Background on Romans:
- Probably written in 54-55 AD, corroborated by the Book of Acts
- Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in 49 AD
- Claudius dies in 54 AD, allowing the Jews to come back to Rome
- So anti-Semitism had existed on a national level, and there may be some of it in the church
- The Jews return to see the church (run by Gentiles for 5 years) is not as they left it, there's no respect for Jewish customs and food laws
- So the first 11 chapters of Romans detail how righteousness comes through faith alone, not by works of the Law
- The Jews need to see Gentiles as “true Jews” (ch. 2), and the Gentiles need to respect the Jews as the holy root (ch. 11)