The Letter to the Romans, 2nd ed. (New International Commentary on the New Testament | NICNT)
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
The New International Commentary (NIC) is decades-long project has become recognized by scholars, pastors, and serious Bible students as critical yet orthodox commentary marked by solid biblical scholarship within the evangelical Protestant tradition. The NIC serves as authoritative scriptural guides, bridging the cultural gap between today’s world and the Bible’s. Each volume in the series aims to help us hear God’s word as clearly as possible.
Paul’s letter to the Romans has been called “the quintessence and perfection of saving doctrine.” Perhaps the most challenging and thoroughly doctrinal book of the entire New Testament, Romans deals with many issues that are basic to Christian theology and practice. In this volume respected New Testament scholar Douglas J. Moo provides a superb study of Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians and restates the enduring message of Romans for Christians today. For more than twenty years Douglas Moo’s NICNT volume on Romans has been providing pastors, students, and scholars with profound insight into Paul’s most famous letter. In this thorough revision of his commentary, Moo deals with issues that have come into prominence since the first edition (1996), incorporating the latest research and rewriting the text throughout for better comprehension.
Based on the English text while incorporating the underlying Greek throughout, this commentary focuses both on theological meaning and on contemporary significance. Moo contributes to the continuing debate regarding Paul’s teaching on such issues as Jewish law and the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the people of God. He also critically interacts with “the new perspective on Paul,” highlights Romans’ emphasis on “practical divinity,” and traces the gospel throughout the epistle.
- Verse-by-verse commentary
- In-depth discussion of textual and critical matters
- Introduction to the authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology of Romans
Top Highlights
“But that gospel itself, the theme of Romans, is fundamentally not about bringing Gentiles and Jews together but about bringing sinful humans and a just and holy God together.” (Page 26)
“Paul’s use of ‘righteousness’ language in Romans, then, strongly suggests that ‘righteousness of God’ in 1:17; 3:21, 22; and 10:3 includes reference to the status of righteousness ‘given’ to the believer by God.” (Page 77)
“Baptism, rather, functions as shorthand for the conversion experience as a whole.” (Page 380)
“If we accept the more dynamic meaning of ‘reveal,’ however, Paul’s point will be that the gospel in some way actually makes manifest, or brings into existence, ‘the righteousness of God.’ This latter meaning is to be preferred in 1:17.” (Page 72)
“However, in what might seem to be a dubious attempt to have our cake and eat it twice, we would argue that this base concept includes, or at least implies, both God’s activity and, more remotely, the status of those who experience God’s righteousness.235 ‘God’s righteousness,’ then, is an experienced aspect of God in action. When a believer exclaims that ‘God is good,’ this ‘goodness of God’ is not so much an ‘attribute’ of God as an experienced aspect of God’s character.236 So ‘the righteousness of God’ is experienced by Jew and Gentile alike in response to belief. And as a result of that experience the believer receives the status of righteousness.” (Pages 77–78)
All the virtues of Doug Moo’s work in the first edition of his Romans commentary are retained in the updated second edition. The commentary displays careful and rigorous exegesis, reflecting the mature judgment of a seasoned scholar who has considered the meaning of Romans for many years. At the same time, the theology of Paul’s greatest letter is explained clearly and brilliantly.... Moo’s first edition of Romans is the best commentary on Romans available, and the only volume that surpasses it is his second.
—Thomas R. Schreiner, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The passing of two decades has by no means rendered the careful exegesis of Moo’s 1996 commentary out of date. Still, this second edition allows him to interact with the most recent Pauline scholarship. To this scholarship it serves as a reliable guide—at the same time as it remains, and will continue to remain, a fine guide to the argument of Paul’s most weighty epistle.
—Stephen Westerholm, McMaster University
Douglas J. Moo is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton Graduate School. His work centers on understanding the text of the New Testament and its application today. He has written extensively in several commentary series, including the NIV Application Commentary, Pillar New Testament Commentary, Tyndale Commentaries, and the New International Commentary on the New Testament.
Reviews
12 ratings
Landon Budke
12/24/2023
This is precisely what a 2nd edition should be—a thoughtful and necessary expansion and revision of the fantastic first edition without departing from it entirely. If you liked the first edition and want to learn more, buy this.
Jörg Rüffer
4/19/2023
ColaChan
3/9/2023
Anderson Abreu
6/23/2022
Forrest Cole
11/9/2021
Andrew Y H Lam
9/3/2021
Benjamin Allen
12/7/2020
Timothy J Shontere
2/8/2020
J. A. Brown
12/21/2019
Robert Polahar
10/23/2019
