In the play which the high school put on last week, there was a scene in which Anne was marking papers. She suspected that one of the students had not actually written the essay she had handed in. Upon inquiry, she found that this girl had copied a love letter which her father had written to her mother and had taken credit for writing it. One of the first things you learn when you learn to write is that you need to give credit where credit is due. With ease of copying and access to all kinds of resources on the internet, this problem of copyright violations has only gotten worse. It is right and honorable to give credit where credit is due.
For the past eight months we have been studying Romans and today we come to the last message in the series. As Paul concludes his message, he gives credit where credit is due. He acknowledges that not only his writing, but his whole life, all he is passionate about and all he does is done in the power of God and with reference to God. We have studied many themes and looked at salvation from a number of different angles in the book of Romans, but at the center of everything is God. Paul begins the letter, in Romans 1:1 by talking about the “gospel of God.” He concludes the letter by declaring, “to the only wise God be glory forever.” Do we include God in the bibliography of our life? Do we give Him the credit where it is due?
In this final section from Romans 15:14 to the end of chapter 16, Paul deals with a number of issues. This morning we will examine these concluding issues and see how God is at the center of them all. Then we will conclude by declaring glory to God.
In Romans 15:14-22, Paul discusses his life’s purpose. Please notice this purpose in 15:15,16, “because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God…” In Paul’s first missionary journey, he went to Asia minor and after that he went on 2 more missionary journeys each time expanding the territory in which he had preached Christ. By this time, he had preached in much of what is today Palestine, Turkey and Greece. His passion was to be a pioneer missionary and to proclaim the gospel where it had not been preached before. The particular focus of his preaching was to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. We have previously seen how he often went to the Jewish synagogues first and then to the Gentiles.
But what I want us to notice more than anything this morning is that all that Paul did in proclaiming the gospel was done through God and by God. The call Paul had as a minister came from God as he says in 15:15, “because of the grace God gave me to be a minister.” The gospel which Paul preached came from God and is identified in 15:16 as “the gospel of God.” The power and ability to proclaim the gospel came from God as it says in 15:18, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.” The accompanying power of God was also present as it says in 15:19, “by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.”
Over the next few months a number of you will be involved in various ministries. In early July, Amos and Wendy and many of you will be doing VBS in Woodlands. Trevor and Rebekah are going for a two month ministry to serve God in Asia and then also continuing to test the call God has given them to missionary service. Christa Penner is going with the YFC group out of Morris to the Ukraine. Taralee is going to Belize. In August the camp committee is once again planning for Living Fountain Bible Camp. There are also others of you who will be serving in other ways. As we see just how much God was at the center of Paul’s ministry, in his call, in the gospel, in giving direction and in empowering service, it is a lesson and encouragement for us to learn that same kind of dependence. May God be in the center of all our ministry.
In Romans 15:23-33, Paul begins to discuss his travel plans. Because he has preached the gospel all the way from “Jerusalem to Illyricum” he is looking at the next place where he can proclaim the gospel. Because there is already a church established in Rome, he is looking beyond, into Spain. At this point in his plans he is on his way to Jerusalem. He has collected money for the church in Jerusalem. In part this offering was a way for the Gentile churches to say thank you to the Jerusalem church, from where the gospel had spread out. In part it was support for the poor in Jerusalem because of a famine which was happening there. After that, it was his intention to visit the church in Rome and then to ask them to help him launch a missionary campaign to Spain.
The question is, “did his plans happen?” We read here that he intended to go to Rome after Jerusalem and in Acts 21-28 we have a record of exactly how that unfolded and how he did actually go to Rome after Jerusalem. However, it was not at all how Paul had planned or imagined. In Jerusalem he was arrested and his life was threatened. The next several years he was in prison and at one point he appealed his case to Caesar. When he eventually made it to Rome, it was not as a free man, but as a prisoner. We also do not know if he ever made it to Spain. There is no record of a church in Spain until the 2nd century and although there is one comment in I Clement 5:6,7, a non-biblical book, which says that Paul “reached the limits of the west,” there is no other evidence that he ever made it to Spain and even this reference is not conclusive.
In reflecting on these travel plans, we see God’s hand once again. Paul made a plan, but the way it happened was directed in a different way by God. Paul was aware that all his plans were subject to God’s guidance and that is why in Romans 15:30-32 he asked for prayer. Please note the centrality of God in his request for prayer about his travel plans. He asks them to pray that “I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea.” He asks them to pray that “by God’s will I may come to you…” Paul had already learned to trust in God in all his plans and to recognize the sovereignty of God in those plans.
We have travel plans and I thought I would share them with you. Most of you already know that we begin our sabbatical this week. I want to thank you for giving us this opportunity for rest, reflection and growth. We leave for the study tour to Israel on Thursday and will be there for three weeks. If you want to keep updated, please look at the blog which is listed in the bulletin this week. Then on the way home we are spending about a month in different places in Europe, which is our vacation. When we return to Canada, I will be spending the rest of our sabbatical mostly reading, but I will also spend about 4 days at a retreat center. I will return to work on August 1. These are our plans, but we recognize and want to submit to God’s will for us. We ask that pray for us. My hearts desire is that I will learn and grow and come back more enthused and better equipped to serve God in this congregation. We also ask that you pray for God’s guidance in all our travels.
Many of you also have plans - travel plans, plans to get married, plans for a job. I would encourage all of us to recognize the centrality of God in all we do. I would also encourage all of us to continue to pray for each other.
In the next section, Romans 16:1-24, Paul extends greetings. In 16:1-16, he extends greetings to people he knows in Rome. In Romans 16:21-24, he sends greetings from those who are with him, to the church in Rome. The first person mentioned is Phoebe, a servant, deacon or minister of the church in Cenchrea. It is possible that she is the bearer of the letter. The list continues until verse 16. What is interesting about these greetings is that they extend across many different people in different positions and from different backgrounds. At least a third of those mentioned are women. Some, like Phoebe, Priscilla and Aquila are people of means, whereas others are slaves. Ampliatus, Urbanus are known as slave names. Some of them are identified as relatives of Paul, although this may be a reference to the fact that they were Jews and on the other hand some of the names are clearly Gentile names. This in itself is evidence of the radical thing God was doing through the gospel. People from all walks of life, all economic situations, all racial groups and both genders are a part of the church God was building. As Paul says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is what God was doing! What he declares in Galatians 3:28 is demonstrated to be a reality in this list of people.
But the centrality of God is seen in these greetings in another way and that is in the constant mention of God and Christ in the greetings. God is in their lives. Notice the repeated use of the phrase, “in Christ” or “in the Lord.” They were people who knew the Lord and the bond that they all had was a bond which was because of God’s call and gospel.
Do we see our relationships in this way? Do we see God at the center of all our relationships? Do we recognize that we are connected to one another because of Jesus? May God be central in all our relationships.
In the final section, Paul focuses, not only this last chapter and a half, but the entire book of Romans on God. For 16 chapters he has discussed some of the most profound theological truths and some of the most significant truths relating to the life of a disciple, but central to all of this is God. Romans is not about the Jews or the Gentiles or about us. Romans is about God and so it is appropriate that we conclude with our eyes on God. Paul says, “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
Notice first of all that the beginning and the ending of this benediction is God. He starts with “to Him” and ends with “to the only wise God.”
In between these two references to God, there is a list of all the things that God has done. What is interesting is that each of the things mentioned here have a reference point in the rest of the book.
He says first of all, “to Him who is able.” The Greek word for “able” is “dunamis,” from which we get our word dynamite. It means power. God has power. If you recall back to Romans 1:16, the book began with the phrase, “the gospel is the power of God for salvation.” Glory is due to God because He has the power to accomplish what He intends by the gospel.
The power of God is there “to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ.” God has made it possible for both Jews and Gentiles to become followers of God and for people of all nations to come to Him. By His power God has done this through Jesus Christ and therefore He is worthy of glory. This is also a theme that has appeared previously. In Romans 1:9, Paul said, “God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son…” Reference to the revelation of the mystery mentioned in verses 25,26, has also been mentioned previously in Romans 3:21 which says, “…but now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known…” God is worthy of glory because he did not leave the gospel hidden, but has revealed it to us. Mention has already been made of the revelation of the gospel, referred to in vs. 26, in Romans 1:2 where it says, “ the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” Giving glory to God is also appropriate because this gospel has resulted in the obedience of faith in people from all nations. This theme has been throughout the book and was mentioned as early as Romans 1:5, “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
So we see all of these different themes which Paul has spoken about throughout the book. In a way he is summarizing the main theme of the book and inviting the response to say, “Look what God has done! Isn’t He worthy!” And what is He worthy of? He is worthy of glory and so the concluding invitation, based on all that God has done, based on the centrality of God in all these things, is to give Him glory. That is the conclusion of the book, “to Him…be glory forever.”
What does it mean to give glory to God? Giving glory to God is a heart exercise by which we recognize how amazing God is. It is a verbal exercise as we join together and say to God “You are amazing!” It is also a lifestyle exercise in which we choose to do all things to the glory of God.
May God be the center of all and may we give glory to Him!
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