Romans 1:8–10. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (ESV)
This past week has Elon Musk offered US$54.20 ($69.38) per share as part of his bid to buy Twitter for US$44 billion ($56.3 billion). Twitter has become famous over the past few years for DE platforming those they politically disagree with while still allowing international terror organizations to post. When the offer by Musk was first made, the board of directors for Twitter was looking for ways to reject the deal but with the threat of personal legal action, they relented from their opposition. As board members they had a fiduciary duty to serve their shareholders and not their personal political aims.
People serve the Lord from many motives. Some serve out of legalistic effort, as a means of earning salvation and God’s favor. Some serve the Lord for fear that, if they do not, they will incur His disfavor and perhaps even lose their salvation. Some, like Diotrophes (3 John 9), serve because of the prestige and esteem that leadership often brings. Some serve in order to gain preeminent ecclesiastical positions and the power to lord it over those under their care. Some serve for appearance’s sake, in order to be considered righteous by fellow church members and by the world. Some serve because of peer pressure to conform to certain human standards of religious and moral behavior. Children are often forced into religious activities by their parents, and they sometimes continue those activities into adult life only because of parental intimidation or perhaps from mere habit. Some people are even zealous in Christian work seeking unjust personal financial gain as an aim unto itself.
The Apostle Paul was greatly used of the Lord because, by God’s grace and provision, he always kept his motives pure. Because his single purpose was to please God, the displeasure or disregard of other people, even of those he was serving, could not deter his work or lead him into bitterness and self-pity. In his opening words to the believers at Rome, Paul tells of his sincere spiritual motives in wanting to minister to them. With warmth, affection, and sensitivity that permeate the entire letter, he assures them of his genuine devotion to God and his genuine love for them. Although Paul had not personally founded or even visited the church at Rome, he carried the heartfelt passion of Christ for their spiritual welfare and an eager desire to develop their spiritual and personal friendship. When they first received Paul’s letter, the believers in Rome probably wondered why this great apostle whom most of them did not know would bother to write them such a long and profound letter. They also may have wondered why, if he cared so much for them, he had not yet paid them a visit. Beginning in verse 8 of Chapter 1, Paul gives the answers to both of those questions. He wrote them because he cared deeply about their spiritual maturity, and he had not yet visited them because he had thus far been prevented.
Even when the Lord is served from a right motive and in His power, for us, there always lingers near a ready temptation to resentment and self-pity when one’s work is not appreciated by fellow Christians and perhaps goes completely unnoticed. No matter how orthodox or helpful to other people our service might be, unless it is done out of a sincere desire to please and glorify God, it is not spiritual nor acceptable to Him (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31). It is, of course, possible for a person to begin Christian service out of genuine devotion to God and later fall into an occasion or even a habit of performing it mechanically, merely from a sense of necessity. It can be easy to neglect service or do it out of mere habit, thereby carelessly leave our first love and fall into a rut of superficial activity that is performed in the Lord’s name but is not done in His power or for His glory.
In order to avoid common pitfalls in service and fine tune godly service, in Romans 1:8–10, Paul’s words suggest three marks of true spiritual service: First it is marked by: 1) A Thankful Spirit (Romans 1:8), 2) A Concerned Spirit (Romans 1:9–10a), and finally 3) A Willing and Submissive Spirit (Romans 1:10b).
The first mark of true spiritual service involves having and attitude of:
1) A Thankful Spirit (Romans 1:8)
Romans 1:8. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
The first mark of true spiritual service, which Paul had in abundance, is thankfulness. He was grateful for what God had done for and through him, but he was equally grateful for what God had done in and through other believers. He perhaps did not thank the Roman believers themselves, lest it be considered flattery. He said, rather, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. Paul’s thankfulness was intimate, first of all because of his spiritual closeness to God. I thank my God, he declared. No pagan would have made such a statement, nor would have most Jews referred to God with a personal pronoun. For Paul, God was not a theological abstraction but a beloved Savior and close friend. As he testifies in the following verse, he served God in his spirit, from the depth of his heart and mind. Anyone who has given attention to a study of human personality and human relationships knows the importance of thanksgiving for a person and for interpersonal relationships. It is important that we, as Christians, not simply express gratitude because it works and because it helps in getting along with others. We must practice thanksgiving because it is the Christian thing to do. The rewards will follow. (Forlines, F. L. (1987). Romans (R. E. Picirilli, Ed.; First Edition, p. 16). Randall House Publications.
• Unless we start our service recognizing what God has done for us, we will certainly get frustrated and derail our efforts. When we start with our expectations, our whim’s change. When we start with how we think we will be appreciated by others, we will be disappointed. But if our service starts with a response in gratitude to what God has done for us, then we anchor our actions to His unfailing provision and love, which never changes or disappoints.
Paul gave thanks through Jesus Christ, the one eternal Mediator between God and man. “No one comes to the Father, but through Me,” Jesus said (John 14:6), and believers in Him have the privilege of calling Almighty God, my God. “There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). It is because we have been given access to the Father through Jesus Christ that we always can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16), and can say, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). Christ is the one who has created the access to God for such thanks to be offered. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 57). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Paul’s thankfulness was also intimate because of his spiritual intimacy with fellow believers, even to such as those in Rome, most of whom he did not personally know. I thank my God … for you all, that is, for all the believers in the church at Rome. His gratitude was impartial and all-encompassing, making no distinctions. Paul wrote most of his letters to correct wrong doctrine or unholy living. But even where the need for instruction and correction was great, he found something in those churches for which he could be thankful. The Romans believed, out that their faith was of such a character as to be everywhere spoken of, was recognized by the apostle as cause of gratitude to God. God therefore is the giver of faith. (Hodge, C. (1882). A commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (New Edition, p. 35). Louis Kregel.)
• How do most people come into conflict in their relationships: be it in business, congregations, social or personal: It’s in terms of expectations. If we start with the assumption that our first task is to change someone, then we don’t appreciate who they are and an immediate barrier is formed. If we acknowledge their worth and seek to growth with them, then a bond if formed for development.
Please turn to the NT book Philemon
The book of Philemon is about reconciliation and relationships between Christians. Onesimus (which means “useful”) was a slave of a believer named Philemon in Colossae. Apparently Onesimus had stolen from Philemon and fled. At some time while Paul was under arrest, Onesimus met him and became a Christian. Paul apparently wrote this letter at the same time as Colossians and gave it to Onesimus to carry back to Philemon (cf. Col. 4:9). Paul appealed to Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household, but as a brother in the Lord rather than a slave. In Paul’s estimation, Onesimus was far more “useful” (v. 11) now that he was a Christian. Paul even promised to pay whatever debt Onesimus might owe Philemon. (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Phm). (2016). Crossway Bibles.)
The Apostle Paul writes to Philemon:
Philemon 1–7. 1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (ESV)
• During his second Roman imprisonment, the Apostle Paul may have spent time in the wretched Mamertine prison. If so, we can be sure he was thankful even there, although the city sewage system ran through the prison. I was told on a visit there that when the cells were filled to capacity, the sewage gates were opened and all the inmates would drown in the filthy water, making way for a new batch of prisoners. But Paul’s thankfulness did not rise and fall based on his earthly circumstances but on the richness of his fellowship with his Lord. Thankfulness releases one from the prison of anger, frustration and self-pity.
Back in Romans 1:8, the specific reason for Paul’s thankfulness for the Roman Christians was their deep faith. By faith Paul was not referring to the initial trust in Christ that brings salvation but to the persevering trust that brings spiritual strength and growth. Faith like that also may bring persecution. Believers in Rome lived in the lion’s den, as it were, yet they lived out their faith with integrity and credibility. The church in Rome was famous because of its faith. It was a fellowship of genuinely redeemed saints through whom the Lord Jesus Christ manifested His life and power, so that their character was known everywhere. The church there was made up primarily of believers who had heard the message elsewhere. But the story of how they came to faith was widely known throughout the world. The growth of the church has always been contingent upon the openness of believers to express their faith. (Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 66). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
This Faith, was being proclaimed throughout the whole world. From secular history we learn that in A.D. 49 Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from Rome, thinking they were all followers of someone named Chrestus (a variant spelling of Christ). Apparently, the testimony of Jewish Christians had so incited the nonbelieving Jews that the turmoil threatened the peace of the whole city. The believers had, then, a powerful testimony not only in the city, but throughout the whole world. What a commendation! As the center of the Roman Empire and the inhabited world, whatever happened in Rome became known universally (MacArthur, J., Jr., ed. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1692). Word Pub.).
• A thankful heart for those to whom one ministers is essential to true spiritual service. The Christian who is trying to serve God’s people, however needy they may be, without gratitude in their heart for what the Lord has done for them will find their service lacking joy. Paul could usually find a cause for thanks so that he could honor the Lord for what had been done already and hope for what God would use him to do. Superficial believers are seldom satisfied and therefore seldom thankful. Because they focus on their own appetites for things of the world, they are more often resentful than thankful. A thankless heart is a selfish, self-centered, legalistic heart. Paul had a thankful heart because he continually focused on what God was doing in his own life, in the lives of other faithful believers, and in the advancement of His kingdom throughout the world.
Illustration: Thinking precedes thanking. When we are presented with a gift, it is because we think of its significance and meaning that we are led to express our appreciation. What, then, are the thoughts that, entertained by the Christian, lead to thanksgiving? Somewhere in our thinking there should be thoughts of God. Perhaps we should start there. God—what a train of thoughts should be started when we think of Him! Power, wisdom, goodness, grace, love, care: these are just some of the thoughts that cluster around the word God… Why is it, then, that we are not more thankful? The truth probably is that we don’t stop to think. The cares and riches and pleasures of this life choke the plant of gratitude, and our lives become unfruitful. Thanksgiving is thus really the product of careful cultivation. It is the fruit of a deliberate resolve to think about God, ourselves, and our privileges and responsibilities. By giving thanks we make manifest the fact that our lives are not controlled by the imperious cares and concerns of this life. We give testimony to the fact that material things do not dictate the horizons of our soul. (Prairie Overcomer as cited in Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 1458). Bible Communications, Inc.)
The mark of true spiritual service also involves having an attitude of:
2) A Concerned Spirit (Romans 1:9–10a)
Romans 1:9–10a.9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, (asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you). (ESV)
The second mark of true spiritual service that shows here, and that Paul exemplified in his life, is that of a concerned spirit. Although he was grateful for what had been and was being done in the Lord’s work, he was also deeply concerned about balancing those off with what yet needed to be done. It is here that Paul presents the key phrase of verses 8–15, God, is my witness, whom I serve with/in my spirit. Service and worship translate the same Greek word here (Latreuo). To serve is to worship; to worship is to serve. Genuine worship takes place more often in acts of service (taking the term in a wider sense than “ritual service”) than in what we tend to call the Sunday morning worship service. While not disparaging the weekly gathering of believers (Heb 10:25 warns us not to give up meeting together), it is important to grasp that whatever we do in helping to carry out the redemptive mission of Christ is by definition an act of worship (Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 67). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Godly service calls for total, unreserved commitment. Paul served God with everything he had, beginning with his spirit, that is, flowing out of a deep desire in his soul.
Paul’s primary service to God was the preaching of the gospel of His Son, the ministry to which the Lord had called him and to which he gave every breath of his life. But as he goes on to explain, that service to God included deep, personal concern for everyone who believed the gospel, whether they heard it from him or from someone else. He was not concerned for the saints in Rome because they were “his converts,” which they were not, but because he and they were brothers who had the same spiritual Father through trusting in the same divine Son as their Savior. The gospel of His Son/God” does not mean the gospel about God but, rather, the gospel that is the possession of God. God owns that gospel. He is the one who invented the gospel and commissioned Paul (and us) to (proclaim and) teach it. The gospel did not originate with Paul; it originated with God (Sproul, R. C. (2009). Romans (p. 27). Crossway.).
Please turn to Colossians 1
Perhaps because most of them did not know him personally, Paul here calls the Lord as witness to his sincere love and concern for his spiritual brothers and sisters at Rome. He knew that God, who knows the real motive and sincerity of every heart (cf. 1 Cor. 4:5), would testify as to how “without ceasing/unceasingly” he made mention of them in verse 10 always in his prayers. He was not redundant by using both without ceasing/unceasingly and always but simply gave a negative and positive expression of his concern. Although he rejoiced in and gave thanks for their great faithfulness, he knew that apart from God’s continuing provision even strong faith falters. Those saints were therefore always in his prayers, never taken off his prayer list. Although for different reasons, the faithful saint needs the prayer support of fellow believers as much as the saint who is unfaithful. The greatest of saints, and even our Lord Jesus, knew they could not do their work for God or live their lives without praying (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Ro 1:9). T. Nelson Publishers.).
Paul assured the Colossian church:
Colossians 1:9-11. 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
• The content of all Paul’s prayers was spiritual. He prayed for individual believers, but he also offered many prayers for groups of believers. He prayed that their hearts would be knit with the heart of God, that their knowledge of His Word would be made complete, and that their obedience to His will would be made perfect. The depth and intensity of prayer measures the depth and intensity of concern.
Hymn: What will keep us on target? The one thing that will keep us from falling to temptations is prayer. Prayer will overcome an undue oppression from criticism. Prayer will redirect our energies, so we will not be so tired. Prayer will strengthen us for doing what needs to be done in spite of our tiredness. Prayer will keep us from temptation. As the hymn writer said: “Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged: Take it to the Lord in prayer! Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness: Take it to the Lord in prayer! Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge: Take it to the Lord in prayer! Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there”. (Joseph Scriven, 1855. as cited in Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 81). Baker Book House.)
The third and final mark of this morning for true spiritual service involves having an attitude of:
3) A Willing & Submissive Spirit (Romans 1:10b)
Romans 1:10b (always in my prayers), asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (ESV)
Paul not only prayed for the spiritual well-being of the Roman church but was eager to be used by God as an instrument to help answer that prayer according to His divine will. It’s easy to be a person quick to criticize, but it takes a lot more effort to be one willing to be used by God to solve the problems we may be concerned about. It is much easier, and therefore more attractive to the flesh, to pray for others to be used by the Lord than to pray that God use us. But like Isaiah, when Paul heard the Lord’s call for service or saw a spiritual need, he said, “Here am I. Send me” (Isa. 6:8). There is, of course, an important place for praying for others in the Lord’s service. But the true measure of our concern for His work is our willingness for Him to use us.
Paul had been asking/making request to God for a long time that he could visit the church in Rome in order to minister to them and be ministered to by them (vv. 11–12). Apparently, he hoped to make the journey soon, saying, that somehow/perhaps by God’s Will (he) may now at last succeed in coming to you. Paul’s eagerness to serve God was always directed by God’s will. He did not serve in the direction of his own desires and insight but according to the will of the One he served. The fact is that God did answer this prayer (Acts 23:11), but certainly not in a manner that Paul would have preferred. Having been falsely accused by the Jews, he exercised his right as a Roman citizen and appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:10–12). Thus, he went to Rome as a prisoner of the state. But since his accusers failed to show up (Acts 28:21), he was ultimately set free again. In the meantime, he was held under house arrest for two years but was still able to fulfill his dream of preaching the gospel in Rome (Acts 28:15–31). (Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 1, Ro 1:10b). College Press Pub. Co.)
• It’s difficult to consider but we must realize that often our will is not God’s will. We might desire and pray for health, wealth, ease and immediate success. It’s difficult to consider that it may actually be in God’s plan to accomplish His ends through us in relying on Him through sickness, loss, difficulty and what might seem to be delay on our part. Not only is this to refine and strengthen our character but, when we are faithful in the difficulty, show the God who is worthy of worship.
Please turn to Acts 21
The popular practice of demanding things from God and expecting Him to meet those demands is perverted and heretical, an attempt to sway God’s perfect and holy will to one’s own imperfect and sinful will. Paul sought the advancement of God’s kingdom and glory through God’s own will, not his own. In the Kingdom of God, God will never condone using carnal means to achieve Godly ends. We can never legitimately say that the ends justify the means. God expects us to be faithful especially when the way that He has led is narrow, difficult way, to show His power through our weakness.
When the prophet Agabus dramatically predicted the danger that awaited Paul in Jerusalem, the apostle’s friends begged him not to go. But “Paul answered in Acts 21:
Acts 21:10-14. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” (ESV)
• Could you pray that for yourself? In one way, even harder, for your son, daughter or dearest friend? We often get our cues from the world, that God wants us to take the path of least resistance, in comfort. Assuming, of course God wants us to be happy, doesn’t he? But most of all, God wants you to be holy, and that’s the hardest thing to. What if the will of God takes us on the hard, narrow road, with the calling of take up your Cross and follow me? Perhaps we don’t accomplish much for God because we undertake little for God.
Jesus chose twelve ordinary people to train as His apostles, and most of His teaching took place in insignificant, often isolated, parts of Palestine. We often think that we don’t have enough strength, experience or wisdom to be used by God. That’s exactly the lie that Satan wants us to believe, for then we don’t even start to act. But Jesus often accomplishes His great ends by using ordinary means. His sole purpose was to do His Father’s will in His Father’s way and in His Father’s time. That is the highest goal in having the proper Attitude of a Servant that will be used by God for great things.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (pp. 1–29). Chicago: Moody Press.)
