Salvation: Why? and How?
or, SALVATION: ITS NEED AND PROVISION
Romans Chapters One to Five
Calvary Baptist Church
Series Begins Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sermon 2: A Preacher and a Church
October 14, 2012
Romans 1:8-13
Romans 1:8-13 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
INTRODUCTION:
• We are in the section of Romans that I have called the salutation (1:1-17).
• Last week we looked at Paul and his calling (1:1-7).
• Today we turn our attention to Paul and the Church (1:8-13).
THEME: Paul's thankfulness to God for the genuine faith of the Roman believers and his love for them expressed.
OBJECTIVE: The listener will understand the deep love that Paul had for believers in Christ.
STATEMENT: A preacher and a church!
I. Paul Was Proud of the Church (1:8)
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
First - "Before anything else, I want to tell you that I thank God for you."
A. Thankful for Saving Faith (Cf., Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 6:17-18; 1 Jn. 2:15-16)
"your faith"
QUOTE: (From P.O.S.B.) The citizens of Rome were known for their...
• Immorality
• License
• Hoarding
• Drunkenness
• Idolatry
• Greed
• Gluttony
• Sin and wickedness
• Extravagance
• Fleshliness
• Indulgence
• Materialism
• Partying
• Pride
• Selfishness
• Yet here is a group of people who are completely different!
• Why? Because of faith in Christ.
• And they began to talk about it all over the world!
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
1 John 2:15-16 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
B. Thankful to the Source of Their Faith
"Through Jesus Christ"
• In verse one we read of the "gospel of God."
• This means that God sent the good news.
• In verse 9 of our passage, we read of "the gospel of His Son."
• That is , good news about Jesus Christ.
• But Paul cannot forget that it was the Son Who made the sacrifice.
• So he thanks God through Jesus Christ!
• It is Jesus that made a difference in these Romans!
SONG: Jesus Paid it All
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
C. Thankful for the Spreading of the Their Faith (Cf., Mt. 5:16)
"your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world"
"Spoken of" katangello. Being reported up and down the Roman Empire!
• The AV has this exactly right. The verb is passive. Your faith is being reported by others.
"The whole world" - the known world, primarily the Roman Empire along the roads which all led to Rome!
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
II. Paul Prayed for the Church (1:9,10A)
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve [NOTE: latreuo - worship, or serve, or worship by serving, or serve worshipfully] with my spirit in the gospel of his Son [i.e., the gospel that is about His Son], that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
"Making request ... to come to you" (10)
A. The Proof of His Prayer
“God is my witness”
• I call God to my witness that I do more than just tell you that I am praying for you!
"with my spirit" - Paul has just commended their faith. In so doing, he reveals his faith. Paul remembers a time when he thought that he served God. But it was external, nationalistic and fleshly. But now that Christ lives within, all is different. He serves with his spirit. This is a key theme in Romans. (Cf., Introduction to Romans, Proclaiming the New Testament, Romans)
B. The Persistence of His Prayer
"Without ceasing" - Not that he prayed for no one else, for he uses this same language in 1 Thess. 1:2-3 where he tells the same thing to the believers there. Simply put, this means that Paul prayed for them often.
C. The People of His Prayer
• Would you stop for a moment and contemplate how much Paul had to pray about!
• Could you even fathom the number of his contacts?
• He had no computer, smart phone, or tablet. Not even an address book. Yet Paul prayed!
• No, Providence had not allowed him to visit, but nothing could stop him from praying for these believers!
ILLUS: Three years ago, I met Ray Anderson. At that time he served as the principal of Bay City Christian Academy, the school associated with Bay City Baptist Church were our friend Paul Brown serves as pastor. He related well to others and just had a joyful radiance about him. God was placing in his heart a desire to be a pastor. I relate to that because this was my journey. When I went back last year, Ray was just beginning a new church in a little town right on the shore of Lake Michigan. Debbie and I rode down to see this work. I can't explain this, but as I looked through the window of the store front where the church met, a strange excitement welled up in my heart. Since that time, I always ask Paul how the work there is doing. I am friends with Ray on Facebook. As I think of the time that I have spent in that part of the country, that work always comes to mind, and I pray. I was thrilled to hear that they had outgrown the little store front, and have moved to a larger storefront right beside the town's grocery store. It's not the church God has given me, but I have a heart for it. Paul was like this with the church at Rome!
III. Paul Was Passionate About the Church (1:10-13)
• Paul was a man of passion, energy and movement!
• When he served Satan, he did it with all his heart.
• When Christ saved him, he served God with all his heart.
• He was a keep moving kind of person.
• He loved God and loved to see others come to know Christ.
• And so when he heard of what was happening in Rome, and knowing how that a growing church in an important city could impact the world ...
• He just had to go see them!
• In just 6 verses, he tells them this 5 times!
• Look at some of the terms used here ...
"Making request ... to come to you" (10)
"I long to see you" (11) epipotheo - to yearn, intensely crave.
"That I may be comforted together with you"
"Oftentimes I purposed to come to you" (13)
"but was let hitherto" (It took Providence to stop him from going to them!) (13)
QUOTE: “I long to see you!” This is the pastor’s heart in Paul the great missionary. Some of the saints in Rome were very dear to Paul, such as Priscilla and Aquila (Rom. 16:3–4), who risked their lives for him; “the beloved Persis” (Rom. 16:12); and others who had labored and suffered with Paul. But he also loved the believers that he did not know, and he longed to be able to share some spiritual gift with them. Wiersbe, Bible Exposition Commentary
A. He Wanted to Meet the Church (1:10,13)
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
13A Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,)
TEXT BOX: All his life Paul had been haunted by the thought of Rome. It had always been one of his dreams to preach there. When he is in Ephesus, he is planning to go through Achaea and Macedonia again, and then comes a sentence obviously dropped straight from the heart, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome" (Ac 19:21). When he was up against things in Jerusalem, and the situation looked threatening and the end seemed near, he had one of those visions which always lifted up his heart. In that vision the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, Paul. For as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome" (Ac 23:11). In the very first chapter of this letter Paul's desire to see Rome breathes out. "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you" (Rom 1:11). "So, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome" (Rom 1:15). It might well be said that the name Rome was written on Paul's heart. Daily Study Bible
1. Prayer and His Visit (10)
"Making request, if by any means now at length"
deomai - Making a petition.
ei pos ede pote - If somehow even now sometime. What a piling up of particles Paul uses to reveal his heart!
2. Plans for His Visit (13)
cf., "at length" (Paul feels the urgency)
"Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you"
Purposed - protithemi, To set before, plan. (Modern equivalent = to put on the calendar)
3. Providence and His Visit (10B; 13)
"Making request ... that I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God"
"But was let hitherto"
• Paul desperately wanted to see the Roman believers.
• But some unnamed something kept stopping him.
• The agent is not named.
• But Paul held the view that Providence ordered the events of our lives.
• Paul had learned to follow God over his own heart!
B. He Wanted to Minister to the Church (1:11-12)
1. A Spiritual Ministry (11)
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift,
Impart - metadidomi, to share with someone.
Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Spiritual - pneumatikos - non-carnal. Related to the spirit, not the flesh.
1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
2. A Stabilizing Ministry (11B)
11B to the end ye may be established;
Established - sterizo. To strengthen, set firmly, establish in a place, decide firmly.
Luke 9:51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
• Jesus' mind was made up! Settled!
Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
1 Thessalonians 3:2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:
• Paul sent Timothy to establish the Thessalonians.
• APPLY! - This is why we are working to begin the Bible Institute on Andros!
• This is the reason for S.S., Youth Ministry.
• You should be here!
3. A Shared Ministry (12)
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
That is (touto de estin). "An explanatory correction" (Denney). The de should not be ignored. Instead of saying that he had a spiritual gift for them, he wishes to add that they also have one for him. Word Pictures in the New Testament.
• It is the working together that is one of the great joys of the Christian life.
Philippians 1:4-5 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
C. He Wanted to Multiply the Church (1:13)
13B that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
• "Some fruit" means some spiritual results.
• Someone has said that the fruit of a Christian is another Christian.
• I personally think that this is far too narrow a definition.
• Would we say that Noah did not have a fruitful ministry?
• No, there are far more ways to bear fruit to be sure!
• But ... one of the fruits of a Christian is another Christian! That we cannot deny!
QUOTE: fruit. Scripture catalogs 3 kinds of spiritual fruit: 1) spiritual attitudes that characterize a Spirit-led believer (Gal. 5:22, 23); 2) righteous actions (6:22; Phil. 4:16, 17; Heb. 13:15); and 3) new converts (16:5). In this context, Paul is probably referring to the third one—a desire that was eventually realized during his imprisonment in Rome (Phil. 4:22). MacArthur Study Bible
CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION:
• There is something special when there is a love between pastor and congregation!
• It is sad that this is rare!
• When the preacher realizes that these are people saved of God and empowered to serve ...
• And when the people realize that their pastor is a gift from God and follow his lead as they actively serve ...
• God can do great things!
NOTE: Use here or introduction. Why such a relationship of Paul to this church? In large part it had to do with real faith. Paul knew what it was like to be religious and lost. He knew what it had been like to think of God as a concept, not a person. He would never cease to thank God for saving the chief of sinners. He now knew that faith was a relationship ("my God"). And faith was something within ("with my spirit"). And he recognized that same, life transforming faith within the body of believers at Rome. When pastor and church both love God, have real faith, follow the Bible pattern for the church, the relationship can be something beautiful to behold!
ILLUS: The story is told of General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, and the day Queen Victoria of England asked to meet with him. Because she had heard so many favorable things about his work in the slums, she asked him for the secret of his success. “Your Majesty,” he replied, “Some men have a passion for money. Some people have a passion for things. I have a passion for people.” (Source Unknown)
