Page 6 - Romans Student Textbook.doc

the First Century, Paul gave his name and then provided personal information about himself that would
help the readers answer the question, “Which Paul is writing to us?” There are two words that Paul used
to identify himself to them. First, he is a “slave” of Christ Jesus.

Second as a slave of Christ he has the assignment of being an “apostle” who has been set apart by God
through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in his local church to the ministry of the gospel of God.3 Although
he has not yet made his way to Rome, Paul is known to all of them by reputation and many of them have
made a personal acquaintance with him in their traveling around the Romans Empire.4

What other portions of Scripture might give you some insight into the character and significance of this
author? What do they say about the author?

There are several Scriptures that give us some insight into the character of Paul and the significance of his
ministry in the early church. Primary among them is the way that Paul writes of his relationship to these
Roman believers in the introductory part of this letter. He let them know that he believed that God had
given him apostolic responsibility for taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations and that he
perceived that responsibility to include them.5 In other words, he was sent by God to them as an apostle
of Jesus Christ.

In the next paragraph Paul laid bare his heart for them as he revealed that he thanked God regularly for
them and for the way that their faith in Christ was proclaimed throughout the word; that he prayed for
them constantly and asked God repeatedly that he might be able to visit them; that he longed to be able
to encouragement them in their walk with Christ and be encouraged in his ministry for Christ by them;
that he believed that he was obliged to take the gospel to all the Gentiles; and that he was eager to
preach the gospel in Rome itself. 6

The end of the letter also provides insight into Paul’s place of responsibility for the believers in Rome. He
closed out the letter by addressing his purpose for writing the letter;7 requesting specific prayers from
them on his behalf;8 recommending a faithful servant to them;9 greeting the many ministry partners
whom he had met in his travels who be believed to be in Rome;10 giving a personal warning about false
teachers;10 conveying greetings from others on his ministry team;11 and pronouncing a concluding
doxological blessing upon the Roman believers.12 Each of these actions reveal a piece of the character of
Paul, the apostle and communicate to the Roman believers his genuine love for them.

Another important resource for understanding the character and ministry of Paul is the latter two-thirds
of the book of Acts. 13 It does not tell us much about his ministry in Rome, but it does record the nature
of his ministry among the churches of Asia and Greece as he made his way toward Rome. What it records
about Paul’s preaching and character certainly fit well into what he has to say about both himself and the
issues he needed to address with the churches of Rome.

3 Acts 13:1-3.
4 Romans 16:3-16.
5 Romans 1:5-6.
6 Romans 2:8-15.
7 Romans 15:14-29.
8 Romans 15:30-33.
9 Romans 16:1-2.
10 Romans 16:17-20.
11 Romans 16:21-24.
12 Romans 16:25-27.
13 Acts 8-28
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