Monday Romans 15:14-21

It’s all about the gospel.

Click here for an online Bible. Romans 15:14-21

Paul tells the Romans that he has confidence in them. He has spoken to them very strongly but he believes that they are a good church and able to carry out their mission. But he is still going to speak boldly.

His mission is to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Notice his motivation. I am sure he is motivated by love for the lost, but here he says that his motivation is God. He wants the Gentile to become an offering to God.

Similarly, our motivation must include a heart for the lost, but our primary motivation is God Himself. He desires that people come to know Him. We want to please God. So we take the gospel to the world because it is pleasing to God. Like Paul, we desire to please God. And He is pleased by the repentance of sinners.

They are made acceptable to God by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. They are made holy by God (the Holy Spirit) so that they can be accepted by God (the Father) through the mediation of God (the Son). Salvation is a God thing, but we have a role. God works through His people. We are the intermediaries who bring the gospel to the lost. God saves, but we tell.

Paul’s desire was to take the gospel to places where they had never heard about Christ. He did not want to build on anyone else’s foundation. He wanted to lay a foundation. Most of us are working on foundations already laid. We are part of a team living out the gospel for others to see. When others see the credibility of the gospel in our lives, they are more open to coming to faith. When they see consistent godly living in most of the Christians around them, they can not deny the power of the gospel.

Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles from Jerusalem to Illyricum. We are the apostles to those who encounter us each day.