I am especially grateful to the editor of this series, Eckhard Schnabel, for the invitation to write a commentary on Romans. I benefited immensely from his own masterful two-volume commentary on Romans. I am also indebted to the legion of interpreters of Romans who have devoted their energies and wide-ranging expertise towards bringing clarity to this letter. Unfortunately, not all their names are reflected in the footnotes. I am grateful to Philip Duce at Inter-Varsity Press for his insightful comments; he has been most gracious. My graduate assistants at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, have been invaluable throughout the course of this project. Tia Kim managed to hunt down hundreds of articles on Romans and checked early chapters. I am also thankful for my other graduate students, James Heikkila and Daniel Xingshi Gao; and Lisa Meister Rondina especially provided indispensable help and constructive criticism. All of these students have inspired me with their friendship, stout faith, academic acumen and dedication to ministry. I am also grateful to Dr Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Texas, for his comments after reading a rough draft. Romans belongs to the gathered church and not the academy, and I was heartened by his encouragement and conviction that this commentary could be useful for those seeking to proclaim and teach Romans in their various ministerial roles and settings. I am highly indebted to Suzanne Mitchell for her careful and skilful copy-editing and to Belinda Latchford for her proofreading. Naturally, the errors that remain are mine. Finally, I am most grateful for the support of my wife, Nancy Minter, who has brightened my life in countless ways as one who is incredibly loving, gracious and generous.
Thomas Schreiner reflects that Paul ‘ultimately wrote Romans as a servant of God to honor his Lord’ (Schreiner, p. 26). The fondest hope of any commentator on Romans is that his or her work might also in some small way bring honour and praise to God’s name.
David E. Garland