In chapter 3, we proposed that the doctrine of justification is not what Paul was intending to write about in Rom. 1.16–4.25, but a theological presupposition of his intended discussion. Our examination in chapter 4 of what happens when we explore the meaning of texts has shown why and how this proposal is possible. It has also shown us that since we want to understand the text as Paul's, both at the level of what he was intending to say to the Romans and at the level of what it reveals about his thought, our first task is to find out what he was intending to say to the Romans. This task has to come first because Paul's intention created the text and therefore defined what kind of a whole it is – what it is about and what kind of discourse it is. Only when we understand that can we begin to examine the theological presuppositions. They appeared in the text as a by-product of the process of composition. Only when we can see them in relation to Paul's intended discourse can we be reasonably confident that we are reading them correctly. The text itself will provide some tests to assess our reading of what Paul was intending to say. Thus, our whole exegesis will be subject to the text Paul dictated.

Our first task, then, is to develop a teleological reading, an understanding of what Paul was intending to say to the Romans.