This week we are going to finish up the book of Romans. That means we will have to cover the rest of chapter 15 and all of chapter 16. This should be doable since much of what he has to say is his final greetings and travel plans.
Romans 15:14–22
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” 22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
In light of all the theology and practical application that Paul has just talked through in this letter he reminds them of the confidence that he has in them. He is confident that they will be successful. They are full of good will and knowledgeable enough to teach one another. Yet he needed to write to them boldly about some points that they needed correction on. He does this he says, because of the grace God gave him to be a minister to the Gentiles. Paul clearly viewed his calling from God to be the minister to the Gentiles. This is likely why he took such an interest in the situation in Rome. The nature of their conflict revolved around how the Gentiles would be brought into the people of God. He is yet to be there, but as we will see the rest of this week he knows many of the Christians in Rome.
First, we should note how he describes his calling—a grace God has given him (Acts 9:15-16; Rom. 1:1-17). One could easily argue this was less of a grace and more of a curse. Reading the book of Acts we see Paul constantly on the run from mobs heckling him, being thrown in prison, beaten, penniless, working tirelessly, etc (2 Cor. 11:16-33). In spite of all of this he considered his calling a grace God had given him. Paul's life and calling are a reminder to us that the will of God in our lives may not always look like open doors and smooth seas. It may often be filled with challenges and trials but a grace nonetheless.
Paul's mission is to present the Gentiles to God as a fragrant offering (v. 16). By using this language Paul likely views his ministry as being a fulfillment of Isaiah 66:20 which says,
"Isaiah 66:20 20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the LORD. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels.
Verses 18 and 19 give us a glimpse into how Paul viewed his ministry to work. It is Christ who works through him to bring the Gentiles to obedience (ie. them coming to saving faith in Jesus). The sequence of phrases following likely build on each other. The meaning then is the obedience of the Gentiles was accomplished by what he said and did. What he said and did was effective because it was supported by signs and wonders. The signs and wonders were accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. So he fully credits God for whatever success he has achieved as an apostle to the Gentiles.
Finally, for today we see that Paul viewed his ministry as primarily being a trailblazer in new communities where the gospel has not yet been preached. He has accomplished this in cities from Jerusalem to Illyricum We will talk about this more tomorrow.
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Reflection
What has God called you to do in this world. As we talked about in our last campaign on the redemptive life, how has he gifted you to make something of this world? How has he called you to point people towards Jesus? Whatever it is that God has called you to do, pursue it with joy and purpose, viewing it as a gift of grace that has given you.