Romans 1:13-15 - Paul's Gospel Obligation

Romans 1:13-15 - 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.


Message: Eager to preach, eager to share

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying:

Paul wants to assure the people living in Rome that he has wanted to come visit them, but has not been able to make that visit happen. And what he desires is to "obtain some fruit" among them. Fruit is a product of our spiritual growth in Christ. In verse 12, Paul remarks that he desires to be encouraged by the Christians living in Rome. So, into verse 13, his desire is to witness the fruit that has occurred from these people's lives. It is one thing to hear about what God is doing in the live's of His people, but quite another to actually witness what is being done.

From verse 14, we see that Paul acted out his faith out of obligation. Yes, he loved what he did. But, he didn't wait until he felt like being obedient to be obedient. He was commissioned and tasked to preach the gospel. Yes, we have duties and those duties can be delightful. (From Tabletalk, January 7, 2014)

Paul clearly wants to communicate that the Love of Christ and the preaching of the Word is to all people. There is no distinction. The Gospel is to be preached to all people. And I think the gospel is to continued to be preached. He desires to not only encourage these Christians in Rome, to be see their fruit, to pray with them, to thank them in Christ for their message, but he also wants to continue to preach the Gospel. The Gospel is something we just receive one time, but it is something we need to continue to hear preached.
Promise: The Gospel is open to all.