The Letter of Paul to the Romans

The Letter of Paul to the Romans

I. INTRODUCTION

The letter of Paul to the Romans is the longest of Paul’s letters and the only one in which the apostle does not name a companion or co-author. It is the most carefully worked out statement of his view of the Christian faith.[1]

More reflective than any other undisputed Pauline letter, it is more calmly reasoned than the letter of Paul to the Galatians in treating the key question of justification and of the Law. In addition, the letter of Paul to the Romans has been the most studied of the apostle’s writings.[2]

II. BODY

A. Nature of Composition

1. Author

The apostle Paul is the undisputed author of the letter to the Romans. The Pauline authorship is universally admitted today as it was in antiquity.[3]

There are various proofs to support this claim. First, Rom 1:1 mentions Paul as the sender of the letter to the Romans.[4] Second, the structure of the whole letter is Pauline. The letter contains opening formula, thanksgiving, message or body, and the conclusion sections, parts which are all present in any genuine Pauline letter.[5]

However, those two proofs are not that strong to support the claim that Paul is the author of the letter to the Romans since there are letters that mention Paul as the author and exhibits Pauline structure but are not truly Pauline in authorship. Examples would be Titus and 1and 2 Timothy.[6]

A stronger support for Pauline authorship would be the contents of the letter themselves. The letter to the Romans contains authentic Pauline theology such as justification through faith in Jesus Christ.[7]

2. Date and Place of Composition

The letter of to the Romans was probably written while Paul was in Corinth, the capital of the Roman province Achaia[8]. There are a number of reasons Corinth is plausible. In Rom 16:23, Paul sends along the greetings of Gaius who is host of the whole Church from...