PAUL - THE MISSIONARY - PART 1 (Romans 15:14-21)
INTRODUCTION:
Paul has finished the doctrinal section of his letter having clearly taught that justification is by faith in Jesus Christ because of His death and resurrection. Then he finished a long section on the Christian life and what it should look like in the church and in society finishing up with unity in the church. Paul now begins his final sections as he begins to draw this letter to a close. In the remainder of the book, he will talk about his ministry, his work as a missionary, his plans for future ministry, missionary work in unreached parts of the world, then personal greetings from himself and others, then finally closing the book with a closing benediction.
In the section that we will be looking at this morning Paul defends his ministry and defends especially the boldness with which he had written to the church in Rome. Remember that Paul did not plant this church in Rome, and he has never visited the church in Rome. Except for a few people from the church in Rome that he has met in other parts of the Roman Empire, Paul does not know the Christians in Rome. But in writing to them it is as if he is writing close friends, he writes affectionately and candidly. He boldly confronted them with many crucial issues, including the relationship that should exist between strong and weak believers that he just finished in the long section on unity. Paul now opens up to the church about his ministry, his plans, and his philosophy for ministry.
Because he had been so bold in his writing Paul did not want to endanger his relationship with the church in Rome by having them think that it was not his right or not his place to write to them so boldly. Paul had long wanted to visit the church in Rome so that they could mutually encourage one another in the Lord. As we will see in a few weeks, Lord willing, that desire to visit them is in his near future plans. So, opening up to the church he reveals his heart for ministry by first commending them for their spiritual maturity. Let’s pray and then we will get into our passage this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 15:14-21. Please follow along while I read and please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 15:14-21,
“And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written, ‘They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.’” (Romans 15:14–21, NASB95)[1]
MISSIONARY APOSTLE (Romans 15:14-15)
As a missionary Paul wore many different hats, the first was bestowed upon him by God, which was the role of an apostle. Paul had informed the readers of the book of Romans in the very beginning that as a bondservant of Christ Jesus, he had been called to be an apostle of Christ and was set apart for the Gospel of God. So he wrote this letter to the church in Rome with full apostolic power and authority. But at the same time he understood his needs for encouragement and building up and had also said that he desired to visit them that they might mutually encourage one another in the faith.
Paul begins this section by warmly addressing the church in Rome as “my brethren.” This phrase indicates for us that Paul recognized that these readers were brothers in the faith, they had come to faith in Christ for salvation, but not only this it also indicates that they were mature believers, he does not address them as children, but as his brethren. If you remember way back to chapter 1, he had written of the faith of the Christians in Rome, chapter 1, verse 8 says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” (Romans 1:8, NASB95)[2] He had heard of their faith from others traveling outside of Rome.
Paul then goes on to commend the believers in Rome, apart from any influence from him, he writes that they “…are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.” (Romans 15:14b, NASB95)[3] With these words Paul is acknowledging that in spite of what he had written in this letter boldly and with strong reminders that they were saved only by the grace of God that is made effective in our life by faith, and his reminder to them to be obedient to the Lord and to control and not be controlled by the flesh, to live a righteous life and to use their spiritual gifts for serving others in love and with humility. Paul is saying, in spite of all that I have written to you, I know that you are spiritually mature in the faith and I commend you for it.
Paul first said that they were full of goodness, this refers to their moral character and how they lived their lives as Christians. Goodness is produced in the life of a believer just like each of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit is, it is produced by the working of the indwelling Spirit in the life of the believer, and Paul says that this was what was seen in the lives of the Christians in Rome. This goodness must have been talked about for Paul to know about it, this goodness was the evidence of the spiritual transformation that had taken place in their lives because of their faith in Christ.
Paul’s second commendation for the church in Rome is for their being filled with all knowledge. The knowledge that Paul is speaking of here is the knowledge of God’s truth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, they were doctrinally sound in their faith. These two, goodness and knowledge of the truth go hand in hand, they cannot be separated. Paul is saying that the Christians in Rome knew God, they knew His truth, and by the power of the Holy Spirit they were committed to living godly, righteous lives.
The third commendation is the result of the first two characteristics of goodness and knowledge working together, Christians possessing goodness and truth are able also to admonish one another. This word translated “admonish” is a word in Greek that means to encourage, to warn, to advise. It is the word that was used for counseling someone. In the context here, it means to come alongside another believer for the purpose of spiritual and moral counseling, not in the clinical sense, but in the sense of encouraging them and building them up in the faith, drawing their attention to things in their lives that might cause them to be tempted to sin, strengthening them in the faith.
I remember when we were told that I needed to go back to full time language school or find a ministry in Slovakia that we could do in English we sought out two different people for counsel as to what we should do. We went to some dear friends that were also missionaries in Slovakia but not with our mission and they gave us some godly counsel and direction and we also made a call to Vern Wilkinson who had been the pastor of the church I attended before going to the mission field and was another strong, wise believer and he too gave us wise counsel. After the counsel of these people we made the decision to return to North America and join Village Missions. This was a time that we sought out the counsel of other believers and they admonished us in Christ.
After commending the church for their spiritual maturity, Paul begins to defend his boldness in writing a letter that some might have felt was not Paul’s right or place since he had not founded the church, nor visited the church. Paul writes, “But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,” (Romans 15:15, NASB95)[4] Paul was never one to be timid, his life was characterized by boldness and courage. Right at the beginning of Paul’s ministry Luke writes in Acts 9:27, “But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 9:27, NASB95)[5] Then during Paul’s third missionary journey Luke writes in Acts 19:8, “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8, NASB95)[6] Read the rest Luke’s account in Acts and see how often he speaks of Paul’s boldness and courage to preach the Gospel, he was never afraid even in the face of opposition to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ boldly and courageously. This is who Paul was and this is one reason that he wrote boldly.
There are no rebukes or reprimands in the book of Romans as some of Paul’s other epistles but there are some very serious and strong cautions. For example, Paul admonished the believers in Rome in Romans 6:11-13 by writing, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:11–13, NASB95)[7] Then a few chapters later he reminds them in Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9, NASB95)[8] This is just a couple of examples. Paul says that he wrote boldly on these points to remind them again. In other words, he was not teaching them something new, but was reminding them of the truths that they already knew. He was not bold and forceful because they were untaught or without knowledge about the things of the Lord, it was not because they not living as believers, he reminded them because they were uncompromising and steadfast in the faith. How often do we have to be reminded of truths that we have been taught in the past? Even the best minds that are truly devoted to the Lord, if the truth is not kept familiar, it will be forgotten. Some of us need to be reminded more often than others. Paul had told Timothy to continue to remind the men and women under his care of the truths of the Gospel so that, “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” (1 Timothy 4:6, NASB95)[9] Paul told Titus in Titus 3:1-2, “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.” (Titus 3:1–2, NASB95)[10]
Peter also understood the importance of reminding his readers of the truths of the Gospel. In 2 Peter 1:12 he wrote, “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.” (2 Peter 1:12, NASB95)[11] Then over in the first verse of chapter 3 he wrote, “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,” (2 Peter 3:1, NASB95)[12] This is one of my main responsibilities as your pastor is to keep teaching you the truths you already know in ways that refresh your memories and that reinforce the truths.
Paul writes that this boldness with which he wrote was not only to remind them again but also because of the grace that was given to him by God. This grace that Paul is speaking of here is not saving grace or even sustaining grace, but the grace given to him by God to fulfill his calling as an apostle and the authority that office gave him to proclaim the Word of God. What he had written in this letter to the church in Rome was not his own opinions and beliefs or for some personal reason. He wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the spiritual truths that God wanted him to write. He had written, as I already said, in the opening of this letter that he was called as an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God. This was his calling and by God’s authority and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul had boldly written this letter.
Paul served the Lord as an apostle by the grace given to him, each of us has a spiritual gift that in the same way we are to use to obey and serve the Lord according to the measure of grace given to us. Paul’s first role as a missionary is the role of an apostle, in truth this role even supersedes his occupation as a missionary.
MISSIONARY PRIEST (Romans 15:16)
The second missionary hat that Paul wore was that of a priest. Let me try to explain what I mean. Under the New Covenant the human priesthood of the descendants of Aaron which existed under the Old Covenant was done away with and Jesus Christ become our perfect and eternal High Priest. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5, NASB95)[13]
The Lord Jesus Christ is our High Priest, and as believers we are called priests to God. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:4-5, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4–5, NASB95)[14] Then just a few verses later Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9, NASB95)[15] John tells us in Revelation 20:6 concerning believers, “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6, NASB95)[16] In this sense the entire church, all believers by faith in Jesus Christ are priests. We do not have to go through a human priest to reach God, we have already been brought to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, we can come to Him at anytime because He is our Father and we are told to come boldly and with confidence before His throne of grace, where we can find help from Him, where we can have fellowship with Him. We do our priestly duty by bringing others into Christ’s presence as we witness to them and share the Gospel with them, and they place their faith in Christ.
In this same sense Paul was a priest, he did not inherit the priestly office, he was not born into Aaron’s line, he was of a totally different tribe, the tribe of Benjamin. Paul was a priest in a larger sense in that he was called by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles. When Paul went on his missionary journeys and came to cities he usually first went to the Jewish synagogues with the message of the Gospel and God used him to lead some of his own people to faith in Christ. But Paul’s greater ministry was always to the Gentiles because this was his special call from God.
Paul writes in the end of 15 and through 16, “…because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:15–16, NASB95)[17] The Greek term that Paul uses here that is translated minister is a term used of public officials. Paul used it earlier in chapter 13 when he referred to governing authorities as ministers of God for your good whether they realize it or not. Most often in the New Testament it is used to refer to those who serve God in some form of public worship, such as the Old Covenant priests who served at the Tabernacle and then the temple offering sacrifices at the altar. The term is used of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, when he was serving at the temple doing his “priestly duty.” It is used in Hebrews to refer to those ministering as priests, it is even used of angels who are ministering spirits, and even of the Lord Jesus’ heavenly ministry as our Great High Priest.
In the sense that all believers serve as priests to God and Christ, Paul says, he too ministered as a priest of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the Gospel of God, for the purpose he writes of presenting an offering of Gentiles to the Lord, an acceptable offering because of their faith in Christ which resulted in their being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Paul is saying that he fulfills his apostolic calling as apostle to the Gentiles by offering to God a multitude of Gentiles who have come to Christ by faith and have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit and therefore, they are justified before God and made acceptable to Him, to become a part of His family and to enjoy the same fellowship with the Father that is available to all who in faith believe in His Son.
Paul’s role as a missionary priest is not unique to him alone. Each believer whom God uses to lead someone to faith in Christ can present that new believer as a priestly offering acceptable to God by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We who are a part of the church belong to a holy priesthood.
CONCLUSION:
I am going to stop here this morning. We have two more hats which Paul wears as a missionary and Lord willing, we will look at them next week. This morning Paul began by commending the church for their spiritual maturity, their goodness and knowledge that resulted in them being able to admonish one another. We each have spiritual gifts that God has given us to serve the body of Christ, we need to be exercising those gifts with the measure of grace that God has given us to build up and encourage and warn one another in the faith.
We looked at Paul’s role as an apostle of Christ, set apart for the Gospel of God. A role that gave him the authority to write boldly to the church in Rome to remind them again of the important truths of the Gospel. My responsibility as your pastor is to keep teaching you the truths you already know in ways that refresh your memories and that reinforce the truths. We as a body need to be reminding one another of these truths so that we might each grow in the full knowledge of God’s Word.
Finally, we looked at Paul as a missionary priest, bring an offering of Gentiles that God has used Paul to lead to faith in Christ, an offering that was acceptable to God because of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those new Gentile believers. We also are priests of God and of Christ and need to take every opportunity to share Christ with those around us so that we too might have an acceptable offering to offer to God when God uses us to lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ. We are the instrument God may use; the Holy Spirit is the One who has the power to sanctify the person who believes making them that acceptable offering.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.