Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Fifteen
PAUL’S SHEPHERD HEART
Scripture Reading: verses 25-33
BUT NOW I GO UNTO JERUSALEM TO MINISTER UNTO THE SAINTS. FOR IT HATH PLEASED THEM OF MACEDONIA AND ACHAIA TO MAKE A CERTAIN CONTRIBUTION FOR THE POOR SAINTS WHICH ARE AT JERUSALEM. IT HATH PLEASED THEM VERILY; AND THEIR DEBTORS THEY ARE. FOR IF THE GENTILES HAVE BEEN MADE PARTAKERS OF THEIR SPIRITUAL THINGS, THEIR DUTY IS ALSO TO MINISTER UNTO THEM IN CARNAL THINGS. WHEN THEREFORE I HAVE PERFORMED THIS, AND HAVE SEALED TO THEM THIS FRUIT, I WILL COME BY YOU INTO SPAIN. AND I AM SURE THAT WHEN I COME UNTO YOU, I SHALL COME IN THE FULNESS OF THE BLESSING OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. NOW I BESEECH YOU, BRETHREN, FOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST’S SAKE, AND FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPIRIT, THAT YE STRIVE TOGETHER WITH ME IN YOUR PRAYERS TO GOD FOR ME; THAT I MAY BE DELIVERED FROM THEM THAT DO NOT BELIEVE IN JUDEA; AND THAT MY SERVICE WHICH I HAVE FOR JERUSALEM MAY BE ACCEPTED OF THE SAINTS; THAT I MAY COME UNTO YOU WITH JOY BY THE WILL OF GOD, AND MAY WITH YOU BE REFRESHED. NOW THE GOD OF PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL.
It could be said that strictly speaking, the above verses of chapter 15 close the Epistle. In the sixteenth chapter we have what might be termed a letter of commendation wherein Paul commends certain brethren to the saints at Rome and closes with an excellent benediction.
In these passages we have a little deeper insight into the heart of Paul himself. Since Paul was an apostle, there is a danger of regarding him as being a great churchman, standing in the aloofness of his ecclesiastical dignity, unapproachable by ordinary Christians. This is far from the truth. In the religious world today we are encouraged to hold church leaders in a kind of holy reverence, so much so that often we forget the affectionate side of the character of a great man like Paul. Notice his yearning to go to Jerusalem, not in order that he might stage a great campaign in the Jewish stronghold, but that he might minister unto the saints.
It shows what a revolution had taken place in Paul’s life. There was a time when, as Saul of Tarsus, he was arrogantly proud and jealous of his ecclesiastical dignity. But the Lord of Glory shone down on his benighted head and taught him the great truth of the Body of Christ. The Lord had said to him, “Why persecutest thou Me?” The Lord was referring to the humble followers of the Lord Jesus whom Paul was seeking and causing to be slain. Suddenly on that Damascus Road, Saul of Tarsus realized that the very men and women whom he despised with all his heart were actually a part of the Lord Jesus whose voice he was listening to out of the heavens. There began what he later calls, “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Now, every Christian that came within the realm of Paul’s acquaintance was, in fact, a part of the Lord Jesus. That is why he speaks of them as being saints.
The word “saints” is a term that is common to the Lord’s people. Paul speaks of us as being “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” In matchless grace, God has set apart certain men and women because of their faith in Christ. They are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, sanctified by that Spirit, and marked with the mark of destiny for eternal blessing. These Paul calls “saints.” He yearns not to shake the citadel of Jerusalem, the proud religious center, but to minister to the saints. Paul’s passion for Christians is unspeakably admirable. How often we hear the term, “a passion for souls,” used in relation to the unconverted, and having a passion for lost souls is without a doubt a rare grace indeed. But how seldom do we find Christian men and women who have a passion for the souls of their fellow believers. It takes the shepherd heart to love the sheep. There is a certain amount of glory that is probably going to be reflected on those who lead unconverted men and women to know the Lord, but the ministry of Christ to the saints, the shepherding of the flock is a kind of humdrum, colorless, and often thankless task. It’s a true saying, “It takes a greater Christian to be a shepherd than to be a fisherman.” Paul was both and of course that is the ideal. Simon Peter started as a fisher of men but finished as a shepherd.
Once again showing the greatness of the apostle, Paul actually takes the trouble to mention in this Epistle to the Romans, “a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” This identifies the object of Christian charity from the viewpoint of apostolic Christianity. It was not the “poor in Jerusalem" but "the poor saints in Jerusalem" who were the objects of this charity, reminding one of the words of Jesus regarding "these my brethren” (Matt. 25:40), such words are limiting the obligation of the church, at least in some degree, to the poor Christians, and not to the poor generally. (see last lesson, “Paul – The Pioneer”)
The poverty of his fellow believers touched the heart of the apostle as much as the unbeliever’s darkness touched him. He makes a fine commendation of those brethren at Macedonia and Achaia who had a part in being kind to the poor in Jerusalem. These brethren who had donated of their means were Gentiles, and evidently the poor saints were Jewish. What a commendable gesture even in Paul’s day, that Gentile believers in Christ were kind to Jewiesh believers. It is an example that ought to be followed in this age.
Moreover, Paul insists that it is a just debt, for as the Gentiles had been made partakers of spiritual things, so it is their duty to minister carnal things. We ought to consider this. Most of us are ready and willing to receive all the spiritual help we can get, usually without giving much thought about using our material things to minister. It is a challenge that comes to all of us.
Consider Paul’s confidence in verse 29 when he says, “I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” This verse arouses emotions of sorrow in the heart. Paul did at last arrive in Rome, and none can deny that it was in the fullness of the blessing of Christ; but it was marked with dramatic and heartbreaking circumstances. How different the actual experience must have been from what Paul had hoped and intended.
Paul had in mind a great thing. He planned to finish delivery of the money to the poor in Jerusalem, then proceed to Rome, preach there and enjoy the company of the famous Christian community of the great capital for a brief season, and then he planned to be off for Spain where new victories of faith would be won, more churches established, and more territory won for the Master. The plans Paul had in mind were never realized. He was arrested and imprisoned in Jerusalem; there was a diabolical plot to murder him; there were tedious delays, dangerous journeys, confrontations with kings and governors during the years of his imprisonment; then, there was an appeal to Caesar, a shipwreck, a poisonous viper on his hand; and, at last, up the Appian Way he came, wearing a chain, as an animal is chained, and walking between the files of pagan soldiers.
Was he arriving in the fullness of the blessing of Christ? However it might have seemed to the grand apostle, it was true. During the years ahead of him in Rome, Paul would plant the Gospel seed in the very heart of the pagan empire. That seed would germinate and grow, and at last shatter into fragments the mighty empire of the Caesars. There he would write the letters which, more than those of any other mortal, would define Christianity for all subsequent ages. There he would teach not merely Spain, but many generations of mankind. There he would baptize members of the royal establishment. There he would seal with his blood the truth and sincerity of his matchless life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessing of Christ, indeed, not merely Paul’s but that of the world for ever afterward.
The expectation of great things should be a normal characteristic of the true servant of Christ. We are living in an age of disappointment and breakdown – pessimism all too frequently lays hold on us. Paul was always optimistic because he knew the Lord would not fail. Therefore, he expected to come among these brethren. Then he makes a touching request for prayer “for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit.” Paul was well aware of the dangers and difficulties that lay ahead, especially in Jerusalem; and this is an earnest plea for the prayers of his fellow Christians. Only God could protect Paul from those enemies whose vigorous hatred made Jerusalem a place of extreme hazard for him. Paul was especially warned by the Holy Spirit through Agabus (Acts 21:10) that bonds and imprisonment awaited him. Yet, because of the highest and purest motives, Paul continued his journey. There were holy reasons for that trip to Jerusalem, reasons of the greatest magnitude and importance, not merely for Paul, but for the church of all ages. Those reasons are not clearly visible from this time and distance; but it is certain they did exist. We know this from the fact of Paul’s making the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit to be the basis of his request for the prayers of fellow Christians as he moved to accomplish it.
He desires to be delivered from unbelievers in Judea and for his ministry to be accepted by the saints. Paul had a double concern, not merely his own safety, but the attitude of the church members themselves. Would they be willing to accept the collection which he had gathered through the expenditure of so vast a measure of time and energy? If they did trot, it would jeopardize the unity of the church and possibility destroy the Gentile missions he had worked to establish. No wonder he prayed to God and asked others to join. What if the racial prejudice in Jerusalem had caused the poor Christians to say, “We will not touch a gift from the Gentiles.” In such a disastrous response, Paul’s gift of tears, blood, sweat and money would have been in vain. No wonder he prayed that they would accept it. Where, ever in history, was there another prayer like this? Paul’s fears and prayers were more than justified by the swift succession of tragic events which befell his mission to Jerusalem. However,God had heard his prayers. The Christian poor accepted the bounty of their Gentile brethren; the enemies were foiled, and Paul’s life was spared. An army guarded Paul’s life as he was transported out of Jerusalem; and, in time, the battlements of Rome loomed on his horizon. Moreover, the Judaizing of Christianity, taking place at that very instant in Jerusalem, as evidenced by the testimony of the Jerusalem elders that: “Many thousands of them (the Christians) ... are all zealous for the Law” (Acts 21:24) – that Judaizing process God Himself would summarily thwart by the utter destruction of Jerusalem within a few short years afterward.
Paul’s request for prayer shows true humility of character. One might think such an able minister of Christ as Paul would sweep everything before him, but that is not true. Even in this day, the more able the minister, if he is faithful to the Lord, the more difficult acceptance of the Lord’s people will be attainment. There is such a thirst today for the superficial that anyone who genuinely wants to, and does, minister Christ will find it an uphill task. Little wonder Paul requested prayer so urgently.
