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Paul’s Places – Part 2: When in Rome
Episode 161 – Paul’s Places – Part 2: When in Rome
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script:
From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good news … This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people.
Romans, chapter 1, verses 1 and 7, Contemporary English Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful that we are able to be with you today as we continue forward with our new series on Anchored by Truth. We’ve entitled this series “Paul’s Places.” By “Paul” we’re referring to the Apostle Paul who wrote at least 13 of the books out of the 27 books that comprise the New Testament. The Apostle Paul, of course, started out life named “Saul.” But the “fire breathing” rebel Saul was converted on the road to Damascus by an encounter with the risen Christ. Then in Acts, chapter 13, verse 9, the writer of Acts, Luke, tells us that “Saul” was also called “Paul.” To help us learn more about “Paul’s Places” we have RD Fierro back in the studio. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, why did you want to call this series “Paul’s Places?”
RD: Well, before I comment on that I would like to add to your thanks to the listeners for tuning in today – whether they’re listening on the broadcast or podcast. We’re grateful for anyone who devotes part of their day or week with us. We wanted to do this series because while most Christians know that several of the books in the New Testament are named after places …
VK: 9 books to be exact – and among those 9 books there are 7 different places named because two of the named cities received two letters from Paul.
RD: Right. 21 of the books of the New Testament are essentially just letters that the writer sent either to a person or to a group such as a particular church. You often hear those letters referred to as “epistles” – but those epistles really are just a form of letter not any different from the same kind of letters sent today.
VK: Though none of those letters were sent by email.
RD: Right again. The best scholarship tells us that all of the books in the New Testament were written in the 1st century AD with the majority probably written between 45 to 65 AD. So, those 21 letters were sent by three different writers. The Apostle John wrote 3 epistles. The Apostle Peter wrote 2 epistles. 2 epistles were sent by Jesus’ half-brothers Jude and James. Paul wrote 13 of the remaining 14 epistles or letters and the author of the epistle to the Hebrews is not named. Many scholars think Paul also wrote it but since Hebrews does not name its writer that isn’t a certainty. And some scholars believe another figure from the early church such as Apollos or Barnabas may have written Hebrews.
VK: And 9 of Paul’s 13 epistles are named in the Bible by the destination to which the epistle was sent. And there are 7 different destinations.
RD: Yes. In the order in which they are included in the New Testament those so-called Pauline epistles were sent to churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Colossae.
VK: 6 of the 7 destinations named are cities and 1, Galatia, was a region similar in size to a small American state. 3 of those cities are located in what would be the nation of Greece today. 2 of those cities and Galatia are located in what would be the nation of Turkey Greece today. And Rome, of course, was located in the same place then as it was today in Italy.
RD: Yes. Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica are located in modern day Greece. But in Paul’s day Philippi and Thessalonica were located in a region called Macedonia and Corinth was located in a region called Achaia. Ephesus, Colossae, and Galatia were all located in modern day Turkey. And, as you said, Rome is right where Rome has always been.
VK: And today we want to focus on the epistle to the Romans. So, what are we hoping to see as we examine each of these epistles in turn?
RD: Well, first of all I want people to focus on the fact that, contrary to some uniformed critics, the Bible is not filled with “myths and fairy tales.” It is true that the Bible reports on supernatural events in the same way that it reports on mundane or secular matters. And as we often say on Anchored by Truth we can have confidence in the Bible’s reports about supernatural matters because in areas where we can directly test the Bible’s historical and geographic accuracy we see that the Bible writers were accurate.
VK: It’s a very simple principle. If we have a friend who we know to be honest and truthful and then one day that friend tells us they saw something extraordinary our first impulse should be to trust their report. We can trust their report because we have a track record and history with that person that tells us that person consistently tells the truth. Naturally, the opposite might be true. If we know somebody who consistently lies then we might have reason to doubt them, even if occasionally they tell us something that is true.
RD: Right. Character matters. And when the Bible’s character is tested in ways we can verify it always stands up to the test.
VK: So, one of the reasons we are doing this series is to help people see that the geography of the Bible is real, reliable geography. That is not true with some books that claim to have come from God, is it?
RD: No. But in keeping with our long-standing practice on Anchored by Truth we do not normally criticize other works by name. Our practice is to proclaim the truth of the Bible, the Word of God, for the same reason new bank tellers are trained to recognize counterfeit bills by being handed lots of genuine ones. When you know what’s genuine you can spot the counterfeits. Also, frankly, the time we have for these shows is limited so we’re not going to give any time to discussing the errors of others. We focus on demonstrating that Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
VK: But the basic point stands. As we will see throughout this series not only can you find the locations to which the epistles were sent on maps of the time, the situations discussed within the individual letter correspond to what we know about the character and culture of the location.
RD: Exactly. So, we are starting with the epistle, the letter, to the church in Rome because it is the first in order in most modern Bibles after the 4 gospels and the book of Acts. Now no one holds that the order of the epistles as they appear in the New Testament is inspired. But the order, nevertheless, helps us see how the earthly church fathers felt about that book. And Romans occupies the first position not because it was the first one written but because of its importance and the importance of the church that was located in what was the most important city in the Roman Empire.
VK: The book of Romans has been placed first pretty much since the time the New Testament was assembled in the 4th century AD. It has held this place in the sacred canon, even though many commentators believe that the Galatians, First Corinthians, and perhaps First and Second Thessalonians were written before it.
RD: Right. Romans contains the most complete treatment of the major doctrines of the Christian faith that is found in any of the epistles. In Romans Paul discussed the doctrines of regeneration, justification, sanctification, and the need for evangelism. He discussed such weighty themes as judgment, God’s wrath against sin, man’s universal rebellion, and the primacy of faith for reconciliation between man and God to be possible. Yet with all the weighty matters he undertook in the book of Romans Paul still made sure that he provided some of the most comforting language that is found in the entire Bible.
VK: I’m sure you’re thinking of that famous section from chapter 8 of Romans, especially the part contained in verses 31 through 39. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. … in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s from the New International Version.
RD: Yes. So, in and amongst all the principles and doctrine Paul included in Romans he never lost sight of the need to be encouraging to his readers. So, the book of Romans includes some of the most sobering observations in all of scripture …
VK: Like, “There is none who does good, no, not one.” That’s Romans 3:12 in the New King James Version.
RD: Yes. In that line Paul was quoting Psalm 14:3. But in addition to all the sobering language Paul also gave us so much encouragement like the assurance that nothing can separate us from God’s love and we are more than conquerors through the God that loves us. So, Romans contains these great discussions of these great themes but in Romans Paul also took great pains to discuss the relationship between gentiles and Jews with respect to Christianity. Chapters 9 through 11 contain one of the most thorough explanations in the Bible of the Jewish roots of Christianity and how God now views Jews and Gentiles with respect to the church.
VK: And essentially Paul tells us that anyone who places their faith in Jesus for salvation, whether they are a Jew or Gentile, will be saved. Paul notes that even though Israel was God’s “chosen people” and was the original recipient of God’s word that even in the Old Testament there was the promise that someday God’s plan of salvation would include the gentiles.
RD: Yes. Paul took more time in the book of Romans to discuss the interaction between Jews, gentiles, the church, and the history of salvation than in any other book.
VK: So, we can be sure that one reason he did that was because the Roman church was composed of Jewish and gentile believers. But Rome, of course, was a long way from the Holy Land. Why would there have been so many Jews in Rome?
RD: In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey the Great overran Judea. When he did he sent a large number of Jewish prisoners to Rome to be sold as slaves. But the Romans found out it was not easy to control them. The Jews persevered resolutely and obstinately in adhering to their faith and rites of their religion. Eventually the Romans chose to give them their freedom and assigned them a place in the vicinity of the city across the Tiber River. They built a town which was principally inhabited by Jews. And we know from history that Judaism was even one of the religions that the Romans accepted officially – so much so that the Jews were exempt from worshipping Caesar which most citizens of the empire were not. So, in Rome there were plenty of Jews, some of whom obviously came to accept Christ as the Messiah. These believers along with the gentile converts comprised the Roman church in Paul’s time.
VK: So, this explains why Paul would have taken such pains to go into the relationship between Jews, gentiles, and the church. There were probably lots of discussions within the Roman church as to “who had to do what” or “who was to blame for what.” This was long before the New Testament existed. Undoubtedly, there was a great deal of confusion about some issues that today we almost take for granted.
RD: Right. And Paul either knew about the differences from reports he received or quite likely he could have guessed that any church comprised of Jewish and gentile believers would have had certain questions. It’s apparent from Romans that at the time Paul wrote to the church he had not yet personally been there.
VK: Although later he would go to Rome in person after he was arrested in Jerusalem and, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor to hear his case. We hear about that episode in chapters 24 through 28 of the book of Acts.
RD: Yes. Most commentators believe Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans between 55 and 57 AD with many believing it was in 57 AD.
VK: Why is that?
RD: Around 52 or 54 AD the Roman Emperor Claudius banished all Jews from Rome. Acts 18:2 tells us that Paul first met a husband and wife named Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth. Acts 18:2 tells us that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth and that they had left Rome because of that decree. So, this had to have occurred after the year 52 ad. In Acts 18:19, we are told that Paul left Corinth accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla and subsequently Paul left them at Ephesus. Paul then made a journey through the neighboring regions, and then returned to Ephesus. That’s reported in Acts 19:1. Paul then remained at Ephesus at least two years. In the Epistle to the Romans Paul sends his salutation to Aquila and Priscilla. So, by the time Paul wrote Romans Aquila and Priscilla had returned at Rome. So, Romans could not have been written until after Aquila and Priscilla had left Ephesus and returned to Rome. That would have to have been at least three years after the decree of Claudius in 52 or 54 AD.
VK: But we also have some other clues as to the timing of Romans. We know that when Paul wrote this Epistle to Romans, he was about to depart for Jerusalem to take them a collection taken up by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia which had been made for the poor. That’s in Romans 15:25-26. And Paul said that when he had done this, he intended to go to Rome. That’s Romans 15:28. So, that gives us further clues as to the timing of when Romans was written.
RD: Right. Now, by looking at the book of Acts again, we can determine when this occurred. In Acts Paul said he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him into Macedonia, while he remained in Asia for a while. That’s Acts 19:22. After this (Acts 20:1-2), Paul himself went into Macedonia, passed through Greece, and remained there about three months. On this journey it is almost certain that Paul went to Corinth, the capital of Achaia. Romans was written at Corinth. After Paul was in Corinth Paul set out for Jerusalem where he arrested and became a prisoner. He remained a prisoner for two years. That’s Acts 24:27. Then after those 2 years he was sent to Rome about 60 AD. Allowing all of the time for traveling and his 2 year imprisonment, it must have been about three years after he finished Romans until the time when he actually reached Rome. Taken all together this means the Epistle to the Romans must have been written about 57 AD.
VK: How do we know Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans while he was in Corinth?
RD: The Epistle to the Romans mentions, Phoebe, a member of the church at Cenchrea. Cenchrea was the port of the city of Corinth, about seven or eight miles from the Corinth. Paul commends Phoebe to the Roman Christians. Phoebe probably carried the letter. Remember in Romans Paul sends his greetings to Aquila and Priscilla, two people he knew very well. Paul could easily have told Phoebe that when she went to Rome to seek out Aquila and Priscilla and give them the letter. At a minimum Phoebe accompanied those who had the letter. Furthermore, in Romans 16:23, Gaius is spoken of as the host of Paul. Gaius lived in Corinth and Paul had baptized him. Erastus is also mentioned as the chamberlain of the city where the Epistle to the Romans was written. And in 2 Timothy Erastus is mentioned as having his home at Corinth. Put all this together and there is strong evidence that Romans was written at Corinth about the year 57 AD.
VK: And at that time Rome was pretty much at the peak of its power. So Paul wrote the most complete description of the doctrines and principles of the Christian faith to a church located in the most important city in the Roman Empire. And, of course, the Roman Empire was where God began the distribution of the gospel. Later and throughout history, including today, the gospel has spread far beyond the boundaries of the old Roman Empire but God chose to begin the gospel’s spread within the Roman Empire. So, at the time Paul wrote Romans we can be very sure he knew he was writing an important letter to the church located in the most important city of his time. All that fits together very well. Paul knew his letters would circulate beyond his initial recipient or audience. And he knew people from all over the empire would travel to and through Rome. So, it was simply good common sense for him to ensure that the epistle, the letter, he wrote to the church in Rome was a thorough discussion of the foundations of the Christian faith. But we don’t really know what prompted Paul to write the letter, do we?
RD: No. Paul does not give us the specifics of his initial impulse. But I think we can use what Dr. John Gerstner used to call our “sanctified imagination” and come up with a plausible scenario.
VK: Well, you are a fiction writer.
RD: I am. So, in my imaginative world here is at least one possible scenario. We know from Acts, chapter 18 that after Paul had met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth they all travelled to Ephesus together. That made sense. They were all tent makers and in addition to their ministry needs they may have been looking for a good place for Aquila and Priscilla to re-establish their business. Ephesus was one of the primary business centers within the Roman Empire and it was the primary business center for what the Romans called Asia. We know from Acts 18:19 that Paul left them in Ephesus when he went back to Israel to conclude what is called his second missionary journey. Well, sometime after Paul left them Aquila in Ephesus they returned to Rome. Likely after Claudius was no longer emperor (he died in October 54 AD) things calmed down in Rome enough for them to return.
VK: And having spent a year or two with Paul they were now well trained in the Christian faith. So much so, that in Acts 18:24 through 27 we hear, “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor a and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. … When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” That’s the New International Version.
RD: Right. So, after Aquila and Priscilla returned to Rome naturally they would have found other believers and joined a church. Well, sometime later they probably learned that Paul was on his 3rd missionary journey and was going to be in Corinth. So, it’s entirely possible they asked him if he could come to Rome. Corinth is a relatively short boat ride away from Rome so from a travel standpoint that would make sense.
VK: And Paul wanted to go to Rome but right then he couldn’t. In Acts, chapter 18, verses 23 through 26 we hear “I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.”
RD: Exactly. So, Paul couldn’t go to Rome at that point. So, he did the next best thing. He sat down and wrote a comprehensive letter to the church where his good friends and former ministry partners were located. And Paul had a reliable person he could trust with the letter: Phoebe.
VK: And Phoebe lived in a port city so she may very well have travelled frequently, even to Rome. She may have had her own business since in Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 and 2 Paul says, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you…”
RD: Right. The point is when you look at the details of the people, the places, the larger political and cultural setting, Paul’s writing the letter he did to the church in Rome makes perfect sense.
VK: Sometimes I think people may think that when the Bible writers were inspired to write the books that are in Bible they get the impression that the writer heard a voice from the clouds, had a bright light shined on them, and heard the command “Write.” God sometimes deals with people that way, but more often God does his work through ordinary people using ordinary means.
RD: Right. The letter to the church in Rome was a real letter written by a real man to real people – people just like us. Next time we’re going to expand on this theme a bit more but for today we want people to realize that, like all of the Bible, Paul’s letter are perfectly consistent with what we know about the larger context in which they were written.
VK: This sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today, let’s listen to a prayer for the missionaries of our time – the people that today carry the gospel to the farthest corners of the world just as the Apostle Paul carried it to corners of the world he knew.
---- PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.”
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!”
(Opening Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version)
Romans, chapter 1, verses 1 and 7, Contemporary English Version
Romans 1 Barnes' Notes (biblehub.com)
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By R.D.Fierro
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Episode 161 – Paul’s Places – Part 2: When in Rome
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script:
From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good news … This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people.
Romans, chapter 1, verses 1 and 7, Contemporary English Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful that we are able to be with you today as we continue forward with our new series on Anchored by Truth. We’ve entitled this series “Paul’s Places.” By “Paul” we’re referring to the Apostle Paul who wrote at least 13 of the books out of the 27 books that comprise the New Testament. The Apostle Paul, of course, started out life named “Saul.” But the “fire breathing” rebel Saul was converted on the road to Damascus by an encounter with the risen Christ. Then in Acts, chapter 13, verse 9, the writer of Acts, Luke, tells us that “Saul” was also called “Paul.” To help us learn more about “Paul’s Places” we have RD Fierro back in the studio. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, why did you want to call this series “Paul’s Places?”
RD: Well, before I comment on that I would like to add to your thanks to the listeners for tuning in today – whether they’re listening on the broadcast or podcast. We’re grateful for anyone who devotes part of their day or week with us. We wanted to do this series because while most Christians know that several of the books in the New Testament are named after places …
VK: 9 books to be exact – and among those 9 books there are 7 different places named because two of the named cities received two letters from Paul.
RD: Right. 21 of the books of the New Testament are essentially just letters that the writer sent either to a person or to a group such as a particular church. You often hear those letters referred to as “epistles” – but those epistles really are just a form of letter not any different from the same kind of letters sent today.
VK: Though none of those letters were sent by email.
RD: Right again. The best scholarship tells us that all of the books in the New Testament were written in the 1st century AD with the majority probably written between 45 to 65 AD. So, those 21 letters were sent by three different writers. The Apostle John wrote 3 epistles. The Apostle Peter wrote 2 epistles. 2 epistles were sent by Jesus’ half-brothers Jude and James. Paul wrote 13 of the remaining 14 epistles or letters and the author of the epistle to the Hebrews is not named. Many scholars think Paul also wrote it but since Hebrews does not name its writer that isn’t a certainty. And some scholars believe another figure from the early church such as Apollos or Barnabas may have written Hebrews.
VK: And 9 of Paul’s 13 epistles are named in the Bible by the destination to which the epistle was sent. And there are 7 different destinations.
RD: Yes. In the order in which they are included in the New Testament those so-called Pauline epistles were sent to churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Colossae.
VK: 6 of the 7 destinations named are cities and 1, Galatia, was a region similar in size to a small American state. 3 of those cities are located in what would be the nation of Greece today. 2 of those cities and Galatia are located in what would be the nation of Turkey Greece today. And Rome, of course, was located in the same place then as it was today in Italy.
RD: Yes. Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica are located in modern day Greece. But in Paul’s day Philippi and Thessalonica were located in a region called Macedonia and Corinth was located in a region called Achaia. Ephesus, Colossae, and Galatia were all located in modern day Turkey. And, as you said, Rome is right where Rome has always been.
VK: And today we want to focus on the epistle to the Romans. So, what are we hoping to see as we examine each of these epistles in turn?
RD: Well, first of all I want people to focus on the fact that, contrary to some uniformed critics, the Bible is not filled with “myths and fairy tales.” It is true that the Bible reports on supernatural events in the same way that it reports on mundane or secular matters. And as we often say on Anchored by Truth we can have confidence in the Bible’s reports about supernatural matters because in areas where we can directly test the Bible’s historical and geographic accuracy we see that the Bible writers were accurate.
VK: It’s a very simple principle. If we have a friend who we know to be honest and truthful and then one day that friend tells us they saw something extraordinary our first impulse should be to trust their report. We can trust their report because we have a track record and history with that person that tells us that person consistently tells the truth. Naturally, the opposite might be true. If we know somebody who consistently lies then we might have reason to doubt them, even if occasionally they tell us something that is true.
RD: Right. Character matters. And when the Bible’s character is tested in ways we can verify it always stands up to the test.
VK: So, one of the reasons we are doing this series is to help people see that the geography of the Bible is real, reliable geography. That is not true with some books that claim to have come from God, is it?
RD: No. But in keeping with our long-standing practice on Anchored by Truth we do not normally criticize other works by name. Our practice is to proclaim the truth of the Bible, the Word of God, for the same reason new bank tellers are trained to recognize counterfeit bills by being handed lots of genuine ones. When you know what’s genuine you can spot the counterfeits. Also, frankly, the time we have for these shows is limited so we’re not going to give any time to discussing the errors of others. We focus on demonstrating that Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
VK: But the basic point stands. As we will see throughout this series not only can you find the locations to which the epistles were sent on maps of the time, the situations discussed within the individual letter correspond to what we know about the character and culture of the location.
RD: Exactly. So, we are starting with the epistle, the letter, to the church in Rome because it is the first in order in most modern Bibles after the 4 gospels and the book of Acts. Now no one holds that the order of the epistles as they appear in the New Testament is inspired. But the order, nevertheless, helps us see how the earthly church fathers felt about that book. And Romans occupies the first position not because it was the first one written but because of its importance and the importance of the church that was located in what was the most important city in the Roman Empire.
VK: The book of Romans has been placed first pretty much since the time the New Testament was assembled in the 4th century AD. It has held this place in the sacred canon, even though many commentators believe that the Galatians, First Corinthians, and perhaps First and Second Thessalonians were written before it.
RD: Right. Romans contains the most complete treatment of the major doctrines of the Christian faith that is found in any of the epistles. In Romans Paul discussed the doctrines of regeneration, justification, sanctification, and the need for evangelism. He discussed such weighty themes as judgment, God’s wrath against sin, man’s universal rebellion, and the primacy of faith for reconciliation between man and God to be possible. Yet with all the weighty matters he undertook in the book of Romans Paul still made sure that he provided some of the most comforting language that is found in the entire Bible.
VK: I’m sure you’re thinking of that famous section from chapter 8 of Romans, especially the part contained in verses 31 through 39. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. … in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s from the New International Version.
RD: Yes. So, in and amongst all the principles and doctrine Paul included in Romans he never lost sight of the need to be encouraging to his readers. So, the book of Romans includes some of the most sobering observations in all of scripture …
VK: Like, “There is none who does good, no, not one.” That’s Romans 3:12 in the New King James Version.
RD: Yes. In that line Paul was quoting Psalm 14:3. But in addition to all the sobering language Paul also gave us so much encouragement like the assurance that nothing can separate us from God’s love and we are more than conquerors through the God that loves us. So, Romans contains these great discussions of these great themes but in Romans Paul also took great pains to discuss the relationship between gentiles and Jews with respect to Christianity. Chapters 9 through 11 contain one of the most thorough explanations in the Bible of the Jewish roots of Christianity and how God now views Jews and Gentiles with respect to the church.
VK: And essentially Paul tells us that anyone who places their faith in Jesus for salvation, whether they are a Jew or Gentile, will be saved. Paul notes that even though Israel was God’s “chosen people” and was the original recipient of God’s word that even in the Old Testament there was the promise that someday God’s plan of salvation would include the gentiles.
RD: Yes. Paul took more time in the book of Romans to discuss the interaction between Jews, gentiles, the church, and the history of salvation than in any other book.
VK: So, we can be sure that one reason he did that was because the Roman church was composed of Jewish and gentile believers. But Rome, of course, was a long way from the Holy Land. Why would there have been so many Jews in Rome?
RD: In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey the Great overran Judea. When he did he sent a large number of Jewish prisoners to Rome to be sold as slaves. But the Romans found out it was not easy to control them. The Jews persevered resolutely and obstinately in adhering to their faith and rites of their religion. Eventually the Romans chose to give them their freedom and assigned them a place in the vicinity of the city across the Tiber River. They built a town which was principally inhabited by Jews. And we know from history that Judaism was even one of the religions that the Romans accepted officially – so much so that the Jews were exempt from worshipping Caesar which most citizens of the empire were not. So, in Rome there were plenty of Jews, some of whom obviously came to accept Christ as the Messiah. These believers along with the gentile converts comprised the Roman church in Paul’s time.
VK: So, this explains why Paul would have taken such pains to go into the relationship between Jews, gentiles, and the church. There were probably lots of discussions within the Roman church as to “who had to do what” or “who was to blame for what.” This was long before the New Testament existed. Undoubtedly, there was a great deal of confusion about some issues that today we almost take for granted.
RD: Right. And Paul either knew about the differences from reports he received or quite likely he could have guessed that any church comprised of Jewish and gentile believers would have had certain questions. It’s apparent from Romans that at the time Paul wrote to the church he had not yet personally been there.
VK: Although later he would go to Rome in person after he was arrested in Jerusalem and, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor to hear his case. We hear about that episode in chapters 24 through 28 of the book of Acts.
RD: Yes. Most commentators believe Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans between 55 and 57 AD with many believing it was in 57 AD.
VK: Why is that?
RD: Around 52 or 54 AD the Roman Emperor Claudius banished all Jews from Rome. Acts 18:2 tells us that Paul first met a husband and wife named Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth. Acts 18:2 tells us that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth and that they had left Rome because of that decree. So, this had to have occurred after the year 52 ad. In Acts 18:19, we are told that Paul left Corinth accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla and subsequently Paul left them at Ephesus. Paul then made a journey through the neighboring regions, and then returned to Ephesus. That’s reported in Acts 19:1. Paul then remained at Ephesus at least two years. In the Epistle to the Romans Paul sends his salutation to Aquila and Priscilla. So, by the time Paul wrote Romans Aquila and Priscilla had returned at Rome. So, Romans could not have been written until after Aquila and Priscilla had left Ephesus and returned to Rome. That would have to have been at least three years after the decree of Claudius in 52 or 54 AD.
VK: But we also have some other clues as to the timing of Romans. We know that when Paul wrote this Epistle to Romans, he was about to depart for Jerusalem to take them a collection taken up by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia which had been made for the poor. That’s in Romans 15:25-26. And Paul said that when he had done this, he intended to go to Rome. That’s Romans 15:28. So, that gives us further clues as to the timing of when Romans was written.
RD: Right. Now, by looking at the book of Acts again, we can determine when this occurred. In Acts Paul said he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him into Macedonia, while he remained in Asia for a while. That’s Acts 19:22. After this (Acts 20:1-2), Paul himself went into Macedonia, passed through Greece, and remained there about three months. On this journey it is almost certain that Paul went to Corinth, the capital of Achaia. Romans was written at Corinth. After Paul was in Corinth Paul set out for Jerusalem where he arrested and became a prisoner. He remained a prisoner for two years. That’s Acts 24:27. Then after those 2 years he was sent to Rome about 60 AD. Allowing all of the time for traveling and his 2 year imprisonment, it must have been about three years after he finished Romans until the time when he actually reached Rome. Taken all together this means the Epistle to the Romans must have been written about 57 AD.
VK: How do we know Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans while he was in Corinth?
RD: The Epistle to the Romans mentions, Phoebe, a member of the church at Cenchrea. Cenchrea was the port of the city of Corinth, about seven or eight miles from the Corinth. Paul commends Phoebe to the Roman Christians. Phoebe probably carried the letter. Remember in Romans Paul sends his greetings to Aquila and Priscilla, two people he knew very well. Paul could easily have told Phoebe that when she went to Rome to seek out Aquila and Priscilla and give them the letter. At a minimum Phoebe accompanied those who had the letter. Furthermore, in Romans 16:23, Gaius is spoken of as the host of Paul. Gaius lived in Corinth and Paul had baptized him. Erastus is also mentioned as the chamberlain of the city where the Epistle to the Romans was written. And in 2 Timothy Erastus is mentioned as having his home at Corinth. Put all this together and there is strong evidence that Romans was written at Corinth about the year 57 AD.
VK: And at that time Rome was pretty much at the peak of its power. So Paul wrote the most complete description of the doctrines and principles of the Christian faith to a church located in the most important city in the Roman Empire. And, of course, the Roman Empire was where God began the distribution of the gospel. Later and throughout history, including today, the gospel has spread far beyond the boundaries of the old Roman Empire but God chose to begin the gospel’s spread within the Roman Empire. So, at the time Paul wrote Romans we can be very sure he knew he was writing an important letter to the church located in the most important city of his time. All that fits together very well. Paul knew his letters would circulate beyond his initial recipient or audience. And he knew people from all over the empire would travel to and through Rome. So, it was simply good common sense for him to ensure that the epistle, the letter, he wrote to the church in Rome was a thorough discussion of the foundations of the Christian faith. But we don’t really know what prompted Paul to write the letter, do we?
RD: No. Paul does not give us the specifics of his initial impulse. But I think we can use what Dr. John Gerstner used to call our “sanctified imagination” and come up with a plausible scenario.
VK: Well, you are a fiction writer.
RD: I am. So, in my imaginative world here is at least one possible scenario. We know from Acts, chapter 18 that after Paul had met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth they all travelled to Ephesus together. That made sense. They were all tent makers and in addition to their ministry needs they may have been looking for a good place for Aquila and Priscilla to re-establish their business. Ephesus was one of the primary business centers within the Roman Empire and it was the primary business center for what the Romans called Asia. We know from Acts 18:19 that Paul left them in Ephesus when he went back to Israel to conclude what is called his second missionary journey. Well, sometime after Paul left them Aquila in Ephesus they returned to Rome. Likely after Claudius was no longer emperor (he died in October 54 AD) things calmed down in Rome enough for them to return.
VK: And having spent a year or two with Paul they were now well trained in the Christian faith. So much so, that in Acts 18:24 through 27 we hear, “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor a and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. … When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” That’s the New International Version.
RD: Right. So, after Aquila and Priscilla returned to Rome naturally they would have found other believers and joined a church. Well, sometime later they probably learned that Paul was on his 3rd missionary journey and was going to be in Corinth. So, it’s entirely possible they asked him if he could come to Rome. Corinth is a relatively short boat ride away from Rome so from a travel standpoint that would make sense.
VK: And Paul wanted to go to Rome but right then he couldn’t. In Acts, chapter 18, verses 23 through 26 we hear “I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.”
RD: Exactly. So, Paul couldn’t go to Rome at that point. So, he did the next best thing. He sat down and wrote a comprehensive letter to the church where his good friends and former ministry partners were located. And Paul had a reliable person he could trust with the letter: Phoebe.
VK: And Phoebe lived in a port city so she may very well have travelled frequently, even to Rome. She may have had her own business since in Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 and 2 Paul says, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you…”
RD: Right. The point is when you look at the details of the people, the places, the larger political and cultural setting, Paul’s writing the letter he did to the church in Rome makes perfect sense.
VK: Sometimes I think people may think that when the Bible writers were inspired to write the books that are in Bible they get the impression that the writer heard a voice from the clouds, had a bright light shined on them, and heard the command “Write.” God sometimes deals with people that way, but more often God does his work through ordinary people using ordinary means.
RD: Right. The letter to the church in Rome was a real letter written by a real man to real people – people just like us. Next time we’re going to expand on this theme a bit more but for today we want people to realize that, like all of the Bible, Paul’s letter are perfectly consistent with what we know about the larger context in which they were written.
VK: This sounds like a great time for a prayer. Today, let’s listen to a prayer for the missionaries of our time – the people that today carry the gospel to the farthest corners of the world just as the Apostle Paul carried it to corners of the world he knew.
---- PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.”
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!”
(Opening Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version)
Romans, chapter 1, verses 1 and 7, Contemporary English Version
Romans 1 Barnes' Notes (biblehub.com)