Melanchthon spent his entire life preoccupied with Paul's Letter to the Romans. An introduction to a lecture dates as far back as 1519, followed in 1520 by a Latin text edition with a theological introduction and a speech on Paul's teachings. In 1522, Melanchthon's first commentary on the letter to the Romans with Luther's preface appeared in Nuremberg. The latter had secretly passed the manuscript on to the press without the author's knowledge and much to his displeasure. Melanchthon's early interpretation of the Letter to the Romans, which is presented for the first time in a modern German translation, proves his close theological connection with Luther and directly belongs to the genesis of his Loci communes theologici of 1521. Two further works from 1529 and 1532 show the continuity and further development of Melanchthon's rhetorical interpretation practice.
