I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish.I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
7 sermons cite this verse
… based on what we've read in Romans this past week. So last week we saw in Romans 1.14, our obligation to the unreached. We thought together about 2 billion people spanning 6,500 people groups who at this moment do not even have access to the gospel. We put ourselves in their shoes and we realize that if we were them, that would mean we have knowledge of God, we've rejected God, we stand condemned before God, and if we don't ever hear the good news of what God has done in Christ, then we will die in that state and go to an everlasting hell. without ever even having heard the gospel. And then we stepped out of their shoes and said, that is not tolerable. It's not tolerable. The two billion people in the world are in that state at this moment. So we must go to them. We're obligated to go to them. Their knowledge of God is only enough to damn them to hell. The gospel of God is powerful enough to save them for heaven. …
… just as I've had among the other Gentiles. For I'm obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I'm so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God has been revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth of God by their wickedness. And so we know about God as plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what is made so that men are without excuse. …
… I am under obligation, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. Did you hear that? Paul says, I owe the gospel to people. I'm obligated to preach it to people. Greeks, barbarians, wise, I owe him all the gospel. So I'm eager to preach the gospel to you in Rome because I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. This is Paul saying, this is the greatest news in all the world. people can be made right with God through faith in Christ. There's no better news than that. In all the world, there's no better news to tell anyone on the planet that they can be made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. And so he says, there's no better news. We've got to make sure everybody hears this. So then what Paul does, starting in verse 18, is he starts making the case for why they all need to hear it. …
… verse 14. Paul is about to launch in to an explanation of the gospel, and I want you to see what he says. He says, I am obligated, verse 14, both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I'm so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Now, I want you to notice a word. You might circle it in Romans chapter 1 verse 14 it says I am obligated some of your translations it may say I am a debtor to both Greeks and non-Greeks both the wise and the foolish what Paul is saying here he's saying I owe don't miss this I owe a direct debt to every lost person in the world to make this gospel known to them I am indebted I am obligated to the world don't miss it because Paul owns Christ, he owes Christ to the world. Does that make sense? Because he owns Christ, he owes Christ to the world. And what this means is that we, all of us in this room, have a presumptive obligation on our lives. Because we have been saved, we are obligated to proclaim that to the world. It is not a special call. It is the very purpose of our salvation. …
… Amen. Our text this morning is Romans chapter 1, verses 8 through 15. For better or worse, I don't know if this is good news or bad news. Don't tell me if it's bad news. But after two weeks of sermon prep in Romans, and since one week was iced away anyways, I have determined that the rest of the sermon calendar printed in the bookmark is going to be a general guide rather than a fixed schedule. I have found in these first two weeks of sermon prep wishing that I had another week to dive in a little deeper on that verse or that phrase. Now, I do not think we are going anywhere close to Piper's 229 sermons or Boyce's 239 sermons or Lloyd-Jones' 366 sermons, but maybe slowing down just a tad from what is printed in the schedule. I want to make sure that we get out of this text what is here. All that to say, I will do my best to study as hard and pray as hard as I can each week, and you'll do your best to listen each week. And the one that it's going to be hardest on is Nathan, because I'm just going to have to tell him from week to week how many verses or lines I think I'm going to make through. We will do all verses 8 through 15 this morning, but moving ahead, we may find ourselves off the schedule just a bit. Follow along now as I read. First, I thank my God through …
… you. It's just that until now, something has always gotten in the way. I want to reap a harvest among you as well as among the rest of the nations. See, I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the good news to you who are in Rome. Because I am not ashamed of this good news. Because it is God's power. Power for delivering salvation to everyone. Everyone who believes. First for the Jew, than for the Gentile. Because in this good news, the gospel, God's righteousness, God's character is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, those who are right with God will live by faith. Paul wrote this letter because the decisive battle had been won. Jesus, the crucified and risen king, had won the victory. With his birth, his life, his ministry, the Son of God had invaded the realm of sin and death and the devil. …
… so Paul is going to get in our grill a little bit are you ready for this four things Romans chapter 1 verses 14 through 17 the first thing I want you to notice is and this is Paul speaking I just kind of wrote down kind of what I thought he would say the debt I owe number two the drive I show and number three the decision I make and number four the deal I take I just outlined for you maybe the most important verses in scripture because these verses kick-started the protestant reformation do you know what the protestant Reformationists. I'm glad you asked because only three people lifted their hand. The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century movement that challenged corruption and unbiblical teachings in the Catholic Church. It was an emphasis on salvation by faith through grace, an emphasis on the authority of scripture, and an emphasis on birthing Protestant churches. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, and Knox were a part of the Protestant Reformation. …