Why Did Paul Write Romans?
He Had Never Been There—So Why This Extraordinary Letter?
Imagine a Christian woman named Phoebe arriving in Rome sometime in the middle of the first century.
She has come from Cenchreae, the port city near Corinth.
And she is probably carrying something extraordinarily valuable:
PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMANS.
Paul introduces her at the end of the letter:
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae.”
— Romans 16:1
Then he tells the Christians in Rome:
“I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you.”
— Romans 16:2
Paul doesn't actually say:
“Phoebe is carrying this letter.”
But think about it.
She is traveling to Rome.
Paul personally introduces her to the Christians there.
He asks them to receive her.
And he asks them to help her with whatever business has brought her to the city.
Somebody had to carry Paul's letter from the Corinth area to Rome.
Phoebe is the person Paul specifically commends to the people receiving it.
So it seems very likely that:
PHOEBE CARRIED ROMANS TO ROME.
Now imagine what she was carrying.
Sixteen chapters.
One of the most important explanations of the gospel ever written.
But that raises an interesting question.
WHY DID PAUL WRITE IT?
Paul Had Never Been to Rome
That may surprise some people.
Paul didn't establish the church in Rome.
As far as we know, he had never even visited the city when he wrote Romans.
He tells them:
“I have often planned to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now).”
— Romans 1:13
Later he says:
“I have been longing for many years to visit you.”
— Romans 15:23
So here's our first interesting fact.
Paul writes one of his longest and most important letters to Christians in a city where:
HE HAD NEVER PREACHED.
How did Christianity get there?
We don't know for certain.
And that's okay.
Good Bible study includes knowing when to say:
“The Bible doesn't tell us.”
But Christians Had Been in Rome for Years
Acts may give us a clue.
When Peter preached on Pentecost, Luke tells us there were:
“visitors from Rome”
in Jerusalem.
— Acts 2:10
Could some of them have become Christians and carried the gospel home?
Certainly.
Did they?
Luke doesn't tell us.
But by the time Paul wrote Romans, Christianity was well established in the city.
And here's another surprise.
Paul had never been to Rome—
BUT HE KNEW A LOT OF CHRISTIANS THERE.
Just Read the Last Chapter
Romans 16 sometimes gets treated like the part we can skip.
It's mostly names, right?
Actually, those names tell us something.
Paul sends greetings to:
Priscilla and Aquila.
Epenetus.
Mary.
Andronicus and Junia.
Ampliatus.
Urbanus.
Stachys.
Apelles.
Herodion.
Tryphena and Tryphosa.
Persis.
Rufus.
And many others.
He even mentions people meeting in particular households.
This wasn't one big congregation sitting in a building with CHURCH OF CHRIST IN ROME written over the door.
Christians were gathering in homes.
And Paul knew many of them.
How?
People moved.
People traveled.
Christians met other Christians.
Missionaries worked with people who later moved somewhere else.
In fact, two of Paul's closest friends provide an important clue to what may have been happening in Rome.
Meet Priscilla and Aquila
Paul knew Priscilla and Aquila very well.
He had worked with them in Corinth.
But where had they lived before that?
ROME.
Acts 18 tells us that Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla.
Why had they left?
Luke tells us:
“because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome.”
— Acts 18:2
Claudius was the Roman emperor.
At some point during his reign, Jews were expelled from Rome.
That would have included Jewish Christians.
So Priscilla and Aquila left Rome.
They eventually met Paul in Corinth.
Later they worked with him elsewhere.
But when Paul writes Romans, guess where they are again?
BACK IN ROME.
Paul says:
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 16:3
And there is a church meeting in their house.
Now this begins to get interesting.
Think About What Had Happened in Those Churches
Imagine a congregation containing Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Then the emperor orders the Jews out of Rome.
The Jewish Christians leave.
The Gentile Christians remain.
Years pass.
Then Jewish Christians begin returning.
Now everybody is back together.
What might they talk about?
What might they disagree about?
Maybe questions like:
What place does the Law of Moses have now?
What about circumcision?
What about Jewish food restrictions?
What about special days?
What about Abraham?
What about God's promises to Israel?
Are Jews somehow more important because the gospel came through them?
Or should Gentile Christians now think God has rejected the Jews?
If you've read Romans, those questions should sound familiar.
Because Paul talks about:
ALL OF THEM.
Maybe Romans isn't simply a collection of abstract doctrines after all.
Paul is talking about things that mattered to the people who were going to hear his letter.
And Paul Has Something to Say to Both Sides
To the Jew who might feel superior to the Gentile, Paul says:
You have the Law—but do you keep it?
To the Gentile who might feel superior to unbelieving Jews, Paul says:
“Do not be arrogant, but tremble.”
— Romans 11:20
To Christians arguing over food and special days, Paul says:
“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.”
— Romans 14:1
And eventually:
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.”
— Romans 15:7
Jew and Gentile.
Different backgrounds.
Different histories.
Different customs.
But:
ONE LORD.
ONE GOSPEL.
ONE PEOPLE LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER IN CHRIST.
That seems to be an important part of the story behind Romans.
But there was something else happening.
Paul had travel plans.
Paul Wanted to Go to Spain
By the time Paul wrote Romans, he had preached throughout much of the eastern Mediterranean world.
He wanted to go somewhere new.
He tells the Romans:
“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known.”
— Romans 15:20
Then he tells them where he hopes to go next:
SPAIN.
And Rome was on the way.
Paul says:
“I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there.”
— Romans 15:24
Don't miss that last part.
Paul didn't merely want to stop in Rome for sightseeing.
He hoped the Christians there would:
HELP HIM GO TO SPAIN.
In other words, Paul hoped Rome might become a partner in his next missionary effort.
Now put yourself in their place.
Suppose You Received This Letter
A missionary you've never personally worked with sends you a letter.
He says:
“I want to come visit you.
Then I want to go farther west and preach Christ where He isn't known.
And I'd like you to help me get there.”
Wouldn't you want to know something first?
WHAT DOES THIS MAN TEACH?
What gospel does Paul preach?
What does he believe about God?
Sin?
Grace?
Faith?
Jesus?
The Law?
Abraham?
Israel?
Gentiles?
Salvation?
Christian living?
If you're going to stand behind his mission, you probably want to know what message you're helping him take to Spain.
And Paul tells them.
He writes:
ROMANS.
That may help explain why Romans contains such an unusually full explanation of Paul's gospel.
Paul Tells Us What His Gospel Is About
We don't have to guess.
Near the beginning of the letter Paul says:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
Why?
Because:
“it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”
— Romans 1:16
Then look at the next words:
“first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
There they are again.
Jew.
Gentile.
And what do they need?
THE SAME GOSPEL.
Then Paul says:
“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.”
— Romans 1:17
That gives us something to watch as we read.
Paul is going to explain:
What has gone wrong with humanity?
What has God done about it?
How can sinful people be made right with God?
What place does faith have?
Why can't the Law solve the problem?
Why does Paul keep talking about Abraham?
What has Christ accomplished?
What about Israel?
And once God has saved us:
HOW SHOULD WE LIVE?
Those aren't disconnected subjects.
Paul is building an argument.
That's Where We Can Get Romans Wrong
Romans contains some of the best-known verses in the Bible.
“All have sinned...”
“The wages of sin is death...”
“There is now no condemnation...”
“All things work together for good...”
“Faith comes from hearing...”
Wonderful verses.
But Paul didn't write them on separate cards.
He wrote a:
LETTER.
Each statement occurs somewhere in an argument.
Something came before it.
Something comes after it.
Paul had a reason for saying it there.
So as we study Romans, we're going to resist the temptation to grab a verse and immediately ask:
“How can I use this?”
First we'll ask:
WHY DID PAUL SAY IT?
Why here?
What question was he answering?
What had he just said?
Where is his argument going next?
That's the difference between making Romans support our theology and allowing Romans to help form our theology.
Phoebe Arrives With a Letter
So go back to where we started.
Picture Phoebe arriving in Rome.
Perhaps tucked safely among her belongings is Paul's letter.
Christians gather in someone's home.
Maybe Priscilla and Aquila are there.
The letter is opened.
And someone begins reading:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God...”
They don't know about:
“Romans 3:23.”
“Romans 8:28.”
“Romans 11.”
Those chapter and verse numbers haven't been added yet.
They're simply listening to:
PAUL'S LETTER.
One thought leads to another.
One question leads to another.
One argument builds upon another.
And that's how we're going to read it too.
Not as a collection of proof texts.
Not beginning with what somebody told us Romans teaches.
We'll listen to Paul.
We'll follow his argument.
And when something puzzles us, we'll stop and look more closely.
Because before we ask:
“What does Romans mean to me?”
we need to ask:
“WHAT DID PAUL MEAN?”
That's where exegesis begins.
And that's where we'll begin too.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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