The Book of Romans was written around 57-58 A.D. Paul was writing to the Church in Rome from Corinth. It had long been his desire to go to Rome to preach the Gospel of Christ. Paul was a Roman citizen and felt a kinship with his fellow Romans.
The occasion of writing was the desire of the apostle to labor in the great city, a desire which had thus far been hindered, and the opportunity was furnished by the departure of Phoebe from Corinth to Rome. Still firm in his purpose to see and preach in Rome, a letter to the church would tend to prepare the way. (Johnson)
This letter is placed first in order of epistles though it was likely written 5th. It is placed correctly as it is the most extensive and complete exposition on the central truths of the New Testament.
It may perhaps be useful to some of my readers to give the chronological order of the Epistles: and first those that are certain: 1 and 2 Thessalonians; 1 and 2 Corinthians; Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon; the last four Paul wrote when a prisoner. (Darby)
Paul set forth his revelation of the great doctrines of grace that God had given him.
This epistle brings all of humanity under cover of one, all inclusive “saving grace.” We are all found guilty and find justification through faith alone. The atoning work of Jesus is covered and explained as the basis for this provision of grace. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is explained as well as the need for all Christians to live lives of consecrated service. Internal evidence is strong that the apostle Paul authored this epistle. We also have evidence from historians of the time this epistle was written. This epistle sets the doctrine of faith and grace. Jesus is the only way to salvation and...
... middle of paper ...
...John Nelson. Darby's Translation. WORDsearch Corp. Database © 2007
WORDsearch Corp.
Dunn, James D. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1998. Print
Hodge, Charles D.D., LL.D. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. WORDsearch Corp. Database © 2005 WORDsearch Corp.
Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A.R.; Brown, David. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. WORDsearch Corp. Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.
Johnson, B.W. The Peoples New Testament. WORDsearch Corp. Database © 2008 WORDsearch Corp.
King James Version. The Holy Bible. The Nelson Company, 2004. Print
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Student Bible. Nashville. A. Thomas Nelson, 2000. Print
“Pauline Epistles I.” Wikipedia.org. 2011. Web. 28 March 2011.
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church. WORDsearch Corp. Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.
Paul reasserts the authenticity and authority of his apostleship in this section. He does so by describing the unique manner by which he was called to into the Lord’s service (cf. Acts 9:1- 18). Years subsequent to the apostle’s special call (i.e., 3 and 14 years, respectively), he met some of the other apostles (i.e., Peter, James). It was crucial that Paul reassert and defend his divine appointment so that his message to the deceived Galatian believers would be regarded as legitimately apostolic and thus authorative. ...
Bruce, F.F.. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983)
Scholars of the Pauline writings have divided them into the following categories: (1) those unquestionably by Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon; (2) a letter that was probably written by Paul, but has had serious questions raised about its' authorship: II Thessalonians; (3) letters that were not actually written by Paul but were developed from his thought: Colossians and Ephesians; (4) letters that bear Paul's name but clearly come from another time and different set of circumstances in the church: I and II Timothy and Titus (the so-called Pastoral Letters); (5) a letter not bearing Paul's name and which evidences a wholly different thought and religious vocabulary from that of Paul: the Letter to the Hebrews (Kee, 5th Ed. 224).
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996.
Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. 1996.
Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. 1996.
The letter to the Philippians is one that scholars and theologians alike find to undoubtedly be written by Paul as the style of writing and the topic of the writing fit well with other known Pauline literature. Although, the joyous and friendly tone of much of Philippians is not necessarily the status quo for the rest of Paul’s writings, scholars merely reason that this is due to Paul’s positive relationship with the Philippians. The topic that is most hotly debated in relation to Philippians is the question of the date that it was written. It should be made known that Paul writes this letter while imprisoned, although he does not specify where, and the location of his imprisonment is the basis of the theories of the date of Philippians. He references his chains and guards in the letter itself: “Fo...
The Holy Bible, The New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Grayston, Kenneth. The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians. CBC. London: Cambridge U.P., 1967.
Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck, and Norman L. Geisler. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983. Print.
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
New Testament. Vol. 2. Edited by Gerhard Kittel. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Within the American Bible, the 57th book is entitled “Philemon,” being the eighteenth book of the New Testament canon1. Paul, the writer of the letter, wrote this scripture as a letter format to his Christian brother, Philemon. Paul was in Rome, Italy, at the time where he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ. By Paul being a prisoner, he assumedly had infinite time to write and deeply contemplate what to include within the letter he created.
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.