LIVE: Introduction to the Letter to the Romans (Part 1/4)

Rome isn’t presented as a background detail, it’s the pressure cooker. We start our Romans journey by rebuilding the setting behind Paul’s most comprehensive explanation of the gospel: the Roman Empire at its height, the cultural and political center of the known world, and a growing community of believers trying to live out faith in a place that sets trends for everyone else. Getting that context right changes how you hear every word that follows, especially when Romans was written around 56 to 58 A.D., just years before the world-shifting events of A.D. 70.

We talk through why this letter is unique among Paul’s epistles. He’s writing to a church he didn’t personally plant, a network of saints meeting across the city rather than one neat institution. We also face the real friction points: the aftershocks of Claudius expelling Jews from Rome, Jewish believers returning, and Gentile believers now holding visible influence. That mix creates disputes over identity and practice, and Romans speaks directly to that fault line by centering salvation on God’s faithfulness and justification by faith, not tribal status.

Then we zoom in on Paul’s method. Romans reads like a courtroom brief because Rome understands law, argument, and proof. We connect Paul’s Pharisaic “legal mind” with his exposure to public philosophy, including debates with Stoics and Epicureans, and why that double-edge preparation makes him the right messenger for the empire’s capital. If the gospel is going to spread to the ends of the earth, it has to stay clear when it reaches the center of influence first.

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Transcript

Welcome And The Next Study

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Christians. Good afternoon, good evening, wherever it is, whatever it is where you are. Welcome today on this Friday. We're going to be getting into a new exposition. We have completed the book of Job, and now we're going into the book of Romans. We're going into the book of Romans. And tonight I'm going to begin with an introduction to the very book establishing the backdrop, the context, the scene of the period in which Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome. And Romans is a very powerful book. And it is the one book that has probably done the most to express comprehensively what the substance of the gospel really is, and the substance of what salvation is. And so tonight we start with an introduction so that you understand the period and what was going on. And it's important to know, and I want to try to paint a picture that will allow you to sort of put yourself in that time period so that you can receive what we're going to be discussing as if you were someone or a believer who was there. And that's what I want to try to, you know, sort of put together for people. And I hope that you will do much to sort of put yourself there. And I think that's something that we that we that we did with the book of Job. And I want to try to do the same thing with this book and actually every every book of the Bible that we get through because it's going to help us understand what is being said and why, and and and so we can get a better understanding of what the apostle is trying to get us to understand. So I'm going to be in the book, Romans, but tonight we're not going to deal with any of the any of the verses yet, because I want to give this background. And what we have is I want to deal with the historical setting. I want to deal with the political climate, the religious situation as it pertains to

Why Start With Background

SPEAKER_05 2:55

the Roman church, and the moral and cultural background. Then I want to deal with the theological situation that prevailed at the time, and then the purpose, the several purposes for which Paul wrote this epistle, and then the overall spiritual atmosphere of the book. So we're going to get through it, and I hope that it all will make sense to you. Um so we'll get started. So good evening, everybody, and we'll get

Date And Historical Timeline

SPEAKER_05 3:31

to it. Now, first of all, it's important to know that the book of Romans was written somewhere between 56 and 58 A.D. And this is approximately 10, 12 years before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. So you get an idea so far in terms of where this happens with respect to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of that economy. So from the his from a historical setting standpoint, you know, Rome, the book of Romans that Paul wrote was written when his ministry had significantly matured. His ministry has matured, and he himself has matured a lot as an apostle and as a key principle in the early stages of developing and building the Church of Christ. And so he writes this book after having many years of labor of among Jews and Gentiles alike. And this is very important because this is going to be a significant part of this theme that acts as a skewer pinning a lot of these truths that Paul's going to talk about and bringing them all together. Now, the gospel at this time, the gospel at this time has already had already been extensively spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean world. It was getting out there and it was becoming very pervasive. And Paul stood at the time of writing the book of Romans at a very transitional period in his ministry, but also in the experience of the church and the effects of the gospel as people become to believe, whether they be Jew or whether they be Gentile. And so his work, Paul's work in these in the eastern regions was substantially established. Starting with Spain. So when you look at Romans chapter 15 in verse 23 and 24, you see that his sights are being set on going to Spain. And so the letter

Paul’s Mature Ministry And Spain

SPEAKER_05 6:05

of Romans that Paul writes, it comes from a period of reflection, it comes from a period of consolidation, and it doesn't stem from a church that is in its missionary infancy. It has become much more advanced. Much more advanced. So like many of the epistles in the New Testament, many of the epistles were written to churches that were founded by the apostles who are who founded those churches. But in this case, this church is not a church that Paul founded, but it is a church that he is addressing this particular epistle to. But he was not the one who directly founded this particular church, which is a unique feature in this uh epistle. But it also appears that this letter to the Romans was risen because of the spread of the gospel by ordinary believers, both Jewish proselytes as well as Gentile people. And many of these people encountered the gospel and he took it back to Rome. And this source just sort of sets this historical context that Paul is dealing with. So he's dealing with a more advanced church, a church that was spreading, and a church, as

A Church Paul Did Not Plant

SPEAKER_05 7:46

we're going to see soon, that was becoming, that was beginning to become an international church. So unlike other epistles, Romans was written to a congregation that he himself did not plant.

Claudius And Jew Gentile Tensions

SPEAKER_05 8:02

Now, from a historical standpoint, we'll stop here and I'll ask anybody, ask all of you if you have any anything you want to add to the history aspect of Rome at the time that Paul is writing it. I'll start with you, Sister Sean. Any any ideas, anything you want to add regarding the history of what was going on as Paul was writing this letter? Anything.

SPEAKER_10 8:30

Well, I I think you've said many significant things and just uh the history. Paul was just there to unite the Jewish and Gentile believers.

SPEAKER_06 8:42

Right.

SPEAKER_10 8:42

That was his goal. Um and that's what he addresses in Romans. And we look at during that time, we look at some tension politically and culturally. Uh we look at some tension with uh Claudius, who had expelled many Jews from Rome. And so when the Jews had later returned, Gentile believers had become prominent. And so there were disagreements over identity and practice. Right. And so Paul really addresses those, Romans addresses these divisions itself. Right. That's my uh input.

SPEAKER_05 9:18

Excellent. Somebody did some homework. Excellent work, sister. That's absolutely the truth. Brother Jeffrey, good evening. How are you doing, brother?

SPEAKER_04 9:29

To say that I'm tired is a huge understatement. Paul does some of his very, very best writing here, Jonathan, to the church at Rome. He lays out a scripture that clearly leads the Roman church through God's plan of salvation. And he does so, Jonathan, in pretty clear language. There's not much wiggle room in what Paul writes here to the church. He tells them what salvation is, why they need it, how it was paid for, and what they need to do to receive it. And so the Roman church, Jonathan, I'll conclude with this, was without excuse after Paul wrote the letter because he made everything they needed to know and wanted to know very, very clear.

SPEAKER_05 10:21

Amy, a brother, absolutely. What do you think?

Pax Romana Roads And House Saints

SPEAKER_03 10:27

I was just telling that. Talk about the Pax Romana. So a couple things that I do want to add. It went, I I'll just say it real quick. And in the Pax Romana, we see that in the 400 years of like silence, right? We see where it says that all road lead all roads lead to Rome. So even in the 400 years of silence, they were building these roads, which was so interesting to me because, like, even though God was Meg, you there? Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_05 11:05

I hear you now.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

Okay, sorry. I I apologize. I had a voicemail. It was weird. It pulled up on my phone. Anyway, so during the 400 years of silence, it's as I'm learning and studying. To me, God was not silent. Did he not did he speak through prophets? No. But during this 400 years, so much happened that paved the way for not only the gospel, but the Lord Jesus Christ to come. But what's interesting to me is that in Romans he addresses, he doesn't address Rome as a church, he addresses them to the saints because there were many people all over the place, and believers met all over the city when it came to Rome. It wasn't like a specific church. So when he's talking, he's addressing the saints, which is the people of God.

SPEAKER_05 11:56

Aren't they the church?

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 11:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Yeah, sorry. But I'm talking about like a physical. I know what you mean.

SPEAKER_05 12:03

I know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean. Sister Lisa, good evening.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Hey, good evening. Yeah, I'm super excited to be here. This was my favorite book before we started Job and before I started getting more into the Old Testament. So I am super excited to see what I the new things that I'm gonna glean out of this book. And I want to tell you, Jonathan, my youngest daughter, Chloe, is here with us tonight. She said, Hi, mommy, in in the chat. She came in. So, Chloe, stay here. I love you. I'm so glad you're here. This will be a great lesson for you. It you know what? This is huge because she's watched me for a few years on here with you, Jonathan. So I'm so happy that she's here and and that she'll be listening. And put your questions in the chat, baby girl, if you have any. Oh, praise be to God. This is beautiful for me. Oh my goodness, you don't know you guys.

SPEAKER_05 13:03

Hey everybody, just welcome Chloe. Hello, hey Chloe.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Welcome in.

SPEAKER_05 13:10

Hi, Chloe.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Thank you all. Thank y'all. I love y'all so much.

SPEAKER_05 13:15

Thank you. Amen. Sister Vanessa, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_07 13:20

Well, I don't know much history. I'll leave that to Pat. Not yet, I don't. I'm still wanting to learn the history. Yeah, I just I'm just anxious to start this and see what your teachings are.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Right.

SPEAKER_07 13:37

I I know what I believe and what the spirit has shown me, but I want to see what your take is on it.

unknown 13:44

Amen.

SPEAKER_05 13:47

We'll we'll get to it. I'm sure you guys have brutalized me along the way, but it'll be a lot of fun. So I'm looking forward to getting to this book. Sister Ty Melody. What say you, sister? And welcome.

SPEAKER_09 13:59

I just got here, so I really didn't catch much of it. But I've read it wrong, so I'm looking forward to doing a deeper dive on the book. So yeah, I'm just looking forward to getting a different interpretation, different perspective, and have an open discussion about you know what's in there.

SPEAKER_05 14:15

All right, looking forward to it, sister.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

Brother Pat. Well, I'm kind of I'm kind of interested in Paul's philosophy, you know, not just the historical background, because Rome is the epicenter of world power at this time. This is where the Caesars are living in the heart of the Roman Empire. And notice that Paul doesn't view it as Christians need to hide in the corners of the world. Right. We need to find a place a far-off island and go and wait it out. You know, the we got to wait out for that rapture and and and stuff like that. He goes right to the heart, and he boldly right to the heart of it, right to Rome. No, no fear. And there's something to be learned about that.

SPEAKER_05 15:04

Right. Well, brother, I wanted to ask you something because Lisa gave me a good idea today. And, you know, in the book of Romans, and and and starting with this book going forward with all the books that we do that we do after, I think it'd be a good idea if if Brother Pat, if you would offer up a prayer that God would help us all to study hard on this whole thing, that that he would keep us on topic, that he would help us to have a good discussions, and that that the whole experience would be a fruitful experience, and that you know, and that he will help me, that he will help me to so that I am sure not to cheat you guys on on bringing these things to you. So, Brother Pat, if you would, if you would do us that favor, I would really appreciate it, brother.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

Absolutely. Let's join in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you in Thanksgiving, Lord. We thank you for this time together where we can worship you and search out your truth, Lord. We pray that you you be with us, Lord, and that you fill us with your spirit, Lord, and that you lead Jonathan in his understanding, Lord, and his teaching ability, Lord, and that you help us to honor you by walking in truth, Lord. We pray that we don't teach anything that that isn't in accordance with your word, Lord, and that we don't miss anything that you want us to miss, Lord. We pray that the fullness that you have here in this scripture, Lord, that you will teach us by it, Lord, and that we'll be edified so that we can take it and do good with it, Lord. That it can we can turn around and edify others, Lord, and expand your kingdom, Lord. And we thank you for all that you have done, Lord, and all that you will do in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_05 16:57

Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother. Sister Mariah, what are your thoughts before we move on? Initially.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

I'm not a one for history or be able to really recite history in that way. I I hope to grow more in that aspect of my walk to retain the history of these books and things of that nature. So hopefully that's something that I can grow in going forth. But I'm just excited for Romans. You know, I think that it's it's the first book that I realized that it was like a court hearing or a court case being presented in such a way. So I'm just super stoked and to see if any of you guys see it in the same view in the same way, and what else that I have just skipped over that that may just be playing in my face. So I'm just so excited and thank you for hosting.

SPEAKER_05 17:58

Amen, sister. Thank you very much. So, as Pat

Rome As The Power Center

SPEAKER_05 18:03

said, Rome was the epicenter of the empire. It was the the very seat and the heartbeat of political authority, military might, law, culture, administration. Paul talked about or Pat mentioned that it was it was a it was also a centerplace for philosophical discussions. And I think that many people, when they heard this letter, a lot of the philosophical types, they probably saw where Paul was countering them in a lot of ways. And so this had a significant thing because, like I said, culture, law, it administration, political authority, authority, military might. What does this sound like to you, Vanessa? What does this remind you of what I just mentioned about Rome? What does it sound like to you?

SPEAKER_07 19:04

Today. Today with all the Iranian stuff and stuff that's going on.

SPEAKER_05 19:10

But it sounds like America, right? Yes, it sounds like it sounds like America. And we are and have been for a long time, basically the center of the universe when it when it comes to overall the global landscape. We are sort of like the capital of the world for now, and Rome was in that day. And so now what's happening here, the gospel of Jesus Christ has now reached this place, this, this, this, this, this mighty city of economic power, as as as Brother Joseph said, and and like I said, culture, all these things, everything that that America is today, Rome was then, and now the gospel has entered in. And so what did this do? This made it so that the that the the Roman believers, the church in Rome, the believers, it it gave them a special and a more particular significance, not because of their status as a church, because like Meg pointed out, it was not a it was not a formal church in the in the ecclesiastical sense that we think of the Catholic Church or the you know any of these denominational situations, but it was a body of people that were affected and that are start and now starting to have global impact in in the most powerful place on earth. So, Ty Melody, let me ask you this question. Why do you think that's important? Why do you think why do what do you think it was go ahead?

SPEAKER_09 20:58

No, no, no, go ahead. I I don't know if I understood the question.

SPEAKER_05 21:00

So what do you think was so the gospel is now hitting Rome? Why do you think that is significant? What do you think is a foundational significance?

SPEAKER_08 21:12

Because Roman was Roman was unbelievers, right?

SPEAKER_05 21:15

Well, no, you had you had a mix of people, but what I'm getting at is why would this be an important an important deal, uh a really significant deal? Why that the gospel has now reached Rome?

SPEAKER_08 21:30

In your mind, just what you what your thoughts are I mean that the gospel has spread, like it's impacted, impactful, and it's it had a lot of influence.

SPEAKER_05 21:42

A lot of influence. Good answer, good answer.

SPEAKER_03 21:47

I uh Paul was writing to Rome, I think to give him to give Rome doctrine to prevent them from like Judaizers and people that were trying to come in and And undermined what the gospel really was. So he's like we see in scripture that he's like explaining the unbelief of Israel and he's and he's vindicating the faithfulness of God and he's do he's doing all of these things. So that would be my answer.

SPEAKER_05 22:16

All right. Sister Sean. Good answer, mate. Sister Sean.

SPEAKER_10 22:20

Yeah, I think it was significant because I, if I'm not mistaken, the book of Rome, I mean, I'm sorry, the book of Acts builds towards Rome. Yes. Because when you look at Acts, it it's an intentional move geographically because it mentions Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth. Right. And so the gospel has reached the center of Gentile power. So it's it matches that trajectory of Acts 1 and 8.

SPEAKER_05 22:46

Right. And so you're right. And Melody, you, you, you got it right. It is now when you look at it from Paul's standpoint, he understood that the that the gospel has now becoming so widespread that I don't know if Paul understood it this way, or if it was just looking at this from a from God's perspective, it was timely that what is taught in Rome, what is taught in the book of Romans, would set the tone for what needs to be understood as the gospel goes worldwide, because if if it is not regulated, so to speak, so that people understand it, who knows what it ends up being once it goes beyond Rome and starts going into the West, starting with Spain, as I said earlier. And so and we see that again in Romans in Romans 15. Brother Dizzy, what do you think?

SPEAKER_06 23:45

Good evening, everybody. So around this time, Rome was like deep into idolizing their false gods, right? So I think that that was that played a major role in what in Paul's mission, I should say. It played a major role in his mission, and the gospel had to be spread and get these people out of the idolizing the false gods and goddesses that they worshipped.

SPEAKER_04 24:09

Right.

SPEAKER_06 24:09

So excellent.

SPEAKER_05 24:12

Brother Pat.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Or there was the internet, there were empires. And this is how you got messages out to everywhere. You went to the center of influence. And there's always been, before we had modern commute computer technology, there has always been influential places that were the sort of philosophical hubs of the world. In the early 20th century, it was Paris, right? And this is very much true of Rome is you get your message there, it's going everywhere. These ideas are going to be taken to the ends of the earth. That's the idea.

SPEAKER_05 24:52

Amen, brother. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that, and see, this is this is a good example of, like I say all the time, when we all get together and start talking about this and rallying around a particular idea, by the time we get done, we generally cover the whole idea or all the facets of the diamond, so to speak.

Romans As A Legal Case

SPEAKER_05 25:13

Now, somebody, Brian, brother Brian in the comments made a good statement. And he talked about that Paul lays out this legal, he lays it, Romans is written the way a lawyer would make his case. And Paul is giving a his his opening and his closing. The book of Romans is an opening case, opening of a case, and the closing of a case. In other words, this is what needs to be understood, and that is what it is, and when you understand that, it it seals it all up, and it's like this is what we have to go with, understanding this thing. Now I'll ask somebody, I'm gonna ask another question. And I'm gonna ask you to start with you, Lisa. Why do you think what do you think is the significance of Paul having a legal mind and making a legal case? Why is this why is this significant to writing to Rome? Why do you think?

SPEAKER_01 26:36

He would need to basically, well, just what you said. I mean, I don't I'm not sure how to answer it aside from that. He the evidence that he needs to present to them can't just be it needs to be provable, substantial evidence. Right. It needs to be he needs to make a case in order for them to turn away from the things that they're doing now and embrace embrace Christ.

SPEAKER_05 27:07

Now let me ask you, now let me add, no, that's good, sister. No, that's good. This is this is this is what we're doing, we're learning. I'm not asking for necessarily a perfect answer. I this is which we want to start thinking now. This is a thinking book. And so I want us to, and I'm gonna be when we go to this book, I'm gonna lean much more, like the mix and the dynamics that I want to try to introduce are gonna be more where I prevent canned scripted responses. I'm gonna challenge everybody on this, you know, on these on these things, because this is a book that it it should conjure up in you the desire to think. Because a thinking man is writing a thinking letter to thinking people. And that's what we want to get down to. So nobody be embarrassed about answers. We're trying to get to the answers, and we want to exercise our our minds so that so that the truth can disseminate into our heart. Brother Dizzy, go ahead.

Paul’s Training And World Ideas

SPEAKER_06 28:10

Do you think that his role as a former Pharisee played it played a role in like how he approached this? I feel like Pharisees were good at like asking questions and digging deep into like some of these things. So do you think that that played a role?

SPEAKER_05 28:25

I think it was significant. I think it was significant. Paul Paul was a man who grew up as a Pharisee. We all knew that. And and Pharisees, they were the lawyers of the day. That's what they were. They were, they were, they were, that's what you would call lore lawyers or the the legal minds based on the law of God and all that that surrounded that. So you're right. He had, and Paul also grew up with contemporaries who were philosophers that many of us have known about and read about in history. And Paul can and and and Pat, can you add something to that? I'm about which part? About Paul's connection to philosophers.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Oh wow. Well, Paul had a he had a an education that I I would liken it to Cambridge or Oxford. He was he was well rounded in in his knowledge of not only Judaism and and phariseutical and Jewish historical backgrounds, but also in his understanding of Stoicism was was a rising and formidable at the time philosophical hostile foe to the Christian faith. So yeah, he has philosophical background in all that. We see him interact with it in the book of Acts.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

Right.

SPEAKER_05 29:51

Yeah, so he was he was very schooled, like uh Pat just mentioned, with the Stoics, the Epicureans, and you know, and they and being in Tarsus, where Paul is from, that was the the center of all of these philosophical engagements where where these men would get together and they would all wax eloquent and talking about you know how things were formed and how you know how you know where man came from. You know, modern philosophy started at that time, or going back with a man, a Greek man by the name of Thales, by asking the question, what is the earth made of? So Paul grew around this philosophical mindset, this worldly carnal mindset, at the same time, he grew up, he grew up around and was educated by the legal minds, like Dizzy brought up with the Pharisees. And so now Paul, in in him being the embodiment of this, he's this dual-edged sword, knowing and understanding both sides, the worldly perspective of philosophy and secularism, along with the ecclesiastical aspects of Jewish life. And so he understood these things. Brother Pat and then Sean.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

And and like you said, it's hard for us. We live in a different era of modern technology, but it was really important that if you have an idea, it can only get so far if you're in a little town or city. And the whole history of this, even up to this modern era, it's always been that way. Let me give an example just really quick of the modern sort of ways this worked. You've probably heard of a man named Karl Marx, right? And he studied at the University of, well, he dropped out, but he studied under Hegel at the University of Berlin in Germany. And he got a lot of teaching there, but guess what? Those ideas would have never gone anywhere because it's stuck in Germany. Nobody cares about Germany. You needed infrastructure, infrastructure, and this is what's is important to understand about empires and cities of influence. Your idea will go nowhere unless you take it to the right place for it to spread.

SPEAKER_05 32:15

Right. And see, another another thing on another note, dovetailing off of Dizzy's question about the Pharisees, is that it's interesting that Christ calls Paul to be this apostle to write this particular letter. And it's significant because where did the institution, I mean, law like for instance, in America, we modeled our legal system, our constitution, we modeled all of our legal system and our structure, our governmental structure, off of what the what Rome had built and established. So they were a society that was very astute in having laws in terms of you know setting up a legal system to be the governance, the constitutional governance of the Roman Empire. And so they would also under template, Brother Joseph gave a good word, a template, they would understand what Paul was saying. They would understand his ability to rationalize and to reason. And having in having that Phariseeal background and having that philosophical background in being a Roman citizen, there was nobody better suited to write this particular book. And we are all, you know, I don't know a Christian alive that is not enamored by this book because it's a very deep book and and it covers a lot of ground, but it becomes the most comprehensive document in terms of justification by faith that has ever been written. And so and so we are glad about that. Um, Sister Sean, go ahead.

SPEAKER_10 34:02

Yeah, just to uh add on, Acts 17 and 18 actually affirms that because he says it actually says that he got into a debate with Epicureans and Stoics.

SPEAKER_05 34:12

That's right.

SPEAKER_10 34:13

And so, and they were challenging him. And so just looking at Roman law and looking at those words used like guilt and condemnation and justification, those are like courtroom or covenant terms. And so that was easy for them to digest at that time.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Right. Hey Jonathan, can I make one more point about Rome and the importance of using the very infrastructure they built to spread the gospel? I used the example of Karl Marx. Hegel was still alive teaching, but Marx moved to Paris. Why? It's the cultural at the time center of the world, and he joins the young Hegelians and these college-age kids. I just want to, I just want just to just so you guys can see this, they were more influential in spreading the these ideas than the actual fan founder of the ideology. Why? Because they were in the right place. Hegel was over there in Berlin and he could have taught his whole life and no one would have ever heard it. Right. But these college-age kids influenced the whole world. Why? Because they were at the center of the cultural mecca of the world at the time, Paris.

SPEAKER_05 35:33

Right. That's good point there. Very good point. Gigi in the comments asked the question, and Sean, you did answer it correctly. Paul was a citizen by birth, but not by he wasn't ethnically Roman. So that is absolutely the truth. He was a citizen by birth, but not ethnically. So not by kinship. So to be accurate, what Sean wrote in the comments is exactly.