In his sermon titled 'Personal Pastoral Appeals,' Jason Dohm explores Romans 1:8-15, focusing on Paul's personal and pastoral connection with the Roman believers. Paul identifies himself as a bond servant and apostle, emphasizing his dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who fulfills Old Testament promises as both fully man and fully God. Paul's letter to the Romans, unlike his other letters, includes an extensive introduction because he had not visited or established the church there. He expresses deep gratitude for the Romans' faith, which is renowned worldwide, and underscores that this faith is evidence of God's ongoing work. Paul highlights the importance of thanksgiving and prayer, indicating that his prayers for the Romans are persistent and heartfelt. He outlines three objectives for his desired visit: to strengthen the believers, to experience mutual encouragement, and to engage in soul-winning. Paul emphasizes that the gospel is for everyone, regardless of their cultural or intellectual background, and expresses his obligation to preach the gospel to all. Dohm concludes by highlighting Paul's love for doctrine, rooted in his love for God and people, and encourages the congregation to remember the importance of caring for others as they engage with the truths of Romans.

Good morning everyone. Today's sermon will be Romans 1 8 through 15, but we're gonna read from 1 through 15 for context. Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated to the gospel of God which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God, with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are called of Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers making your quest if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you for I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established that is that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you, but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians both to the wise and to the unwise so as much as in me I am ready to preach the gospel to you or in Rome also. The title of the sermon this morning is Personal Pastoral Appeals.

We can take the truths from last week and then the truths from all the future weeks that are to come and really easily apply them to ourselves. They're truths for all God's people at all times. This particular text is so clearly, you get the sense right away, so clearly from a very particular individual author to a very particular group of believers. So there are truths in here for us, but especially this part is not written to us. It's for from a particular person to a particular group of people.

We get a front-row seat, so there's lots of value in it. But this is very personal, personally from Paul to these people, and very pastoral. He is definitely writing as a spiritual father to these believers in Rome. Last week we started what will be a two-year plus probably exposition of the letter from Paul to the Romans. And it has an extra long introduction.

If you go and look at all of his other letters to all of the other churches, they'll be a lot shorter than this one. Why is that? He didn't plant this church. He'd never been to Rome, and Most of these people, if not all of these people, are unknown to him. He takes extra time to introduce himself.

He introduces himself as a bond servant, as one who has given himself over to another's will and that other is Jesus Christ. Paul had given himself up to Jesus' will. He introduces himself as an apostle, as a messenger who is sent under orders. He says that he's been separated to the gospel, meaning that whatever were his interests and priorities before Jesus took him captive, All of those things have been set aside and now he is set aside to advance the gospel. Period.

Amen. The whole aim of his life now until he dies is the advancement of the good news that Jesus Christ has come and died for sinners. This makes me want to go back and preach last week's text again. I want to linger on these things. Then Paul introduces this gospel.

So he's introduced himself, now he introduces this gospel. And he says it's the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises. Didn't come out of nowhere, God's been saying he would send a Savior, and the coming of Jesus is just the fulfillment of those promises. And that the gospel concerns God's Son, Jesus Christ. You want to know what the core of the gospel is?

The person and work of Jesus is the core of the gospel. Says that Jesus was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, meaning that he was fully man, and that Jesus has been declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection, meaning he's fully God. There is the foundation of the Gospel, a Savior who is every bit man. He's fully man so that he can stand and be a substitute for mankind, for men and women who have sins that need to be dealt with. But he's also fully God.

At the same time, somehow, he's every bit God. His sacrifice is valuable enough to be for millions of people, hundreds of millions of people, maybe billions of people will know in heaven. It's a multitude that can't be counted. You wouldn't be able to count them. His sacrifice is valuable enough because He's fully God.

So this is a Savior who can save us to the uttermost. One who is fully man so He can be our substitute. And He's fully God so that He can offer up this righteous life that no man has ever lived except for the Lord Jesus. And then he describes believers. Who are believers?

They're loved by God. If you love God, it's evidence that he loved you first. We Love him because he loved us first. Believers are loved by God and they're set apart to be his. So when it says, when Paul says that they're called to be saints, that's what he's communicating.

God laid claim to a people and says, you are mine. They're called to be saints. And that God's fundamental disposition towards believers is grace and peace. You want to know what God's fundamental disposition towards you? It's undeserved, unearned favor.

You didn't deserve it, you didn't earn it, but he looks upon you as he looks upon his son Jesus Christ with the same favor. It's almost too good to be true brothers and sisters, but it is true because the Word of God says it. And peace. Our sins made us his enemies. We really declared war on God by our rebellion against him, but he came and set all that right for anyone who would believe in his son.

And that for believers, God is their Father and Jesus is their King. So I consider us off to a fast start with that introduction from Paul. It was wonderful. As we come to our text, Let's ask God to help us. Our God, I thank you for how evident it is that the author of this letter had the heart of a spiritual father.

Loved your people and wanted to pull them up into maturity in Christ as a spiritual father does to spiritual children. So thank you for the heart of this man. Thank you for the faith of the people that he's writing to, and I pray that it would inspire us to walk closely with you and to depend on you like we never have before in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, I'll be subdividing these verses into four parts. The first one is just verse 8 by itself.

So let me reread verse 8. Follow along as I reread verse 8 and we'll go from there. Paul writes, First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." In this verse we have Paul's thanksgiving to God for the report of these Romans' faith. Paul is thanking God for their faith. If you're taking notes on the handout by filling in blanks, faith fills in the blank.

Thanksgiving to God for the report of these Romans' faith. Paul isn't thanking these Romans for believing. So don't misunderstand. He's not, oh thank you for believing in Jesus, Romans. That's not what is being communicated.

Paul is thanking God that these Romans believe and that it is an alive faith that is obvious and worth reporting. So all that's here I think in this verse. God is the one to be thanked. That these Romans believe in such a lively way that it would be newsworthy is evidence that God is at work in the world. That's what's being taught here.

If you know people who believe in Jesus, it is evidence that God hasn't left the world to just plunge itself into destruction, but he's reached in to claim sinners for himself. Why? Because he's a God of grace and mercy. So what's being taught here, Paul is thanking God that these Romans believe, and that it is an alive faith that is obvious and worth reporting. First, God deserves the thanks for these Romans being believers in Jesus.

So, who ought to have the credit for that? God ought to have the credit for that and to be thanked for it. Because it's a precious thing when people believe in Jesus. It means that they've passed from death to life. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, Ephesians 2 verse 8, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

If you see people who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is because God has given them a gift. Second, faith can only be reported if there is something you can see. How else would you bring a report of faith unless there was something that could actually witness that is evidence that there's something genuine worthy of reporting? No, faith can only be reported if there's something you can see that when you see it you say, that comes from trusting in Jesus. Otherwise, what are you reporting on?

They say they believe in Jesus, not newsworthy. But when you see someone and there's something in their life that makes you say that's there because they trust in Jesus. They can endure those challenges and hardships because they have set their feet on a rock. They trust in Jesus and it is bearing these fruits in their life. That is newsworthy.

That is worth reporting. Paul thanks God for all the Roman believers. This is an all-inclusive thanksgiving. However many believers there are in Rome, Paul is thankful for all of them. Listen, Paul knows the deal about churches.

He spent more than two years in Ephesus. He spent a long time in Corinth. He spent a long time in Antioch. So he hasn't just been flitting from church to church like a bee flits from flower to flower. He's spent a prolonged period of time among different groups of believers and he knows the deal.

He knows in a group of believers that there are new believers and seasoned believers, that there are mature believers and immature believers, that There are believers in all different seasons of life. Some encouraged and encouraging others and some very discouraged and sometimes discouraging to others. Groups of believers have all that going on at the same time all the time. Paul knows that better than any of us know that. So what's Paul's response?

I'm thankful for all of you. I'm thankful for the new believers and the seasoned believers. For the mature believers, for the immature believers. You have faith in Christ for the people who are in an encouraging season and whose lives and dispositions are made bright by that, and people who are in seasons of discouragement and whose countenances might be made discouraging. Paul knows all of that is always going on in all churches at all times and he gives thanks for all the believers because it's a mark of the grace of God in the earth.

Paul thanks his God through Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Does it mean to thank God through Jesus Christ? He uses the same words but uses it in a little bit different context in Colossians 3.17. Let me read Colossians 3.17 and hopefully it will throw light on this.

Thanking God through Jesus Christ. In Colossians 3.17 he writes, whatever you do in word or deed, Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, Giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus. So the end of that is exactly the same. Giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus. That's right what he says in our text.

I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ. But in Colossians 3.17 he preceded that by saying, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Under the banner, everything done under the banner of the Lord Jesus. I think this comes back to where we were last week. The person and the work of Jesus Christ being the alpha and omega of our right standing with God.

The person of Jesus Christ, who he is, and the work of Jesus Christ, what he has done is the starting point and the ending point, the alpha and omega of our right standing with God. There is no right standing with God outside of His person and His work. Why is this God my God and not just God? So Paul says, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ. How is he Paul's God?

The person and work of Jesus Christ. What is the basis for bringing my thanksgiving? The person and work of Jesus Christ. You have no business with this God except for the person and work of Jesus Christ. You have no business with this God except for the person and work of Jesus Christ.

What is the occasion that is worthy of Thanksgiving? Why are there born again people in Rome? The person and work of Jesus Christ. It's the beginning and end of everything that he's doing here. So Paul says, I thank God in the name of our Lord Jesus through Jesus Christ.

That's what he says in Colossians 3, and I think the same thing is being communicated here. Listen people, the Alpha and the Omega of everything I'm giving thanks for is Jesus, who he is and what he's done. Now, how could it be that their faith is spoken of throughout the whole world? It's a pretty widespread report. Two ways.

All the world comes to Rome and some of them go back out. Meaning, it's the Roman Empire. Rome is the capital of the known world at the time that Paul is writing. If you go to the place where the moving and shaking is happening, you go to Rome. Many are coming to Rome and then going back and bringing reports of the things that are happening in Rome.

Also, the Jewish Christians from Rome were expelled into the world. We saw this last week that the Emperor Claudius in something like AD 49, a couple of decades after Jesus' death almost, the Jews in Rome were expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius. Historians outside the Bible say it was a controversy over Christ. So Jews get out. These Jewish believers from Rome have been expelled into the world.

They went to places and brought reports. Their lives were a report too. There's probably a map in the back of your Bible with Paul's three missionary journeys. These dotted lines, different colored dotted lines for each missionary journey. He pretty much covers the known world.

He hasn't been to Rome yet, but he's been to so many different places. So If there's anyone who's qualified to say, there's a report of your faith, and it's a worldwide report. Paul's the one to make that report. Paul spent the most time in Ephesus, in Corinth, and in Antioch. And those were the three places where there would be the most back and forth with Rome, along with Alexandria.

Those would be the four cities where there would be the most people going back and forth to Rome. That's where Paul spent his time. So Paul knows. Paul hears the reports. Paul knows.

Paul has repeatedly heard of their faith and he thanks God for that faith. Before we move on, let's apply. So if you look at the handout, normally there's a block at the bottom for applications. There is no block at the bottom this week for applications because I'm applying every time when we get to the end of a subsection, we'll apply. Applying it to ourselves.

How often do you thank God for the faith of your brethren near and far? If you want to be like Paul, It should be more often probably. How often do you? Does God deserve honor for the faith of your brethren in this room? You better believe it.

The faith of people you're aware of in the farthest parts of the earth that you're aware. You better believe it. In a sense, it's robbing God of honor that he deserves when we don't give thanks for each other's faith. We should read this as an exhortation to be more full of thanksgiving towards God, because he deserves it for the faith of our friends near and far. And, Is your faith newsworthy?

Meaning, I know we all have a profession that we trust Jesus, but is that bearing fruits in our life that other people view and say, oh, that's evidence that they really depend on Jesus. That's newsworthy. I want to be careful with this one because sometimes the deepest faith runs in people who work in the background. There's not a lot visible. I'm not saying that we all have to become street preachers so that someone will say, I see faith there.

I don't think that's what Paul is saying either, but is there something in our lives that onlookers say that has to mean that they trust Jesus. We want that to be true in our lives. Next subsection, let's look at verses 9 and 10. Verse 9 and 10. Follow along as I reread verses 9 and 10.

For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making requests if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you." These verses we have Paul's prayers for these Roman believers. If you're taking notes on the handout, prayers fills in the blank. Paul's prayers for these Roman believers. Let's take verse nine phrase by phrase. First phrase.

For God is my witness. I almost always just read right over the top of that. It's just okay. God is his witness fine Like give me the content do you read the Bible like that shame on us? There aren't throwaway words in the Bible, so this is Indicating something Paul goes out of his way to say, for God is my witness, these things.

Why does he do that? Here's what the Bible teaches about lawful vows and owes. A vow would be you and God, and an oath would be me to you or me to another person or you to another person calling God as witness. So that's what this would be I guess is a lawful oath. He's making a declaration to these Roman believers and calling God to be his witness.

So the Bible says this about lawful vows and owes. One, they're to be in the name of God. Two, they're never to be done lightly. If you're doing this every day, you are out of step with what the Bible says. This is only, only in really important matters.

That's why it's appropriate that when we go to the altar to take lifelong marriage vows, we do this. We call God to witness. Is that right or wrong? It's right that we would do that. Because it's in the name of God, and it's not lightly at all.

We call human witnesses to aim God to witness and we're making lifelong vows. Here's what Hebrews 6 16 says. Hebrews 6 16. An oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. An oath for confirmation, so taking an oath to confirm something, is an end of all dispute.

What does that mean? It means God fearing people take an oath to let everyone know that what they're declaring, that they've been careful to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And it's intended among God-fearing people to put an end to the dispute. I'm telling you before God that I'm telling the truth, the whole truth, I'm not holding any of it back, and nothing but the truth. The point here is this.

Paul is very concerned that these Roman believers understand the depth and the sincerity of what comes next. Meaning, it's coming from the deepest parts of his heart and he's totally sincere, he's telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him God. Spoiler alert, here's what comes next. I pray for you all the time and I long to visit you in person. You have to know that when I say I pray for you all the time and that I long for you to come in person that it's from the depths of my heart that I'm telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The next phrase, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son. First, the word serve here, whom I serve with my spirit. This word serve always means religious service in the New Testament. 100 percent religious service. And it's sometimes translated as worship.

Meaning sometimes that one Greek word is translated into English as serve, but sometimes the same Greek word, no change in the Greek is translated worship. Both of them are good translations. So either religious service, service in the name of God for God, or even worship is the meaning of this word. So what Paul is saying here is that all of his labors in the gospel are acts of heart worship. Serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son." So all of his gospel labors, all of them, are acts of heart worship.

Paul's three missionary journeys were not business trips, they were worship trips. Paul was captured by the love of God. Captivated by the love of God. In last week's text he says, I'm separated to the gospel. And as such, His gospel labors were acts of heart worship.

His missionary journeys were not business trips, they were worship trips. This is Paul, who was Saul, The Pharisee, who was the son of a Pharisee. He was a multi-generational Pharisee. And Phariseeism, we still use that term in the same way, like careful, precise, outward religion. Intense focus on the outward.

Paul is indicating here, I'm not that anymore. I'm not the outward worker anymore. My mission trips aren't business trips anymore. His trip to Damascus was a business trip. It wasn't an act of heart worship to God.

In his lips he worshiped God, but his heart was far from God when he was on the road to Damascus to persecute the church. But now, his trips are worship trips. His service of the gospel is heart worship. Listen to what he says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 3. This is what he writes to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 3 verse 3.

For we are the circumcision, so he's writing to Gentiles, a Jew writing to Gentiles say, we together are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, it's the same Greek word here, it's serve in our text, but the same Greek word is rendered worship. I warned you that that might happen. Who worshiped God in the Spirit, rejoicing Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. His gospel labors were not reliant on confidence in the flesh at all. He was serving the gospel.

He was serving God in his spirit. These gospel labors were serving God in His Spirit. No confidence in the flesh. Next phrase. That without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.

So I pray, I pray without ceasing, I'm always making mention of you in my prayers. When I pray, I pray for you. That's quite a statement. No wonder, he says, is God as my witness. The New Testament teaches believers to engage in persevering prayer, meaning not one and done.

Oh, I prayed about it once, God knows about it, God knows my request, so there's no need to repeat it because He already knows it. It is true that He already knows it, but it isn't true that God doesn't call us to persevering prayer. He does call us to persevering prayer. He answers persevering prayer and Paul engages in persevering prayer for these remnant believers. Now in verse 10, Paul gives us insight into some of the content of those frequent prayers.

That at last, it will be God's will for Paul to come to them and to be with them in person. Every time he prays, he includes the Romans, Roman believers, in his prayers. And one of the things that he's praying for is that at last it would be God's will for him to do what he's longed to do, which is to go and be among them in person. Paul wants to be with them, but when, and only when, it's God's will. Paul knows that God knows best.

It's smart to pray like that. So pray. God gives birth to all sorts of desires in our hearts and there are desires in our hearts that God doesn't give birth to. I know that. It's smart to pray knowing that God knows best.

Paul does that. He does have this longing in his heart to go be with them, and he wants to go when, and only when, it's God's will. Before we move on, let's apply. Is my service heart worship in action? If you're a professing Christian, I trust you're doing some things, There's some kind of service.

You're serving in some capacity, in some way, some people. Let's put that under the microscope. Is it a result of heart worship? Is it an expression of heart worship? Is it heart worship in action?

This is really what all of our service needs to be, is an overflow of our worship of God, our love for God. How about this? Jesus prayed persistently. We had time we could prove that from the Gospels with such ease. Paul prayed persistently.

Why do people who need it more do it less? Yeah, I'm talking about you. And I'm talking about me. Do you need to pray more than Jesus or less than Jesus? Do you need to pray more than Paul or less than Paul?

Paul might argue that he needed it more, that the labors that God had given him needed it more, maybe, but you know the sense in which I'm saying it. Are we more spiritual than Paul or less spiritual than Paul? Then Do we need to seek God more than Paul or less than Paul? We should take our cue when we see Jesus praying persistently. It should be an argument from the greater to the lesser.

If Jesus saw the need to pray persistently. Who am I to think I don't need to pray? I'm not in need to pray. And if Paul, how much more me? Next subsection.

Verses 11 through 13. Subsection. Verses 11 through 13. So follow along as I reread verses 11 through 13. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts so that you may be established.

That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware brethren that I often planned to come to you, but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also just as among the other Gentiles. In this section we have Paul's longing to see these Roman believers and his hopes for the visit. So if you're taking notes on the handout, longing and hopes fills in the blanks. Paul's longing to see these Roman believers and his hopes for the visit.

He even outlines what he hopes to accomplish if it's God's will for him to visit. Paul explains why he has been eager for so long to come and be among them and he gives them these three objectives. So here are Paul's three objectives. If it's God's will for me to come see you, I'm going to be trying for these three things when I get there. Number one, objective number one.

So he can help establish them. The ESV renders it, strengthen them. Both are good, but sometimes it's easy. It's helpful to take different English words to give you a fuller sense. So Paul wants to help establish them or strengthen them.

Brothers and sisters, this is such a helpful progression. Here it is. They have faith that's newsworthy. The report of it is all over the world. As Paul travels around the world, he keeps encountering the same report.

The Romans believe. And Paul wants to visit them in person to establish or strengthen them. They're already off to a great start. They have newsworthy faith. They're born again and they're making enough progress that outsiders have seen and say that has to be because they trust in Jesus.

And yet, Paul wants to come to help them be established and strengthened. We're never beyond, even if we're off to a fast start, a newsworthy report about our faith they're being made, we're never beyond needing to be established and strengthened. Never, never, never! We need to be established and strengthened. The believers at Sovereign Redeemer community church need to be established and strengthened.

This tells us about our need. Once we're saved we still have a lot of need and This tells us about our obligation to others that evangelism is the starting line. Evangelism and then people believing in Jesus in response is just the starting line, not the finish line. Paul is an evangelist, amen, of course. He's taking the gospel all over the known world, But Paul is a disciple maker.

A disciple maker. He's happy when people are born again, and then he wants to establish and strengthen them. Even people who have famous faith? Yes, even people who have famous faith. How does Paul plan to establish and strengthen them?

By imparting some spiritual gift. That's all he says. I want to come to you. I want to impart to you some spiritual gift. Which one?

It's indefinite. And you get the sense from the way Paul states it that I'll know when I get there. I guess it'll be apparent when I get there. But the point is that it's spiritual. When Paul gets there, he assumes that their great need from Him will not be a physical need, it will be a spiritual need, and that it will be a gift.

They won't have to earn it or deserve it, but that their believers will be enough for him to strengthen and establish them, and that he'll be able to impart it to them. That's all we know. Some spiritual gift. When we get to chapter 12, there will be a list of what we think of as spiritual gifts. And I think it could include those things.

But it's so indefinite here, I would never want to limit it to just speaking in tongues or prophecy or what we think of as supernatural gifts that are definitely part of what he's saying here, but I don't think we should we have no warrant to limit it to that here. It'll be spiritual. It'll help strengthen them and embolden them in their spirits. And Paul will be able to impart it to them and he will be willing to just on the basis that they believe in Jesus. That's objective number one, so that he can help establish them or strengthen them.

Objective number two, for mutual encouragement. Look again at verse 12. That is, okay, so I want to help establish and strengthen you by imparting some spiritual gift. That is, so clarifying that, that is that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. So he goes out of his way to clarify, I do want to come and strengthen you, but I'm not assuming that this is a one way street.

I don't want this to be a one-way street. My expectation is I will help you and I will receive a blessing also. Let's give the floor to Matthew Poole. Listen to what Matthew Poole says. The meanest, so we use language different.

Let me stop here. The meanest doesn't mean the person who is mean, like nasty. It means like the lowest. So I'm going to substitute that in now. The lowest of Christ's members, the most behind the scenes of Christ's members, may contribute something to the edifying even of an apostle.

Do you believe that? Paul believes that. Paul believes that the lowest, most behind the scene saint, somebody called to be gods, is able to edify even himself, even the Apostle Paul. So now just apply that to us. Who are we?

We're nothing compared to the Apostle Paul. And Even he was just a man. But as far as believers go, he's near the top of the heap. So how much more are we able to help each other, edify each other, build each other up? Now let's give the floor to Thomas Schreiner.

I think he's Baker's commentary. That was a longer name for that commentary set, but it's Baker's commentary. Thomas Schreiner says, What inspires and fortifies other believers is when they perceive faith in other Christians. Seeing other believers trust God in the course of everyday life reminds us that God is indeed faithful and encourages us to trust Him as well. How many times have you experienced that?

A hundred times, a thousand times more. You see a brother or sister in hardship, but they really are depending on Christ. You're like, oh, I want more of that in my own life. It spurs you on to trust Christ more when you see a brother or sister trusting in Christ. You know that's how it works.

Paul's expectation is that. I'm going to get there. I'm going to find you trusting in Christ. Maybe in the middle of severe persecution that happened and didn't happen in Rome for various times. Sometimes they were under severe persecution.

You'll get there, maybe that's happening. You'll see them depending on Jesus in that, and it will fortify his own faith. The Apostles' faith, fortified by seeing faith in his brothers and sisters. People who think, well, I'm nobody. And Paul looks on to their dependence on Christ and has encouraged himself, built up himself.

So that's objective number two for mutual encouragement. Objective number three for soul winning in Rome. Look at verse 13. Now I do not want you to be unaware brethren that I often plan to come to you, but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles." So Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. He's been going from Gentile city to Gentile city, preaching the gospel, people being born again, and he wants to happen at Rome also.

New King James renders it that I might have some fruit among you. The ESV renders it that I may reap some harvest among you. Paul is looking to harvest in Rome. I know fruit can be more than just salvation from gospel preaching, but I think Paul is using this more narrow sense, meaning he's zeroing in on salvation from gospel preaching here in this instance. If you want a broader interpretation, I don't object, because it can be more than that.

But I think in this instance, particularly when we go to verses 14 and 15, 16 and 17, he's talking about salvation from gospel preaching. So the immediate context is this more narrow sense. I want to sole win in Rome, I think is what he's saying here. In our introductory homily, short sermon, the historians say at this time there's something like a million people in Rome. How many do you think are believers?

How many do you think Paul's writing here? 0.0001% or something. I mean it's a small number compared to the million people who are in Rome. So Lots of commentators go to chapter 15 and they're troubled that Paul says, I've endeavored to go where the gospel hasn't been preached so that I'm not building on somebody else's work. Then they say, well why in the world does he want to go to Rome?

There's already believers there. There's a million people in Rome. Almost none of them know the name of Jesus, have ever heard the name of Jesus. There's plenty of work among unbelievers where he's not building on another's Foundation in Rome. Finally, we have this matter of Paul's oft-frustrated plans.

God frustrated his plans over and over again. Paul was often prevented from doing what he wanted to do, and something that was very good. Is it good that Paul would go and impart some spiritual gift to the Romans to help establish and strengthen these believers? You better believe it's good. Now, let me assert this.

Paul didn't mind at all. It didn't keep him from wanting to go to Rome to do these good things, But Paul prayed knowing that God knows best. This is just another articulation of that, another expression of that. Paul didn't mind that God hindered him. Listen to James chapter 4.

You can turn there if you'd like, James chapter 4 verses 13 through 16. So James, the author of the book of James goes right to this. James chapter 4 verses 13 through 16. Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, We will live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James says that it's actually evil when we presume to know what's going to happen a week from now. Oh, I'm going to go do this. Oh, are you? How much of that do you control? God controls it.

You ought to say, if the Lord wills, I'll go to Rome and preach the Gospel there. This is exactly what Paul is doing. Before we move on, let's apply. Are you in the mutual encouragement business? Are you looking to encourage?

Is this a tough world? Is it safe to say this is a tough world? There's no shortage of discouragements in this sin-sick world. Yeah, I think that's all fair to say. The world is sin-sick and it's filled with discouragements.

We should look to encourage. Our brothers and sisters need it from us. They're strengthened and established when we encourage them. Are you looking to be encouraged? You need it.

I'll say this. I am often shamed in a good way when I see you trusting Jesus. I am often shamed in all the best ways. It's good to be humiliated every once in a while by how little your faith is when you see a brother or sister in worse circumstances than yours, trusting Jesus more than you are in the better circumstances. That builds me up.

Keep up the good work. Our last subsection, verses 14 and 15. Let me reread them, follow along. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

These two verses we have Paul's obligation to all the unreached. The two blanks there are filled in by obligation and unreached. Paul's obligation to all the unreached. There is some nuance to the Greek here. It would be better if we all spoke Greek.

But I don't and you don't, so let me tell you what the lexicon says. For barbarians, so there's a Greek word that looks a lot like barbarians that's translated into English barbarians. The Greek lexicon says this, used by the Greeks of any foreigner ignorant of the Greek language. You don't speak Greek. Therefore, you're a barbarian, okay?

But it means just non-Greek speaker. But in usage, the language element, you don't speak Greek, is just symbolic of being a simpleton, of being ignorant, of being uncultured. That's why barbarians, actually not too bad of a translation. I encounter this every time I go to Malawi. So Malawi, 17 million people, only about a quarter of them are in the big cities.

So if you grew up in the big cities, you most likely went through their school systems, and everybody in the country knows Chichewa. It's the national language, but in the school systems, they're teaching English. So everyone in the big cities in Malawi knows two languages, the national language, Chichewa, but then if you're educated, if you've been to school, you know English. This is essentially the same way. And The city people look on the villagers that way.

Three-fourths of the country grew up in the villages. They didn't go through school. They didn't learn English. That's just a symbol. They're not knowing English.

It's just a symbol that they're uneducated, they're ignorant, they're uncultured, they're unsophisticated. That's exactly what's being communicated here. So the distinction is between Greek, this global language of the educated. If you're an educated person in the Roman Empire, you speak Greek. That's why the New Testament is in Greek.

And the opposite of that, You don't speak the language of the educated, and that's just an expression that you're uncultured, you're unsophisticated. This then extends to the worldly wise and the foolish. So he says, Greeks, barbarians, the wise, but we're going to see another use of wisdom later in the chapter. He's not talking about godly wise. He's talking about the wisdom of the world and the foolish.

So it's two ways of saying the same thing. Greek, barbarian, wise, associated with Greek or being sophisticated, or foolish, associated with being a barbarian, a non-Greek speaker, you don't have any other culture, your sophistication. You've either read the great Greek philosophers, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, or you haven't. You've either been exposed to the world's wisdom or you haven't. Listen to this note in the Expositors Bible Commentary.

The Romans had become caretakers of Hellenic civilization or Greek civilization. What's that note saying? It's saying that the Roman Empire replaced the Greek Empire. Alexander the Great took over most of the known world and then the Romans overtook that and became the caretakers of this culture that came from the Greeks. This is the message of these two verses.

God doesn't care which you are. You speak the global language of education or you don't. You have that wisdom, that culture, that sophistication or you don't. The gospel is for you. The gospel is for you.

You're the most sophisticated person here. Oh, be humbled by your need for Jesus Christ. There's no hope for you. It doesn't matter how sophisticated you are. It doesn't matter how worldly wise you are.

You studied all the great Greek philosophers to death. You can quote Plato, Socrates, Aristotle. It matters not. Your sins separate you from God. There is only one hope for you.

It is Jesus Christ. You're the biggest simpleton. No one ever taught you anything. In Malawi, there is no compulsory education. You don't ever have to attend one class at all.

You know what? The gospel is for that person. No one is above the gospel. That's impossible. No one is beneath the gospel.

That's impossible. The gospel is for everyone. Our pressing need is a crushing need and that's that our sins would be dealt with. You can sin in the most sophisticated, cultured ways and it sends you to hell. Or you can be the biggest hell raiser, and the gospel can set you free from all the scandalous stuff you've done in your past.

The gospel is for everyone. That's what Paul is saying here. Listen to what he writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9.16. 1 Corinthians 9.16. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of.

For necessity is laid on me. Yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel." Paul is warning himself of the terrors that would be in his future if he didn't preach the gospel. Necessity for preaching the gospel had been laid upon Paul and he felt it every day of his life. He had this inescapable pressing internal obligation to preach the gospel. This inescapable pressing internal compulsion to preach the gospel.

Inescapable meaning he woke up every day, there was no escaping it. He was under obligation to the most sophisticated, to the simplest, to preach the gospel. Much more next week. Next week is just two verses, verses 16 and 17. We're just going to pound this for the better part of an hour next week so I don't need to pre-preach that sermon.

Before we move on, let's apply. We aren't apostles, but we are entrusted with the Great Commission. So I ask you this question, do you know anything of this internal compulsion? When you have neighbors and co-workers, family members who are dying in their sins, does that awaken anything in you? You might not have the inescapable, pressing internal compulsion of the Apostle Paul.

I can't say that I have that. Do you know anything of this internal compulsion having been entrusted with the Great Commission? Do you write off the wise? They're too sophisticated for the gospel. That's simply not true.

Do you write off the foolish? There's no point in me talking to that drug addict. Both of those are so wrong. There's no one above the gospel, no one beneath the gospel. The gospel answers our greatest need, no matter who you are.

Conclusion. This section is very personal. It's a very specific author. It's Paul. It's a very specific audience.

It's believers in Rome. It's very pastoral. He's writing as a spiritual father to spiritual children who he hasn't even met yet, but he wants to help make progress to establish and strengthen them. We're going to find Romans to be filled with wonderful important doctrine. But Paul's love for doctrine is rooted in his love for the God of truth and for needy people.

Needy believers, needy unbelievers. All people are needy people. Paul loves them. Paul loves the unbelievers and he wants to preach the gospel so that they'll be born again. So they'll know there's hope for them in Jesus Christ.

Paul knows that once you've received that and been born again, that's just the starting line, not the finish line that you need. Establishing, strengthening grace and he wants to impart it to them. Paul did love doctrine but his love for doctrine is rooted in love for people, love for God and love for people. God is a God of truth so he loves this truth and he loves all people and that's what's at the root. Don't let me lose sight of this as we go through Romans.

And we're going to come and just around the curve on the mountainside And this vista of truth is going to open before us and it's going to be beautiful and wonderful. But the reason we ought to love it is because God is a God of truth and people need His truth. I'll end with a corny but true sales saying. Here's my corny, but true sales saying. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

That is corny. That's terribly corny. But is it true? Isn't it true that people don't care how much you know? If they don't have a sense that you care about me.

Paul is establishing at the front of his letter that he's writing out of love. It is affection in his heart for them that causes him to want to impart these great doctrines to them so that They'll care about the things that he's saying. I think that's what is happening. God, thank you for this text. Thank you for the Book of Romans.

Please help us. In Jesus' name, amen.