11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. How great is our Lord that salvation is extended to all of us and not just a select few? God is an equal opportunist ;) 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” I need to be reminded that I need to live by faith and not by site. Too many times I dismiss God's ability because I can't see or touch it.
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John Burnett: 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. First, I know that I don’t thank God for all of you on The Daily Reading and especially for Rachel for her faithfulness to send this out every day. The awesome thing about The Daily Reading is that it is being read all over the world as well.
9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. God, I don’t pray for my friends and family nearly like I should, please bring this to the forefront of my mind.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. It is very hard to be obligated to preach the gospel to the foolish and it is even harder to determine where the “throw your pearls before swine” line is as well but Paul is eager to do it and we should be like Paul, who we are to imitate, because he imitates Christ.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. One of my favorite verses. I am not ashamed of the gospel.
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” It is not our own righteousness but Jesus’s righteousness that is transferred to our account when we put our faith in Him alone for our salvation. It has nothing to do with how we act, or live, or any deeds we do. The righteous/born again/saved have eternal life by faith granted to us by His amazing grace.
Krista Cook: 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
- Who do you know that displays this type of faith?
9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
- Paul was so overwhelmed by their faith. He was doing all he could to get to be with them. How many times has your faith been increased just by being around others who have great faith?
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
- Just as Paul, we should never be ashamed of sharing the gospel with others.
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]
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11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. This passage speaks to me. This study does this for me It encourages me in my faith! 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]
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Allen Michaels: 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your
faith is being reported all over the world. Paul
uses the phrase “I thank my God through Jesus Christ” to emphasize the point
that Christ is the one and only mediator between God and humans. Through
Christ, God send his love and forgiveness to us; through Christ we send out
thanks to God. 9 God, whom I serve in my
spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I
remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now
at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. When you pray continually about a concern, don’t be surprised
at how God answers. Paul prayed to visit Rome so he could teach the Christians
there. When he finally arrived in Rome, it was as a prisoner. Paul prayed for a
safe trip, and he did arrive safely—after getting arrested, slapped in the
face, shipwrecked, and bitten by a poisonous snake. God’s way of answering our
prayers are often far from what we expect. When we sincerely pray, God will
answer—although sometimes with timing and in ways we do not expect.
11 I long to see you
so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that
is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. As God’s missionary, Paul could help them understand the
meaning of the Good News about Jesus. As God’s devoted people, they could offer
him fellowship and comfort. When Christians gather, everyone should give and
receive. Our mutual faith gives us a common language and a common purpose for
encouraging one another. 13 I do not want you to be
unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but
have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a
harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated
both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That
is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. Paul’s obligation was to Christ for being his Savior, and he
was obligated to the entire world. He met his obligation by proclaiming
Christ’s salvation to ALL people—both Jews and Gentiles, across all cultural,
social, racial, and economic lines. We are also obligated to Christ because he
took on the punishment we deserve for our sins. Although we cannot repay Christ
for all he has done, we can demonstrate our gratitude by showing his love to
others.
16 For I am not
ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to
everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Paul was not ashamed because his message was the gospel of
Christ, the Good News. It was a message of salvation, it had life-changing
power, and it was for everyone. When we are tempted to be ashamed, we must
remember what the Good News is all about. If we focus on God and what God is
doing in the world rather than on our own inadequacy, we won’t be ashamed or
embarrassed. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness
of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as
it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” The
gospel shoes us both how righteous God is in his plan for us to be saved, and
also how we may be made fit for eternal life. By trusting Christ our
relationship with God is made right. “From first to last” God declares us to be
righteous because of faith and faith alone.
Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 1:18-25
18 The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to
them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For
although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although
they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and
birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore
God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for
the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They
exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created
things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
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