Romans 15:14-16 – Paul’s Reason for Writing
Paul is
convinced that the Christians in Rome are full of goodness, knowledge, and are
competent to minister to one another. He
has written boldly to them because God has appointed him to be a priest to the
Gentiles so they might become an offering acceptable to God sanctified by the
Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:14-16)
Paul writes
to them to encourage them. He has always
been an encourager. He is writing to
them because they are morally good people and have basic biblical
understanding. When Paul says they are
full of goodness and knowledge, he doesn’t mean they are sinless or qualified
as seminary graduates. He means they
have good will toward God and others. He
means that they are ready to be used effectively by God. He wrote to them to remind them of God’s
truths.
Sometimes
we become comfortable and get busy with our lives that we need to be reminded
from time to time to what Jesus has done for us on the cross. We need to be reminded of the fundamentals of
our faith. We need to be reminded what our
responsibilities are as Christians.
How
will you encourage someone today?
Paul
was aware of his purpose – to take the gospel to all the Gentiles. Paul calls himself a priest. All believers are members of a kingdom of
priests and have the duty and privilege to share the gospel with everyone.
Are you
aware of your calling?
It’s
the believer’s responsibility to care for one another by meeting needs one
might have. It might be providing food,
shelter, and even spiritual help. Usually
it’s the pastor or elders who get involved when someone is drifting away, but
it’s every believer’s responsibility to try to restore him. You are your brother’s keeper. If you’re a believer, you’re in the
ministry. However, to minister
effectively you must apply biblical truth in your own walk with Jesus.
Principle: If you are a believer, you are in the
ministry.
What is
keeping you from viewing yourself as a minister of Christ?
Romans 15:17-22 – Paul’s Reasons for His Absence
Paul goes
on to say that he considers it a great honor to be used by God in bringing the
Gentiles into God’s kingdom. The Holy
Spirit gave Paul the power to do signs and miracles showing he was a genuine
apostle. (Rom. 15:17-19)
The
Bible tells us that Paul did signs and miracles. Examples of some of Paul’s miracles are found
in Acts 14:8-10 and Acts 19:11-12. Should we expect sign and wonders
today? God is the Almighty Creator and
He can do miracles anytime He wants. He
has no limits so we shouldn’t limit Him.
We should believe that He is able.
We may not see the big miracles as we do in the Bible, but we can see
miracles daily. They may not be as
obvious as we would like, but they are happening all around us.
Paul
wanted to preach the gospel where the gospel was unknown so he wouldn’t be
building on someone else’s foundation. He
didn’t want to continue work others had started. He based his philosophy on Isaiah 52:15. He saw his ministry as part of fulfilling the
Old Testament prediction about the Gentiles coming to understand the good news
of Christ. (Rom. 15:20-21)
In Rom. 1:13 Paul said he wanted to visit
Rome many times, but wasn’t able and at that time he didn’t explain the
reasons. Now he explains it. Paul didn’t want to interrupt anyone else’s
work. He wanted to lay a good foundation
like a builder who lays a foundation for a building. He wanted to preach to those who had never
heard the gospel.
What is
keeping you from telling someone about the gospel?
Where
is God asking you to serve?
As
Christians we should always affirm the ministries of others while using our
gifts as we serve. We should also give
God the glory offering our ministry as an act of worship. We should be more like Paul and not hesitate
to be bold in challenging others reminding them what they already know.
Principle: Christians should affirm the ministries of
others while using their gifts to serve.
Romans 23-29 – Paul’s Plan
Again
Paul in hindered from visiting Rome because of his calling. He must go somewhere the gospel has not yet
been proclaimed. His sights are on Spain
and his plans are to stop by Rome on his way, but first he has to go to
Jerusalem. Macedonia and Achaia took up
a contribution for the poor believers there in Jerusalem. They were happy to do it and it was also
their duty. The Gentiles shared in the
Jews’ spiritual blessings, so they owed it to them to share their material
blessings. (Rom. 23-29)
Paul
was convinced it was not God’s will to visit Rome until he had completed his
mission of dropping off the collected contributions to those in Jerusalem. He didn’t let his desire to go to Rome keep
him from his calling.
Are you
convinced of your calling?
Do you
let your desires interfere with your calling?
Principle: Submit to God’s will and not your own
desires.
I see
two lessons here. One of obeying God’s
calling instead of our own desires. The
other is sharing with those who are in need.
The poor may need food, clothing, money, housing or they may need you
time to show they are important and not forgotten. We are to share our blessings with others to
relieve their poverty.
How are
you sharing with the poor?
Romans 30-33 – Paul’s Request
Paul
urges the Christians in Rome to pray for him.
He wants prayer that he be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and
that his service in Jerusalem be acceptable.
Then by God’s will he can come to Rome with joy and be refreshed with
them. (Rom. 30-33)
Paul
may have already been warned about the dangers ahead in Jerusalem, but that
didn’t stop him from doing God’s will.
Paul prayed for the Christians in Rome and now he is asking them to
return the favor. By praying they are
actually participating with him in his ministry. We may not be able to be missionaries and go
to a far off country, but we can still join in the ministry of others by
praying and supporting them financially.
Paul
knew that prayer was warfare and powerful.
We need to remember this. Prayers
are not just words, but words of power.
Pray for our churches, our pastors, out teachers, and our
missionaries. Pray that your lost family
members will accept Jesus. When you
pray, pray with the right motivation and pray for God’s will to be realized.
Who or
what will you pray for today?
Principle: Prayer is powerful.
Next time
we will study Romans 16. Have a blessed day and thanks for visiting my
site. Hope to see you here again. -- I
encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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