A Study of the Book of Romans
Lesson # 2
“PAUL’S
COMMITMENT AND CONFIDENCE”
Romans 1:11-17
Last week we
introduced our study of the Book of Romans. In
that study we looked at the first eight verses as an introduction to the book. We looked
at the messenger, the message and the recipients. Now
returning to verse eleven we will look a little more in depth at Paul as he recounts his
personal commitment to the body of Christ and to the church at Rome.
It can hardly be argued that Paul lived a
successful Christian life. Yet, have we ever stopped to ask ourselves, “What was
it that Paul so successful?” I believe that his letter to the church at Rome
gives us some keen insight into the heart of Paul, and in the process helps us to
understand, why Paul was so successful.
Beginning in verse eleven we read, “For I long to see you,
that I may
impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— That is, that I may be encouraged together with you
by the mutual faith both of you and me (13) Now I do not want you to be
unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit
among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. (14) I am a debtor both to Greeks and
to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. (15) So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the
gospel to you who are in Rome also. (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the
Jew first and also for the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
As we look at Paul’s
heart we see that his life was characterized by a four-fold sense of purpose.
First, We Paul
had a sense of dependence. 1:11-12
“For I long to see you, that I may
impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— That is, that I may be encouraged together with you
by the mutual faith both of you and
me.”
We can learn from each other
indeed we must! We can and
should be a blessing to each other.
Not only did Paul have
a sense of dependence but …
Secondly, Paul
has a sense of determination. 1:13
“Now I do not want you to be
unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I
might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.”
Paul says “I have planned”
– we need to have plan. But as we have seen in our study of James, James tells us
that those plans need to be based on an understanding of the will of God (James 4:13-15)
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we
will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; (14) whereas you do not know what will
happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and
then vanishes away. (15) Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
Knowledge of the will of God is gained
through prayer and the study of the word of God.
Paul not only has a
sense of determination but …
Third, Paul has
a sense of indebtedness. 1:14-15
“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to
In verses fourteen there is a
first a recognition of debt. (v. 14) “I am a debtor both to Greeks
and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.” He owed a debt of love. In (1 Cor. 9:16-17) he says, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of,
for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me
if I do not preach the gospel! (17) For if I do this willingly, I have
a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”
In the original Greek
the word translated “debtor” in verse fourteen speaks of a
solemn moral obligation. Paul
owed the gospel to every member of the human race. At one point in his life Paul (then
Saul of Tarsus) felt an obligation to persecute every Christian; now he felt an obligation
to preach to every creature. It means that Paul did what he did
because he felt a holy and sacred obligation. The payment of this debt was to be
fulfilled by the “preaching
of the gospel” to them (v. 15). Not just how to become a Christian but
What it means to live like a Christian (Discipleship).
“During
the Vietnam War there was a fighter pilot named Charles Plumb. He flew fighter jets off of
the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. He flew 75 successful missions, but on his 76th mission
his fighter jet was the target of a surface-to-air missile and his jet exploded into
flames, but he pulled the ejection handle in time, popped up into the air, and his
parachute deployed and he floated safely to the ground uninjured. But he landed in the
middle of enemy territory. He was captured, and for six years he was a prisoner of war in
North Vietnam. He wondered at times if he would even survive his imprisonment, but he did.
When
the war was over, he was reunited with his family, became a successful business man and
later, a motivational speaker. One evening not too many years ago he was in a restaurant
in southern California and a man at the table next to him whom he did not recognize turned
and said, “Hey, you’re Charles Plumb, aren’t you? You flew a fighter jet
off of the Kitty Hawk carrier didn’t you?” Charles says, “That’s
right. How do you know me?” The man said “You don’t know this, but before
every mission you flew, I was the man who packed your parachute. I guess it worked, didn’t
it?” Charles Plumb said, “Yes, it did! I guess I am alive because of you.”
They
spoke and Charles Plumb went back to sit down and eat his dinner, but he couldn’t
eat. He kept thinking about this guy over at the other table who had saved his life and he
didn’t even know it. He began to think about his days back on the Kitty Hawk, and he
said there were probably times he saw that sailor, but he never once said, “Hello, or
Good morning,” or introduced himself, because he was a great, big fighter pilot and
that guy was just a lowly sailor. As he sat there in the course of just a few moments he
thought about how that man’s packing of his parachute had saved his life.
Then
he thought about those days in the POW camp and how he also needed an emotional parachute
to survive the loneliness. He thought about how his family had really packed his emotional
parachute to prepare him for those days of separation. He thought about the mental
parachute that he needed there in prison and how his officers and trainers packed his
mental parachute to prepare him mentally to meet all the hours and hours of brutal
interrogation. Then he thought about how there had been people who had most valuably
packed his spiritual parachute because he said the one thing that kept us going in prison
was our faith in God. He thought about those preachers, Sunday School teachers and
chaplains who had packed his spiritual parachute. Suddenly, he realized he had never
expressed his thanks to any of those people. So he got up and went over to that guy, and
he said, “Listen, man, I’m sorry I never told you, but I just want to thank you
for saving my life.” And he bought his dinner. As soon as he got back home he sat
down and wrote a letter to every family member he could think of telling them he wanted to
thank them for packing his emotional parachute because they saved his life. Then he wrote
a letter to all of the officers and trainers he could remember and he said, “I want
to thank you for packing my mental parachute, because you saved my life.” Then he
wrote a letter to those pastors, Sunday School teachers and chaplains and he said, “I
want to thank you for packing my spiritual parachute because you saved my life.”
Suddenly, he realized he was in debt to all these people.”
We
all have a debt of gratitude to express in our lives to those who have packed our
parachutes.
Because
there have been people who have packed our parachutes mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. My question to you is, “Have you ever even thanked them for that?”
If you nothing else out of this message I want you to go out and I want you to tell people
today and next week, “Hey, thanks for packing my parachute!” They’ll say,
“What in the world are you talking about?” Tell them the story. We are in debt
to those who have helped us.
Paul not only had a sense of indebtedness but
…
Fourth, Paul had
a sense of assurance. 1:16-17
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek.”
D.
L. Moody was one of the most famous evangelists of the 19th century. He was a
big man with a big, full beard. D. L. Moody was an uneducated, uncouth man. It was said, “He murdered the Queen’s English.”
In fact, in 1870, he went to London and he was speaking in front of a huge crowd of
educated, sophisticated English people and he started his address this way with poor
grammar: “Don’t never think that God don’t
love you, for he do!” He just went on talking about Jesus. Some people were
offended by his lack of correct grammar. After one of these meetings a sophisticated,
dignified woman English woman came up to Dwight and said, “Mr. Moody, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
and he hung his head, and he said “Ma’am,
you’re right. I am ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.” That man “shook” two continents for Jesus Christ. I think we
can all say the same thing. We have reason to be ashamed of the way we act sometimes, and
we have reason to be ashamed of the way we live sometimes, but we never have to be ashamed of the gospel.
Paul gives three good reasons in verse
sixteen and seventeen why he is not ashamed of the gospel. First, he is not ashamed of the
gospel - because it is just that the Gospel
- “the good news.”
He says that the gospel is “the power of God.”
The Greek word is (dunamis), from which we get the English words
“dynamic, dynamo and dynamite.” The
gospel according to Paul contains the dynamic power of God. It contains the power to save
all those who believe. The word “believe”
means to make a personal commitment, to trust by an act of the will. That means that the
gospel always demands a personal
response.
He is not ashamed of the gospel because it
is the Power of God.
The Romans appreciated power, and
· Military power - the power to subdue nation.
· Industrial power - Roman roads linked the
world.
· Cultural power - the world of literature and
art.
· Judicial power - but they were powerless to
change hearts!
Third, He is not ashamed of the gospel
because it reveals the Righteousness of
God. This is such an important theme he will spend the rest of the letter explaining it.
(v. 17) “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The righteousness of God is not hidden it is revealed.
Note what is revealed about the righteousness of God. It is given not earned.
· It is received by faith
“to
everyone who believes”
The same righteousness that condemns when rejected saves when
accepted.
· It is reproduced
by faith - “from faith
to faith.” That is faith becomes a way of life.
· It is lived
by faith. “the righteous live by
faith” (Hab. 2:4)
It the truth of verse seventeen that is
Conclusion
I want to close with a poem that has
“I am part of the "Fellowship of
the Unashamed." The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped
over the line. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small
planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and
dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity,
position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops,
recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love
with patience, live by prayer and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is
heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable,
and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned
back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of
popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up
until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of
Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till
all know and work till He stops me.
And when Jesus comes for His own, He will
have no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the "Fellowship of
the Unashamed."
What would be the result if every Christian
was that unashamed of his faith?
“On one occasion Frederick the Great invited some notable people to his royal table, including his top-ranking generals. One of them by the name of Hans von Zieten declined the invitation because he wanted to partake of communion at his church. Some time later at another banquet Frederick and his guests mocked the general for his religious scruples and made jokes about the Lord’s Supper. In great peril of his life, the officer stood to his feet and said respectfully to the monarch, “My lord, there is a greater King than you, a King to whom I have sworn allegiance even unto death. I am a Christian man, and I cannot sit quietly as the Lord’s name is dishonored, His character belittled, and His cause subjected to ridicule. With your permission I shall withdraw.” The other generals trembled in silence, knowing that von Zieten might be killed. But to their surprise, Frederick grasped the hand of this courageous man, asked his forgiveness, and requested that he remain. He promised that he would never again allow such a travesty to be made of sacred things.”
[Our Daily Bread - www.bible.org/illus/Romans.]