Date and Occasion: Paul wrote Romans shortly before his visit to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25; Acts 24:17) and it was most likely written between 54 AD and early 57 AD.
The Romans church seems to have begun early and grown rapidly. Romans were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:10-11). It seems likely that they grew without an apostolic visit and they were a congregation that included both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:13).
Romans is the most developed and complete exposition of the Gospel in one book in the canon of Scripture. A famous preacher of the 5th century named John Chrysostom had Romans read aloud to him once a week. This book has had a tremendous impact on leaders of the Church throughout history.
Romans 1:1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
We are accustomed to Paul and his credentials but think of how this would strike you if you didn’t know Paul. Here is a guy who claims to be a servant of a guy who was killed as a criminal over 20 years before. This places the resurrection in the forefront of the epistle since this would be a nonsense statement otherwise. You can’t be the servant of a dead guy and a dead guy can’t call you to do anything and in particular can't call you to be an apostle. We don’t have apostles in the Church since they were gifts to the early Church. God used these men in a special way to build the early church. Their teaching had scriptural authority and made doctrine. Generally when someone claims to be an apostle today they simply mean that they are a church planter with a unique combination of evangelism and pastoral skills. However, you do get the occasional individual who actually claims to be an apostle and they generally become heretics somewhere along the line.
We are not apostles but we are called to be servants and we are set apart for the Gospel of God. As servants we need to remind ourselves constantly that we serve a living and active God who has plans for us and good works for us to do. These works are not for our salvation but simply for His glory. We are saints in the biblical sense and therefore by definition sanctified or set apart for the Gospel by the Grace of God.
Romans 1:2-3
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
It is important to God that we understand that He didn’t send Jesus without abundant prophecy. Jesus is foretold in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. God has been merciful to make His will clear and to tell us well (sometimes thousands of years) in advance that what He promises will take place. And we can trust Him because He isn’t guessing or predicting but rather He is seeing the end from the beginning.
Note that Jesus was “descended from David according to the flesh” so we had 14 generations from Abraham to David; 14 generations from David to Babylon; and 14 generations from Babylon to Christ (Matthew 1 and Luke 3). Matthew focuses on Jesus’ royal line and Luke on Jesus’ human line (Gospel of Mark is Jesus as servant and Gospel of John is Jesus as God).
Romans 1:4
and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
The resurrection is a testimony of Christ’s position in the godhead and notice that the Trinity once again testifies in the unity of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Three in person and one in essence.
Romans 1:5-6
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
Paul certainly was a recipient of Grace and his testimony makes that clear. Someone who was a persecutor of Christians became the one God used to write more of the New Testament than any other person. Grace is undeserved blessing from God and Paul was always aware of this. Grace is not a feeling God has; Grace is a thing God does. You see Grace as action very clearly in Paul’s life. And if you understand what I’m saying and desire to please God then you are called (by God) to belong to Jesus Christ. What a blessing in our lives.
I also appreciate that Scripture here makes preaching the Gospel equivalent to bringing “about the obedience of faith”. The world is in rebellion against God and is hostile toward God. Sometimes we see it in little ways such as apathy toward the things of God and sometimes we see it in larger ways like false religions.
Romans 1:7
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We (just like those in Rome) are loved by God and called to be sanctified. If you are called to be sanctified then you seek holiness. The world, our flesh, and the enemy of our soul will work against holiness in our lives. You really need to run the race we call life with patience. We can't let disappointment defeat us in this race. Grace and peace are a traditional greeting and we really need to remember to pray for Grace and peace for each other and we need to remember that it comes from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
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