Text- Romans 1:8-17
Title- A Love for the Living and the Lost (Turning Inside Out)
Romans 1:8-17 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
I. Love for the Living- 1:8-12
a. Thankfulness v. 8
b. Prayer v. 9-10
c. Fellowship- v. 11-12
II. Love for the Lost- 1:13-17
a. Intentional Witnessing v.13-14
b. Eager Witnessing- v.15
c. Unashamed Witnessing- v. 16-17
Please open to Romans 1:8-17…
Last week we looked at some of the basic information about the book of Romans. We saw how Romans has had a huge impact on the course of human history. We talked about how Romans is a book of deep theological truth and simple application. We saw that the book was written by Paul and his purpose was to teach the believers in the church at Rome some deeper truths about their salvation.
In a lot of his writings Paul begins by offering some personal words of encouragement. That’s true here in Romans. Paul shares his heart with them, and in doing so it gives us this amazing glimpse of the motivating drive behind Paul’s ministry. It helps us understand why he did what he did. And hopefully it will encourage us to adopt that some heart for ministry. Follow along as I read 1:8-17…
As I read through this passage, two things jumped out at me- Paul deep love for fellow believers, and his equally deep love for the lost. He describes how he lives out the greatest commandment. This unconditional love Paul reflected is so unusual, its really a supernatural thing. It can only come from the Holy Spirit.
I saw a T-shirt that said, “I’ll love you when you’re more like me”. I think this is a pretty common sentiment. Even as Christians we have a way of telling people, I’ll love you when you act more my idea of a Christian. I’ll love you when you fit into my mold. But believers in Jesus Christ come in all shapes and sizes. Not everyone will dress the same or talk the same or act the same.
It’s probably a little easier for us to love fellow believers than unbelievers. There are some evil, nasty, hard to love people out there. How can we learn to love those who are so easy to hate? Again, this is where we have to lean on a capacity to love that is greater than ourselves. We have to learn to love with God’s love and see people the way God sees people.
One of my main goals today is to think through how to turn ourselves inside out. How to move from a love for each other as believers, to a love for the lost.
Paul is such a great example to us of someone who was driven and motivated by love and compassion. The first thing we see in this passage is Paul’s love for the living. He cared about his brothers and sisters in Christ. This is seen in three ways. First, Paul expresses his thankfulness for them. Look at verse 8…
Paul is thankful for these fellow believers. He expresses his gratitude in their faith and in the good example they have been to other believers. Their faith is not something that has stayed locked up or confined, their faith has been displayed in such a way that it was spread to other cities and other countries. Their faith was strong and stable and secure.
I understand where Paul is coming from here. This church here in Rome was full of people who were faithful and active and strong in their commitment to the Lord. That is such an encouragement to any minister. To see a body of believers rally around each other and for a close-knit bond of unity is awesome. And then to see that group live in such a way as to make the truth of Christ know around them is even more awesome.
A lot of times those aren’t easy goals for a church to accomplish. It isn’t always the case that a body of believers can be unified and loving and gracious to each other. And many times when a church is close-knit it can become closed off. It can become in-grown and neglect the outside world.
This church has the unity thing down. Even when we don’t agree with each other, we still love each other and remain unified. We are getting better at showing that love to the outside world. We have to continue to find ways to reflect that love to those who are on the outside. We have to show that love to unbelievers, and people in need, and the lost in our own community.
One of the things that God has laid on my heart in a big way this past year is outreach. The question that I’ve been trying to answer is, “What can we do as a church and as individual believers to share the gospel with people?” Not just to invite people to church, although that has its place, but what can we do to tell more people about new life in Christ? I’ve met with other pastors in town, read different books and articles, and spent a lot of time praying about it.
I’d love to say I’ve got it all figured out. I’m still searching. But this passage we are studying today really seemed like a key piece of the puzzle. In Rome wasn’t a method or a program, or a five step process that was spreading throughout the world, but their faith. So if we are going to have an impact for God we need to have a deep rooted faith in Him. We need to have the kind of faith that trusts Him for big things. A faith that isn’t afraid to take risks. A faith that is infectious.
Paul was thankful for their faith because it served as an example to people everywhere. But Paul’s love was not just seen in his gratitude, but also in his prayers. Look at verses 9-10 again…
Paul says, God is my witness to how often I pray for you. Another mark of love for each other is the willingness to pray for one another. You usually spend a lot of time thinking about the things that you love. Paul loved these people so much that he was constantly bringing their needs before God.
Praying for each other accomplishes a couple of things. First, it has a way of helping us see people through God’s eyes. Praying for each other is a way of saying, “I love you and I want you to be all that God would have you be.”
Praying for others also is a great encouragement. I know that I feel very encouraged to know that there are people praying for me. That seems to be at least part of the reason that Paul mentions it here. He wants them to know how much he loves them and how often he prays for them.
Do you spend time praying for each other? Do you spend time praying for this church and this ministry? Do you spend time praying for the lost? Prayer is powerful because it is a direct communication to God. But it is also powerful because of how it communicates love to those we are praying for.
Paul also expresses his love in sharing his desire to come visit and fellowship with them. Look at 11-12…
Paul is eager to come and visit them so they can be mutually encouraged. In verse 11 where it says, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established…” A better word than established might be “strengthened, or confirmed.” They were already established in their faith. Paul just wanted to come and encourage them to keep up the good work; to personally confirm their belief. He wanted to hang out with them and get to know them better.
That is another indication of love… wanting to spend time with someone. This is easier to do with some people than with others. You all have had people in your lives, and maybe even in church, that you have a harder time loving.
I’m a pretty easy-going guy. I haven’t met many people I didn’t like. But I can remember when I was in college I worked in the mailroom. This guy came to work there named Jason Bobo. I didn’t care for him much. He was from Texas, so he had a big, loud, arrogant way of talking. And he was just a spaz. Always talking always moving, he was tiring. I didn’t care for him much.
But we were co-workers, so I had to spend a lot of time with him. As the weeks went by I started to see past the spaz and found that Bobo had a strong love for God, a great sense of humor, and he was often a deep thinker. Through our forced fellowship at work I grew to really love the guy. He became on of my closest friends through college and is still someone I talk to on a regular basis.
My guess is we all have had experiences with people who rubbed us the wrong way at first. Are you willing to look past the rough edges and get to know people on a deeper level? Do you have a love for others that allows you to see past the imperfections? Are you grateful that you have friends who are willing to see past your imperfections?
Fellowship has a lot of value and importance. Who we spend our time with does a lot to shape who we are. We often warn the teenagers about the dangers of peer pressure, but fellowshipping with the wrong people is dangerous no matter what age you are.
Now I know you might not be able to become close personal friends with all 300 people who attend, but hopefully you have a group of close friends from the church that you can interact with in a more personal way. The small groups that we offer are another great way to fellowship with other believers in a more intimate setting.
Paul’s love wasn’t confined to the living. He didn’t just show his love to those who were believers. Paul’s love was turned inside out. He had a deep love for the lost that was a driving force behind everything he did.
Paul’s loved people. He didn’t just love theology, or doctrine, or the Bible. He loved people. He didn’t look on sinners with hatred or anger, he understood that he used to be just like that. He understood that he was no better. He understood that it was through the amazing love of God that he was saved.
If we too are going to have a love for the lost we have to understand a few things. First, we used to be sinners too. It was because someone loved you that you heard the gospel. It was because of God’s love for you that He put that person in your life to tell you about salvation through Jesus.
God wants to use you to share the gospel with someone else. Do you have a love for people that desires to see them in a right relationship with God?
Second, if you are going to have a love for the lost you have to realize that people are sinners. You can’t be surprised or offended when sinners sin. You have to maintain an attitude of grace and love and understanding. It’s the same way with your kids.
I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, and they frequently act their age. The other day we were over at my moms doing some work and the girls were playing in a back room. Lilly came out wearing some of Grammie’s necklaces and with her cheeks covered in white powder. She had been in Grammie’s room playing with make-up. We explained to her that she was not allowed to get into Grammie’s stuff, but it wasn’t an act of willful disobedience or defiance. It was just a 4 year old acting like a 4 year old. It’s hard to get too angry about it.
Too often in Christian circles there is such a hatred for sin and evil that we have a hard time separating the sin from the sinner. If we are going to have a real love for the lost we can’t expect people to be perfect. We need to love them in spite of their faults. Fortunately for us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Paul’s love for the lost in expressed in a couple of ways here in our passage. First, his love for the lost resulted in intentional witnessing. Look at verses 13-14 with me…
Paul expresses his desire to go and visit the church there in Rome. He wants to come and “obtain some fruit” from among them. This term refers to two things, first, Paul wants to help the believers there grow in their faith and develop spiritual fruit. It also refers to Paul desire to help them evangelize and bring more people to a saving faith in Christ. Paul’s is intentional about his responsibility to share the gospel.
I think that intentionality is something that is often mission from our lives. Not just in ministry, but in a lot of areas of life. Do you do what you do on purpose? Or does stuff just seem to have a way of happening to you? Are you intentional about how you spend your money, how you eat, how you study the Bible? Do you understand what I mean by intentionality?
Intentionality implies that you have goals and direction. Without it you are just free falling. The goal of Paul’s life was to spread the gospel. So he went places and did things that would help him accomplish that goal. He didn’t just wait around for God to bring people to him, he looked for every opportunity to share.
What are some of your spiritual goals? Do you have any? Do you desire to pray more, to learn more about the Bible?, to serve more? What is it that God is calling you to do? Are you taking intentional, purposeful steps to get there?
Paul was intentional about his evangelism because of his deep love for the lost. He saw it as an obligation. in verse 14 he says…
In other words, Paul is saying that he is obligated to preach the word to every single person he came across. Regardless of social class, inelegance, culture, or race. He was obligated to share with everyone who needed to hear.
It isn’t that Paul is being forced into witnessing to people out of a fear of God or something. It is an obligation that flows from a love of people. It is the same kind of love that would lead you to run into a burning building to save a trapped child, or throw a life preserver to a drowning man. You wouldn’t ignore people in these desperate situations. If there was something that you could do to save them you would feel a sense of responsibility to do it.
That is how Paul viewed those who were lost. They were drowning, headed for an eternity separated from God, and Paul had the life preserver. He had the answer. He had the key to their rescue and salvation. Because he knew the truth, Paul felt obligated to share it with those who needed it.
Do you share that same sense of obligation towards the lost? You have the key to eternal life. You have information about how to have a close, personal relationship with God. You have something so valuable, so important, and so precious. And it was never meant to be hung on a shelf or horded. It was meant to be shared.
Can you be more intentional about your witness? Can you sit down and pray for God to provide you opportunities to share? Can you make appointments with lost friends, family, or co-workers to talk about religion? Can you develop some kind of intentional plan for sharing what you have?
Along with being intentional about his witnessing, Paul was also eager to witness. Look at verse 15…
This makes sense. Paul loved people, he saw it as his responsibility and his calling to come and evangelize, and that was his reason for being. Of course he is going to be eager to do it.
This is the piece of the puzzle that just really seems to be missing for a lot of people. There isn’t an eagerness to serve in ministry or to share the gospel with others, but reluctance to. There has been a growing decline in personal evangelism over the years. I don’t know why. Maybe the seeker-oriented, church-growth movement has caused us to all think that it is the churches responsibility to witness. Maybe the secular ideas of tolerance and diversity have made us afraid to speak the truth in love.
Maybe we have just started to lose a sense of love for the lost. We’ve lost that sense of urgency and seriousness. We’ve forgotten how serious the situation really is for those who haven’t placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
How do we get that back? What can we do to get to that place where we are no longer afraid to witness to the place where we are eager to share?
I think it starts with prayer. It begins with us asking God to change our hearts and open our eyes. It begins with spending time praying for the salvation of our lost friends.
It will also require a clear understanding of what is at stake. And we are studying the right book for that. As we work through Romans we will learn more about the helpless state of mankind and our need for a savior.
Developing an eagerness to witness will also come if it is something that we are thinking about. If we are reading books about evangelism, talking to others about evangelism, and preparing ourselves for interactions with people we will naturally be more eager to put it into practice.
Finally, the ability to show our love for the lost will only happen if we are unashamed in our witness. Look at verses 16-17…
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. Are we ashamed of it? Do we act like we are ashamed of it? Are we embarrassed to share the gospel? Are we worried how people will view us, what people will think of us, or how people will treat us if we talk to them about Jesus? Have you found yourself faced with an open opportunity to talk to someone about Christ, and you chickened out? I have.
But it is not something that we should ever be ashamed of. Why? Because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. It’s a matter of life or death. It’s important. It isn’t just a matter of personal preference or personal style. It isn’t trivial like telling someone about a restaurant you like, or a great deal you got on a pair of shoes. It could mean the difference between heaven and hell.
Paul wasn’t ashamed of his love for the lost, he wasn’t ashamed of His calling as an apostle, he wasn’t ashamed of his mandate to witness, he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was proud of it. The gospel is the revelation of the righteousness of God. It is the revelation that we can live by faith. It is a message of hope and joy and love.
I mentioned earlier that I’ve been thinking a lot about how to enhance our ability to share the gospel with the Woodland community. As a part of that thinking process I invited a number of seasoned pastors over to talk about evangelism and outreach. They talked about what they had done at their churches and what works and what doesn’t work. We even talked a bit about how we could combine some of our resources to make an impact in the area of children’ ministry.
One of the questions I asked those guys was, “What do you think is the most effective way to spread the gospel?” They all answered with the same response- personal evangelism. Even though they all have outreach events, open houses, and other programs to draw people to church, it was still the personal connection that was most effective.
People inviting friends and neighbors to church. People sharing Christ with others around them. The biggest growth in new believers comes when the people in the church go out and witness in an intentional, eager, unashamed way.
What that means for the church is that we have to do a better job at training and equipping you for evangelism. But you really already have everything you need. You are armed with your own testimony of how God transformed your life, and you are armed with the Holy Spirit of God.
As a church we also need to give you more opportunities to go out there are share with your friends and neighbors. If you noticed on the preaching calendar back there I put in periodic “open houses” to give us an opportunity to invite people to church.
So as a pastor, there are things that I want to do to help make evangelism a priority for us. And as individuals there are things that you need to do to make evangelism a priority for you.
I’ll be honest; evangelism is an area that I’ve never been that comfortable with. It always seemed to stir up feelings of guilt and anxiety and pressure. It always felt awkward and forced. I don’t like sounding like a used car salesman.
It wasn’t until seminary that things finally clicked with me. I had always made personal evangelism out to be about me. It was something that I had to do, it was something I felt guilty about not doing enough. It had become very cold and mechanical. Have any of you felt that way about it?
It was through my class on evangelism in seminary that I began to realize that sharing the gospel isn’t about me being an effective salesman, it’s about me loving that other person. It involves relationship building, dialogue, and reflecting God’s love.
I found that even though I didn’t like evangelism, I loved people. I loved talking to people and getting to know them Discovering what their religious background is and what big questions they have. I love digging below the surface and finding out more about people.
I don’t know if that makes any sense to any of you. I’m still very intentional in my evangelism. I really do want people to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. But when I interact with someone my goal isn’t to convert them, but to love them. I want to let them understand that God loves them and that I love them. And then help them to see what that love means.
So maybe the key to evangelism isn’t about learning new tricks, or having all the answers, but simply growing in our love for people. Paul had a deep love for the lost as well as the living. I pray that God would give us that same heart of love and compassion for people.
