01.2. Commendation Aspiration Obligation - Rom_1:8-16

Chapter 2 - COMMENDATION, ASPIRATION, AND OBLIGATION - Romans 1:8-16

Commendation

Paul’s commendation began with his prayerful thanksgiving for the “faith” of the Roman saints (Romans 1:8). “Above all else [proton, an adverb meaning in the first place or above all else-men is a particle which can be used for emphasis or continuation], I am thanking my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in all the world” (translation). The position of the word “faith” before the pronoun in the Greek places the emphasis on faith rather than on the person whose faith it is. The Romans were famous, but their God-given faith must be preeminent. How different this is from what we hear today! What about the praise that is given to some “believers” by religionists? The Biblical understanding of Christianity destroys all human accolades.

Aspiration The apostle Paul spoke of “my God” (Romans 1:8), “who is my witness” (Romans 1:9), “my spirit” (Romans 1:9), and “my prayers” (Romans 1:9). His God was the sovereign God of the universe; his spirit was his renewed spirit; his prayers were his strong desire for the Roman saints who he had never seen. Hence, we see in this God-called man the zeal of the apostle, the mind of the teacher, and the heart of the pastor (Php 1:3-7). One must not overlook the order of Paul’s God, his spirit, and his prayers. Apart from one’s recognition of God’s absolute sovereignty and a renewed spirit, he can never pray effectually. There are prerequisites to one’s ability to pray. Prayer is vain unless it is within the rules of Scripture. Prayer was not designed to move God to formulate new purposes, but to conform the believer to God’s purpose. Since prayer is in and of the Spirit, it is the Spirit making intercession for us, with us, and in us according to God’s will (Romans 8:26-27; 1 John 5:14). Prayer always leads to unselfishness, and this was demonstrated in Paul’s life (Romans 1:9-10; Acts 20:24). The spirit of all true service is expressed in Romans 1:11-12 -“For I long to see you, in order that I may impart to you some spiritual benefit that you may be established, and that is to share in mutual encouragement through the faith in each of us, both yours and mine” (translation). Spiritual gifts are imparted to God’s spiritual leaders for the purpose of their imparting spiritual benefits to assembly members (Ephesians 4:11-16). The ministry of pastors/teachers is not exactly mutual with saints in general, but it leads to that which is mutual. Paul’s longing was the beginning of his purpose to go to Rome, and his love led him to make definite plans to pursue and fulfill that purpose. The statement, “through the faith in each of us” (dia tes en allelois pisteos), needs careful study in the light of its context. Since the noun pistis can mean trust or belief, the system of truth that is believed, or faithfulness which results from faith, we need to translate the verse in the light of what the apostle was emphasizing. Was he talking about his faith in the Roman Christians, or was he speaking of his faithfulness in imparting some spiritual benefit to them? Did they joyfully receive Paul’s teaching, and were they strengthened by their faith in Paul or by their faithful reciprocation (allelon, a reciprocal noun)?

Paul had commended “the faith” of the saints and expressed his desire to be with them for fellowship; now he spoke of having some “fruit” among them (Romans 1:13). Once again we see an important order:
(1) faith,
(2) fellowship, and
(3) fruit. Without faithfulness, there is no basis for fellowship. The basic meaning of koinonia, the word for fellowship, is close mutual relationship, sharing, or intimacy. The statement that there is only one fellowship in Scripture into which all believers are brought on accepting Christ as Savior is absolute nonsense.
The particular kind of fellowship implied in any passage where the word “fellowship” occurs must be interpreted in the light of its context. Philippians gives some interesting examples of various fellowships:
(1) fellowship in the gospel (Php 1:5),
(2) fellowship of the Spirit (Php 2:1),
(3) fellowship of Christ’s sufferings (Php 3:10), and
(4) fellowship of giving (Php 4:15).
Other examples of fellowship are recorded in Scripture:
(1) fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3),
(2) fellowship with fellow believers (1 John 1:3),
(3) fellowship with the assembly (Acts 2:42), etc. Faith leads to fellowship; and in turn, it brings strength and encouragement which results in fruit.

Fruit is the Christian’s life, not his deeds. We must not confuse fruitbearing with works. Christ’s life in us produces fruit through us. A fruit tree does not struggle to bear fruit, but it bears fruit silently for its owner. Fruit speaks of what we are, and it also represents character.

Obligation

Paul understood what his obligation involved, and he approached his responsibility with a thrice repeated “I am”:
(1) “I am obligated to both Greeks and to Barbarians, to both wise and to foolish” (Romans 1:14 -translation);
(2) “So as much as is in me I am ready [prothumos, pro, before; and thumos, intense feeling-ready in mind, prepared, willing] to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Romans 1:15 -translation);
(3) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God which results in salvation to everyone believing, both to Jew first and to Greek” (Romans 1:16 -translation). The apostle was effective in these because he was united to the great “I Am,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Christ, Paul knew nothing (1 Corinthians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 4:4; Php 3:10); he could do nothing (John 15:5; Galatians 2:20; Php 4:13); he was nothing (2 Corinthians 12:11); and he had nothing (Php 3:7-9). What did Paul have that he had not received from God? (1 Corinthians 4:7). This question must be made personal.

Paul declared his indebtedness to people without respect to degree of culture or intellect. The wisdom of the cultured will not save, and the ignorant are not excused. God shall destroy the wisdom of the wise, and He shall set aside the understanding of the intelligent (1 Corinthians 1:19). The apostle’s obligation grew out of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ. From the day he began his earthly sojourn, his debt increased; until on the road to Damascus, he was enabled by the Spirit of regeneration to see that a Daysman had come between the righteous Judge and the unrighteous Saul and that He had paid his debt of sin (Romans 8:1; Romans 8:18-34). Although the forgiven Paul was clear of the sin debt, he now had a debt of gratitude to Jesus Christ that he could never pay. There is no “statute of limitations” that could ever cancel such a debt of gratitude; therefore, all Paul could do was to give himself wholly to the proclamation of the good news of which he was unashamed.

Paul affirmed his readiness to preach the gospel. The adjective prothumos (Romans 1:15) reveals the heavy breathing of a runner, or of a parent when his child is endangered. This expresses Paul’s passion to preach (1 Corinthians 9:16). He was ready not only for service but also to suffer (Acts 21:13), and later he was ready to die (2 Timothy 4:6). Preparation is a relative word. We may be prepared for some things but not for others. Paul was ready to preach, and the infinitive “to preach” (euaggelisasthai) is in the aorist tense, the tense of finality and absoluteness. He had a definite message that was absolute in its realm and final in its revelation. At that time, he could not say he was ready to die; that statement came after much preparation and at the close of his ministry. This is a valuable lesson for all Christians to learn. The apostle asserted his boldness when he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” The conjunction gar is used three times in Romans 1:16-17 -“For [gar] I am not ashamed of the gospel; since [gar] it is the power of God which results in salvation to [eis, accusative of result] everyone believing, both to Jew first, and to Greek. For [gar] in it a righteousness of God is being revealed out of faith to faith, as it has been written: the just one shall live by faith” (translation). Each time the conjunction is used it confirms the preceding clause. Paul was unashamed of the gospel because it results in salvation to everyone believing. In the gospel, a God-kind of righteousness is being revealed. The word of God has an emotional effect on every child of God. He cannot remain stoical in the presence of God’s word. Paul’s emotions are revealed in his going from his position as an apostle before the Lord, which would have been impossible without his first being positionally in Christ, to the moving of his heart in his obligation to Christ for what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for him.

Paul was not ashamed of his message, whether he was in religious Jerusalem, philosophical Athens, commercial Ephesus, immoral Corinth, or powerful Rome. No, Paul was not ashamed of his message though it had a Carpenter for its subject, fishermen for its advocates, and commoners for its supporters. The following are persons who are ashamed of the gospel:
(1) the worldly wise, because God makes foolish the wisdom of the wise (1 Corinthians 1:18-21);
(2) the great and powerful of the world, because it brings all men to the same level (Jude 1:3);
(3) the rich, because salvation is without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1-2); (4) the pleasure lovers, because they fear it will destroy their mirth (2 Timothy 3:2-4); and
(5) the religionists, because they hate any message that dethrones man (John 6:58-66).