(A) Introduction. Read Rom1v8to17.

In this passage Paul explains why he wants to visit the Roman Christians. He cannot speak to them with the same authority as to the churches that he founded himself. Paul needs to tread carefully as he prepares the way for his visit.

In fact, Paul did not arrive in Rome as planned but as a prisoner. A party of Christians came out to meet him. See Acts28v15and16. In the last verse of Acts we read: Boldly and without hindrance he (Paul) preached the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ. Acts28v31 See exposition on Acts28v11to31.

(B) Paul's gratitude.

(1) Paul thanked God for the Roman's faith.

It was a faith being reported all over the world. v8.

Faith is best understood from its results. I can remember many years ago now a girl failing to do her Geography homework because she had so many other things on. I wrote a brief message in her log book to the effect that it was pity Elizabeth did not have Geography higher up her list of priorities. Elizabeth's mother was into school like a shot - complaining bitterly about that Mr Reed - she knew all about him as he used to teach her! Well I had to see the headmaster who acquainted me with the mother's complaints. In the end I said, "Well what do her children say?" I taught four of them! Her children stood up for me! They believed in me!

It is never easy to understand why some children believe in you and others don't. I can recall taking over a class of 17-year-old girls for just the last year of their A level Geography course. They believed in me almost at once! Although it is difficult to explain the origin of faith it is evident from pupil's behaviour. They are attentive, accepting, responsive, compliant, enthusiastic and motivated by an intense desire to please.

Faith is not a rare, irrational, mysterious quality - it is absolutely essential for the smooth running of society. I turn on a tap in faith, I post a letter in faith, I book a holiday in faith, I take the pills my doctor prescribes in faith, I leave my money in the Building Society in faith, I set out on a journey in faith ..... .

The Roman's had faith in Jesus and Paul is thankful for it because it:

(a) Guaranteed eternal life

(b) Suffered loss. A man could lose his job, his family, his friends and his liberty for being a Christian.

(c) Bore fruit - resulted in good works and a virtuous life as believer's sought to serve and please Jesus.

(d) Bound them together. The Roman Christians were united in Christ.

(2) Paul thanked God through Jesus for their faith.

Paul thanked God for the transformed lives of the Romans that was a consequence of what Jesus was doing for them through their faith. Their transformed lives were down to Jesus' saving work at Calvary and the gift of his Spirit. Paul thanked God through Jesus because it was through him that the Roman Christian's faith became effective.

I love the story of the prostitute weeping over the feet of Jesus in Simon the Pharisee's house. She dried his feet with her hair and then poured precious perfume over them. Jesus said to the woman: "You faith has saved you; go in peace." Lk7v50. It wasn't just her faith that saved her! She was saved because Jesus accepted her, changed her and made her whole.

I have listened to many testimonies on BBC Songs of Praise - they are stories of faith but more significantly that are accounts of what Jesus has done for men and women whose lives has been in a mess. It is God's grace and Christ's mercy that bring a tear to my eye.

(3) Paul's gratitude was meant to encourage the Roman Christians.

It is good sometimes to let people know that we are grateful for what they are and what they do. If you have had cause to thank God for someone's articulate faith, fearless faith or joyful faith then tell them about it. It is wonderful to be aware that there are people who thank God for you! I thank God for some of my Christian brothers and sisters: Peter for his joyfulness, Marion for her kindness, Joseph for his dedication, Ruth for her cheerfulness, Eileen for her faithfulness - all a result of their faith in Jesus.

I have been encouraged when readers have expressed appreciation of my website, pupils of my assemblies and mourners of funerals that I have conducted.

Christians all take heart from positive reinforcement of their work and witness. Encouragement is a bit like fertiliser - it makes us grow stronger.

(C) Paul's prayer.

It was:

(1) Constant.

He constantly remembered the church at Rome in his prayers. There were many he knew there as is evident from the last chapter of his epistle. One can imagine him praying that God would help them in their difficulties and giving thanks for the great blessing of continuous church growth.

One of the advantages of belonging to a small association of churches like I do is that every week one church is singled out to be prayed for by all the others. Church secretaries are circulated by email with up to date requests for prayer.

It is good to use the news bulletins in Christian publicans to pray for persecuted churches in countries like Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, China and the like. Sometimes we can give God thanks for remarkable church growth as for example in Cuba and Brazil.

(2) Inclusive.

Paul did not restrict his prayers to the churches he founded. We know he prayed for all of them but he prayed for the Roman church too. Paul knew that the churches he founded did not belong to him. There were no Pauline churches or Petrine churches or Johannine churches - they were all Christ's churches.

It is a pity Christians today are not more inclusive.

(3) Specific.

Paul prayed specifically that he would be able to visit the Roman church. It was something he very much wanted to do for a long time but had been hindered by other responsibilities. The apostle recognised the importance of mutual encouragement.

When I was young inter-church fellowship was much more common among Grace Baptists than it is today. There were Sunday School Anniversaries, Fellowship of Youth visits and house parties, rallies and special services. I can't say that I was a devotee of some of these but in retrospect I can see their value. It was an encouragement to meet with Christians from other churches. I was certainly strengthened by working at Pioneer camp with young Christians from a variety of backgrounds.

I fear there is a tendency today for the larger churches to be self-sufficient in terms of fellowship. The members don't feel the need to fellowship with other churches. It is significant that the churches with the smallest representation at the united prayer meetings held in my association are the largest ones.

If Paul, that great and valiant evangelist, felt the need for wider fellowship I think there is something wrong with us if we feel no such need.

(D) Paul's desire.

Paul desired to:

(1) Strengthen.

(a) Paul expected to strengthen the Christians at Rome by his faith - his zeal, courage and confidence. If his epistle to the Philippians was written from Rome then his presence among them did strengthen the Roman believers. He wrote: Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God courageously and fearlessly. Phil1v14.

I know that the assemblies I gave at the secondary school at which I taught strengthened the children who came from Christian homes and attended church.

Paul also expected the faith of the Romans to strengthen him. He had a certain humility. He believed the fellowship at Rome had something to offer him. Today there are armies of consultants and advisers who give the impression they know all the answers. They waltz into an organisation with little intention of learning from what goes on in it - but professing to be the ones with the knowledge of best practice. As a teacher I never met an adviser who had any intention of learning anything from me!

There are some successful Christian leaders just like that. They are the experts - God has blessed them - so sit up and pay attention. Humility is in very short supply.

(b) Paul also expected to strengthen the church at Rome by winning others for Christ. He planned many times to go to Rome in order, to use his own words, that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among other Gentiles. v13.

Many of our churches cry out for someone like Paul - an effective evangelist - to visit for weeks and months to build up the local fellowship through conversions.

I have to point out that Paul worked by and large in cities where there was a large population. He usually started witnessing to Jews and Gentile proselytes to Judaism. Converts then doubtless brought family, friends and neighbours to his meetings. That is probably how he would operate in our towns today.

Little of this happens in our day and age. Evangelists are in short supply and few if any follow Paul's example of working for extended periods in a town before moving on. He also revisited the churches he founded - doing all he could to nurture them.

I am afraid that several of the larger churches in Britain and the United States grow at the expense of smaller churches. They just sweep in ready-made converts. The conversions that do occur tend to be the children of Christian members of the congregation.

(2) Discharge a debt.

I am bound (indebted) both to the Greek and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

This appears a very strange thing to write. How was Paul indebted to unsaved Greeks and barbarians with whom he had no previous contact?

We need to remember that Paul's conversion experience coloured his thinking - and to a certain extent his theology. He undoubtedly believed that he had been saved for a purpose. This is evident in his testimony before Agrippa. See Acts26v12to20. Paul believed he was saved to take the gospel to the Gentiles. His salvation was a consequence of their need and God's determination to meet it. So in this sense Paul was indebted to the Gentiles and felt compelled to discharge his duty by preaching the gospel to them.

There are four things Paul writes about the gospel in this passage:

(a) He was confident of its appeal to all sorts. I am bound to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. v14. Paul knew that the gospel could change the cultured, educated Greek speaking class and the illiterate, ignorant barbarian. He had witnessed it bring into God's kingdom a shrewd, successful business woman like Lydia and a simple, coarse fellow like the Philippian jailer.

It is wonderful that the gospel retains its attraction to all conditions of men and women: men of every race, culture and class, both the successful and unsuccessful, the creative and uncreative, giants of industry and humble cleaners, the beautiful and the deformed, the charming and the boorish.

(b) He was eager to proclaim it. He wrote: That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. v12.

The gospel seemed to bring Paul nothing but grief. His was a ministry of hard knocks. The apostle was chased out of Psidium Antioch, imprisoned and beaten in Philippi, hustled out of Thessalonica, scorned in Athens, vilified by Demetrius the silver smith in Ephesus leading to a hurried departure. Paul lists of catalogue of woes in his second letter to Corinth.

But, in spite of his many setbacks, Paul remains eager to preach the gospel. Fervour and dedication are the mark of all the great evangelists. See exposition on Judges13.

(c) He was not ashamed of it. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness of God is revealed.

What was the gospel Paul preached? He nowhere writes: This is the gospel that I preach; and then proceeds to clearly and concisely declare it. We have just one of Paul's sermons in the New Testament. See exposition on Acts13. In his sermon Paul proclaimed Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and described his death and resurrection. He asserted that as a consequence of these two events anyone who believed in Jesus would be forgiven their sins and put right with God in a way the Law of Moses could never do. See also exposition on 1Cor15v1to11.

One has to read Paul's epistles for an explanation of why Jesus death saves from sin and his resurrection is essential for eternal life. Later chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans does clarify why he preached Christ and him crucified.

At this juncture I will just attempt to explain what Paul meant by verses 16 and 17 in this passage. This is not easy as there is such a wide divergence of views among the commentators. I believe Paul is saying:

• The gospel declares that Jesus can save. He can save both from the short and long term consequences of sin. Jesus can save from a life messed up by sin: a sad life, a lonely life, an empty life, a hate-filled life, a ruined life and a loathed life. Jesus saves from present dissatisfaction and despair. He also saves from the ultimate consequence of sin, God's condemnation and eternal destruction.

  The simple message that Jesus saves has power in itself. There are people who want to be saved and will respond to the gospel. Furthermore it is given added power by the Holy Spirit. D.L. Moody said, "The gospel is like a caged lion. You just need to open the door and get out of the way."

• The gospel is news that Jesus can put men right with God. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed. The saving work of Jesus opens up the possibility of being acquitted of sin and pronounced not guilty. God is prepared to justify us; to declare us without sin and to accept us as righteous. So men and women can be reconciled to God and included in his family. This is all of God's grace.

• The gospel promises that Jesus by the gift of his spirit can so change lives that men and women live to please God. The righteous will live by faith. If we obey and serve Jesus we shall become righteous by word and deed.

(d) The gospel is made effective through faith. It results in a righteousness that is by faith from first to last just as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith."

Just as there are two kinds of righteousness mentioned in this passage - a righteousness or justification that is imparted AND a righteousness or holy living that is practised, so there are also two kinds of faith.

• There is a submissive faith. Paul writes that there is salvation for everyone who believes ..... a righteousness that is by faith. Faith of this sort is the MEANS whereby we accept what Jesus has done for us and can do for us. It often does not amount to much: a cry for help, a final desperate appeal, the ultimate abandonment of control, an admission of defeat, a tentative decision. But it does involve a yielding to Jesus.

  Saving faith is something we have to exercise for ourselves. It is not something God implants in us. Cataracts are beginning to develop in both my eyes. A time is coming when I shall need to consult an eye surgeon. He will doubtless tell me that he can perform a simple operation to replace the lenses in my eyes. All I have to do is have faith in him, trust that he is competent and submit to his treatment. If I said to the eye specialist, "I'll have the operation but first you must give me faith," he would think I was totally unreasonable. Faith is something the surgeon expects of me. It is something I have to produce myself. Too many people in Calvinistic churches wait for God to give them faith and never believe in Jesus.

  Submission to Jesus does not earn salvation or entitle the sinner to it. Faith is simply the means by which we benefit from God's grace and Christ's mercy. Salvation is only possible because God accepted Christ's sacrifice of himself for the sins of the world.

• There is active faith. The righteous will live by faith. Christians live holy lives insofar as they accept Jesus as Lord. This is what James means when he claims that faith without works is dead. See exposition on James2v14to25.

  If we believe in Jesus, if we have faith in him, then we will follow and obey him. We don't just submit to him as Saviour but serve him as Lord. Faith of this sort is a virtue. It is commended in Scripture. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews commends the heroes of the Old Covenant for their faith in God shown by their works for God.

  Salvation is both a gift and a prize. See 2Tim4v6to8. Paul may seem to emphasise God's grace in salvation but he does not neglect the importance of living righteously. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2Cor5v14and15.