Romans

Definition and Meaning

Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament and stands first among the Pauline Epistles. It consists of sixteen chapters. It is a letter written by Paul to the Christians in Rome. Its central theme is justification (being declared righteous by God): a person is declared righteous not by the works of the law but by faith. Romans 1:17, "The just shall live by faith," quotes Habakkuk 2:4.

The general outline is as follows:

• Chapters 1–3: Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin
• Chapters 3–5: Righteousness obtained by faith, and grace
• Chapters 6–8: Freedom from sin and life in the Spirit
• Chapters 9–11: Israel and God's election
• Chapters 12–16: Church life and ethics, and personal greetings

Biblical and Historical Background

In this letter to the Roman church, which he had not yet visited, Paul announced his plan for a mission to Spain (Romans 15:24). Scholars generally hold that he wrote it from Corinth in the late AD 50s, toward the end of his third missionary journey.

Romans is linked to a number of conversions in church history. Augustine is said to have been converted after reading Romans 13:13–14. Martin Luther consolidated his Reformation thought through a new understanding of 1:17. John Wesley recorded that in 1738, while listening to a reading of Luther's preface to Romans, he felt his heart "strangely warmed."

Practice in the Korean Church

Romans is frequently used as a text for Bible study and expository preaching, and verses such as 8:28 are widely memorized as part of Scripture memorization. The so-called "Romans Road," which explains the gospel by moving in sequence through 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, and 10:9–10, is used as a method of evangelism. On Reformation Sunday, sermons on 1:17 are common.

Emphases differ by denomination:

• Presbyterian and other Reformed denominations read chapter 9 as teaching God's unconditional election and treat it as a basis for the doctrine of predestination.
• The Wesleyan tradition, including Methodist and Holiness churches, accepts an interpretation that reads chapters 9–11 as concerning the historical election of Israel and the Gentiles. This tradition also emphasizes chapters 6–8 in connection with sanctification.
• Pentecostal denominations emphasize the life in the Spirit described in chapter 8.
• Baptists frequently cite 6:3–4 as a text showing the meaning of baptism by immersion.

Romans 13:1–7, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers," is interpreted in different ways, depending on one's position, in discussions of the relationship between church and politics.