ABSTRACT
St Paul’s letter to the Romans is a theologically dense and complex text. Probably written in Corinth during the first five years of Nero’s imperial reign (54-59) it was intended to prepare the ground for Paul’s planned journey to Rome. The church there was not of his creation and nor had he previously visited it, but he recognized its commitment and potential for spreading the Christian message throughout the empire, writing that ‘your faith is talked of all over the world’ (Romans 1:8).2 Melanchthon described the letter as a ‘summary of all Christian doctrine’3 and although it is not a systematic treatise, Summa Doctrinae Christianae, it is a comprehensive statement of Paul’s understanding of the theology of redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul writes:
So then, now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; it is through him, by faith, that we have been admitted into God’s favour in which we are living, and look forward exultantly to God’s glory. Not only that; let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance, and perseverance develops a tested character, something that gives us hope, and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:1-5).
