Table of Contents

Editor's Preface xiv

Author's Preface xvi

Abbreviations xviii

Bibliography xxiii

Introduction

I Rome and Its Population 1

II Christians In Rome 2

III Paul's Situation: A Scenario 3

IV Romans: A Summary of the Content 4

V The Purpose of Romans 6

VI Rhetorical Matters 11

VII Authorship, Place, and Date of Writing 12

VIII The Integrity of Romans 13

IX The Influence of 'The New Perspective' 14

X Theological Themes 22

Commentary

I Letter Introduction, 1:1-17 35

A Greetings, 1:1-7 35

Additional Note: Paul's Use of Credal Material in 1:3-4 47

Additional Note: Paul's Apostleship 56

B Paul's Prayer and Purpose for Writing, 1:8-17 57

Additional Note: From Faith to Faith 75

Additional Note: The Righteousness of God 79

II Exposition and Defense of the Gospel, 1:18-11:36 81

A Humanity under the Power of Sin and Exposed to Wrath, 1:18-3:20 82

1 Primary Focus on the Sins of the Gentile World, 1:18-32 82

a Humanity's Rejection of the Revelation of God in Nature, 1:18-23 86

Additional Note: The Wrath of God 90

Additional Note: Natural Theology 93

b The Divine Reaction to Human Rejection, 1:24-32 98

Additional Note: The Nature of the Homosexual Practice Condemned by Paul 109

Additional Note: Paul's Depiction of the Gentile World 115

2 Primary Focus on the Sins of the Jewish World, 2:1-3:20 117

a God Shows No Favoritism, 2:1-16 117

Additional Note: The Use of Physei in 2:14 135

Additional Note: Gentiles Who Do the Things Required by the Law 136

Additional Note: Conscience 141

Additional Note: Justification for the Doers 142

b Having the Law and Circumcision Provides No Immunity, 2:17-29 144

(i) Bragging about the law while failing to obey it, 2:17-24 145

(ii) True circumcision, 2:25-29 152

c God's Faithfulness Is Not Nullified by Jewish Unbelief, 3:1-20 157

(i) Five rhetorical questions, 3:1-9 158

Additional Note: Life under Sin 164

(ii) Scriptural support, 3:10-18 165

Additional Note: Paul's Use of Scripture in the Catena 167

(iii) Concluding statement, 3:19-20 170

Additional Note: The Works of the Law 173

B God's Saving Righteousness Revealed, 3:21-4:25 176

1 The Righteousness of God Revealed, 3:21-31 176

a The Heart of the Gospel, 3:21-26 177

Additional Note: Grace (Charis) 185

Additional Note: Hilasterion 188

b Jewish Boasting Is Excluded, 3:27-31 193

Additional Note: Nomos in 3:27 195

Additional Note: Justification 200

2 God's Dealings with Abraham, 4:1-25 201

a God Justifies Abraham apart from Works, 4:1-8 202

b God Credits Righteousness to Abraham without Circumcision, 4:9-12 208

c God Makes Abraham the Inheritor of the World without the Law, 4:13-17a 211

d The Essential Nature of Abraham's Faith, 4:17b-22 216

e The Relevance of God's Dealings with Abraham for All Believers, 4:23-25 219

C Justification Brings Freedom and Hope, 5:1-8:39 224

1 Justified by Faith, 5:1-11 224

a The Benefits of Justification, 5:1-2 225

Additional Note: The Glory in Store for Believers 228

b Rejoicing Even in Suffering, 5:3-5 229

c God's Love Demonstrated in Christ's Death for Us, 5:6-11 233

2 The Humanity-Wide Effects of the Actions of Adam and Christ, 5:12-21 239

Additional Note: The Nature of Death That Entered the World through Sin 242

Additional Note: Adam's Sin in Jewish Literature 255

3 Freedom from Sin's Dominion, 6:1-23 257

a Dying and Rising with Christ, 6:1-14 257

Additional Note: Baptism in the Pauline Corpus 270

Additional Note: Dying and Rising with Christ 272

b Slaves of Christ, 6:15-23 279

Additional Note: Eternal Life in the Pauline Corpus 287

4 Freedom from the Law, 7:1-25 288

a Freed from the Law to Bear Fruit for God, 7:1-6 288

b Sin, Not the Law, Is to Blame for the Human Predicament, 7:7-25 297

(i) Israel's historical encounter with the law, 7:7-13 299

(ii) Israel's ongoing experience of living under the law, 7:14-20 304

(iii) Paid's conclusions about Israel, sin, and the law, 7:21-25 308

Additional Note: Classical Parallels regarding Moral Weakness 312

Additional Note: The Identity of the ?I' in 7:7-25 314

5 Life in the Spirit, 8:1-13 321

6 The Spirit of Adoption, 8:14-17 336

7 Present Suffering and Future Glory, 8:18-30 341

a The Groaning and Renewal of Creation, 8:19-22 342

Additional Note: Creation's Bondage to Corruption and Liberation 346

b The Groaning and Redemption of Believers, 8:23-25 349

c The Groaning of the Holy Spirit as He Intercedes for Believers, 8:26-27 351

d God Works All Things Together for Good for Those Who Love Him, 8:28-30 353

8 The Emotive Climax - If God Be for Us, Who Can Be against Us? 8:31-39 358

Additional Note: Hope in the Pauline Corpus 365

D Israel and the Purposes of God, 9:1-11:36 366

1 Paul's Concern for Israel and Her Privileges, 9:1-5 367

2 Israel and God's Election, 9:6-29 374

a God's Word Has Not Failed, 9:6-13 374

b Is God Unjust? 9:14-18 380

c Why Does God Still Blame Us? 9:19-21 383

d God Has the Right to Exercise His Prerogative, 9:22-29 385

Additional Note: Predestination in Romans - Corporate or Individual? 391

3 Jewish Responsibility for Failure to Embrace the Gospel, 9:30-10:21 392

a Why Israel Did Not Attain the Righteousness She Pursued, 9:30-10:4 393

Additional Note: Zeal in Israel and in Paul 398

Additional Note: Telos Nomou 402

b The Testimony of the Law to Faith, 10:5-13 405

Additional Note: Paul's Use of the Old Testament in 10:6-8 413

Additional Note: The Meaning of Salvation in Romans 415

c Has Israel Not Heard? 10:14-21 416

4 Has God Rejected Israel? 11:1-36 421

a The Significance of the Remnant, 11:1-10 421

b Israel Stumbled, but Her Fall Is Not Irrevocable, 11:11-36 427

(i) Israel's transgression means salvation for the Gentiles, 11:11-15 427

Additional Note: Israel's Jealousy 431

(ii) The lump of dough and the olive tree, 11:16-24 432

Additional Note: Paul's Olive Tree Analogy 439

(iii) The mystery: The final salvation of 'all Israel', 11:25-32 441

Additional Note: 'All Israel Will Be Saved' 448

Additional Note: A Contradiction between 9:6-13 and 11:25-32? 451

Additional Note: A Special Way of Salvation for Israel (11:1-32)? 453

(iv) Doxology, 11:33-36 456

III The Ethical Outworking of the Gospel, 12:1-15:13 460

A The Basis of Paul's Ethical Appeal, 12:1-2 460

B The Believers' Relationships with Others, 12:3-21 466

1 Using Different Gifts for the Benefit of the Christian Community, 12:3-8 467

2 Enhancing Relationships within the Christian Community, 12:9-13 474

Additional Note: Hospitality 478

3 Relationships without and within the Christian Community, 12:14-16 479

4 Responding to Hostile People and Their Hostile Acts, 12:17-21 481

Additional Note: The Relationship between Pauline Ethics and Stoic Teaching 486

C Christians and the Roman Authorities, 13:1-7 489

D Love Fulfills the Law, 13:8-10 500

E Living in the Light of the Coming of the Day, 13:11-14 503

Additional Note: Paul's Uses of the Clothing Metaphor 507

F Instructions for the 'Weak' and the 'Strong': Accept One Another, 14:1-15:13 508

Additional Note: The 'Weak' and the 'Strong' 509

1 Accept Those Who Are Weak in Faith, 14:1-12 510

a The Matter of Eating All Foods, 14:1-4 510

Additional Note: Faith and Conscience 514

b The Matter of Observing Special Days, 14:5-8 514

c We Will All Stand before God's Judgment Seat, 14:9-12 517

2 No Passing Judgment and No Placing Stumbling Blocks, 14:13-23 519

3 The 'Strong' to Bear the Failings of the 'Weak', 15:1-6 526

4 Accept One Another, 15:7-13 531

IV Paul's Ministry and Future Plans, 15:14-33 535

A Paul Affirms the Roman Believers and Explains the Nature of His Ministry, 15:14-16 535

B Paul's Pride in What Christ Has Wrought through Him, 15:17-21 539

C Paul's Long-Held Desire and Present Plan to Visit Rome en Route to Spain, 15:22-33 543

1 Paul's Plan to Visit Rome en Route to Spain, 15:22-24 543

2 Paul's Collection Visit to Jerusalem prior to His Trip to Rome, 15:25-29 545

3 Paul's Appeal for the Roman Believers' Support in Prayer, 15:30-33 549

V Conclusion, 16:1-27 552

A Commendation of Phoebe, 16:1-2 552

B Greetings for Twenty-Six Named Individuals, 16:3-16 557

Additional Note: Junia or Junias? 563

Additional Note: 'Well Known among', or 'Well Known to', the Apostles? 565

Additional Note: Kissing 573

Additional Note: The Twenty-Six Named individuals in Romans 16:3-15 574

C Warning, Exhortation, and Affirmation, 16:17-20 575

D Greetings from Eight of Paul's Associates, 16:21-23 581

Additional Note: The Erastus of 16:23 and the Erastus of the Inscription 585

E Concluding Doxology, 16:25-27 587

Indexes

I Subjects 590

II Modern Authors 600

III Scripture References 606

IV Extrabiblical Literature 623