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The Expository Study of Romans Notes by Pastor Tony McCall The Pentecostals of Lake City ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reason For Writing: Romans 15:14-21

Introduction

I told you last week o that we had come to the place

where this was going to start sounding a little more like a letter.

This week’s passage revolves around Paul’s travel plans. o Paul assures the Romans of his intentions

to visit them as soon as possible o but informs them that he must

first go to Jerusalem to deliver an offering that he has collected

o for the poor in Jerusalem. o After that, he plans to come to Rome

on his way to Spain where he hope to plant more churches

o and open another region to the gospel message.

The trip he describes is long and dangerous. o From Corinth, where he wrote this

to Jerusalem is 800 miles. o From there to Rome

is about 1500 more miles o and from Rome to Spain

is another 700 miles. Any time you undertook a journey of 3,000 miles,

o in Paul’s Day and age, it was a tremendous undertaking.

o It was not a trip you could make in a hurry. It would be a long and uncomfortable trip,

much of it by boat o in perilous waters

through dangerous places.o But Paul felt certain that this was the next step in his journey.

Text

Romans 15:22-33


22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Exposition

22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

Up to this time, Paul has been hindered o from coming to the Romans.

What hindered him? We learned last week

o that Paul was compelled by the need to preach first in places

where the gospel had not been heard yet. Rome already had a church

o so Paul’s first obligation was those other places

where the gospel message o had not yet been fully established.

While he often longed to visit Rome,


o and the church there, his pressing desire for evangelism

had long hindered him.

23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;

However the time has come. o Paul has “no more place in these parts.”

We know what he means by that, o from the passage we studied last week.

Paul had set out to spread the gospel in an unchurched region

o east of Jerusalem. But we learned last week

o that this is a task that he feels as if he has fully accomplished.

The word for places o can also mean “opportunities.”

He has accomplished what he set out to do, o there is no more opportunity

to reach the unchurched in this region, o because he has already established churches

throughout the region that are carrying on the task of evangelism.

o His work in this region is finished.

Now that he has accomplished what he set out to do, o he can listen to his heart

and follow his great desire, that he has had for many years,

to go visit Rome on his way to another unchurched region.

Spain was growing in significance o as a cultural and commercial area

of the Roman empire. This is probably why Paul saw it

o as a logical next step in his plan to evangelize

those who had not yet heard. So Spain was the goal.


o Rome was to be a layover where Paul would be refreshed and encouraged

before continuing on his journey.

24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

So, even though Paul o has long desired to go to Rome,

he’s not just going there to satisfy that desire.

Paul intends to go to Rome, o on his way to Spain.

Once again, this illustrates o Paul’s intense missionary zeal.

Even this trip, that he has longed to take for years, o has to fit within the greater calling

that God has placed on his life. He will not go to Rome for personal pleasure

o but, instead, it will be a pit stop on his longer journey to Spain.

However, this pit stop o would be personally fulfilling

for Paul. o He says that he hopes

to be somewhat filled with your company. o The word used here literally means

“to be filled full” in the context of a hungry man

o eating a meal. o Paul is saying

that he will be filled full with the pleasure

o of the fellowship of the saints in Rome.

o This is not a small matter. There is something special,

indeed something irreplaceable, o about the fellowship


of the people of God. I say it often, but it is kin to what Paul is saying here.

o I go to church for the preaching and I go to church for the corporate worship

and both of those things o feed my spiritual man.

o However, I also go to church because I NEED the fellowship

of the people of God. o I get something in my spirit

from being in fellowship with those of like precious faith

o that I cannot get anywhere else. o It is like food for a starving man.

It refreshes me, it encourages me,

o and it gives me strength for my journey.

That is what Paul is saying here. o Just being with the church in Rome

will be refreshing, encouraging

o and spiritually strengthening for Paul. o Like a hungry man,

he will feast on that fellowship and, when he leaves Rome,

o he will leave there fully satisfied, having been filled with [their] company.

He also hopes “to be brought on my way thitherward”. o First lets deal with the Old English.

Thitherward has the same meaning as thither which means

o “toward that place or in that direction.”

o It might be used in a statement that someone is running

hither and thither. For Paul it means

o that he expects that the church in Rome will help him


in his missionary journey to Spain. o Perhaps he means

that they will equip him for it with a financial blessing

o to help finance it, or with material goods

for the trip. Or, perhaps, it means

that he desires for them to send o men with him

to help him in his missionary effort. o Either way, Paul felt like

the Romans would be beneficial to his greater missionary plan

and he felt like his visit with them would enable him

o to continue on to Spain.

25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.

However, Paul tells the Romans o that before he can come to Rome

there is another journey that must be undertaken.

He has a specific task o that he must accomplish:

he needed to go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints there.

As the text unfolds o we are going to see that he is in possession

of a financial offering that has been collected

o to bless the poor in the church at Jerusalem

and Paul wants to personally deliver

o that offering to them. Here, again, we see the heart of a servant.

o Paul uses the word “minister” not in the sense of preaching

but in the sense of serving,


o or waiting on, or helping the saints in Jerusalem.

Before I can go to Rome, o I must first go to Jerusalem

to minister to the needy in the church there.

26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

Paul has collected financial contributions o from the Gentile churches

in Macedonia and Achaia a nd he intends to hand deliver them

o to the poor saints in Rome. o These two regions that Paul mentioned

span the northern portion of Greece and include towns like

o Thessalonica, o Phillippi, o Athens, o and Corinth.

This region had been the focus o of Paul’s most recent missionary journey.

This is where he has been laboring to fulfill his calling.

He says that it “pleased them” o to make “certain contribution”.

These new converts, o in these newly established works,

were delighted to be able to help

o the church in need at Jerusalem. o This was something

that they were glad to participate in. What Paul is telling us

o is that this is a love offering. It is not a begrudging fulfillment

of an obligation o to help brothers and sisters


in need. It is a strong,

o heartfelt, compassionate

outpouring of love o for their brothers and sisters

in the Lord. o They gave this offering with pleasure.

Indeed, the word usedo to describe the offering,

which is translated as contributions, literally means

o “fellowship, o participation, o or sharing in.”

In other words, their offering o was their way of sharing

in the burdens that were placed on the church in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the home church. o This is the place where it all started.

And it is predominantly a Jewish church. The church has fallen on hard times,

o and there are many needy and poor in the church.

This is presented more than once o in the record of scripture

and this is the second offering that we know of Paul raising

o to bring back to Jerusalem. What is unique here

o is not just that these new churches would so freely give

to help carry the burden o of the global church

o but that these Gentiles would freely give to these Jews

in their time of need. For years and years

o the Jews have rejected the Gentile people.


There is plenty of bad blood between the ethnic groups.

But none of those cultural realities o intrude on the fellowship of the cross

of the brotherhood of the church. This is not a matter

o of Gentile believers helping Jewish believers.

No. o This is a matter of Christians

helping Christians. The beauty of this offering

o is that it demonstrates that while ethnic issues

may belong to the culture, o they should have no impact

on the church.

Indeed we live in a day and time o when our own country

is being torn apart along racial lines. There is more division and hatred today

o than there ever has been in my lifetime. However, all of that business,

has no place in the house of God. Here, in this house,

o we are not black and white, we are blood washed,

Holy Ghost filled, o Jesus name Christians.

And the ties that bind us together, o in the church,

are much stronger than the things that would divide us in our culture!

27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

Even though it pleased the Gentiles o to give this offering,


meaning they gave it out of love, not out of obligation,

o Paul still feels that is the repayment of a moral debt

that the Gentile church o owes to the mother church in Jerusalem.

These Gentiles have received o the wonderful gift of salvation

only because the church in Jerusalem, has spread the gospel far and wide.

Indeed, if Paul had not come to them, o from the established church,

they would not have encountered this great truth. So Paul says that,

o because they have been made partakers of the spiritual blessings

of the Jerusalem churcho it is their duty, or obligation,

to step in and help the poor in Jerusalem when they are in need of carnal blessings.

The Gentile church has received so much, o spiritually, from that original church in Jerusalem,

that the least they can do is help the saints there

o in their time of need.

28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

Here Paul introduces o a participle phrase

that some have struggled to understand. Paul is going to personally

o deliver this offering to Jerusalem and he describes this act

as “sealing to them this fruit.” It is this “seal” language

o that translators have struggled with. To place one’s seal upon something

o means to put one’s unique identifying mark


upon it o in order to guarantee

its authenticity. Some have surmised

o that this might mean that Paul wanted to personally deliver it

so that he could personally o guarantee the Gentile churches

that it arrived at its intended destination.

However, it seems more likely o that he saw this offering

as a chance to strengthen the relationship

o between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians

so he wanted to personally deliver it

o and personally attest to the fact that it was a genuine gift of love,

an outpouring of support, from the Gentile church

o to the Jews in Jerusalem. If that is the case,

o Paul made this long and difficult trip to Jerusalem

just to make sure o that the Jewish Christians

understood the significance of the gift as an instrument

that was meant to join them and their Gentile brothers

o together in a bond of Christian fellowship.

This seems to be consistent o with Paul’s ministry at large.

Paul will not be free to travel to Rome o until after he has fulfilled this major obligation.

Hence the 800 mile journey to Jerusalem first.


29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

Paul’s journey to Rome may be delayed o by this detour to Jerusalem,

however, he is confident that when he does come to Rome

o he will come in the fullness of divine blessing

and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is an interesting statement

o because we know, looking back on events,

that Paul did not arrive in Rome o according to his plans

but rather that when he finally made it to Rome,

o he was a prisoner of the Romans. Yet the truth still stands,

o that even as a prisoner of Rome, Paul came to Rome

in the fullness o of the blessings of God

and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

Now Paul asks for prayer. o Indeed, he knows that nothing

about his well-laid plans is certain and that his life

o and plans are subject to the greater purpose of God.

No doubt he does not realize, o yet, that he is headed for prison chains,

but he does understand that he needs someone praying with him

o that he will continue to walk


in the path of divine blessing that he has set out on.

So he beseeched the church in Rome, o or pleaded with them,

to “strive together with [him] in prayers to God for him.” This verse serves

o to demonstrate the importance that Paul placed on prayer.

He cannot anticipate o the change of plans

that is about to be forced upon him, however, he recognizes

o the value of prayer and the ability of God

to guide him in the correct path, o no matter what happens

next. Paul truly believed

o that the prayers of others made a crucial difference

in his life and ministry o so he seeks the prayers

of the church in Rome. He appeals to them

o to pray for him “for the love of the Spirit.”

This phrase appears o in the genitive case in the Greek.

The unique thing about the genitive case is that it is best translated

o as a prepositional phrase but that it can convey

more than one meaning. A classic example

o is the phrase “the love of God.” This can mean God’s love for us

but it can also mean our love for God. Likewise this appeal

o on the basis of the “love of the Spirit” can mean our love for the Spirit,

or indwelling Christ in our lives.


It can also mean the love that the Spirit conveys to us.

o This second meaning is probably more accurate. Paul is appealing to them

o to pray for him on the basis of the brotherly love

that is the manifestation o of the Holy Ghost

in the life of a believer.

31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;

Next we get his prayer request. o He has 3 requests

and the first two are in this verse. First he wants

o to be delivered from the Jewish unbelievers.

Secondly he wants to be o accepted by the Jewish believers.

Both of these prayer requests o have to do with

how he will be received in Jerusalem. Paul is not the most popular figure

o among Jewish Christians. Some are offended,

o however wrong they may be, that Paul has preached the gospel

to the Gentiles. There are those

o that have their doubts about Paul, believing that he has

abandoned Jewish customs o and has adapted

the gospel to the Gentiles in a very liberal sense.

As matter of fact, o we see in these prayer requests,

the issue that was boiling just below the surface


o that would eventually derail the plans that he has

so carefully laid out here. When Paul arrives in Jerusalem,

o the Jewish church leaders will ask him to take a Jewish vow

in order to appease the Jewish people o and demonstrate that he still

observes Jewish customs. However, when he went to the Temple

o to fulfill this vow, his enemies started a riot,

with the intent of killing him. Paul was rescued

o by the intervention of Romans soldiers, which is how he became

a prisoner of Rome o and why he arrived in Rome

in shackles instead of as a traveling

missionary.

32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

His third prayer request o was that he might come to Rome

with joy, in the will of God,

o and find refreshing there. The thing to notice, here,

o is that Paul subjects all of his plans to the will of God.

Pray that I will come to you o with joy,

if it is the will of God. Indeed, this is the way

o we should approach our own lives. Make huge plans,

o set lofty goals, but make sure that all things


are subject to the will of God.

Paul’s prayers were answered, o although not as he expected.

God did deliver him o from Jewish unbelievers in Jerusalem

and He did gain favor with Jewish Christians.

And he did make it to Rome, o however, in the process

of answering all of those prayers, the will of God led him

o to become a prisoner of Rome. Ultimately, God’s will was accomplished.

o Paul made the 1,500 mile journey to Rome and it was financed,

entirely, by the Roman military. Where one might see that as a hardship,

o another might see that as a blessing. God, in his sovereign will,

o moved Paul exactly where he wanted him to be

and he used the Roman government o to accomplish his purpose.

33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul concludes this chapter o with a prayer for the church in Rome.

After having requested prayer from them, o he follows up by praying for them.

He prays that the God of peace will be with them. While it is obvious that he is praying

o for the peace of the church in Rome, he is also asking

for the manifest presence of God o in the church in Rome.

May God be with you, o is another way of saying,

may He continually be “present” with you wherever you find yourself.


In other words o he is praying that they will have peace,

regardless of the circumstances that they may find themselves in.

CLOSE

In the final verse of chapter 15, o Paul describes God as the God of peace.

This unique phrase o is a reference to the peace

of reconciliation with God. o Unbelievers are not at peace with God.

However, the message of salvation restores them to right standing with God,

o setting them at peace with God. In that sense this prayer

o can be understood in a twofold manner. First it is a reference to salvation.

o May the peace of God be with you. May you find yourself in right standing with God.

o Secondly it is a reminder of where our peace comes from.

o We have peace, not because all is well in our lives,

but because we are in right standing with God. That is the source of our hope and confidence.

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