Introduction to (The
Letter of Paul to the Romans)
It is of interest that the apostle Paul had never been to
Rome when this letter was written from Corinth.
Paul was ministering in Corinth and on his way to Jerusalem to deliver
an offering from the Gentile churches to the poor Jewish Christians (Acts 20:3;
Romans 15:25-29). The location or the
origin of the Roman house churches is not known, but it is believed that these
gentile believers had been in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost for it is
recorded in Acts 2:10 that visitors from Rome were there. We know that many of these visitors converted
to Christianity on that day.
The letter to the churches can be divided into two main
sections; chapters 1-11 or doctrinal and 12-16 are practical. The main theme of part one is the plan of
salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit living in you. The second part is mainly exhortations, about
living the Christ life on planet earth.
Romans 1:1
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set
apart for the gospel of God,”
(English Standard Version) Note: I believe to be an excellent translation, but
I believe it is wise to look at more than one.
I also use the Holman Christian Standard Bible as a study Bible and I
wanted to share the verse from it and the footnote listed from it. The H C S B gives these insights; “Paul, a slave of
Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news—“ So
is a slave and a servant the same thing, not today and it seems not at the time
of Paul. On Page 1925 in HCSB it has
this footnote: “Paul
calls himself a slave. The Greek word
doulos is mistranslated in most Bibles as “servant or bond servant.” A slave was owned, was bought for a price,
received no wage, and could not quit. A
servant could quit, got paid, and was a free person. Jesus Himself took the form of a slave
(Philippians 2:7), and Paul reminded Christians that “you are not your own, for
you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20).
When I worked in supporting the project
business in Saudi Arabia a general manager for one of the Sheiks told me that
all the foreign works assigned to him were more slaves than servants in that he
had their passports and with out a passport they were dead meat. They had lost their freedom to seek other
work, to leave the country; they were his slaves. The American Church has little understanding
of the term slave, so how can such people understand what Paul is stating?
1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from
God?” If by faith you have entered
into a relationship with Jesus Christ, your body or temple is the home of the
Holy Spirit.
He is your helper, your guide, and He
is the small voice many refuse to listen to and incur many-bought lessons in
that they have chosen to listen to the voice that is masquerading as
your voice. I call it channel One and
the Holy Spirit Channel Two, but it matters not what name you give it as long
as you are aware who is speaking into your mind.
The longer I live the more I am sure that many in the church and out
have no clear understanding of the word “Christian.” When Jesus left planet earth for His home
with the Father, followers of Christ were called disciples, and they knew and
understood “You are not your own, for you
were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” How
would life change for you if you understood the implication of being bought
with a price?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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