Words

Well, its been awhile since i wrote last. I know you were all anxiously awaiting the conclusion to the first part of my background research on Romans. So here it is.

Last time we looked briefly at the situation of the church at Rome. This time I would like to discuss the situation of Paul himself, the writer of the book of Romans. Paul was, above all things, a missionary. He felt the call of God on himself to preach the Gospel, most specifically to those who had not already heard (see Romans 15). Moo, in his work, cites three main issues with which Paul was concerned when he wrote the book of Romans. All three center around his missionary situation.

One, Paul was concerned about his previous battles in Galatia and Corinth with the Judaizers. Paul had dealt with those wishing to tie the yoke of Torah around the necks of the Gentiles. He was actively opposed to such a thing. Paul did not believe that the Gentiles had to follow Torah on top of belief in Jesus as the Messiah and Lord of all. N.T. Wright writes, somewhat controversially, that the doctrine of justification by faith is Paul showing who is “in the family.” The family of God is composed of those who are children of Abraham by faith, not by Torah.

Two, Paul was concerned about his trip to Jerusalem to deliver the gift of money that he had collected from the Gentile churches in Asia Minor for the Jewish church. Paul is trying to pull together two factions within the early church, Jew and Gentile. He is most likely aware that very shortly there will be disaster in Jerusalem and he is anxious unite Jews and Gentiles together. The gift of money was Paul’s idea to help promote unity amongst Jews and Gentiles for the sake of the kingdom of God. He is also highly aware that his trip to Jerusalem could result in his death.

Three, Paul was concerned with gaining the support of the Romans, both physically and theologically, for his next missionary trip to Spain. Paul is looking for a place he can base his work in Spain. He is interested in Rome as that place, both for physical support and theological support. He wants to gain their adherence to his teachings.

These things are actively on Paul’s mind as he writes the Romans. Above all we see Paul’s desire to spread the Gospel. In fact, the Gospel is the theme of Romans. He wants to see both Jew and Gentile united together under the Gospel.

So here we have a short background to the book of Romans. May this be useful as we strive to understand the text itself. In seminary, I have completed a paper on Romans 14:13-17 (chosen by my instructor). I may share some of the conclusions of that paper, which uses this background work, here on this blog.