Overview
The letter to the Romans was dictated by the by the Apostle Paul to Tertius while he was guest at the home of Gaius in
Corinth (Rom 16:22-23; 1 Cor 1:14), which was at the end of his third missionary journey (Rom 15:25; Acts 20:2-3; 1 Cor 16:5). At the
time of this writing Paul's intention was to return to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Pentecost (Acts 20:16),
personally deliver a financial gift donated by the Gentile churches to help the struggling Christian believers in Jerusalem, and
as soon as possible travel to Spain to proclaim the gospel (Rom 15:24-25). Thus, one of the reasons
the apostle Paul wrote this letter was to inform the Roman community of Christian believers of his plans to stay-over in Rome
in route to Spain, and solicit financial/prayer
support for his anticipated journey. Another reason for this letter was to commit the gospel he received and was passing
on in his preaching to writing as there were certain misconceptions regarding the message Paul was proclaiming, and that was being
circulated among the Roman Christians. In a nutshell some were misunderstanding Paul's teaching about justification by grace through
faith in Christ Jesus to mean free license to not only continue in sin, but increase in sin (Rom 3:8; Rom 6:1). For Paul, God in Christ paying off our sin debt is not the end of
the gospel, but includes God's empowering presence in the lives of those, Jew and Gentile, embracing/persevering in the gospel by grace through
faith with God's goal of creating a single people of God (Rom 4:1-25; Rom 4:17). In due course, Paul contends that God's empowering
presence through the gospel of redemption by grace through faith in Christ Jesus sets one free from the power of sin unto righteousness
for this precise purpose. It is noteworthy that Paul explicitly links the finality of redemption in futuristic terms, and with God's
gospel (Rom 2:16) Therefore, the entire letter is arguably a treatise on the nature and scope
of a holistic gospel that is not only the means of reconciliation with God in union
with Christ, but also the means of bringing "all things in heaven and on earth under one head-Christ Jesus."
Gospel The word gospel is found thirteen times in Romans (1:1-2; 1:9; 1:15-17; 2:16; 10:15-16; 11:28; 15:16; 15:29; and 16:25),
and the context in which gospel appears in this letter describes the process of God creating a single people for Himself, consisting
of Jews and Gentiles, in union with Christ in redemption (Rom 4:1-25), which is made possible through Jesus' death on a cross,
his resurrection, subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit and his ongoing intercession-all by grace (God's initiative/Rom 5:8)
appropriated through faith in Christ Jesus (Man's Response/Rom 10). From the onset the gospel is described as "the power of God unto salvation of
everyone who believes," Jew or Gentile "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith" (Rom 1:16-17). Subsequently, the Jesus desribed in this letter is explicitly identified
with God's gospel, and as the only sufficient "righteousness that comes from God unto salvation." Moreover, Paul explains
that people are led away from the only sufficient "righteousness that comes from God unto salvation" in pursuit of their own
righteoussness, which he shows is insufficient in spite of man's best intent/attempts. Click here for more.
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Textual History The oldest manuscript of this letter predates the Council of Nicea,
is dated 200 CE, and is kept at the University of Michigan and Chestery Beatty Library
in Dublin, Ireland. The letter to the Romans is included among other epistles contained in the
ancient papyrus, and is located on pages 1-41 of P46. Also, Romans is included in
the
Muratorian fragment dated 180 AD, which is a list of the writings that were in wide-spead acceptance
throughout the ancient churches predating the P46 manuscript. It is noteworthy that both the P46 papyrus and the Muratorian Fragment
predates the Council of Nicea (325 AD), Carthage ( AD) and the
canonization of the New Testament.
Because the writings of the apostles were widely circulated and copied immediately after they were written, it would have
been impossible for any one person or group of persons to collect and then make identical changes to all existing copies of these epistles. For
such reasons as apostolic approval, wide-spread circulation and acceptance among the churches, Romans was included in the New Testament canon.
The links below will direct you to these sites, and images of this
manuscript. I have also included the English Greek intilenear for Romans, and concordance. These
resources will show that modern English translations of this letter are subtantially the
same, and has remained in tact. Combined with preserved writings of early church leaders
citing passages that concurr with the same passages found in modern translations of the Holy Bible, we can have confidence in
its itegrity. We should also seriously heed the message of this letter
where the Apostle Paul emphasizes the need to perservere in the gospel he received/passed on by grace through faith
stating, "Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not
spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you,
provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you will also be cut off
" (Romans 11:20-24).
