If we examine the text through first-century (pre-denominational) lenses, and seek to comprehend what the inspired author intended to communicate to his original targeted audience and how they would have understood the message in light of their particular background and circumstances, we are better equipped to avoid anachronistic misconceptions and make legitimate present-day application.
The Key to Understanding Romans
The best way to understand Romans is to start at the first verse of the first chapter and read all the way through to the end of the letter, which is how the document was originally designed. Otherwise, we run the risk of missing the point and misunderstanding any given passage, especially when the flow of thought and surrounding context are not considered.
Keys to Misunderstanding Romans
If we start in chapter 3 or 4 and conclude that justification is by faith alone apart from any kind of works or deeds, we have skipped over what was already established at the beginning of the letter (and reiterated at the end of the letter) concerning “obedience of faith” (1:5; 16:26). These bookends define how “faith” is to be understood throughout the book. Saving faith is not an inactive, non-obedient, purely mental assent to a perceived truth. It is clearly a functioning, responsive, obedient faith.1 We also miss what is laid out in chapter 2 about repentance and divine judgment according to our deeds, with repeated emphasis on active doing (2:4-16).
If we begin in the fifth chapter and dismiss from God’s redemptive plan obedience in general and baptism in particular, not only have we sidestepped the first two chapters, we also haven’t read far enough to appreciate that Paul is writing to penitent baptized believers who have been freed from sin as a result of their obedient faith (6:3-18), with continued righteous living (6:19-23). Likewise, if we start in chapter 6, we fail to fully comprehend the previous chapter’s focus on God’s loving grace and Christ’s atoning sacrifice, without which our faith response would be entirely ineffectual.
If we start in chapter 7, it would be easy to get discouraged by the blunt reminder of the inner struggle and constant battle to overcome sin, unless we are reminded of what the Lord has done in the preceding chapter. And we need to keep reading through chapter 8 to realize that divine help is available to ensure victory. But if we begin in the eighth chapter, we miss the personal effort described in chapter 7 that is necessary to work in cooperation with God to successfully live the Christian life.
If we start in the ninth chapter and isolate selected verses that seem to support certain tenets of Calvinism, we have overlooked the first eight chapters and may not realize that chapter 9 is merely prefatory for the extended three-chapter discourse about Israel’s place in salvation history. Chapters 10–11 clarify and complete the whole argument.
If we begin in the tenth chapter and cite verses 9-13 to argue against the necessity of gospel obedience and the salvific role of baptism, we have ignored the fact that the tenth chapter was written after the first eight chapters and is addressed to penitent baptized believers currently sanctified in Christ. Chapter 10 must therefore be read in light of what is already understood. By starting in chapter 11, we might unnecessarily infer the unconditional salvation of modern-day Israel, but again this misses everything Paul has been saying since the beginning of the letter about the conditional nature of salvation for all who are in Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike (e.g., 2:5-9; 3:23-26; 6:16-19; 10:12-13; 11:20-23).
If we begin in chapter 12, 13, 14, or 15, we skip over the theological foundation upon which the letter’s practical-application section stands. And by starting in the final chapter, we can certainly glean a lot of historical information but miss out on the doctrinal and practical aspects of the letter.
Conclusion
Briefly stated, Romans is about God’s redemptive plan for humanity. Both Jews and Gentiles have sinned, stand before God on equal terms, and are justified together in the same way (chaps. 1–11). Practical directives are then given for how Christians ought to live and relate to one another and to the world (chaps. 12–16).
Understanding Romans doesn’t have to be as daunting as many have made it out to be. It requires integrity, common sense, and conscientiously avoiding hermeneutical fallacies. Surely we can recognize the delusion of proof texting, i.e., selecting isolated verses to form a doctrinal belief without due attention to the original context, ignoring qualifying information, and thereby distorting the actual meaning. This is often accompanied by eisegesis, whereby one’s presuppositions are read into the biblical text, rather than exegesis, which draws out of the text what the inspired writer intended to convey.
Let us be thankful for the knowledge of God’s will as revealed in Romans and the rest of God’s holy word,2 and the opportunity and ability he has granted to study, understand, and obey it. May we live up to his expectations.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 See “Bookends of Romans,” Moore Perspective (16 Nov. 2023), <Link>. The so-called “Romans Road to Salvation” (popular in a number of denominational tracts) cherry-picks selected verses from Romans to create a seemingly biblical case for salvation by faith alone, but in so doing context is ignored and allusions to obedience and baptism (e.g., Rom. 1:5; 2:8; 6:1-18; 10:16; 16:19, 26) are curiously omitted.
2 See “What the Scriptures Say About the Scriptures,” Moore Perspective (25 July 2018), <Link>.
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