The Historic Faith Commentary Series - Romans: How Romans Was Understood Before Augustine and Luther

by David Bercot

There are hundreds of commentaries on Romans in print today, and thousands have been written over the centuries. So what is the point of still one more commentary? The reason is that this is not “still one more commentary.” In this commentary, the reader will be seeing Romans through the eyes of the Christians who lived in the first few centuries after Romans was written. Some of these men personally knew the apostles. They all lived in the same culture in which Paul lived. Their native tongue was koiné Greek.

This commentary enables the reader to share the same experience that a Christian living in the first four centuries would have experienced when hearing Romans explained on a given Sunday. You will hear the same explanations they would have heard. As you will see, those early Christians understood Romans quite differently than what most Christians do today. That is because they lived prior to the two major reinterpretations of that of Augustine and that of Luther. After hearing the early Christian understanding of Romans, the readers can then decide whether they think the entire church got Romans wrong from the very beginning—or if Christians today are badly misreading this important book of Scripture.

Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2024

Reviews

[Christal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this commentary! I can't stress that enough. I read the entire thing from cover to cover because I wanted to know as much as possible about how the early Christians, in the first three centuries, viewed the book of Romans. It saddens me to learn how much ancient gnostic doctrine and Calvanism have in common. (Total depravity of man, lack of freewill, predestination, eternal security, etc...). The worst part is knowing that Calvanism is quickly becoming, "Orthodox Christianity" (At least in most Baptist and Presbyterian churches). That means real Christianity, that includes human accountability and personal holiness, is losing ground. Well, at least now I know that I'm not alone in my views against Calvanism. The early church, before Catholicism; St. Augustine of Hippo; Martin Luther; and John Calvin were anti-calvanist too. As an Arminian, this commentary was a breath of fresh air for me.
(Ps. If watching YouTube is more your speed, then check out David Bercot's Romans sermon series on there.)

[Peter McRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. It is great, truthful theology.

Like most Christians, I've read a library's worth of books over the decades. I'm often left wishing authors, no matter how well intentioned, are unwilling to communicate clearly on what the earliest church taught. David Bercot has done that extremely well in this book. He is fearless in showing how Augustine and Luther distorted the simple truths of scripture, so that today a correct, biblical understanding can result in a disciple being attacked as being theologically wrong, and at risk of God's condemnation. I'm afraid, too few people will read this book, and most will be less of a true disciple as a result. Get the book and read it - it will be worth the journey.