Romans: A "doctrinal treatise" to the Church in Rome

WHAT IS THE purpose of the Book of Romans?

Authored by the Apostle Paul from the Greek city of Corinth[1], probably sometime around A.D. 58[2], Romans serves as a “doctrinal treatise” to the Christian church in Rome.[3] I tend to look at the letter to the Romans as sort of a fifth Gospel, for it is in this letter where we find the answers to such questions as: Is Yeshua really Yahweh? What is man’s biggest sin? What is Yahweh’s standard and how does He use it to hold people accountable? What is the importance of the Resurrection?

Paul’s legacy doesn’t lie so much in the establishment of churches across the Roman Empire but rather in the continuing influence he has had on the “life and thought” of the church as a whole.[4] If I may use an entirely inadequate, but accurate analogy—he is to Yeshua, what Robin is to Batman—so-to-speak.

The conversion of Saul, into the Apostle Paul, has its genesis on the Damascus road.[5] Saul was on his way to Damascus on a search-and-destroy mission to imprison, if not kill, any and all Christians he could—that was until God intervened. In his book Who’s Who and Where’s Where in the Bible Stephen Miller describes Paul’s conversion this way, “A little ways outside the city, Paul was hit by a light so intense that it pushed the noontime desert sun into the shadows. He fell to the ground and heard a voice.” After quoting Acts 22:7-10, Miller goes on to say, “That encounter with Yeshua, whom Paul had apparently never met during his studies in Jerusalem, made such an impression that Paul later insisted it qualified him as an apostle—the highest office in the church and reserved for disciples who had personally known Yeshua.”

This appearance of Yeshua, to Saul, is the fuel that fed the fire of Paul’s evangelistic fervor and that would eventually compel Paul to take the truth of the Gospel to several cities throughout Asia Minor, Greece, the Island of Patmos, Rome, and possibly Spain (although some would dispute this destination).[6] It is important to note that Paul is not responsible for the establishment of the church in Rome but only felt led to disciple the Christians there. He did so through his letter of Romans. In Romans 1:11-15 Paul states;

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each others faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome (emphasis added).

Ultimately, what we find in the book of Romans is what can happen in the life of the individual when Yahweh reaches down from heaven and chooses a man “set apart” for His divine and sovereign purpose.[7] It is often the worst among us that Yahweh uses to influence and change the world.

What man calls unworthy, Yahweh declares worthy.

What man calls poor, Yahweh declares rich.

What man calls condemned, Yahweh declares redeemed!

Prepare Today | Prevail Tomorrow

Lee

Psalm 91

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"Strictly speaking of course, not one of us deserves redemption. God owes us nothing, but He nevertheless offers His undeserved grace. Though we deserve damnation, He invites each of us to be redeemed."

~

ERWIN LUTZER, After You’ve Blown It (2004).

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Sources:

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010.

MacArthur, John F. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 1-8. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1991.

Moo, Douglas J. The NIV Application Commentary: Romans. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,

2000.

“Scripture notations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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[1]  Corinth was a two-harbor, neighboring city of Athens in Greece, serving as a link between the northern and southern portions of the country.

[2] John F. MacArthur, “The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 1-8,” (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1991), xviii.

[3] Douglas J. Moo, “The NIV Application Commentary: Romans,” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 16.

[4] Justo L. Gonzalez, “The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation,” (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010), 33.

[5] Damascus serves as the capital city of Syria and is located about 150 miles NE of Jerusalem.

[6] Gonzalez, Story of Christianity, 33.

[7] Acts 9:15 – “Go for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name” (ESV).

Note: Photo credits go to the Grey tribe home library.