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About this book: Romans

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

Justification by faithSin and graceLife in the SpiritGod's faithfulness to IsraelUnity and holy living

Outline

  1. 1:1–1:17Greeting and theme
  2. 1:18–3:20All are under sin
  3. 3:21–5:21Made right through faith
  4. 6:1–8:39New life in Christ and the Spirit
  5. 9:1–11:36God's purpose for Israel
  6. 12:1–15:13Living out the gospel
  7. 15:14–16:26Plans and greetings

Key verses

About this chapterPaul 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. He longs to visit them, and says he is not ashamed of the gospel, which is God's power to save everyone who believes, first the Jew and then the Gentile. In it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith. Then he turns to the wrath of God against humanity, who knew God yet exchanged his glory for images and were given over to their desires. He lists a long catalog of destructive behavior. Interpreters differ on how to apply the passage's specific examples today.

Paul 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. He longs to visit them, and says he is not ashamed of the gospel, which is God's power to save everyone who believes, first the Jew and then the Gentile. In it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith. Then he turns to the wrath of God against humanity, who knew God yet exchanged his glory for images and were given over to their desires. He lists a long catalog of destructive behavior. Interpreters differ on how to apply the passage's specific examples today.

Themes

  • Not ashamed of the gospel
  • Righteousness by faith
  • Human rebellion

Key verses

Audio Bible · Romans 1

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Romans 1

Berean Standard Bible32 verses · 4 min read

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world. 9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you. 11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. 26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. 31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. 32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
Verses in Romans 1

Chapters of Romans

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