It Takes a Village

PAUL’S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS | The church in Rome had existed for some time and was made up of Jewish and non-Jewish followers. But at one point sometime between A.D. 41-53, Emperor Claudius expelled all of the Jewish people, including Christian Jews from Rome and then allowed them to return five years later (see Acts 18:2). When these Jews returned they found a church that had become very non-Jewish in custom and practice. This created lots of tension so that in Paul’s day the Roman Church was divided. People disagreed about how to follow Jesus, they were debating about whether non-Jewish Christians should celebrate the sabbath, eat kosher, or be circumcised. So Paul wrote this letter to accomplish a few things. He wanted this divided church to become unified and for a practical purpose, he was hoping the church would become a staging ground for his mission to go even further west to Spain. For these reasons, Paul wrote Romans. Romans is Paul’s fullest explanation of the gospel; the good news that he was announcing about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and it’s effect on Creation and the church.