Romans 1.14-15-Paul's Obligation and Eagerness to Proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles in Rome
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 5, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:14-15-Paul’s Obligation and Eagerness to Proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles in Rome
Lesson # 19
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of the book of Romans and in particular chapter one.
By way of review, we have noted thus following thus far:
Romans 1:1-7 contains the salutation in the book of Romans, which identifies the writer as Paul (verse 1) and the recipients of the letter as being believers in Rome (verses 6 and 7) and the subject as being Jesus Christ (verse 1:2-5).
In Romans 1:8, we read where Paul relates to the believers in Rome that he makes it a habit to thank the Father for them in prayer because of their faith, which was well-know throughout the Rome Empire.
Then, in Romans 1:9-10, Paul also related to the believers in Rome that he prayed for them and that he might be able to visit them in the future.
In Romans 1:11, Paul writes to the believers in Rome that his purpose for wanting to visit them was that it had been his great desire for some time to impart some spiritual blessing to them that would strengthen their faith.
Next, we studied in Romans 1:12, Paul qualifies his statement in Romans 1:11 by relating that his other purpose for wanting to visit the believers in Rome is that he and they would be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.
On Thursday evening we noted Romans 1:13 where Paul writes of his intention to visit the believers in Rome in order to reap a harvest among them but his evangelistic work and care and concern for the churches he had established from Jerusalem to Illyricum had prevented him from doing so.
This evening we will study Romans 1:14-15 in which Paul writes that he is obligated and eager to proclaim the gospel to his readers in Rome who are Gentiles.
Romans 1:1-7, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
Romans 1:9-10, “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.”
Romans 1:11-12, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established, that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.”
Romans 1:13, “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.”
Romans 1:14, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.”
The expression “I am” is the 1st person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (ei)miv) and “under obligation” is the masculine singular (predicate) nominative form of the noun opheiletes (o)feilevth$) (o-fi-let-ace).
The noun opheiletes refers to “one held by some obligation, bound by some duty” and refers to a personal, moral obligation in contrast to a necessity in the nature of the case.
The figurative sense of the word is used by Paul in Romans 1:14 to describe himself as one who is bound or committed to the task of communicating the gospel to all men.
Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Marvin R. Vincent quoting Godet, comments on Paul’s use of the word in Romans 1:14, writes, “All people, without distinction of nation or culture, are Paul's creditors, ‘He owes them his life, his person, in virtue of the grace bestowed upon him, and of the office which he has received.’” (Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Therefore, in Romans 1:14, the noun opheiletes means that Paul was personally and morally obligated and was bound with the duty of communicating the gospel to all segments of Gentile, heathen society.
This obligation and duty is what motivated him to want to go to Rome.
In Romans 1:1, the apostle Paul writes that this obligation was based upon the fact that he was a “bond-servant (doulos) of Christ Jesus.”
When Paul states that he is a servant of Christ Jesus he is acknowledging the fact that he has been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ from the slave market of sin and is now possessed by Him.
Redemption is that aspect of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross whereby all of humanity has been purchased out from the slave market of sin in which they were born spiritually dead and delivered to the freedom of grace (See 1 Corinthians 6:23).
The humanity of Christ purchased the entire human race out from the slave market of sin by means of His voluntary substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross.
1 Peter 1:18-19, “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
The purpose for which the believer has been purchased out of the slave market sin is to serve the Lord and other members of His body and not self.
The Lord Jesus Christ served us by redeeming us and by redeeming us, we as His purchased possession, have been given the opportunity and the privilege of serving Him who is now our Master (See Deuteronomy 10:12).
Paul was obligated to communicate the gospel to all men since the Lord purchased him and all men out of the slave market of sin with His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
Paul loved the Lord for dying for him on the Cross and was motivated to live his life in obedience and service to the Lord.
Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Then, in Romans 1:5, he writes that this obligation was further based upon the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ bestowed upon him the unmerited spiritual gift of apostleship in order to bring about among all the Gentiles obedience to God that is produced by faith.
In Romans 1:14, Paul’s statement reveals that he did not communicate the gospel because of personal reasons or because he liked the occupation.
But rather he felt obligated to because he was redeemed by the death of the Lord to be the Lord’s servant and the Lord bestowed upon him the unmerited spiritual communication gift of apostleship to bring about among all the Gentiles obedience to God that is produced by faith.
Paul talks about this obligation to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 9:17, “For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”
1 Corinthians 9:18, “What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 9:19, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.”
1 Corinthians 9:20-21, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law, to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.”
1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”
1 Corinthians 9:23, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”
The fact that Paul was obligated to communicate the gospel to all men because he was a servant of the Lord who had given him the spiritual gift of apostleship to bring about obedience to God that is produced by faith in the Word of Christ indicates that Paul had a “stewardship.”
If you recall, we noted in Romans 1:12 that “stewardship” is one of four areas of Christian Fellowship with the other areas being relationship, partnership and companionship.
Relationship with Christ: We are all permanently united together by the common (eternal) life that we share as a result of regeneration and the Baptism of the Spirit (Acts 2:42; 1 C. 1:9; 1 Jn. 1:3).
Partnership: We are to work together for a common purpose to obtain common objectives for the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 1:27; Phlp. 1:5; Gal. 2:9; Heb. 1:9).
Companionship: We are to communicate with one another and have fellowship with one another sharing with one another the viewpoint and thinking of Christ (Acts. 2:42; Heb. 10:25; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Thess. 5:11; Rom. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:2).
Stewardship: Believers must recognize that all they have belongs to the Lord and has been given to them as trusts from God to invest for His purposes and so they must be willing to share their material possessions for the promotion of the gospel and to help those in need (Rom. 12:13; 15:27; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 4:15; Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:13; Heb. 13:16; 1 Tim. 6:18).
The Scriptures teach that there are at least four areas of stewardship: (1) The stewardship of time meaning that we are to redeem our time here on earth for eternity. (Psalm 90:1-17; Luke 10:38-42; Acts 6:1-7; Galatians 6:9-10; Colossians 4:5-6; 1 Peter 1:17-18) (2) The stewardship of talents meaning we are to discover and develop our spiritual gifts and natural talents for the blessing of others and for God’s glory (Romans 12:1-21; 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Peter 4:10). (3) The stewardship of God’s truth meaning we are to multiply ourselves through evangelism and discipleship (1 Corinthians 9:16-23; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Ephesians 4:11-16; 5:15-17; Colossians 4:5). (4) The stewardship of our treasures meaning we are to lay up treasures in heaven through financial faithfulness (Luke 6:38; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).
In Romans 1:14, the apostle Paul is referring to the stewardship of “truth” meaning that Paul sought to communicate the Word of God to all men in order to multiply himself through evangelism and discipleship.
Also, Paul is referring to the stewardship of “talent” meaning he functioned in his spiritual gift of apostle in order to provide the blessing of an eternal relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ for all men.
Lastly, Paul is referring to the stewardship of “time” in that he was redeeming his time on earth for eternity by presenting the gospel to all men.
Romans 1:14, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.”
The terms Hellen, “Greeks” and barbaros, “Barbarians” present a comprehensive description of the Gentile world in the first century and divide the Gentile world by language and culture.
We must remember that the Greek language was spoken throughout the Roman Empire and not Latin, which was strictly the language of the Roman government.
“Greeks” is the proper name Hellen ( %Ellhn) (hel-lane), which refers to the nations where the Greek language was spoken fluently and were knowledgeable of Greek culture.
“Barbarians” is the proper name barbaros (Bavrbaro$) (bar-bar-os), which is used in contrast to the proper name Hellen, “Greeks” and refers to those nations who did not speak the Greek language or spoke it poorly and were ignorant of Greek culture.
The word barbaros “is an onomatopoetic word meaning ‘to make unintelligible sounds.’ From the Greek perspective this would designate anyone speaking a non-Greek language” (H. Balz and G. Schneider; Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament; 1.197).
The terms sophos, “wise” and anoetos, “foolish” divide the Gentile world intellectually.
“Wise” is the adjective sophos (sofov$) (sof-os), which is a term used from the perspective of the Greeks who considered themselves as wise, educated, sophisticated and cultured (See 1 Corinthians 1:19, 22; 3:18-19; 4:10).
“Foolish” is the adjective anoetos (a)novhto$) (an-o-ay-tos), which is used from the Greek perspective and refers to the uneducated in Greek wisdom and literature and were as a result considered by the Greeks to be unsophisticated.
These four words express Paul’s desire to communicate the gospel throughout the Gentile world irrespective of national origin, culture, language or intellectual sophistication.
All men are sinners and in need of salvation and the forgiveness of sins and are equal before the Cross.
Romans 1:15, “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
“So” is the adverb houtos (ou^tw$) (hoo-tos), which refers to Paul’s preceding statement in Romans 1:14 that he is under obligation to all aspects of Gentile society and introduces an action that is the result or the consequence of this attitude and so we can translate it, “consequently.”
“For my part” is composed of the preposition kata (katav) and the 1st person singular accusative form of the personal pronoun ego (e)gwv), which is eme (e)meV).
The preposition kata is used with the accusative of ego as a marker of reference, marking out the relationship between Paul’s obligation to communicate the gospel to all aspects of Gentile society with that of his desire to communicate the gospel to the believers in Rome who were Gentiles.
“I am eager” is the nominative neuter singular definite article to (toV) and the nominative neuter singular form of the adjective prothumos (provqumo$) (proth-oo-mos).
The definite article converts the prepositional phrase kata eme into a noun clause and can therefore, be translated “As far as I am concerned.”
Also, the definite article converts the adjective prothumos into a noun and can therefore, be translated “I am eager.”
The adjective prothumos describes a person who is predisposed to do something such as being willing and eager or ready for the task at hand.
In Romans 1:15, Paul uses the word to describe himself as being predisposed to communicate the gospel to the believers in Rome and was willing and eager and ready to perform this task.
Romans 1:15 implies a contrast between Paul’s willingness to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ in Rome with the opportunity to do this, which depends upon the sovereign will of God.
The expression “to preach the gospel” is the aorist middle infinitive form of the verb euangelizo (eu)aggelivzvzw) (yoo-ang-ghel-id-zo), which means, “to communicate good news concerning something.”
The 2nd person plural dative form of the personal pronoun humeis (u(mei$) (hoo-mice), “to you” and the prepositional phrase en Rhome (e)n (Rwvmh|), “in Rome” indicates that Paul is writing to the believers in Rome rather than unbelievers.
Therefore, since Paul is writing to believers in Rome, the verb euangelizo refers to communicating the good news to believers regarding their deliverance and victory positionally from the power of Satan, the old sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan (See Romans 5-7).
This victory and deliverance was accomplished through the crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1) of Jesus Christ.
The deliverance and victory over sin, Satan and the cosmic system that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is appropriated by anyone through faith in Jesus Christ and is appropriated after salvation through faith in the Word of Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17).
At the moment of salvation, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit places the believer in union with Jesus Christ, identifying the believer positionally with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session.
By positionally, I mean that God now views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
The believer can experience this victory and deliverance by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
Paul greatly desires to communicate this good news to the believers in Rome so that they might appropriate it by faith and experience the victory and deliverance that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for them through His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session.
Paul’s statement in Romans 1:15 reveals that his sense of obligation to communicate the gospel to all men was “not” a burden but rather an act of love and service for the Lord Jesus Christ and His body, the church.