New Testament Essay 3
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Crawford
Noah Crawford
Professor Larson
BIBL 102 New Testament Survey
5 May 2019
Romans
Six books into the New Testament Paul would write one of the greatest letters the world
has ever read. Before this book came the Gospel accounts, each recording unique accounts of the
life of the savior of the world. Then came the book of Acts detailing the structure of the early
church. After two dramatic sections of this testament, Romans follows as a letter that would
change the theology of Christians forever. The theology offered in this book make it essential for
all Christians to study and understand this letter from Paul to the church in Rome. Specifically,
understanding its context, purpose, characteristics, and background will make this letter become
relevant to any Christian reader.
It is critical to understand context before one tries to understand much else. Context sheds
light on purpose, characteristics and background. It answers the “who, what, when and where”
questions. Romans was written as a letter to the church in Rome. It is generally agreed that Paul
penned this while in the vicinity of Corinth around AD 57 (Elwell and Yarbrough 258). This
would be around the time of the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, just before his last
known visit to Jerusalem (258). Paul wrote Romans knowing the audience he was speaking to.
Chapter sixteen makes it clear that he seemed to know a handful of people in this church
personally. More than that, however, he understood that he was writing to both Jews and
Romans. In the first sentence of the letter Paul writes, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus” (
New
International Version
, Romans 1.1). It is significant that Paul calls himself a servant because it
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would have spoken to both Romans and Jews differently. Hughes writes, “Paul was well aware
that to Romans this was an abject, servile term. However, he also knew that the Jews viewed it as
a title of great honor when attached to God. Paul has both views in mind – and both were
glorious to him” (16-17). Understanding where Paul was writing and who he was writing to are
important in understanding the letter’s purpose.
Why Paul wrote this letter remains open to debate. “Many Christians think of Romans as
a kind of theological summary and intend to pay little attention to its actual origins. But Romans,
though thoroughly theological, is no textbook on doctrine. It is a
letter
– written by a particular
person to a particular people in a particular time and place” (Moo 4). There are arguably two
things Paul was communicating in this letter. One was to help the Romans prepare for his visit so
they could better help him travel to Spain and preach the Gospel. Secondly, to deliver the clear
message he will bring to them and those in Spain (Elwell and Yarbrough 260-261). The message
he brings is the key verse of the text. Romans 1:17, “The righteous will live by faith.” This is the
key verse because it points to a justification, or salvation, by faith. “Justification by faith was the
heart of the gospel, the heart of the Romans, and the heart of the Bible” (Moo 5). This radical
message is why Romans is so foundational to the Christian message. Paul’s purpose for writing
was to convince the Romans that this message must be taken everywhere, and in doing so he
succinctly provided the Church with an amazing understanding of that message.
I was surprised to read the opening sentences in Elwell and Yarbrough, “Paul’s Letter to
the Romans has the reputation of being hard to understand and even boring” (256). I can
understand the book being difficult to comprehend, but boring? That is a word I would never
have associated with Romans. This book is full of the greatest news of all time: salvation by faith
and grace by gift. How can one yawn at such a message? This book is powerful and a great
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reminder that the words Paul wrote were not for those of the past, “but also for us, to whom God
will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead”
(Romans 4:24).
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Crawford
Works Cited
Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough.
Encountering the New Testament: a
Historical and Theological Survey
. 3
rd
ed., Grand Rapids
: Baker Academic, 2013. Print.
Hughes, Kent R.
Romans: Righteousness from Heaven
. Wheaton: Crossway, 2015. Print.
Moo, Douglas J.
Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey
. 2
nd
ed., Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002. Print.
The Holy Bible
. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Print. New International Version.