"As always, Paul was seeking to expand the outreach of the gospel. Additionally, he was always plagued by the Jewish zealots who sought to corrupt the gospel message of grace and faith so he was on a constant mission to clarify the theology disclosed to him by the Lord. He wanted to go as far as Spain in outreach but certainly needed a place of support within that geographical region...what better place than Rome. He had friends and acquaintances that had come from Rome and shared the state of the church (Paul had never been to Rome). There were numerous issues that had caused a lack of unity, strife, and certainly a hindrance to the spread of the gospel. Jewish and Gentile churches had sprung up in Rome and as you might imagine, were at odds regarding the issue of the law. Jews had been kicked out of Rome for a period and therefore the Gentile churches grew dominant. Jewish house churches had begun to move back in and this sparked a new level of disunity based upon the doctrine of grace. Paul wrote this letter to: 1) let them know he was coming; 2) to seek support for a follow on trip to Rome; and 3) perhaps most importantly to provide a full discourse concerning the confusion between Jewish and Gentile Christians in relation to the law, sin, justification by faith, and the new relationship with God in Christ Jesus."
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