The Gospel: Pray and Go

Romans 1:8-15: The Gospel: Pray and Go

When I was in the 4th grade I attended a Christian School in PA. One day one of the students—a friend of my younger sister—found a balloon in her yard. It was a helium balloon that had been released from somewhere in Ohio and made its way to south central PA. The balloon came from a 4th grade class from a school in Ohio and they wanted to write whoever found it. It happened that everyone in our 4th grade class began to write students from the 4th grade class in Ohio. I had a pen pal from that class, and we exchanged a few letters. What do you say to someone that you have never met, and do not know? We ended up exchanging random information about ourselves and our school. Finally, they came out from Ohio to meet us. With that, the story of the helium balloon ends. All I have left is the memory and a stuffed animal snake that my pen pal gave me.

As Paul pens the book of Romans, he is writing to a church who he had never met. What does he say? How does he encourage them?

Read Romans 1:8-15

In these verses, Paul first prays for the Roman Christians, then he tells them of his desire to see them and to build them up in their faith.

Last week we looked at the first 7 verses of this chapter. We discovered Paul’s heart beat for the gospel. The gospel is a message about Jesus Christ…a message to be believed and treasured. Holding the gospel is not enough. It must be advanced throughout the world. The gospel is advanced through praying and though going. Striving to protect the purity of the gospel is a beautiful thing. There are churches that pride themselves of having their theological ducks in a row. They will not flinch on the gospel. Fantastic. Stopping there is deadly for the church. They will be sitting ducks for the advance of the gospel to all nations. Those ducks need to swim and fly with the gospel message.

The gospel is advanced through hearts that believe, heads that bow, and feet that go.

1. Pray for Gospel Advance (8-10)
Even though Paul does not personally know the believers in Rome, he thanks God for them. Specifically, he thanks God that their faith was proclaimed in all the world. In a city that often hostile toward Christians, these believers had obeyed the gospel. Rome was the heart of the empire antithetical to the gospel. But, the good news had penetrated even to this city, and the world knew about it. For all the bad news in the world…news of persecution…Christians put to death…the gospel rejected by whole nations, we praise God whenever we hear of the faith of people near and far. We praise God because he has done it.

In verse 9, Paul makes the statement that he serve God with his spirit in the gospel of his Son. What is this service that Paul offers to God? Is it preaching the gospel? The NASB understands it as preaching. I see 3 reasons why it is prayer, not preaching, that Paul is talking about.
1. God is his witness. Many people witnessed Paul preaching the gospel, but only God could witness his heart-felt prayers for the Romans.

2. He serves God in his spirit. These are private prayers offered from his heart to God.

3. God is his witness, not only of his ministry in general, but of his prayers in particular. Look at the end of verse 9: that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.

Brothers and sisters, prayer is gospel ministry. Constant prayer from our spirits to God for the faith of people is indispensable for gospel advance.

Humanly speaking, prayer does not make sense for advancing the gospel. “Let’s stop talking and go do something!” When we remove prayer from the gospel ministry we remove our power and our connection to God’s work in the world. Dear friends, PRAY for the gospel to be advanced. Pray for the obedience of faith among all nations. Pray for specific churches that you have never seen and for specific people you have never met. Don’t stop until Christ returns.

Great missionary efforts were never accomplished without the earnest prayer of the church. Widespread revivals have never taken place without the prayers of God’s people. The church began at Pentecost when people were praying. No, we cannot force God’s hand to answer us. But gospel advance goes hand in hand with prayer.

One more time: Paul is bold in his request. He wants to see them, but he submits his request to God’s will. Praying for God’s will to be done is not a cop out in our prayers. Praying for God’s will is the only way that Paul will make it to Rome.

2. Go for Gospel Advance (11-15)
What does Paul pray for? He makes mention of the Roman church in prayer…praying that he could visit them. Let’s stop there. Paul’s prayer for the Romans is a prayer for himself. In his mind, their need is for him to visit them. Sounds a bit conceited, does it not? But is seems to get worse in verse 11. He longs to see them so he can give them some spiritual gift. “Hi, I’m Paul…and you need me.”

This is not conceit or pride. It is passion for the gospel. If the gospel is the only message that matters, then Paul wants to be the one who conveys that message. He has been called by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Not conceit, but calling.

Paul gives 3 reasons why he wants to visit the Romans.

1. To impart some spiritual gift (11-12)
We’re not sure what this spiritual gift is. Perhaps Paul did not know either. That’s why he calls it “some” spiritual gift. He wants to strengthen their faith through the gifts that God had given them. Verse 12 gives another reason why Paul is not conceited by praying for his visit. The encouragement and comfort would be mutual.
Yes, Paul, the stalwart apostle, needed encouragement too. However mature you are in Christ, whatever your calling in the church, you always need to be encouraged in the faith…by other Christians. You will never outgrow the need for other Christians.

Pastors need encouragement too. No, we are not apostles. We are not anything special. We are a part of the body of Christ, just like every Christian. I need encouragement and rebuke from you. We all need the nourishment that comes from the head of the church, Jesus Christ. We all need the support of the other members of the body.

The first reason for Paul’s visit is to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen their faith. The second is to have fruit…or a harvest among them.

2. To have a harvest among them (13)
At the beginning of verse 13, Paul may be responding to some rumors of why he hasn’t come to Rome. Really, he was quite busy spreading the gospel in other parts of the Roman Empire. Perhaps they were thinking: “the Apostle Paul doesn’t care about us. We aren’t worth it for him to come out our way.”

Contrary to that, he wanted to see them in order to have fruit among them and the rest of the Gentiles. The fruit is certainly speaking of people coming to faith in Christ. Because he wants to have a harvest among them, their growth in the faith is part of this harvest. He wants to preach the gospel to THEM. The gospel is a message the converts the unsaved and sustains the saved. If you’ve been taught that the gospel is only for unbelieves, come back next week, and we’ll explore this idea further.

Paul’s desire for fruit among the people at Rome is not to spread his fame or to add another campus to his mega church. He has been called to do this. In verses 14 and 15, Paul gives another reason for his visit and a reason why he wants to have a harvest among them

3. To share the gospel (14-15)
Paul was under obligation to all people when it came to preaching the gospel. Have you ever felt under obligation when a friend invites you to a party or wedding? I had a friend who lived in North Carolina who was asked to stand in his friend’s wedding…in Texas. What a privilege! After purchasing a plane ticket, renting a tux, and staying in a hotel, it was an $800 privilege. We’ve all been there. Obligation. Guilt. We feel remorse for not sharing the gospel more. Sometimes guilt drives to share the gospel. Paul’s obligation to all people was not an obligation of guilt, but an obligation of calling.

His salvation and calling were all of God’s grace. He cannot pay back God for salvation. Impossible. Don’t try that. But he can offer the gospel to others. He is a debtor to all people for the gospel. That is why he is ready to preach the gospel (vs 15).

Paul was under obligation to all people, whatever class they were assigned to in that day. Greeks and barbarians. Or put another way, the wise and the foolish.
The wise and cultured Greeks looked down on the supposedly foolish non-Greeks that did not speak their language. Later, Paul mentions preaching the gospel to Jews and Greeks. No matter what the class, they needed the gospel.

Because Paul wants a spiritual harvest among them, because he is under obligation to all people…he is EAGER to preach the gospel in Rome.

Application

1. Are you the answer to your prayers?
I find it fascinating that Paul’s prayer for the Romans would be answered by him. He would arrive in Rome some years later, but in chains. At the end of Acts we read that he taught about the Lord Jesus Christ for 2 years. A prayer by Paul answered by Paul.

We can be the answer to our prayers. When we pray for the salvation of a friend or relative, will we be the ones who share Christ with them? You can be the one used by God to bring them the life-saving message of Jesus Christ.

When we pray for our church a light in our community, will we talk about the Light of the world with a specific person in our community? You can be one of the answers to the prayer that we would reach our community.

Every church needs to reach the next generation. Will we get to know a person of the next generation and reach them with the gospel? We can be the ones that build them up in their faith.

2. Will we reach all classes of people?
Paul was under obligation to Greeks and Barbarians…to Jews and Greeks. Whatever fences divided the people of that day, Paul leapt over them to advance the gospel. Culture, language, class, learning…it did not keep him from preaching the gospel. Do we leap over fences to reach others with the gospel? Race. Culture. Politics. Income. Religion. They divide our world. They polarize people.

The gospel is for black and white, for people from every continent. It is for city folks, town folks, and folks that live deep in the woods. The gospel is for democrats and republicans, socialists and libertarians. The gospel is for rich and poor and middle class. It is for atheists, Muslims, cultural Christians, Hindus, and agnostics. Politicians and plumbers, teachers and taxi drivers, all need to hear the about God’s grace to them in Jesus Christ.

Pray for gospel advance. Go for gospel advance. Be the answer to your prayers. For the faith of all nations…for the fame of Jesus Christ.