"Priorities" (Part 2)
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In Romans 1:8-15 Paul expresses the priority of prayer, people, and preaching in his life.
What are your priorities?
What are your priorities?
What should your priorities be?
Paul’s Priorities
Paul’s Priorities
By way of example.
3 main priorities: PRAYER, PEOPLE, and PREACHING
Last time we considered PRAYER and PEOPLE, which should be priorities in our lives as well.
Today let’s consider PREACHING.
Preaching (vv. 13-15)
Preaching (vv. 13-15)
4 questions answered in verses 13-15:
Question #1...
What does Paul want them to be aware of? (v. 13)
What does Paul want them to be aware of? (v. 13)
He has intended to come.
“Unaware” - a way of stressing something they may not know
“Prevented” - unknown, contrary to him
He even gives a reason for wanting to come, to further assure them of his intent.
“Harvest”/ “fruit” - produce. What is Paul working to produce?
More people, more Gentiles believing in Christ (vv. 5, 16), but also...
More productive people (vv. 5, 17; Galatians 5:22).
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Turn to Philippians 1:1-11 - This is the fruit that Paul wanted, their fruitfulness, the Philippians and the Romans.
He believes that they have the potential for fruitfulness.
Question #2...
How would Paul obtain fruit? (v. 13)
How would Paul obtain fruit? (v. 13)
The answer is not explicit but implicit. How can you have fruit/obtain fruit/reap fruit?
He would sow the seed, God would give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7)
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Parable of the sower (Mt 13, Mk 4, Lk 8).
Along the path, rocky ground, among thorns, or good soil.
One bears fruit (Mark 4:20).
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
This is Paul’s confidence that God will do what He has done.
And God has chosen to do this through the preaching of His Word (v. 15, 1 Corinthians 1:21; Romans 10:14).
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Is preaching of any value in our day? Nothing had changed, so yes, it is. We can pray and work to get people to the preaching, or somehow get the preaching to them, or preach to them ourselves (this is why preaching is important to the believers).
Question #3...
Why is Paul eager to preach? (v. 14)
Why is Paul eager to preach? (v. 14)
He’s under obligation
Could be translated “debtor” - to owe something
Paul views himself as in dept to people, not to God.
How is he in debt to people? He has what they need - information/knowledge that can help them.
Who is Paul in debt to? All people, mainly Gentiles (two extremes):
“Greeks” - predominant culture (language and living) of the Roman empire at that time.
“Barbarians” - foreigners, uncultured, influenced predominantly by non-Greek culture.
“Wise” and “foolish” (from the Greek perspective) is a parallel thought.
Cultured and uncultured. Educated and uneducated. High class and low class. In and out. Moral and immoral. Clean and unclean. Pleasant and unpleasant. Good citizens and criminals.
All people have the same need (Romans 3:23–24).
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Paul had what they needed. So do we.
Question #4...
What does Paul want to preach? (v. 15)
What does Paul want to preach? (v. 15)
The gospel (vv. 1, 9) - good news, paramount theme of the letter (v. 16).
Paul will develop this theme throughout the letter.
Then he wants to visit them and preach more about it.
Two implications
The Gospel is bigger than this letter.
It can be simple - the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as the hope of salvation.
But it is as vast as all of the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1–4; Luke 24:27).
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Paul spent a great deal of time preaching the gospel (Acts 28:23; Acts 19:8–10).
We will never exhaust our understanding and application of the gospel.
The Gospel is for everyone - unbelievers and believers.
Paul preached the gospel to plant churches.
Then he preached the gospel to those churches.
That’s what he says here. All of his preaching fell under the general title of preaching the gospel.
Could you explain the gospel to someone who asked? How do you imagine that would feel?
Loving the gospel and loving people are connected.
Loving the gospel and loving people are connected.
Paul loved the gospel for himself and for others.
This is what we can pray for ourselves.
That we will love the gospel (appreciate it, acknowledge it, understand it, apply it, etc.) more and more.
And, that we will want others to love it as well.
Wanting to grow in the gospel and wanting others to grow in the gospel.
Benediction:
Scripture Reading: Mark 4:1–20