January 17 - Paul in Corinth, writing to the Romans

January 17 - Paul in Corinth, Writing to the Romans

In Acts 20:3, we see that Paul has left Ephesus and spent three months in Greece. During these three months, the winter of 58AD, he was actually in Corinth staying at the home of Gaius (Romans 16:23, 1 Corinthians 1:14), where he wrote the letter to the Romans while dealing with the issues he knew he had to face with the Corinthians.

The church in Rome was predominantly Gentile, though with the extensive use of Old Testament references found in the letter, there was an expectation that believing Jews would read this letter as well. There are more Old Testament references in Romans than in any other letter of Paul's, which also teaches the great importance of the Old Testament in understanding the Gospel.

It looks as if Phoebe carried this letter to Paul's friends in Rome (Romans 16:1) and as you read the next verses, you see the names of many of his friends. Since he had never been in Rome, it is likely that these people were converted while he was in other communities and then moved into Rome. These names not only signify friends, but also show us that there were gatherings of Christians in homes throughout the city. It had been 22 years since Paul's conversion and he had planted churches on three different missionary journeys.

He intended this presentation of the Gospel to prepare the Christians and others in Rome for his arrival. It is not a call for conversion, but was written to bring his readers to a place where they would rely fully on God and become 'living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God' (Romans 12:1). Romans contains the foundation of Christian doctrine. It was through study of this book that Martin Luther was converted to Christianity

Tyndale gives us this outline of Romans:

I. RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR ACCEPTANCE BY FAITH (Romans 1:1–8:39)
A. The Introduction of Paul and His Message (Romans 1:1–17)
B. Righteousness Rejected by All Men (Romans 1:18–3:20)
C. Righteousness Accepted by Faith (Romans 3:21–5:21)
D. Righteousness and Personal Sin (Romans 6:1–8:39)
II. RIGHTEOUSNESS IN GOD’S ACTS WITH ISRAEL (Romans 9:1–11:36)
A. God’s Righteous Election of Israel (Romans 9:1–29)
B. God’s Righteous Witness to Israel (Romans 9:30–10:21)
C. God’s Righteous Restoration of Israel (Romans 11:1–36)
III. RIGHTEOUSNESS IN HUMAN OBEDIENCE UNDER GOD (Romans 12:1–16:27)
A. The Renewed Mind: Proper Perspectives on Self, Church, and Society (Romans 12:1–13:14)
B. The Renewed Mind: Acceptance and Edification of the Weak (Romans 14:1–15:13)
C. The Trip to Rome: Reasons (Romans 15:14–33)
D. Final Remarks: Friends and Enemies (Romans 16:1–24)
E. Ascription of Glory (Romans 16:25–27)

Hughes, Robert B. ; Laney, J. Carl: Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2001 (The Tyndale Reference Library), S. 527

We will look at the letter to the Romans over the next three days, though it could take years to ever begin to understand the depth of teaching that Paul offers to us.