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Paul - The Book Of Romans Romans: Written by Paul in Corinth & Completed c. 56C.E. In Acts we watched Paul, formerly a violent persecutor of Jewish Christians, become Christ's zealous apostle to the non-Jewish nations. With Romans we begin the 14 books of the Bible that the Holy Spirit inspired this former Pharisee, now a faithful servant of God, to write. By the time he wrote Romans, Paul had already completed two long preaching tours and was well along on the third. He had written five other inspired letters: First and Second Thessalonians, Galatians and First and Second Corinthians. Yet it seems appropriate that in our modern Bibles, Romans precedes the others, since it discusses at length the new equality between Jews and non-Jews, the two classes to whom Paul preached. It explains a turning point in Gods dealing with His people and shows that the inspired Hebrew Scriptures had long foretold that the good news would be proclaimed also to the non-Jews. Paul, using Tertius as secretary, laces rapid argument and an astounding number of Hebrew Scripture quotations into one of the most forceful books of the Christian Greek Scriptures. With remarkable beauty of language, he discusses the problems that arose when first-century Christian congregations were composed of both Jews and Greeks. Did Jews have priority because of being Abraham's descendants? Did mature Christians, exercising their liberty from the Mosaic Law have the right to stumble weaker Jewish brothers who still held to ancient customs? In this letter Paul firmly established that Jews and non-Jews are equal before God and that men are declared righteous, not through the Mosaic Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ and by God's undeserved kindness. At the same time, God requires Christians to show proper subjection to the various authorities under which they find themselves. How did the Roman congregation get started? There had been a sizable Jewish community in Roma at least since the time of Pompey's capturing Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. At Acts 2:10 it is specifically stated that some of those Jews were in Jerusalem at Pentecost 33 C.E., where they heard the good news preached. The converted sojourners stayed in Jerusalem to learn from the apostles, and later the ones from Rome no doubt returned there, some probably at the time when persecution broke out in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:41-47; 8:1, 4) Further, the people of that day were great travellers, and this may explain Paul's intimate acquaintance with so many members of the Roman congregation, some of whom may have heard the good news in Greece or Asia as a result of Paul's preaching. The first reliable information about this congregation is found in Paul's letter. It is clear from this that the congregation was made up of both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians and that their zeal was praiseworthy. He tells them: "Your faith is talked about throughout the whole world." and, "Your obedience has come to the notice of all." (Romans 1:8; 16:19) Suetonius, writing in the second century, reports that during the rule of Claudius (41-54 C.E), the Jews were banished from Rome. They later returned, however, as is shown by the presence of Aquila and Priscilla in Rome. They were Jews whom Paul met in Corinth and who had left Rome at the time of Claudius' decree but who were back in Rome at the time Paul wrote to the congregation there. (Acts 18:2; Romans 16:3) The letter's authenticity is firmly established. It is, as its introduction says, from "Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ and called to be an apostle,....to all those who are in Rome as God's beloved ones, called to be holy ones." (Romans 1:1, 7) Its outside documentation is amoung the earliest to be found for the Christian Greek scriptures. Peter uses so many similar expressions in his first letter, written probably six to eight years later, that many scholars think he must have already seen a copy of Romans. Romans was clearly regarded as a part of Paul's writings and was cited as such by Clement of Rome, Polycarp of Smyrna and Ignatius of Antioch, all of whom lived in the late first and early second centuries C.E. The book of Romans is found, together with eight others of Paul's letters, in a codex called Chester Beatty Papyrus No. 2(P46). Regarding this early codex, Sir Frederic Kenyon wrote: "Here then, we have a nearly complete manuscript of the Pauline Epistles, written apparently about the beginning of the third century," - Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, 1958, pg 188. The Chester Beatty Greek Biblical papyri are older than the well known Sinaitic Manuscript and Vatican Manuscript No.1209, both of the fourth century C.E.. These too contain the book of Romans. When and from where was Romans written? There is no disagreement amoung Bible commentators that this letter was written from Greece, most probably from Corinth, when Paul visited there for some months toward the end of his third missionary journey. The internal evidence points to Corinth. Paul wrote the letter form the house of Gaius, who was a member of the congregation there, and recommends Phoebe of the nearby congregation of Cenchreae, Corinth's seaport. Apparently it was Phoebe who carried this letter to Rome. (Romans 16:1, 23; 1Corintnians 1:14) At Roman 15:23 Paul wrote; "I no longer have untouched territory in these regions." and he indicates in the following verse that he intends to extend his missionary work west, toward Spain. He could well write this way toward the end of his third tour, at the beginning of 56 C.E. Yours Katidid |
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