Joy in Gospel Ministry - Rom. 15:14-21
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When I was a child, my dad, who is a Vietnam veteran, taught me a valuable lesson. I think we were watching TV and an add came up for something that was free. So I asked him if we could call in (before the internet, and when the phones were all still connected to the walls) to get this free item.
And in typical dad fashion, he saw the opportunity to teach me a lesson.
“Son,” my dad said, “nothing in life is truly free. It cost someone something.”
And I haven’t forgot that.
This is Veteran’s Day Weekend, and we again stop to say thank you to those who served our country so that we may remain free. As we recognize those who serve and have served, we are grateful for your sacrifice. We enjoy our freedom, of which for many of us, cost us nothing. Yet for some of you, and for those you knew closely, it cost a great deal.
We rejoice in our national freedom. We still live in the greatest nation on earth! Those who are currently serving in our military should be viewed as heros and celebrated.
However, national freedom is temporary.
Even if we live to be 100 years old, there is coming a time when national freedom will only matter to the ones we leave behind. And while that is a noble legacy, there is an eternal freedom that came at a high cost too!
You see, we have been walking through the book of Romans as a church family and we have been learning about the righteousness of God.
An honest look at the fruit of our lives and the close study of Romans 1-3, we see the problem of our unrighteousness. In fact, every area of our lives is effected by the brokenness of our sin.
However, as we learned in chapter 4-5, the Christ came to provide the righteousness that we do not have, nor can attain on our own.
Because Christ came, those who place their faith in Him are empowered by righteousness, as we saw in chapters 6-8. And we saw the incredible grace of God that is extended to us on no merit of our own in chapters 9-11.
And now in chapters 12-16, Paul is speaking into the fruit of genuine conversion. Those who have experienced the grace of God live differently!
Which brings us to our passage of study this morning.
Within these few verses, we find Paul’s heart and love toward these Roman believers and His focus of gospel ministry. He transitions from last week’s passage where we learn of God’s acceptance of us and the focal point of our hearts being on Him to a:
1. Recognition of Maturity (v. 14)
Paul writes:
14 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.
As we learned in the introduction to this passage, Paul had never met these Roman believers.
However, word had travelled about these believers, and that is why Paul was writing to them.
Paul was confident that these believers would accept his letter and the teachings within the letter because of their reputation. He had heard of their reputation and recognized their maturity.
He mentions three areas of maturity:
Full of Goodness
Filled with all Knowledge
Able to Admonish One Another.
These were people who had allowed the grace of God to transform their lives.
Exploring Romans: An Expository Commentary A. Their Goodness of Life (15:14)
This was no mere theoretical goodness either; no goodness merely of abstaining from evil. This was practical goodness manifested in helpfulness to others, in bearing the burdens of the weaker brother.
Not only were they living their faith out practically through being conduits of God’s goodness, they were also described as being filled with all knowledge.
These believers were diligent students of the Word. They were not content with a surface knowledge about God, but were committed to knowing His truth.
And the manifestation of their deep knowledge and practical goodness was that they were known for their ability to build one another up.
Here we find the formative understanding again, that the church thrives when the body ministers to the body.
You see, the Roman church did not need to wait for Paul or any other minister in order to build up one another.
This word admonish means to warn or counsel someone’s behavior.
Paul addresses here a tendency in his day, and a problem in ours of the over-professionalism of ministers.
Pastor Vroegop says, “While there is a need for those who are more skilled in certain areas to handle the most difficult and complicated situations, the life of a church will suffer and discipleship will not happen if it is only up to our staff and Elders. All of us need to see ourselves as part of the spiritual care dynamic of this church.”
Paul is recognizing and commending the proper use of spiritual maturity - to benefit others.
You see, we don’t learn to simply know.
We don’t serve to simply make it easier for others to die in their sin.
We learn and serve to benefit others with Gospel truth that will give them personal freedom today and eternal freedom forever!
Paul recognizes the Roman church for being committed to spiritual maturity.
WAY TO GO, PAUL COULD HAVE SAId.
But he adds a:
2. Reminder for Continual Growth (v. 15)
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,
Paul says, I’m thrilled to hear that the work God is doing in you is benefitting others, However, there are some areas that need to be addressed.
And throughout this letter he addressed them with boldness. PAUL HAS STEPPED ON SOME TOES< INCLUDING MINE THROUGHOUT THE LETTER!
And the reason Paul felt like he could address those issue boldly, knowing they would receive it with maturity is the grace of God given to Him.
You see, Paul was a humble minister. His approach to addressing issues within the church was tied to the work of God in his own life.
Not only was Paul glad to see that the work of God in the life of these Roman believers was benefiting others, but He saw that true in his life too.
And so we stop and embrace the highlighting of Paul, that minsters are people too!
Friend, Pastors are made out of the same stuff as everyone else.
We struggle with our flesh.
We fail in our spiritual walk.
We are desperately in need of God’s daily presence and Grace.
In fact, we stand up each week, proclaiming the grace of God primarily because we desperately need it in the week to come too!
Paul’s humble ministry was not focused exclusively on the need of change in every one else’s life - it stemmed from God’s grace being real in his own. And that’s why he views ministry as a:
3. Responsibility of Stewardship (vv. 16-21)
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.”
Paul took his commission to the gentiles seriously.
And Paul viewed those who came to Christ, not as a tally in his bible, or a notch in his belt, but as an offering to God.
The grace that transformed Paul, was a stewardship, not a vocation.
God had done a work in Paul, and in turn, God was doing a work through Paul, and that’s the focus of these verses.
17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.
His satisfaction of achievements in life was grounded in the work of Christ in His life. His boasting was not in himself, but in how God showed himself through:
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.
The only thing Paul wanted to talk about when it came to the blessings of God in the stewardship of Paul’s ministry was the work of God. That God was doing amazing things through Paul’s words and works empowered by the Spirit of God that was with Paul and in Paul.
From Jerusalem to modern day croatia and bosnia. Paul was diligent in being submissive to God’s leading.
In fact, Paul found great joy in the offering of these folks coming to God. He enjoyed it so much that he was diligent to reach those who had never heard the Gospel before.
And in his passion about it, he quotes Isaiah 52.
Those who hadn’t heard were hearing, and those who hadn’t seen God were seeing Him by faith.
God was at work in Paul, and God was receiving the praise!
You see we come to this passage and we find good practical truths to apply to our lives. We learn of Paul’s heart in ministry and pray for the same.
We see his passion for the lost and contemplate those we know who don’t know Jesus either.
We hear of the maturity of the Romans and wonder how deep our study has effected the actions and priorities of our lives.
We study about the healthy input of believers carrying for other believers and see the benefit, but fail to reach out and make it a priority to really connect with others in our faith family.
Friend, if we are not careful, we will be a bunch of busy believers who are missing the point of why God has saved us.
God is at work in your life. You being here today is not an accident. Those you are sitting next to is not an accident. The ups and downs of your last week, and the grace that sustained you through that is not only for your benefit.
Friend, your experiences are for God’s glory.
Your existence is for God’s glory.
Like Paul, the work God is doing in you is not just for you.
God is bringing some of you through some of the hardest realities of your life, and through all of that, He is sustaining you with His grace and wants you to come to Him.
And as you run to Him today, you will find Him. And as you rest in Him, He will continue to the work in you and benefit others in the process.
WEEKLY FOCUS.
God is using the work He is doing in me to benefit those around me.