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May 27, 2022 6:00 am
That's how Paul uses this phrase I'm a debtor to both Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and on what and what is the debt is the gospel.
I am indebted to share the message with people, including Romans, and my obligation is to not word the gospel to Harold also.
Paul wrote to the Roman believers greeted them with the prayer today you connect Skip shares can cultivate gratitude and love for others in your life to let you know about a resource that will help strengthen your faith as you explore the lives of notable women in the Bible play a huge role in the difficult narrative from Eve to Esther to Betsy that Priscilla we find stories of faith and family explores for Queens of the Bible and her new teaching theories. Here's where we see Bernice sitting right by his side. Unfortunately, Bernice is going to go with the flow come to peer pressure and remain silent hear more from Lynn yet. She explores four different queens in Scripture. And when you get $35 or more today will send you the Queens of the Bible collection of teachings is our way of saying thank you. Peer pressure is a powerful thing.
The crowd was watching Bernice was watching a cripple was watching and you know you do stupid things in peer pressure, you'll say you don't like the movie really like everybody else is they don't like it, whatever it is you come peer pressure. Get your copy of the special teaching visit connectwithskip.com/offer to get online securely today or call 892 1888 Romans chapter Skip I to get into today's message small man's ask of God, he was named after King Saul, who was the first king of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin Paul the apostle was also a Benjamite from the tribe of Benjamin, and he was named after one of the heroes in antiquity King Saul Saul of Tarsus was his name. He was from the area of Solis see ancient region which is today eastern Turkey and he was from the city of Tarsus. The name Saul I get the name Paul as I mentioned, means little. No, we don't exactly know why he was named Paul that's his Gentile neighbors is great name Paul. I have told you before, though, that in ancient times, people would name their children based on circumstances of their birth. It could be. Paul was a small child and he could have grown up to be a small man that we don't know. However there's only one piece of information regarding how Paul the apostle looked from from ancient records only one and it could not be.
It could be true, it could be false.
We don't know, but the only surviving description.
We have a book, Paul the apostle look like is interesting.
It says he was a very short man and he was sort of hunched over. He had a hooked nose. According to this description of him losing his hair on top and he had one his eyebrows says joined in the middle so a unibrow hooked nose, unibrow, balding short guy and the description says bowlegged so maybe it's true maybe it's not true. It is interesting. If that's the way he looked because he will mentioned that you know when you look at me, you might not think I'm impressive Boyd you read my stuff is very very powerful. Not much to look at in person, but quite bold and quite persuasive in his speech and in his letter.
So Paul and introduces himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, not Paul, the great apostle, but Paul a slave. It's one of his favorite titles for himself due to loss is the Greek term called an apostle and I like this separated to the gospel of God before Paul was saved. He was a Pharisee.
He says in Galatians, Philippians, when he writes a letter. I was a Pharisee Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law Pharisee concerning righteousness which comes from the law. I was blameless, perfect.
The word Pharisee means separated potash team is the Hebrew word, it means to be separated and the ideas separated from people separated from activities separated from sinfulness. I live a life of separation from these things very stringent Pharisees prided themselves and in being unlike everybody else separated from them, and so you would see devout Pharisees walking down the streets and if Gentiles were coming their way they would.
The Pharisees would take their robes and place them very tight across their bodies as if to say I won't even get close you are, let my robes rustle in your general direction. You are so stinking to file you Gentile that I'm not going to get cookies from you.
I'm be separated from you, but here Paul, this is a I'm separated from something he says I'm separated to something that's important. A lot of people take refuge in a negative righteousness.
I don't do this. I don't do that and I don't do the other thing cool what you do. What is it you do what you separated unto I think it's possible to have us save the soul, but a lost life.
Your soul is Savior going to happen but you don't do anything with your life are not separated to some grand purpose to be used by God I'm separated to the gospel. I want to make sure people hear this good news. That's what gospel means of Jesus Christ, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Old Testament anticipated the New Testament the prophet Jeremiah and chapter 39 said, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not like the old covenant. So it was promised before in the holy Scriptures. The prophet Isaiah predicts the coming of Christ predicts his sacrifice on the cross in Isaiah 53 concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, God began to promise the Messiah very definitely unmistakably when David was born and began to grow in God began to make a covenant with King David. God appeared to him. God told David that he was going to make a everlasting covenant with them. So one day David this is how it all came about was living in his palace in Jerusalem is the second King.
He's got it made. He's got servants. He's got a nice you know big screen TV.
He's got lots of donkeys in the garage. You know he's got maidservants, etc. and he just looked and I got a good but he looked out any notice the tabernacle, not the temple, the tabernacle, there's a tent outside that they had taken the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle from the house of Obed Edom and moved to Jerusalem, but it stayed a tabernacle attempt and David just said man here I'm living in this great palace in God's living in the tent. He's Now so he brought Nathan in the property goes, Nathan. I've got this idea. I look around I got this palace. I've got it made.
I'm living in in in high on the hog in this beautiful beautiful palatial expression, but God still living in that tent that tabernacle I'm to build got a house on the spare no expense to make him a great house of Nathan the prophet David that's a awesome idea. Do all that is in your heart that night. The Lord woke Nathan up from a sleep and he said Nathan you spoke out of turn. You spoke rashly. You told David do all that is in your heart. I didn't tell David to build me a house. I didn't tell him to build me a temple.
In fact, David can't build me a temple's hands are full of blood. He's a bloodied man is a man of war.
I don't want him building me a temple so you can have to go back and tell him he can't build me at temple. His son will let you go tell him I'm to build him a house, a dynasty, I'm going to use him and his children after him to build a kingdom and everlasting kingdom. Somebody from the house of David will rain upon the throne forever. You go tell him the next day they think of the good David, I'm sorry dude, I spoke out of turn. You chose to do all that is in your heart. God said and can't do that, your Amana blogger not build the temple, but that's the bad news now imitated the good news to build you a houseman is to build you a dynasty and and and and this covenant that God made with him is the idea of of this promise that Paul is mentioning. It was mentioned before in the Old Testament through David. By the time we get to Isaiah that notion is clearly established that the Messiah is going to come somebody is gonna come somebody's gonna be born to fulfill the promise that God made to David.
Brenda was a child is born for unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder and his name will be called wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of peace upon the throne of David to order it and establish it from this time forth, even for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. So it's unmistakable.
God promised a kingdom to somebody from the line of King David.
So that is important to the Jewish mentality because of the promise God made to the Jewish nation and so it's concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, through whom we have received grace unmerited favor undeserved blessing and apostleship. That's what he was called to do.
He was an apostle means I sent out one God sent him out with a task with the mission we received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also you in Rome you believers in Rome are the called of Jesus Christ to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints and a look at the words to be there italicized CM when there italicized means they're not in the original there added by the translators, the translators are trying to get us to make sense of it, but in the original.
It doesn't say you are called to be saints because if we read that especially some of us depending on how we grew up we might start thinking oh well maybe if I do good things and I die and miracles are done after I'm dead in my name and people pray to me, once I'm dead and things happen and the church catalyzes me as a saint, then I'll be a saint but notice take out the words to be since there italicized and not in the original to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints a saint is not a dead person saint is a living person. The word saint means set apart one hog Eos were holy and saint come from the same root word in Greek so you're a saint. I grew up in the Catholic Church.
We had saints that we prayed to saints that had been canonized.
That is not the biblical notion of the St. saints are God's people living so you're a saint I'm a saint in and feel free to call me saints, Skip got a ring to it, don't you think it's biblical to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ know Paul had never been to Rome is anxious to get there is just about to mention his desires long-standing, but it begs the question if Paul is writing to Christians in Rome, and Paul has never been to Rome, then how did the church at Rome get started when started by Paul, probably the church at Rome was started as a result of visitors to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost on the day of Pentecost.
The Bible tells us there were people from all sorts of places in the world, Elamites, Parthians meads, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes so they came they saw they heard the preaching of Peter. They were there on the day of Pentecost they saw the great miracles that took place. Maybe some of them were baptized.
Of the 3000 were baptized that day by the apostles in Jerusalem, and so they were saved in Jerusalem when back to Rome started a church and the church bore fruit and Paul was anxious to to go see them. So in verse eight, is his first I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all. Paul's a Southerner you see for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of the sun that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. Making request if, by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established back to verse eight Paul mentions that he prays for them.
He does that in most of his letters but notice how he begins verse eight is his prayer for them. First he says I thank my God, it's a shame that some of us think of prayer as a crisis event I'm in trouble.
I better pray things get really bad. All we can do is pray first.
I thank God that's first in his prayer activities not I'm in trouble help. First, I think got in everything give thanks also for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Think of how much we have to be thankful for and that is something we should be reminding ourselves of daily and our Thanksgiving should be easily some hundred and three. Bless the Lord, O my soul, let all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases, who rescues your life from destruction who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies who fills your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles gives you food be issued. Tender mercies gives you blessings for giving your sent positive. Think of those things and go thank thank some people here that an ago yeah but it's so much more fun to complain.
I just just my nature man I like to gripe, let me tell you that complaining is not a spiritual gift and when you complain really half the people to hear your complaints don't even care and the other half are glad you finally got what's coming to you. So rather than complaining it's better to be thankful and you know that's something you learn as a Christian. Paul said while he was in jail. He said I've learned in every state whatever state I'm in to be content. You learn that you learn contentment. You learn Thanksgiving. I love the story about the boy who built the little boat he labored long on it.
He glued it up. He painted it up and it was just a perfect day with a light breeze and he took it out to the pond near his house and he set the boat on the pond in the little sales were filled with a slight breeze and it started going across the pond and he just such delight in it is like now.
I've been planning for this day. This is perfect.
But while it was right about in the middle of the lake.
The slight breeze developed into a strong wind and prevailing winds took over, and the little boat sank in instead of complaining and griping. He smiled really big and he goes one a great day to fly a kite and went home got a Skype so that's a that's a good way to to look at life's good day to fly a kite didn't go as I plan but God has in store. So first I thank God. Paul said and then he made request any seven verse 11. I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift that you may be established. In other words, I want to, and I want to serve you. But look at how he adjusts that a little bit verse 12. That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me all the great apostle was never up above telling his audience. You really encourage me. I really need to be together with you.
It's not just me ministering to you which you ministering back to me as well and so he's writing a letter but he longs to see them in their something about writing or texting or emailing. That just isn't satisfying. You can only communicate so much you want out eventually be either I and see the person to get the body language in here the inflection in the intonation of full orbit communication when I was dating my wife before she was my wife. She was my girlfriend Linda.
I lived in Huntington Beach California she lived in Hawaii and Stokes unit in those days they didn't have a wooden like today with the cell phones was very expensive to make a long distance phone call to Hawaii. So it was very sparing but we wrote letters and I still have those letters. I've kept them that correspondence and I go over it.
II realized by the longing in the letters that she just very unsatisfying to just write without being able to see face-to-face. Now of course we have since seen each other face-to-face and the rest is history, but so it was with Paul in the Romans, verse 13.
Now I do not want you to be unaware brother that often I plan to come to you but was hindered until now that I might have some fruit among you also just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise so much of as much as is in me I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. I really want to go to Rome. Paul said, not as a tourist, not as a sightseer but as a fruit bearer on bear fruit among you, I want to do something spiritual in your midst, I want you to encourage me, but I want to really be able to minister to you in the spirit as well. Interesting in verse 14 that phrase. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. Let me unravel. There's a couple of ways you can be in debt.
Number one, you can borrow money from somebody. Now you are in debt to that person. You have to pay off whatever you have borrowed from them and you are in debt to them until you pay it off as a second way you can be in debt, you can be given money from someone for someone else.
1/3 party. At that point, you are a debtor to the third party. You have an obligation, you owe a debt in the way you pay it off as you take the money given to you and not spend it on yourself. You deliver it to them. You are in debt to them until you have given it to them.
That's how Paul uses this phrase. I am a debtor to both Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and unwise and what is the debt. The debt is the gospel. I am in debt to share the message with people, including Romans, and my obligation is to not hoard the gospel to Harold. That's the debt that Skip the message from his series expound to Skip to tell you, you can keep including messages like this coming your way as you help connect others to the good news of Jesus. You can find freedom in the truth of God's word and our goal is to empower folks like you to live out that truth in your everyday life.
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