Romans 15:16-22
Dec 1, 2024
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Romans 15:14,15)
A. Romans 15:14,15 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,
B. The Apostle Paul is preparing to finish up this amazing letter to the Roman Christians.
1. He has had to address so many important truths and subjects.
a. Think about all the truths in all the previous 14 chapters
b. The sinfulness and lostness of the entire world
c. The saving power of faith
d. The life-changing power of grace
e. The eternal security of the believer
f. The election of the Jewish people in the plan of God
g. The inclusion of us Gentiles in that plan
h. The gifts of the Holy Spirit to every believer to serve God with
2. And he is confident the Christians in Rome will receive this letter well – just as WE should receive it!
C. Paul praises and honours these Christians in Rome
1. Paul was delighted with them for turning away from idolatry and from the culture around them and going in a totally new way, the way of Christ!
2. That is what is supposed to happen when you get saved – you live differently now
3. These were not Roman Catholics - They were Roman Christians.
4. Catholicism began almost 300 years LATER in 325 under emperor Constantine
5. They were Baptists like us – and that is not arrogance – they were Bible believing and Bible practicing Christians. Not following religious tradition and ceremonies, but obeying the Scriptures alone!
D. Paul then admonishes these Christians - and because it's in scripture he is admonishing us
1. They were not perfect – had some wrong doctrine
2. To admonish means to warn, and caution and even rebuke
3. It matters what you believe and if you believe
4. Grace does not mean that we ignore error or sin in the lives of Christians
5. Grace compels Paul to confront error in any church that claims the name of Christ
6. Because it does matter what you and I think and believe
a. What we think and what we believe can divide us, destroy us, and even damn people
b. So many people think that all religions are the same
c. Others think that there is no God or that there is no heaven or hell
d. And yet what we believe can also encourage, equipped, edify and especially save people
e. Grace accepts all sinners but never their sin
f. Christ paid for all sin not so that we should continue in sin but that we can be changed and made like him
g. And so whether Jew or gentile, mature or immature, harlot or puritan, Christ accepts all people and so should we
E. And now he shares his heart about the Gospel ministry that he gets to do…
II. Message
A. The Honour of the Gospel Ministry (Romans 15:16,17)
1. Romans 15:16,17 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
2. The Gospel Ministry is a Great Honour
a. Listen to Paul… “I GET to serve Gentiles with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”
b. Paul is honoured to minister the gospel to Gentiles of all people
1) He never got over the thrill of being able to preach the gospel to the dogs of this world - the lowest of lifestyles! Gentiles!
2) Jesus had come to save all nationalities, and people groups – Paul proved that back in Romans 15:12, where he quotes from Isaiah, “And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.”
3) Think of all the religions and the philosophies that exists in this world...
a) Pagans
b) Heathen
c) Those who are farthest in the beliefs from the Bible
d) Even evolutionists!
e) Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Shintoists, Taoists, Yorubism
f) And they were all in desperate need of a Gospel preacher like Paul
g) All of these are “Gentile” religions – not Jewish, and not even close to being right
h) Jesus said in John 4:22, Salvation is of the Jews!
i) A relationship with God is found in Jewish Scriptures, and in the death, burial and resurrection of a Jewish Messiah named Jesus!
4) Gentiles had been wrongly rejected and neglected by the Jews throughout history
5) Yet Paul now gladly humbled himself, spent his health and his money, lowered himself to the level of a SERVANT so that he could serve up the gospel to unworthy Gentiles!
6) Ponder that image in your mind
c. Paul was doing the opposite of what he was qualified for
1) Think about this…
2) He was a Hebrew of Hebrews – a pure-bread Jew
3) A Top-of-the-line Jew
4) Highly educated in the Old Testament and especially the law of Moses - the Torah
d. Yet he was ministering the gospel to the Gentiles of all people – not to his own people
e. It is a Greater honour than working for a king, or a lawyer, or a doctor or a school or a political party, or for an empire!
f. Paul counted it the greatest honour to preach to the lost!
3. The Gospel Ministry is a Priceless Gift to God (Romans 15:16)
a. He preached the Gospel to lost Gentiles so that he could offer them up as a gift to God – what a description!
1) A pagan, idolatrous Gentile who repents and turns to faith in Jesus Christ is a gift to the honour and glory of Almighty God!
2) They become a trophy of the success of GRACE
3) It always has been that way:
a) Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion in Daniel 4 proved the power of GRACE
b) The Ninevites repenting and turning to God was proof of the power of GRACE
c) Pagan Ruth believing in the God of Israel was a trophy of God’s saving grace
d) The Ethiopian Eunuch repenting and believing the Gospel in Acts 8 is a proof of the power of grace!
e) And so are every one of you who have believed on the Lord jesus Christ – you are a living gift, given back to God!
b. Filthy, wicked, fornicating, pagan Gentiles become acceptable because they are sanctified by the same Holy Ghost that sanctified believing Jews – cleansed them on the inside “that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost”
1) Can’t change their race or nationality or DNA
2) Can’t change their PAST
3) But the Holy Spirit of God can change their heart and their destiny
4. The Gospel Ministry is a Great Joy (Romans 15:17) “I have therefore whereof I may glory” (rejoice)
a. He gloried / rejoiced to be allowed do all these things for God
b. So many Christians have very little real joy simply because they are afraid of God’s will, and of serving the Lord
1) God's will is usually the opposite of what we want and of what we are capable of
2) Jonah struggled with it
3) Peter was a ignorant fishermen and yet Jesus called him to preach to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the politicians and the hardened Jews
4) While Paul preached to ignorant Gentiles
5) So opposite of how WE might have planned it
5. The Gospel Ministry is a Great Calling
a. God’s calling – not your parents deciding, or your church’s calling, or your own
b. Paul was called by God, and his life was repurposed to preach the gospel
1) Acts 26:14-16 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
2) Paul used to be a Ruling pharisee a teacher of the law
3) Now he was a travelling servant, a teacher of grace!
4) Just like Peter, James, John and even the demoniac of Gadara
5) And Paul was overwhelmed by his calling... He never got over it
c. What causes a man to rejoice at God's calling like Paul did?
1) The easy life? The money? The guaranteed results?
2) Or the cause Itself?
3) And for many of us it was not the cause that thrilled us, it was the Caller that thrills us! The One who CALLED us to make a difference!
4) Remember… David answered God's call to be king not because he loved the call, but because he loved the Caller – David loved God enough to do His will!
B. But God’s Calling is Not Enough (Romans 15:18,19)
1. Romans 15:18,19 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
2. Paul explains that he needed more than just a job to do as a believer
3. He needed Jesus Christ at work in him and through him
a. That is a priority truth
b. We ALL have been repurposed to serve the Lord now
c. But we rarely rely on the power of the Holy Spirit given to us
1) Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
2) Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
3) We need HIS power when preaching the gospel to someone
4) When just obeying the word
5) Paul even did mighty miracles as an apostle by the empowerment of the spirit of God
6) Whether we are preaching, or soul winning, or praying... All things that we do now as a Christian need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit of God!
4. With the Holy Spirit of God, filling your heart, your mind, your thoughts, your dreams, your weaknesses… how far would you and I go?
C. How Far Can One Man Go? (15:19-21)
1. Romans 15:19-21 … so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 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.
2. This single individual made 4 incredible journeys throughout southern Europe that are recorded in the book of Acts – around 10,000 miles by foot, by donkey, and by boat
3. During that same time he wrote 14 books read by Christians worldwide, still to this day
4. Yet, Paul centred his ministry from Jerusalem, not from Antioch or even from the road to Damascus
a. So Paul started in Jerusalem and then was in Antioch, and then spread out through Asia minor which was Galatia in modern day Turkey, and then traveled into Macedonia, and into Greece all the way up to Illyricum
b. He did all of this in under 10 years!
c. And now he was striving to reach Spain with the gospel
d. We know that he ends up in Malta as a prisoner on a ship on his way to Rome
5. By the way, Paul always had someone with him when he was doing the ministry
a. Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Titus, Luke, Aquila and Pricilla, Erastus, Aristarcus
b. He never tried to do the ministry alone
c. THAT is why you and I need CHURCH – other Christians around us, and working alongside us
d. We don’t just need to preach the Gospel, and teach the Bible, and win souls… we need to HELP each other preach, teach and win souls!
6. What was Paul's constant desire?
a. He strove to preach the gospel further and further away from Jerusalem and from where people already knew about Jesus
b. To go further than any one else had ever gone with the gospel
1) Like Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and thousands of others – deep into Amazon
2) Like Saint Patrick – back to his own slave owners
3) Like Adoniram Judson – to Burma / Myamar
4) Like Hudson Taylor - China
5) Like David Livingston – deep into Africa
a) He personally travelled approximately 46,000 kilometers
b) Most of this was on foot or by native boat
c) Covered regions in modern-day South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and Congo – ONE MAN DID THAT!
6) And like so many other preachers of the gospel throughout history
c. It is so easy to preach the gospel to somebody who grew up in church
d. It is easy to preach to people who already know the Bible
e. But they are a small number of people compared to the billions of people who have never heard a clear presentation from the Bible
1) Everyone knows there's a God
2) And most everyone worships “the God of their own understanding”
3) But they do not know the God of heaven, and will die in their sins and be separated forever from God unless they get born again
f. So, WHO is going to go and preach the gospel not only to people who have not heard of Christ, but to people who don't want to follow Christ?
g. Start here in Cork…
h. But be willing to go anywhere God asks us to!
D. Fully Preached the Gospel (Romans 15:19)
1. Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
2. He preached absolutely everywhere to absolutely everyone! No hesitations!
3. He preached the whole package - the good, the bad, and the ugly
a. Paul did not preach just the easy things to say…
1) Not just, “that God loves you and has a plan for your life”
2) NOT just “believe” – the devil’s believe!
b. He preached about the sinfulness of men and the coming wrath of God - Do not ever forget that that is part of the gospel we preach
c. And that Jesus Christ is the world's only hope
d. He preached the perfect life that Jesus Christ lived - sinless
e. He preached a rugged cross that Jesus died on – the judgment of God
f. He preached using ALL the Old Testament – that is all he had at the first
1) He preached from Genesis and Exodus, and Leviticus - the law of God
2) And he preached and taught from the Psalms, and from Job
3) And he preached the gospel even before Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were ever written down
g. He preached that all men everywhere should fear God and repent because they needed a SAVIOUR - not a statue, or a priest, or a prayer!
h. And he preached that the Christian life demands our all, not just an hour on a Sunday
4. That is why King Agrippa in Acts 26 refused to get saved… and why most people today do not repent and get born again! Because he knew it involved becoming a CHRISTIAN! “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (to be all in). Not just pray and get hell insurance from God! But get a whole new life to live!
E. Much Hindered (Romans 15:22)
1. Romans 15:22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
2. Paul still wished to visit Rome on his journeys
a. The Roman Empire was a great help to the spread of the gospel worldwide!
b. And evidently it always was Paul's desire to be at that hub of world activity
c. It would be like going to New York City, or to London and doing something that would have ripples throughout the entire Roman Empire
d. But Paul was hindered
3. But he was constantly hindered - imprisoned, hunted
a. God's calling and even his enablement does not mean automatic success and ease
b. Satan hinders / stands in our way (1Thessalonians 2:18) Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
c. Our own sins hinder us – slow us down, stunt our growth, poison our attitudes
d. Our selfishness hinders us – stop us from doing what we know we should be doing
e. This is a constant reality of Christianity
f. In your marriage, in your business, in every attempt at Gospel ministry you will face resistance. So what!
4. But Paul didn't care!
5. He kept striving to go even to Rome no matter what he experienced along the way
6. And, he finally got this wish – he finally got to be in Rome about 10 years later!
III. Conclusion
A. Paul has shared his heart about the Gospel ministry that he gets to do…
B. He calls it an honour, a gift Jesus gave him, not a bother or a burden
C. He has admitted that he only accomplished his calling with the help of the Holy Spirit in him, every moment of every day
D. He shows us just how far one man can go, when filled with the Spirit of God, and committed to God’s will
E. Let’s remember to fully preach the Gospel, not just what is easy to say
F. Expect to be hindered, blocked, and even demonically oppressed as we strive to do God’s will, both here, and in our homes, and at work, and through evangelism – because that is to be expected
G. Maybe God has moved your heart to seek God’s will
H. Don’t ignore the Gospel