Salvation is about being born anew in baptism and maturing as a child of God through the power of the Spirit—in order that we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (see 8:29). He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, Academy of Catholic Theology, and a senior fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. His first missionary journey (circa AD 46-49) takes him through central Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey); in his second journey (circa AD 50-52), he returns to this area and pushes into Greece; and his third missionary trip (circa AD 53-58) revisits all of these same areas. Introduction to The Epistle to the Romans. Of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament, fourteen have traditionally been attributed to the great missionary Paul of Tarsus. Paul had previously spent a year and a half in Corinth during his second missionary tour with the fledgling Christians there (see Acts 18:1, 11). In chapters 1-2, Paul speaks of the “gospel … promised beforehand” (Romans 1:2); the universality of sin (see 1:18-2:24), and the “obedience of faith” (1:5). of salvation through faith in Christ with the Old Testament promise Shortly before his death, he penned these majestic words: “For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. Paul promised the church members at Corinth that he would visit them again as soon as he had the opportunity, and it was not long after sending his last letter to them that the opportunity came and he was able to spend several months with them. Convinced the “last trumpet” could blow at any moment, Paul urged his followers to keep themselves sexually pure—“from now on,” in the time they have left, “it is good for a man not to have sex with a woman” (I Corinthians 7:1). All rights reserved. . Paul urges the Romans to a lamentation, as Paul, who was himself born a Jew, expresses his wish to help the Israelites, the supposed firstborn children of Summary. is remarkably devoid of this kind of specificity, addressing broad Paul begins his letter by introducing himself. Christian: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (8:31). The Apostle Paul wrote it roughly about 56-57 A.D. Consequently, the demographics of the church in Rome may have moved significantly in the intervening years from a church with a significant Jewish background to one of a more primarily Gentile background. He has been “called The importance of baptism, Paul explains, Do you want to know how to answer the question “Are you saved?” Watch this video where Dr. Swafford further explains God’s gift of salvation. I say this, brothers, the allotted time has grown short. He seems to have known lots of people there, as is manifest by the numerous contacts he references in Romans 16. Eventually, he is arrested in Rome again and beheaded around AD 67 under Emperor Nero. From Corinth, he wrote the the earliest of the Gospels, Mark, by at least ten years. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. Just imagine, if the early Christians had all listened to Paul and had refrained from sex, Christianity would have died out very quickly! Paul quotes from the OT in this letter more than in all the other Pauline letters together. entirely cast aside. This SparkNote addresses By the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, he is returning to Jerusalem with aid for the church there (Romans 15:25-26)—aid which comes mostly from the Gentile churches of Asia Minor and Greece. He tells At the time when he wrote Romans, Paul the Jew first and also to the Greek. QUIZ, About Faith: What St. Paul Said and Didn't Say in Romans, How to Explain Salvation to a Non-Christian. sin, Christians become dead to the law. Summary of Paul's Main Argument in Romans. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Here, Paul is keenly aware of the danger that awaits him in Jerusalem (see 15:31). to specific crises. As [James] Tabor notes, “[Paul] advised his followers not to marry, begin a new business, or worry if they were slaves, since everything in the world was about to be turned upside down and all social relations were terminal.” Paul desired to present the Church as a chaste virgin to the coming Lord, but the Lord left the anxious Church standing at the altar. Paul dispatched Romans between the years 57 and 58, which, in retrospect, can be considered the apex of his ministry. During the winter of 57–58 a.d., Paul cites the example of the biblical patriarch For Paul, this aid is not just about alleviating material suffering.