Author
Paul is the undisputed author of this letter.
Date
This book was written around 57-58AD, likely from Corinth.
Audience
The audience in Rome is debated. Most of the book seems written to Gentiles, but there are some chapters that are obviously written to Jews.
Setting
Paul writes the letter to introduce himself to the Roman Christians. He needs to set the stage of who he is: an apostle, a preacher to the Gentiles, and a faithful follower of Christ.
Paul was likely in Corinth, about to make a trip to Jerusalem. His aim was to evangelize into Spain, and he needed the community at Rome to provide aid in this. He had accomplished his goal of preaching from Jerusalem to Illyricum (15:19). He planned to personally carry a collection from the Gentile churches to the community in Jerusalem before making his way to Rome.
Paul’s mission in the eastern Mediterranean area was over, and he was looking forward to evangelizing Spain. This is the only surviving letter that Paul wrote to a community that was unknown to him. It was a letter of introduction. If you think about Paul’s career… he didn’t have exactly a pristine record. In Jerusalem, he persecuted Christians. He got into a huge debate with the apostles about the need to retain Jewish ways. He won the argument, but it probably didn’t make him popular. Now he’s off to Rome, and he’d like the Christian community there to help him make the journey to Spain. And so he wants to put himself in a good light, and he wants to show them that he is doctrinally sound.
Theology
Romans is not a compendium of Paul’s theology. The overarching theme is that justification and salvation depend not on deeds prescribed by Jewish law but rather by faith in Jesus Christ.