The Letter to the Romans: A Short Commentary

by Frederick Dale Bruner

In the wake of his widely appreciated commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John, noted theologian and exegete Frederick Dale Bruner turns his attention to Paul’s letter to the Romans. In this concise commentary, he relays his findings on what he calls the “Fifth Gospel” and its central claim that “through the Father’s love, Jesus’s passion, and the Spirit’s application of this passionate love, human beings can have a perfectly right relationship with God—by simple faith in His Christ.”  As he did in his commentaries on Matthew and John, Bruner engages historical interpreters from the patristic period to the present—including Augustine, Chrysostom, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin—while also offering his own lucid translation of the text and relevant pastoral applications. The result is a holistic understanding of the book of Romans informed not only by one scholar’s lifetime of ministry, teaching, and learning, but also by the full depth and breadth of church tradition.

Genres: Theology

229 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2021

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the enthusiasm that the author had for the gospel and the letter in general. The amount of resources quoted and the ease of visibility given to them was also a great aspect of the commentary. I though the application wasn't as in depth as it could have been but that may not have been the goal of this commentary. Bruner's translation was very enjoyable as well.

[BJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bruner excels as a down-to-earth New Testament commentator.

Very pastoral. Warm.

Laser focused on the good news of Jesus.

He uses hyphenated phrases, strings together prepositional phrases, italics and underlines key words to help the text and his writing pop out at the reader.

He also interacts and quotes from several scholars throughout church history, which makes up a large portion of the content of his commentaries. Some gold quotes, for sure.

I have enjoyed his other larger commentaries on Matthew and John more, though I have not finished those.

I also disagree with him (in all his commentaries), sometimes quite strongly. In one spot in this one, I even wrote, "Give me a break." Romans 1 was particularly hair-pulling.

Let's end with good news though: "Simple Faith, sola fide--our human response to God's Grace in Christ--is even itself, through Christ's faith--being poured out for and into us; it is a part of God's Grace to us! What Good News! The Good News here is the message that even our faith response to God's gift--is God's Gift!..

Never let anyone make our relationship with God, or with his Jesus or Holy Spirit, any more arduous, conditional, 'total,' 'utter', 'full,' or hard than the simple 'inbreathing', of Jesus' ongoing Fountain of Faith into us!" (62,
Emphasis taken away).

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Bruner on Matthew and John, I was excited to see his work here on Romans. Strangely enough, before I tell you how much I enjoyed this book, let me you what’s wrong with it.

It’s much shorter than his other commentaries, hence the “a Short Commentary”. He quotes other authors more extensively, yes on every page. Sometimes he only skims what has been deeply debated arguments. No Introduction is given. There’s no way this volume could serve as your main commentary on Romans. Maybe that sounds like a lot.

Still, I loved it. Read the preface for the beautiful outlook he has for Romans following his deeper work on Matthew and John. He quotes a lot but they are good ones. He drops theological nuggets all around. Once Spurgeon recommended a title as a spice to add at the end of meal preparation. That’s what you have here. This is some paprika to dash on after you’ve studied the major tomes. Your dish will taste better for sure.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Caleb Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruner has a distinct way of being succinct with big concepts and principles. His personal anecdotes were, in my opinion, the bright spots of the book. However, his interaction with other commentators (NT Wright, Karl Barth) was inconsistent and incomplete.

[Ryan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This loses a lot of the magic of what made Bruner so good in Matthew and John by being a short commentary. Mostly just summary.