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Romans

Paul's letter to the Romans is one of the most systematic presentations of the gospel (and righteousness by faith) to be found anywhere in the Bible. This letter has been extremely dear to many Christians throughout the ages and was even one of the catalysts for the 16th Century Reformation in Europe (calling people back to living a life more in harmony with God's word--The Bible). Paul wrote this letter near the end of his third missionary journey, in A.D. 57 (Compare Acts 18:23-21:12; and Romans 15:19). It seems to have been written during a three-month stay Paul had in Greece, specifically in Corinth at the house of Gaius (See Acts 20:3-6; Romans 16:23 and 1 Corinthians 1:14).

Paul had never actually visited the church in Rome up to this point, as can be seen from his letter (1:8-15), but he had heard excellent reports of their faith and works at that time. It is believed that some of Paul's converts from other regions had moved to Rome and begun a church there. Some thought it strange that the 16th chapter of Romans gives a greeting to 26 people, by name, at a church Paul had never visited before. However, it is not hard for us to understand that Paul had met so many people in various regions throughout the Roman world, and he would simply be greeting ones he knew, who had moved on to Rome. Such a greeting to common friends and acquaintances would easily bring Paul's letter into a warmer reception among the Roman Christians who for the most part had never met Paul. Interestingly enough, the only other letter of Paul's to give such a list of greetings was his letter to Colosse (also a church he'd never visited before). May you be richly blessed as you study through Paul's letter to the believers in Rome!

Galatians

Paul's letter to the Galatians was the only letter of his to actually be addressed to a number of churches within a region (the region of Galatia--around Modern Turkey today) (See 1:2). Because it was not specifically stated in the letter itself, a couple theories have emerged on the exact time and place of where Paul wrote this letter from. There are two primary views. One is that Paul wrote this letter during his third missionary journey from either Ephesus (in A.D. 53-56) or Macedonia (A.D. 56). The other theory is that Paul may have written the letter in A.D. 49, from Syrian Antioch, just before going to the Jerusalem counsel (Acts 15), in which the issues expounded in the book of Galatians (regarding circumcision, etc.) were hotly addressed. Galatians defends the gospel of grace (chs.1 and 2), explaining true righteousness by faith (chs.3 and 4), and applying this gospel message practically for the believer's life (chs.5 and 6).