New Testament
Romans
16 chapters · World English Bible
Book context
Paul writes to believers “in Rome” (1:1, 1:7), a church he had often planned to visit but had not yet reached (1:13), as he prepares to go to Jerusalem to serve the saints (15:25). The letter presents the Good News as “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek” (1:16 to 17), then turns to how believers live in response to God’s mercy (12:1). Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) outlines it as an introduction (1:1 to 15), the gospel of righteousness by faith (1:16 to 11:36), practical instruction (12:1 to 15:13) and a conclusion with many personal greetings (15:14 to the end). Easton places it in Corinth in AD 58; Phoebe, commended in 16:1, may have carried it.
Why we say this
HisFullGlory editorial · common interpretation · not yet reviewed by a theological reader
From the text itself
Sources
Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.
AI explanation
About Romans as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader
This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.
What this book is about
Paul writes to people he has never met. They are in Rome, and he says he is eager to preach the good news to them too. He is not ashamed of it, because it is “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes”. That one sentence is the plan of the letter.
He argues that all people, Jews and non-Jews alike, have sinned, and that God makes people right with himself through faith in Jesus Christ and not by keeping the law (chapters 1 to 4). Then he describes the new life this brings: peace with God, freedom from sin's rule, and life in the Spirit. Chapter 8 ends with the conviction that nothing can separate believers from God's love.
Chapters 9 to 11 wrestle with the place of Israel, and Paul does so with evident pain. The last chapters turn to daily life: love, humility, and unity between groups with different scruples.
Background
Paul wrote Romans around the year 57, probably from Corinth, to a church he had not founded or visited. He hoped to visit Rome on his way to Spain. Romans is his fullest explanation of the good news.
How Christians read it
Romans has shaped Christian thought more than any other letter. Its teaching on being made right with God stood at the center of the Reformation, and Catholics and Protestants have explained it differently. Chapter 9 is central to the debate on predestination. Chapter 13 on governing authorities is read with care, since it has been misused to demand obedience to unjust rule.
About this explanation
Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 14 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.