Paul's Letter to the Romans

1. Rome during the Time of Paul
The city at that time must be imagined as a large and irregular mass of buildings unprotected by an outer wall.
It had long outgrown the old Servian wall; but the limits of the suburbs cannot be exactly defined.
The visit of Paul lies between two famous epochs in the history of the city, viz, its restoration by Augustus and its restoration
by Nero.
The boast of Augustus is well known, "that he found the city of brick, and left it of marble."
The streets were generally narrow and winding, flanked by densely crowded lodging-houses (insulae) of enormous
height for the time (7-10 stories).
Augustus found it necessary to limit their height to 70 feet (probably for health and safety reasons).
The population of the city has been variously estimated. Probably an estimate of 1,200,000 is nearest to the truth.
One half of the population consisted, in all
probability, of slaves.
The larger part of the remainder consisted of
pauper citizens supported in part by the
Roman system of public gratuities (dependent
of wealthy citizens’ charity to enhance their
own public persona).
There appears to have been little to no
middle class.
Side by side with the other classes just
mentioned was the comparatively small
body of the wealthy nobility.

2. Composition of the Church in Rome
The Roman Christian community was probably largely composed of Gentiles who had been drawn to the Jewish synagogues
in Rome prior to becoming part of the Christian community.
The majority of the Roman Christians were former “God-fearers” (Gentiles who observed Jewish custom and law and
worshipped the Jewish God).
Due to their former adherence to the synagogue as Gentiles sympathetic with Judaism, even after their
conversion to Christianity, they continued to practice a Jewish lifestyle characterized by the practice of the
moral commandments of the Torah, as well as the Sabbath and the kosher Laws.
In addition, these Gentile God-fearers continued to have a high regard for the people of Israel, seeing themselves on
the Jewish side of the Jewish-Gentile divide.

3. Occasion of the Letter
Although Romans has often been regarded as the most important Pauline letter, we must remember that this letter, like all
of Paul's correspondence, is occasional in nature: It was written to a specific church for a particular purpose.
What is unique about this letter, though, is that it was written to a church that Paul did not found. Instead of discussing
problems in the church at Rome, Paul addressed issues that pertained to his own ministry.
He wrote to the Romans to introduce them to his message and ministry in the hopes that they would provide financial
support (and a home base) for his mission to Spain.
Romans differs from all the other Pauline letters in that it was written to a congregation over which Paul did not
claim apostolic authority.
He stressed that he was merely going to Rome in
transit, because it was his personal principle not to
evangelize where others had worked.
Because his apostolic ministry appeared to be completed in Asia Minor and Greece, Paul planned to go to Spain via
Rome, a city that he had never visited.
Before going westward, however, he first had to go to Jerusalem to deliver to the church there a
collection of money (perhaps the money mentioned in 2 Corinthians).
23But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for
many years, to come to you 24when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my
journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little
while. 25At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints;
26for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the
poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27They were pleased to do this, and indeed
they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual
blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. 28So, when
I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will
set out by way of you to Spain; 29and I know that when I come to you, I will come
in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
Romans 15.23-28

4. Romans: A (Hypothetical) Pauline Apology?
The rhetorical situation that gave rise to Paul’s extended letter to them was that the Roman Christians had heard
about Paul’s conflict with the Christians in Galatia.
In fact, they had knowledge of the contents of his letter to the Galatian Christians and were horrified by Paul’s harsh
attack on the Jewish Law, his apparent antinomianism, and his statements that implied that the Jews were under a curse
and therefore no longer God’s people.
Furthermore, the Roman Christians had heard about the ethical disarray at Corinth and believed that this was a
consequence of Paul’s attack on the Law as the binding norm of conduct and his replacement of the Law with an
enthusiastic approach to the Christian life based on the impulses of the Spirit.
As Paul came to the completion of his missionary work among the Gentiles in the east and began to set his eyes on the far
west, he needed to secure the support of the Roman Christians for his new missionary initiative.
Thus, aware that the Roman Christians harbored ‘grave suspicions and misgivings’ about his teaching, he penned this letter
in order to persuade them that he did not deny the divine origin and goodness of the Law, that his gospel did not lead to
licentious living, and that he had not rejected the Jews as part of God’s people.
In the process of seeking to gain their support, however, he had to revise some of his
‘misguided’ and ‘ill-conceived’ arguments in Galatians that had been made in the heat of
that conflict. In fact, he not only revised some of his positions but actually reversed
himself at several key points.
In spite of modifying his views, Paul maintained his core twin convictions that:
1. God’s righteousness has been manifested in Christ for Jews and Gentiles
alike apart from observance of the Law
2. Believers are no longer required to observe the Mosaic Law.

5. From Galatians to Romans: Revisions in Theology
The first area of revision in Paul’s thought in Romans has to do with Paul’s view of the Jewish people.
In Galatians Paul spoke of ‘the seed’ in the singular and identified ‘the seed’ with Christ (Gal. 3.16).
In so doing, he implied that the Jews are not ‘the seed,’ thereby disenfranchising them from the people
of God.
As he now sits down to write to the Roman Christians, who viewed themselves as members of
the Jewish people, Paul realizes that he had overstated his case and drops his individual
interpretation of ‘the seed’.
In Rom. 4.13-17 he speaks in collective terms, interpreting ‘the seed’ of Abraham as
referring to all who believe in Jesus (a community vs. an individual), whether Jew or
Gentile.
Furthermore, Paul assuages the fears of the Roman Christians that he is anti-Jewish by
showing that he has now come to realize that the Jews still are God’s elect people who will
some day be converted to the (proto)-Christian faith.
15 Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. 16Now the promises were made
to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, ‘And to offsprings’, as of many; but it says, ‘And to your offspring’, that is, to one person, who is Christ.
Galatians 3.15-16
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law
but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the
promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it
depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to
the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is
written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life
to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Romans 4.13-17

6. From Galatians to Romans: Revisions in Theology
The second topic of revision has to do with Paul’s increased concern to provide moral constraints on the Christian life.
In Galatians Paul had employed the motif of freedom in terms of freedom from the Law and he had spoken of
baptism in terms of incorporation into the risen Christ.
But these two emphases led to moral anarchy as witnessed in Corinth.
It would appear that Paul has rethought his theological assertion that the resurrection of Jesus overcame
humanity’s estrangement from God thereby paving the way for an internalization of moral goodness as afforded by
God’s power.
Therefore, in Rom. 6 Paul alters the freedom motif to speak of freedom from sin (not freedom from the Law), and
revises the meaning of baptism to signify union with Christ in his death.
By making these changes he agrees with the Roman Christians about the need for a well-ordered moral life.
Nevertheless, in spite of these modifications, Paul maintains his core belief that believers in Jesus Christ are not
obligated to observe the Law.
The third area of revision concerns Paul’s pastoral approach to those in the church who still practice the Mosaic dietary
restrictions.
In Galatians the issue of the dietary laws was raised in Paul’s account of the Antioch incident (Gal. 2.11-14).
In that situation Paul vehemently opposed Peter’s accommodation to those who wanted to observe the
dietary restrictions.
In Rom. 14, however, Paul drops his uncompromising stance and adopts Peter’s more accommodating position.
20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now
are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22But now that you have
been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is
sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but
the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6.20-23
3So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits
of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because
you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
‘Abba! Father!’ 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then
also an heir, through God.
Galatians 4.3-7

7. Consistency in Thought and Rhetoric
In Galatians Paul’s rhetoric against the opponents in Galatia who wanted to impose the Law on the Gentiles led him to
speak in terms of ‘stark and virtually unresolvable contrasts’ between the Law and faith.
In Romans, however, Paul changes the framework of his thought from ‘the dialectical framework’ of Galatians to ‘a
temporally oriented framework’.
This temporal framework can be seen, for example, in Rom. 3.21: ‘But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of
God has been manifested’.
The Law has been superseded by Christ, but its goodness and its divine origin are not called into question, as in Galatians. In
addition, Paul goes on to defend the Law in Rom. 7, arguing that the Law itself is holy and righteous and good: it is not the
cause of sin but merely its occasion.
Paul’s language remains familiar in his letter to the Romans, however: a metaphor of the church as a body (12.5), for
example, is stylized and compressed as compared with the fuller use of the same in 1 Corinthians 12, and the pattern of
weakness and strength in matters of food is best understood in the light of the fuller exposition in 1 Corinthians 8-10.
27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that
of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is
justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29Or is God
the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of
Gentiles also, 30since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on
the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the
contrary, we uphold the law.
Romans 3.27-31
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law
until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian
until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that
faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ
Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27As many of you as were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male
and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3.23-29
5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
Romans 12.5
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12.27

8. Theology and Composition of Romans
In 1.1–17, there are greetings and thanksgivings leading to the main theme of the letter: the gospel is the power of God for
salvation to every one who has faith (i.e., that Jesus is the Christ), to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Paul took this sentence from the Old Testament Book of Habakkuk 2.4, not as a principle but as a prophecy now
fulfilled.
Justification by faith is not, however, the answer to the question of man, plagued by conscience, about his salvation nor is it
deep theology.
It is rather an argument completely grounded in the problem of the relationship of Jews and Gentiles—i.e., how it is
possible for the Gentiles to be fellow heirs with Jews and how both Jews and Gentiles can be members of the church.
In chapters 2–3 both Gentiles and Jews are demonstrated to have fallen short of the glory of God and to be under
condemnation.
A turning point, however, is emphasized in chapter 3: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart
from law. . . .” Justification is a gift through Jesus Christ and his expiating death for the salvation and vindication of all
who believe in him.”
Because all this is through Christ and not by works of the Law, salvation is equally available to the Gentiles as well as to
the Jews.
For both, the means is the same: faith in Jesus the Christ (not the Law).
4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not
right in them, but the righteous live by
their faith.
Habakkuk 2.4
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the
Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is
written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
Romans 1.16-17
21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
Romans 3.21-23

9. Theme of Romans: Equality of Salvation through Christ
Paul begins by expressing that he is not ashamed of his gospel.
His gospel proclaims God's act of salvation for those who believe in Christ's death and resurrection.
This salvation came first to the Jews, but also, and equally, to the Gentiles. By allowing Gentiles into the promise, God
has not rejected his people or abandoned them.
The central problem after chapter 8, which describes the glory of the new dispensation in Christ and the Spirit (presented in
chapters 9–11), centers on the mystery revealed to Paul, namely, that the Gentiles should be incorporated and be fellow
heirs with the Jews.
What makes it equally possible for Jew or Gentile to come to Christ is justification by faith, with the Law viewed as
obsolete because Christ is the end of the Law (10.4).
Thus, there are, in effect, no distinctions between Gentile and
Jew.
Paul viewed his ministry as having made possible the inclusion of
the Gentiles; as an apostle to the Gentiles he never urged them
to carry on a mission to the Jews.
He envisaged the Jewish acceptance of Christ as a mystery beyond human planning and effort, a divine event that will be
the climax of history.
4For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone
who believes.9because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one
believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and
so is saved.
Romans 10.4
31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It
will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a
covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.
33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I
will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each
other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of
them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity,
and remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 31.31-34
4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5to them belong the
patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel…
Romans 9.4-6

10. The Central Message of Romans: Salvation Theology
Because Paul was going to a church he had not founded, his writing to the Roman Christians offered him an opportunity to
present his theological views in a systematic way, which he had not done in other letters.
Paul reflected on how his special mission fitted into God’s plan for the salvation of mankind, of both Jews and
Gentiles—a theme that reached its climax in chapters 9–11.
Chapters 1–8 unfold with great specificity how the coming of Jesus the Christ has made it possible for the Gentiles to
become heirs to God’s promises.
His argument is at first negative, stating that neither Gentile nor Jew could effect his own salvation.
He then shows a new way in which eventually both can be delivered from the bondage of sin by being
justified—i.e., made “right with God”—not through acceptance of the Law but by faith in the crucified Lord.
21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been
disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For
there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice
of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show
his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over
the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that
he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in
Jesus.
Romans 3.21-26
8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ
died for us. 9Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by
his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.
Romans 5.8-9
22But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the
advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23For the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6.22-23

11. Pauline Salvation Models
Judicial Model
Paul illustrated God's act of salvation in a two major ways in Romans.
In this case, Paul describes the human problem in legal terms. God is a lawmaker who has given laws; God is also the
judge.
All people have broken the law and must appear before God for punishment; the punishment for sin is death.
Paul also describes the solution to this problem in judicial terms: Jesus agreed to pay the penalty for others. God
showed that he accepted Jesus' sacrifice by raising him from the dead.
To obtain salvation, humans must have faith in Jesus' sacrifice and God's acceptance of it.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so
death spread to all because all have sinned— 13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin
is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even
over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was
to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s
trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man,
Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin.
For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many
trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion
through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift
of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore just as one
man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification
and life for all. 19For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the
one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5.12-19

12. Pauline Salvation Models
Participationist Model
Here, also, the human problem is sin, but in this case sin is not an act that humans do in defiance of God's will.
Rather, sin is a cosmic power to which humans are enslaved.
The solution, again, is Jesus' death and resurrection, but this time it reveals God's victory over the cosmic power of
sin and death.
Christians "participate" in this victory through baptism.
Paul believed that at baptism, the Christian was united with Christ and shared in his victory.
Paul used these models as ways to explain sin, death, and Jesus' role in salvation.
These models are not the only ones Paul used, and they are not mutually exclusive.
1 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may
abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3Do you
not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by
baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have
been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him
in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him
so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be
enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died
with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ,
being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has
dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the
life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to
sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore, do not let sin exercise
dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13No longer
present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present
yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and
present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin will
have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6.1-14

13. Ethics and the Place of the Law
In writing to the Romans, Paul was eager to logically describe his beliefs to an unfamiliar audience whom may have been
weary of his message already.
He emphasized that all people—both Jew and Gentile—are equally condemned before God because all people have
sinned.
The Jewish Law provides knowledge of sin.
Paul assured the Romans, however, that God has offered salvation from this condemnation: Christ's death atones for
sin.
Paul insisted that the Law could not justify a person: The covenant God made with the Jews was always based on
faith, not on the works of the Law (see Abraham who is righteous because of his faith).
Since the Law does not bring people into a right standing with God, the Jews do not stand in a favored
position. Jews and Gentiles are equal before God; those who believe in Christ's death and resurrection can
participate in his victory over evil and death.
God's inclusion of both Gentiles and Jews in salvation is consistent with God's past dealings with Israel and
reflects a fulfillment of God's promises.
Even though adhering to the Law does not put a person in a right standing before God, Paul makes clear that his gospel is
not "lawless": Belief in Christ demands loving actions on behalf of one's neighbors.
The ethical section (12.1–15.13) has no special reference to a situation in Rome.
A close analysis shows that Paul here repeats thoughts and admonitions that are more specific in other
letters (such as Corinthians, Thessalonians and Galatians).
21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He
did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time
that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3.21-26

14. Evidence of Editing and Redacting in Romans
The theological section (chapters 1–11) is followed (as is often the case in Pauline letters) by ethical instructions.
There is little doubt about the integrity of Romans 1–15; the letter was written from Corinth ~ 56-60CE.
Chapter 16, however, seems to be a later addition. It contains numerous salutations to individuals (which is unusual in that
Paul had never been to Rome) and an antinomian (anti-legalistic) tone that would be more appropriate to the situation in
Asia Minor.
The doxology (16:25–27) is rhetorical and its vocabulary is not in keeping with that of Paul’s usual thought.
Because the doxology occurs in different manuscripts in varying positions in the course of textual transmission, it
is probably a later addition.
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, 2so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her
in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ
Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5Greet also the church in their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. 6Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. 7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my
relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of
Aristobulus. 11Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and
Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also. 14Greet
Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas,
and all the saints who are with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Romans 16.1-16
25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that
was kept secret for long ages 26but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the
eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever! Amen.
Romans 16.25-27

15. Paul “Sails off into the Distance…”
We do not know whether Paul ever succeeded in visiting the Roman congregation or extending his mission to Spain.
The author of Acts, whose account ends with Paul under arrest in Rome, does not depict any contact between Paul
and existing Christians in Rome.
A late first-century tradition claims that Paul was
martyred in Rome during the persecution of Nero.
Neither the Bible nor other history says how
or when Paul died, but Ignatius, probably
around 110 CE, writes that he was martyred.
According to Christian tradition, Paul, was
beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero
around the mid-60s