In Chapters 9-11 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he returns to the explicit theme of Jew and Gentile. He agonizes about the non-response of many Jews to Jesus, emphasizes his own Jewish roots, and ponders what God promises to the Jews means. The issue is no longer simply the relationship between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles, but God’s relationship to Jews as a whole. His conclusion is that God’s promises to Israel are still valid: all of Israel will be saved. In the twenty-first century, both Christians and Jews need to be careful not to misunderstand. Paul was not saying that all Jews would become believers in Jesus; their relationship with God was prior to Jesus. And Paul was not saying that the promises to Israel included the land as a geographical possession. We must remember that Christianity is yet another way that God work’s to help humankind to come to know, love and serve Him. If we embrace Christianity we must be absolutely certain that it is the best possible way for us to come to deeper union with God! It is not the only way since God works in many different ways to make Himself know to us. True faith is when I believe that Christ IS my Redeemer and that, for me, His way of living makes the most sense for me to come to a deeper relationship with God.
In Chapters 12-14 of his letter to the Romans, Paul summarizes his message. He emphasizes that Christ-followers should present their bodies as a living sacrifice. We would say selves. That is their spiritual worship, which is about dying and rising with Christ. Note also the emphasis on personal transformation. They are not to be conformed to this world, but to bed transformed by the renewing of their minds – minds as a comprehensive image for a way of seeing reality. Paul explicitly states that following Jesus is truly about personal transformation.
The remaining chapters in Paul’s letter emphasize love, non-violence, non-judgment of one another and other aspects of the Good News, such as forgiveness.
Though the letter has a significance beyond its historical context, it clearly was shaped by the fact that Paul wrote it to Christians in Rome.
Romans concludes the seven letters certainly written by Paul. Christian tradition later than the New Testament reports that Paul was released from his imprisonment in Rome and traveled to Spain. Then he was again arrested and executed in Rome in the late 60s. Scholars who take this seriously are inclined to date some of his letters in the 60s, including even some of the disputed letters. But most scholars are skeptical that he was released or went to Spain. Rather, soon after Paul wrote this letter, he was arrested in Jerusalem and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner. His desire to visit Rome was fulfilled – but as a prisoner because of belief in Jesus Christ