The Riddleblog

Posts in The Book of Romans

From Season Five/Episode Three of the Blessed Hope Podcast

As a servant of Christ and an apostle, Paul has been set apart by God for God’s purposes. Since Jesus Christ is Lord, Paul is his servant—literally his “bond-servant.” This is an image his Roman audience would easily understand, but one about which they might miss the full biblical background and significance. “Those who spoke for the Lord, such as Moses and the prophets, were sometimes called `slaves’ of the Lord, and that is probably how Paul uses the term here. He is a slave of Christ because he speaks for Christ.”[1]

Paul was called to the office of Apostle to the Gentiles nearly twenty-five years before composing this letter, while traveling along the Damascus Road on his way to hunt down and arrest Christians (cf. Acts 9:1-19). As John Calvin describes Paul’s conversion, God took a cruel wolf [Saul] and not only made him one of his sheep [Paul], but then transformed Paul into a shepherd and assigned to him the office of apostle of the Gentile flock.[2] Paul was not a dissatisfied Jew seeking something better. Rather, Paul was an avowed enemy of Jesus Christ and was, at the point of his conversion, fully confident in his own righteousness due to law-keeping (cf. Phil. 3:4-6). But Jesus suddenly appeared to him, blinded him, called him to faith, and then transformed him into an apostle.

Paul’s calling to faith in Jesus and to his apostolic office originates in the will of God—not some foreseen good in the sinful human heart which God sees and to which he responds. The verb “to call” (καλειν – kalein) refers to God’s gracious call of sinners to faith, life, and salvation through the preaching of the gospel. In this case, Paul no doubt has in mind the prior calling of God’s servants to a divine purpose, such as that experienced by Abraham (Gen. 12:1-13), Moses (Ex. 3:10), and prophets such as Jeremiah (1:4-5) and Isaiah (49:1b), when the latter writes, “the Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” Paul stands in the line of divinely appointed prophets and servants of YHWH.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Book of Romans, Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerJune 29, 2026Paul Apostle and ServantComment

“The Gospel of God – Promised Beforehand” (Romans 1:1-5) A New Episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast

Episode Synopsis:

In the opening words of the Book of Romans, Paul introduces himself to a church he has never visited and to a group of fellow believers, most of whom he has never met in person. Therefore, it is important for Paul to explain his apostolic office as well his role in undertaking the Gentile mission. Paul is making travel plans which include a future visit to the city of Rome. Since the church in Rome was predominantly Gentile (with a Jewish Minority), it is important that both groups understand that all of Paul’s missionary efforts are grounded in the preaching of the Gospel of God–the death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of sinners.

To the Jewish Christians in Rome, Paul must explain that the gospel he preaches was revealed to him by Jesus Christ who was himself a descendant of David (Israel’s greatest king), while at the same time the eternal Son of God who ushers in a new age in redemptive history. This gospel is not a message invented by Paul–a charge he’s heard previously from opponents in Galatia and Corinth. The gospel which he is about to proclaim in the balance of the letter to follow, is the same message proclaimed throughout the Old Testament–though hidden in types and shadows, and a mystery which Paul is about to explain. Furthermore, the gospel is true because its central figure (Jesus) has not only the proper Davidic genealogy, but he was raised bodily from the dead in power in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of his resurrection, Jesus is the Lord–an important bit of information to those living in Rome during the days of Caesar Nero, who thinks of himself as a sort of demi-God. Nero is not Lord, Jesus is.

Since Rome is such an important place–the capital of a huge pagan empire–Paul will make the point that this gospel “promised before hand,” is a gospel for all the nations, as foretold by Israel’s prophets. This gospel summons all those called to belong to Jesus to the obedience of faith. Is faith an act of obedience in our part. Is it a work? Is it the one thing which we must do to be saved? Is there any merit in faith–something God sees and rewards. And what is so-called, “evangelical obedience?”

To read the show notes and listen to the episode, follow the link below

Blessed Hope Podcast, The Book of RomansKim RiddlebargerJune 22, 2026Son of God Son of David, the gospel of God, The obedience of faith, Romans 1:1-5Comment

Some Thoughts on Why Paul Composed His Epistle to the Romans

From Season Five, Episode Two, Of the Blessed Hope Podcast

Why did Paul compose this letter? Romans is Paul’s longest letter and written to a church that neither he nor his coworkers had founded. People often speak of the Book of Romans as though Paul were writing a systematic treatise on the Christian faith. Phillip Melanchthon famously described Romans as a compendium of Christian doctrine refuting Romanism.[1] As Roman Catholic biblical scholar, Joseph Fitzmyer points out, “one can almost write the history of Christian theology by surveying the ways in which Romans has been interpreted.”[2] No doubt true and a very good point worth considering.

Yes, Paul does have a systematic core of doctrinal beliefs expressed at many points throughout Romans, but this epistle is written to the church in Rome likely to introduce himself and explain his future travel plans which included a visit to the city.[3] While Romans does address a particular set of circumstances (focusing upon the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the church, along with the nature of God’s righteousness which revealed in the gospel), the Book of Romans is not a systematic theology of the Christian faith in any modern sense of the term.[4]

Many interpreters of the Book of Romans have attempted to identify a single theme which dominates the letter.[5] Yet Paul says little about why he composed this letter, although in the introduction (verses 1-15) he does speak of his future travel plans. He informs the Roman congregation that he hopes to go to Spain after his trip to Jerusalem is completed, and if he does, he will stop and visit the church in Rome on his way back from Jerusalem, and then go on to Spain.[6] His desire to make this trip is expressed again at the end of the letter in Romans 15:25. When Paul employs Tertius to set his words to parchment, Paul is still in Corinth–things there apparently calmer–getting ready to make his way to Jerusalem to deliver the offering for the poor collected from the Corinthians and the churches of Macedonia as recounted in Acts 20-21.[7] But so far, he tells the Romans, he has been prevented from making his way to Spain because present circumstances require him to take care of other matters before that can happen (cf. Romans 1:13; 15:22).

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Pauline Studies, Blessed Hope Podcast, The Book of RomansKim RiddlebargerJune 15, 2026Why Did Paul Write Romans?Comment