Romans 1:8-15
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
(vs 8) What about the Roman saints is Paul particularly thankful about here?
What is faith? Rom 4:21 is a good definition. If faith in God is believing what He says, we cannot have faith in Him if we do not know what He says. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.", Rom 10:17. Therefore, how do we increase our faith?
(Vs 9) Paul is our example to follow, (Phil 3:17; I Cor 4:16), and he serves God, not people. IThes 2:3-8 beautifully shows his attitude toward people.
Paul serves God with his spirit, he doesn’t say heart or soul, nor emotions or feelings.
What is our spirit and what does it do? Read I Cor 2:10-16. It is with our spirit that we know and understand things. Spirit is used interchangeably with "mind", as in Rom 7:25&8:1 and ICor 2:16. What about unsaved people? From I Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1-3 & 4:17-20, and Rom 8:8,9 what does it mean to be spiritually dead to God? Can unsaved people serve God with their spirit?
(Vs 9&10) Here Paul makes a prayer request. See his plans in Rom 15:23-28. Did things work out according to his prayer? No, he didn’t get to Rome until years later as a prisoner, at which time he wrote Phil 1:12-14. Does it look like the prayer promise of Matthew 21:22 is in effect for Paul? See Phil 4:6,7 for today’s prayer promise.
Prayer is a two way conversation with God. What do you think Paul means when he says he prays "without ceasing"? I Thes 5:17 You might describe it as thinking on God’s wavelength all the time, or, being in constant communication with God through His word stored in your heart..
(Vs 11) What kind of spiritual gift causes a person to be established? Read Rom 16:25.
Vs 12 explains vs 11. "The mutual faith", that information from the word of God that both believe, is what establishes and comforts both the instructor and those he teaches.
(Vs 13) "Let" is an old English word not used this way any longer. You can read Rom 15:22 or look the word up in Strong’s Concordance, and you will see it means "to hinder".
(Vs14) A debtor is one with an obligation. Greeks were considered educated and wise, barbarians could not speak Greek and were considered the unwise. Who was Paul obligated to?
When we accept a free gift from God (Eph 2:8,9) are we obligated to Him to preach the gospel? Any gift that is really free has no strings attached. But we are obligated to those around us because we know some things that they desperately need to know.
(Vs 15) "As much as in me is" shows that Paul was fully committed so that his whole being was available to preach the gospel and no part of him was distracted by any other desire.
Next study we’ll look at the "gospel of Christ" which was revealed from heaven and shows God’s righteousness and wrath. (It also shows our salvation but not until chapter 3.)
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