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In Paul’s world, letters were the only way to communicate with people at a distance. It was a world with no telephones or telegraphs. Travel was slow and most people could not be away from their work for any extended period of time. Letters, hand-written letters, were essential to maintain friendships, express sympathy, to carry on business, even to introduce family members to one another. The New Testament is full of letters! In fact, 21 of the 27 books in the New Testament are letters, sometimes called epistles.
Paul’s letters are the oldest documents we have from the beginning of the church. They were written even before the four Gospels were written down. Many scholars suggest that Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in the mid to late 50s, when he was staying in Corinth.
The only Scripture anyone had was the Jewish Scripture, what Christians now call the Old Testament. Most Jews, who knew and loved their Scripture, did not believe that Jesus was God’s promised and long-awaited Messiah. |
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These few believers, gathered in little groups in cities scattered around the Mediterranean, were trying to sustain and understand their faith in a world where many other faiths were more well-known and were practiced with public approval.
As you read the letter to the Romans, perhaps you will picture Paul trying to understand and then explain how the faithful and gracious God of Israel sent Jesus to offer God’s promise of salvation not just to the Jews, but to all people.
God is at work among us, inspiring us to want to do and then to do that which we are called to do (Philippians 2:13): to work out what it means to trust Jesus every day in our family, our friendships, our political, economic, and social worlds. We hope that some of Paul’s words in this study lead you into a better understanding of God's will for your lives.
The first session is available for download. View the monthly magazine themes and Bible study topics. |