"Only Life Changes"

Question:
When was this Letter to the Romans Written?

Answer:
It was composed at Corinth in about 57 CE and addressed to the Christian church at Rome, which Paul had not visited yet.

Question:
To whom is this Letter of Paul’s addressed too?
Answer:
Paul’s letter to the Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament and the longest and doctrinally most significant of his writings. It was composed at Corinth in about 57 CE and addressed to the Christian church at Rome, which Paul had not visited yet. The letter expounds the gospel of Jesus Christ as the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes and emphasizes the themes of grace, justification, and the obedience of faith. The letter has been influential in the history of Christianity and has shaped the thought of many prominent theologians and leaders. However, it also differs from other Pauline letters in that Paul did not claim apostolic authority over the Roman congregation and respected their prior evangelization.

Question:

Who is the author of the letter of Paul to the Romans?

Answer:
Paul’s Letter to the Romans by R.C. Sproul from Justified by Faith Alone The doctrine of justification by faith alone is at the center of Reformation theology, and remains critical for all believers today. In Romans 16:22 Tertius “who wrote this letter” greets the readers. Paul is the author of the letter, but Tertius is the scribe or amanuensis who did the actual writing. The name means “third” in Latin and was a common name for slaves (Jewett, 978). This fact alone does not tell us anything about his social status since some slaves were trained as scribes. Jewett suggests Phoebe provided Paul with Tertius’s

Question:
What do we know of Paul’s physical appearance?
Answer:
Physical appearance In the Acts of Paul he is described as “A man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked”. In the Latin version of the Acts of Paul and Thecla “written about A. D. 150”, it is added that he had a red, florid face. He was a bald-headed, bowlegged short man with a big nose, and an unbroken eyebrow that lay across his forehead like a dead caterpillar. That’s a paraphrase. It’s from the only physical description of Paul, in an early Christian document, the Acts of Paul. Even while Paul was carrying on his ministry, some fleshly critics charged that “his presence in person [was] weak and his speech contemptible.” ( 2 Cor. 10:10 NIV: For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”) But we should not forget that he became a Christian by a miraculous display from Jesus.

Question:
“How are the Greek elements in Paul’s background revealed in his correspondence?
Answer:
Since Paul spoke and wrote in Greek (he gives no indication that he knew Aramaic), he knew and used the Septuagint. Although Paul’s letters did not regularly reveal his life experiences, on occasion these experiences served his missionary needs, and so he included them.The apostle Paul definitely spoke Greek. He preached the gospel in Athens, read Greek literature and quoted Greek poets. Since he wrote his letters in Greek, his written Greek is extremely good, and he demonstrates a knowledge of Greek rhetoric. It is also important that metaphors played an important role in Hellenistic rhetoric mainly because of their philosophical traditions. So, as some of listeners of Paul were Hellenistic he had to “speak in their language”. Also, he had to trust me to the same doctrine those who had Jewish faith.

Question:
What was Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity?
Answer:
Paul’s contribution to the development of Christianity is in two forms: (1) his preaching, and (2) his writings. Luke, the church historian, informs us that Paul did not wait too long to begin preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Upon his baptism, the apostle, at first, “spent several days with the disciples in Damascus” but then Luke reports: “At once he (Paul) began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20 NIV: At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.); a message that was once anathema to him. From that point on, the apostle did not relent from preaching and establishing churches where his legs would and could take him. Using Antioch of Syria as his base, he undertook three missionary journeys that covered a vast swathe of land that stretched from Judea in the east, to across regions in the northern arc of the Mediterranean Sea, to Corinth in the west. When the primitiveness of the modes of transportation is taken into consideration, such expansive coverage of territory is all the more remarkable. And when we add in the resistance from his opponents and the dangers from sea, rivers and bandits, we can only hardly begin to appreciate the energy of this apostle’s zeal to be the ‘servant of Christ Jesus’. Beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, abandoned; all these hardships and sufferings could not deter the man from accomplishing the mission that was entrusted to him ( 2 Cor. 11:23 NIV:Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. —Acts 9:15-16 NIV: But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”).

Question:
When is Paul remembered in the Christian year?
Answer:
January 25th commemorates the conversation of St. Paul.

Question:
How are the Hebrew elements in Paul’s background brought out in his correspondence?
Answer:
Paul knows the Law thoroughly, and in its exegesis often employs the methods of rabbis. {Acts 23:6-9 NIV: Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”} {Acts 24:14 NIV: However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,} {Acts 26:8 NIV: Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?} “Hagar and Sarah” {Galatians 4:21-31 NIV: Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.} {1 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV: They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.}

Question:
Why did Paul write letters?
Answer:
Paul loved those people very much and wanted to hear how the young churches he had founded were doing. Someone would bring him news about the church members in a particular city then Paul would write them a letter, usually answering some questions they had or teaching them something they needed to know about living as Christians.

Question:
What was the purpose of Paul’s travels?
Answer:
The purpose of all of Paul’s missionary journeys was to proclaim God’s grace through the forgiveness of sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God used Paul’s ministry to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and establish the church. His letters to the churches, recorded in the New Testament, still support church life and doctrine.