Romans 1:15: So I Am Eager To Preach The Gospel To You Also Who Are In Rome

Romans 1:15
[15] So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (ESV)

What are you eager to do? What is your passion? What is that one thing that you could not envision life without? Paul's passion was to preach the Gospel. As a preacher myself, I can totally identify with Paul's heart. If you are called to preach the gospel there is nothing else you would rather do. Specifically, for Paul, he is eager to preach the gospel to those who were in Rome.

Why Rome? I believe that God had placed a desire in Paul's heart to preach to the people in Rome. He was hindered from being there physically so he does the next best thing. He writes this letter to the church there. I find it interesting that there have been thousands upon thousands of sermons preached from this letter to the Romans.

Rome was a place with a wide range of people. You would have had the wealthy elite; political leaders, centurions, people of Caesar's palace. There was a great population of slaves. There were transient people coming from all over the Roman Empire. Rome would be a great place to preach the gospel. Every kind of person was represented.

In many ways our modern world is a lot like Rome. Through the use of modern technology we have the ability to broadcast the message of the gospel to people of every distinction: the wealthy, the poor, the transient. I can imagine the Apostle Paul, if he were alive today, would have a website, a YouTube channel, a facebook page, a twitter page, etc.

You may not be a preacher like Paul, but you have a message of the gospel that needs to be shared with the world. Are you eager to share it? Ask God to show you how to use your abilities to minister to the Rome in your world.

Comments

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co

James 2:18: I Will Show You My Faith By My Works

James 2:18 [18] But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (ESV) There are certain things in life that go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Double stuff Oreo cookies and milk. Faith and works. James raises the point that someone might argue that faith and works can be separated. "One will say, "You have faith and I have works." Is it ok for works to be separated from faith? James is making the argument that faith and works are not to be separated. James is saying to the one who has faith only, with no works, that he wants them to see his faith by his works. In other words, if you are going to claim to have faith, but have no works, you have no evidence of faith. If I am to believe that a person has genuine faith I can only see that by their works. Faith brings action. There are so many people to claim to have some kind of faith, yet when it comes down to it, their

Every Day Devotion

Search This Blog