Verse by Verse through Romans

Romans

Paul, while in Corinth, wrote the book of Romans in A.D. 57-58. Corinth was a city in Greece that Paul visited on his Second missionary journey, Acts 18:1. At the time Paul wrote the book of Romans, he had not visited Rome, Romans 1:13. It is not known how the Church in Rome began; however, we know that the Church was mixed with both Jews and Gentiles. Although Romans deals with the law, and Jewish traditions, and their issues with righteousness, it is not a book about Judaism, but rather one that is about the contrast between Law and Grace. However, because Paul is addressing three people groups, Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God, it is important not to violate context and divide the book properly.

Romans 1:1-7

Paul, bondservant of Jesus Christ, called apostle, having been set apart unto the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in holy (set apart) writings concerning His Son, the one having been born out from the seed of David according to the flesh and marked of as the Son of God in natural ability, according to the Spirit of Holiness out from the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom we have received grace and apostleship unto the obedience of the faith in all the nations concerning his name, in whom are you also called of Jesus Christ, to all the ones in Rome, beloved of God, called saints, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul was a Jew, known as Saul, before his conversion to Christianity. Not just any Jew, but rather, you could call him, a Hebrew of Hebrews. Born of the tribe of Benjamin; according to the law, a Pharisee; circumcised on the eight day; zealous about Judaism; and blameless according to the law, Philippians 3:4-6 (though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.). He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a highly respected Jew among the people, Acts 5:34; 22:3 (Acts 5:34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. Acts 22:3 I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.). He was a learned man, taught according to the law and was in line to become Gamaliel’s replacement.

Because Paul’s parents were citizens of the city of Tarsus, he was by birth a Romans citizen. Several times, Paul used his Roman citizenship to get him out of trouble. In Philippi, after being beaten and thrown into prison with Silas, Paul uses his Romans citizenship to not only get out of jail, but to also shame the magistrates of the city because there were not allowed to beat a Roman citizen without a trial, Acts 16:12-40. (Acts 16:12-40 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. ¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. ¹⁴ Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us. ¹⁶ ¶ Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation." ¹⁸ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹ ¶ But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. ²⁰ And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; ²¹ "and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe." ²² Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. ²³ And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴ Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. ²⁵ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." ²⁹ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" ³¹ So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. ³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, "Let those men go." ³⁶ So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace." ³⁷ But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out." ³⁸ And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed. )

Paul also used his Romans citizenship in Jerusalem, when he was about to be scoured by the Roman guard, he informs a guard that he is a Roman citizen. Since it is unlawful for a Roman citizen to be bound and beaten without a trial, Paul is spared the beating, Acts 21:27-22:30. However, he still had to face the charges brought against him by the Jews. This eventually leads Paul to Rome, because he appeals to Caesar. It is the right of Roman citizens to have their case heard before Caesar. (Acts 21:27 - 23:1 Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place." ²⁹ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) ³⁰ And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. ³⁵ When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. ³⁶ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, "Away with him!" ³⁷ Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I speak to you?" He replied, "Can you speak Greek? ³⁸ "Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?" ³⁹ But Paul said, "I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people." ⁴⁰ So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, ^NKJ Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." ² And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: ³ "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. ⁴ "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, ⁵ "as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. ⁶ "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. ⁷ "And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' ⁸ "So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' ⁹ "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ¹⁰ "So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' ¹¹ "And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. ¹² "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, ¹³ "came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ "Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. ¹⁵ 'For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' ¹⁷ "Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance ¹⁸ "and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' ¹⁹ "So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. ²⁰ 'And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' ²¹ "Then He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.' " ²² And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" ²³ Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. ²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?" ²⁶ When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman." ²⁷ Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes." ²⁸ The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen." ²⁹ Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. ³⁰ The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.)

As Saul, Paul persecuted the Church “beyond measure,” Galatians 1:13-14 (For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.). He caused the death of Christians, and them bound and thrown in prison, and being zealous in his religion, excelled above all his contemporaries, Acts 22:3, 4 (I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. ⁴ "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,). God stopped this when Saul was on the Damascus road. Saul received a letter from the High Priest, granting him permission to go to Damascus, bind any Christians he found, and return them to Jerusalem for punishment. Christ directly spoke with Saul on the road to Damascus, at which time Saul became blind and was lead to Damascus by the men with him, Acts 9:1-19 (Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" ⁵ And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." ⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." ⁷ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. ¹⁰ Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." ¹¹ So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. ¹² "And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." ¹³ Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ "And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." ¹⁷ And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. ¹⁹ So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.). Paul’s conversion is one of a kind in scripture. There is no indication that this is a normal, or even special, way that God saves some people. And Paul still believed that Christ died for his sin, was buried, and rose again on the third day, just as all who become Christians must believe, to be saved, 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 (For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,). Although Acts does not specifically state that Paul believed this, as you read Paul’s writings, it become very clear that he did indeed believe the very gospel (good news) that he was teaching.

Paul had a confrontation with Christ that no other Christian had or will have because of the position that Christ appointed Paul. He was appointed as the steward of the dispensation of grace and was taught for three years direct by Christ in the wilderness before returning to Damascus, Galatians 1:11-17 (But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. ¹² For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.); Ephesians 3:2 (if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,); Colossians 1:25 (of which I became a minister according to the dispensation from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,).

Apostle means an ambassador, or envoy; one that is sent forth with orders. As an apostle to the Church, Paul was not one of the 12 apostles with Jesus. Although some of the 12 apostle became apostles to the Church, originally they were apostles to the Jews. After Jesus’ death, they were no longer being sent forth to the Jews. As an apostle to the Church and the steward of this dispensation, Paul had authority over the church. He administered the rules of the household: he taught the church the doctrine that it needed to adhere to and levied out punishment to those saints who refused to correct their errors. He appointed bishops of the churches, and began new churches. It was through Paul that Christ revealed the gospel for Christian living.

This is the man that is writing the book of Romans. A Jew, zealous for his religion, a Pharisee, persecutor of the church, murder of Christians, saved by grace, appointed the stewardship of the dispensation of grace, taught by Christ not only the gospel for salvation, but also the gospel for Christian living, rejected by the Jews, persecuted by Gentiles, bearing the wounds in his own flesh. This is Paul, the apostle.

He was separated or “set apart” unto the Gospel of God. The word gospel means “good news.” There is more than one gospel in Scripture. There is the gospel, or “good news” of salvation; how to be saved, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4. There is also the gospel of the Christ; through this gospel, we learn how to live as Christians, Romans 2:16; Romans 15:19. There was the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus taught while on earth, Matthew 4:23; The Messiah has come. There is the gospel regarding Jesus Christ the Son of God, Mark 1:1; the good news about Jesus’ life on earth. There is the gospel of the Kingdom of God, Mark 1:14; this gospel relates to salvation. All who are saved, in all dispensations, are a part of the Kingdom of God. And there is the gospel of the grace of God, Acts 20:24; this is the good news that informs us of God’s attitude towards us who are in the dispensation of grace. Grace is an attitude whereby God gives us a benefit, without consideration of merit. This is just six of the gospels in Scripture, there are more. Since there are so many Gospels, how do we know which is referred to here? Context. In verse 2, this gospel is the one that God promised before hand through His prophets in the Scriptures. In verse 3, this gospel is concerning God Son, Jesus Christ, the one who was born out from the seed of David according to the flesh. The one who was declared the Son of God in natural ability, by the resurrection out from among dead men. By whom we have received grace and apostleship.

This is the gospel for salvation. The gospel that tells us of Christ’s death for our sins, burial, and resurrection out from among dead men. Through the resurrection of Christ out from among dead men, It was proven that He is the Son of God. His resurrection also proves that we are righteous before God, Romans 4:25. It is through this gospel that we have obtained grace. And, as we will see shortly, this gospel has a natural ability. This is the Gospel Paul is referring to, that he was set apart unto.

Paul is addressing this letter to all the saints that are in Rome. Since these saints are of the dispensation of a grace, most of what Paul writes about will be applicable to the saints today. However, we still cannot violate context. Within the book of Romans, Paul deals with the law, grace, the issue the Jews are having with righteousness, the gentiles, and parts of the Christian life.