Froilan, we're unsure who founded the Church in Rome & it appears that even though Paul had written this great epistle to them, he was not the founder. He wrote this letter probably around the late AD 50s & the Church consisted mainly of Gentile converts.
Paul was anxious to minister in this Church which was widely known & their faith well reported of ( Rom 1:8), so he wrote this letter to prepare them for his planned visit, which of course never materialized. That was because Paul was arrested in Jerusalem & though he was then sent to Rome as a prisoner (early AD 60s), he never got to visit the Church there. We think that Phoebe, from the Corinthian Church, may have been the carrier of his letter (16:1) to Rome. So this letter comes to instruct the believers further in their knowledge of Jesus & to encourage them to live victoriously in a heathen environment.
When examining this great letter, we see that it is more formal than his other letters, as he sets out some important doctrines, chiefly, the doctrine of Justification by Faith & its ramifications. The letter's theme is The Righteousness of God (1:16,17). He then goes on to discuss: natural revelation (1:19,20), universal sin (3:9-20), justification (3.24), propitiation (3:25), faith (chap 4), original sin (5:12), union with Christ (chap 6), election & rejection of Israel (chaps 9-11), spiritual gifts (12:3-8), & respect for the government (13:1-7).
Paul was anxious to minister in this Church which was widely known & their faith well reported of ( Rom 1:8), so he wrote this letter to prepare them for his planned visit, which of course never materialized. That was because Paul was arrested in Jerusalem & though he was then sent to Rome as a prisoner (early AD 60s), he never got to visit the Church there. We think that Phoebe, from the Corinthian Church, may have been the carrier of his letter (16:1) to Rome. So this letter comes to instruct the believers further in their knowledge of Jesus & to encourage them to live victoriously in a heathen environment.
When examining this great letter, we see that it is more formal than his other letters, as he sets out some important doctrines, chiefly, the doctrine of Justification by Faith & its ramifications. The letter's theme is The Righteousness of God (1:16,17). He then goes on to discuss: natural revelation (1:19,20), universal sin (3:9-20), justification (3.24), propitiation (3:25), faith (chap 4), original sin (5:12), union with Christ (chap 6), election & rejection of Israel (chaps 9-11), spiritual gifts (12:3-8), & respect for the government (13:1-7).
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