Paul and his letter to the Romans by Rev. Norman Langenbrunner

Paul's letter to the Romans came late in his life. He had spent years refining his understanding of Christ and the gospel. His personal encounter with the living Jesus on the road to Damascus turned him and his theology around 180 degrees. The former Pharisee and erstwhile persecutor was now an apostle of Christ and a preacher of the new way. He told the Romans that salvation and holiness come not from observing the law, but from faith in Jesus Christ. Even while he was a prisoner in Rome, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Philippi and confessed that though he had been meticulous in observing the law, he considered all that worth nothing compared to the supreme good of knowing Jesus Christ (Phil 3:5-8). For Paul, religion was not about law and rituals; it is about a person: Jesus Christ.