The City Of Ancient Rome
Roughly sixteen miles inland from the mouth of the Tiber River a site of seven low hills became an ancient settlement of herdsmen from the eastern mountains. This became the site of Rome around 800 B.C. According to tradition Romulus founded ancient Rome. The official date adopted for its founding was 753 B.C. By 600 B.C. Rome had become a wealthy, flourishing city with a monarchy. Around 500 B.C. this monarchy was overthrown. A republic was established in its place. By 272 B.C. this Roman Republic controlled a large confederacy on the Italian peninsula south of Genoa. After the ensuing one hundred and fifty years of war, Rome became the only great power in the Mediterranean world and succeeded the empire of Alexander the Great. During the century before and after the birth of Christ, Rome continued to expand its empire to its vastest limits. This was reached in the reign of Emperor Tragan (A.D. 98-117). Its empire then stretched from Scotland to the Sudan, and from the Atlantic coast of Portugal to the Caucasus, an area about two thirds the size of the continental United States.
At the time of Paul the city of Rome had a population well in excess of one million people. Most of its population were slaves. The conquests of Rome's legions brought immense wealth to the city. People from all over Rome's vast empire crowded the city. They brought with them the religions of their lands. To this thriving, bustling capitol of the empire, Paul desired to come that he may bring the witness of Christ “to the ends of the earth” (cf. Acts 1:8).
The Writer Of The Letter To The Romans
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, who had been set apart for the gospel of God,” Romans 1:1.
Paul also identified himself as the writer of this letter in Romans 11:13 as “an apostle for Gentiles.” He further identified himself in Romans 15:19 by describing the extent of his missionary activities as having been from Jerusalem to Illyricum, which agrees with the information given about Paul's ministry in the Book of Acts.
For more information about Paul and his ministry, see An Overview Of The Book Of Acts.
The Recipients Of The Letter To The Romans
“To all in Rome who are beloved ones of God, called as saints,” Romans 1:7.
How the church in Rome came to be established is a matter of conjecture. The church there existed for some time before Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans, for the faith of the Christians there was already well known to churches all over (cf. Romans 1:8). Paul certainly did not start the church in Rome. He had never been to Rome prior to the writing of his Letter to the Romans, though he desired to see it (cf. Acts 19:21; Romans 15:23,24). Peter is not a likely candidate to have founded the church in Rome either. Eusebius' statement that Peter went to Rome in A.D. 42 and spent twenty-five years there is doubtful. There is not enough evidence to show the correctness of the statement. It does appear that Peter did go to Rome, but not until later in his life and perhaps not until after Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment around A.D. 61 to 62. Had Peter been in Rome prior to that time and with Paul during Paul's first Roman imprisonment, it seems unlikely that Paul would not have mentioned Peter in the greetings of his prison epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
It is thought the church in Rome may have been started by the visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, who were present in Jerusalem on Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:10,11). Upon their return to Rome they then spread their new found faith in Christ and founded the church there.
It has also been suggested that the number of Christians whom Paul greeted in Romans 16 may have contributed to the founding of the Roman church. Possibly Paul knew many of them from his missionary journeys in the East. It is thought that in the course of their lives and work they had moved to Rome, where they then helped to build the church there in the form of small congregations which met in their homes (cf. Romans 16:3-5,10,11,14,15).
The membership of the church consisted of both Gentiles and Jews. Romans 1:5,6,13 and 11:13 support the presence of Gentiles in the church. Romans 2:17f; 4:1 and chapters 9-11 support the presence of Jews in the church. It is thought that the majority of the members were Gentiles.
Date And Place For The Writing Of The Letter To The Romans
Paul wrote the letter while in Corinth in A.D. 57. Romans 15:25,26 indicate that when Paul wrote his letter, he was about to leave for Jerusalem with the contributions collected from the Gentile Christians for the poor Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Acts 19:21 and 20:1-3 indicate Paul had decided to return to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, of which he spent more than two years in Ephesus. He returned to Jerusalem by first going through Macedonia and then Greece, to collect the contributions of the Gentile churches there. He spent three months in Greece, the chief congregation of which was in Corinth. While there in Corinth it is believed Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans. The end of Paul's third missionary journey has been dated as A.D. 57.
Occasion And Purpose For The Writing Of The Letter To The Romans
Paul's letter was not written to address a particular problem within the church in Rome. Rather, it seems he wrote to the church to pave the way for his forthcoming visit to Rome and for his future mission efforts. He desired to visit Rome to enjoy the fellowship of the Christians there and to encourage them in the faith and to be encouraged by them (cf. Romans 15:24; 1:11,12). At the time of his writing his letter he saw his missionary work in the East as being finished. He believed it was time for him to push on to the West to plant the gospel of Christ in new lands where the gospel had not been brought before, particularly to Spain (cf. Romans 15:23,24). He had desired to see Rome for quite some time (cf. Romans 1:10-13; 15:23; Acts 19:21). After taking the Gentile's contributions to Jerusalem, he planned to visit Rome on his way to Spain. He hoped to make Rome his homebase for his missionary work in the West as Antioch, Syria, had been for his work in the East. He desired the church in Rome to give its aid to support his mission efforts in Spain (cf. Romans 15:24). For the church in Rome to serve as the homebase for his mission outreach and to give its solid support to his spreading of the gospel in the West, the Roman church itself needed to be firmly founded on the saving gospel of Christ. For all these reasons it appears Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans.
Carrier Of The Letter To The Romans
A Christian woman and sister in the faith was most likely the one who carried and delivered Paul's letter to the church in Rome. She was a respected deaconess in the church in Cenchrea, which was a seaport of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. The fact that her home church was in Cenchrea adds support to Corinth as the place where Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans. The important place and service of the Lord's Christian women in his church is enhanced by the fact that the delivery of this most important letter in the New Testament was entrusted to a woman--Phoebe (cf. Romans 16:1,2).
Theme Of The Letter To The Romans
The Gospel Of The Righteousness From God, Romans 1:16,17
Outline Of The Letter To The Romans
Introduction, Romans 1:1-15
A. Address, Romans 1:1-7a
1. From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, Romans 1:1
a. The gospel promised beforehand by the prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures, Romans 1:2
b. The gospel regarding Jesus Christ, the Son of God according to his divine nature and the Son of David according to his human nature, Romans 1:3,4
c. For the spreading of this gospel we (Paul and the other apostles) received grace and apostleship to call people from all the Gentiles, such as you Roman believers in Jesus Christ, to the obedience that comes from faith, Romans 1:5,6
2. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints (holy ones), Romans 1:7a
B. Greeting: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 1:7b
C. Paul's Prayer, Romans 1:8-10
1. I, Paul, thank God for the faith of you Roman Christians, Romans 1:8,9
2. I, Paul, pray that it may be God's will for me to at last come to you Christians in Rome, Romans 1:10
D. I, Paul, long to come to you Christians in Rome, Romans 1:11-15
1. To impart some spiritual gift to you to make you strong in the faith, Romans 1:11
2. For our mutual encouragement, Romans 1:12
3. For I had planned many times to come to you in Rome that I may have a harvest of believers in Jesus Christ there, as I have had among the Gentiles in other places, Romans 1:13
4. For I am obligated to preach the gospel to Greeks and non-Greeks, which is why I am eager to preach the gospel in Rome also, Romans 1:14,15
Theme: The Gospel Is The Power Of God For Salvation That Reveals The Righteousness From God, Romans 1:16,17
Part 1: The Wrath Of God Is Being Revealed Against The Unrighteousness Of Mankind, Romans 1:18-3:20
A. Against the unrighteousness of the Gentiles, Romans 1:18-32
1. The Gentiles can know about God and his invisible qualities from his creation, so they have no excuse for not knowing about him, Romans 1:18-20
2. The Gentiles, though they once knew God, in their foolish stupidity turned to idols, Romans 1:21-23
3. Therefore, God gave them over:
a. To the sinful desires of their hearts and shameful lusts for the degrading of their bodies, which led to perverted homosexuality and lesbianism, Romans 1:24-27
b. To a depraved mind that is responsible for every kind of wickedness and their approval of those who commit all sorts of disgusting sins, Romans 1:28-32
B. Against the unrighteousness of the self-righteous, Romans 2:1-16
1. You self-righteous ones in Rome judge the sins of others, like you yourselves are better. Yet you commit the same sins, Romans 2:1
2. You self-righteous ones will be judged fairly by God, Romans 2:2-4
3. You self-righteous ones, because of your impenitence, you are storing up God's wrath against you. For God judges each one according to what he has done, Romans 2:5-11
4. Know this, you self-righteous ones: All who sin will be judged by the law. It is not those who hear the law, but those who obey the law, who will be declared righteous. This holds true even for Gentiles who do not have the written law that was given by Moses, but who have only the natural law that is written in their hearts, Romans 2:12-16
C. Against the unrighteousness of the Jews, Romans 2:17-3:8
1. You Jews in Rome, who think you are so well instructed by the law for doing what is God's will that you can instruct others: Why don't you teach yourselves to do the right things that you teach others to do? Romans 2:17-24
2. You Jews, don't think your circumcision as a descendant of Abraham is of any value to you as evidence that you are God's people when you do not keep the law. The Gentiles who obey the law will condemn you Jews who do not obey the law. The true God-pleasing circumcision is the internal circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit, Romans 2:25-29
3. You Jews have had the advantage of having the words of God, which the Gentiles did not have. Remember that the lack of faith of some Jews does not nullify God's faithfulness to his Word to bring his wrath on the unrighteous, Romans 3:1-4
4. Don't think, you Jews, that your unrighteous sins serve the good purpose of bringing out God's righteousness in judging and condemning. Don't think that in this way your evil does the good of glorifying God. Those who think this deserve their condemnation, Romans 3:5-8
D. Against the unrighteousness of all people, Romans 3:9-20
1. All alike are sinners. No one is righteous before God, Romans 3:9-18
2. The law, with its demands and threats of punishment for disobedience, speaks to all people, so no one can boast of his righteousness. For all will be held accountable for their sins, Romans 3:19
3. Know, therefore, that no one will be declared righteous before God by obeying the law. The law does not show that we are righteous. Rather, it shows us our sins and makes us conscious of them, Romans 3:20
Part 2: God Credits Righteousness To All (Justification), Romans 3:21-5:21
A. A righteousness from God has been made known, which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Though all sinned, all are justified and declared righteous through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice satisfied God's justice that sins be punished, Romans 3:21-26
B. Thus we maintain a person is justified, that is declared righteous, by faith alone without fulfilling the demands of the law's commandments. This is true for both Jews and Gentiles alike, Romans 3:27-31
C. As evidence that we are declared righteous by faith, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, Romans 4:1-4
1. David also testified of the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works in Psalm 32:1,2; Romans 4:4-8
2. This blessing of righteousness and forgiveness from God is for both circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles. For consider that Abraham was righteous by faith before he received the sign of circumcision. He is the father of all who believe, of the uncircumcised Gentiles and of the circumcised Jews who walk by faith, Romans 4:9-12
3. Abraham and his descendants did not receive the promise that he would be the heir of the world by the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Thus the promise comes by faith that it may be by grace for all believers who are children of Abraham, Romans 4:13-17
4. Abraham's faith strongly held in hope to God's promise of his being the father of many nations, in spite of the evidence that said this was impossible. For having such a faith in God's power to do the impossible, it was credited to him as righteousness. These words were written to assure us of the righteousness God credits to us believers in Jesus, who was put to death for our sins and was raised to life as the proof that God has declared us righteous and forgiven, Romans 4:18-25
D. The results of our being declared righteous by faith, Romans 5:1-11
1. We have peace with God, Romans 5:1,2a
2. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which enables us to even rejoice in our sufferings that build a Christian maturity, Romans 5:2b-5
3. We are confident of God's love for us, for he had Jesus die for us sinners, who were powerless to save ourselves, Romans 5:6-8
4. We have been saved from the wrath of God, for we have been reconciled to God by the death of his Son Jesus, and saved by his resurrection to life, Romans 5:9-11
E. The contrast of the unrighteousness of mankind, which through Adam became sinners subject to death and damnation, to the gift of God's righteousness in Jesus Christ, that gives life and salvation. This is a gift of God's grace that far surpasses our many sins, Romans 5:12-21
Part 3: The Gift Of God's Righteousness Results In Righteous Living, Romans 6:1-8:39
A. God's gift of righteousness frees us from a life of sin, Romans 6:1-23
1. God's grace that gives us righteousness by no means makes us free to sin all the more. For the sinful people that we are by nature were baptized into Jesus Christ's death and were buried with him, so we too may arise in Christ to live a new life free of sin, Romans 6:1-4
2. Being united in Christ's death and resurrection, our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ to do away with our body of sin so we can be free of sin, Romans 6:5-7
3. We died with Christ so we will live with him. As Christ died once for all and lives for God, so we likewise will consider ourselves to have died to sin to live for God. We will not allow sin to reign in our body nor to be our master, Romans 6:8-14
4. Being under God's grace, we have been freed from sin to offer ourselves as slaves to God and to righteousness, which results in holiness and eternal life, Romans 6:15-23
B. God's gift of righteousness frees us from the law, Romans 7:1-25
1. The law has authority over a person only as long as he lives, Romans 7:1-3
2. We died to the law through Christ that we may belong to him to bear fruits of faith to God and to serve in the new way of the Spirit, rather than in the old way of the written law, Romans 7:4-6
3. This certainly does not mean the law is sinful. The law makes my sins evident to me, Paul, which I otherwise would not have known. Thus the law is holy, righteous, and good, Romans 7:7-13
4. The law is spiritual, but being a sinner I, Paul, am unspiritual. I don't do the good things that are according to the law which is good. Rather, I do the sinful things that I don't want to do because of my sinful nature which is totally corrupt, Romans 7:14-20
5. This then is the principle at work in me: As a believer I delight in my spirit in God's law. But at the same time the sinful nature in me is waging war in my body against my spirit. In my spirit I am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. Thus I am a wretched man, who can only thank God for rescuing me from this body of death through Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 7:21-25
C. God's gift of righteousness frees me from death through the work of the Spirit, Romans 8:1-39
1. There is no condemnation for the believers in Christ Jesus, because the control of the Spirit frees us from the control of sin and death. Because the moral law of God was powerless to make us righteous people due to our sinful nature's inciting us to sin, God had his Son Jesus be the offering for our sins. Since Jesus paid for our sins, God condemned the sin in us, so the righteous requirements of the moral law may be fulfilled in us who live according to the Spirit, Romans 8:1-4
2. There is a distinct difference between those who live according to the sinful nature and we who live according to the Spirit. Unlike those who are dead spiritually, our spirit is alive because of righteousness and we will be raised to eternal life, Romans 8:5-11
3. Being brothers in Christ in whom the Spirit lives, we are obligated to live righteously by the Spirit as the children of God who will inherit eternal life and glory, Romans 8:12-17
4. Oh, the glory that is to be revealed in us! It far surpasses what we suffer now. All creation waits eagerly for our glorification when it will be brought into our glorious freedom from the consequences of sin. In this we hope and for this we wait. We ourselves groan in our suffering for the day of our glorification. This hope fortifies us to endure while we wait patiently for that day, Romans 8:18-25
5. In our weakness at times of suffering, when we don't know what to ask God for, the Spirit helps us by interceding for us according to what is God's will for us, Romans 8:26,27
6. We don't always know what God's will for us is. But of this we can be certain: God causes all things to work for the good of us whom he has called to faith in Christ, as he has worked all things for our good from eternity by planning out how we would be saved for our being glorified in heaven, Romans 8:28-30
7. Since God is for us, no one can stand against us to prevent our salvation and glorification. The devil cannot accuse us of sin, because God has declared us righteous and forgiven. Our Judge will not condemn us, because he is our Savior Jesus Christ, who died to save us and was raised to life to intercede with God for us. And no one or no thing can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord, Romans 8:31-39
Part 4: God's Righteousness In The Case Of Israel, Romans 9:1-11-36
A. God's righteous choice to have mercy on whom he will, Romans 9:1-29
1. I, Paul, have great love and sorrow for my Jewish brothers of the nation of Israel, who were God's specially chosen and blessed people, Romans 9:1-5
2. Not all the Jews of the nation of Israel are the true Israel. The true Israel are those who are the children of promise according to God's election, Romans 9:6-13
3. God's election of those whom he chose did not make him unjust. Rather, in his choosing, God simply had mercy on those whom he desired to have mercy according to his will. But when evildoers, like Pharaoh, rebel against him, it is also his will to step in to punish them, Romans 9:14-18
4. Don't argue that evildoers should not be blamed for resisting God's will, but should be credited with having furthered God's will. Who dares to question God's actions? Romans 9:19-21
a. God does no wrong in bearing patiently with those, like Pharaoh, who in unbelief rebelled against him and were therefore the objects of his wrath fit for destruction, Romans 9:22
b. Nor does God do wrong when he acts to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he chose from eternity to be prepared for glory, that is, for us whom he called to faith to be his new Israel--Gentile as well as Jew, Romans 9:23-29
B. God had a righteous reason for rejecting the Old Israel, the unbelieving Jews, Romans 9:30-11:10
1. The Jews of Israel because of their unbelief and rejection of Jesus, over whom they stumbled, did not attain the righteousness that comes by faith, Romans 9:30-33
2. It is my, Paul's, desire and prayer that the Jews may be saved, Romans 10:1
3. I, Paul, testify that the Jews are zealous for God, but it is a misguided zeal not based on the knowledge of the righteousness that comes from God. In seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness from God that is in Christ, who is the end of the law so there may be righteousness for every believer, Romans 10:2-4
4. There are but two ways to attain salvation. One is having the righteousness that is by the law, which requires a person to do all that the law demands. The other is having the righteousness that is by faith. This righteousness by faith does not seek to fetch the Savior from the great distances of heaven or from the dead to gain salvation. It simply trusts the word of faith being proclaimed and confesses Jesus is the Lord and believes God raised him from the dead. Such simple trust, that calls on the Lord who promises and gives eternal life, saves, Romans 10:5-13
5. So sinners would call on him with hearts that believe his promise of salvation, the Lord sends out his servants to preach the good news of the righteousness from God in Christ that saves, Romans 10:14,15
6. But the unbelieving Jews of Israel did not accept this good news that was preached to them. For faith comes from hearing the message. And those Jews did hear the message and could understand it, just as the Gentiles did. Yet those Jews, because they are an obstinate people, refused to believe the message they heard, Romans 10:16-21
7. God did not reject the Jews of Israel whom he chose in his foreknowledge. He reserved a small number of those chosen by his grace, while the rest of the nation of Israel hardened their hearts in unbelief, as it was foretold in the Old Testament, Romans 11:1-10
C. God's righteousness in grafting in the Gentiles, Romans 11:11-24
1. Because of the unbelieving Jews' transgression of rejecting the gospel of the righteousness from God in Christ, salvation through the preaching of the gospel has come to the Gentiles in order to make the Jews of Israel envious, so they might have a change of mind and believe the gospel also, Romans 11:11,12
2. I, Paul, pursued my gospel ministry to the Gentiles to save them with the hope that I might in the process stir my fellow Jews to envy the salvation given to the Gentiles and to save some of them, Romans 11:13-16
3. You Gentiles have no cause to boast and to be arrogant that the Jews of Israel were broken off because of their unbelief and that you were grafted in. Rather, be afraid that God in his sterness could cut you off for not continuing in his kindness. For the Jews, if they do not persist in their unbelief, can be grafted back in once again, Romans 11:17-24
D. God's righteousness in his mysterious plan for saving his new Israel, Romans 11:25-36
1. Understand, my Roman brothers, God's mysterious plan of salvation that is not known in the world: Of the Jews of the old nation of Israel, some will remain hardened in unbelief, while others will believe. This will continue until the end of time when the full number of Gentiles, whom God has chosen, have been brought to faith. In this way all Israel, that is God's new Israel of Jewish and Gentile believers, will be saved, Romans 11:25-27
2. As far as the gospel is concerned, the Jews of Israel are enemies on account of you Gentiles, to whom the gospel has been given for your benefit. Yet the Jews, because they are God's chosen people, remain the objects of his love on account of his promises to the patriarchs. Like the Gentiles, the Jews have become disobedient that they may receive God's mercy, such as God desires to extend to all in spite of their disobedience, Romans 11:28-32
3. In view of God's mysterious plan to save both Jews and Gentiles by his mercy, I, Paul, conclude this matter by praising him in this doxology for his wisdom and knowledge, Romans 11:33-36
Part 5: God's righteousness is reflected in the righteous lives of his Christian believers, Romans 12:1-15:13
A. God's mercy, my Roman brothers in the faith, by which you are saved, is the motivation for you to offer yourselves to God as his holy people. This is your spiritual act of worship as his transformed people who approve of his good and perfect will, Romans 12:1,2
B. By the grace given to me, I, Paul, say that as God's Christian believers live righteously in your relations with one another in the church, Romans 12:3-21
1. In the body of Christ's church do not be conceited about your gifts. Rather, realize that each member has different gifts for the well being of the church, Romans 12:3-8
2. In the body of Christ's church practice these many virtues of righteousness that I here point out to you, Romans 12:9-21
C. As God's Christian believers live righteously in the world, Romans 13:1-14
1. In the world respect and obey your governing authorities, Romans 13:1-7
2. In the world love your neighbor according to the commandments of God's law, Romans 13:8-10
3. In the world live righteously by putting aside the deeds of darkness, because you know the day of judgment is near at hand, Romans 13:11-14
D. As God's Christian believers deal righteously with your weak brothers in the faith when it comes to adiaphra, which God has neither commanded nor forbidden, Romans 14:1-15:13
1. As God's Christian believers accept your brother whose faith is weak, without judging him for his use or non-use of adiaphra, such as what food he eats or does not eat, or what days he observes or does not observe. Withhold judgment, for each one does what he does by faith out of respect for the Lord and to give thanks. For each one belongs to the Lord and lives or dies to the Lord, Romans 14:1-8
2. For this reason Christ died and rose, so he would be the Lord of both the dead and the living and the judge of all. So why judge and look down on your brother in the faith when we all must be judged by God? Romans 14:9-12
3. As God's Christian believers you live righteously when you do not cause your weak brother to stumble in his faith by using adiaphra, such as food, if your doing so disturbs your weak brother, Romans 14:13-18
4. As God's Christian believers you live righteously when you make every effort to foster peace and the building up of one another by not making use of adiaphra, such as food and drink, to prevent your weak brother from falling from the faith, Romans 14:19-21
5. As God's Christian believers you live righteously when you follow what you believe about your use or non-use of adiaphra, so you do not sin against your conscience by doing what you doubt is the right thing for you to do, Romans 14:22,23
6. As God's Christian believers you live righteously when you do not do as you please for the sake of the weak, but you do what pleases the weak to build them up in the faith, even as Christ did not do things to please himself but to please God as stated in Psalm 69:9. This, like everything else written in the Old Testament, was written for our benefit, Romans 15:1-4
7. I, Paul, pray that God, who gives his Christian believers endurance and encouragement, will give you Roman Christians a spirit of unity in this humble consideration of the weak to glorify God and the Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 15:5,6
8. So I, Paul, encourage you Jewish and Gentile Christians to accept one another with your strengths and weaknesses as Christ has accepted both of you to bring praise to God, Romans 15:7
a. For Christ was a servant of the Jews that the Gentiles may also praise God for his mercy in saving them, Romans 15:8,9
b. The gathering of you Gentiles into the church with you Jews was foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures, Romans 15:9-13
Part 6: God's Righteousness Was Shared By Paul As The Minister To The Gentiles, Romans 15:14-33
A. I, Paul, commend you Roman Christians for being full of goodness, being complete in knowledge, and being competent to instruct one another, Romans 15:14
B. I, Paul, have written this letter to remind you Roman Christians of what you had been taught, so you may be nurtured by the gospel and so you Gentiles may be my offering to God, Romans 15:15,16
C. I, Paul, glory in what Christ has accomplished through the gospel I preached and the miracles I performed to lead the Gentiles to obey God, Romans 15:17-19a
D. From Jerusalem to Illyricum Christ has enabled me, Paul, to preach the gospel fully. It is now my ambition to preach the gospel in lands where the gospel has not been preached before, Romans 15:19b--22
E. I, Paul, plan to visit Rome on my way to preach the gospel in Spain. But first I must take the contributions of the Gentile churches to Jerusalem for the poor believers there, Romans 15:23-29
F. I, Paul, urge you Roman Christians to join me in my ministerial struggles by praying for me, Romans 15:30-33
The Conclusion, Romans 16:1-27
A. I, Paul, ask you Roman Christians to receive Phoebe, who carried this letter to Rome, as a respected servant of the church in Cenchrea in a worthy manner and to assist her, Romans 16:1,2
B. I, Paul, send my personal greetings to you many Christians in Rome, Romans 16:3-16
C. I, Paul, urge you Roman Christians to watch out for and to avoid the false teachers who put obstacles in the way of your faith that are contrary to the teachings you have learned, Romans 16:17-19
D. Final greetings, Romans 16:20-24
E. Paul's closing doxology of praise to God through Jesus Christ, Romans 16:25-27