In the next few weeks or months we are going to study the book of Romans and learn from Paul’s letter to the Gentile believers who lives in Romans. The historical context how the Gentiles become believers in Jesus can be read in:
Acts 2:5-11 – During the Day of the Pentacost there are Jews and Proselytes (converts to Judaism) from Rome (verse 11)
Acts 18:1-11 – When Paul in Corinth, he met Aquila and Priscilla who had been expelled from Rome and stay in Corinth. Aquila and Priscilla told Paul about the gentile – believers who are stays in Rome. (All the Jews in Rome was expelled from Rome in the time of Claudius, Roman Empire who reign in 41-54 AD – recorded by Suetonius, a Roman Historian, in his works known as the Twelve Caesars).
Acts 20:2-3 – Paul wrote the letter to Rome during his stay in Corinth/Greece for three months.
Source:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/intro/?search=Romans&version=NCB
Context:
- Most of the believers who reads Paul’s letters are converts, that is gentiles, to Judaism that believes in Jesus Christ
- The gentiles’ understanding about the Scriptures, i.e. the Old Testaments, might be limited, and hence how Jesus was the fulfilment of the Scriptures may not be fully understood by the believers.
Prologue (Romans 1:1-17)