Open Doors International released its World Watch List earlier this month, ranking the top 50 most dangerous and difficult countries for Christians to live in. “We have seen the sharpest jump in violent attacks against Christians in the modern era,” says Curry, estimating that upwards of 100 million Christians worldwide are suffering persecution as we speak. “[And] while the year 2014 will go down in history for having the highest level of global persecution of Christians in the modern era,” Open Doors elaborated, “current conditions suggest the worst is yet to come.” (http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26724)
It seems easy to Live in God's will when we have all the human support and resources, including free time. But how to we live out God's mandate for us when we are most stretched, with seemingly conflicting demands and under pressure to follow a different course?
The Apostle Paul understood His primary calling and mandate to preach where the Gospel had not yet taken root (v.20). He did not either neglect or be side tracked by the needs of the moment, and was able to properly prioritize his activities given seemingly conflicting demands in different directions. He knew that being in the center of God's will is not only the most challenging, but reaps the greatest blessing.
The Apostle Paul knew the 1) Priority of (Romans 15:25–28) & 2) Prosperity of (Romans 15:29 ) Living in God's Will.
1) Priority (Romans 15:25–28)
Romans 15:25-28 [25]At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. [26]For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. [27]For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. [28]When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. (ESV)
(We will spend most of our time this morning on this first point)
Paul illustrates a third element characteristic of a believer who faithfully fulfills their calling, namely that of setting clear priorities. He is doing all this while moving. His expression of this, is how he is at present...going. It is an attempt to catch the present tense of the verb (poreuomai), meaning that his departure is imminent; it has even virtually begun (Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God’s good news for the world (p. 385). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
• Planning for future ministry must never cause a present ministry to suffer. Just as we have seen how discovering and discerning the will of God comes though action, Paul's Living in God's Will is occurring through his action.
Before Paul would be free to go to Rome, much less Spain, it was necessary for him to go about a thousand miles in the opposite direction to Jerusalem, in order to serve the saints there. This “bringing aid/collection for the saints” was a major focus of Paul on his so-called “third missionary journey”; each letter he wrote on the journey mentions it (cf. also 1 Cor. 16:1–2; 2 Cor. 8–9). By speaking of the aid/collection as a “ministry” (2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1, 12, 13) Paul points to the fact that it was a means by which Gentile Christians could express in a very practical way their love and concern for their less well-off brothers and sisters (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 902). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
• A key element of Living in God's Will is to see all activity as ministry. Our spending of talent, time, money, and God given gifts are intended by Him to be seen in the light of spiritual ministry. All activity is to be seen as our spiritual service/ministry.
The specific word that Paul uses for the aid/collection one from which we get the word deacon. It occurs just a few verses further on in chapter 16, where Phoebe is commended as a “servant” or “deaconess” of the church in Cenchrea. We recognize that caring for the poor is a legitimate function of the diaconate. But since Paul was not a deacon but rather an apostle and yet is saying here that his role in collecting and delivering this offering for the saints at Jerusalem was a diaconal service, we learn that we are all to be engaged in this kind of service. In other words, the role of the deacons is not to minister in our place, so we do not have to care for the needs of others, but rather to show us how to minister—just as ruling elders show us how to exercise spiritual oversight of one another, and teaching elders lead us in how to study and understand the Bible. Caring for other people is every Christian’s job (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: The New Humanity (Vol. 4, pp. 1879–1880). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
Paul's taking the Journey to Jerusalem seems to contradict his calling “to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named” (Rom. 15:20). At the time Paul wrote this letter, probably in A.D. 58, the church in Jerusalem was suffering not only great persecution but great poverty. There was a famine throughout Palestine, and because of persecution by unbelieving Jews, many Christian men lost their jobs and many others were put in prison, making bad conditions still worse for their families. In addition to that, many foreign Jews who were visiting Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost were converted to Christ and decided to remain in the city, usually as guests of believers who lived there.
Because of that great need, Paul had made an appeal, mentioned in verse 26, to the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, who were pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. During their previous trip to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas had been extended “the right hand of fellowship” by James, Peter, and John, “that we might go to the Gentiles,” Paul had written to the Galatians some years earlier, “and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do” (Gal. 2:9–10). This was part of assuring that the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, broken down in Christ (Eph. 2:14), was not rebuilt. It may have come as a surprise to Paul’s Roman audience to hear he was heading to Jerusalem before making his way to Rome. To go to Jerusalem from Corinth would be heading in the opposite direction he would need to take in order to reach Rome. He explains that he needed to do this ‘in the service of the Lord’s people’ in Jerusalem. Paul had been asked by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to assist the poor believers there (Gal. 2:10). (Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (D. A. Carson, Ed.) (p. 546). Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.)
Please turn to 2 Corinthians 8 (p.967)
In his first letter to Corinth, which was in the province of Achaia, Paul wrote, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also” (1 Cor. 16:1). In his second letter to Corinth, he rejoiced in the generosity of the churches of Macedonia.
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 [8:1]We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, [2]for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. [3]For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, [4]begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints-- [5]and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. [6]Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. [7]But as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you--see that you excel in this act of grace also. [8]I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. [9]For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. [10]And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. [11]So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. [12]For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. [13]For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness [14]your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. [15]As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack." (ESV)
• At the present time in redemptive history (see 6:2; Rom. 3:26; 8:18; 11:5; Gal. 1:4) the Gentile believers can contribute financially, while the Jewish believers can contribute spiritually with leadership and the ministry of the gospel (cf. Rom. 11:11–12, 25–26, 30–32) (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2234). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
• There is probably no more frequent difficulty in Living in the Will of God, than the issue of having more requests than financial resources. We are not to give what we do not have or could not afford to give. But, self-sacrificial giving of our time and resources manifests the grace of God in our lives, to the glory of God in the world.
During this period there still was considerable animosity and distrust between Jewish and Gentile believers. The contribution from the primarily Gentile churches of Macedonia and Achaia, who, for the most part, were also poor, was a powerful gesture of love and reconciliation to the impoverished saints in Jerusalem, who were primarily Jewish. These provinces are roughly equivalent to northern and southern Greece today. This contribution/collection would include gifts from such cities as Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2183). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
Paul was committed to taking that offering, along with representatives of the Gentile churches who gave it, in order to promote harmony in the Body of Christ. Assuming he traveled by sea, the first leg of his journey from Corinth to Jerusalem would be around eight hundred miles. The second, from Jerusalem to Rome, would be fifteen hundred miles. And the third, from Rome to Spain, would be seven hundred miles, making a total of three thousand miles by ship. So, for the good of the saints in Jerusalem and the unity of the church, he doubled the length of his journey. In Paul’s ultimate journey to Rome he is shipwrecked on the island of Malta (Acts 27:13–28:11), not to mention three previous shipwrecks, once spending a day and a night in the open sea (2 Cor. 11:25). Such is the nature of a servant (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 452). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The Contribution translates koinônia, which has the basic idea of sharing and is most commonly rendered as “fellowship” or “communion.” But here, as in 2 Corinthians 9:13, the context gives it the connotation of financial sharing, a gift. It seems that Paul’s concern was to strengthen the koinônia of spiritual fellowship between Jew and Gentile by means of the koinônia of material support. He knows that not only the soul but also the body must receive nourishment. The same Lord Jesus Christ who preached the Sermon on the Mount also fed the five thousand and the four thousand (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Vol. 12–13, p. 493). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
• Living in God's will perfectly unites the spiritual as a proper physical concern. True spiritual concern has a physical attention. When we provide proper physical attention, we always move to a spiritual wellbeing.
Central to his ministry was proclaiming the truth that “now in Christ Jesus you [Gentiles] who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups,” Jews and Gentiles, “into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Eph. 2:13–14). God had given him special “insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:4–6). Yet, we cannot discount the idea that in taking the offering to Jerusalem Paul saw himself as fulfilling his “priestly duty” of bringing the Gentiles as “an offering acceptable to God” (v. 16). His presentation of the financial offering in Jerusalem symbolized his much greater presentation of the Gentiles to God (Edwards, J. R. (2011). Romans (p. 349). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books).
Believers in Macedonia and Achaia not only were willing to give generously, but verse 27 notes that they were pleased to do it. They gave because the saints in Jerusalem were brothers and sisters in Christ and also because they realized that, as Jesus told the woman of Sychar, “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). Isaiah prophesied that “the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3). On the human level, all Gentile Christians owe their spiritual lives to the Jewish apostles, prophets, teachers, and evangelists who first proclaimed the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. Therefore the Gentiles who contributed to the saints in Jerusalem acknowledged they owe it to them/were indebted to those Jews. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, Paul continues to explain, they ought/are indebted to be of service/minister to them also in material blessings (money). Their obligation was moral, not legal, for all contributions to the collection had to be made generously and cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:5–7) (Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (D. A. Carson, Ed.) (p. 548). Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.).
To be of service/ to minister (Leitourgeô) is the Greek term from which we get “liturgy.” It was often used of priestly service, to which Paul had referred in (15:16). Even their giving of material blessings/things was an act of spiritual service. 27. By using this word for priestly service, Paul puts the ministry of almsgiving on the footing of a sacrificial service. It expresses the worship of giving (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 3, p. 176). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.).
• Our concept of Living in God's will must break down the false wall of secular and sacred ministry. We falsely think that participating in a corporate worship service or bible study is a spiritual ministry where the rest of our lives is a secular endeavor. Living in God's will seeks to obey God in all our lives. How we use our time, financial resources, our talents and skills can all be used for God's glory in His will.
It was not that the Gentiles’ being spiritually and materially indebted to the Jews made their generosity any less meaningful or loving. Duty does not exclude willing and joyful compliance. Even the most demanding duty or indebtedness, what you ought to do can be fulfilled out of love. And the Macedonian and Achaian Christians fulfilled their duty and acknowledged their indebtedness in joyful willingness, not out of compulsion. Remember, the letter of Romans was written in Corinth, a major city of Achaia, and believers there doubtless had heard many times the admonition Paul wrote to them in his second letter: “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Many of them had become cheerful givers and thereby pleased God. Paul's deepest desire was the salvation of the lost and the spiritual and material welfare of the Lord’s people. Such is the heart of the (person) God uses (Olyott, S. (1979). The Gospel as It Really Is: Romans Simply Explained (p. 194). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.).
• For us to be Living in God's Will, it is of little value for me to list all the things you ought to do. The whole purpose to using biblical wisdom, godly counsel and prayer is to be convicted in our own heart to be seek out and follow God's will.
Verse 28 also notes that they were also pleasing to Paul. Therefore, when I have completed/finished this, he said, and have delivered to them what has been collected/put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will leave/go on by way for Spain by way of you. Paul was overjoyed with the generous gift that he and the delegation from those Gentile churches were bringing to Jerusalem. He wanted to deliver to them what has been collected/put his seal on this fruit of theirs, confirming, both as a Jew and as an apostle, the genuine love and gratitude those Gentile representatives must have expressed as they presented their conciliatory contribution to the suffering Jewish saints in Jerusalem.
• What Paul emphasized time and time again, that Living in God's Will is not an exclusive single stream path. It is very easy, especially for men, to have a laser focus on a goal, and neglect the needs around them. We can have a work project, hobby or single relationship and fail to see the needs around us. Paul shows us how to biblically multitask, to have an overall objective yet responsive to immediate needs.
Paul mentioned previously in verse 24 about his plan to visit the Roman church on his way to Spain. But his present priority was to demonstrate Gentile love toward Jewish believers by delivering the offering of the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem. It was this offering about which Paul wrote in his second letter to Corinth, assuring believers there that “the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry they [the Jewish saints in Jerusalem] will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all” (2 Cor. 9:12–13). News of this forthcoming gesture of love apparently had already reached the Jerusalem church, because, Paul goes on to say, “they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you” (v. 14). That unselfish offering was further evidence to Jews that God’s saving grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ did, indeed, extend to the Gentiles.
• What God shows us in these seeming distractions to our overall objectives, that the immediate need fulfillment actually fulfills the overall objective that we have by Living in God's Will.
God knew Spain was in Paul’s heart, just as much as it was in David’s heart to build the Temple, though that king never saw a stone of it laid. The value of a dream is not whether we achieve it or not, but in setting out to achieve it. God is not so much interested in whether we reach our destination as in how we try to get there. To us arrival is everything, but to God the journey is most important, for it is in the journey that we are perfected, and it is in hardships that He is glorified as we trust him (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (pp. 291–292). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.)
Illustration: Priorities 530
Ben Patterson wrote this in his book: The Grand Essentials: " I have a theory about old age.… I believe that when life has whittled us down, when joints have failed and skin has wrinkled and capillaries have clogged and hardened, what is left of us will be what we were all along, in our essence. Exhibit A is a distant uncle.… All his life he did nothing but find new ways to get rich.… He spent his (last days) very comfortably, drooling and babbling constantly about the money he had made.… When life whittled him down to his essence, all there was left was raw greed. This is what he had cultivated in a thousand little ways over a lifetime. Exhibit B is my wife’s grandmother.… When she died in her mid-eighties, she had already been senile for several years. What did this lady talk about? The best example I can think of was when we asked her to pray before dinner. She would reach out and hold the hands of those sitting beside her, a broad, beatific smile would spread across her face, her dim eyes would fill with tears as she looked up to heaven, and her chin would quaver as she poured out her love to Jesus. That was Edna in a nutshell. She loved Jesus and she loved people. She couldn’t remember our names, but she couldn’t keep her hands from patting us lovingly whenever we got near her. When life whittled her down to her essence, all there was left was love: love for God and love for people (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (p. 424). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
2) Prosperity (Romans 15:29)
Romans 15:29 [29]I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. (ESV)
A fourth element characteristic of a person who faithfully fulfills his divine calling is spiritual prosperity. Paul’s saying I know reflects his absolute assurance that when he came to Jerusalem it would be in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Paul did get to Rome but not in the time frame or way he had thought. God had a special plan for Paul. The Lord would give him the opportunity to testify of his faith in the emperor’s court, but he would do so as a prisoner (Acts 27; 28) (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ro 15:29). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.).
• As we set our priorities according to the will of God, God will direct our steps for His fullest blessing. But Living in God's will means that He will often direct those steps in a timing and manner that we don't expect.
Because he lived continually in obedience to the Lord, his life was always blessed. Obviously, that blessing did not exclude physical hardships and afflictions, as he mentions in (verse 31 and in many of his other letters. But nothing physical could rob him of the fullness of that spiritual blessing. It is very easy for God’s children, when trouble comes and things look dark and doubtful, to say, “I must be out of the will of God.” My friend, just because you have trouble and disturbed feelings does not mean that you are out of God’s will. In fact, it may definitely mean you are in His will. If you are living in perfect calm today and nothing is happening, (most likely) you are not in His will (McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed., Vol. 4, p. 753). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Please turn to Philippians 1 (p.980)
What is often referred to as the “health and wealth gospel” was the furthest thing from Paul’s mind here of blessing. His obedience to Christ cost him dearly in both of those areas. Because of his service to Christ, he suffered imprisonments, beatings, stonings, dangers from Gentiles as well as Jews, and a host of other hardships (see 2 Cor. 11:23–27). But none of those outward problems could rob him of his inner blessing.
To the contrary, he wrote,
Philippians 1:12-18 [12]I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, [13]so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. [14]And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. [15]Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. [16]The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. [17]The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. [18]What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, (ESV)
Paul’s hardships gave him greater opportunity “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles” and to offer them as an offering to God, “acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16) and thereby receive the blessing that only such selfless service to the Lord can bring. He knew “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension”; he knew “how to get along with humble means” and “how to live in prosperity”; and God supplied all his “needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7, 12, 19).
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Ro 15:25–29). Chicago: Moody Press )
