A: I'll take a crack at it by offering my own synopsis on Romans, as it relates to the topic at hand. To begin with, I think there's an historical event that set the tone for Paul's letter to the Romans: In about 51 A.D., Claudius banished the Jews from Rome (it appears that this may have been because of anti-Christian riots). When Claudius died (of poisoning) in about 54 A.D., Nero came to power and the Jews began returning. For the three years that the Jews had been banished, the Roman church was Gentile. It appears that some of the Gentile Christians were having difficulty accepting the returning Jewish Christians. It also appears that some Gentile Christians felt that God had rejected the Jews altogether (what I would call true “replacement theology”). On the other hand, it appears that some of the Jewish Christians were holding themselves separate from the Gentiles. Paul’s desire is that they accept the fact that they have become one people in Christ.

His argument is structured thusly:

1. Do not pass judgment on one another (2:1-11)

2. Physically being a Jew does not necessarily make one a Jew (2:28-29)

3. Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin. No one will be declared righteous by observing the law. (3:9, 20)

4. Righteousness comes by faith (3:21-24)

5. God is the God of the Jews and the Gentiles (3:29-30)

6. Exhibit A: Abraham

a. Was justified by faith (4:1-9)
b. This occurred before he was circumcised (4:10-11)
c. Abraham is the father of all who believe – both circumcised and uncircumcised (4:12)
d. The promise God made to Abraham came by faith and is therefore guaranteed for all Abraham’s offspring, both Jew and Gentile (4:13-17)

7. Sin is universal but was conquered through the death and resurrection of Jesus (5, 6 & 7)

8. There is a new Law – that of the Spirit. We are to live by the Spirit and overcome (8)

9. Paul has great sorrow because of the unbelief of his own race (9:1-5)

10. But not all who are descended from Israel are, in fact, Israel (9:6)

11. Being a descendant of Abraham doesn’t make you a child of Abraham (9:7)

12. It is not the natural (sarx – by way of flesh) children who are God’s children, but rather the children of the promise (faith) who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring (9:8)

13. Exhibit B: Rebekah (9:10-13)


a. Had two sons. God chose that the older would serve the younger.

14. God has chosen some to be objects of wrath. He has also called some out of the Jews and Gentiles to be objects of mercy (9:16-24)

15. God will call those who weren’t His people, “My people” (9:25)

16. On the other hand, only a remnant of Israel will be saved (9:27-29)

17. The Gentiles have obtained righteousness (by faith) but the Jews (in large part) have not obtained it (9:30-33)

18. Paul’s deep desire is that the Jews would be saved, but they have not submitted to God. (10:1-4)

19. Paul refers to Deuteronomy 30 where Moses set before the Israelites the choice of life or death (10:5-8)

20. To choose Jesus is to choose life, but not all Jews have accepted Him (10:9-21)

21. Does this mean that God has rejected the Jews altogether? No, there is a faithful remnant, chosen by grace (11:1-6)

22. The Jews who have not accepted Jesus have been hardened (11:7-10)

23. Their fall has benefited the Gentiles. Paul hopes that this might cause some of them to become envious and turn to Jesus, and thus be saved (11:11-16)

24. Israel is likened to an Olive Tree that has had some branches broken off. Wild olive shoots (representing Gentiles) have been grafted onto the tree. The Gentiles should be respectful of the Jews (11:17-24)

25. A portion of Israel has become hardened and Gentiles are coming in. In this way “all Israel” will be saved (11:25-27) – Paul has already made it clear that by Israel he means those who are justified by faith.

26. The Jews (in large part) are disobedient, just as the Gentiles were, but they are not beyond God’s mercy (11:28-32).

27. Learn to live together as one body (Jew & Gentile), be good citizens, live in purity, don’t judge one-another, seek peace and mutual edification (12:1 – 15:4)

28. 15:5-6 is really the point of the entire epistle: Paul’s desire that a church made up of Jews and Gentiles can be unified.

29. Paul references some OT scriptures that speak of Gentiles and Jews worshipping God together. (15:7-12)

30. Paul speaks a bit about his ministry and about his desire to take the gospel to Spain. It appears that he is seeking support and maybe a base in Rome from which to launch a missionary journey into Spain (15:14-33).

31. Closing greetings to the various house-churches and individuals. Paul is doing something slightly sneaky here (IMHO) in that he’s telling those in each church in Rome who will hear this letter to greet those in the other churches in Rome. One can assume that some of these churches were Gentile-oriented while others were Jew-oriented.

In conclusion, what I see Paul stressing in his letter to the Romans is that the church (made up of Jews and Gentiles) is the people of God - the children of Abraham - Israel. The reason that is significant to him is because he wants them to live as one family in unity, not as two separate factions.

Paul's focus is very much on the situation at hand, not on events that will occur thousands of years in the future.