Or, The Gift of ConformityRomans 1:8-15 September 19, 2021 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

What do you give the city that has everything? As the capital of the Roman Empire, Rome (and her Caesars) didn’t actually have it “all,” but that’s a lot easier to see from our perspective. What would have been harder at the time to see is that the city did have some Christians, and that fact alone was something to celebrate as much as it was surprising. Paul writes to the saints in this moral cesspool (as we’ll read in the second half of Romans 1), to strengthen their grasp of the gift, and because they were strategic to the spread of the gift (Romans 15:24).

Rome was always on Paul’s mind. He writes that the Christians in Rome in particular were always on his mind and in his prayers. He wasn’t just being polite; this is more than Christian-courtesy. He saw them as part of his apostolic charge, those he was to care for and those he was to partner with.

This paragraph communicates his thanks for them, which was typical near the beginning of first-century letters, but, like the previous paragraph, this thanksgiving stands out from the typical.

Amazing Faith (verse 8)

Every letter written by Paul that we have includes some sort of thanks (except his letter to the Galatians who had abandoned the gospel).

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (Romans 1:8)

We will look in vain for a “second” to this First. It happens to Paul a few times where his “first” is an only. This is an ordinal orphan, left all by itself.

The thing at the top of his mind is his gratitude. It is not gratitude to them, but gratitude for all of you and to my God. Hold that in mind for a moment.

The reason he’s thankful is because their reputation as believers had spread throughout all the world. The news of their faith in the announced good news was being announced. The fact of their faith, the fact that the gospel was already bearing fruit that far away from Jerusalem, caused a burst of gratitude.

There’s a lot to read still in the letter, and there’s plenty more about God’s sovereignty. But this thanksgiving to God for the testimony of faith means that the presence of faith and the reputation of that faith was gift. God gave it, that’s why God gets the thanks. If faith came from smarts, Paul might have expressed thanks that they were smart. Even then, we’d still need to ask, where did the smarts come from? And we know from too many other places that without grace, the wisdom of man only finds hell.

This isn’t just Pauline politeness, this is praising God for doing what the Caesars couldn’t coerce nor any man could produce. Look! Even in Rome there is faith in Jesus Christ. Their faith was always on Paul’s mind.

Desire to Visit (verses 9-10)

Verses 9-10 give some explanation of his thanks, with verses 11-13 giving some explanation of the explanation. Paul defends, so to speak, the fervor of his gratitude by arguing from the fervor of his desire to visit them.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (Romans 1:9–10)

The more their reputation of faith spread from Rome the more the apostle to the Gentiles wanted to go to Rome. He didn’t don the aviators and think to himself, “Mission Accomplished”; they were always on his mind.

What they couldn’t see was how serious he was about seeing them. He called God as his witness that they were always on his mind. Paul served this God with this Son proclaimed in this gospel, and when he prayed mentioned them without ceasing and was always..asking God to get him to Ro[...]