Last week, we reached the end of another major section in Paul’s letter to the Romans. And with our text this week, we enter the final chunk of this grand book. The texts we will look at over the next two weeks serve as the conclusion to everything that Paul has said. For those of us familiar with writing letters and emails, we know it is not uncommon for a letter to have a conclusion, and so Paul’s letters are no different. That said, we must be careful not to just skip over the end of Paul’s letter as if there is nothing of value in it. No doubt, there are various names and exhortations that Paul gives that were intended for his original readers and are of relatively little value to us as direct exhortations. For example, I would not exhort you – in light of our text today – to go home and pray that Paul would be kept safe from the unbelievers in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, that does not mean that there is nothing of value in the conclusion of this letter. We must be careful not to make such an error in judgment.
That said, as we come to Paul’s conclusion, we almost have to come with a different way of looking at the text. If you remember looking at the introduction Paul wrote in Romans 1:1-17, you will remember that there was much that we could gain from Paul’s heart in writing the things he wrote even if we could not take his exhortations as if they were written directly to us. The same holds true in this conclusion. In many ways, we can look to and learn from Paul’s example just as much as we can look to and learn from his doctrinal and ethical teaching. There are certain things Paul taught and we should believe those things. There are certain commands Paul gave and we should obey those commands. But there are also certain things that Paul was and we should be just as diligent to become that type of person. So over these last two weeks of our walk through Romans, we will be given a glimpse into Paul’s heart, and we will examine how that same heart should exist in us.
With that in mind, Romans 15:14-33 – if it shows us anything at all – shows us a man whose heart burns for the good news of Jesus Christ to be spoken to those who have never heard. As we look at the text, we will see very clearly that Paul is laying out for his Roman readers the thing that drives him in life: that the gospel goes to the ends of the earth. And he also makes clear to them that his goal is not just verbal commitments to Christ but lives that demonstrate that they have been changed by the gospel through their love for fellow followers of Christ. This morning, we are going to feel the pulse of a man whose heart beats for the gospel to be spread and for the people of God to be unified in their glorification of the Lord.
The text has three main sections. And because of the nature of this section of the letter, I want to start by laying out clearly what Paul was saying to readers almost 2,000 years ago. Then, in each section, I want to take that and see what we can learn from it 2,000 years later.
Paul begins this final section of his letter to the Romans by encouraging them. He writes, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another” (15:14). Paul commends the Romans on their growth in both their knowledge of spiritual things and in their application of them (“goodness”). Paul does not want them to misunderstand his boldness in writing as a sign that he thinks they are doing poorly. Rather, his boldness flows from a different source.
That other source is laid out in verses 15-16 as Paul goes on to say, “But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (15:15a). Here, Paul’s reasoning becomes clear. Paul has not written so boldly because he thinks the Romans are doing poorly. Rather, he has written boldly because God has called him (and given him grace) to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles and to so labor among those Gentiles that they are made holy and sanctified in the Holy Spirit. Notice that Paul is driven, first and foremost, by the task that God has given him. Paul writes boldly not because it is somehow most advantageous for his career or most apt to make people like him but because God has called him to such a task. And Paul conceives of his ministry as a priestly service in which the sacrifice that he brings is not a lamb or a bird or a grain offering but people. Much like when he told the Corinthians that they themselves were his letters of recommendation, so Paul tells the Romans that they themselves are the sacrifice which he offers to God. And just as the sacrifices of the Old Testament had to be spotless and clean and without blemish, Paul labors to see the Gentiles clean and acceptable and sanctified. Paul’s great boldness comes first from his call to take the gospel to the Gentiles.
But Paul continues in verse 17 as he writes, “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience – by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God – so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ” (15:17-19). Having just laid out that God has called him to be a minister of the gospel to the Gentiles, Paul now makes clear that God has given him great fruit in this labor. Paul is not only motivated by the call that he has received but by the fact that God has blessed his work. He goes on to boast in what has been accomplished – not by himself but by Jesus Christ. Paul makes clear that Jesus Christ has brought numerous Gentiles to obedience (i.e. “the obedience of faith” – Rom. 1:5) by using Paul’s teaching and labors (“by word and deed”) as well as through incredible miracles (“by the power of signs and wonders”) as well as through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. Here we see Paul using the glorious blessings that he has seen in his ministry to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul has seen such success in his ministry that he can say “from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.” This obviously does not mean that every single person had believed in Christ or even that every single person had heard the gospel, but it does mean that the gospel at least had a foothold (probably in the form of a church) in every part of this area. Paul’s boldness to the Romans does flow from his own call, but it also flows from the glorious success he has seen in his ministry. He is driven by that success to further labors.
Indeed, as Paul continues, he makes that very point himself. Beginning in verse 20, Paul writes, “…and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand’” (Rom. 15:20-21). Paul points out to the Romans that he is not content merely with the fruit that he has seen already. He is grateful for it, but rather than resting on that fruit, he is spurred on to further labors. Because of his call and because of the fruit he has seen already, Paul is moved to go even farther than he has already gone. Paul is fully aware, in his day, that there are still those who have not heard the gospel. And it is his desire to go there. He even makes this clear to his readers as he writes, “This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while” (Rom. 15:22-24). Paul makes clear to the Romans that the thing that has kept him from visiting them is his fervent desire to take the gospel where it has never been spoken. And even his planned visit to them is something that will happen as he prepares to take the gospel to new territory – the land of Spain. Paul is driven in his ministry by the fact that there are still places that have never preached the gospel.
But notice one last thing as well – Paul is driven in this passion to proclaim the gospel by the promise that there will be fruit in this labor. He quotes Isaiah 52:15 and says, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” Isaiah 52-53 is a glorious declaration of the coming salvation of the Lord and of the Servant who will bring that salvation. Paul is not unclear about the identity of the servant in Isaiah 53 – it is Christ. And since that servant is Christ and Christ has come, that means that the coming salvation spoken about in Isaiah 52:15 is here as well. Paul is convinced of that, and so he is committed to spending his life in proclaiming the gospel. Paul is fully aware that God has chosen a people for himself from before the foundations of the world were laid. And he is also fully aware that no individual – including those chosen to be saved – will be saved without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so Paul’s driving ambition is to be the one who takes the gospel to those many people who have never heard. So we see clearly in this first section of our text that Paul’s passion is the salvation of the Gentiles. His burning desire is that the gospel goes to the ends of the earth.
So, in this first section of our text, we are given a glimpse into the heart of a man with a burning passion to proclaim the gospel. Before we move on to the next section of our text, I want us to see what we can learn from this heart and from this man. While we are far removed from Paul’s situation, we are not as different as it may seem. It is true that Paul was chosen at a specific point in the history of the church for the specific purpose of taking the gospel beyond the Jews to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). But we must guard against believing that this task is somehow finished. Indeed, Paul played a key, trailblazing role in taking the gospel to the Gentiles, but we must also keep in mind that he went only as far as Rome and possibly Spain. Indeed, that is a great labor (I do not intend to downplay Paul’s work), but that means the predominant portion of the world was left without gospel witness. The reason we are where we are today is because generation after generation did not assume that the task was done. They took Jesus’ words in Matthew 28 to heart and assumed responsibility for taking the gospel to the world. In short they had the heart and the passion of Paul.
As proof of this heart, we need merely look at history. Most likely Paul was put to death in the late 60’s A.D. during the persecution of Nero. By 80 A.D., the first Christians were reported in France. By 150, the gospel had reached Portugal and Morocco. In 167, the first missionaries were sent to the Britains. By 378, Jerome would say, “From India to Britain, all nations resound with the death and resurrection of Christ.” In 635, the first Christian missionaries were sent to China. By 1000, missionaries had made their way to Iceland, Greenland and even the far northern reaches of Canada. In 1494, the first missionaries reached the Dominican Republic, and in 1498 the first Christians were reported in Kenya. In 1532, missionaries arrived in Peru, and by 1559, their were missionary settlements in Japan. And it is not as if the move to take the gospel to the world tapered off over this time. The 1700’s saw an explosion of missionaries including the Moravians and David Brainerd. Then the 1800’s saw such people as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, George Muller, David Livingstone, Robert Moffat, Lottie Moon and John Paton. And the movement continues today. Many are familiar with the death of Jim Eliot and his friends as they took the gospel to a people who had never heard it in Ecuador. And the work continues today as the IMB currently has about 1/3 of its career missionaries working in areas that have no gospel witness. The heart that drove Paul was not unique to his place in the history of the church. It is the heart of Matthew 28 and Acts 1. It is a heart that longs to take the gospel to those who have never seen or heard.
And much like Paul, we can look back over this history and rejoice at the fruit that has come about. Like Paul, we can praise the Lord for the way that he has brought about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles. The fact that there are churches all over this country is evidence that the gospel has been powerful unto salvation. Like Paul, we should be driven by a passion for the gospel because we are all called to take this gospel to the world. And we should be driven because of the glorious success we have seen as people from so many tongues and tribes and nations have proclaimed Jesus as Lord. And we should be driven to this end by the very same promise that drove Paul. “Those who have never heard been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” We bear a responsibility, like Paul, to take the gospel to the world.
Having just laid out his desire and plan to come see the Romans on his way to Spain, Paul tells them that those plans will need to wait until he accomplishes one further task. He writes, “At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem” (Rom. 15:25-26). So before he comes to see the Romans, he plans to take a collection to Jerusalem for the saints who are there. He goes on to make clear that once this task is finished, he will make his way to Rome and so to Spain (15:28-29).
But in the midst of these travel details, Paul makes an interesting statement as he writes about the one in Macedonia and Achaia who have made this contribution: “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” (15:27). This statement is astounding in its bluntness. Paul makes clear to the Romans that it is the responsibility of the Gentiles who have come to faith to care for their brothers and sisters in the faith who have physical, material need. Paul goes so far as to say that they “ought” to do this and they “owe” it to them. In Paul’s mind, just as there is a responsibility for the gospel to be taken to the ends of the earth, there is likewise a responsibility for those who share in faith to meet the physical needs of those with whom they share faith.
As we think about this reality, there seem to be two underlying thoughts that would drive Paul to such a statement. First, it seems that Paul feels this way because he understands the fundamental truth that Jesus death, burial and resurrection has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-22). By giving to meet the needs of the Jewish believers, the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia were demonstrating a spiritual reality with tangible goods. That is, they were demonstrating that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek nor slave nor free. If one member of the body of Christ suffers, the whole body should suffer together. If one part rejoices, the whole body should rejoice together. There is no division among the body of Christ. And this spiritual reality was being demonstrated by the generosity of the Gentile believers.
Second, Paul has in mind a similar reality that Christians bear responsibility to one another – even if there is no crossing of barriers or divisions. Christians are inextricably bound together in such a way that the needs of one are the needs of all. If that need can be met, than the one who can meet it bears a responsibility to meet it. Indeed, they “ought” to meet it and they “owe it to them” to meet it. Paul has already told his readers to “contribute to the needs of the saints” (Rom. 12:13). And he tells the Galatians, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). In Paul’s mind, Christians bear particular responsibility for meeting the physical needs of fellow believers. It seems that he tells the Romans this because even though they cannot contribute to the collection for Jerusalem, he desires the heart to exist in them in all situations. The collection for Jerusalem is not an isolated event, but one of numerous opportunities for Christians to demonstrate to the world their unity through faith in Jesus Christ.
With those things in mind, it suddenly becomes a bit easier for us to see how Paul’s words in 15:27 actually do have something to say to us. Just as we have a responsibility to take the gospel to the ends of the earth – just like Paul, we also bear responsibility to be of service in material ways. Though we may not be in the exact historical-redemptive situation in which Paul labored – hashing out the way Jews and Gentiles should interact with each other – we do very much live in a world in which there are large sections of the Christian body that live in horrible poverty and destitution. There are brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe who do not have food to eat or clothes to wear. Particularly for us as wealthy Americans, this exhortation is given directly to us. By grace, we have been born and live in the most affluent nation in the world, and we bear direct responsibility – like Macedonia and Achaia – to do all that we can to alleviate the material suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe.
In the final section of our text this morning, Paul solicits something specific from his Roman readers: their prayers. He writes, “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Rom. 15:30). In light of everything that Paul has said, his final request is that the saints in Rome pray for him faithfully.
And he requests that they pray for two things. First, he asks them to pray “that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea” (15:31a). Paul asks them to pray for his safety. As it turns out, we have Luke’s account of the very trip to Jerusalem of which Paul is speaking beginning in Acts 21. And it turns out that Paul’s request that the Romans pray for his safety is not unfounded. Luke tells us that when Paul arrived in Jerusalem and went to the temple he was almost killed. The only way he escaped was by being taken into the custody of the Roman soldiers of the area. And even once Paul was imprisoned, he was moved from Jerusalem because the authorities discovered that some Jews were plotting to take his life! So Paul’s request for the Romans to pray for his safety was not unfounded. Paul knew where he was going, and he knew the power of prayer. And indeed, we know that God answered those prayers because Paul was kept safe from those unbelievers.
The second request Paul makes is for them to pray “that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints” (15:31b). This is a very different request from the previous one. The first request regarded the unbelievers in Jerusalem. This second request regards the Christians who are in Jerusalem – specifically the Jewish Christians. Paul is well aware that there is still great tension between a number of the Jewish Christians and the new Gentile Christians. It is part of his labor to help both sides understand that they are unified into one body in Christ. Because that is his heart, Paul urges the Romans to pray that his ministry among the Jewish Christians would be accepted. We must be clear that Paul is not concerned here with his reputation or his acclaim. Paul does not want to be accepted just because it hurts to be rejected. Paul is well aware of the magnitude of what is happening. The acceptance of Paul’s ministry will be a clear statement by the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that they see themselves as one with the Gentile Christians who made the contribution which Paul brings. In a very real sense, accepting Paul’s contribution and accepting Paul’s ministry is accepting the Gentile Christians who contributed and to whom Paul ministers. This is a momentous reality. Paul is asking the Romans, in essence, to pray for the very unity of the church which – in a very real sense – rests on his mission to Jerusalem.
Interestingly, Paul closes this section of the letter by saying that he wants the Romans to pray for these things (his safety and the acceptance of his ministry) “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (15:32-33). As we read Luke’s account of things in Acts, we see that Paul did indeed make it to Rome – but not in the way that he intended. He eventually made it to Rome by appealing to Caesar for his very life – and not by means of the leisurely journey that he probably imagined. Nonetheless, we know that the prayers of the Romans were answered because Paul was kept safe from the unbelievers and, from all we know, the Jewish Christians did accept Paul and the contribution from the Gentiles.
But what does this last section have to do with us? We are not supposed to go home and pray for Paul to be kept safe from unbelievers are we? The obvious answer is no. The application of this text to ourselves is not to pray for Paul. That said, we have already made clear that the heart of Paul is not a heart that is confined only in him. Even as we saw earlier in our race through the history of the advancement of the gospel, there have been – and remain to this day – numerous people who are in much the position in which Paul found himself. Now, do not misunderstand, they are not serving as apostles in the first generation of the newly formed church. But they are taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, and they are in situations in which unbelievers are vehemently seeking their lives. And many of them are in situations where they are ministering to newly found churches and newly born Christians, and they are in very real danger of having their ministry rejected by those people. Satan is not unaware of the Lord’s mission to build his church, and he is doing all he can to resist that. We, like Paul’s Roman readers, should be diligent to pray for these people. Pray that they would be kept safe from unbelievers who might seek their very lives. And pray that their ministry would be acceptable to those who have heard the gospel of Christ and believed. Pray fervently that the harvest would be great. Pray that more harvesters would be sent, and pray for the harvesters who are already there. Just as we bear responsibility in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and in serving our brothers and sisters who have material need, we also bear responsibility to pray for our brothers and sisters in all parts of the world. Pray for their safety, and pray that their ministry would not be rejected but accepted. Pray diligently. Pray earnestly. Pray, brothers and sisters.
As we come to the table, I want to remind you that there are two different groups of people in this room. First, there are those who have not believed in Jesus Christ. We must not be so naïve as to think that unbelievers only exist in far reaches of the world. If you are not a believer, I urge you to repent of your sins and place your faith in Christ. No matter what your reason for rejecting, it will not result in God dismissing you from eternal punishment. If you do not turn from your sins and believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and submit to him as your Lord, then God’s wrath will be poured out on you for eternity in hell. God is love and God is just. But if you will submit to Jesus Christ as King and Lord, then you will be saved. If you just believe, eternal life awaits you. This is the message that thousands upon thousands have died for over the centuries, and you may not even be aware of how blessed you are just to get to live in a country where you can so freely hear the gospel spoken. Repent and believe.
The second group of people in this room are believers. I pray that this morning, through the example and exhortation of Paul, you have been inspired once again with the glorious mission entrusted to us by our Savior and Lord. We are his ambassadors. And we take the glorious good news of Christ to a world that is lost and dead in sin. But there is something great that we must not forget as we go. We go on a mission that is a guaranteed success. We go to the world not just wishing that people would be saved but knowing that those for whom Christ died 2,000 years ago will be saved. And we are the means by which they will hear the message. Jesus’ death was for all those who had believed in the past as well as those who believed in the present as well as those who would believe in the future. As we take communion, we are reminded that Jesus died in order that people might be saved. Such a thought should drive us to obey and to spend ourselves for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of our Savior. And as we take communion, we are reminded of the absolutely certain hope of a future day in which Jesus Christ said that he would take this meal with us again as all of his saints are gathered around – from every people, tribe, tongue and nation. May we look back in thankfulness. May we go forth with boldness. And may we look forward with hope. Amen.