Editing Epistle to the Romans (section)

====Righteousness of God (1:16–17)====
Paul announces that he is not "ashamed" ({{transliteration|grc|epaiscúnomai}}) of his gospel because it holds power ({{transliteration|grc|dúnamis}}). These two verses form a backdrop of themes for the rest of the book; first, that Paul is unashamed of his love for this gospel that he preaches about Jesus Christ. He also notes that he is speaking to the "Jew first."<ref>{{bibleverse|Rom|1:16||1:16}}</ref> There is significance to this, but much of it is scholarly conjecture as the relationship between [[Paul the Apostle and Judaism|Paul and Judaism]] is still debated, and scholars are hard-pressed to find an answer to such a question without knowing more about the audience in question. Wayne Brindle argues, based on Paul's former writings against the [[Judaizers]] in [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] and [[2&nbsp;Corinthians]], that rumors had probably spread about Paul totally negating the Jewish existence in a Christian world (see also [[Antinomianism#Antinomianism in the New Testament|Antinomianism in the New Testament]] and [[Supersessionism]]). Paul may have used the "Jew first" approach to counter such a view.<ref>W.A. Brindle, "To The Jew First: Rhetoric, Strategy, History, or Theology?" ''Bibliotheca Sacra'' 159 (2002): 221</ref>