All roads lead to Rome, it is often said. In the four centuries when the Roman Empire made up much of the Western world, it was literally true. The roads were built starting from Rome in the first place, and must eventually lead back there. All roads lead so clearly to Rome that travellers had to be reminded to—when they arrive in Rome—do what the Romans do.
In a very real sense this is true of biblical studies as well. All theological roads must lead eventually to Romans, the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in that city. Romans was the first attempt by any of the apostles to condense as clearly and as fully as possible what the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ consisted of. In fact, Romans preceded in time the writing of the four Gospels that we have. While the Gospels are essential for understanding the person and earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is Romans that provides us with a comprehensive theological understanding of what it was that the death of Jesus accomplished for us. Romans is the first Christian theology before all Christian theology. It is no overstatement to say that the vast treasure trove of Christian theology would easily be halved in every sense if we do not have Romans. It is a work with which we would be wise to know well.
If we have gained a true understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.
Among many other notable virtues the Epistle has one in particular, which is never sufficiently appreciated; it is this: If we have gained a true understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.
John Calvin, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans (reprinted, London: Oliver & Boyd, 1961), 5.
Forasmuch as this epistle is the principle and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure Euangelion, that is to say glad tidings . . . also a light and a way in into the whole Scripture, I think it meet that very Christian man not only know it by rote and without the book, but also exercise himself therein evermore continually, as with the daily bread of the soul. No man verily can read it too oft(en) or study it too well; for the more it is studies the easier it is, the more it is chewed the pleasanter it is, and the more groundly it is searched the preciouser things are found in it, so great treasure of spiritual things lieth hid therein.
William Tyndale, Prologue to the Epistle, New Testament (1534).
The Epistle to the Romans is the fullest and most coherent manifesto of the Christian gospel in the New Testament. In it the apostle Paul unfolds 'the whole counsel of God'—man's sin and lostness, Christ's death to save him, faith in Christ as the sole condition of his acceptance, the work of the Holy Spirit for his growth in holiness, the place of Israel in the purpose of God, and the ethical implications of the gospel. There is a grandeur, a comprehensiveness, a logic about his exposition which has commanded the admiration and compelled the study of all succeeding generations.
John R. W. Stott, Men Made New: An Exposition of Romans 5-8 (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1966), 9.
The Epistle to the Romans is
the fullest and most coherent
manifesto of the Christian gospel
in the New Testament.
Paul’s letter to believers in Jesus at Rome has always been highly regarded within the Christian church. It has been, in fact, the most highly acclaimed writing of the NT throughout the entire course of Christian history. It is so because it has been, in very large measure, the heartland of Christian thought, life, and proclamation.
Longenecker, Romans (NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016), xi.
There are many people who would hold that the Letter to the Romans is the greatest book in the New Testament. Certain it is that no book has had a greater influence on the theology of the Protestant Church, and no book contains more of the quinessence of the mind of Paul. It is not an easy book to understand, for Paul is leading men in it into the deep things of the Christian faith, and he is often writing at such white-heat that the threads of his words are difficult to disentangle. But, difficult as it may be to study and understand, the rewards of studying it are very precious.
William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans 2nd ed. (The Daily Study Bible; Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1957), ix.
Especially since Reformation times (though in fact even earlier), Paul's letter to the Romans has played an extraordinary role in shaping the understanding and life of Christians. To mention only four passages: How we think about natural revelation is hugely indebted to Romans 1-2; Luther called Romans 3:21-26 the center of the entire Bible; Romans 11 wrestles with the relationship between Israel and the church; and Romans 8 has been called the most important chapter in the Bible, unfolding the entire plan of salvation from justification to glorification, all grounded in the matchless love of God for his people.
D. A. Carson, Editor's Preface to Paul's Letter to the Romans by Colin G. Kruse (Pillar New Testament Commentary; Nottingham/Grand Rapids: Apollos/Eerdmans, 2012), xiv-xv.
The Epistle to the Romans is the first great work of Christian theology. From the time of Augustine it had immense influence on the thought of the West, not only in theology, but also in philosophy and even in politics, all through the Middle Ages. At the Reformation its teaching provided the chief intellectual expression for the new spirit in religion. For us men of Western Christendom there is probably no other single writing so deeply embedded in our heritage of thought.
C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (London: Fontana, 1959), 9.
In scholarship of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Romans exercised more infuence on the ways Paul and his theology were understood than any other letter, possibly more than all the other letters combined. Interpreters consciously outlined Paul's theology by following the themes of Romans. Only in the last two decades of the twentieth century did New Testament scholars begin to seriously question the wisdom of relying on Romans so heavily. Still, many leading scholars look to it as their starting point for understanding Paul.
Jerry L. Sumney, "Reading the Letter to the Romans," in Reading Paul's Letter to the Romans, ed. by Jerry L. Sumney (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), 1.
. . . it remains true to say that whenever and wherever there has been a serious study of Paul’s letters there has occurred in the church some type of renewal, reformation, or revolution.
All this is particularly true with regard to Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome.
Longenecker, Romans (NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016), xiii-ix.
In fact,one can almost write the history of Christian theology by surveying the ways in which Romans has been interpreted.”
Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans (AB; New York: Doubleday, 1993), xiii.
Paul's letter to the Romans has had a powerful influence on those who read it, and a number of famous Christian leaders have had their lives turned around by it. We summarize here just a few of the more famous ones.
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So it is that F. F. Bruce observes:
There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans. What happened to Augustine, Luther, Wesley and Barth launched great spiritual movements which have left their mark in world history. But similar things have happened, much more frequently, to very ordinary people as the words of this Epistle came home to them with power. So, let those who have read thus far be prepared for the consequences of reading further: you have been warned!
F. F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary; London, 1963), 60.
Yes, indeed, let those of us who preach Romans so pray expect the Spirit of God to leave his sovereign marks, first on ourselves as we read and prepare our sermons, and then for those who later hear our sermons preached.
To read Martin Luther's "Preface to Romans" mentioned above, click here.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2015