New Testament
Romans
16 chapters
Start reading: Romans 1About this book
Romans is Paul's most systematic letter, written to Christians in the capital of the empire he had not yet visited. He explains the gospel as God's power to save everyone who believes, Jew and Gentile alike. He begins by showing that all people, religious or not, stand guilty before God. Then he sets out the good news: God puts people in the right through the faithful death of Jesus, received by faith and not earned by works, as Abraham shows. Paul follows this through to peace with God, freedom from sin's rule, life in the Spirit and the certainty that nothing can separate believers from God's love. Chapters 9 to 11 wrestle with Israel's place in God's plan and end in praise. The final chapters turn to practice: offer your whole life to God, love sincerely, honor rulers, welcome those who differ, and live in unity. Romans has shaped Christian teaching about grace, faith and hope more than almost any other book.
- Author
- The apostle Paul, writing with Tertius as his scribe; virtually all scholars accept this.
- Date
- About AD 55–57, probably written from Corinth near the end of his third journey.
- Audience
- The Christians in Rome, a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile believers.
Themes
Outline
- 1:1–1:17Greeting and theme
- 1:18–3:20All are under sin
- 3:21–5:21Made right through faith
- 6:1–8:39New life in Christ and the Spirit
- 9:1–11:36God's purpose for Israel
- 12:1–15:13Living out the gospel
- 15:14–16:26Plans and greetings
Key verses
Chapters of Romans
- 1Romans 1Paul greets the believers in Rome, introducing himself as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God's Son, descended from David and shown to be Son of God by the resurrection.
- 2Romans 2Paul warns anyone who condemns others while doing the same things, saying that God's kindness is meant to lead to repentance and that his judgment is impartial, rendering to each according to their deeds.
- 3Romans 3Paul asks what advantage the Jew has and answers that they were entrusted with God's words, and that human unfaithfulness does not cancel God's faithfulness.
- 4Romans 4Paul points to Abraham as the test case: he was counted righteous because he believed God, before circumcision and before the Law, so that he is the father of all who believe, whether circumcised or not.
- 5Romans 5Having been justified by faith, believers have peace with God through Jesus and access to grace, and can even rejoice in suffering, because it produces endurance, character, and hope, and God's love has been poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
- 6Romans 6Paul rejects the idea that we should keep sinning so that grace may increase.
- 7Romans 7Using the picture of marriage, which ends with a spouse's death, Paul says believers have died to the Law through Christ so they may belong to him and serve in the new way of the Spirit.
- 8Romans 8There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, for the Spirit of life has set them free from the law of sin and death.
- 9Romans 9Paul grieves deeply over his fellow Israelites, who received the adoption, the covenants, the Law, and the promises, and from whom the Messiah came.
- 10Romans 10Paul prays that Israel may be saved.
- 11Romans 11Paul insists that God has not rejected his people: he himself is an Israelite, and a remnant chosen by grace remains.
- 12Romans 12After eleven chapters on what God has done, Paul begins to describe the response.
- 13Romans 13Paul asks believers to live under governing authorities, reasoning that order in society serves God's purposes and that doing good is the best answer to civil power.
- 14Romans 14Paul addresses disagreements in the Roman church over food and holy days, where some believers eat freely and others hold back, some treat one day as special and others treat all days alike.
- 15Romans 15Paul continues his call for the strong to carry the weaknesses of others rather than please themselves, pointing to Christ, who did not live for his own comfort.
- 16Romans 16The letter ends with a long list of greetings that shows how many people were part of the early church.