THESIS: To show Paul’s determination & boldness concerning preaching the Gospel as he heads towards Rome.
INTRO.:
A. Paul was “READY FOR ROME” (v.15) [though I am not sure that Rome was ready for Paul!]. He was ready for whatever might come his way as he set his face like a flint toward the city of Caesar. He was going to Rome bound as a prisoner – but more importantly he was a prisoner of Christ and bound by the Gospel. When he preached the Gospel at Jerusalem, the religious center of the world, he was mobbed. When he preached it at Athens, the intellectual center of the world , he was mocked. When he would preach it at Rome, the legislative center of the world, he would be martyred! But he was ready for that. He was indeed ready to preach the Gospel at Rome. B. Rome…at once the highest and lowest culture and civilization in the world to that time, and perhaps ever. Its genius has never been surpassed in intellect, legislation, or jurisprudence. Her art and architecture are still marvels unsurpassed. But she was completely amoral, without pity, lustful, barbarous, and beastly. In her ruins there were many courts, schools, govt. bldgs, and museums, but there were no hospitals, orphanages or facilities to care for the elderly, the infirm or the needy. It was to this intellectually cold center of civilization that Paul was driven to go to preach the Gospel, and he was “READY FOR ROME!”
I. INTENTIONS: “I desire fruit…” v.13
A. Frustration:
ILLUS.: Paul had been ready for some time to go to Rome, but had been hindered. Some of the obstacles were natural & others supernatural.
1. Hindered by Satan.
1 Thessalonians 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
2. Hindered by the Spirit.
Acts 16:6-7 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
3. Hindered by principle.
Romans 15:20-22 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
4. Hindered by his flesh.
ILLUS.: Paul detoured his trip to Rome so he could go to Jerusalem, even after being warned again & again of the danger of getting out of God’s will.
B. Fruition:
1. Paul’s ministry was an unending quest for spiritual fruit, in his own life, but more importantly (to him), in the lives of those he was privileged to minister to.
ILLUS.: When I think of fruit I think of two things. 1) Sweetness (fruit of the Spirit) & 2) Quantity (con- verts and maturity). Paul desired and worked for both.
2. He refers to his former ministries and informs those in Rome that his desire for them was the same.
II. INDEBTEDNESS: “I am debtor…” v.14,15b
A. To Others (“Greeks…Barbarians…wise…unwise”) v.14
1.Paul was NOT a Calvinist! He believed all had a right to the Gospel. 2. He believed all could be saved if they responded positively. 3. He felt that because of what the Lord had done for him, he was indebted to all others – to give them the same opportunity to hear the Gospel.
B. To the Romans: v.15b “…to you that are at Rome also”
1. His message was not limited to the unsaved, but to the Roman believers also. 2. Again it was salvation for the lost & fruit for the believer.
ILLUS.: This was a debt that Paul felt he had paid in full by the end of his ministry. He wrote: 2 Timothy 4:6-7 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
III. INCLINATION: “I am ready…” v.15a
A. The Eagerness of a Soul-Winner: “…ready to preach the Gospel”
B. The Eagerness of a Church-Planter: “…to you”
1. Above all Paul was a missionary/pastor with a heart for the people. 2. Someone else may have won the believers in Rome to Christ, but Paul longed for the opportunity of being their shepherd.
ILLUS.: Paul spoke of his burden in 2 Cor.11:28 when he said “the care of all the churches” was his unique ministry. He carried the problems, heartaches and hurt of every church he had any contact with; whether he founded it or not.
IV. INSISTENCE: “I am not ashamed…” v.16
ILLUS.: Perhaps Paul mentioned his unashamed stand for Christ to those in Rome because of the typical Roman reaction to a Jewish religionist tentmaker who was a preacher having the audacity to come to the heart of civilization to preach to them. After all, he was NOT a philosopher or a politician – he was only a preacher! But Paul was honored to be first and foremost a preacher! Then too, consider the Subject of his message. Christ was also a despised Jew, a lowly carpenter, and in their eyes, a crucified criminal. Paul is stating that in spite of all these negative things against his ministry at Rome, he was insistent that that is where he wanted to minister. He had good reason not to be ashamed of his message…
A. The Supremacy of the Gospel: “…the power of God”
1. If there was anything the Romans respected, it was power. 2. They were the most powerful nation on earth at the time. 3. They had demonstrated the power of their politics and military might. 4. They had subjugated every nation they came in contact with to that time.
ILLUS.: But Rome was about to be assaulted with a power more devastating than any they had encountered. It was the power of Christ’s love as preached in the Gospel! It was the power of the Word of God which could melt the hardest heart and convert the most wicked sinner.
B. The Sufficiency of the Gospel: “…unto salvation”
1. It could conquer what the legislative power or the military power of Rome could not – the lost soul. 2. From the emperor or Roman soldier to the lowly slave, it offered a deliverance or salvation Rome could not offer.
C. The Simplicity of the Gospel: “…to everyone that believeth”
1. It didn’t conquer by the sword or even human persuasiveness, but by the message of love it conveyed. 2. The Roman gods were gods to be feared; the emperor was considered a god and he too was to be feared, and love didn’t enter into it and there was no personal relationship involved.
D. The Scope of the Gospel: “…to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”
1. Rome had conquered by might many peoples in the empire, but there was always a military presence needed to subjugate them. 2. But the Gospel conquered the religious Jew or the intellectual Greek with its message of love & submission by the converts – no army was needed to spread its kingdom or to enforce obedience.
CONCL.: Paul was indeed “READY FOR ROME.” But it would not be anything in Paul, but in the powerful message he preached. Paul didn’t go to Rome with an army or with weapons. As he reminds us in another passage “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds)…” 2 Cor.10:4
Paul was unashamed to go to the city of the Caesars, knowing that he would be opposed, mocked and scorned by many, but he also knew that many would be converted by the sheer power of the message he would preach and the believers would be strengthened and bear fruit. Yes, he was indeed ready!