Bible Study: Romans 1:8-15

Romans 1:8-15 Paul’s Commendation & Desire to Serve the Roman Christians

1. Thanks & Commendation (1:8)

• Paul give thanks through Christ (1:8a)--It is Christ who empowers not the flesh, so He must receive the glory for what occurs 
  
• He gives thanks because of the broad dissemination of the faith of Roman Saints (18b)
  
• This is an incredible commendation just a couple decades after the ascension of Christ because the Gospel has already reached and become entrenched into the heart of the Pagan Empire of Rome itself!
  

2. Paul’s Passion to Meet & Serve the Roman Believers (1:9-15)

• Paul passionately and unceasingly prays to come to the Roman Saints (1:9-10)
  

             A. He appeals to God as his witness (1:9a) to intensify the reality of His constant praying to see them
             B. His service to God is best rendered as absolute worship in preaching Christ in the spirit and not the weak wavering desires of the flesh (1:9b). 
             C. Paul is praying without cease (1:9c-10a) to be with the Roman believers--the double emphasis of without ceasing and always praying magnifies this desire.
             D. Though He wants to be meet them, He ultimately appeals the to will of God, lest he overstep his bounds (1:10b).  In such times, we must likewise rest in God’s Sovereign Will as we appeal to Him.

• Why Paul wants to meet the Roman Saints (1:11-12)
  

             A. Paul has a great desire to impart some spiritual gift to them to strengthen them (1:11)
             B. This spiritual gift is not referring to a gift that God gives every believer by the work of the Spirit upon belief, for this is granted by God. As believers, they already had the spiritual gifts.  Rather, it is referring to Paul’s desire to impart the use of his spiritual gifts for their benefit through preaching, serving, etc.
             C. He desires to be mutually encouraged with them, both their faith and his (1:12). Paul was not a lone-ranger Christian, for he needed encouragement as well. Likewise, we are not long-rangers; the body of Christ is a body and works together as a unit. 

• Paul’s Current Hindrance To All Nations and Desire for Fruit (1:13-14)
  

             A. Paul continues to emphasize his desire to come to Rome but has been prevented thus far (13a), yet he wants Fruit from the Roman Believers as from the rest of the Gentile believers he has already encountered (1:13b).
             B. He is under obligation to all walks of life, so Paul continues as he has until the Lord opens a door to Rome (1:14).
             C. The Gospel is not reserved to one particular ethnicity or class of people: Greeks and Barbarians; wise and foolish.  (They were called Barbarians because when the spoke it sounded like gibberish bar-bar).

• Paul’s Eagerness (1:15)

              A. Paul’s eagerness is best understand as a passionate zeal to spread the gospel with a fervent attitude of unwavering service.