The letter to the Romans is the longest of Paul’s letters. That is why it opens the series of epistles in our Bibles, which are arranged by length and not by date. Before studying its content, let us ask the basic questions: who is writing, when, and to whom?
The author
Most theologians agree that the apostle Paul is the author of this letter. Three main reasons point in this direction.
- Paul introduces himself in the very first verse (Romans 1:1).
- He does not hide the fact that he used a secretary. The secretary names himself at the end of the letter: “I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22).
- The style is very close to that of the letter to the Galatians and the first letter to the Corinthians.
Some debates exist about specific passages, such as Romans 13:1-7 or chapter 16. But these doubts are shared only by a minority of scholars.
The date
Here again, scholars largely agree. The letter was very probably written around AD 57, give or take two years. Paul is then most likely in Corinth, in Greece. He has already written several other New Testament letters and is preparing a journey to Jerusalem, then to Rome and Spain (Romans 15:23-25).
Who founded the Church in Rome?
We cannot say for certain. Several traditions exist.
- The Liberian Catalogue, a list of the bishops of Rome drawn up in the fourth century, attributes the founding of the Church to Peter.
- An older tradition, handed down by Irenaeus of Lyon, states that Peter and Paul founded it together.
The text of Romans, however, raises a difficulty. Paul writes that he made it his ambition to preach the gospel “not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation” (Romans 15:20). He also says that he has never yet come to Rome (Romans 1:13). So he did not found this Church. That is why several scholars, such as Oscar Cullmann, consider these traditions unreliable.
Douglas Moo suggests another possibility. In Acts 2:10, among the witnesses of Pentecost in Jerusalem, there are “visitors from Rome”. Jews from Rome who were converted that day may have taken the gospel back home. The Church would thus have been born without a famous founder, from the witness of ordinary believers.
A Church in several houses
In all likelihood, the Church in Rome was not led by a single leader. The Christians met in several house churches. In chapter 16, Paul greets people whom the historian Peter Lampe links to at least five different groups.
These groups do not necessarily mean division. Paul asks everyone to greet one another (Romans 16:16), which implies that they knew each other and met together. There were tensions, however, for example over food and the observance of certain days (Romans 14:1-15), and Paul warns against those who cause divisions (Romans 16:17-18).
To whom is Paul writing?
The letter is addressed “to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). The word “Rome” is missing in a few ancient witnesses of the text, but nothing suggests it was added afterwards.
A careful reading reveals several audiences.
- Christians. The harsh description of the pagans in Romans 1:18-32 is not aimed at the readers themselves. Paul speaks of them in the third person.
- People from a Jewish background. From Romans 2:17, Paul directly addresses the one who “calls himself a Jew”. He speaks of the law of Moses (Romans 7:1) and calls Abraham “our forefather according to the flesh” (Romans 4:1). His readers know God’s laws, otherwise he could not write “we know” (Romans 2:2).
- Christians of Gentile origin. Paul presents himself as the apostle to the Gentiles and also addresses them (Romans 11:13).
The pastor and biblical scholar Alphonse Maillot even thought that there were two rival communities in Rome, Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Paul also seems to know that his letter might be read in front of non-Christian Jews, whom he hopes to convince.
A very varied community
The names mentioned in chapter 16 give a vivid picture of this Church. According to Lampe, followed by other researchers, it included men and women, Jews and non-Jews, slaves and free people, people of modest means and a few who were better off, native Romans and immigrants, long-standing believers and recent converts.
This portrait matters. Romans is not an abstract treatise written for theologians. It is a letter sent to a real community, mixed, sometimes tense, which Paul wants to strengthen in the faith and unite around the gospel.
In summary
Paul writes around 57, most likely from Corinth, to a Church he did not found. This Church is made up of several house groups, of Jewish and non-Jewish readers, from every social condition. Keeping this context in mind helps us understand better why Paul insists so much on one and the same grace, offered “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
Key points
- The great majority of scholars recognise the apostle Paul as the author of the letter, written with the help of a secretary named Tertius.
- The letter very probably dates from AD 57, give or take two years, and Paul is most likely writing from Corinth.
- We do not know who founded the Church in Rome, and Paul himself says he does not want to build on someone else’s foundation.
- The Christians in Rome met in several house churches, with no single central authority.
- The readers were very diverse, Christians of Jewish or Gentile origin, men and women, slaves and well-off people.
To think about
- Why is it useful to know the first readers of a letter before applying it to our lives?
- Paul is writing to a Church he did not found and has never visited. What difference might that make to the way he speaks?
Further reading
- Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, Eerdmans, 1996, introduction.
- Peter Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus. Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries, Fortress Press, 2003.
- Romans 1:1-15 and Romans 16.