Listen to what Paul says: “I am a debtor…” (Romans 1:14). We do not want to be debtors. We do not want to have obligations. We try to free ourselves from every debt. But this is a good debt. Paul embraces the fact that he is debtor and it is understand the debt of the gospel that has changed his life purpose.
Thankful For the Proclaimed Gospel (Romans 1:8-10)
After opening his letter to the Roman Christians by proclaiming a summary message of the gospel, the apostle Paul turns his attention to being thankful. Paul says that he is thankful to God for these Christians because their faith is being proclaimed all over the world. Paul says that he has been praying for these Christians in all his prayers. One of the things that Paul is praying for is the ability to go to Rome to see these Christians. He wants to see these Christians and support these Christians in their faith. Now I want us to think about what Paul said. The faith of these Christians is proclaimed in all the world. Is that not an amazing statement? Here is this church in Rome and their faith is not known about only in the city of Rome but throughout the world. Now I want us to think about how this could have happened. How is the faith of these Christians spreading everywhere? Why is their faith being reported in the world?
Encouraging Others Through the Gospel (Romans 1:11-13)
We will understand how their faith is being spread in a moment. But Paul says something else about his desire to see these Christians. Paul says that he wants to come to them so that he can impart some spiritual gifts to them. It is important to understand that miraculous spiritual gifts could only be passed on by the apostles (and no one else) laying their hands on people. We see this explicitly taught and observed in Acts 8:17-19. In the first century those Christians did not have the New Testament scriptures yet. They were still be written. So the way God directed those Christians until God’s word was finished was through the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul wants to get to Rome so that these Christians can have these gifts. But I want you to notice the purpose of these gifts in verse 12.
Paul’s purpose is so that they would be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Paul says that he wants to get to Rome so that he can encourage these Christians. But I want us to consider how they were going to encourage each other. Paul does not say that they would encourage each other by talking about their problems. He does not say that they will encourage each other by talking about the latest sports going on in the Roman Empire. He does not say that they will encourage each other by talking about secular things. Paul says that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Paul says that their faith has been proclaimed in all the world and that was going to be the source of his encouragement. Paul wants to meet them and share his faith so that it would be an encouragement to them.
Friends, the gospel is a call to be joined together where we encourage each other’s faith, not drag each other’s faith down. We need each other. The good news does not keep us at home. The gospel does not keep us away from each other. The gospel compels us to want to be together so that we can encourage each other’s faith. We too often think of church as what we get out of it and we evaluate if we come by if we need it or not. But Paul says that gospel compels me to come to you and encourage you. We come to lift each other up and encourage each other. Yes, you will be encouraged and you need that encouragement. But don’t forget the other side that you are supposed to be an encourager also. Our greatest encouragement comes from telling each other and reminding each other about God’s good news. This is how verses 11-12 fit together. Paul wants to impart spiritual gifts to them because the way we encourage each other is not by secular conversations but grounding each other in the goodness and the glory of God. So their faith is being proclaimed in the world yet Paul wants to encourage that faith even more so. Further, Paul wants them to be encouraged by his faith in the gospel. So how will this happen?
A Debtor From The Gospel (Romans 1:14-15)
Paul says something very powerful that is easy to run by in Romans 1:14. Paul says that he is a debtor. Paul says that he is in debt. Some translations read that Paul is under obligation. I think the reasoning for this rendering is to note that Paul is not talking about a financial debt that he has. Paul has a debt. Paul has an obligation but that obligation is not about money. Paul has become a debtor because of the gospel. Now you might immediately think that Paul is speaking about being in debt to God for all that God has done for him through the gospel. This could be true. But this is not what Paul says.
Notice in verse 14 Paul says that the gospel makes him a debtor to the world. Paul says he is under obligation to the Greeks and to the barbarians. This is a way of saying that Paul is in debt to the whole world — those who speak Greek and those who do not speak Greek. Paul is not in debt to just his culture or to his country. Paul is also in debt to those outside of his culture and his country. He is under obligation to the wise and to the unwise. The gospel has made him a debtor to every person in the world. Now I want us to think about how this could be while we add to the picture in verse 15.
Not only is Paul in debt to the world, but he also is in debt to other Christians. Paul says in verse 15 that this obligation he has makes him also eager to preach the gospel to these Christians who are in Rome. The gospel has put Paul in debt to the world. The gospel has put Paul in debt to other Christians. When we understand the gospel, then we learn that it puts us under obligation to all people — to those belonging to Christ and to those who do not belong to Christ.
Turn in your copies of God’s word to 2 Kings 7 and I want us to see this idea illustrated there. Turn to 2 Kings 7:1-15. The context of this event is that the nation of Syria is besieging the northern nation, Israel, and in particular, the capital city of Samaria. This war has caused a famine in Samaria. The famine is so severe that the people are eating their children (cf. 2 Kings 6:28-29). The people are paying money to eat bird dung and donkey heads (cf. 2 Kings 6:25). But God was going to rescue his people in an amazing way, which Elisha the prophet proclaimed at the beginning of 2 Kings 7. Four outcast lepers decide to try to surrender to the Syrians because they know they are going to die if they stay in the city any longer. As they approach the camp to surrender, they find that the Syrian camp was completely empty. The camp with all of its food and supplies had been completely abandoned. We are told in the text that the Lord had made the Syrians hear the sounds of armies coming so that they quickly abandoned everything and fled. You will notice in verse 8 that these four men are going into the tents and they are having a feast. But notice verse 9.
Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” (2 Kings 7:9 ESV)
Notice that they conclude that what they are doing is not right and punishment will overtake them. Why? Because this day was a day of good news and they are worthy of punishment if they remain silent. They realize that they have a debt to the other people to tell them the good news they are experiencing. So that is what they do. They go back to the city and the king with the good news so that it can spread to all the people.
The gospel puts under obligation to others. Why? The reason we are in debt to the world and to others is because the gospel was never given to you alone. The gospel was given to you so that you will give it to another. This good news was not just for those four outcast lepers. The good news was for the whole city and they were under obligation to share it. I want us to feel the weight of this proclamation. Paul does not say that it is a good idea for each of us to share the gospel. No, Paul says that we are debtors because of the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 the apostle Paul talks about the fact that even though he is free, he has made himself a servant to everyone. To the Jews he became like the Jews. To those without the law he became like those without the law. To the weak, he became weak in order to win the weak. Listen to how he concludes what he has done:
I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:22-23 ESV)
Why has Paul do this? Because this is what the gospel does. The gospel makes us debtors to the world and to those who belong to Christ. A few sentences earlier in 1 Corinthians 9 Paul said this:
For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV)
Is this not the exact same response that the four outcast lepers had when they were enjoying the good news of the Syrians abandoning their camp? We have been given something that we are obligated to give to others. This is the nature of the gospel.
The Care of the Gospel
I want to make two final points for us in this lesson about the debt of the gospel. If we are not eager to proclaim the gospel, then we must not think the gospel is good news. We think telling people about a restaurant is better news than the gospel. It says a lot of our values if we are not excited about the gospel. It also shows that we do not care about the gospel. When Andy Cantrell was here he talked about the reason we do not share the gospel is because we do not care. We want to blame that we do not know what to say or we are afraid or some other reason. But at the end of the day, if we are honest, he rightly points out that we do not care. I would like for us to think about this through the lens of this scripture. If we do not care, then we do not know the gospel and its obligation. The gospel makes us care about others. The gospel makes us say, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” We must share what we have received.
The Eagerness of the Gospel
This explains what Paul means in verse 15. Notice that Paul does not mean that he is in debt from the gospel so that he does something against his will. He does not say in verse 15 so he has to go preach the gospel even though he really does not want to. Rather, Paul is willing to preach the gospel. Paul is eager to preach the gospel. When we experience something that is so good, we cannot help but tell other people about it. We tell people about a restaurant. We tell people about a show. We tell people about a vacation. When something is so good, we just cannot hold it in. Paul says that this is what the gospel does. The gospel is so good that he cannot hold it in. I asked earlier in the lesson about the faith of the Roman Christians spreading throughout the world. How did it happen? The gospel is so good that they had to share it everywhere. The debt of the gospel is not a feeling of sorrow that he have to say something, like when we were kids with mandatory fundraisers. You would not want to buy a candy bar, would you? Would you like to buy girl scout cookies? Do you want to buy some popcorn? As kids, we were not excited to do this but were required because of our obligation. This is not the way of the gospel. The gospel is so precious and so overwhelming but we cannot help to go around telling people about it. If we are not sharing the gospel, then it shows what we think of it and how we value it. We must not think it is very good news. What we think is good, we feel obligated to share. We will care to share when we see how good the gospel is.