Daily Bread Romans 15
Daily Bread Romans 15
Paul’s Reason for Writing
14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. 17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. 18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.
Observation:
As Paul closes out this letter he encourages the Roman church to continue to grow in faith. He points out that their growth in knowledge about God should translate into how they love and accept each other, just as God has loved them. He writes this letter to remind them of the basic teachings, and now how they need to teach these truths to each other.
As Paul closes out his letter, he informs them that he hopes to stop back in Rome on his way to Spain. First, he must take an offering to Jerusalem to help the mother church which had some financial needs. He restates his mission to start churches where no churches had been planted yet. He states he doesn’t want to build on something someone else has started, but wants to go where no one has gone.
We see the heart of Paul, as an evangelist, but also as a pastor wanting to make sure his flock in Rome was growing in maturity and obedience to what he had taught them. The ultimate mark of this maturity is that they would then be able to teach and disciple others.
Application:
Paul sets a standard for those who are more mature in the faith. They should be an example to others and be the least self centered of all. They should be looking to build up those less mature in the faith, especially being sensitive to where they struggle.
There is an expectation that those who have been in the church for a while and are leading, will be those who nurture and shape the spiritual lives of others in the congregation. Paul describes a process whereby those whom he discipled were to disciple others, who then would disciples others. This reproduction method would not only help the church grow in numbers (evangelism), but especially maturity in faith (discipleship).
Where are you at your with your walk with Christ? Are you at a point in your knowledge and application of the principles of Jesus that you can begin to teach others? This has always been Jesus’ plan for church growth since the beginning. Jesus said to his closest followers, “Go and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing and teaching them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and I will be with you until the end of the age.”
Paul took Jesus seriously and gave the church a great start on actually fulfilling the Great Commission. We are called to follow in Paul’s footsteps. We do this by first, becoming fully devoted followers of Christ, and then by making other disciples. In this way the Great Commission can become a reality in our day.
Prayer:
God thank you for giving us Paul and others who have faithfully and single-mindedly sought to fulfill the Great Commission. As your disciples, equip us to know your truth and apply it in our lives, so we can become more like You. And then help us bring others alongside of us to become disciples too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Paul’s Reason for Writing
14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. 17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. 18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.
Observation:
As Paul closes out this letter he encourages the Roman church to continue to grow in faith. He points out that their growth in knowledge about God should translate into how they love and accept each other, just as God has loved them. He writes this letter to remind them of the basic teachings, and now how they need to teach these truths to each other.
As Paul closes out his letter, he informs them that he hopes to stop back in Rome on his way to Spain. First, he must take an offering to Jerusalem to help the mother church which had some financial needs. He restates his mission to start churches where no churches had been planted yet. He states he doesn’t want to build on something someone else has started, but wants to go where no one has gone.
We see the heart of Paul, as an evangelist, but also as a pastor wanting to make sure his flock in Rome was growing in maturity and obedience to what he had taught them. The ultimate mark of this maturity is that they would then be able to teach and disciple others.
Application:
Paul sets a standard for those who are more mature in the faith. They should be an example to others and be the least self centered of all. They should be looking to build up those less mature in the faith, especially being sensitive to where they struggle.
There is an expectation that those who have been in the church for a while and are leading, will be those who nurture and shape the spiritual lives of others in the congregation. Paul describes a process whereby those whom he discipled were to disciple others, who then would disciples others. This reproduction method would not only help the church grow in numbers (evangelism), but especially maturity in faith (discipleship).
Where are you at your with your walk with Christ? Are you at a point in your knowledge and application of the principles of Jesus that you can begin to teach others? This has always been Jesus’ plan for church growth since the beginning. Jesus said to his closest followers, “Go and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing and teaching them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and I will be with you until the end of the age.”
Paul took Jesus seriously and gave the church a great start on actually fulfilling the Great Commission. We are called to follow in Paul’s footsteps. We do this by first, becoming fully devoted followers of Christ, and then by making other disciples. In this way the Great Commission can become a reality in our day.
Prayer:
God thank you for giving us Paul and others who have faithfully and single-mindedly sought to fulfill the Great Commission. As your disciples, equip us to know your truth and apply it in our lives, so we can become more like You. And then help us bring others alongside of us to become disciples too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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