Central topics of Romans include righteousness, justification by
faith, election, Israel, and the Mosaic Law.
Key Verses
Romans 1:16-17, Romans 3:28
Key Words
God, Righteousness, Law, Spirit, Flesh, Faith, Grace,
Justification
When was Romans written?
Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, probably in the spring of A.D.
57. His scribe was Tertius (16:22), and Phoebe delivered this
letter (16:1-2). Paul was at the home of Gaius, who lived in
Corinth (Romans 16:23, 1st Corinthians 1:14). At the time of
this writing, Paul had been preaching for over 20 years.
Author of Romans
A former Pharisee, the Apostle Paul possessed a deep
understanding of Jewish Law (Galatians 1:4, Philippians 3:4-6,
Acts 22:3). Paul’s writing is characterized by depth,
complexity, and large swaths of interwoven thought. Attesting to
this, Peter wrote that some things in Paul’s letters were "hard
to understand" (2nd Peter 3:15-16).
Church in Rome
Scripture is silent concerning the establishment of the church
in Rome. Paul longed to visit Rome (1:11-16, 15:22-33). He was
prevented until he was sent as a prisoner (Acts 28:16-31),
following an appeal to Caesar’s tribunal (Acts 25:9-12). Both
Jews and Gentiles were part of the Roman church (2:17, 11:13).