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Theme of grace in Scriptures
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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...
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...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.
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...
We assume that Paul had not been in Rome until after the epistle had been written. This is why an introduction was probably formulated; in the first seven verses Paul describes his relationship to the gospel of Jesus Christ and in 8-15 he persisted in his relationship with the Romans to whom his epistle was written. Paul was the harbinger of the theme of Romans, the object of the Gospel was Jesus Christ; Gods revelation of His righteousness (Galatians 1:15). The gamut of Paul’s message was universal. The epistle was written to the believers in Rome (Romans 1:13) and to the saints; this was not a one way street for Paul would also be blessed.
The 1st document was written by PBS. This document was on http://www.pbs.org/empire/romans/empire/christians.html and was under the name “The Roman Empire”. I found this document to be bias because, it show’s that Paul was a good guy and preaching to the poor people in the middle east versus saying that he was forcing his beliefs on poor people under the rule of the Roman Empire.
Antony Kamm ~ The Romans: An Introduction Second Edition, Published in 2008, pages 47, 93
It is estimated that the letter was written in A.D 60-61 (Arnold, 3). It is thought that it was also meant for many other churches located in that area. Accordingly, during this time Paul was a prisoner in Rome for two years. (Hoehner, 92).
Grayston, Kenneth. The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians. CBC. London: Cambridge U.P., 1967.
The books of I and II Thessalonians, which are in the New Testament, are both letters to a church that Paul the apostle helped establish in the city of Thessalonica. First Thessalonians is agreed by biblical scholars to be written by Paul. The author of II Thessalonians, however, is still being debated about.
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, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Marks, Anthony, and Graham Tingay. The Romans. Tulsa, OK, USA: Published in the USA by EDC Pub., 1990. Print.
Paul the Apostle, formerly known as Saul, lived much of his life preaching the Good News that Jesus brought and spreading it to the nations. Paul is a particularly notable follower of Jesus because he contributed several books to the Bible, and he reached a large number of people groups during his travels abroad. However, Paul was not always a such a saint. It is important to note that Paul was a human and had real struggles, just like us. Although he accomplished many things for the Kingdom of God, he wouldn’t have been able to do so without trusting God to work through him. In this paper I will demonstrate how God can turn a life around and what the life of a servant of the Lord looks like, with its successes and failures, through a chronology of Paul’s life.
New Testament. Vol. 2. Edited by Gerhard Kittel. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964.
The Apostle Paul is known as the greatest missionary of the early church. Paul, who once vowed to wipe out belief in Jesus Christ, was later converted to do the work of Christ. He would author almost half of the 27 books in the New Testament. He endured sickness, rejection, and repeated attacks on his life to bring the message of God's grace and forgiveness to Gentiles. Paul was the apostle largely responsible for the solid inception and growth of Christianity. He spoke before Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Paul is known as the apostle to the Gentiles. He defended God's Word before kings and emperors of this world. By the end of his life, much of the Mediterranean world had been reached with the gospel.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.