I Am Eager to Preach the Good News to You
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Good News of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you. 11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established; 12that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13Now I don’t desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, and was hindered so far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So, as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome. 16For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. 17For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
Because of the pandemic, our world today is caught up in distrust and suspicion, hatred and condemnation. Trust once broken is hard to restore, and even if it is restored, it seems unlikely that human relationships or the economy will return to what they were before COVID.
Every time the people of the Old Testament left God, they suffered. They had loved the world and abandoned the good way, and so they came under God’s wrath; we who believe, in the same way, ought to take this pandemic that has spread over the whole world as a call to thorough repentance. Look at churches and churchgoers today: they have no interest at all in the word. People who went to church only to get to heaven do not know how to hold on to their faith now that hardship has come. This is because the church taught a faith that chases blessings rather than the truth, so people took a zeal and devotion beyond their measure for faith. Those who took their own zeal for faith now seem to welcome this situation, in which they cannot come to church, rather than grieve over it. They welcome it because, for them, church was a place to go to be blessed more than a place where worshiping God is itself a grace.
Worshiping in a church building now brings legal trouble. Seeing that we cannot worship in the sanctuary, how do you feel? Brothers and sisters in the faith should worship God together in one place, have fellowship with one another, and work side by side. But because we cannot come to church, we are all scattered, and we face a reality in which it is hard to stay faithful.
Thankfully, we can still preach and hear the word online, and I give thanks for that.
God made human beings and told them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth. Because being fruitful, multiplying, filling, subduing, and ruling could not be done alone, he gave a helper. As he said that where two or three gather, there is the church, so you must worship together, plant churches wherever you go, and labor for one another. Just as Eve helped Adam, you must work together for good. Satan, who seeks to hinder the church, is working to scatter you, to isolate you and throw you into darkness and chaos. When people are alone, they do not value even the life Christ has given them, and they forget how precious they are. Only when you pray, praise, and serve together can you be filled, and only when you lean on one another and intercede for one another can you hold a firm and unshaken faith.
The more complicated the world becomes, the more you must ask whether you are someone who desperately needs Christ and the gospel, and fill yourself with the truth. I pray you will examine whether you are deceiving yourself, believing your faith is sincere when in fact your heart is hard and proud. Sadly, many people have gone to church for years and are still ignorant of the word. But if you belong to God, you must have a faith that knows for certain, and can proclaim, the work of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled every covenant of God. You must have it because it is needed for the salvation of others when the church meets hard times of persecution, and for your own salvation as well. You have acted proudly, as though you knew all about Christ; may you look honestly at yourself and ask whether you are truly one of God’s holy people who can sound the trumpet of the gospel in this age.
As a pastor, seeing that people cannot come freely to church, I have wrestled with whether I have truly preached the word of truth that reveals Jesus Christ alone. I knew that a time would come when the church would be persecuted, but watching it sweep into our lives as swiftly as the wind, I earnestly hoped that I had preached the right word to lead my flock into the truth.
Romans 1:11
11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established;
Paul had not founded the church in Rome, but he wanted to meet those who were keeping it by faith, since they belonged to Christ, were beloved of God, and were treasured saints whose faith was proclaimed throughout the whole world. Paul knew their faith was sincere, but the sexual immorality and idolatry of the pagans were bringing ruin on spirit, mind, and body in Rome, and he wanted to help them keep the purity and passion of their first faith.
Romans 13:13-14
13Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
We strive to live good lives by the word of Christ, but because we cannot help living in the world, there are times when our faith is shaken. So, to be set apart from the world, we must hold fast to the word. Those who believe in idols have their spiritual eyes covered; they live as though in the night and fall easily into sinful deeds such as reveling, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, lustful acts, strife, and jealousy. But to keep a good faith, we must live in Christ as though in broad daylight. Standing firm in the faith in a dark world is by no means easy, but just as the apostle Paul confessed, “I die daily,” let us give our very best to live with steadfast faith.
The world we live in pours out, through the mass media, images full of crime and coarse, unfiltered language. As if competing to see who can say the more wicked thing and who is more under the sway of evil spirits, it puts sinful scenes on display without restraint. Even if we want to keep the word and live uprightly, frequent exposure to such things brainwashes us before we know it, so we must be on our guard. If, like Sodom and Gomorrah, we fail to recognize sin as sin, we can expect nothing but the wrath of God. If we do not overcome this dark world spiritually, the roots of our faith can be torn up without a trace, like a ship that sinks and leaves nothing behind. So the way people with a blessing-seeking faith have chosen to be blessed is to act like church people at church and like worldly people in the world. Such a choice is possible only because God is not at the center of their lives. As a result, they have grown ignorant of Scripture, and they go to church only because they believe they must keep the Lord’s Day to get to heaven. Such faith has nothing to do with God; it is merely religious activity. With people like this filling the churches, the church collapses whenever hardship comes. Because of them, the fullness of faith is fading away, the faith that wept tears of joy and wonder at salvation at the mere name of Jesus Christ and sang praise with all its strength even without instruments. Those who held fast to the faith with their lives under persecution are now mocked instead. Even so, God hears the prayers of lives so worthless they might as well be thrown away, and he gives us the chance to repent. When we are in trouble, he gives us a way of escape; when we meet the wicked, he gives us wisdom; and he has given us brothers and sisters in the faith on whom we can lean. He does this so that people of weak faith may hear the true gospel and not leave Christ.
Yet even after receiving such amazing grace, we are busy with the things of the flesh. But now is the time to turn back; now is the time to repent. Through the pandemic we have seen the world change in an instant. We have even suffered the absurdity of having church doors shut and worship forbidden. If even then we do not turn back and repent, we will not be able to receive Jesus Christ when he comes, at an hour no one knows.
Romans 1:11
11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established;
The spiritual gift Paul speaks of in verse 11 is the gospel. Only the gospel can establish the faith of the church. So Paul wanted to meet the church in Rome, hoping its members would understand the gospel well and gain the insight to discern good from evil.
Romans 1:12
12that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Through fellowship in the Spirit we give and receive a great deal from one another. When you pray for a brother or sister who is suffering and show them love with your means and your time, you will find that you yourself grow all the more. The one who is helped, seeing brothers and sisters in the faith pour out love on their behalf, will discover Christ in that relationship. Grateful, they will find deep comfort and peace, and they will grow into mature Christians who pass on the love they received to someone weaker.
Romans 1:15
15So, as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome.
When Paul met Christ face to face at Damascus, he knew he was a debtor. And so he was able to fulfill his calling to preach the gospel to all people, to Greeks and to foreigners, to the wise and to the foolish. He thanked Christ for causing him, the chief of sinners, to hear the gospel. He counted as a debt the love of Christ, who had called him though he deserved to die, and he resolved to preach so that anyone at all might hear the gospel. Christ had borne the cross even for him, who had mercilessly killed Christians; to Paul that sacrifice was a love freely given that he could never repay. While he was convinced that only the Jews, the chosen people, would be saved, he had walled himself off from the Gentiles. But when, through the Christ he met on the Damascus road, he realized that every person in the world is precious, the wall that had stood between him and the Gentiles came down.
This wall could be torn down because Jesus, by dying on the cross, opened the Most Holy Place so that God and sinners could become one. Having grasped the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Paul longed earnestly to preach the gospel to the Greeks and the Gentiles, and beyond that, to meet the church in Rome in person and preach the gospel to them. It was they who had established the church in Rome, but Paul wanted to bring them a deeper gospel of truth. Church people are sure they already know the whole of the word, so the gospel does not move them much when they hear it. Their proud and hardened hearts keep them from even recognizing their own foolishness. Because they thought they were already saved and that the gospel was for those outside the church to hear, their burning zeal and hope toward God grew dim. Perhaps it is the church, more than the world, that needs to hear the gospel. Just as Paul said he longed to preach the gospel to the church in Rome, we must admit that the ones who need to hear the gospel are we ourselves, and strive to preach it to our own hearts.
Hearing the gospel is a special mark of God’s love, a privilege he has given us. Salvation comes through the gospel, and if we do not know the truth, there is no salvation. Only when we admit this will we have a humble faith and strive to preach the gospel to ourselves.
Romans 1:16
16For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. Having experienced the power of God firsthand, he preached the gospel boldly to all without distinction, because it is the truth by which one can receive eternal life.
Like Paul, you must believe that the sacrifice of Christ, who rescued you from sin and death, is great. Believe the word of Scripture that those who never hear the gospel go to hell, and preach the gospel to save those lives. Evangelism is the task God has given his people; just as the apostle Paul longed to preach to the church in Rome and to the Gentiles, you must proclaim Christ.
Mark 9:47-49
47If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, 48‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.
Those who do not receive the gospel still carry their sin, and they cannot enter heaven. Jesus knew how fearful a thing it is not to receive eternal life. So he said that if your hand, your foot, or your eye causes you to stumble, you should cut it away rather than sin, and enter the kingdom. He said so because hell, which waits after death, is that much more terrible than any pain of the body. Those who enter heaven receive eternal life. But hell is a dreadful place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. While we are alive, then, we must receive the gospel. May you grasp how precious a calling it is to preach the gospel so that unbelievers do not go to hell, and give yourselves to evangelism with zeal.
Though they know this, when the world persecutes them, people want to avoid any situation where their faith would show. They hide the fact that they believe in Christ. And those who are weak in faith are learning this behavior from those ahead of them. Before they learn a faith of loyal, wholehearted service, they sing praise without passion, hold a faith without the word, and build up a false faith that only pretends to be holy. Such people attend church yet do not know God; they hear sermons yet do not grasp God’s will, and the church is filling up with these worldly people. The apostle Paul, who knew this well, wanted to restore by the power of the gospel the Christians in Rome who were struggling to remain faithful. If you too preach the gospel to yourself and help yourself to put it first in your life, God will commend you, saying that your faith in Jesus Christ has revealed the righteousness of God.
The Jews were the first to be invited to the gospel. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.” God wanted the gospel to reach the world through the Jews. He called Abraham and made himself known to him, and through the exodus he showed his power to save. He entrusted them with the Scriptures and showed them grace, yet they became a foolish people who betrayed God. Of all the people on earth, the Jews should have exalted the name of God most highly and understood his work best; yet it was they who threw the gospel away.
In the end, salvation passed to the Gentiles, but even the Gentiles gradually lost their fervor; they began to set up human righteousness above the righteousness of God and to grow corrupt. So Paul wanted to preach to them the true gospel, hoping that by its power Jews and Gentiles alike would be restored. In this way God sends people like Paul to preach the word, helps his people recover, and shows them how much he loves them.
Romans 1:17
17For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
The root problem of those who attend church without faith is that through sin they have lost the holy righteousness of God. Having lost it, they never doubt their faith, for they mistake their own righteousness for faith. Yet God, who leads us from faith to faith, helps them unceasingly to turn back toward salvation. Receiving Christ for salvation is faith, and the maturity to proclaim Christ on the strength of that faith is also salvation; so we must be sanctified continually, from faith to faith.
God has given us his precious and exceedingly great promises. By his divine power he has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness. So the answer through which he works to make us know who he is may be hardship, or it may be an easy life. He gives grace so that those who have received the promise will not lean on what is corrupted by lust, and he has made them his holy people, partakers of the divine nature. To know this and to guard this holy grace is faith. God accounts such faith as righteousness. Romans 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” In the same way, the faith of God’s people is righteousness.
The righteousness of God is different from a righteousness received through the good works of the law, because only acknowledging Jesus Christ, whom God has sent, is true faith. Being declared righteous by God is what we call justification by faith. To believe in the one God has sent is the work of God; it is the gospel, and it is righteousness. When we receive Jesus Christ, the wall of sin standing between God and us comes down, and we can be reconciled to God. Whoever is reconciled to God can be free from the powers of sin, death, and Satan. This is the gift that righteousness brings. Although God loves his people this much, the world, the flesh, and the devil are always watching for a chance to bring them down. But those who stand in faith will win the spiritual battle, because the Holy Spirit is with them.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. 8From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.
Those who run toward the Kingdom of God by faith fight the good fight, overcome the world and Satan, and receive the crown of righteousness. If those who have received the gospel govern their lives boldly in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and proclaim the gospel to others, the Holy Spirit will take charge of their lives.
Acts 1:8
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Jesus gave those he saved the commission to preach the gospel so that they might enjoy all glory and authority in the kingdom of glory. To receive Jesus Christ is to preach the gospel with this wonderful authority from heaven; it brings the blessing of taking part in God’s work. That faith will make you righteous and, once you are saved, lead you to live a good life not only in the world to come but in this present life as well. If you are not to lose the power of faith, you must preach the gospel to yourself and to your neighbors in Jesus Christ, and hold a faith that endures by the word. When you look not to people or circumstances but to God alone, who loves you, the Holy Spirit will lead you so that you turn neither to the right nor to the left. My prayer is that you will hold a holy faith that offers God the true fruit of faith.