Daily Bread 2011 - Romans 15
Romans 15
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul nears the end of his letter to the church at Rome, he takes the time to encourage them that they have grown to the point in Christian maturity and understanding where they can “instruct one another”. This is one of the reasons why Romans is such a systematic letter which outlines so much of the doctrine of the faith. Since Paul could not be there in person to instruct the church, he needed to rely on letters like this.
Though his priority was to take up the offering that he received from the church in Greece and Macedonia (the Philippian church) and bring it to the church in Jerusalem, he wanted to remind the Romans of the essentials in the faith, so they could teach others even in his absence.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Since Paul could not be there physically to instruct every church, he had to rely on these types of letters to equip the local believers so they could carry on the teaching ministry of the church. Sometimes in the church we become overly reliant on the trained professionals (aka the pastor) to do all the teaching in the church.
In order for the church to actually follow through in carrying out the Great Commission, one the tasks of the pastor and other church leadership is to teach and equip the believers so that they would then be able to instruct others. Paul was forced by necessity to cultivate this kind of equipping ministry, but the church today would do well to resort to his mentality, as we look to reach more people for Christ and then teach them to obey all that Christ commanded.
Remember Jesus left the church in the hands of uneducated fishermen and a tax collector. But he also provided 3 years on the job training, so they would then be able to carry the Good News to the whole world. We would do well to emulate the model that Jesus and Paul have given us.
Heavenly Father thank you for giving us those who have instructed us in the faith, so that we might be able to instruct others. Help us to grow in our knowledge of you so that we might be able to faithfully transmit the Gospel to the next generation both in words and deeds. Amen.
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul nears the end of his letter to the church at Rome, he takes the time to encourage them that they have grown to the point in Christian maturity and understanding where they can “instruct one another”. This is one of the reasons why Romans is such a systematic letter which outlines so much of the doctrine of the faith. Since Paul could not be there in person to instruct the church, he needed to rely on letters like this.
Though his priority was to take up the offering that he received from the church in Greece and Macedonia (the Philippian church) and bring it to the church in Jerusalem, he wanted to remind the Romans of the essentials in the faith, so they could teach others even in his absence.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Since Paul could not be there physically to instruct every church, he had to rely on these types of letters to equip the local believers so they could carry on the teaching ministry of the church. Sometimes in the church we become overly reliant on the trained professionals (aka the pastor) to do all the teaching in the church.
In order for the church to actually follow through in carrying out the Great Commission, one the tasks of the pastor and other church leadership is to teach and equip the believers so that they would then be able to instruct others. Paul was forced by necessity to cultivate this kind of equipping ministry, but the church today would do well to resort to his mentality, as we look to reach more people for Christ and then teach them to obey all that Christ commanded.
Remember Jesus left the church in the hands of uneducated fishermen and a tax collector. But he also provided 3 years on the job training, so they would then be able to carry the Good News to the whole world. We would do well to emulate the model that Jesus and Paul have given us.
Heavenly Father thank you for giving us those who have instructed us in the faith, so that we might be able to instruct others. Help us to grow in our knowledge of you so that we might be able to faithfully transmit the Gospel to the next generation both in words and deeds. Amen.
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