Romans 1:8-17
Romans 1:8-17 (The Global Gospel)
Food for Thought:
An Opportunity for Encouragement • Paul’s “first” in the meat of his letter is to thank God for the faithful followers of Jesus in Rome. He constantly mentions them, and he regularly asks the Lord for the chance to visit them, that he may encourage them, be encouraged, and leave them with a spiritual gift.
Encourage each other! What have you heard (positively!) about the faith of the other people in your group? How is their physical presence an encouragement to you? What spiritual gift do you have that you long to share with or see flourish in your group?
Paul suggests that there’s a way to encourage one another in-person that can’t be done from afar. What do you think he means by this? Have you experienced this (either on the giving end or the receiving end)?
A Plan for Encouragement • Paul has made countless plans to come visit the Romans in person, but he’s been held back for any number of reason so far. He goes out of his way to mention that he’s committed to preaching the gospel to everyone, which maybe explains why he 1) keeps getting sidetracked and 2) is still just as eager to come preach the gospel to them.
Have you ever made plans to minister to someone (visit, grab coffee, have a conversation, do something for them, etc.), only to have those plans fall through? What happened?
When Paul says he’s obligated to both Greeks and barbarians, the wise and the foolish, what does he mean? What is he obligated to do? Why?
Paul says his plan is to come preach the gospel to them. But… they’re already Christians! Why would Paul want to preach the good news to people who already believe?
Does this have implications for how we minister to one another?
An Unembarrassed Encouragement • Paul says he’s not embarrassed of the gospel, because it belongs to God. It’s God’s power that reveals God’s righteousness that leads to faith and life in God.
Are you embarrassed to talk about Jesus? Why? What are you afraid people might think of you? What are you afraid might happen? What’s the worst case scenario?
How does the gospel being all about God - his righteousness revealed - and spreading all because of God - his power to save - relieve you of any of that pressure?
What power do you really have when it comes to salvation - yours or theirs?
Whose righteousness are you pointing to when you talk about the gospel - yours or God’s?
How are you calling people to do the same thing that you have to do: place your faith in him alone?
Paul talks about the revelation of the gospel. It came to the Jews first, then to the Greeks. It reveals the righteousness of God that comes from faith, then pushes us to faith, and finally calls us (who are declared righteous in Christ) to live by faith.
How would this progressive revelation of the gospel speak to the divided nature of the Roman church (Gentile Christianity vs. Jewish Christianity)?