It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD,[1] with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22.

Scottish Free Church minister William Robertson Nicoll imagines "that a pause comes [...] in [Paul's dictation of] his work; that he is silent, and Tertius puts down the pen, and they spend their hearts awhile on worshipping, recollection and realisation.

Theologian Heinrich Meyer argues that this variant "is here utterly unsuitable; because the writer now enters on a new and important doctrinal topic, and an exhortation at the very outset, especially regarding a subject not yet expressly spoken of, would at this stage be out of place".

—Romans 5:18, English Standard Version[17]Paul contrasts the universal effect of Adam's sinful act and that of Christ's redemptive work.

This text has been viewed by some as evidence for universal salvation due to the parallel use of 'all men' (πάντας ἀνθρώπους) in reference to both "condemnation" and "justification".