Romans, Epistle to the

ROMANS, Epistle to the. - The first letter of St. Paul in the order of the Vulgate and of the Tridentine canon, the most important for Pauline theology.

I. ORIGIN

Paul, about to set out for Jerusalem to bring there the alms collected in the Churches of Macedonia and Achaia (15:25 ff.; cf. 1 Cor. 16:1 ff.; 2 Cor. 8:1-6, etc.), was thinking of a journey that, passing through Rome, would have led him as far as Spain (15:23 ff., 28), remaining faithful to his rule of "not building on another man's foundation" (15:20).

According to the most commonly accepted chronology, R. is the work of the winter of 57/58, when Paul could consider himself untroubled in regard to the questions that had agitated the community of Corinth, while he was worried about the reception he would receive in Jerusalem.

II. THE ADDRESSEES

The community of Rome, to which Paul was writing, was composed for the most part of Gentile Christians. The minority of converted Jews, while it created some difficulty for good harmony between the two parties (cf. especially 14:1-15:13), was not factious as elsewhere.

That at the time when the R. was written the Christian community of Rome was agitated by factions and by doctrinal errors seems contradicted by the sober language of the letter on the question of the "weak" and the "strong" (chapters 14 and 15), with the advice to the latter to show a charitable regard for the former, who were still bound by certain observances concerning times, foods and the like. In any case, these were not aggressive and intransigent Judaizers like those of Galatia (cf. GALATI, EPISTOLA ai). It is rather to the Gentile Christians that charity must be recommended toward the other party which, despite its different position of conscience, is in no way set apart from the rest of the community.

III. ITS NATURE AND PURPOSE

Therefore the polemic of R. keeps a moderate tone and is directed more at ideas than at men. Even in chapters 1-2 and 9-11, where the language is more lively, the writer sees before him, rather than a real person or group of persons, an abstract Jew or pagan, as representatives of two spiritual situations. Even more than its polemical character, the features proper to a treatise are accentuated in R. A happy synthesis of one substantial aspect of Pauline theology, it cannot, however, be considered a compendium or a systematic exposition of it. St. Paul seems almost obliged to apologize for daring to write; yet he hints at the motive of his interest in the community of Rome (15:17 ff.), which he knows only indirectly. Composed, for the most part, of elements that came from paganism, it falls within the field of work entrusted to him by Jesus (Acts 22:18-21) and acknowledged to him by the Apostles who were the "pillars" (Gal. 2:7 ff.). He wishes to prepare the minds of his readers for a visit of his to their community, which he regards as the heart of the Church of Christ, the chosen portion of his own apostolate, although he has not yet labored there personally. More than winning the goodwill of the Romans, he intends to establish the most salient points of future oral communications. The faithful of Rome, with whom he has not so far been able to meet because of the obstacles placed in the way of the fulfillment of his ardent desire (1:13) as apostle of the Gentiles, must enter as intimately as possible into communion with his thought and his heart, and deepen the sense of the message of universal salvation, which from Rome will spread ever more widely throughout the world.

That Paul also intended to soothe some minor disagreement between the two elements which, in very different proportions, made up the community of Rome, is suggested above all by chapters 14 and 15. But it is a secondary motive.

IV. THE CONTENT

After the exordium (1:1-17), a doctrinal or speculative part (1:18-11:36) and a moral or practical part (12:1-15:13) are commonly distinguished.

The very rich content of the R. would require a broader analysis; here are its dominant themes. In the exordium and prologue (1:1-17), Paul, after a solemn greeting (1:1-7), praises the recipient community for its faith, of which people speak everywhere, and expresses his desire, until then thwarted, to go to Rome, toward which his vocation as apostle of the Gentiles impels him (1:8-15). There follows in vv. 16 ff. the theme of the letter: the Gospel is divine power for the salvation of all, through faith, the source of justification.

This theme is amply developed in the dogmatic part (1:18-11:36), which can be divided into two main sections, each completed by a demonstration drawn from Scripture. The first section (1:18-3:31) develops the concept that justification is the work of God's righteousness and is attained only through faith. Without this, both the Gentiles (1:18-32) and the Jews (2:1-11) are sinners: the latter proud of a righteousness of their own that is deceptive; whereas true righteousness can be obtained neither through the law nor through circumcision (2:12-29). If the Jews have a position of privilege with respect to the Gentiles in the fact that the divine Scripture was entrusted to them, this does not remove the fact that they too are sinners, as Scripture itself declares (3:1-20). Only through faith in Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for our salvation, are both Gentiles and Jews justified: this takes away from both every reason to boast of their own works (3:21-31). In confirmation that faith alone works justification, the example of Abraham, father of all believers, is adduced from Scripture: he was justified for having believed God before the law and before circumcision itself, and independently of both (4:1-25).

The second section affirms that justification is reconciliation with God by virtue of the Incarnation of the Son and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (5:1-11). Through these acts of divine love the evil wrought by Adam in us is destroyed (5:12-21), we are freed from the slavery of sin, to live a new life in Christ (6:1-23), and we are also freed from the slavery of the law. This was an occasion of sin, inasmuch as it pointed it out but did not of itself give the strength to fight and avoid it (7:1-15). Justified, we are children of God and, consequently, heirs of heavenly glory (8:1-30): a gift that no power in the world can snatch from us (8:31-39). What follows concerning the infidelity of Israel

(9:1-11:36) may seem, at first glance, a digression from the subject; but it is to be considered, at most, as an appendix, or better still as a practical application of the doctrine previously set forth. The infidelity and consequent reprobation of Israel do not belie the "righteousness" (as cause of justification) and the faithfulness of God, since the true Israel, the spiritual one, in fact obtains the object of the divine promises and justification (9:1-29), which carnal Israel did not attain because of its proud confidence in its own "righteousness" (9:30-10:21). Rather than being frustrated, the design of God's love and mercy is fulfilled even more amply, in that the defection of Israel opens the way of salvation to the Gentiles (11:1-24); nor will the divine promise fail to be fulfilled concerning the salvation of a "remnant" of Israel itself (11:25-32). To man there remains, therefore, only to admire the inscrutability and the richness of God's designs, by which everything is governed (11:33-36).

In the moral part (12:1-15:13) one does not find the logical arrangement and the unity of subject of the dogmatic part; but one senses here and there that the whole force of the exhortation derives from the fact that the Christian has been justified by virtue of the loving "righteousness" of God. Therefore he must serve God (12:1 f.): serve him in the person of his own brothers, maintaining moderation and charity in all things (12:3-21). Out of regard for God he must obey the legitimately constituted authorities (13:1-7). The supreme law, or rather, the compendium of the law that must regulate the life of the justified man is love (13:8-10). As a "man of light," he must avoid all works of darkness, in order to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (13:11-14). The law of love, which must reign supreme among the justified, will suggest understanding and forbearance between the "strong" and the "weak," that is, between those who feel free from certain bonds of legal observances and those who still feel subject to them and consider it a sin to behave otherwise. Do not judge, because we all belong to God, the only judge (14:1-13), and take care not to wound the weak conscience of a brother, for whom Christ died, sacrificing for this, if necessary, even one's own freedom (14:14-23). To forget oneself, in order to show regard for one's brothers, in imitation of Christ, is a necessary condition for the union of all Christians, without distinction of origin from circumcision or from paganism (15:1-12).

After the wish of joy and peace in believing (15:13), Paul expresses the reason why he has written the letter: his mission as apostle of the Gentiles (15:14-21); he then sets out his travel plans: Jerusalem, Rome, Spain (15:22-29). Meanwhile, let the readers pray that he may be delivered from the unbelievers who are in Judea and that his mission to Jerusalem may succeed, so that he may arrive happily in Rome and rest there (15:30-32). A new wish of peace (15:33); a recommendation of the deaconess Phoebe, bearer of the letter, and greetings to the various members of the community of Rome (16:1-16); final recommendations and greetings from Paul's companions (16:17-24). Final doxology (16:25-27).

V. AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY

That the R. is truly by St. Paul is denied only by a small handful of radical critics, such as B. Bauer and the Dutch school (A. Pierson, S. A. Naber, W. C. Manen), who remained without much following. Many and ancient are the testimonies of tradition in favor of authenticity: an allusion in the Apostolic Fathers, quotations in the letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne and in the Gnostic writers, explicit attributions in St. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, the Muratorian Fragment, etc. As for the internal indications, one limits oneself to noting the countless correspondences with Galatians (v.), which bears the unmistakable marks of the personality of St. Paul.

The doubts about the integrity of the letter concern chapters 15 and 16, already rejected by Marcion. He, however, had no following; and even today the great majority of critics admit, at least for chapter 15, its Pauline authenticity and its belonging to Romans from the very beginning. The diplomatic tradition is decisive, since chapters 15 and 16 only in a few Latin manuscripts. That the doxology of 16:25-27 is sometimes found after 14:23 is easily explained by liturgical use. The complement of ch. 14 is 15:1-13, while the rest of ch. 15 has a kind of control in 1:8-15. That ch. 16 was originally a separate letter is quite unlikely, given that it would consist only of greetings; this detail, moreover, more easily explains some hesitation of the manuscripts in reporting the text. The doxology 16:25-27 is found now after 14:23 (about 200 Greek minuscules, the Harklean Syriac and Gothic versions, St. John Chrysostom, Theodoret) — which is easily explained as a phenomenon due to liturgical use, in which ch. 15, which has a content of personal news, and 16:1-24, which is a series of greetings, were omitted — now after 15:33 (P48), now after 14:23 or at the end (A P etc.), it is missing in G (there is a blank space after 14:23) and F; S B C D E and other uncials with the Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic and Peshitta versions have this doxology at the end of ch. 16. In short, the diplomatic tradition is clearly favorable to the authenticity of these three verses, which moreover converge so well with the substance of the epistle and of Pauline theology as to be able to be considered a happy synthesis of the one and the other.

Teodorico da Castel San Pietro