Romans

Summary

Romans calls for slow reading and steady nerve. Paul is not merely offering a set of memorable lines, he is building an argument that moves with deliberate purpose. We can feel the pull to rush toward our favourite doctrinal headings, or to flatten the letter into a few slogans about grace. Yet Romans does its deepest work when we let Paul take us by the hand and lead us, step by step, from the world’s guilt to God’s righteousness, from Adam to Christ, and from the mercy of God to the obedience of faith.

Thomas R. Schreiner’s commentary is written for that kind of careful work. It is not a devotional meditation, and it is not designed to provide quick homiletical polish. It is a technical, verse by verse companion that aims to help pastors and students handle the details faithfully while keeping the line of thought visible. When we are preaching Romans, that combination matters. We need precision with words, but we also need clarity about flow, because our people are meant to follow Paul’s reasoning, not just collect isolated insights.

Schreiner is particularly useful when Romans presses on contested questions. We meet dense phrases about the righteousness of God, justification, law, union with Christ, the place of Israel, and the shape of Christian obedience. Many modern debates can tempt us into reading Romans as if it were written to answer our arguments first. Schreiner helps us resist that. He repeatedly returns us to the immediate context and the logic of the paragraph. That makes the commentary most valuable for those who want to be corrected by Scripture rather than merely supported by it.

At the same time, Romans is not a cold text, and a technical commentary should not make it cold. Paul is pleading, rejoicing, warning, and worshipping. He writes with pastoral urgency, because he knows the gospel is not a theory, it is God’s saving power. Schreiner’s strength is that he does not treat theology as abstraction. He aims to show how Paul’s doctrine drives assurance, humility, unity, and holy living. That is what we want in our preaching. We want doctrinal clarity that produces doxology and obedience.

Strengths

One strength is sustained attention to argument. Schreiner regularly clarifies why a phrase appears where it does, and how the paragraph advances Paul’s purpose. That supports sermon preparation, because it helps us identify the controlling burden of a unit, rather than preaching every verse as if it carried the same weight. It also helps us avoid common errors, such as turning Romans into a set of timeless propositions detached from the letter’s pastoral concerns, including the unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ.

A second strength is careful engagement with key terms. Romans contains words that carry enormous theological freight, and it is easy to import later definitions without checking how Paul is using them here. Schreiner helps us ask better questions of the text. What does Paul mean by law in this verse. How is faith functioning in this section. What is the contrast between flesh and Spirit, and how does that connect to assurance and holiness. Those clarifications help our preaching remain anchored to Scripture rather than to shorthand.

A third strength is seriousness about the warning and comfort notes in Romans. Paul comforts believers with the security of God’s saving purpose, yet he also warns against presumption and spiritual pride. Schreiner helps us hold those together in a way that reflects the letter. That is pastorally significant. Many congregations swing between anxiety and arrogance. Romans, preached faithfully, humbles the proud, strengthens the weak, and magnifies the mercy of God in Christ.

Finally, this commentary is well suited to deeper study for those training to preach. It models the discipline of weighing interpretive options without losing sight of the main point. Even where we might disagree with a conclusion, the habit of argument from context is worth learning.

Limitations

As a technical work, it can be demanding. Some discussions require patience, and we may not consult every section at the same depth in a busy week. It also means we must still do the work of translating careful exegesis into clear proclamation. That is not a flaw, it is simply the nature of the tool. A technical commentary strengthens the preacher’s foundations, but it does not replace the preacher’s task.

How We Would Use It

We would use Schreiner as a primary desk reference in a Romans series, particularly for checking key interpretive decisions and guarding our handling of disputed phrases. We would begin with repeated reading of the passage in context, outlining the argument, and identifying the main claim. Then we would consult this volume to confirm, refine, and sometimes correct our conclusions. Used this way, it helps us preach Romans with confidence that is earned through attention to the text.

Closing Recommendation

This is a substantial technical commentary that rewards careful use. For those preaching Romans who want a steady guide through the details without losing the letter’s big gospel movement, it is a strong companion.