18 October, 1998
INTRODUCTION
A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in two's for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under an eight point buck.
As the hunter staggered into camp with his trophy buck, he was asked, "Where's Harry?"
"Oh, Harry had a stroke of some kind," he said. "He's a couple of miles back up the trail."
"You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?"
"A tough call," nodded the hunter, "but I figured no one is going to steal Harry." (The Jokesmith, Christian Clippings, Page 27)
We are a people who can easily get our priorities all mixed up. That which is least important often becomes what is a priority to us. This a problem with us as individuals, which can carry over in the life of the church. It is so easy to begin to major on the minors.
The Apostle Paul was certainly a man of Biblical principle and conviction and he was a man whose priorities were in the right order. When he penned a letter to a particular church, that which was important to him is often pretty clear. That is the case in his introductory words in his letter to the Romans.
BACKGROUND
Here in Romans 1:8-15, Paul is still in the process of making some introductory remarks to the believers at Rome. He is unburdening his own heart about what his readers mean to him. And it would be easy for his readers to gather from these words what Paul considered to be a priority for them as a church and as individual followers of Jesus. As we continue to consider these introductory words to the believers at Rome, that is what I would like us to see. I believe that these words reflect what was important to Paul and what should be a priority to us. Actually there are six things that I see here that was a priority for Paul and should be for us as well.
1. A FAITH IN CHRIST THAT IS EVIDENT TO THE WORLD - 1:8
The word Paul uses for faith is the most commonly one used in the NT. It simply means true piety, genuine religion and it refers to the genuineness of their salvation and Christianity. And he says that their faith was so genuine that it aroused the attention of the people around them. It was a faith that was being proclaimed or publicly reported all over the Roman Empire. Everyone in the community of the believers at Rome must have been talking about their faith in Jesus. As a matter of fact, history tells us that "the testimony of the church in Rome was so strong that in AD 49, the emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews because of the influence of 'Chrestus,' which very likely was a reference to Christ." (MacArthur Study Bible) It was a known fact in that community that these people who made up this community of believers were genuinely followers of Jesus.
I wonder sometimes what we are known for here at our church and even as individuals. Are we known as a people who have a genuine faith in Christ? Are we known as individuals who are serious about our relationship with Jesus? When people visit here, is it obvious to them that following Jesus is a priority in our lives? That is impression that I get from Paul about the believers at Rome. They were known to be a people who were not just religious but who were genuine in their faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not about having fancy and slick programs. although they can be good. It is not about looking a certain way. It is about our living coninciding with what we say believe. When we are living like that, word will get around. It did in Rome and it just might here in Lower Burrell.
2. CONSTANT AND FERVENT PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD - 1:9,10
There is no question that the Apostle Paul was a man of prayer. He prayed for the people of God. He prayed for the churches he planted. He prayed for the individuals he discipled. He prayed even for those whom he had never met. Paul did not just think about these believers nor did he just talk about them to others. He prayed for them. He interceded to the Father on their behalf. Over and over again in his letters, he makes it known that he is praying for those to whom he is writing. And the word that he uses to say he is praying constantly for them denotes that he is praying for them repeatedly - that there is no great length of time between his prayers.
He is constantly and fervently praying for these ones whom he has never met but who are so dear to his heart. He says that he constantly remembers them in his prayers at all times.
We can be constant and fervent in prayer - the question is, what is the focus of our prayers? What and who are we praying for?
Prayer was a priority in Paul's life and I believe he meant it to be a priority for those to whom he wrote.
The true story is told of a Christian leader -- we'll call him Steve -- who was traveling by plane. He noticed that the man sitting two seats over from him was thumbing through some little cards and moving his lips. The man looked professorial with his goatee and graying brown hair, and Steve figure he was about fifty-something.
Guessing the man was a fellow-believer, Steve leaned over to engage him in conversation.
"Looks to me like you're memorizing something," he said.
"No, actually I was praying," the man said. So Steve introduced himself and said, "I believe in prayer too."
"Well, I have a specific assignment," said the man with the goatee.
"And what's that?" Steve asked.
"I'm praying for the downfall of Christian pastors."
"I would certainly fit into that category," Steve said. "Is my name on the list?"
"Not on my list," the man replied. (Common Ground, Vol. 10 No. 7)
If there are those in this world who are somehow praying for the downfall of Christians and pastors, maybe we should be praying for the protection of Christains and other Christian leaders. Maybe we should be interceding for the people of God that they would be kept by His power and used for His glory. Maybe we should be constantly and fervently praying for God's people here in this church and abroad.
3. WHOLE-HEARTED SERVICE TO GOD - 1:9
For Paul, life was not about being on top. He has already made it clear that first and foremost he is a servant of Jesus Christ. He considers himself a bondservant - one who is totally and willingly at his Masters beckon call. Here again, he reiterates that priority in his life by saying that he serves God with his whole heart. The word serve is literally means to render a religious service. It was always used to mean religious service, either given to God or to creatures. It was a service that either consisted of worship or the performance of external duties of a religious nature. There were many in that culture who offered such a service. The Pharisees did as they performed their religious duties. And there were many false religions whose adherents performed some kind of service to their god. Paul even makes reference to such a service in 1:25 when he speaks of a service rendered by the ungodly who worship and serve created things rather than the Creator.
But Paul's service to God was different than those whom the Roman Christians might have been familiar with. His was a whole hearted service to God. It was a service that was in contrast to an insincere and external kind of service. The Apostle Paul served his Lord with all of his being. It was not just a religious act but it was a whole-hearted devoted service to God.
That is the kind of service and devotion that we are to offer to the Lord. It is not a matter of just going through the motions or performing some kind of religious duty but it is the giving of ourselves to the Lord. It is availing ourselves to Him because of all that He has done for us. It is giving my best for Him. It is seeing everything that I do as an act of service for God. Whatever it is I am doing in life, I must consider it an act of worship or service to the Lord - that I am doing it for Him. When you look at whatever you do with that perspective, chances are you will be serving with your whole heart.
4. SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD IN ALL MANNER OF LIFE - 1:10
Paul did nothing that was contrary to God's will. His life was centered around doing what God wanted him to do and being where God wanted him to be. These words here make it obvious that Paul did not make a move until he was sure he was moving according to the will of God.
We can even see this sensitivity to moving according to God's will in Acts 16:6-8 where Luke tells us that "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas."
And of course it was there in Troas that Paul had a vision of the man in Macedonia who wanted him to come there and preach the gospel. Paul had intentions of going into Bythinia but God wanted him and his companions in Macedonia. And that is exactly where Paul went in submission to the will of God. Paul's prayer for the Christians in Rome and his coming to them was all contingent on God's will. He prayed according to will of God and he wanted to go there according to the will of God. He does not make it clear as to why he had been unable to go to Rome. But one has to assume that his not being able to go to Rome was in line with God's will - and a result of him being sensitive to God's will.
The will of God is not always simply discerned other than what is obvious in the Scriptures. In most cases the will of God is plainly spelled out for us in His Word and it is just a matter of us looking to His Word for that guidance. But sometimes God's will for us pertaining to a career or a place to live or a life partner is not always so obvious. Sometimes it is a matter of a simple step of faith - believing that God will lead according to His will.
But submission to the will of God in all manner of life is as much an attitude than anything else. We certainly need to exercise care and caution when it comes to discerning God's will and we certainly need to be praying according to the will of God.
Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
All of this means that we must accept His will however trying and difficult it may be. Many times the will of God is costly and risky. Many times it will cost us a great deal and provide us with a great challenge. The life of the Apostle Paul is a prime example. When God finally did lead Paul to Rome (believing that he was being providentially led throughout his life), he was led there under adverse circumstances and then eventually lost his life to the sword. Submission to God's will is not always the easiest road. But it should be our attitude that God would lead us according to His will in all manner of life.
5. BEING FIRMLY ESTABLISHED BY THE ENABLING OF THE SPIRIT 1:11,12
Paul expresses his desire here that the Christians in Rome be the recipients of some spiritual gift. The word gift is charisma and it means a gift that is freely and graciously given - a favor bestowed - it is a gift of grace. It is, quite simply, a spiritual enablement whose source is the Spirit of God. Obviously Paul is not saying that the spiritual gift he wants them to have would be given by him because it's source is the Spirit of God. Maybe this is just Paul's way of saying that it is his desire for them that they be spiritually gifted or enabled by the Spirit of God.
Paul also talks about them being made strong. That word simply means "to fix firmly, to establish, to confirm, to strengthen." Paul wanted them to be strong to the point that there would be a confidence in their belief of the gospel and in their resolve to be obedient. (Hodge)
Now at first Paul makes it sound like he wants to come to them for the purpose of ministering to them by imparting or sharing with them this spiritual gift. But then he changes his tune to say that it was not just a matter of him ministering to them in this way but of them also ministering to him. Paul's desire was that they would be equipped that they might be enabled to minister to him and to one another according to the enabling of the spirit. Paul wanted them to not only be the recipients of divine favor and ministry but that they would also be agents of encouragement to him as well. Paul realized that he needed to be ministered as much they did. And he was looking forward to receiving from them the kind of encouragement that is prompted by the Spirit of God.
It is important that you and I be firmly established and strengthened in our faith that there would be a confidence in our belief of the gospel and in our resolve to be obedient. But equally important for us is that we not only be the recipients of such divine favor but that we be agents of encouragement to others as well.
It is a matter of us coming together not just to receive but to give. It is a matter of us coming together not just to be ministered to but to minister to others as well. It is not just a matter of me standing here a preaching to you Sunday after Sunday but it is also a matter of you being equipped to minister to me and that I would be the recipient of such a blessing. And all of that is only possible as the Spirit of God enables us. Each one of us have been equipped to do ministry - to offer encouragement and edification to others. And that should be a priority to us - to allow God's Spirit to flow through us that others might be encouraged.
6. BEING ABOUT THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM - 1:13-15
Paul was most definitely a kingdom worker and everywhere he went, he went with that purpose in mind - to do the work that God had called him to do. And here, two aspects of that work come to light.
a. Desiring to reap a harvest among the lost - 1:13
Paul speaks here of desiring to go to Rome "in order that (he) might have a harvest among (them)." The word harvest is actually a word that is translated "fruit." It is mostly used of result, outcome or product. Here it is used to mean "advantage, gain, or profit." The Scriptures typically categorizes three kinds of spiritual fruit. (1) The spiritual attitudes that characterize the spirit filled believer as described in Galatians 5 (2) Righteous actions (3) New converts. And it is likely that here, Paul is referring to the latter - that of new converts. Obviously Paul is not talking about his trip there being profitable or advantageous in a financial way but rather in a spiritual way - that of reaping a harvest among the lost. This is what Paul lived for - to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ. This is what kept him going in spite of severe persecution. And this was his motivation until they stopped him once and for all there in Rome on the day he was executed.
It was this same kind of motivation that obviously motivated a man by the name of Milt Rood. Milt worked for years and years in Spokane, Washington as a car salesman. But he was also very active with the Union Gospel Mission work with juvenile delinquents. Week by week he'd patiently teach the Word of God and pray with young boys in trouble. One week Milt went into the Hospital for exploratory surgery. The doctors found he was full of cancer. They sewed him up again and sent him home. He died within a week.
After the funeral, a friend by name of Ron Kinley who attended the funeral made a character defining comment about Milt when he remarked, "It's interesting that at the funeral no one ever asked how many cars he had sold!"
Is it our desire as individuals and as members of this local body to see men and women come to faith in Jesus. Is it our desire to reap a harvest here in the New Ken, Lower Burrell area? Is this what we see as a priority in our church? Are we doing ministry that is geared from reaping a harvest?
b. Considering ourselves being obligated to share the message of the gospel- 1:14
The word Paul uses here for debt or obligation simply means "a debtor or one who owes - one who is in any way bound or under obligation to perform a task." Paul's ministry was based on the fact that he felt a deep obligation or indebtedness to preach the gospel to the entire Jewish and Gentile world. His obligation was based on the fact that he had been entrusted with the gospel to do just that. The gospel had not been given to him to keep to himself, but to proclaim to the lost. In that way, he was indebted to share the message of the gospel.
John Stott, in his commentary on Romans points out that "we are debtors to the world, even though we are not apostles. If the gospel has come to us (which it has), we have no liberty to keep it to ourselves. Nobody may claim a monopoly of the gospel. Good news is for sharing. We are under obligation to make it known to others." (John Stott, Romans: God's Good News for the World, p. 59)
We have no right to keep the message to ourselves. We are under the same obligation to take the gospel to this world as Paul was. And Paul tells us a what that obligation means.
(1) It is a sense of obligation that offers the gospel to all classes of people
Paul's reference to Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise and the foolish was his way of saying that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not limited to a certain class of people but it is to be offered to all men - Jew and Gentile. And that should be the way we see it as well. Regardless of color, ethnic or religious background or any other social classification you can come up, the gospel should be presented to all men. When it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no room for prejudices or favoritism. Somehow we need to lay our prejudices aside so that we might be able to share the message and love of Jesus to anyone, regardless of who they are.
(2) It is a sense of obligation that gives us a constant readiness to share the message
Paul was always ready at a moments notice to take advantage of every opportunity that God gave him to preach the gospel. This is what Paul lived for. And this is how Paul addressed the social and moral issues of his day. Paul confronted the immorality and the corruption of the society in which he lived, not by holding a rally or by boycotting a product but by the preaching of the gospel.
Because he knew, as he mentions in the next verse, that the gospel was the power of God unto salvation. And that was the answer to the social problems of his day as it is the days in which we live. I think Paul knew as you and I should know, that man will not change until God changes man. And that begins by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is that gospel that we should always be ready to preach.
How ready are you and I to share the message that has been entrusted to us? How ready are you and I to share with others what God has done in our lives. When this is a priority in your life, you will be in that constant state of readiness. Being about the work of the kingdom should be a priority in our lives.
During the early days of the Salvation Army, the founder of that organization, William Booth and his associates were bitterly attacked in the press by religious leaders and government leaders alike. Whenever his son, Bramwell, showed Booth a newspaper attack, the General would reply, "Bramwell, fifty years hence it will matter very little indeed how these people treated us; it will matter a great deal how we dealt with the work of God." (The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 185)
Does it matter to you how we deal with the work of the kingdom? Does it matter to you if the gospel is preached? Does it matter to you if people come to faith in Jesus? If it matters to you - if you consider it a priority, to what extent are you willing to give of yourself to the work?
CONCLUSION
A couple of weeks ago in our Sunday evening service, I shared with the church family some things from my heart - what I called Challenges for Church Growth. Along with what I have already shared with you from these words of the Apostle Paul, let me add close very quickly with these challenges that I believe should be a priority for our church. Some of them go right along with what Paul has written here in Romans chapter 1.
There are many things that are a priority in the life of this church and in the lives of each one of us. May God help us to make His kingdom work and a relationship with Him the number one priority in our lives and in this church.