822 Rom.15.22-33 Ministering Together in the Will of God

- Life doesn't always turn out the way we wanted it to & sometimes by the will of God, God says yes; but sometimes He says, “hold on or wait”; but at other times, He says “No”

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- The will of God is like a coin with two sides

- We can never see both faces of the coin at once – & as far as God's will is concerned, we can only see the one side of the coin

- The other side is unknown

- This is the important point & deserves repeating – we can only see one face of the coin

- There is one facing us which we always have before us – the will of God that is revealed in Scripture

- The other side, we only can see with a mirror - & that is in hindsight

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- The general will of God is revealed in Scripture – for example

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB95

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

—18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

- Well, there is nothing to debate about the will of God here – giving thanks in everything is the will of God

- Everything does not mean absolutely everything (western perspective)

- He is not saying we are to give thanks for sin – but we are to have a thankful attitude in every circumstance

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- The hidden side of the coin that is only revealed in hindsight (that is, down the track) is God's providential or governing will – how He orders circumstances to happen

- God’s providential will for each of us (e.g. regarding a life work and a life partner) has not been revealed in Scripture, so that, in praying for guidance, it is right to add ‘by God’s will’

- As Paul says in v.32 in our passage: “that I may come to you in joy, by the will of God

- If circumstances permit, then, Paul will come to Rome

- If not, then, in hindsight, he will know that it was not the will of God for that to happen at that point

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- We are coming to the end of the Epistle to the Romans with only one chapter left

- In this passage, today, Paul explains why he hasn't been to Rome & what led him not to visit, until he was free to do so

- But he also, I think, is encouraging them to be involved in supporting his ministry work, as well as urging them to labour in prayer together for his journey that may, by God's will, lead him to be able to visit them

1. That All May Hear (vs. 22-24)

- Here is a story from an unknown author...

Luigi Tarisio was found dead one morning with scarce a comfort in his home, but with 246 exquisite violins, which he had been collecting all his life, crammed into an attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of all that music all the time he treasured them; others before him had done the same, so that when the greatest of his collection, a Stradivarius, was first played it had had 147 speechless years. Yet, how many of Christ’s people are like old Tarisio? In our very love of the church we fail to give the glad tidings to the world; in our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it. When shall we all learn that the Good News needs not just to be cherished, but needs to be told? All people need to hear it.

- You may have seen that Donald Trump really, really, wants a wall built between Mexico & the US

- He has a steely determination & the will to make it happen

- I do not doubt that he will get the job done

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- The apostle Paul also had a steely determination & that is to preach the Gospel to those who have never heard it

- Last week, we saw how Paul received a commission from Jesus Himself to bring the Gospel to the Jews, but especially to the Gentiles

- He would start in the Synagogues which had a mixture of Jews & Gentile proselytes – a proselyte is a Gentile convert to Judaism

- When the Jews rejected the message, he decided to go directly to the Gentiles

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- But he had a commission from Jesus & he was not at liberty to say to himself - “Oh, I might stay on Cyprus & minister to the congregation I established there – besides the weather to too good there to pass up the opportunity

- No way could he do that – he had specific directions from Jesus, so it was the will of Jesus that he move on to other places that have never heard of Christ & what He has done to bring the world into obedience to God

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- But now, Paul has fulfilled a portion of that calling to take the Gospel to those regions & now he sees an opportunity to come to the Roman church & finally meet them in person

Romans 15:22 NASB95

22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;

—22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you

- Some have said that it was Satan that had prevented him from coming to them – as in here

—18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.

1 Thessalonians 2:18 NASB95

18 For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.

- But we read the Scripture in context don't we

- Here's a moment to reflect on how important context is & how I could consider you a better interpreter than some theologians because you pay attention to context

- It's not hard, but it does require you to lock down on what you are reading – before & after the passage

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Q. What prevented Paul from coming to the Romans? The will of Jesus

- Paul's commission from him – he tells us here, so it is not rocket science

- You are not numbskulls when it comes to reading & understanding if you pay attention to the context

Romans 15:20–23 NASB95

20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.” 22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you

- v.20 He did not want to build on another man's foundation – where the Gospel had already been preached

- v.21 as it is written – those who have not seen, nor heard (a hint)

- v.22 For this reason, I have been prevented

- v.23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions

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- That means that those regions have been evangelised & it is now up to the pastors & teachers & other ministries in the churches (still need evangelists) to carry on the work

- As he says in 1 Cor. - I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase

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Q. How could some theologians say that it was Satan who prevented Paul?

- Because they relied too heavily on skipping & jumping around the Bible without prioritising the context of the passage you're reading

- So it is relatively simple

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- But he hasn't stopped in the will of Jesus

- He is going to kill two birds with the one stone

- He will visit them on the way to Spain where the Gospel has not been preached

- Even though the visit will be a get to know you visit, he is eager for them to contribute to his mission to the un-reached areas

—6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

3 John 6–8 NASB95

6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

- The Christian church gives generously in the cause of Christ & that is said to be a manner worthy of God

2. Unity in the Church: Gentiles to Bless the Jews (vs. 25-29)

- This journey of Paul's is, in fact, going to take him in the opposite direction from Rome

- He has some last finished business to attend to as a result of his ministry of the Gospel in the areas of Macedonia & Achaia

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- Now we need to be a bit perceptive as to why he wrote this part in his Epistle

- This part about the Gentiles sharing in material things with the Jews

- He has just spoken in his Epistle about weak & strong Christians

- We identified the weak as those Christian Jews who found it difficult to eat meat from the Roman marketplaces because it was either unclean or may have been offered to an idol

- We identified the strong as the Christian Gentile who had never been shackled to the Mosaic law in the first place

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- He wanted these both groups to accept one another & to stop judging one another because they are both part of the body of Christ

- In this passage, it is interesting that he reminds the predominately Gentile church that the Gentiles in Macedonia & Achaia begged him for the opportunity to help their poverty-stricken Jewish brethren in Jerusalem

- This passing comment must have triggered their conscience somewhat

- Here are the Gentile Christians in Rome looking down on what they considered pathetic Christian Jews who just couldn't break with some of the provisions of the Mosaic law – what is wrong with them!

- This comment from Paul was not only an explanation of why he is travelling to Jerusalem before coming to see them in Rome, but it is further reinforcement for them to start accepting each other fully!

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- Once he has made the delivery of all the monetary gifts from the Gentiles, he will then travel to Spain to continue his evangelist mission & visit the Church of Rome on the way through

- Rome is at the centre of the Empire – Paul has evangelised the East of Rome, he will now seek to evangelise the West of Rome & catch up with the church of Rome on the way through

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Q. In passing, what was going on in Jerusalem, that was so urgent that the Gentiles in the East gave generously to them?

- I covered this when we journeyed through Acts

- With the first Pentecost, the church got started & then persecution began

- The Jewish authorities governed the people through the Synagogues

- To be an upstanding member of the community, you needed to be well placed & respected in the Synagogue

- If you had done something wrong, something so very sinful & you were unrepentant, then you would be excommunicated from the Synagogue

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When I was in my late teens, I used to teach the Debutantes how to dance, to ready them for the annual Debutante Ball. It was run by the Masonic Lodge. I knew little about the Lodge at that time, but I do remember something that was said to me by the lady who organised the event. She took me aside one day & said that if I joined the Lodge, they would look after me very well. It was a nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more moment. As a member of the Lodge, you get your back scratched financially by the other members of the Lodge.

- The Jewish community worked this way as well

- Your good standing in the Synagogue meant that you were afforded financial benefits – work would come your way & whatever you needed, you were looked after

- However, if you betrayed the cause of Judaism, you were cast out & received the opposite experience

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- No wonder the parents of the man, who had been born blind, said to the religious leaders, “our son is of age, ask him what happened”

- They were afraid that they would be excommunicated from the Synagogue for the possible confirmation of a miracle of Jesus

- So you can see that owning Jesus earned you the foot kicking you out the front door of the Synagogue

- This instantly put financial pressure on those who turned to Jesus, for Jewish Christians were all kicked out of the Synagogue & probably forced to beg for handouts

- But Christians, through love & devotion to each other stuck together

—34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

Acts 4:34–35 NASB95

34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

- Along come the Gentile brothers from the east of the Empire

- They begged Paul for the privilege of giving & helping the in the cause of their suffering Jewish brothers & sisters in Christ

Q. What a testimony to the unity of the church!

Q. What a testimony to the church of Rome to get their act together in this regard & start to love one another as they should!

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- Such a large some of money meant that Paul would have to be accompanied by people & there would be many dangers in Judea

- In fact, Paul ends up imprisoned there for about 3 yrs while he was grilled by governors & kings

- So interesting that through the providential actions of God, Paul fulfilled the ministry Jesus assigned to him when he said that he would testify before governors & kings

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- Felix, Festus & Agrippa, however, did not budge from their unbelief

- The closest Paul got was Agrippa who cast doubt that with such a short time, Paul might convince him to become a Christian – but none of them turned to the Lord

- In refuting the charges brought by the Jews, as a Roman citizen had the right, & he appealed to Caesar

- He then got a free, though dangerous, ride to Rome

- James touched on this journey in his sermon “avoiding shipwreck”

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- In v.29, he says that he knows that he will come to them in the fullness of the blessing of Christ

- Some commentators try to defend Paul against being arrogant here

- But they are missing the point

- His confidence is derived from knowing that he has stuck faithfully with the mission assigned to him from Jesus

- Because he must stick with his mission from Jesus to those who haven’t heard, he can now, having completed that mission in those regions, be able to come to them with the full blessing of his master

- Jesus is giving His blessing to Paul's visit to Rome – Paul is in the will of His master

3. Striving Together in Prayer (vs. 30-33)

- What we do see here is a man who is concerned about the will of God

- He mentions the will of God in v.32 – still seeing his journey as contingent upon the providential will of God

- There is the revealed will of God & the unknown will of God

- We are to concern ourselves with the revealed will of God & to be content with accepting the unknown will of God as it comes to us

- Somewhat in the line of “all things work together for good”

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- Yes, his guidance to Paul was first & foremost the word of Jesus to him – the charge to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles – the command of Jesus – this is the revealed will of God

- We have the same as we go to the Scriptures

- But Paul realised that God's will in every day life -the unknown – would impact him in ways that he could not foresee, but only trust that indeed “all things work together for good, to those who love God & are called according to His purpose ()

Acts 26:31–32 NASB95

31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

—31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

- The events of Paul's trial in Judea was such that it is likely, that had he not appealed to Caesar, he would have been set free

- But the events, as they turned out, went quite differently

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- He did get a free ride to Rome, but he would be imprisoned awaiting his trial by Caesar himself – that is in the last chapter of Acts

- He experienced a harrowing time on board the ship – there were frightful times, dangerous times

- On the way to Rome, he experienced a conflict with the captain saying that the voyage will end in disaster – he didn't listen to him

- He was caught in a terrible storm that lasted for two weeks

- He ran aground on a reef near an island & was almost killed along with the other prisoners, in case they thought of escaping

- Then on the island he was bitten by a poisonous snake

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- Now, who wants to say that the will of God, always ends a person in prosperity – in health & wealth – in fair weather & sunshine

- Often, it doesn't work that way, but in the providential will of God & the trials that Paul faced, there were no shortage of opportunities to minister to people around him

- He was also going to be able to testify about Christ before the Emperor of the Roman Empire

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- Not knowing how it will go for him in Judea & whether, by the will of God, he will get to visit Rome, he urges the church at Rome to strive together in prayer for him

- Again, he does know how it will unfold

- He asks them – the weak & the strong to strive together or labour together in pray for him

- Notice the agent by which they can do this - “the love of the Spirit” - that's the only way church's can know a unity among themselves

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- Prayer is often labour – we struggle to pray because

1. It takes time & we seem to have precious little time these days for everything we wish to cram into our day

2. We are tired & find prayer difficult because it is not particularly enjoyable & that can be laboursome

- There's no need to be shocked at the thought that we find prayer laboursome – Paul says it plainly here – it's tough to pray

- But it is called a spiritual discipline, so we should not be surprise or feel guilty that we don't pray enough

- Instead, accept that it is not easy & that is it not you who are odd here - & then accept the discipline & make time

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- Two things he asks them to pray about

1. To be rescued from the disobedient in Judea

- Well he was & he wasn't rescued – God said yes & no

- He didn't die, so yes, but he didn't go free, so no

- But he did, by the will of God, minister to kings & governors

2. His service would prove acceptable to the saints in Jerusalem

Q. Would Paul, the radical Gentile preacher be accepted by the church in Jerusalem?

- He who says that Christ is the end of the law!

- If the gift from the Gentile churches are accepted that makes a statement for Jewish/Gentile unity

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- If not, the church would remain split & divided along ethnic lines

- So the weak & the strong, the Jews & the Gentiles, in the church in Rome, in their prayers, are to pray for the acceptance of the Gentile's gift to their Jewish brothers

- As history reveals, we can assume that that gift was received by the Elders of the church in Jerusalem

- If the offering is acceptable, he can truly come to them in joy, by the will of God

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- Finally, his benediction that the God of peace be with them all

- The God who reconciles be with them all – the God of peace, the God of Shalom – of wholeness, healing & orderly relationships

Summary

- Life does take us in different directions at times, but what we need to remember is that the will of God is first & foremost our priority

- You cannot know the unknown, so to try to do that as many Christians do, becomes not only a wasteful exercise, but an exercise in excessive confusion

- We work with what we know - & we do know God's general or revealed will as it is unfolded in Scripture

1 John 2:17 NASB95

17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

—17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.