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).