B E C N T: 6 (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)

Good thing is Schreiner gives what other scholars have said. It is necessary however to compare with other major commentaries e.g. Murray, Moo, Cranfield, Wright. I am still comparing. Note that Schreiner has changed his exposition of 5:12-21 from that given in the commentary. I think he is on the right track on Romans 7. I think he is wrong on Romans 2, which I consider to be hypothetical - those who suffer wrath do so because they deserve it - those who gain eternal life do so because they deserve it, but that makes a nonsense of Paul's whole thesis. I worry about the note at the foot of page 290 - 'But in another sense justification will be completed only on the day of redemption (cf Gal 5:5)'. If he had said 'sanctification' I agree. But as it stands he is veering towards the Council of Trent.Phil Almond

As a non-seminary student I have found this to be an invaluable technical commentary. Schreiner engages with a range of views on multiple passages and is very easy to follow. I found this easier to follow than Moo and more stimulating than other works like Morris or Osborne. I will certainly be coming back to this when I next return to prepare materials on Romans.

The student should be aware that there are few practical remarks regarding application and Schreiner perhaps spends too much time collating and rejecting other views. It is a useful scholarly commentary but not superior to Shedd, Murray, Cranfield or Morris. Published in 1998, it may yet be superseded.

This is an excerpt from my full review on my blog (found through my Amazon profile).I read virtually every word of this tome, but it was far from a chore. Schreiner has offered an outstanding work on Romans that (mostly) isn’t showing its age. So why this commentary? I would certainly recommend this work as the baseline commentary that one primarily works with, using others to see different views or for different purposes. Comparing to a few similar works, this is longer than Kruse’s (PNTC) and, despite having many conclusions in common, takes a broader approach than Moo’s due to the BECNT structure. Students, teachers and pastors will all benefit from this work. I can only add to the chorus of endorsements for Thomas Schreiner’s Romans commentary.[Many thanks to SPCK Publishers for providing a copy of Thomas Schreiner's Romans commentary in exchange for a fair review]