Pastor’s Pen Pulpit Romans

October 2, 2005 #7 in series

PAUL’S MISSIONARY MOTIVES

Romans 1:14 -16

Part one

“For I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to the foolish. So, as for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The message of missions is the message of the New Testament. Missions was the central thrust in the ministry of Jesus Christ and it was the primary thrust of the apostle Paul.

1. The Lord Jesus Christ began the great missionary program. He is the basis for all missionary endeavor.

2. The Apostle Paul was the first to begin the great world-wide process of taking the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Paul, a Jew, was the great apostle to the Gentiles ,“But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry” Romans 11:13.

3. It is because of this man’s missionary effort to the pagan world that we have the Gospel today as Gentiles. I believe that proper missionary ministry, motives and message may be traceable ultimately to the apostle Paul as it was revealed to him by the LORD. HE IS OUR EXAMPLE! “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” I Corinthians 11:1. When we get away from missions, we get away from the Lord Jesus Christ and from Paul.

In Romans 1:14-17 there are three basic motives outlined for successful involvement:

I. Paul Was Motivated by an Obligation to Preach the Gospel (v.14)

“I am Debtor” (under obligation).

There are two areas where Paul recognized indebtedness – Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law”, and Romans 1:14 (our verse for today). This man realized that his great God-given responsibility was to all classes of people.

• To the Greeks who were the cultivated, the intellectual, and the sophisticated of Paul’s day.

• To the barbarians – Barbarians was a title given by the Greeks to those who had not adopted the Grecian culture. These people were considered crude and uneducated.

• To the wise – Those who have this world’s wisdom.

• To the unwise – foolishness which produces foolish living.

The point is that the Gospel message is needed by all intellectual and cultural levels of society. There are relative distinctions in society - but there are no spiritual distinctions. The truth is that men and woman are lost without Christ! “As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one” Romans 3:10.

And to us who have received Jesus Christ as Savior, we incur the responsibilities inherent within the Gospel: TO GIVE IT TO OTHERS!

LISTEN TO THIS: I Corinthians 9:16, 17 (NLT) “For preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t do it! If I were doing this of my own free will, then I would deserve payment. But God has chosen me and given me this sacred trust, and I have no choice.”

Beloved, let’s heed Paul’s admonition and take advantage of every chance we have to share the Good News. Next week part 2 - God bless.

Love to you all,