Romans Introduction: The Missionary Apostle & the Church in Rome – Romans 1:1,7

INTRO: I have been so excited for this day! And no, not because of the Super Bowl. Today we are launching on a study of the book of Romans! And I am enthusiastically anticipating rich blessing and growth in my life and in our church family from understanding God’s truth for us and submitting to God’s authority over us from this particular letter in his word.

Let’s PRAY for God to guide us before we continue.

Our approach for today will be to talk about some background and overview things for us to better understand what we’re getting into with a study of Romans. Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of weeks (years!) where we will be doing our usual, and healthy thing where we sequentially and expositionally tackle small sections of verses at a time.

Paul introduces himself as the author in 1:1 and the recipients as the believers in Rome in 1:7, so let’s consider the significance of the situation and setting for both the writer and those receiving this magnificent letter of unmatched specificity on the gospel.

The Author’s Situation & Setting

• As Paul write this letter, we find out that he is at a turning point in his ministry (at the end of his third missionary journey, Ac 18:23-21:16). Besides his early notes about longing to see them and be of spiritual benefit to them in Rome, Rm 1:11-13, we learn a great deal about Paul’s situation in Rm 15:14-33.
• As I talk about this, here’s a helpful Mediterranean map from NIVSB of places visited by Paul. - Look to the east with Paul from Corinth to see all the region he has largely reached, “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum (Rm 15:19) Paul and others out from his church plants have largely reached the entire eastern Mediterranean! Now Paul looks to the western Mediterranean and sees opportunity for new gospel advance (all the way to Spain, Rm 15:24). So Paul sees a strategic opportunity to connect especially with the Roman church (the Christians in Rome), where he has never been, for that church in Rome to become a stable sending point (launching pad) for ministry all the way to Spain, Rm 15:28 (as Antioch had been for him in reaching the eastern Mediterranean).
• But he has a desire and commitment already to first return to Jerusalem with a collection from these other Gentile churches for the poorer Jewish Christians (Rm 15:25-27)
• After that, Paul indicates that he hopes to visit Rome (as he has long desired to do, Rm 1:11-13) on this way to ministry as far as Spain (Rm 15:23-24).
• The Setting of writing, then, is almost certainly Corinth [ESVSB map], during his three months there near the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:2-4). We know this especially because Paul mentions that Phoebe (Rom 16:1-2), who likely delivers this letter from to Paul, is from Cenchreae, very near Corinth and on of its port cities. - Furthermore, we learn that a man named Gaius was Paul’s host (Ac 16:23), who is likely the same Gaius who lived in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:14).
• With reasonable accuracy we can also tie this to the year AD 57. (Keep AD 57 in your mind, and you’ll see momentarily why this has additional significance to the current situation of the church in Rome.)

The Recipients’ Situation & Setting

• The Recipients are Christians in Rome (Rm 1:7). - There is a key probability that we can deduce from internal and external historical evidence about their situation—the situation of the Christians in Rome when Paul wrote to them, and it helps us understand some of the tensions between Gentile and Jewish Christians that Paul addresses in this letter.
• There is nothing specific in the NT about when Christianity first came to Rome, so we can surmise that faith in Christ was likely transported to Rome immediately following the birth of the church at Pentecost (Acts 2:10), in either AD 30 or 33 (depending on our dating of the cross and resurrection)… but this would have been that same Pentecost when the Spirit came upon the disciples in power and they proclaimed Christ clearly, and many received him. A good number of these new believers would not have been native to Jerusalem, but were diaspora Jews (and even some Gentile proselytes to Judaism) who were there for the festivals, and who would therefore have returned home with their new faith (the good news of Jesus as Messiah and saving Lord). - So with not other specifics in the NT, there’s a good possibility that such is how the faith first came to Rome. (Some have instead suggested Peter, but there isn’t any real evidence for this.)
• Now, fast forward more than 20 years, and there is also internal evidence in Romans to suggest, at the time of Paul’s writing, that many Christians in Rome were Gentiles, which we can gather from the way he speaks and emphasizes certain things in this letter (Rm 1:13, 15:15-16). A larger number of Gentile Christians is likely a reversal of how the church would have begun. Most would have been Jews, as the synagogues were the center of their civic and religious life, where the new believers in Jesus Christ would have gathered and told others about their experience in Jerusalem and what they were briefly taught about Jesus. … But now in AD 57 there seem to be many Gentiles in the Roman church, where Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles has never been. Why?
• Acts 18:2 tells us that the Roman Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) expelled the Jews from Rome, and there is other confirming historical witness (from Suetonius) that verifies this, with the additional detail that it was apparently because there was tumult amongst the Jews in Rome over one called “Chrestos,” which could very well be Suetonius misunderstanding the name causing the disagreement: “Christos” is Latin for Christ. Either way, in AD 49, Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, which would have included a large component of the church (believers) in Rome. - Paul’s friends Aquila and his wife Priscilla were precise examples of this (Acts 18:1-2), whom Paul first met in Corinth (around AD 49) during his second missionary journey. (Remember he is now writing near the end of his third journey.)
• For a number of years in Rome, then (probably at least 5 years), the expansion of the church there would have been largely Gentile, which would have led to them being far less tied to Jewish rites and practices, and may have in fact had the effect of increasing the number of Gentile converts. - Jews slowly filtered back into Rome, especially after Nero replaced Claudius as Roman emperor in AD 54. Such was the case by this time of Paul writing this letter, as we find out in its pages that Aquila and Prisca have returned to Rome and host a church gathering in their home (Rom 16:3-5).
• It doesn’t take much imagination, then, to deduce the rising tensions between law-observing Jewish Christians who have returned, and the large group of Gentile Christians, since these Gentile believers would have paid little attention to Jewish festivals and dietary restrictions and the like from the Mosaic law.
• All of this evidence concerning Paul’s situation, combined with the situation of the believers in Rome, really helps us to understand Paul’s purpose and focus for the letter.

Paul’s (Probable) Purposes for Writing the Letter

• The Purpose of the letter seems to combine all these factors we’ve been discussing. Paul desired that the Christians in Rome would be clear on the gospel, and unified around the gospel, in order to deal with the tensions between the Gentile and Jewish Christians, and in order that the churches in Rome would understand the gospel he preaches and provide a stable launching point for missions in the western Mediterranean region.
• If the Roman Christians are divided among themselves already, surely they will also be divided over the ministry and teaching of Paul, since he really is the tip of the spear in gospel proclamation to the Gentiles. Furthermore, this conflict between Jew and Gentile Christians is in fact the primary theological issue in Paul’s day, which he has already begun to deal with not only in the places he has been, but also with the broader church… through initiating the fellow apostolic leadership centered in Jerusalem to clarify this point (note council & conclusions of Acts 15).
• Therefore, in this letter to the Romans, Paul seeks to explain the foundational truths of the gospel with utmost clarity, especially since he has not personally been there to teach more extensively.
• In Romans, Paul demonstrates that the Gospel of God in Christ Jesus provides us with the only answer for how to be right with God, which has direct bearing on our relationships to one another. We should notice that our unification is centered around our union with God through a submissive faith in the provision and Lordship of Jesus Christ. So the gospel itself and its transforming power is the central theme of the letter.
• Paul’s purpose and focus seems to be… Gospel clarity for unification around the gospel, and sensitivity toward one another in different practices of conviction (of conscience).

Paul’s Focus in Romans

• Although there are several themes, as we said, the overarching theme is the gospel. There is another major theme woven into Paul’s lengthy exposition of the gospel, which is God’s righteousness (and justice). The noun and verb forms of this word righteousness, just, justice occur some 30 times, and are woven all the way through the first 11 chapters especially. The only key term that occurs more are the noun and verb forms of the word gospel (good news, evangel, evangelizing).
• Together they help us see that Paul focuses on the Gospel of God’s righteousness, contrasted with our unrighteousness and just wrath against our sin. And yet God himself has graciously provided righteousness for us in the Lord Jesus Christ, to be received by faith, thereby making us righteous. Then Paul describes the hope and clarity that gives us of our standing before God, and our freedom from bondage to sin and bondage to the law, and assurance of eternal life and victory in the Spirit. Then with the discussion concerning Israel Paul defends God’s ongoing righteousness and fulfillment of his promises.
• How does all of this relate to the background situation we explained? The same gospel is for Jew and Gentile, the same response required, and it must produce in us unified and transformed lives of service to God because of his extravagant mercy (Rm 12:1-2).
• Let me highlight this flow of Paul’s thought once more while you preview an example outline, provided by the…

(NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

1. The Letter Opening (1:1–17)
2. The Heart of the Gospel: Justification by Faith (1:18–4:25)
3. The Universal Reign of Sin (1:18–3:20)
4. Justification by Faith (3:21–4:25)

• What Paul will teach in this letter, therefore, is crystal clarity that there is only way for any of us to be right with God (justification by faith [apart from the law] - chs 1-4), so he intentionally demonstrates this to be true of both Gentile and Jew alike. Paul first goes to great lengths to show us that we are all equally deserving of God’s just wrath against sin and sinners, and then presents Jesus as God’s gracious provision for his own righteous requirement, who becomes our salvation and righteousness if we will submit to him by faith.

(which leads to…)

III. The Assurance Provided by the Gospel: The Hope of Salvation (5:1–8:39)

1. The Hope of Glory (5:1–21)
2. Freedom From Bondage to Sin (6:1–23)
3. Freedom From Bondage to the Law (7:1–25)
4. Assurance of Eternal Life in the Spirit (8:1–39)

• And if we are thus saved by grace through faith, we have hope and assurance, because we share the same standing in Christ, leading to freedom from bondage to sin and the law, and assurance eternal life and victory in the Spirit (chs 5-8). Union with Christ and the work of God’s Spirit in us…

1. The Defense of the Gospel: The Problem of Israel (9:1–11:36)

• And if that isn’t enough, Paul seeks to further bridge the gap by answering the problem of Israel’s role in God’s sovereign purposes, now that the kingdom of the Lordship of Jesus Christ (God’s righteous rule) has overtly been expanded to include all peoples, and because of national Israel’s unbelief and rejection of Jesus as the Messiah (chs. 9-11).

1. The Transforming Power of the Gospel: Christian Conduct (12:1–15:13)

• Finally (in typical Pauline fashion), Paul exhorts them from the basis of this gospel doctrine how they should conduct themselves as the gospel community (Christ’s church), before closing the letter with thoughts about his ministry to the Gentiles, plans for further missionary efforts with relationship to the church in Rome, and personal greetings (chs 12-16).

1. The Letter Closing (15:14–16:27)

The benefit of an outline is that it helps us track the flow of Paul’s thought, his argument. But, outlines may vary slightly, both in wording and in where we choose to break up the flow of Paul’s argument.

For example, the ESV Study Bible has good outline that nearly matches this one,

(ESV Study Bible)

1. The Gospel as the Revelation of the Righteousness of God (1:1–17)
2. God’s Righteousness in His Wrath against Sinners (1:18–3:20)

III. The Saving Righteousness of God (3:21–4:25)

1. Hope as a Result of Righteousness by Faith (5:1–8:39)
2. God’s Righteousness to Israel and to the Gentiles (9:1–11:36)
3. God’s Righteousness in Everyday Life (12:1–15:13)

VII. The Extension of God’s Righteousness through the Pauline Mission (15:14–16:23)

… but emphasizes the theme of righteousness in the wording of its main headings. That is its strength, even if it stretches a little more thin when we get to chapters 12 and following.

Or, John MacArthur has chosen to create a break in a different place…

(John MacArthur)

1. Greetings and Introduction (1:1–15)
2. Theme (1:16, 17)

III. Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18–3:20)

1. Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21–5:21)
2. Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1–8:39)
3. Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1–11:36)

VII. Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1–15:13)

VIII. Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14–16:27)

… centered around the shift at 3:21 to the theme of justification by faith and not the law, which he then sees Paul carrying further into chapter 5, and making another shift in thought at chapter 6.

I’m telling you this partly so that you will know that these outlines agree almost entirely in the breakdown of the sub-headings, which means there is pretty consistent agreement to Paul’s flow of thought from one thing to the next, so whichever outline you have, you might be best off focusing on the flow of thought in the subheadings. (In case you do not have an outline, I’ve given you one on the back of your handout.)

Now, before we close this introduction, I don’t want us to have only focused on knowledge without application.

What can we expect to gain from studying and applying Romans?

• Paul helps us see rightly who we are, that what is true of all humanity is true of us. Whether we live in great depravity or are very religious and seek to be right in our own efforts, rather than by faith in his gracious promise, we are equally idolatrous and self-condemned.
• But God has not left us alone in such a predicament. Instead, through the work of Christ, God graciously offers us a new standing with him, which must be received by a genuine faith in his gracious provision alone.
• Not only do we share a new standing with God by faith, but we also share the confident hope of ongoing sanctification in Christ by the Spirit and of ultimate security in Christ for the day of judgment.
• Whatever uncertainties remain for us in the details of God’s future fulfillment (concerning Israel’s relationship to the church), we need not doubt God’s sovereign justice and goodness, and his faithfulness to fulfill his perfect plans as he knows is best.
• And in this letter we will be exhorted to living Christ-like together—we who have been transformed by this gospel of God’s righteousness on our behalf through Jesus Christ.

From my introduction today there are also a couple of applications that involve ironies from our experience & Romans: 

• God’s truth in Romans was the source of angst for Martin Luther over his sin (the knowledge that he could not escape God’s righteous wrath and that his own righteousness was glaringly insufficient), and Romans was the declarative answer of the righteousness only by faith in Jesus Christ that gave him clarity and freedom. And yet there is evidence to suggest that Martin Luther was antisemitic in his later years. Although Martin Luther was no longer a categorical “sinner” by saving faith in Christ, he still committed sin in his battle with the thoughts and actions of the flesh.
• The reason this is an irony is that it should be needless to say that Romans is absolutely not antisemitic. The audience is both Jewish and Gentile Christians, but with Gentiles comprising the larger portion. Consequently, in the letter Paul defends that the gospel is for both Jews and Gentiles, and that there is indeed a very real sense in which Gentile Christians are descendants of God’s covenant and promises with and through Israel. Jesus has come to the world through Israel. The teaching of the NT—the gospel of Jesus Christ—should not nor must not ever be weaponized as an excuse for hatred and mistreatment of Jews… or of any other ethnic or religious group. We should read the NT and learn that our petty prejudices are exceedingly misplaced and downright anti-Christian. The gospel of Jesus should move us to have compassion, not hatred, for unsaved sinners.
• Second irony: This is a letter for unification around the gospel, the universal good news of God, and yet we are at times divided over certain aspects of the teaching in Romans. As we encounter these things, we must pray for humility, and pray for discernment, and a willingness to learn what the distinctions might truly be, and wisdom to know how we should handle ourselves with different kinds and levels of disagreement. In that sense Romans is also an opportunity to work on these issues for clarity and ministry together.

Most fundamentally, my prayer is that through Paul’s letter to Rome we will respond rightly to God, in submissive faith to Jesus as Lord, and in seeking to behave together as the people who have been transformed by His righteousness. And I pray that in Romans we will benefit from the same goal to be had from all Scripture: the glory of God magnified in our hearts and manifested in our lives. May we grow in an awe of God and a passion for his purposes.

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