; as in the case of Moses, Joshua, the Hebrew judges, and several of the Israelitish kings. In after times, and to the present day, he does that by a general superintending providence, which he did before by especial designation. In all nations of the earth, there is what may be called a constitution, a plan by which a particular country or state is governed; and this constitution is less or more calculated to promote the interest of the community. The civil governor, whether he be elective or hereditary, agrees to govern according to that constitution. Thus, we may consider, that there is a compact and consent between the governor and governed, and in such case, the potentate may be considered as coming to the supreme authority in the direct way of God’s providence; and as civil government is of God, who is the Fountain of law, order, and regularity; the civil governor, who administers the laws of a state according to its constitution, is the minister of God. But it has been asked, if the ruler be an immoral or profligate man, does he not prove himself thereby, to be unworthy of his high office, and should he not be deposed? I answer – No: if he rule according to the constitution, nothing can justify rebellion against his authority. He may be irregular in his own private life; he may be an immoral man, and disgrace himself by an improper conduct; but if he rule according to the law; if he make no attempt to change the constitution, nor break the compact between him and the people; there is, therefore, no legal ground of opposition to his civil authority; and every act against him is not only rebellion, in the worst sense of the word, but is unlawful, and absolutely sinful.

• “Nothing can justify the opposition of the subjects to the ruler, but overt attempts on his part, to change the constitution, or to rule contrary to the laws of that constitution. … It would be easy, in running over the list of our own kings, to point out several who were deservedly reputed good kings who in their private life were very immoral. Bad as they might be in private life, the constitution was, in their hands, ever considered a sacred deposit; and they faithfully preserved it, and transmitted it unimpaired to their successors; and took care while they held the reins of government, to have it impartially and effectually administered.

• “It must be allowed, notwithstanding, that, when a prince, howsoever heedful to the laws, is unrighteous in private life, his example is contagious; morality, banished from the throne, is discountenanced by the community; and happiness is diminished in proportion to the increase of vice. On the other hand, when a king governs according to the constitution of his realm, and has his heart and life governed by the laws of God, he is then a double blessing to his people…

• “As I have already mentioned some potentates by name, as apt examples of the doctrines I have been laying down, my readers will naturally expect, that, upon so fair an opportunity, I should introduce another; one who, through an unusually protracted reign, (during every year of which he has most conscientiously watched over the sacred constitution committed to his care) not only has not impaired this constitution, but has taken care that its wholesome laws should be properly administered; and who, in every respect, has acted as the father of his people; and has added to all this the most exemplary moral conduct, perhaps ever exhibited by a prince, whether in ancient or modern times; not only tacitly discountenancing vice, by his truly religious conduct, but by his frequent proclamations, most solemnly forbidding sabbath-breaking; profane swearing, and immorality in general: - more might be just said, but when I have mentioned all these things, (and I mention them with exultation, and with gratitude to God) I need scarcely add the venerable name of GEORGE the Third, king of Great Britain; as every reader will at once perceive that the description suits no potentate besides.” A.C. VI pp. 139-140

4. “The sovereigns serve God for your own good. But if you do evil you should be afraid, not for nothing do they hold the sword; they are ministers (διακονος diakonos) of God to avenge and to execute wrath upon evil doers. 5. Therefore it is for you to submit, not just because of wrath, but also because of conscience.”

• “The contradictory attitude is found in the book of Revelation.” TIB IX p. 604

6. “And therefore you also pay taxes, for God’s ministers are diligent in fulfilling their purpose.”

• “There is no insinuation in the apostle’s words in behalf of an extravagant and oppressive taxation, for the support of unprincipled and unnecessary wars; or the pensioning of corrupt and useless men.” A.C. p. 141

7. “Give to every man that which is due him. Tax to whomever is over the tax, tariff to whomever is over the tariff, respect to whomever is worthy of respect, honor to whomever is worthy of honor. 8. Do not be owing of a thing to any man, except for love of the other …”

• “The phrase ‘love one another’ ordinarily suggests a relationship within the Church (so in John 13:34), perhaps Paul has the community primarily in mind here, but certainly he is thinking of all the Christian’s relationships … love is the supreme gift because it is the very provenance of the Spirit himself.” TIB IX pp. 605, 606 & 608

“for the love of the other fulfills the Torah.” …

11. “… the times are known to you, it is for us, for now is the hour, to be roused from the sleep, for our salvation is closer now than when we first began to believe. The night passes and the day arrives. 12. Therefore remove form upon you the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light.”

• “The manifestation of the Messiah is regularly termed by the ancient Jews יום, day, because previous to this all is night. Bereshith Rabba Sect. 91 folio 89.” A.C. VI p. 142

• To the extent that there was a rallying aspect to the Gospel of the Jews behind the Messiah in the confrontation of the kingdom of God with Rome, I think that the point of evangelizing the gentiles shared some of that same purpose, to weaken Rome, and to save the converted from its fate.

Chapter Sixteen

1. “I commend my sister Phoebe to you, a deaconess (δικονου dikonou) of the church in Kenkreah.”

“There were deaconesses in the primitive church … ordained to their office by the imposition of the hands of the bishop… In the 10th or 11th century the order became extinct in the Latin churches but continued in the Greek churches until the end of the 12th century.” A.C. VI p. 155 …

12. “I send greetings to Trifana (‘Dainty’) and Trifosa (‘Delicate’) who toil for the lord, and to Persis the beloved who toiled greatly for the lord.”

“Many have spent much useless labor in endeavoring to prove that women didn’t preach.” A.C. VI p. 156 …

25. “And he who can strengthen you according to my tidings and the proclamation of Jesus the messiah, according to the revealed secret, that was latent in eternity 26. but now, by the command of eternal God, is revealed by way of prophets’ writings, and publicized to all the gentiles, in order to bring them into the obedience that is in faith.”

• “Hints … scattered up and down through all their works, but no clear revelation that the Gentiles who should be admitted to the church, should be admitted without passing under the yoke of Mosaic law. This was the point that was kept secret.” A.C. VI p. 156

Footnotes

References

• Bruce, F. F. (1983). The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press. 
• Dunn, J. D. G. (1988a). Romans 1-8, World Bible Commentary. Dallas, Texas: Word Books, Publisher. 
• Dunn, J. D. G. (1988b). Romans 9-16, World Bible Commentary. Dallas, Texas: Word Books, Publisher. 
• Fitzmyer, J. A. (1992). Romans, Anchor Bible Commentary. New York: Doubleday. 
• Stuhlmacher, P. (1994). Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Commentary. Westminster: John Knox Press. 

External links

Translations

• "Bible Gateway 35 languages/50 versions" - GospelCom.net
• "Unbound Bible 100 + languages/versions" - Biola University
• "Online Bible" - gospelhall.org
• "Romans, Online Bible" - ChristNotes.org
• "Epistle to the Romans" - Early Christian Writings
• oremus Bible Browser (New Revised Standard Version)
• oremus Bible Browser (New Revised Standard Version - "Anglicized Edition")

Other

• Romans Overview by Mark Dever
• Romans the Greatest Letter Ever Written: John Piper
• John Calvin on Romans
• Matthew Henry on Romans
• A Wesleyan Interpretation of Romans 5-8 - Jerry McCant
• Epistle to the Romans - Catholic Encyclopedia
• Epistle to the Romans - Biblical Resource Database

This article incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Epistle to the Romans Pauline Epistle
Preceded by Acts	New Testament Books of the Bible	Succeeded by 1 Corinthians