Appreciation and Understanding the Message of Romans
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To appreciate and understand the message of Romans in greater depth, my aim is to give a synopsis of who the author is, where and when it was written, to whom it was written, its purpose as well as a brief outline of the book.
Authorship
Most scholars agree that Paul is the author. To confirm this, it is advisable to first review the internal Scriptural dialogue like Witmer (1983:435) and Mounce (1995:22) does. Consequently, convincing evidence in Acts and Romans supports Pauls authorship, such as greetings sent by Paul to Priscilla and Aquila, whom he had met previously in Corinth (Rom. 16:3; Acts 18:2-3) and the repetition of Pauls intense desire to visit Rome (Rom. 1:10-13,15; 15:22-32; Acts 19:21). Similarly, Paul introduces himself as the author with the words “I, Paul.” (Rom. 1:1). In addition, Romans 15:25-27 mentions the authors impending journey to Jerusalem with love gifts from churches in Macedonia and Achaia, and the Book of Acts confirm that it indeed was Paul that had made this journey (Acts 20:1-5, 21:15, 17-19).
Those like Moffat (Guthrie, 1990:419) and Talbert (Guthrie, 1990:426), whose theories disagree that Paul is the author, claim Romans 15:25-26 and Romans 3:25-26 as inappropriate passages and not consistent with Pauls liturgical style of writing. However, these verses do not go against Pauls theology , and none of these theories have been unequivocally proven.
Finally, the role of Tertius who was hired to write from dictation is debated (Rom. 16:22). To resolve this, the extent of Tertius involvement plays a key role: Could he have included his own interpretation, or did he accurately write down Pauls flow of ideas? Most scholars agree that Tertius was not the author, because Paul would have maintained a tight control on what was finally put down on paper to ensure the message was communicated in exactly the way he had intended. Thus, Pauls authorship remains uncontested .
Destination
It is important to know to whom Paul was writing to understand the letters historical background and context. Although there is evidence of shorter manuscripts , our Western Bibles leaves specific clues that strongly support Rome as its intended destination . Firstly, Paul states that he is writing to Christians in Rome (Rom. 1: 7, 15). Secondly, Pauls missionary journeys were directed to strategic locations and thus Rome seemed a logical choice. Thirdly, Paul was called to minister in new territories, predominantly to Gentiles, and Rome fits into this category (Rom. 15:20). Meanwhile, note that Paul did not write to a specific church, but simply wanted to communicate to all the “saints” in Rome (Rom. 1:7). He did however, sent greetings to a particular church at the home of Priscilla and Aquilla (Rom. 16:5).
On the contrary, evidence of earlier manuscripts as mentioned earlier, without the words “in Rome” and either chapter 15 or 16, or both, cannot be discarded . Due to this, theories in favor of an Ephesus destination do exist, but have failed to emphatically disprove Rome. Based on the Scriptural evidence, I have to agree with Mounce (1995:22) that perhaps the most convincing alternate destination theory is that, after the original was sent to Rome, a shortened version was sent to churches that Paul had not yet visited. This would clarify the existence of a shortened letter without specific reference to Rome .
I also have to point out that there is no reference in the New Testament that Paul had founded any church in Rome, although he did consider them to be part of his sphere of influence. Similarly, due to their affiliation to Paul, these believers could have started churches as a result of his ministry, perhaps even after some were converted on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10, 41). Unlike scholars like Sanday and Headlam (Guthrie,1990:404) who refute this by claiming a lack of apostolic leadership as reason, Guthrie (1990:404) justifiably states that it was indeed possible through the Holy Spirits empowerment. Another sound conclusion is that normal believers started churches and, due to frequent travels, kept in touch with apostolic teachings (Mounce, 1995:23).
A final point to consider is whether the believers were Jews, or Gentiles or both. While Rome was the capital of the Gentile Empire and were mostly Gentile, according to Josephus , a large Jewish community lived there. Yet, Pauls call to Gentiles is unmistakable. It is thus reasonable to conclude like Witmer (1983:436) that although converted Jews were present, they were in the minority (Rom. 2:17). Correspondingly, evidence in the letter support this, as Paul directly addressed Gentiles after sharing how they have received Gods mercy due to Jewish unbelief (Rom. 11:28-13), and also includes them in the group of Gentiles that are called and with whom he wanted to share a harvest (Rom. 1:5, 13).
Date and place of writing
There is broad agreement that this letter was written in Corinth. At the time of writing, Paul had just completed ministering in the Eastern regions of Asia, and was about to deliver the contribution he had collected from Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem (Rom. 15:29-26). This was close to the end of his third missionary journey, just after he had been to Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10, 21, 20:1), and was staying in Corinth for the winter (Acts 20:2-3; 1 Cor. 16:5-6). Similarly, he sent greetings to Rome from certain Corinthians, such as Gauis his host, Erastus, who stayed in Corinth (2 Tim. 4:20) and Phoebe who was from the church in Corinth (Rom. 16:1, 23). However, it is more difficult to pinpoint exactly when it was written, but one can safely conclude that any date between AD54-58 would be correct.
Purpose
Paul used the opportunity given by Phoebe who planned to visit Rome, to write to believers there. Although he hadnt been to visit, he had many things to share with them as follows (Rom. 16:1; Rom. 1:10-11).
Firstly, Paul wanted to ensure that they thoroughly understood the message of salvation (Rom.1:9). Thus, he explains how a sinful, guilt-ridden person is forgiven by God through Christs shed Blood on the Cross and becomes righteous by grace through faith. Next, he explains how this righteousness is practically and progressively experienced as the believer comes to understand his own death in Christ, and subsequent victorious, Spirit-led life through Christs resurrection. In addition, Paul also wanted to be strengthened by their faith