9–11, namely 10:1–2 and 11:1. [77] Of particular note in this regard is that whereas the interlocutor of ch. At the most basic level, the letter is designed to accomplish in Paul’s absence what he has for so long desired to do in person. In short, Romans is about the gospel. 9, 15).17 In short, the gospel is central to the letter introduction. He lauds the Romans for their strong faith and explains that not only does he wish to preach to the Jews but also familiarize the gentiles with the teachings of Jesus Christ. [66] Stuhlmacher, ‘Purpose of Romans’, 239. See also Robert Jewett, Romans: A Commentary, Herm (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), 88. In addition, ‘Paul’s laudatory comments about the Roman church (1:8; 15:14–15) make it quite unlikely that he deemed the church to be lacking anything essential’.25. I believe there are a few reasons that Paul wrote this letter. 1, 3, 5, 7) echo personal criticism he received in response to his gospel preaching. 2, Paul is describing a Jewish expression of a fundamentally human problem, which is probably why Paul never actually addresses his interlocutor as a Jew.44 God’s judgment in justification abolishes such boasting (3:27; 4:2), with the scope of justification (both Jew and Gentile [the horizontal]) inextricably tied to God’s method (by grace, through faith [the vertical]).45 That Paul has a special interest in Romans in the sin of arrogance or pride is evident also in 11:17–22 and 12:3, 16, as well as in 7:7–25 where Paul affirms the very solidarity in sin that the interlocutor of ch. 4–6, we can perceive the same sense: by persevering in Christ-like love for one another, the unity of outlook and behaviour that fulfils the promises leads to hope in their final realisation. 9–11; 9 times in chs. This is one of those instances where interpretive certainty is very hard to come by. Once again, since Paul’s missionary mandate was to bring about the obedience of faith, his pastoral admonition is bound up with this missionary purpose. Reason (1) is much less clear, but two things suggest it is another way of speaking of the gospel. Will Timmins is lecturer in New Testament at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. Now, in v. 8, the related objection involves a distortion of Paul’s message: ‘and why not say—just as certain people slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil in order that good may come.” Their condemnation is just.’ The fact that Paul makes direct reference to opposition to his message in v. 8 suggests that the earlier rhetorical questions (vv. Joel Marcus notes that ‘if he [Paul] knew so many Roman Christians, it is credible that he was well enough informed about the situation of the Roman Christian community to address his letter to specific problems that had arisen there.’39 Certainly the directness of Paul’s language, expressed as command (14:1, 7), exhortation (14:13, 19), and second-person rhetorical address (14:4, 10, 22), is most naturally read as a reflection of a concrete pastoral situation. [80] Schreiner himself suggests that the reason Paul expresses the genuineness of his distress is most probably because ‘the honor and faithfulness of God are inextricably intertwined with the fate of Israel’ (ibid., 469). By advancing his argument through a dialogical, question-and-answer style, Paul defends his gospel against real objections in order to disclose its internal and external coherence. to introduce and indicate the main theme(s) of the letter’. 1–4; 14 times in chs. 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. It is of great significance that chs. There is a danger of the successive mission horizons suffering a deleterious domino effect. Each of these planned trips are, in their own way, fraught with difficulty. Second, it is unlikely that the reason Paul is longing to see them in v. 11 is a completely different reason to his expressed eagerness in v. 15. But it is because this impending visit had such far-reaching implications for both Paul and the churches of Rome, that a number of interlocking purposes lie behind the writing of the letter. We will focus on 9:1–3. Some question the validity & authenticity of works believed to be the “absolute truth”. But these are not mutually exclusive alternatives,69 since what Paul’s opponents questioned was the coherence of his gospel, whether in relation to God’s prior promises and commands in Scripture, or in relation to itself. D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid, WUNT 181 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004), 393–436, esp. One such query pertaining to the Christian faith is, why did Paul write The Book of Romans? The text-critical issue is finely balanced, but internal factors swing the decision in favour of δέ. However, I am not persuaded that the word’s basic sense—heralding news—excludes a Pauline use beyond initial evangelisation, because for Paul ‘evangelising’ involves heralding a message which also saves and strengthens believers (e.g. Paul describes the practice of both parties in terms of their faith, whether weak or strong. 15, 20), ‘condemned’ (v. 23)—implies that what is at stake is their final salvation.51 Paul does not spell out how this is so, but presumably by abandoning behaviours which they see as integral to their faith, the weak risk eventually abandoning a life of faith altogether. Therefore, believing in the God of Israel is the only way to conquer God’s mercy & get his salvation so that life in the after world can be spent in peace & comfort. The book of Romans was written by the Apostle _____ (Romans 1:1). In connection with Christian mission, where the word appears frequently,10 it could have connotations of providing a support base. Romans is arguably one of the most important books to the Christian faith. On the other hand, we have observed how each of the three lines of evidence is a development of themes that are integral to the argument of the letter as a whole, which implies that the letter functions, at least in part, to address the pastoral problem in Rome.