Gospel Enthusiasm-Romans 1:7-15

New Testament, Romans, Sermons

Romans 1:7-15; 15

“That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome” (Rom 1:15, NIV).

How eager and enthusiastic am I to preach the gospel? As I reflect on my life, several events made me very excited and enthusiatic. Being accepted into medical school in 1973 at age 18 as the youngest in my class. Becoming a medical doctor in 1978. Coming to the U.S. from Malaysia in 1980.  Miraculously becoming a Christian a few months later in 1980, which was and still is the happiest day of my entire life. Falling in love with my wife after being married in 1981. Realizing God’s unchanging, eternal, everlasting love for me in 2005 after my “worst” sin of losing $1,000,000 (Jer 31:3). Starting West Loop in 2008. Preparing sermons to preach extemporaneously every Sunday since 2011. These are some things that happened to me and things which I did. Since becoming a Christian in 1980 a consistent joy for me was to study Scripture, read books and engaging with others through Bible study. It’s hard for me to assess myself as to whether I am as enthusiastic for the gospel today as when I first became a Christian 34 years earlier. Whatever it is, it is entirely only by the sheer grace of Jesus that God helped me NOT to become jaded, cynical, angry, resentful or bitter about Jesus and the gospel, or about Christians and the church, which often seems to be messy with some problem or issue or another. It is nothing but the grace of God that has helped me to continue to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8).

Some questions:

  • As we get older do we lose our initial enthusiasm for Jesus and the gospel?
  • Does it seem that many Christians start out full of zeal, but over time lose their initial excitement?
  • Are new converts the ones who seem to be most full of zeal and on fire for Christ?
  • Do we become jaded, cynical and bitter because of negative church experiences?

Theme: Paul’s eagerness (enthusiasm, excitement, energy) to preach the gospel is still evident and palpable after 25 years of preaching the gospel when he wrote Romans.

 

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Rom 12:11). Paul is like a man on fire. He is a man fully alive. St. Irenaeus (130 – 202 AD, church father and apologist) said: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.”  Paul’s passion and zeal is felt even in his initial greeting to the Christians in Rome (Rom 1:7-15), where he has never been to before.

 

Recap from Rom 1:1-17:

  • Jesus is the real deal. “The person and work of Christ are the rock upon which the Christian religion is built. If he is not who he said he was, and if he did not do what he said he had come to do, the foundation is undermined and the whole superstructure will collapse. Take Christ from Christianity, and you disembowel it; there is practically nothing left. Christ is the center of Christianity; all else is circumference.” John Stott, Basic Christianity, 21.
  • For Jesus’ name sake. “The highest of all missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God [Rom 1:18]), but rather zeal — burning and passionate zeal — for the glory of Jesus Christ.” John Stott, The Message of Romans, 53.
  • The gospel is the best news for every person who ever lived. Last week, we considered the gospel of grace (Rom 1:1-7) by asking the question, “What is the gospel?” The answer to this simple question is often imprecise, unclear, muddled, assumed, or confused, because we often think of the Bible in terms of commands and imperatives, and then feel bad or guilty that we don’t obey them. But the gospel is purely and simply good news, good tidings, a good herald. It consists of the marvelous grace of Jesus who died for our sins (1 Cor 15:3-4) and did not count our sins against us or treat us as our sins deserve (Ps 103:10). Because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, we can live lovingly and confidently in community with our heads held high because we have the assurance of final victory, which is entirely by God’s grace (Eph 2:8-9). Is there any better news than this?

Paul’s energy, enthusiasm, eagerness and excitement about the gospel can be felt even from Paul’s initial greeting and thanksgiving for the Roman Christians in Rom 1:7-15. This liveliness and spiritedness might be in direct antithesis to the attitude of many in the contemporary church, according to John Stott. Christians might be rather tepid or laissez-faire about the gospel. “Yeah, I go to church, read the Bible, pray, believe in Jesus. That’s no big deal.” But to Paul, it was a very big deal. The modern mood might be one of unwillingness or reluctance, or the tendency to feeling burdened, especially about sharing the gospel and our life and faith with others. Paul was the complete opposite. In Rom 1:7-15, Paul expresses in his words and phrases his eagerness and enthusiasm (not reluctance or unwillingness) in his:

  1. greeting (Rom 1:7).
  2. thanksgiving (Rom 1:8).
  3. prayers (Rom 1:10).
  4. longing to share some spiritual gift (Rom 1:11).
  5. desire for mutual encouragement (Rom 1:12).
  6. transparency about his intention and desire for a harvest (Rom 1:13).
  7. sense of debt to all people (Rom 1:14).
  8. preaching of the gospel (Rom 1:9, 15).

Consider Paul’s enthusiasm in three parts:

  1. Paul’s prayer (Rom 1:7-10): Thanksgiving.
  2. Paul’s planning (Rom 1:11-13): Ministry.
  3. Paul’s preaching (Rom 1:14-15): The gospel.

I. Paul’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (Rom 1:7-10)

Three ways Paul introduces himself and identifies himself in Rom 1:1:

  1. A servant of Christ.
  2. An apostle of Christ.
  3. Set apart for the gospel of God.

Three ways Paul describes the Christians in Rome after expounding on the gospel (Rom 1:2-6) in Rom 1:7:

  1. Loved by God.
  2. Called to be God’s holy people (saints), and belonging to Christ (Rom 1:6).
  3. Recipients of God’s grace and peace.

Status not behavior. Paul’s description of Christians reminds the readers that who we are depends on God’s love and God’s call. Paul uses “saints” at least 38 times to designate Christians, with the focus being NOT on behavior but on status. No Christian has ever made themselves Christian (Jn 1:13). A Christian is simply a recipient of grace. Christians are those who have been sanctified “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11).

Thanksgiving (Rom 1:8). Paul’s reason for giving thanks to God through Christ is that “your faith in him is being talked about all over the world” (Rom 1:8, NLT). A measure of hyperbole is undoubtedly present. But that people in the Roman capital had bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus (instead of the Caesar) is something that would be widely known. Ultimately, Paul gives thanks to God (Eph 1:16; Col 1:3; 1 Thess 1:2; 2 Thess 1:3; Phlm 1:4), the author of faith (Heb 12:2).

Paul’s constant, unceasing prayer for the Romans at all times (Rom 1:9b-10a) reflects his desire to minister to them personally (Rom 1:10b). This does not refer to unceasing petition but to prayer offered at frequent and regular intervals. Paul qualifies his prayer for them as being “in my spirit” and “in the gospel of his son” (Rom 1:9a). This is Paul’s emphasis on the engagement of his deepest person (“with my whole heart” [1984 NIV]) in the ministry to which he has been called.

II. Paul’s Planning for Ministry (Rom 1:11-13)

  1. Spiritual impartation (Rom 1:11).
  2. Mutual edification (Rom 1:12).
  3. Fruitful cultivation (Rom 1:13).

1) Spiritual impartation: Longing to share some spiritual gift (Rom 1:11). In explaining why he wants to come to Rome, Paul really advances only one reason, which he delineates in three roughly parallel purpose statements: “to impart some spiritual gift” (Rom 1:11); “to have a harvest” (Rom 1:13); “to preach the gospel” (Rom 1:15). “Spiritual gift” has been explained differently by different commentators. Moo says that we should think rather of an insight or ability, given by Paul by the Spirit, that Paul hopes to share with the Romans in order to strengthen their faith (1 Thess 3:2, 13; 2 Thess 2:17; 3:3). Stott says that Paul appears to be using the word in a more general sense, perhaps referring to his own teaching or exhortation, which he hopes to give them when he arrives. There is an intentional indefiniteness about his statement, perhaps becasue he does not yet know what their main spiritual needs will be.

2) Desire for Mutual Edification and Encouragement (Rom 1:12). To learn as well as teach, to be encouraged as well as to encourage! “Paul knows about the reciprocal blessings of Christian fellowship and, although he is an apostle, he is not too proud to acknowledge his need of it. Happy is the modern missionary who goes to another country and culture in the same spirit of receptivity, anxious to receive as well as give, to learn as well as teach, to be encouraged as well as to encourage! And happy is the congregation who have a pastor of the same humble mind!” John Stott, The Message of Romans, 57.

Paul’s remarkable humility. “Note how modestly he expresses what he feels by not refusing to seek strengthening from inexperienced beginners. He means what he says too, for there is none so void of gifts in the Church of Christ who cannot in some measure contribute to our spiritual progress. Ill will and pride, however, prevent our deriving such benefit from one another. Such is our superiority and such the intoxicating effect of our stupid boasting, that every one of us despises and disregards others, and considers that he possesses a sufficient abundance for himself.” John Calvin.

3) Fruitful cultivation: Transparency about his intention and desire for a harvest (Rom 1:13). Paul did not say what had prevented or hindered him from visiting them — probably the demands on Paul of his ministry in the eastern Mediterranean (Rom 15:19). But he did express his purpose of coming: “…that I may reap some harvest among you” (Rom 1:13b). “Harvest” is literally fruit. It refers to the product of his apostolic labors (Phil 1:22), including probably both an increase in the number of Christians through evangelization by winning some converts and a strengthening of the faith of the Roman Christians themselves (Rom 1:11b).

III. Paul’s Preaching of the Gospel (Rom 1:14-15)

Sense of debt to all people (Rom 1:14) becasue Christ entrusted the gospel to Paul. Why did Paul have a sense of debt toward all people? There are two possible ways of getting into debt. 1) Borrow money from someone. 2) Given money for someone by a third party. It is in this second sense that Paul was in debt. He has not borrowed anything from the Romans which he must repay. But Jesus has entrusted him with the gospel for them (1 Cor 4:1ff; Gal 2:7; 1 Thess 2:4; 1 Tim 1:11; Tit 1:3). This metaphor is more one of stewardship (or trusteeship) than indebtedness, but the underlying thought is the same. It is Christ who has made Paul a debtor by entrusting and committing the gospel to his trust. The couplets of Greeks and non-Greeks (barbarians), the wise and the foolish may denote the same contrasting groups. The first may allude to differences of nationality, culture and language, the second of intelligence and education. Either way, these expressions together cover the whole of Gentile humanity.

Preaching the gospel (Rom 1:9, 15). Paul was obligated and dutiful (Rom 1:14). But he was also eager and willing (Rom 1:15). Paul’s eager desire to preach the gospel to the Roman Christians refers to the ongoing work of teaching and discipleship that builds on initial evanglization. It includes not simply an initial preaching mission but the full sequence of activities resulting in settled churches (Ac 14:21-22). Paul undoubtly had a two-fold purpose to preach the gospel:

  1. Initial evangelism to win new converts, to preach the gospel where Christ is not known (Rom 15:20-21), even in Rome where the church was already planted.
  2. Strengthening and edifying those who had already come to faith, by bringing them into the “obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5; 16:26; Phil 1:27).

“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16b) Why was Paul so eager to preach the gospel? Paul says that God called him and set him apart for the gospel of God (Rom 1:1). Rom 15:15b-16 says, “…because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Paul was a man on fire for Christ. The prophets of old were similarly such men of passion and zeal. Jer 20:9 says, “But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” Jesus was the ultimate man of zeal and passion. After Jesus cleared the temple, John 2:17 says, “His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” All of the enthusiasm of the people of God resulted in advancing the kingdom of God, boldly declaring and proclaiming God’s sovereignty, planting churches, making disciples of all nations. But Jesus’ zeal for God would only lead to his demise. Jesus sweated drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. The next day, his life blood was drained from him on the cross. Jesus expressed his passion for God through his death, so that we may express our passion for God through our lives.

Fill in the blanks:

In Rom 1:7-15, Paul expresses enthusiasm, eagerness and excitement (not reluctance or unwillingness) in his:

  1. _____________ (Rom 1:7).
  2. _________________ (Rom 1:8).
  3. ____________ (Rom 1:9b-10).
  4. ______________________________________________ (Rom 1:11).
  5. ___________________________________________ (Rom 1:12).
  6. _____________________________________________________________ (Rom 1:13).
  7. _____________________________________ (Rom 1:14)
  8. _______________________________ (Rom 1:9a, 15).

Questions:

  • Recap: How would you explain and reconcile faith and obedience (Rom 1:5).
  • What is the gospel (Rom 1:1-7)? The goal of the gospel (Rom 1:5, 4b, 7b)? Share your gospel story.
  1. What are the three ways that Paul refers to the Christians in Rome (Rom 1:7)? What does this teach us about how one becomes a Christian (Jn 1:12-13)?
  2. What did Paul say about their faith (Rom 1:8)? Why did he thank God (Heb 12:2)?
  3. What assurance did Paul give them (Rom 1:9b)? What was Paul’s specific prayer request (Rom 1:10)?
  4. What reasons did Paul give as to why he wanted to see them (Rom 1:11-13)?
  5. What obligation (debt) did Paul owe (Rom 1:14a)? Why (1 Cor 4:1ff; Gal 2:7; 1 Thess 2:4; 1 Tim 1:11; Tit 1:3?)
  6. To whom did Paul seek to preach to (Rom 1:14b-15)? Define the terms and explain the difference.
  7. Why was Paul so eager to preach the gospel in Rome (Rom 1:1, 9a, 15; 15:15-16, 20; 1 Cor 9:16; Ac 14:21-22)?

References:

  1. Douglas Moo —The Epistle to the Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament, 1996).
  2. Douglas Moo —Exegetical examination of Romans. This course was recorded during a D.Min. seminar at the Carolina Graduate School of Divinity in May 2012.
  3. John Stott —The Message of Romans (The Bible Speaks Today, 1994).
  4. Tim Keller —Romans 1-7 For You (The Good Book Company, 2014).
  5. Romans 1:1-17: Epistolary Introduction. Sam Storms.

Rom 1:7-13, N. T. Wright. “The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation.”

7 “This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people. Grace and peace to you from God our father, and King Jesus, the Lord.8 Let me say first that I thank my God for all of you, through Jesus the king, because all the world has heard the news of your faith. 9 God is my witness – the God I worship in my spirit in the good news of his son—that I never stop remembering you 10 in my prayers. I ask God again and again that somehow at last I may now be able, in his good purposes, to come to you. 11 I’m longing to see you! I want to share with you some spiritual blessing to give you strength; 12 that is, I want to encourage you, and be encouraged by you, in the faith you and I share. 13 I don’t want you to be unaware, my dear family, that I’ve often made plans to come to you; it’s just that up to now something has always gotten in the way. I want to bear some fruit among you, as I have been doing among the other nations.”

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