| Romans - Paul's Longing |
As we continue our study in the first chapter of the book of Romans, we come today to
verse number 8. Here in verses 8 through 12, Paul reveals the longing of his heart to come to
the church at Rome and preach to them the Word of God. He says in verse 8, “First, I
thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the
whole world."
verse number 8. Here in verses 8 through 12, Paul reveals the longing of his heart to come to
the church at Rome and preach to them the Word of God. He says in verse 8, “First, I
thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the
whole world."
Paul was Thankful for their Faith
Paul was thankful to God because the faith of the Christians at Rome was such that it was
known throughout the whole world. Beloved, can that be said about our own church? The
whole world had heard about the faith the Christians in Rome had. What message are we
sending out concerning our own church? Has anyone heard about our faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Are we getting the message of the gospel out to a lost and dying world? When we
think about a certain local church, what comes to mind as to the testimony and reputation of
that church? The one thing above all things that should be said about any local church is that
it has a strong and working faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t want to be known for
our programs, buildings, our large crowds, but we want to be known for our faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
This means that we have to take a strong stand on the Word of God. We must believe that
the Bible is the Word of God, and that we are to be doers of the Word. There is no
substitute for obedience to God's Word. We must do as the Bible says in (James 1:22-25)
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any
be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face
in a glass: For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed
in his deed” This means that our religion cannot be just on Sunday morning and Sunday
night in the church services. We must live the Christian life during the week as well. We see
this in (James 1:26-27), “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” We sure are running short of
people who are obeying the Word, and are doers of the work. But we are not running short
on people who refuse to bridle their tongues. If we could only realize that He has not put us
here to judge, criticize and be the boss over everything. But He has put us here to visit the
fatherless; that is, orphans, to visit the widows in their affliction, and we are to keep
ourselves unspotted before the world. There is an abundant amount of church members
today who want to be religious on Sunday, but don’t want to keep themselves unspotted
before the world. Now what does it mean to be unspotted before the world? It means to live
a good life of morals based upon the Word of God. It means, “not to be spotted with sin and
evil in our lives.” Beloved, the Bible tells us how we can live an unspotted life before the
world.
1. Abide in Christ
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may
bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that
abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing." (John 15 1-5).
2. We are to walk in the Spirit
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:
16). By walking in the Spirit, we will bring forth the fruit the Lord was speaking about in
John 15, which is the fruit of the Spirit as seen in (Galatians 5:22-23). "But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law."
3. We are to walk in Love
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweetsmelling savour." (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Beloved, these are just a few of the many things in the Word of God that teach us how to
live an unspotted life before the world. This is what we so desperately need in our churches
today. If we really want to have a strong influence on the lost sinner, we must let them see
Jesus Christ in our lives. It’s not the “talking” believer, but the “living” believer that has
influence with the lost sinner. If a person does not bridle his tongue, and does not live an
unspotted life before the world, he has no evidence that he is really saved. You see, it’s
when we show forth the image of Christ in our daily behavior and conduct, that we can be
an instrument in God’s hand to bring the lost to Christ. My friend, is your testimony and
faith such as others can see it? The church at Rome had a great faith and it was known
everywhere. For this Paul was thankful to God.
known throughout the whole world. Beloved, can that be said about our own church? The
whole world had heard about the faith the Christians in Rome had. What message are we
sending out concerning our own church? Has anyone heard about our faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Are we getting the message of the gospel out to a lost and dying world? When we
think about a certain local church, what comes to mind as to the testimony and reputation of
that church? The one thing above all things that should be said about any local church is that
it has a strong and working faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t want to be known for
our programs, buildings, our large crowds, but we want to be known for our faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
This means that we have to take a strong stand on the Word of God. We must believe that
the Bible is the Word of God, and that we are to be doers of the Word. There is no
substitute for obedience to God's Word. We must do as the Bible says in (James 1:22-25)
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any
be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face
in a glass: For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed
in his deed” This means that our religion cannot be just on Sunday morning and Sunday
night in the church services. We must live the Christian life during the week as well. We see
this in (James 1:26-27), “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” We sure are running short of
people who are obeying the Word, and are doers of the work. But we are not running short
on people who refuse to bridle their tongues. If we could only realize that He has not put us
here to judge, criticize and be the boss over everything. But He has put us here to visit the
fatherless; that is, orphans, to visit the widows in their affliction, and we are to keep
ourselves unspotted before the world. There is an abundant amount of church members
today who want to be religious on Sunday, but don’t want to keep themselves unspotted
before the world. Now what does it mean to be unspotted before the world? It means to live
a good life of morals based upon the Word of God. It means, “not to be spotted with sin and
evil in our lives.” Beloved, the Bible tells us how we can live an unspotted life before the
world.
1. Abide in Christ
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may
bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that
abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing." (John 15 1-5).
2. We are to walk in the Spirit
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:
16). By walking in the Spirit, we will bring forth the fruit the Lord was speaking about in
John 15, which is the fruit of the Spirit as seen in (Galatians 5:22-23). "But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law."
3. We are to walk in Love
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweetsmelling savour." (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Beloved, these are just a few of the many things in the Word of God that teach us how to
live an unspotted life before the world. This is what we so desperately need in our churches
today. If we really want to have a strong influence on the lost sinner, we must let them see
Jesus Christ in our lives. It’s not the “talking” believer, but the “living” believer that has
influence with the lost sinner. If a person does not bridle his tongue, and does not live an
unspotted life before the world, he has no evidence that he is really saved. You see, it’s
when we show forth the image of Christ in our daily behavior and conduct, that we can be
an instrument in God’s hand to bring the lost to Christ. My friend, is your testimony and
faith such as others can see it? The church at Rome had a great faith and it was known
everywhere. For this Paul was thankful to God.
The Way to Approach the Presence of God
It was through the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, Paul says, “I thank my God through Jesus
Christ for you all.” Beloved, no one can come into the presence of God the Father except
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says in (John 14:6) “I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way
that we can approach God, because He is the one who justifies and cleanses us from all sin.
We cannot approach God in prayer or worship with sin in our lives. We must have the sin
question settled, and it is settled in the shed blood of Christ. The Bible says in (Hebrews 10:
19) “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”
Sinful man cannot approach the holy God in his sinful condition, so it is an absolute
necessity that we be cleansed from our sin. This is where Jesus Christ comes in. It is through
His blood that He forgives us, and cleanses us from all our sins. Having then our sins
forgiven, and being clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are able to come into
the presence of God. So when Paul offered his thanks to God for the faith that was
manifested in the Roman Christians, he did it through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let us move on to verse 9. Here Paul says, “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 always in
my prayers;”
1) Notice first. Paul’s Witness. What a tremendous thing this is! Paul said that without
ceasing, he prayed for the Christians at Rome, and he said that God was His witness to this.
Beloved, think about that for a moment, “God is my witness.” I firmly believe that if we
were more aware of the fact that God is witnessing everything that we think, say or do, we
would be more careful in the things we do. The apostle Paul was making a statement here,
and God was backing him up. God was his witness. How precious this is! How solemn it is!
Beloved, when we make a statement, can God back us up? Oh, we must be careful what we
say and do, because God is watching and recording everything that we say and do. Jesus
said in (Matthew 12:36) “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Let us be careful what we say now,
because we will give an account for it in the day of judgment. Let us be like Paul. When we
say something, be sure it is true, for God is our witness.
2) Then second, we see a great lesson in prayer in this verse. Paul had a great many things
and people to pray for. As we read the Epistles of Paul, we notice the number of times he is
praying for somebody. We see that he has a large prayer list. Beloved, this ought to show us
the importance of praying for others. The Bible tells us in the book of James that the fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. What a blessing it is to know that there are people
who pray for us. There are many blessings that God has for people that are designated
through the prayers of others. Let us never fail to pray for one another. There is a great
blessing in store for us when we do. The Lord Jesus doesn’t tell us to preach without
ceasing, to sing without ceasing, but He does tell us to pray without ceasing. The apostle
Paul was a man of prayer, and so should we be faithful in praying.
Now we come to verse 10. It says, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might
have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.”
1) We notice first, that Paul depended on the Lord For His work. Paul knew that His work
was really the Lord’s work. He didn’t go headlong into things without first seeking God’s
will in the matter. He made His request known to God. He wanted God’s permission before
he began his journey to Rome. This is very important in our daily life for the Lord. We need
to follow in His will as closely as possible. We don’t know what we will be facing down the
road, but God does. We don’t always know what God would have us do in our service for
Him. So it is very important that we make our request known to the Lord.
One of the great blessings that we have as the children of God is the promise of guidance.
The Bible says in (Proverbs 3:5-6) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths.” And we see in (Romans 8:14) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God.” We have the word of God to instruct us, and we have the Holy Spirit
and the providence of God to lead and guide us in the way and the will of God. This,
beloved, is what we are to pray about. When we do this we will have the peace of God in
our hearts. The Bible says in (Philippians 4:5-7) “Let your moderation be known unto all
men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.” What a blessing this is!
2) Then second, we see Paul’s longing. The apostle had a longing in his heart to see the
Christians at Rome. He longed in his heart to serve and strengthen them in the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We notice here that Paul had a sincere desire to go to Rome, but he didn’t
want to go if it wasn’t God’s will. In effect, Paul was saying, “Lord I want to go to Rome,
but I want you to have your will in the matter. I’ll go where you want me to go. Beloved,
this is full surrender to God. How we need to be this way today! Real faith, and the secret to
peace, is letting God have His way in our lives.
Paul’s request was that he would have a prosperous journey to Rome. God granted this
request, and it was a prosperous journey. We can read about this journey in the book of
Acts, and as we do, it doesn’t seem like a prosperous journey on the surface. Paul went as a
prisoner, was in a terrible storm at sea, and then was shipwrecked, and when he was on land
he was bitten by a viper, but God used all this to His glory, and so it was a prosperous
journey. Many lessons for Paul in that day, and for us today are learned from the
experiences of life. This is what makes our journey a prosperous one, as we are on the way
home to glory.
Beloved, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ that Paul preached about? The Christ that died
on the cross for our sins, the One who rose from the grave, victorious over death and hell,
the One who will give to you eternal life if you will call on Him. Would you do it now?
Christ for you all.” Beloved, no one can come into the presence of God the Father except
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says in (John 14:6) “I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way
that we can approach God, because He is the one who justifies and cleanses us from all sin.
We cannot approach God in prayer or worship with sin in our lives. We must have the sin
question settled, and it is settled in the shed blood of Christ. The Bible says in (Hebrews 10:
19) “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”
Sinful man cannot approach the holy God in his sinful condition, so it is an absolute
necessity that we be cleansed from our sin. This is where Jesus Christ comes in. It is through
His blood that He forgives us, and cleanses us from all our sins. Having then our sins
forgiven, and being clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are able to come into
the presence of God. So when Paul offered his thanks to God for the faith that was
manifested in the Roman Christians, he did it through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let us move on to verse 9. Here Paul says, “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 always in
my prayers;”
1) Notice first. Paul’s Witness. What a tremendous thing this is! Paul said that without
ceasing, he prayed for the Christians at Rome, and he said that God was His witness to this.
Beloved, think about that for a moment, “God is my witness.” I firmly believe that if we
were more aware of the fact that God is witnessing everything that we think, say or do, we
would be more careful in the things we do. The apostle Paul was making a statement here,
and God was backing him up. God was his witness. How precious this is! How solemn it is!
Beloved, when we make a statement, can God back us up? Oh, we must be careful what we
say and do, because God is watching and recording everything that we say and do. Jesus
said in (Matthew 12:36) “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Let us be careful what we say now,
because we will give an account for it in the day of judgment. Let us be like Paul. When we
say something, be sure it is true, for God is our witness.
2) Then second, we see a great lesson in prayer in this verse. Paul had a great many things
and people to pray for. As we read the Epistles of Paul, we notice the number of times he is
praying for somebody. We see that he has a large prayer list. Beloved, this ought to show us
the importance of praying for others. The Bible tells us in the book of James that the fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. What a blessing it is to know that there are people
who pray for us. There are many blessings that God has for people that are designated
through the prayers of others. Let us never fail to pray for one another. There is a great
blessing in store for us when we do. The Lord Jesus doesn’t tell us to preach without
ceasing, to sing without ceasing, but He does tell us to pray without ceasing. The apostle
Paul was a man of prayer, and so should we be faithful in praying.
Now we come to verse 10. It says, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might
have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.”
1) We notice first, that Paul depended on the Lord For His work. Paul knew that His work
was really the Lord’s work. He didn’t go headlong into things without first seeking God’s
will in the matter. He made His request known to God. He wanted God’s permission before
he began his journey to Rome. This is very important in our daily life for the Lord. We need
to follow in His will as closely as possible. We don’t know what we will be facing down the
road, but God does. We don’t always know what God would have us do in our service for
Him. So it is very important that we make our request known to the Lord.
One of the great blessings that we have as the children of God is the promise of guidance.
The Bible says in (Proverbs 3:5-6) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths.” And we see in (Romans 8:14) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God.” We have the word of God to instruct us, and we have the Holy Spirit
and the providence of God to lead and guide us in the way and the will of God. This,
beloved, is what we are to pray about. When we do this we will have the peace of God in
our hearts. The Bible says in (Philippians 4:5-7) “Let your moderation be known unto all
men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.” What a blessing this is!
2) Then second, we see Paul’s longing. The apostle had a longing in his heart to see the
Christians at Rome. He longed in his heart to serve and strengthen them in the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We notice here that Paul had a sincere desire to go to Rome, but he didn’t
want to go if it wasn’t God’s will. In effect, Paul was saying, “Lord I want to go to Rome,
but I want you to have your will in the matter. I’ll go where you want me to go. Beloved,
this is full surrender to God. How we need to be this way today! Real faith, and the secret to
peace, is letting God have His way in our lives.
Paul’s request was that he would have a prosperous journey to Rome. God granted this
request, and it was a prosperous journey. We can read about this journey in the book of
Acts, and as we do, it doesn’t seem like a prosperous journey on the surface. Paul went as a
prisoner, was in a terrible storm at sea, and then was shipwrecked, and when he was on land
he was bitten by a viper, but God used all this to His glory, and so it was a prosperous
journey. Many lessons for Paul in that day, and for us today are learned from the
experiences of life. This is what makes our journey a prosperous one, as we are on the way
home to glory.
Beloved, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ that Paul preached about? The Christ that died
on the cross for our sins, the One who rose from the grave, victorious over death and hell,
the One who will give to you eternal life if you will call on Him. Would you do it now?
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Blessed Hope
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
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