Editing Epistle to the Romans (section)

== Hermeneutics ==
{{Main|Biblical hermeneutics}}

=== Catholic interpretation ===

Roman Catholics accept the necessity of faith for salvation but point to {{Bibleref2|Romans|2:5–11|KJV}} for the necessity of living a [[Good works|virtuous life]] as well:<ref>For an authoritative discussion of the Catholic viewpoint, see ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', s.v. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13156a.htm "Epistle to the Romans"]</ref>

{{blockquote|But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.}}

Catholics would also look to the passage in Romans 8:13 for evidence that justification by faith is only valid so long as it is combined with obedient cooperation with The Holy Spirit, and the passage in Romans 11:22 to show that the Christian can lose their justification if they turn away from cooperating with The Holy Spirit and reject Christ through mortal sin.

=== Protestant interpretation ===
{{Main|Sola fide}}

In the Protestant interpretation, the New Testament epistles (including Romans) describe salvation as coming from faith and not from righteous actions.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Concerning_Christian_Liberty|title=Concerning Christian Liberty|last=Luther|first=Martin}}</ref> For example, Romans {{Bibleref2-nb|Romans|4:2–5|9}} (underlining added):

{{blockquote|2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath ''whereof''<!--italics in source--> to glory; but <u>not before God</u>. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham <u>believed</u> God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that <u>worketh not, but believeth</u> on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness.}}

In the Protestant interpretation it is considered significant that in Romans {{Bibleref2|Romans|2|9|chapter 2:9}}, Paul says that God will reward those who follow the law and then goes on to say that {{em|no one}} follows the law perfectly (see also [[Sermon on the Mount#Interpretations|Sermon on the Mount: Interpretation]]) Romans {{Bibleref2-nb|Rom|2:21–29|9}}:

{{blockquote|21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? 28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.}}

Romans has been at the forefront of several major movements in Protestantism. [[Martin Luther|Martin Luther's]] lectures on Romans in 1515–1516 probably coincided<ref>{{cite journal
| last       = Wiersma
| first      = Hans
| date       = 9 September 2019
| title      = Martin Luther's Lectures On Romans (1515–1516): Their Rediscovery And Legacy | url        = https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/39-3_Romans/Martin%20Luther's%20Lectures%20on%20Romans%20(1515-1516);%20Their%20Rediscovery%20and%20Legacy.pdf
| journal    = Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry
| volume     =  39
| issue      = Romans
| access-date = 31 December 2024
}}</ref> with the development of his criticism of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] which led to the ''[[95 Theses]]'' of 1517. In the preface to his [[Luther Bible|German translation]] of Romans, Luther described Paul's letter to the Romans as "the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul".<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/l/luther/romans/pref_romans.html Martin Luther's Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans] cf. Luther's comments in his treatise on ''The Adoration of the Sacrament'' (1523) in which he refers to the [[Words of Institution|words of institution]] of the [[Eucharist]] as being "the sum and substance of the whole gospel". ''Luther's Works'', American Edition, St. Louis and Philadelphia: [[Concordia Publishing House]] and Fortress (Muhlenberg) Press, [[iarchive:luthersworksvolu008249mbp|vol. 36 (Word and Sacrament II (1959))]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=FQHx9n3qBu8C&dq=%22the+sum+and+substance+of+the+whole+gospel%22&pg=PA277], p. 277.</ref> In 1738, while hearing Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans read at [[St Botolph's, Aldersgate|St. Botolph Church]] on [[Aldersgate Street]] in London, [[John Wesley]] famously felt his heart "strangely warmed",{{quote without source|date=August 2022}} a conversion experience that is often seen{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} as the beginning of [[Methodism]].

Luther controversially added the word "alone" ({{lang|de|allein}} in German) to Romans {{Bibleref2-nb|Romans|3:28|9;10}}<!-- added Luther Bibel 1545 --> so that it read: "thus, we hold, then, that man is justified without doing the works of the law, {{em|alone}} through faith".<ref name=allein>The 1522 "Testament" reads at Romans 3:28: "So halten wyrs nu, das der mensch gerechtfertiget werde, on zu thun der werck des gesetzs, ''alleyn'' durch den glawben" (emphasis added to the German word for "alone"). [http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Lutherbibel/R%C3%B6mer_%281522%29#Das_Dritte_Capitel]</ref> The word "alone" does not appear in the original Greek [[Biblical manuscript|text]],<ref>The Greek text reads: λογιζόμεθα γάρ δικαιоῦσθαι πίστει ἄνθρωπον χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου ("for we reckon a man to be justified by faith without deeds of law") [http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~fisher/cgi-bin/gnt?id=0603] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702051519/http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~fisher/cgi-bin/gnt?id=0603|date=July 2, 2008}}</ref> but Luther defended his translation by maintaining that the adverb "alone" was required both by idiomatic German and Paul's intended meaning. This is a ''"literalist view"'' rather than a [[Literal translation|literal view]] of the Bible.<ref>Martin Luther, ''On Translating: An Open Letter'' (1530), Luther's Works, 55 vols., (St. Louis and Philadelphia: Concordia Publishing House and Fortress Press), 35:187–189, 195; cf. also Heinz Bluhm, ''Martin Luther Creative Translator'', (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1965), 125–137.</ref>

The ''Romans Road'' (or ''Roman Road'') refers to a set of scriptures from Romans that Christian evangelists use to present a clear and simple case for personal salvation to each person, as all the verses are contained in one single book, making it easier for evangelism without going back and forth through the entire New Testament. The core verses used by nearly all groups using ''Romans Road'' are: Romans {{bibleref2-nb|Romans|3:23|9}}, {{bibleref2-nb|Romans|6:23|9}}, {{bibleref2-nb|Romans|5:8|9}}, {{bibleref2-nb|Romans|10:9|9}}, and {{bibleref2-nb|Romans|10:13|9}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}