“Question & Answer”

Question:
What autobiographical touches appear in this letter?
Answer:
In Romans 7:15-20 the author gives a frank picture of a tortured inner self; “I do not understand my own actions”; in Romans 11:1, he recounts his ancestry: “an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin”; in Romans 15:21 he tells us that it was his policy to seek out places where Jesus Christ had not yet preached, “Lest I build on another man’s foundation.”

It reads in Romans 7:15-20 NIV: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
It reads in Romans 11:1 NIV: I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
It reads in Romans 15:21 NIV: Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”