Romans 15:14-33 "Paul's Ministry & Ministry Plans"

Let’s Pray!

Good morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Men’s Bible Study: Resumes in September… Sat 9/6 at 6pm

Men… I hope you can join us as we continue our study of the OT… picking up where we left off in Exodus.

Let’s now continue in our Romans study. Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 15. Romans 15:14-33 closing… Chapter 15 today.

We are officially in the homestretch of Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

Last week I opened with an thematic overview of what Paul taught in Romans… which could be summarized in five words…

Condemnation, Justification, Sanctification, Vindication, and Application… with an Intro and Conclusion on the ends.

We concluded the application section last time… which began in Chapter 12… and stood upon all the doctrine Paul taught in the previous 11 chapters.

Paul begged the Christians in Rome…

… to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God… not conformed to the world, but being transformed by the renewing of your mind…

And, Paul built upon that with several other applications regarding…

Spiritual gifts that build the body of Christ…

Christian conduct… in and out of the church…

The Christian and Government…

And the importance of love and unity over our Christian Liberties.

These applications were relevant to the first century Church in Rome… and for every church in every century… in this Church Age.

Paul was full of wisdom… as given to him from above…

He was inspired by the Holy Spirit… and we are blessed to peer into these eternal and timeless words of God.

Isaiah wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa 40:8)

Amen… what a blessing… what a privilege we have… as we behold His word.

Today, we now enter the home stretch and begin looking at the conclusion of this epistle… where we observe “Paul’s Ministry & Ministry Plans”… our message title today.

And then, we will wrap up this epistle in Chapter 16… where Paul shares his personal greetings and his final words to the saints who are in Rome.

Let’s now conclude Chapter 15… and in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Romans 15:14-33 “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.” 22 For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, 24 whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. 29 But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 30 Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

Paul begins V14 with a positive refection on the church in Rome.

“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren…”

It’s a nice way to begin winding down this letter. Always nice to end on a positive note…

Get the hard things out early and end on a good note.

He was “confident” or “convinced” by def. “to persuade” that the those in Rome… who in his intro. Paul said were “beloved of God, called saints”…

And notice in V14 he call them “my brethren”… Paul felt a closeness to them as they were one of the same nature… of the same Christian community.

I met man from India briefly in Jerusalem… and he was so excited to meet me because we were Christians.

And, I felt brotherly love exuding from him. It was contagious, so I gave him a brotherly hug.

We have a special family being united in Christ.

And Paul’s brethren in Rome… he noted were “full of goodness” which is such a nice thing to write.

Not half full… or needing a refill, but FULL of goodness…

You are a vessel and are full of goodness… which by def. means “to do good… it speaks of virtue, generosity, kindness.”

Goodness in Eph 5:9 is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.

The Bible speaks of many things people are filled with… and often they are not ‘goodness.’

Pharisees were “full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matt 23:38

Unbelievers are “filled with all unrighteousness” (Rom 1:29)… and Paul gave 22 examples of unrighteous behavior.

The tongue is “full of deadly poison.” Jam 3:8

False teachers have eyes “full of adultery.” 2 Pet 2:14

The bible speaks more often about negative things people are full of.

Sometimes I’m told “You’re full of boloney.”

But hey… What a blessing to reflect on our own lives…

… and to reflect on what God has delivered us from…

… and how he is emptying us more and more with things we should not be full of…

And filling us with His Holy Spirit and re-filling us… for without Him… how would WE ever be full of goodness?

And keep in mind that while Paul knew some of the Christians in Rome (as we’ll see in his greetings in Chap. 16))…

… this was not a church he planted… there is no record that he had travelled there… many of the people he did not know… so much of what he writes here is based upon what he heard about them.

In Romans 1:8 Paul spoke of their reputation of faith… “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

Now to add to that… it has reached his ears that they were ‘full of goodness.’

Plus… Paul wrote of his confidence that they were “filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” … meaning as the NLT states, “You know these things so well you can teach each other about them.”

So, a double filling… full of goodness… filled with all knowledge…

Certainly their knowledge would have grown after reading all the doctrine Paul packed into this letter to the Romans.

But they didn’t just HAVE knowledge… they passed it on.

And they were capable to do so… Paul said they were “able to admonish”… admonish meaning “exhort or instruct one another.”

In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul told Timothy to do the same thing… “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

So… there is a healthy cycle of raising disciples who are raising disciples… which is the essence of the Great Commission (Matt 28:19).

So… based on the opening words of this conclusion… Paul thinks highly of the Romans… based on the good report he heard about them.

I mentioned last week that we don’t know if Paul wrote about freedoms and unity over judging and disputing as a precautionary warning… or because a negative report about the Roman church came to him.

And, while we still cannot be certain… based on Paul’s positive outlook of these Roman Christians… most likely it was a precautionary warning.

AND… I would add based on the fact that this is not a corrective letter like Corinthians, but a doctrinal thesis…

That says a lot about what Paul thinks of the Roman Christians as well.

He probably wouldn’t have been led by the Spirit to send them such a theological masterpiece IF they were in a bad place spiritually.

So, things look good in Rome… and Paul encourages them… sharing his confidence in them.

But, he also recognizes their human condition and the need for training them up through reminding them… or repetition.

V15 “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God...”

“Nevertheless” or in several translations we read the word “But”…

And, it’s not that Paul is taking back the nice things he said, moreso that he is addressing that while they are V14 “filled with all knowledge”…

They need reminding (V15)… as we all do. So, Paul wrote very boldly on some points by way of reminder.

Regarding retention of materials people read… memory research… suggests… without reinforcement, people may forget:

50% of new information within an hour.

70% within 24 hours.

90% within a week.

SO… reinforcement… greatly aids retention.

And the research gave four examples of Reinforcement (and note how they pretty much mirror how we study the Bible):

Active engagement: note-taking, discussion, or applying the material…

Many of you take notes... I remember the first time we put tables on that side of the room… if we were a boat we would have capsized.

Now we use every rectangular table we have at our disposal… and I believe it’s because you love note-taking… not because you want a place to put your coffee… ok… well maybe both.

And, we discuss what’s taught at Bible Study and after church, and apply it to our lives.

Repetition: revisiting material at spaced intervals which can reduce forgetting almost entirely over time.

As we read the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse… there is great repetition.

Emotional relevance: people remember things that matter to them.

I sure hope you didn’t come here to be entertained…

What does that matter in light of eternity?

We know that Scripture matters… that’s what we’re about.

Lastly, Context and prior knowledge: Contexts and info tied to existing knowledge increases memory retention.

And, when relevant, we use illustrations to make information stickier… and we certainly look at the context of passages.

So… I was encouraged by this research… and the science supports repetition… as Paul mentions here in V15…

And we need these tools. I know I do. And Paul saw fit to repeat himself to the church in Rome.

They were filled with all knowledge… they were able to admonish one another… but Paul also knew the importance of reminding them… about some points.

Paul doesn’t say exactly what points specifically he wrote more boldly about…

But what were some repeated and bold points that Paul made in Romans?

Righteousness by Faith Alone… not through works of the law. (Romans 1:17, 3:28, 5:1, etc.)

Certainly repeated and bold for Jewish Christians raised under the law.

All have sinned (Rom 3:9-12; 3:23; 5:12… )

Any self-righteous Jew or moral Gentile would be challenged by those bold statements.

God’s Righteousness in Salvation and Judgment (Rom 1:17; 2:5, 3:21-22, 11:22).

Paul boldly proclaimed of God’s impartial justice to judge all according to their deeds…

And His righteousness in offering salvation through faith.

Paul boldly repeated himself on many theological points:

The Power of the Gospel… God’s Sovereignty and Mercy… No Condemnation for Those in Christ… Love and Unity as a priority over liberties… many points.

And Paul shows a sensitivity and wisdom to acknowledge his bold way…

Sometimes when we speak boldly it can be received as being offensive… certainly just teaching through the book of Romans… especially chapter 10…

I got some calls that day.

But, as a leader… even acknowledging his boldness is kind of a check in… like, “Are we good?”…

Just in the previous section… Paul spoke about strong and weak Christians and “playing nice with your brother”…

So being sensitive to his boldness is wise.

When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians… a corrective letter… he had many hard things to address… and he was bold in his confrontations.

And then 1-2 years later, he writes to them again… and Paul had some regret… either by the first letter or another one he wrote that is lost to us.

In 2 Corinthians 7:8 Paul wrote, “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.”

Paul was sorry… not sorry.

Sorry for the hard feelings they felt, but not sorry because their sorrow led to repentance…

And in this you get a picture of the private life of those in leadership…

A good shepherd will feel some sorrow knowing the sheep will feel short term pain through his bold words… but there is no sorrow in being obedient to do the Lord’s work faithfully.

MacDonald wrote, “[It’s] necessary that others should at times be cast into unhappiness temporarily in order that God’s purposes might be worked out in their lives.”

And so, Paul was called to say the hard things… to be bold… but not out of cruelty, but purposed to build… and in obedience to God…

So, back to Romans… Paul reminds them… that he wrote boldly on some points… notice V15 “because of the grace given to me by God”…

Grace which he clearly identifies, in V16, as God’s calling to him to be a minister to the Gentiles

V16 “… that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Constable wrote, “This is the closest Paul got to explaining his purpose for writing Romans in this epistle, but this purpose statement is obviously very general.”

I was surprised to read that as I have considered the purpose to be found in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

But… both verses are closely related and reveal Paul’s calling and focus upon the Gospel… and Paul so comprehensively explains the Gospel in Romans…

And, in his three missionary journeys plus in his imprisonment in Rome… Paul lived out taking the Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles.

But, Paul was largely a missionary to the Gentiles.

Paul consistently went to the Jews… and was largely rejected by them.

Finally in Acts 18 when Corinthian Jews opposed him and blasphemed… he shook his garments… symbolizing his dissociation from them… his debt was paid to them… he had fulfilled delivering the Gospel and being a watchman to them…

And Paul said to them in Acts 18:6 “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And he did… the Gentiles were Paul’s “offering” that he refers to in V16 where he writes, “that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable”…

Paul is portrayed as a priest here… making an offering to God.

And, since Paul shared the Gospel… the Good News of Jesus Christ… with the Gentiles…

When they believed the message that God offers forgiveness of sins… reconciliation with Him… and eternal life… to all who believe in Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior…

… then through faith alone in Jesus Christ… the Gentiles became an acceptable offering to God.

This points to their justification… their position in Christ.

And they were sanctified or “set apart” by the Holy Spirit… which in this context points to their positional sanctification which is the believer’s set-apart status as holy before God at the moment of salvation… specifically justification.

I don’t know how to explain this without getting a little theological with you, so pardon me as we go deep for a moment.

Don’t get confused here by the word “sanctification” and think Paul is writing about the life long process of sanctification (which is called progressive sanctification). He is not.

Paul is referring to what happens simultaneously with justification at the moment of belief.

A new believer is justified or “declared righteous” where their sin is pardoned… and Christ’s righteousness is put onto their account… they are no loner guilty judicially, but now are righteous before God.

AND, they are positionally sanctified… where God sets the new believer apart for Himself. They are marked as His own and distinct from the world… based on their union with Christ.

And, none of this pertains to behaviors or works of the new believer… it’s all based on faith.

And look… all of this is really Good News…

I think many times a person… in the simplicity of one heart and mind… without all the theology… a person before Christ knows that the path they are on is wrong…

That it stands in opposition to God as sinful…

They are feeling the weight of their lifestyle… and are convicted if they died today… they are not landing on the good side of heaven.

So… they accept that they need a Savior to forgive their sins and make them acceptable before God to enter into heaven.

Hey… and if you understand that much… and you trust Jesus Christ as the One who died on the cross for your sin… and He brings you back into relationship with God… and grants you eternal life.

Through faith in Jesus alone, not by works, you will be saved… and if you’ve never believed all this… what’s stopping you from believing right now?

You can believe all this in your heart right now and you will be saved…

But, maybe tell God in prayer about your new believe…

Pray to God, “I believe in Jesus Christ and that He died for my sins. Please forgive me. Thank you for eternal life.”

And, if you did that… how about you let us know after the message so we can give you a Bible and see how we can come alongside you on your journey?

Well… Jesus said, “… there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)… and Paul felt that joy as well… Look at…

vv17-19 “Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

Paul was proud of his work and service to God.

In preaching and teaching the word… in good ministry deeds (mighty signs and wonders)… Paul’s ministry was fruitful to bring many Gentiles to obedience…

Obedience in this context meant they put their trust in Christ.

“Obedience to the faith” as Paul put it in Rom 1:5, 16:26.

And while Paul… arguably was… the greatest missionary to ever live… based on the fruitfulness of his ministry.

Paul was careful NOT to God of His glory… so we see he glories in Jesus Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

God gives the increase of those who believe… and without God… there can be no increase.

And while God will grant eternal rewards for those who plant and those who water (1 Cor 3:8)… God gets the glory.

NOT you or I… and NOT Paul. Paul only took credit for being a seed planter.

Paul had grounds to boast because Gentiles had come to Jesus Christ through his ministry.

But he gave all the credit for the increase of Gentiles to Jesus Christ…

Paul was simply the vessel… in word and deed… in what he said and what he did… by the message he preached… and miracles that he performed…

“Mighty signs and wonders, by the power (dunamis or miraculous power) of the Spirit of God.” as Paul states in V19.

Not by Paul’s power. But miraculous power gifted by the Holy Spirit as a compassionate ministry of mercy…

… that aided in the goal of faith.

Miracles confirm the message. Miracles alone… without the message of the Gospel cannot produce saving faith.

In Jesus’ ministry… and the Apostles in Acts… so often the pattern was… showed compassion to the sickest person and healing them… and then sharing a message.

The miracle confirmed the messenger was from God… and validated the message as true… which helped people believe the Gospel.

And, Paul preached the Gospel from city of Jerusalem to Roman province of Illyricum…

This was the roughly 1,400 mile geographic extent of Paul’s ministry, not the chronological order.

I have a map of the church at the close of Paul’s ministry. And, you’ll notice the yellow areas… this is where churches were by 65 A.D.

And, the red arrow points to Illyricum. Most of us know where Jerusalem is… it’s to the far right on the map.

Bu Illyricum is a little more vague… and it’s boundaries changed over time.

The next slide zooms in on Illyricum and you can get a sense of where that region is… and the modern countries of this region.

And, when I compare the yellow area from the first slide to the second… it seems like modern Albania may have been where Paul had travelled to in preaching the Gospel as he references here.

Though we don’t have the record in scripture except for what we read here.

Continuing on… Paul shares his aim to reach the unreached… which is a key reason Paul did not need to go to Rome.

V20 “And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation...”

With the church in Rome having already been established, there was not as great a need for Paul to go there.

His ministry to the Roman church was not planting, but watering… watering as we have been watered through this Cathedral of Christian Doctrine.

Now… Paul is not advocating here that everybody goes to virgin territory ONLY to plant churches.

That was true for that time when the Gospel needed to spread… and it was Paul’s ambition to reach unreached people.

But, imagine if that was the absolute model today…If no one continued the legacy of a founding pastor, then all churches would die out.

A pastor would found a church… and if no one could continue that work, but had to plant new… that church would cease.

So there is a special calling to start a work… and to continue a work… and bring it to what God has next.

Now… I think there is much relevance here to not build from within on another man’s foundation.

To not start a new work from within an established church, without the consent and blessing of the present Pastor and Elders.

Unfortunately, this is common today. Instead of just starting a new work… a thief (Jn 10:10) or divisive person (Rom 16:17-18)… tries to steal a portion of the flock to feed their own belly.

In Acts 20:30 Paul warned, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

There are those who share visions of ministry, but it’s a cloak… hiding their personal aspirations for prominence.

The desire to have a following… can twist a person’s thinking where they justify stealing from another minister’s flock.

And, there’s great harm and division caused when someone attempts to build on another man’s foundation.

Now in V21… Paul quotes from Isa 52:15… which is a Messianic prophecy that is just before the highly Messianic chapter of Isa 53.

And, it would seem that Paul found encouragement to reach the unreached… as was the mission of Messiah… as Isa 52:15 proclaims…

V21 “… but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”

So, this was a Rhema word for Paul… it spoke life to him… it gave him direction for his ministry.

He followed the footsteps of Messiah to go to those who had not seen, or heard… and take them the Gospel…

So, hearing they would hear and understand… and seeing they would see and perceive.

Now… beginning in V22… Paul begins to share his ministry plans… and asks the church in Rome for their support to accomplish his plans.

Look at vv22-24 “For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, 24 whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.”

Paul shares his heart that he desired to visit Rome, but was hindered due to what he wrote in the previous verses… that he was travelling all over from Jerusalem to Illyricum preaching the Gospel… and not going where an established work already was happening.

If you recall, in Romans 1:10-15… Paul also shared his desire to go to Rome to preach the Gospel… to impart a spiritual gift… to establish them… to be encouraged by their faith, but he was hindered.

Now… in V23… “no longer having a place in these parts”… meaning Paul’s work from Jerusalem to Illyricum… had come to completion.

Paul writes this letter to the Romans somewhere near the end of his Third Missionary Journey… then upon returning to Jerusalem…

He is arrested in Acts 21… fulfilling Agabus’ prophecy in Acts 21:11… that Jews would bind him in Jerusalem and deliver him to the Gentiles.

Paul stands trial and calls upon the name of Caesar… which books him a ticket to appear before Caesar in Rome.

So… Paul’s great desire to go to Rome would be answered… perhaps differently than he expected… being that he went as a Romans prisoner…

But, this also protected him from zealous Jews who planned to ambush and kill him in Acts 23.

Paul got a Roman escort of at least 470 soldiers.

And would arrive safely to Rome as the Lord also prophesied in Acts 9:15 that Saul would “bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.”

Sometimes we don’t like how God answers our prayers, but how many times has God’s way protected us from zealots… storms… shipwreck… venomous asps… or other evils?

How many times has God’s redirections from our plans brought us right to the center of His will… and to the place where we can proclaim the Good News where He opens the door?

Paul’s life testifies of this and in Rome he would be on house arrest for two years.

And, Paul was able to receive guests… and preached the Gospel during that time… which is how the Book of Acts concludes.

Now… after those two years… Paul is released for four years from 62-66 A.D.… imprisoned again by Caesar Nero in 66 A.D. and martyred.

But, in those four years of freedom… while the Bible is silent… early church fathers (like Clement of Rome), other writings (the Muratorian Fragment), and Spanish traditions suggests he journeyed to Spain during these four years. Though this is debated by Christian scholars.

But, Paul mentions in V24, his plan… indeed was to journey to Spain… but planned to stop by Rome in route to Spain…

It seems that Paul’s desire was to go to the western reaches of the Roman empire (Spain)… likely to further share the Gospel… and plant churches Lord willing.

Paul wants to see the Romans… enjoy their fellowship for a while (a shorter period and accomplish all he expressed in Rom 1… share the Gospel… impart a spiritual gift, etc.), but this was not his final destination.

And, he ask “to be helped on my way there by you...” (lit., “and by you to be sent forward there”)

… which is no doubt a request for basic needs of food and shelter to be met while in Rome…

And assistance to get to Spain… either financial assistance or manpower… whatever needed to complete his trip to Spain.

V24 is a great verse that shows how missionaries can operate in diverse ways.

George Mueller was a fantastic example of one made his requests know to God by prayer and had many God stories of miraculous provisions.

Paul also had prayers miraculously answered like in Acts 16 when he and Silas were freed from prison and the Philippian Jailer was saved.

But, Paul operated by making his requests known, as we see here in V24.

There is no biblical prohibition to make requests known, and it’s not an indicator of a lack of faith.

God can miraculously move… and God can move through his body of believers as we see here… and as we see in V26 where the Jerusalem church is financially supported by other churches.

Let me point out one more thing before moving on… there’s a beautiful openness that Paul displays here where he shares his needs to them.

He trusts them having never met most of them. He is vulnerable and yet he had been burned many times.

John Mark initially deserted the first mission trip in Acts 13:13, though they later reconciled.

Paul described “false brothers” who caused peril… in 2 Corinthians 11:26 & Galatians 2:4

Hymenaeus and Philetus strayed from the truth. 2 Tim 2:17-18

“Demas has forsaken me… ” 2 Tim 4:10

“At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.” 2 Tim 4:16

Ministry was not an easy go for Paul. People close to Paul… turned on him… didn’t show up when he need them… some came in initially with false smiles… some became apostate…

And, yet… Paul still writes to Rome… and puts his heart out. He makes his needs known and confides in them.

In any relationship… and that included ministry relationships… there is a chance of injury.

Paul was the kind of guy that took the risk of getting hurt again… and showed us that despite betrayal… he was not going to harden his heart to people.

If you harden your heart and close yourself off to people because you fear getting hurt… you will greatly limit your usefulness to God… to fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples… and pour into people.

Because that’s what ministry is all about… people.

Pastor Gayle Irwin once shared that a Seminary professor advised his class to NOT open yourself up to people because they will burn you.

They will use information against you and turn on you.

The problem with this is then one cannot truly be both Pastor and Teacher… they would be limited to a Pulpit ministry only.

Because to be a Pastor… one must invest in and be open to people.

Gayle Irwin ultimately rejected this council saying, “It just got too lonely.”

It’s important for us all to remain vulnerable… in order to be used by God.

Continuing on… Paul shares his plans and continues to display how the body of Christ supports other parts of the body…

vv25-29 “But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia (modern day Greece) to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit [delivering the financial gift to Jerusalem], I shall go by way of you [through Rome] to Spain. 29 But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”

The saints in Jerusalem, in V25, were the ones that had the halos around their heads… and they must have been dead to be formerly canonized.

I grew up Catholic and I love my Catholic family, but I read a verse like this about Paul’s plan to minister to… not dead corpses, but living saints…

.… who were ordinary Christians in Jerusalem, and I wonder how people can align themselves with certain teachings like canonization of saints.

There is a marked difference in how protestants view saints… a lot less red tape essentially.

A Saint was the common name Paul used for Christians 40x in the NT. One is a saint or “holy one” or “consecrated to God” based upon their faith in Christ.

This is a positional designation, not a works based designation… at least that’s how the Bible views a saint.

And, Paul was visiting the saints to bring collections taken up by Gentile Christians… which you can read about in 1 Cor 16:1-4 and 2 Cor 8 & 9 to Jewish believers… to whom the Gentiles felt they owed a debt.

Truly, we all owe a debt to Israel… namely because Messiah came from the line of Israel.

But also, Jews faithfully preserved the Scriptures for centuries.

And, most of the early church… all of the Apostles were Jewish… and they brought the Gospel of Salvation to the Gentiles…

So, in love and in obligation… the Gentiles were eager to take up a financial gift to bless the poor saints in Jerusalem.

Poor… most likely because of being socially ostracized by other Jews because of their belief in Christ.

And, closing out this chapter… Paul asks for prayer…

vv30-32 “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.”

Paul not only asks for prayer… he begs them or urges them… to pray for him.

When was the last time we begged someone for prayer?

I heard a Pastor once say, “My life is the product of the grace of God and the prayers of his people.”

And, I wholeheartedly agree. If it were not for both, I would not be standing here before you today.

Paul knew that his ministry success hinged upon prayer… as it does for us to this day.

And he asks for protection from antagonistic Jews who would come against the Gospel, and that the financial offering would be received which was important for unity.

If these two prayers were answered it would result in Paul feeling great joy… which would carry over to Rome for a time of mutual encouragement and refreshing.

In Acts 21:17 we read “when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren receive us gladly.” One prayer was answered.

The following day, a mob of Jews identified who Paul was… cast accusations against him… dragged him out of the temple… were seeking to kill him… he was arrested… stood on trial…

Paul asked for prayer to be delivered or ‘kept safe from’… even ‘rescued’ from unbelievers in Judea…

And, ultimately… Paul got a Roman escort of almost 500 men to lead him out of Judea.

So… he ultimately was delivered, but I imagine his prayer request turned out differently than how he anticipated.

But, he could rest assured… as can we… that when we cover a situation in prayer…

IF it turns out differently… it was NOT because we didn’t pray… RATHER… God’s will was different.

And, then we can take comfort that God knows something we don’t… and God has a plan and purpose different from how we prayed.

And knowing God’s loving character… and good purpose for our life… we can have confidence in His re-direction.

(worship team please come)

Closing out in V33 Paul blesses them… “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

I love the many blessing Paul lays out as he closes this letter.

Paul blessed them in V5 citing the “God of patience and comfort”… V13 citing the “God of hope” to fill them with joy and peace.

Now he cites the “God of peace” to be with them.

God is the source of all that is good and everything we need in this lifetime and eternally.

Amen? Let’s pray!

If you need prayer for anything, there will be people to pray with you at the sides… during this last song.

And, as Paul prayed for them… I pray for you now… May the God of peace be with you all as you enter the week ahead.

God bless you as you go!