Guide
What Is the Letter of Paul to the Romans?
55–57
The Letter of Paul to the Romans is likely the latest of the authentic letters of Paul included in the New Testament. The letter is addressed to the community of Jesus followers in Rome, which Paul intends to visit on a mission to Spain. Like his Letter to the Galatians, Paul’s Letter to the Romans emphasizes that non-Jewish followers of Jesus need not observe all the laws of the Torah; both Jews and gentiles have access to salvation through faith in Christ. The letter may be intended in part to address tensions between the gentile Jesus-followers community of Rome and the larger Roman Jewish community, which also included some followers of Jesus.
Related Primary Sources
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Law and Gentiles
Romans 2:12–3:9; 3:28–31
All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law…
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Abraham as Emblem of Faith
Romans 4:1–25
What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the…
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Jacob and Esau as Christians and Jews
Romans 9:1–18
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed…