Paul’s heart
[Romans 1:8-15]
Have you ever tried to express your feelings in writing? Have you ever sent a letter to someone you love, because you couldn't stand it without writing? I personally had this experience about 10 years ago. In other words, there was a time when I wrote a letter with a heart that couldn’t stand it without writing a letter to a loved one.
I still remember it vividly. When my first baby, Joo-young, was lying in the intensive care unit at the hospital, I heard that a Korean radio station was conspiring to write a letter to a loved one, and I remember writing “To Joo-young, who loves Jesus.” At that time, even though I knew that the sick baby could not receive and read the letter of my heart, I wanted to express the father's feelings for the baby in writing and share it with radio listeners.
If we look at Romans 1:8-15, we see that the apostle Paul, writing a letter to the Romans, expressed his heart toward the saints who belonged to Jesus in Rome, at least in writing. As I read the contents of the letter, I think of Paul's expressed heart and receive a lesson that this should be my heart toward the members of our church. Then, what was Paul's heart toward the Roman saints? We can think of it in 3 ways.
First, when Paul thought of the saints in Rome, he had a grateful heart (a thankful heart).
Look at Romans 1:8 – “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” The reason Paul gave thanks to God when he thought of the saints in Rome was that their faith was spreading all over the world. The faith that the Roman church saints are spreading all over the world was a sufficient reason for Paul to give thanks to the Lord who is the author and perfecter of faith (Moo). The apostle Paul's job was to preach the gospel to all Gentiles for the name of Jesus Christ so that they would believe in and obey Jesus (v. 5). Of course, the saints in Rome were not the people Paul preached the gospel to and believed in and obeyed Jesus. Mostly, scholars think that the gospel was spread in Rome and Roman saints were created because of those who heard the gospel of the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and returned to Rome to preach the gospel. The important thing is that Paul's interest was always the faith of the saints. As an example, in Paul's letter to the Thessalonian saints, he writes that the Thessalonian saints, who are undergoing tribulation (1 Thess. 3:4), for fear that the tempter might have tempted them, and his labor would be in vain (v. 5). So, since he couldn’t endure it no longer, he sent Timothy to find out about their faith. Thankfully, Timothy returned to Paul and told him the good news of the faith and love of the Thessalonian saints (v. 6), and Paul was comforted (v. 7). When we see that Paul said, “now we will live” because the Thessalonian saints stood firm in the Lord (v. 8), we can know that Paul's life is related to the faith of the Thessalonian saints. The reason Paul thanked God when he thought of the Thessalonian saints (1:2) was that he had nothing to say because of their faith was being proclaimed throughout thew whole world (v. 8). When I think of Paul's interest, I can confirm once again that my interest as a pastor should be your faith. Like the saints in Rome, how much comfort and joy it will be when the word about your faith spreads everywhere you go. I can't help but thank God again and again.
I am happy and thankful to God that you are studying the Bible diligently these days, attending the Bible study every Sunday afternoon or the regional Bible study once a month, and learning diligently. The reason is because faith grows when you get close to the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” I hope that all of us will progress in faith as we diligently read, meditate on, and learn the Word of God. Therefore, I hope and pray that gratitude to God overflows more and more in my life and in your life.
Second, Paul prayed without ceasing for the saints in Rome (a prayerful heart).
Look at Romans 1:9 – “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you.” Why did Paul pray to God, remembering the saints in Rome without ceasing? The reason is because Paul loved them. He had a lot of interest in the Roman church saints, so he expressed his interest and love for them in prayer to God. What, then, was Paul's special interest in the Roman saints? It was none other than the faith of the Roman saints. Even though Paul was giving thanks to God for the faith of the Roman saints, he was always praying to God with interest so that their faith would grow and grow.
Personally, when I pray for our church members, I am praying for two things about faith: (1) Just as the Lord opened Lydia's heart to hear Paul's words (Acts 16:14), I’ m praying that He opens the hearts of those who have not yet received Jesus as their Savior when they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and accept Jesus as their Savior. (2) I am praying to God for the progress of their faith when I pray for the saints who have already believed and accepted Jesus.
While praying regularly for the faith of the Roman saints, apostle Paul also prayed for a good way to go to the Roman saints “by the will of God” (Rom 1:10). In other words, he prayed to God not only for the faith of the Roman saints (v. 8), but also with the desire to meet them one last time. However, even in this prayer, Paul continued to pray to God with the attitude of ‘if it is the Lord’s will’. We must also pray to God with this attitude. In other words, we must pray to God saying ‘if it is the Lord’s will’ (Jam.4:15). In order to do that, we must have progress in faith. The more our faith grows, the more our prayers change to “Do not do as I will, but as the Lord will” (Mt.26:39). However, if our faith does not grow, even when we pray, we will keep seeking only ‘my will’. We don't even realize God's will, and we don't care. Therefore, we must pray with each other for the progress of our faith. And in the midst of this, we must seek the will of the Lord and live a life of obedience to His will.
Thirdly, Paul was eager to see the saints in Rome (an earnest heart).
Look at Romans 1:11 – “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established.” There were 3 reasons why the apostle Paul eagerly wanted to see the saints in Rome (vv. 11-15):
- The first reason was to strengthen the Roman saints by imparting “some spiritual gift” to them.
Here, “some spiritual gift” refers to something supernatural (Park). We do not know what the supernatural was, but the important thing is that Paul wanted to strengthen the Roman saints by imparting some spiritual gift. When we stand firm in our faith, we can be comforted by each other's faith (v. 12).
- The second reason is to bring forth fruit among them.
Look at Romans 1:13 – “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.” The apostle Paul longed to see the Roman saints, so he made several attempts to go to Rome. But he had been prevented. The reason he wanted to go out to the Roman saints was because he wanted to bear fruit among them. The fruit here refers to the fruit of evangelism and the believers themselves standing firm in their faith (Moo). In order to bear this fruit, Paul longed to see the Roman saints.
- The third reason is to preach the gospel to them.
Look at Romans 1:15 – “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Paul was eager to preach the gospel to the Roman saints as much as he could. This was Paul's fervent wish (Park). So, he longed to see the Roman saints.
We could say that Jesus Christ is a “letter” from Heavenly Father to us. Jesus Christ, who was sent to this earth for our salvation, wanted to forgive our sins and died on the cross. His death on the cross was the highest expression of God's Father's heart of love toward us. Look at Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Therefore, referring to us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “a letter of Christ” (2 Cor. 3:2-3). We are called to belong to Christ (Rom. 1:6). We are those who have been called as saints loved by God (v. 7). Therefore, if we realize a little more of Heavenly Father's love and His heart today, let's write a heartfelt letter to Him. Let's express through praise, worship and prayer to God our gratitude toward Heavenly Father, our always praying heart to the Lord who always intercedes for us, and our longing to see the Lord.