Key Themes in Romans (2024)

August 2, 2021 Tom Creedy

Ahead of the September publication of David Garland's new Tyndale New Testament Commentary on Romans, we want to dig in to the themes and shape of this foundational epistle.

Outline of Romans

1:1-7 Greetings and self-introduction

1:8-17 A thematic statement of the gospel

1:18-32 God’s wrath and human disobedience

2:1-29 God’s impartial judgment of both Jew and Gentile

3:1-8 God’s faithfulness to Israel

3:9-20 The universality of sin

3:21-31 Justification by faith for Jews and Gentiles

4:1-25 Abraham as the founder of the people of God and a model of faith

5:1-11 Faith brings peace with God

5:12-21 Adam and Jesus Christ as two types of humanity

6:1-23 Sharing Jesus Christ’s death in baptism and living in obedience

7:1-6 Freedom from the law to serve in the Spirit

7:7-25 The law brings knowledge of sin

8:1-11 The new life of the Spirit

8:12-39 The assurance of glory and of the love of God

9:1-5 Paul’s anguish over unbelieving Jews

9:6-29 The pattern of God’s election in Israel’s history

9:30–10:21 Israel’s failure to submit to God’s righteousness

11:1-24 The remnant of Israel and the ingrafting of Gentiles

11:25-36 God’s future purpose for Israel and all humanity

12:1–13:14 Moral issues: obedience to the state

14:1–15:13 Disputes over food between strong and weak believers

15:14-33 Paul’s future travel plans

16:1-27 Personal greetings and final blessing

Background and setting

The New Testament book of Romans is a Christian manifesto. It is also a simple letter whose contents were determined by the particular circ*mstances in which the apostle Paul and the Roman Christians found themselves. Down through the centuries of the church, however, it has remained a timeless declaration of freedom through Jesus Christ. Its message is that human beings are born in sin and slavery, but Jesus came to set us free.

Paul most likely wrote to the Roman Christians from the city of Corinth during the three months he spent in Greece at the end of this third evangelistic journey (Ac 20:2). Paul at the time was on his way to Jerusalem, but had future plans to visit Spain (Ro 15:20, 24, 28). On his way to Spain Paul planned to visit the city of Rome. A church was already flourishing there, probably formed originally by Jewish Christians who had returned home from Jerusalem after Pentecost (Ac 2:10). Paul had not been their founding apostle. So he now writes to these Christians to prepare them for his planned visit. He also wants to establish his apostolic credentials with the church. He does this by giving them the clearest, most detailed account we possess of the message he preached. Paul calls his message the gospel of God (1:1) because God is the author and the gospel of his Son (1:9) because Jesus is the focus.

Themes and relevance

Paul develops two paramount themes in this letter. The first is the justification of guilty sinners by God’s grace alone in Christ alone through faith alone. This is the most humbling of all Christian truths since salvation comes from God’s grace and not our religious works or social status. God makes a way for those of us who are in the wrong with God to be declared in the right with God. That transaction is possible only through the cross, through the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and in our place.

From the profound truth of justification flow other themes in Paul’s letter: assurance of salvation (chapter 5), spiritual growth and maturity (chapter 6), the purpose of God’s law (chapter 7), the ministry of the Holy Spirit (chapter 8) and our responsibilities as followers of Christ (chapters 12–15).

The second major theme also rests on the truth of justification. Paul sets out to redefine who the people of God are. God’s chosen ones are no longer described as those who have a certain family line or those who have submitted to specific religious rituals, but as those who have faith in Jesus. Even the most casual reading of Romans demonstrates that the church in Rome was a mixed community of Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s declaration is that there is no difference now between Jews and Gentiles as far as their standing before God. All who believe in Jesus are children of Abraham and recipients of God’s blessing.

The book of Romans seems to fall naturally into four main divisions.

In the first section (1:18–3:20) Paul explores why we need God’s salvation. The fact is that God’s wrath, his pure and perfect antagonism to evil, is directed against sinful human beings who deliberately suppress what they know to be true and right. Paul puts everyone under scrutiny and finds that we all fall far short of God’s holy demands: Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin (3:19).

But God has done something about our lost condition which Paul describes in the second section of Romans (3:21–8:39). Into the darkness of human sin and guilt the light of the gospel is shining! Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, God can remain perfectly just and, at the same time, justify (declare to be in a right relationship with him) those who believe in Jesus. Paul goes on to affirm in this section the great blessings enjoyed by God’s people – we have peace with God, we are standing in his grace and we rejoice in the prospect of seeing and sharing in God’s glory. Christians are united with Christ in his death and in his resurrection to new life. Even though we struggle at times to live like the new creation we are, we have confidence that God is at work in all things for our good and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The third division of Romans (chapters 9–11) seems out of place at first, but we need to remember that the Roman church included both Jews and Gentiles. Some Christians wondered what had happened to God’s promises to Israel. Did God fail to keep his word? And how did non-Jews get in on God’s programme? Paul tackles those thorny issues to bring a sense of unity and peace to the church.

The last main section of Romans (chapters 12–15) is a call to every Christian to live out the implications of the gospel – in the church, towards our enemies, in society and towards ourselves. Romans closes with a greeting to individuals in Rome and a final burst of praise to God (chapter 16).

Christians in every generation have acknowledged the central place of the book of Romans in our understanding of the faith. Martin Luther called it ‘the chief part of the New Testament’ and ‘the purest gospel’. In Paul’s words, the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (1:16).

This blog post is extracted from the study notes of the NIV BST Bible, ahead of the publication of Romans, the new Tyndale New Testament Commenary by David Garland. Below you'll find a selection of resources on Romans to help you take your Bible study deeper.