Paul wrote 13 books in the New Testament. Nine of them are called epistles because they were written to churches. The other four are called letters because they were written to people. The four letters include Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus.
Romans is listed first in the Bible even though it was not written first. Paul's books are listed in the order of their length from longest to shortest. Philemon is last because it has only one chapter. Therefore, Romans is first because it has 16 chapters. Besides, it contains at least 20 doctrines which is helpful to understand the rest of Paul's book.
Paul wrote the letter to the church at Rome at the end of his missionary journey. He had never visited Rome, and he wrote the letter to introduce himself to prepare the Romans for his personal visit. Even though he had never visited, he knew some of the individuals there as you will see in Chapters 15 and 16. In fact, Chapter 16 includes nothing but personal greetings.
Audience
Paul's ministry was to the Gentiles. His audience is made up of Christians who had scattered when Saul was persecuting the church. No doubt, they carried the gospel with them.
Theme
The main theme of the entire book is found in Romans 1:16-17 that the gospel is the power of salvation to everyone who believes. In these two verses, Paul states his confidence in the gospel and the reasons for it. The rest of the epistle is devoted to explaining why and how the gospel of Christ is God's power to save those who believe.
Things to Remember
-- Romans is the most formal and most systematic of all of Paul's books.
-- All of the major doctrines of the Bible are treated in the Book of Romans. They include salvation, faith, regeneration, impartation, imputation, righteousness, sanctification, reconciliation, and others that you will study in detail.
If you do not understand the book of Romans and the many doctrines it contains, it will be hard for you to understand most of Paul's other writings.
Assignments
1. Take the Overview Quiz
2. Study the Key Terms
3. Take the 20 Key Terms Quiz
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