Paul's letter to the Romans is also called his "gospel." It is the longest of his letters and it gives the full outline of Jesus' ministry. Paul had hoped to travel to Rome on one of his journeys, but he was arrested in Jerusalem and finally reached Rome in chains as prisoner. In today's reading (Rm 8:31b-34), Paul contrasts life lived in spirit and life lived in the flesh. The former is good, the latter is evil. After all if you spell LIVE backwards according to the flesh, you get EVIL.