The Epistle of St Paul to the Romans (Book of Romans)

The Epistle to the Romans, in the Vulgate Epistola ad Romanos, opens the fourteen Epistles of St Paul, right after the Acts of the Apostles. It was not the first letter he wrote. Challoner's preface to the Douay Bible says it "is first placed on account of sublimity of the matter contained in it, of the preeminence of the place to which it was sent, and in veneration of the Church." In sixteen chapters the Apostle sets out the whole economy of salvation: man's sin, Christ's redemption, the grace that justifies, Baptism into Christ's death, the calling of Israel, and the life of charity that follows.

Who wrote the Book of Romans?

St Paul the Apostle. The letter opens with his name: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God" (Romans 1). He calls himself "the apostle of the Gentiles" (11:13), recalls his preaching "from Jerusalem round about as far as unto Illyricum" (15:19), and plans to pass through Rome on his way to Spain.

The early witness is unanimous. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 calls the external evidence "uncommonly strong": St Clement of Rome, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Polycarp and St Justin knew the letter, and even the heretic Marcion kept it in his canon; St Irenaeus quotes it by name as Paul's. Its language and teaching are those of the Epistles to the Corinthians and the Galatians. Here modern scholarship agrees with tradition: Romans is counted among the letters almost no one doubts are Paul's own. As the question was never seriously disputed, the Pontifical Biblical Commission issued no decree on it.

Paul or Tertius?

Near the end one line is written in another name: "I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord" (Romans 16, verse 22). Tertius was the scribe to whom Paul dictated the letter, as he dictated his other Epistles and signed them in his own hand (2 Thessalonians 3:17). The author is Paul; the principal Author, as of all Scripture, is the Holy Ghost. For the Apostle's life, see our article on St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

When and where was Romans written?

At Corinth, at the end of the third missionary journey, shortly before Paul left for Jerusalem. Challoner gives the circumstances: "St. Paul wrote this epistle at Corinth, when he was preparing to go to Jerusalem with the charitable contributions collected in Achaia and Macedonia for the relief of the Christians in Judea; which was about twenty-four years after Our Lord's Ascension." The letter confirms it.

Paul is about to go "to Jerusalem, to minister unto the saints" with the collection (15:25-26); he commends "Phebe, our sister, who is in the ministry of the church, that is in Cenchrae," the port of Corinth (16:1); and he sends greetings from "Caius, my host," likely the Caius he had baptized at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:14), and from "Erastus, the treasurer of the city" (16:23). The journey that follows is told in Acts 20.

From the chronology of the governors Felix and Festus, the Catholic Encyclopedia places the letter between AD 56 and 59, "or better 57-58." Phebe was probably its bearer to Rome, and the ancient subscription of many Greek manuscripts names her as such.

Who was the Book of Romans written to?

"To all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints" (1:7): the Church of the capital, which Paul had not founded and had not yet visited, and whose faith "is spoken of in the whole world" (1:8). It was mostly Gentile, with a strong Jewish-Christian minority, which is why the letter weighs the Law of Moses and the calling of Israel so carefully. Paul does not mention St Peter, whom tradition holds to be the founder of the Roman Church; the Catholic Encyclopedia explains the silence most simply: Peter was then away from Rome.

Why did Paul write the Book of Romans?

The letter gives four reasons. To announce his coming, "that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you" (1:11). To gain their help for a new mission: "When I shall begin to take my journey into Spain, I hope that as I pass, I shall see you" (15:24). To ask their prayers for the dangerous journey to Jerusalem (15:30-31). And above all, to set before a Church he did not know the gospel he preached, so that Jew and Gentile might be "of one mind one towards another" (15:5).

What is the Book of Romans about? A summary

The theme is announced at once: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek. For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith" (1:16-17, citing Habacuc 2). A doctrinal part (chapters 1–11) is followed by a moral part (chapters 12–16).

All have sinned (chapters 1–3)

The pagans knew God from His works, "for the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen" (1:20), as Wisdom 13 also teaches, yet they did not glorify Him, and God gave them up to idolatry and shameful vices (chapters 1–3). The Jews had the Law but did not keep it, and God "will render to every man according to his works" (Romans 2). So "all have sinned, and do need the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3).

Abraham, father of believers (chapter 4)

Abraham was justified before he was circumcised: "Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice" (Romans 4, citing Genesis 15). He is the father of all who believe, Jew and Gentile.

Grace, Baptism and the law of sin (chapters 5–7)

"Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5). As by one man sin and death entered the world, so by one Man came grace and life, and "where sin abounded, grace did more abound." Chapter 6 answers the objection that we might sin that grace may abound: in Baptism we died with Christ and rose to "newness of life." Romans 7 shows that the Law, "holy, and just, and good," could not give the strength to obey it, and describes the war of flesh and spirit: "For I do not that good which I will; but the evil which I hate, that I do."

Life in the Spirit (chapter 8)

"There is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh" (Romans 8). The Spirit makes us adopted sons who cry "Abba (Father)," heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, "yet so, if we suffer with him."

The mystery of Israel (chapters 9–11)

Why has most of Israel not believed? Paul speaks of his "great sadness" for his kinsmen (Romans 9) and shows that God's promises were never bound to descent according to the flesh: "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Israel stumbled by seeking its own justice, though "the end of the law is Christ" (Romans 10). Yet God has not cast off His people: a remnant believes, the Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree and must not boast, and in the end "all Israel should be saved" (Romans 11). The section closes in praise: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!"

The Christian life (chapters 12–16)

Chapter 12 opens: "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God," then teaches the one body in Christ, the gifts of grace and the precepts of charity, ending "Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good." Romans 13 teaches obedience to lawful authority, love as the fulfilling of the Law, and watchfulness. Chapters 14 and 15 ask the "strong" to bear with the "weak" over foods and days, and set out Paul's plans. Chapter 16 commends Phebe, greets Prisca, Aquila and many others, warns against "them who make dissensions," and ends with the great doxology.

Themes and the Catholic reading of Romans

Original sin. "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" (5:12). The Council of Trent quotes this verse in its decree on original sin (Session V, canon 2) against those who said Adam passed on to us death but not sin. See our article on original sin.

Justification by faith, rightly understood. "For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law" (3:28). The Reformers read this as faith alone. Challoner's note gives the Catholic sense: the faith Paul means is "a faith working through charity in Jesus Christ," which "takes in hope, love, repentance, and the use of the sacraments," and the works excluded "are only the works of the law," done before faith, "but by no means, such as follow faith, and proceed from it."

Trent teaches (Session VI, ch. 8) that we are justified by faith "because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation, and the root of all Justification," and freely, "because that none of those things which precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace itself of justification," quoting Romans 11:6: "if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace." It condemns the claim that "by faith alone the impious is justified" in the sense that nothing else is required (canon 9). Romans itself joins faith to judgment "according to his works" (2:6) and to "the charity of God... poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost" (5:5); St James teaches the same from the other side, as our article on faith without works shows.

Baptism. "Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death? For we are buried together with him by baptism into death" (6:3-4). See our article on Catholic Baptism.

The Fathers loved this Epistle. St John Chrysostom preached thirty-two homilies on it at Antioch and said he heard it read "twice every week, and often three or four times." St Augustine was converted by it: in the garden at Milan he heard Tolle, lege, "take up and read," opened the Apostle at Romans 13:13-14, and his doubts were gone (Confessions VIII, 12). St Thomas Aquinas and Cornelius a Lapide left full commentaries on it.

Famous verses and chapters from Romans

Romans 1:16 and 1:26-27. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Romans 1). The same chapter condemns the vices "against nature," the passage people mean when they ask what Romans says about homosexuality; see what God says about homosexuality.

Romans 3:23 and 6:23. "For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God" (Romans 3); "For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6).

Romans 8. "And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints" (8:28); "If God be for us, who is against us?" (8:31); and "neither death, nor life, nor angels... nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:38-39), all in Romans 8.

Romans 10:9 and 10:17. "For if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved"; "Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10). On the Catholic teaching, see what God says about salvation.

Romans 13. "Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God" (13:1), and "it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep... put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ" (13:11-14), in Romans 13.

Romans in the canon and in the liturgy

Romans bears the same name in Catholic and Protestant Bibles and has the same sixteen chapters in all of them. It belongs to the New Testament and was never among the disputed books: the Councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393), Carthage (397), Florence and Trent (Session IV, 1546) list it among the fourteen Epistles of Paul. Written in Greek, it came to the West in the Latin of the Vulgate, from which our Douay-Rheims Bible was translated.

In the 1962 Roman Missal, Romans gives the Epistle of the First and Second Sundays of Advent (13:11-14; 15:4-13), of the Sundays after Epiphany (chapters 12 and 13), of Trinity Sunday (11:33-36), and of the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Sundays after Pentecost (8:18-23; 6:3-11; 6:19-23; 8:12-17). In the Roman Breviary it is begun at Matins on 29 December, within the Christmas octave, and read through the first days of January. Follow these readings in our liturgical calendar and in the Breviary.

How to read the Book of Romans

Read it whole first, to see the argument move from sin to grace to charity. Then go slowly through chapters 5 to 8, the heart of the letter, with the Vulgate beside the English, since iustitia, gratia and fides carry the theology Trent defined. Then read Galatians, which treats the same question more briefly, and the Epistle of St James, to see the two Apostles in agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Book of Romans?

St Paul the Apostle wrote the Epistle to the Romans, as its first verse states: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." The Fathers from St Clement of Rome and St Irenaeus onward received it as his, and even most modern critics count it among his undisputed letters.

Did Paul or Tertius write the Book of Romans?

Paul is the author. Tertius, named only here in Scripture, was the secretary who took down the letter from the Apostle's dictation, and he signs one line in his own name: "I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord" (Romans 16:22).

When was the Book of Romans written?

About AD 57-58, at the end of St Paul's third missionary journey, shortly before he took the collection for the poor to Jerusalem. Challoner dates it "about twenty-four years after Our Lord's Ascension," and the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 places it between 56 and 59, "or better 57-58."

Where was Paul when he wrote the Book of Romans?

He was at Corinth, staying with his host Caius (Romans 16:23). The letter commends Phebe of Cenchrae, the port of Corinth, who probably carried it to Rome. Challoner's preface states plainly: "St. Paul wrote this epistle at Corinth."

Who was the Book of Romans written to?

To the Christians of Rome, "all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints" (1:7). Paul had not founded this Church and had not yet visited it. It was mostly Gentile, with a strong Jewish-Christian minority, and its faith was already "spoken of in the whole world."

What is the main theme of the Book of Romans?

The gospel as "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (1:16). All men, Jew and Gentile, have sinned; all are justified freely by the grace of Christ, received in faith and Baptism; and the justified must live by the Spirit in charity. The letter also explains God's plan for Israel and ends with lessons in the Christian virtues.

How many chapters are in the Book of Romans?

The Book of Romans has 16 chapters and 433 verses, in the Douay-Rheims, the Latin Vulgate and Protestant Bibles alike. You can read every chapter here, beginning with Romans 1, Latin and English side by side.

Is the Book of Romans in the Catholic Bible?

Yes. Romans is in every Catholic Bible, the first of the fourteen Epistles of St Paul in the New Testament, after the Acts of the Apostles. It has never been disputed, and the Council of Trent lists it among the sacred and canonical books.

Read the whole Epistle to the Romans verse by verse, Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Epistle to the Romans, Latin Vulgate and Douay-Rheims (Challoner revision, 1749-1752), with Challoner's preface and notes; St John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans; St Augustine, Confessions VIII, 12; St Irenaeus, Against Heresies; St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; Cornelius a Lapide, Commentaria in Epistolam ad Romanos; Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree on the Canonical Scriptures (1546), Session V, Decree on Original Sin (1546), and Session VI, Decree on Justification (1547); The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Epistle to the Romans"; Missale Romanum (1962); Breviarium Romanum (1962).