Your Faith is Spoken of Throughout the Whole World
2014-02-28
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 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; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 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. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. (Romans 1:8-15)
Your Faith is Spoken Of
Paul, after his formal salutation, addresses the Roman church directly. He notes that their “faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8) Since the church in Jerusalem was scattered in Acts 8, the disciples went everywhere, and someone got to Rome before Paul did. This church, whatever human personage the Spirit used to plant it, did a thorough job because they were thriving on the world scene.
Have you ever heard of such a church that was renowned so much for its faith? Today, the churches that get the most fame are the megachurches with rock bands that spend fortunes on themselves. The preachers of such so-called “churches” are put on pedestals and perhaps even worshipped. That is not the case for this church; the saints of Rome were the real thing, and their faith caused many to rejoice and be saved.Always in My Prayers
Paul was a man of prayer and, as in other epistles, prayed for the people there and thanked God for them. Here specifically, Paul is asking God for the opportunity to go to Rome. In Romans 15:20, he says, “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.” He then explains why he had not come sooner to Rome; there were others who had not heard about Jesus who needed to hear it first. We get the sense that he is going to visit them on his way to Spain, but not to redo another’s work of Gospel’s preaching. He will preach the gospel, as we see in 1:15, not to save, but in order that they “may be established” (1:11). We will look at that in a moment.
Paul wrote about his prayers for them, saying, “For God is my witness” (Romans 1:9). He is expressing his utmost sincerity in the matter. Take a moment to think that Paul prayed for the Romans, whom he largely did not know. We often receive prayer requests to pray for people we do not know, and as for me, I don’t really remember those requests as well. It is hard to pray for people whom you have never seen or spoken to, but Paul did so. Likewise, there are people in our own country and people in distant places that are serving the Lord, and are suffering for His sake. We cannot forget about them.
Today, much of the world’s spiritual resources are invested in people who are already saved, or at least have access to the Gospel. In the remote peoples of the world, where there is little to no gospel witness, little resources are invested. The priority of reaching the unreached is far more urgent than reaching those who are already reached! Paul did not lose sight of that goal, which is why his visit to Rome was delayed.
Ye May Be Established
To be established, in Romans 1:11, is the idea that the Romans may go beyond belief unto justification, that they may bear even more fruit for the Gospel’s sake. By faith we are justified, by faith we are sanctified, and by faith in the finished work of the cross, the Lord will use his churches to broadcast the Gospel wherever we will go.
A Debtor
Paul considered himself a debtor to the Greek and the barbarian. The Greeks were the ones who spoke the lingua franca of the day, Greek. The barbarians would be people who did not speak Greek. He wants all to be saved, regardless of their language, amount of education, or status in society, and to be established in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:22). He was ordained of God to “to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). It was his God-given job to preach to as many people as possible.
Now that he has shown his heart to the Roman people, Paul is going to explain the good news of the Gospel, from beginning to end. By preaching the gospel in Romans 1:15, Paul will explain everything in detail. They already knew they were saved by grace; he was going to go into how the gospel affects every area of our lives.