The Book of Romans
Romans is a letter from the apostle Paul to the believers in Rome, a church he had not yet visited. More fully than any of his other letters, it explains the good news of Jesus and what it means for Jews and Gentiles alike.
The letter moves from problem to answer. Paul argues that all people have sinned, and that God, in his righteousness, counts as righteous those who have faith in Jesus, just as Abraham was counted righteous when he believed. Chapters 5 to 8 speak of peace with God, new life and the work of the Spirit, closing with the promise that nothing can separate believers from the love of God. Chapters 9 to 11 wrestle with Israel’s place in God’s plan. Chapters 12 to 16 turn to daily life: love in the church, living with neighbors and rulers, bearing with one another, travel plans and a long list of greetings.
Scholars across the spectrum accept Romans as Paul’s own letter, and most date it to the mid-50s AD, before his journey to Jerusalem. The Your Bible App study walks through Romans in order, in short, fun rounds that make it stick.
Key people
Paul
The apostle who writes to Rome, hoping to visit on his way to Spain.
Abraham
The father of Israel, whom Paul holds up as the pattern of a person counted righteous because he believed God.
Adam
The first man, through whom Paul says sin entered the world, set beside Christ in chapter 5.
Phoebe
A servant of the church in Cenchrea, whom Paul commends to the believers in Rome.
Prisca and Aquila
A married couple Paul greets as his fellow workers in Christ Jesus.
Themes
The gospel
Paul calls the good news the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
Faith and righteousness
The letter explains how people are put right with God through faith, with Abraham as its example.
Life in the Spirit
Chapter 8 describes the Spirit’s help and the love of God that nothing can break.
Israel and the nations
Chapters 9 to 11 ask how God’s promises to Israel stand now that Gentiles believe too.
Love in practice
The closing chapters turn belief into daily life: sincere love, humility and patience with one another.
Key verses
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Romans quiz: sample questions
In the opening verse of Romans, which description does the writer give of himself?
- A shepherd of Tekoa who tended flocks
- Called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
- A scribe of the law travelling up from Babylon
- A priest of Aaron's line serving at the altar
- A judge raised up to deliver the tribes of Israel
Show the answer
Answer: Called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
Why: The letter opens by identifying its author as a servant of Christ Jesus who was called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. Both descriptions stand in the same opening verse.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
Whose story does Paul take up in Romans 4 as the great example of a person counted righteous because he believed God?
- Noah, builder of the ark
- Joshua, son of Nun
- Samson, son of Manoah
- Moses, the lawgiver of Israel
- Abraham, father of Isaac
Show the answer
Answer: Abraham, father of Isaac
Why: Romans 4 argues that this man was counted righteous because he trusted God, before the law was given and before he was circumcised. Paul presents him as the pattern of faith for Jewish and Gentile believers alike.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 6:23 pictures sin as an employer paying out what it owes. According to that verse, what is the wage sin pays?
- A new name written on a white stone
- An inheritance of the land promised to the fathers
- Death
- Rest for your souls
- The crown of life
Show the answer
Answer: Death
Why: Romans 6:23 sets a wage against a gift. What sin pays out is death, while what God gives is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8 closes with the promise that nothing in all creation can separate believers from what?
- The law under which they were once held
- The promises made to the patriarchs of Israel
- The hope of an earthly kingdom restored to Israel
- The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Show the answer
Answer: The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Why: The chapter ends by naming the love of God that is in Christ Jesus as the thing nothing in creation can cut believers off from.
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Romans 11, what picture does Paul use for the way Gentile believers are brought in among God's people?
- Branches remaining in the true vine
- Wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated olive tree
- Wheat and weeds growing together in one field
- Living stones built into a spiritual house
Show the answer
Answer: Wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated olive tree
Why: Paul pictures Gentile believers as wild olive shoots grafted in among the branches of a cultivated olive tree. The other pictures come from elsewhere in the New Testament.
Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
Frequently asked questions
What is the book of Romans about?
Romans is Paul’s letter explaining the gospel: all have sinned, and God puts right with himself those who have faith in Jesus, Jew and Gentile alike. It then shows what that means for life together.
Who wrote Romans, and when?
The apostle Paul wrote it, and a man named Tertius wrote down the words (Romans 16:22). Most scholars date it to the mid-50s AD.
Where should a beginner start in Romans?
Read it a chapter at a time from the start. Chapters 1, 5, 8 and 12 give a good view of its main ideas.
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