Lesson 62a

I think that might have been my longest prayer request. Who do I see out there in the red carpet room? Well, I know I see Mike, but oh, who's that in the back? Look at Courtney back there. We got, we got Brian. Brian's over here. Uh-huh. Donna. Erica. Who's off, I can't see who's off to the left there. To your right, Courtney. Erica. Oh, Erica. Here it is, sitting here. And then the prettiest one in the room, Donna. I was going to say Brian. Yeah, I might have kind of just did a little bit of a sucking up there. I want to make sure she has that appreciated. Hey, it's my job to make sure that it's appreciated. Well, good to see all you guys. We're going to jump into Lesson 62. We're looking at Chapter 15 of Romans this morning, verses 24 through 33. So I'd like to have someone read. I know Kathy is pretty quick to do that, so you don't get to do that, Kathy. It's too fast. Someone read.

1524 233 if you have it Whenever I journey to Spain I shall come to you for I hope to see you on my journey and to be helped on my way There by you at first I May enjoy your company for a while, but now I'm going to Jerusalem to minister to the Saints and For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed that they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed it to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain.

But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and may be refreshed together with you. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. All right. Thanks, Mike.

Question number one, what was the, and this is the big part of this question, what was the determining factor as to where Paul would preach the gospel? Was it the same reason he wanted to go to Spain? We might back up to verse 23 where he says, But now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you. So, what's the determining factor here?

What's going on, do you think, in Paul's desires? One's fellowship, I think. One thing. Yep, I think you're right. So this is Paul's desire to go to, Mike mentioned the virgin territory last week. What we mean by that is they haven't heard. They're unbelieving, right? They haven't had an opportunity to hear the message that he held. And so moving into different territories was a great desire from Paul, but what's the deal about Spain?

I think that the determining factor is that the Holy Spirit was 100% in charge of where Paul was going, and that Paul had desires to see brothers that he loved, but he was He was going where the Holy Spirit was going to lead him. And if he was going to take chains off of him or release him from jails or rescue him from the deep, it was so cool in his life. And that's what I see is that he had wishes, but the Holy Spirit pretty much led him everywhere he needed to go.

And maybe he never got to Spain because the Holy Spirit did not want him going there. He finished maybe in Rome. I don't know that we know that. Yeah. Maybe he had such a desire to see them. And Spain, he would have to see them first before he got to Spain. So that was just expeditious perhaps. And I think that also along with that, that here he's following, as was said, the Holy Spirit.

But how is it the Great Commission says you take this Gospel into Judea and and Jerusalem and Judea and all the world, you know, so he's kind of ready to go to the farthest reach, you know, of the Western world at that time, you know. Yeah, ends of the earth.

So if we look at, could somebody look up 1 Corinthians 3, 5 through 10, or actually all of you if you have your Bible close to you, and we're just going to read through that. I think there's some interesting parallels to what's going on in Paul's mind and what this verse has to say. I'll read it, but I want to make sure you have it. So it's 1 Corinthians 3, 5-10.

And it says, what then is Apollos, and what is Paul? Servants through whom you believe, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. And this is important, I planted, that's Paul, Apollos watered. But, this is important, but God was causing the growth. Very key. That's what I would circle in that verse if it were me. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth. Now, he who plants and he who waters are one. That's also very interesting. They are one.

But each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace, is that word? He wrote for us, of God which is given to me like a wise master builder. I lay a foundation and another is building on it.

But each man must be, and this is important, careful how he builds on it. What do you think that word careful means? We've talked about builders, we've talked about Apollos watering, Paul planting, God causing the growth, but then, and then the grace and And then you get to this word at the end of verse 10, careful. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. Well, the New King James has it, let each one take heed how he builds on it.

Okay. That's basically the same meaning, just in different wording. Mm-hmm. No, it's helpful. Why should there be heed or carefulness in how each man must build? Well, the teaching has to be centered on Christ. So if someone starts teaching something that isn't really focused on Jesus, then it can cause harm.

I agree. Yeah, I think there was a statement that the word, at least in the New American Standard for verse 10, there's another word there, like a wise master builder. And I was thinking about the word wisdom a little bit when I looked at this, and I read something recently that said that knowledge is like silver and wisdom is like gold. If you take that analogy, how does that affect the understanding that you have of this verse? So there's knowledge, and then there's wisdom. And like a wise master builder, I laid the foundation, and another is building on it, but each man must be careful how he builds on it."

There's some interesting concepts there that I think are driving, I mean, Paul, these are his words in a different book of the scriptures. I think they relate to the very things that are going on in the background of his mind during his desires to go to Spain. And really, he's looking to pioneer, you know, church planning. I mean, that's what he is. He's the initial pioneer. And maybe some of us have been involved in that in various ways, but he's looking to use very much the grace that God has given him, which is a new message. Obviously, he's wanting to water, as he talks about in verse 6, he's planting, he's trusting that others may water, he's full of wisdom. And then he comes back to this, be careful how you build on it. And so it just became an interesting question to me. I have a comment. The foundation is obviously back up in verse 6 when he talked about, I planted.

That was his job. He was a planter. That was what he was supposed to do. And then Apollos' job was to be a waterer. He was to help the plant grow. Or he was, if you put it in the metaphor of a building, Paul laid the foundation. And Apollos was the guy who began to build up from the foundation. And I think the carefulness here has a lot to do with, number one, what has God called you to do within the body? Are you a planter? Are you a waterer?

Are you, you know, we should know, I think we should know where we fit in the body in terms of our involvement with it. And we should be careful about like the old saying, like the commercial says, stay in your lane, bro. We should focus on what God has called us to do and not get into somebody else's because we think, oh, that looks interesting to me. The focus is on the body of Christ and what your role is in being involved in the growth of it. And I think that's what the carefulness is all about. You should know and you shouldn't get out of your lane, so to speak. Well, it's funny that you say that. Maybe I have just a slight variation of thought around it. Okay. Sometimes you're planting and sometimes you're growing, but it doesn't mean that you don't have a bit towards one of those directions.

Right. know, involved in the mission work for, you know, five years and recognizing that I was, I was, I did not know what was coming about after I had shared the good news, right? I mean, I had I really didn't know how it would affect folks. I saw them come to believe, so I thought, and later years, I received letters, and all of a sudden I'm turning into, I'm watering the message that was initially received years and years later, and it was very interesting. So I think, I don't know that, I think there's definitely process.

I think that's what God is trying to communicate through Paul here, is that there's a process of each individual and they have a different role, but he ultimately does the work. And that's where he's causing the growth. And whether Here's one of the things that I took away from this, from a personal perspective. Whether you're planting or watering, whatever the case you might be in at that particular point in time, that lane that you're in, you are not ultimately responsible for the growth, is the Lord.

And you get to benefit from that. That's what's really cool. And the whole portion of this last bit of chapter 15 in Romans has everything to do with Paul just super excited about getting somewhere and being able to communicate, in this case it was Spain, and being able to share what he had been given and letting God do the work and the growth and witnessing it. And I think that's one of the cool parts that I came away with.

I'm only on question one, so I'm really sorry. J.D., another thing, too. I think it's not only, you know, your role, but I think it's also, is it your ministry or his ministry? I think it's really the careful bit is also warning that it's the personal aspect that Apollos was, you know, people were flocking to Apollos or, you know, it was his ministry and that. I think the carefulness is also that it's realizing that it is God who creates the growth and it's the Holy Spirit that's ultimately the one enacting the work and getting that prideful or selfish aspect of it out, being careful that you don't get a big head that you go to wherever and start a ministry, and that's your ministry, and it's the Lord's ministry. And I think the carefulness is also that, that I need to follow this and that, because people are starting to you know, point to Apollos and this and that, and I think what Paul was trying to say is it's not. You're just a part of it, but God is ultimately the one who is in control of the ministry, and I think that's just an aspect of carefulness too, that it's, that you don't, that it doesn't become your ministry. Yeah. How often have we heard the term, my ministry? Yeah. The ministry is X. I want to add one more thing.

I think that Carefulness also tends towards what Miles Stanford used to call suitable truth. In other words, if you're a waterer, one of the things you should be aware of is, well, what truth is suitable right now? In other words, if you got saved last week, the first class you don't want to go to is Ephesians.

So for those who are planters and waterers, awareness of where your audience is, is I think a critical thing. And you should teach them where they are rather than, you know, you can be ahead of them a little bit, but I think you have to be cognizant. Are they eating the food that you're giving them? Are they drinking the water that you're giving them and is it helping them? A lot of times I've seen where especially guys that have seminary training, they want to lay all their seminary knowledge on somebody without ever considering, well, I wonder if they'll get it. I wonder if it will edify them or not. I think that's a really important point.

Yeah, I would agree with that, Mike. And Courtney, I think what you had to say there was really important as well. It's not our ministry, and there needs to be a carefulness with regards to the truth that you laid out in front of, I believe, Miles? Yeah, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt.

I just wanted to, on that point of truth, when I hear, you know, wise builders, I was building a shed with my brother one time who was a carpenter. And I've been going along with my level, you know, getting everything through. And then he showed me, flipped my level over and said, see, it's out of, you know, this level doesn't work. You know, I was building my whole set on the basis of this level being true. And it just reminds me of the, you know, careful builder. What are you basing what you're building on? The Word of God is the true standard.

That's a good one. I hope Tim and Kathy, I'm going to get get your thoughts here in a second, but I wanted to say to Miles, did you get a new level? It took me about five years before I pulled out the wallet. That's funny. That's a good analogy, Miles. Thank you.

Kathy? Well, you know, what came to mind for me is that this is a warning to the entire church, not just to a particular local church, because if you read down further, it's like every man's work will be made manifest. So there are these preachers out there who are preaching wrong messages and they're building wrong on the foundation. So, I mean, this is just a warning at large.

Yeah, no, I totally agree. We were kind of talking about that a little bit before the class started. It doesn't take much time to get off of the basics of what the scripture has to say around the gospel, and you can jump from grace to legalism really quickly, and that's one of the things that Paul was very much not wanting to see happen, because he'd been through it. He'd been through the League of Six Sided Things, and grace was the result of his time with the Lord, the time that he spent with Christ, and it was something that he protected. So I think of all of those things in relationship to these verses, but let's look at question number two. I think Mike had expected that this would be a short amount of verse.

Anyway, the Holy Spirit took us somewhere different, right Mike? Yes, he did. So, Paul in verses 25 to 27, what was the reason for going to Jerusalem? What was that reason? He says to serve the saints. What does that mean? Well, he was going to deliver a contribution. for the people who are struggling, poor, hungry. All right, question number three. This is Jim. Jim nailed it. Yeah. You're exactly right.

It was a deliberate act of God, wasn't it? I mean, and that's what, like Jimmy said earlier, we don't know if he got to Spain, but we know all of his desires had to do with the deliberate acts of love and grace. And one of the things I'll say about the word love and grace is that, kind of tried to communicate it, is that they're really two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, you have the love of God, which is a direct attribute. But as a result of his love, he is gracious. And they cannot be separated from one another. They're both parts of the same. And even more important to that is the fact that we're talking about a person. It's not just attributes.

And I've told you my Sergei Louis, which stands for sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, omniscience, omnipotence, et cetera, et cetera. That's good, it'll help you remember the attributes, but if you forget that it's from a person, and it's about a person, then those attributes become less important, I think, in my mind.

But yeah, Paul was directly connected with the very person of the Lord Jesus, and he was so anxious, and in a good way, he wanted to deliver this message and he had a deliberate act of love with regards to what he wanted to see folks have an opportunity to understand. So, yeah, anyway, so in verse 27, question number 3, what are the motivations, and I think that's the key word, what are the motivations for the Gentiles to give so generously to the saints in Jerusalem? We're working on five minutes, so you're going to have to work fast. It seems like that there was a debt, because we had helped them in spiritual things, and so they would minister to them in the material. I like that. I like that way that you put that, Kathy.

I think the word debtor, or debt, Why did the Gentile Christians have a debt to Jewish believers? Well, it was because of the Jews that Jesus came and the truth about salvation and without that they would have never come to faith in Christ without the Jews. Okay.

So there's also the aspect of gratitude and that creates somewhat of a debt in the heart. All the original proclaimers of the gospel were all Jewish. You know, the Twelve Apostles, Paul, all of them, and there weren't very many Gentiles until Apollos and a few others came along. So they knew that the message came from Jewish people but also the Messiah was Jewish and the person that they focused on was God's chosen one who was Christ the Savior and so that's who they ministered was him and his work and that the debt of gratitude I think from the Gentiles to the back to Jewish people was the fact that they actually shared the information you know Do you think there was a, and I agree with what you're saying there, Mike, do you think there was a rift between Gentile and Jewish believers and that Paul had a specific, and to quote Courtney, ministry from God to close that distance between the two and to create, and that had something to do with this idea of debtor?

That's a good question. And I don't know if, you know, there was, based on the Book of Galatians and other places, there certainly was an issue of the Judaizers trying to inflict the law on the Gentiles. But I don't, you know, I don't know if that was a two-way street. I don't know if the Gentiles looked back towards the Jews with any animosity.

No, just the thought that, you know, probably the message that Paul was talking about also, you know, from what Mike had said, you know, they were probably keenly aware that, you know, the Savior came through the Jewish line and all the things that Mike had said, but I think there was also, Paul would probably be relating on, that the Jews or the Christians in Jerusalem were being persecuted and that the indebtedness was Paul probably letting them know that they've been thrown out.

If you're thrown out of the synagogue, you're pretty much you know, on your own in Jerusalem. So I'm sure Paul related on to them about the persecution and to help them out because I don't think you can get a job, you couldn't do anything if you were thrown out of the synagogue. So I'm sure some of that indebtedness was Paul saying, hey, you know, where this all started in Jerusalem, those believers are being persecuted. So I'm sure there was some of that related on to him and that indebtedness for them you know, starting in Jerusalem and going as, you know, the gospel was spread, that it started in Jerusalem there. So I think Paul probably related some of that on, and that's the indebtedness. No, that's really good. Jim, could you just share one with the red carpet room there, the last thought you had there? I just want to make sure that they got to hear it. Yeah, sure.

I was just thinking that Paul is doing exactly what God wanted Israel to do all throughout the Old Testament. He's the only one that's doing it. The other apostles, the Jewish apostles, were ministering to the Jews, but Paul was doing what God wanted them to do. He wanted all the law. Yeah, that's right. Awesome. This is fun. I wasn't sure where some of these verses would take us. I know I'm at time, but I'm very thankful for all of you and thankful for your thoughts. Some good stuff there.

So let's close in prayer and we'll move on to the rest of the main service and such. So Father, we thank you for just this conversation that we've been able to have today. It's wonderful to spend time with believers and to talk about your word and to understand what you're up to and what you've been doing in time and what you continue to do. You continue to allow us the opportunity through your own ministry as a vessel to plant into water and we are so joyful and thankful that you are the one that causes the growth and we always have the opportunity to look to you for what happens in others' lives with regards to the salvation that you've offered to us. And so, Lord, we thank you that you're the one that's building. We thank you for your grace. And Lord, I just pray that we might continue to be careful as we work within the gifts that you've given us in order to build the church that you have. in mind, and most of all, Lord, your love and your grace. You are a personal and a loving God, and so we thank you for that.