Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 7-9-21

The Power Of The Gospel ROMANS 1:8-17 (KJV)
The Scriptures
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of through- out the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you al- ways in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith
both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have
you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbar- ians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15So,asmuchasinme is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the right- eousness of God revealed
from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Paul’s Prayer And Request (Romans 1:8–13)
When Paul prayed for the Christians in Rome he prayed with two things on his mind. One was thanksgiving and the other was a request. And each one had something to do with the Gospel of God. As always the Apostle begins by thanking God. He is par- ticularly thankful for the church’s faith. In all but one of Paul’s letters to the churches, he expresses his gratefulness to God for his fellow Christians.
Because of the city’s con- nections, believers through- out the Roman empire knew of the faith of the believers in Rome. Paul had never visited the church, but he, too, was aware of their great faith. The Roman believers demon- strated their faith by their passion for Christ and their love and devotion to one an- other. In the heart of an im- moral, unjust, and pagan society, the Roman Chris-
tians boldly proclaimed the Gospel of Christ and lived virtuous lives. Devout Is- raelites might spend several hours each day in prayer and would pray at different peri- ods of the day. Paul men- tioned the Roman believers “I always pray for is the op- portunity” (v. 10, NLT). There were times when the apostle was incarcerated or incapacitated and could not evangelize. However, there was never a time when He could not pray. Constant faithful prayer is the greatest service anyone can give the kingdom of God. Paul’s re- quest of God was simple: he desired to visit the Church in Rome (v. 10). He had never been to the city. He had made plans to come to Rome, but time and again his plans fell through (v. 13). In his prayers, Paul expressed his longing to visit the city to “impart some spiritual gift to you.” Paul desired that the Holy Spirit would use his gifts to bless the believers in Rome, and Paul expresses his belief that the Roman believ- ers would also be a blessing to him (v. 12). Whenever
Christians come together there should be mutual bless- ings. Everyone should give and receive. All believers re- gardless of ethnicity share a common hope, purpose, and mission.
Paul’s Theme (vv. 14-17)
Paul was aware of his Chris- tian obligation to people re- gardless of ethnicity or beliefs. The same Jesus who died for him died for all. That is why he was so eager to preach the Gospel in Rome. Those in Rome need not think that Paul did not have much confidence in the Gospel which he had been preaching. Rather, the Gospel was the cause of Paul’s glory and he was hon- ored to be able to proclaim it. Paul did proclaim the Gospel, and did so with full confidence in the ability (power) of this god-given message to bring salvation to all who would but believe (v. 16). Paul simply states, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (v. 16).
Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel for two reasons: “for it is the power of God unto salvation” (v. 16). Whenever believers share the Gospel message with an unbeliever, they tap into the unlimited power of God. The God of salvation sent the Good News of Christ so that people would believe and receive salvation. Paul is also not ashamed of the Gospel be- cause through it “is the right- eousness of God revealed” (v. 17). The righteousness that comes from God restores be- lievers to a right relationship with God.
Perfect righteousness is not the result of good deeds. Rather, it is a righteousness “that is by faith.” Faith is both a single act and a con- tinuing attitude. As we con- tinue in our Christian walk, our loyalty and obedience matures to trust and devo- tion. And faith becomes the driving force in our lives, “as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (v. 17).
PAGE 4-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021