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Book 45 of 66 · New Testament

Romans

Paul's masterwork — how God puts people right with himself through faith, for Jew and Gentile alike.

16 chapters433 versesWritten in GreekSet To the church in Rome

Overview

Romans is Paul's fullest statement of his message. Writing to a church he had never visited, he lays out, step by step, how God puts people right with himself — not by keeping the law but through faith in Jesus — and how this is good news for Jew and Gentile alike. The first eleven chapters build the argument; the last five turn it into how to live. It has shaped Christian thought more than any other letter.

Book facts

Author
PaulWritten by the apostle Paul, who dictated it to a scribe named Tertius.
Date written
c. AD 57Written from Corinth, before Paul had ever visited Rome.
Original language
GreekPaul's most careful and sustained argument.
Setting
To the church in RomeIntroducing himself and his gospel to a church he had not yet met.

How it came to be

Romans was written by the apostle Paul. He dictated it to a scribe named Tertius, and sent it ahead of a visit he hoped to make to Rome.

Unlike his other letters, it addresses a church he had not founded and had never seen.

What is arguedLittle about its authorship is disputed. Debate centres on how to read its argument about law, faith, and Israel.

The whole book, chapter by chapter

ChapterWhat this chapter covers
The problem and the answer — sin, faith, and God's plan for Jew and Gentile, chapters 1–11
Chapter 1The gospel declaredPaul introduces his gospel and shows how humanity has turned away from God.
Chapter 2The judgment of GodGod's judgment is just, and falls on Jew and Gentile alike.
Chapter 3The whole world guiltyAll have sinned; righteousness comes through faith, apart from the law.
Chapter 4The faith of AbrahamAbraham was counted righteous by faith, before the law was given.
Chapter 5The two menThrough one man, Adam, came sin; through one man, Christ, comes life.
Chapter 6The baptism into deathBelievers have died to sin and are to walk in newness of life.
Chapter 7The struggle withinPaul describes the inner struggle: "the good that I would I do not."
Chapter 8The Spirit's lifeLife in the Spirit, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Chapter 9The potter and the clayGod's freedom in choosing, pictured as a potter with the clay.
Chapter 10The word of faithSalvation is near, for "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord."
Chapter 11The olive treeThe Gentiles are grafted in, and God's purpose for Israel is not finished.
The Christian life — how the gospel is lived out, chapters 12–16
Chapter 12The living sacrificeOffer yourselves as a living sacrifice, and love one another sincerely.
Chapter 13The powers that beBe subject to governing authorities, and love fulfils the law.
Chapter 14The weak and the strongDo not judge one another over disputable matters.
Chapter 15The plans of PaulPaul's plans to visit Rome and carry the gospel further west.
Chapter 16The greetingsPersonal greetings to many by name, and a closing blessing.

All 16 chapters. Start reading →

Worth knowing

Key people

The apostle who wrote the letter.

Key places

Written from Corinth, to the church in Rome.

Known for

Some of the best-known verses in Romans — tap the verse to read it.