{"id":96996,"date":"2026-11-07T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renew.org\/?p=96996"},"modified":"2026-11-03T19:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T01:02:53","slug":"romans-pauls-magnum-opus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renew.org\/romans-pauls-magnum-opus\/","title":{"rendered":"Romans: Paul\u2019s Magnum Opus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who wrote the book of Romans? What is the obvious answer? Well, you\u2019re technically wrong if you said \u201cPaul.\u201d It was actually a scribe named \u201cTertius.\u201d At the very end of Romans, in 16:22, when Paul is greeting various people from the Church at Rome, Tertius the scribe wrote, \u201cI, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

We think Paul may have had bad eyesight, based on several passages from his epistles, but the most important one can be found in Galatians 6:11: \u201cSee what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!\u201d Similarly, in Galatians 4:15, Paul wrote this: \u201cWhere, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

We know that Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:8-9), when the Lord Jesus called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. And some scholars surmise that his eyesight may never have fully recovered. This could have been what Paul was referring to when he discussed his \u201cthorn in the flesh\u201d in the context of his \u201cvisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“We think Paul may have had bad eyesight, based on several passages from his epistles.”<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Paul says the following in 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10:<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, \u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\u2019 Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ\u2019s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ\u2019s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.\u201d (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10)*<\/p>\n

There we have the indomitable and resilient apostle Paul. Even his weaknesses<\/em> he considers to be strengths with God on his side.<\/p>\n

Back to Romans. The epistle to the Christians living in Rome is routinely considered the apostle Paul\u2019s magnum opus<\/em> (his \u201cgreat work\u201d). It is the longest letter, or \u201cepistle,\u201d in the New Testament. If someone knew only the book of Romans\u2014as would have been the case for at least some of the early church Christians\u2014they would be able to reach out to God, understand the gospel, and receive salvation. Yes, it is that good, and that profound.<\/p>\n

\n

“The epistle to the Christians living in Rome is routinely considered the apostle Paul\u2019s magnum opus.”<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Romans was written from the city of Corinth, in modern-day Greece. Paul wrote it around A.D. 56, during his third missionary journey. Of course he was evangelizing during this trip, but he was also raising funds for the church at Jerusalem. He was excited to visit the city of Rome in the near future, but events (such as a shipwreck off the coast of Malta) prevented him from doing so until the spring of A.D. 61, about four or five years later, while heading to his own trial in the capital city.<\/p>\n

The intended audience is identified in Romans 1:7, \u201cTo all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why did Paul write Romans? There are three commonly cited reasons:<\/p>\n

First, Paul wanted to use Rome as a hub for more evangelism, specifically to Spain, where he had long wanted to go. In Romans 15, Paul writes the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.\u2026So after I have completed this task\u2026I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.\u201d (Romans 15:22-24, 28)<\/p>\n

\n

“Of course he was evangelizing during this trip, but he was also raising funds for the church at Jerusalem.”<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Second, Paul wrote Romans to give great clarity to the theology of the gospel of Jesus\u2014that God wanted to reach not only Jews, but also Gentiles. The gospel was meant to be shared all over the world\u2026and Paul was the chosen vessel to break down the Jew\/Gentile barrier. All<\/em> people were to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Third, Paul wrote Romans to bring unity to Jews and Gentiles. They were very different people from each other. Jews were God\u2019s \u201cchosen people,\u201d but God\u2019s plans were to \u201cgraft in\u201d the non-Jews as well\u2014known as the Gentiles. We read about this in Romans 11:11-16:<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain I ask: Did they [the Jews] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring! I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.\u201d (Romans 11:11-16)<\/p>\n

\n

“Paul wrote Romans to bring unity to Jews and Gentiles.”<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

In other words, no longer are Gentiles rejected as being outside God\u2019s plan. God wants all people to confess Him, to repent of their sins, to be baptized, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to become raised from the dead and enjoy eternal life with God the Father of all humankind.<\/p>\n

What is the key passage of Romans that should capture our attention? Scholars regularly cite Romans 1:16-17 as encapsulating the core of Paul\u2019s argument in the book:<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed\u2014a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: \u2018The righteous will live by faith.\u2019\u201d (Romans 1:16-17)<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get discouraged if the book of Romans challenges you. It seems even the great apostle Peter struggled to understand Paul\u2019s grand erudition. In 2 Peter 3:15-16, we read this personal insight from one of the members of Jesus\u2019 core ministry team:<\/p>\n

\u201cBear in mind that our Lord\u2019s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.\u201d (2 Peter 3:15-16)<\/p>\n

\n

“Don\u2019t get discouraged if the book of Romans challenges you.”<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

We should not be intimidated, however. We ought to regularly feast at the buffet of the book of Romans. There is profound insight in there that will help you to understand what God was doing from Genesis to Revelation. The core doctrine Paul teaches is justification<\/em>\u2014that we are not justified by doing the specific doctrines of the Old Testament. Rather, we are justified by faith in Jesus<\/em>. This is the case both for Jews and Gentiles.<\/p>\n

Through Jesus Christ\u2019s life, teachings, death, and resurrection, we can be absolved from our sins and be raised from the dead. Jesus did the work. Our job is to believe and obey. By faith, we are justified<\/em> through the atonement<\/em> that Jesus accomplished on the cross.<\/p>\n

What is the atonement? It is the \u201cat-one-ment.\u201d It specifies that, on our own, we are separated from God due to our sin. However, because of the graciousness of God\u2014in sending Jesus as a sacrifice\u2014we can become \u201cat one\u201d with God. What was once division can become unity with God. And when we believe, get baptized into Christ, and become God\u2019s new temples (we are the temple of God\u2019s Holy Spirit), then we become \u201cat one\u201d with God.<\/p>\n

A Tour of Romans<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s take a quick tour of Romans, chapter by chapter:<\/h3>\n

Part 1: The Need for Salvation (Chapters 1\u20133)<\/p>\n