Romans Sundays: Romans 1:8-15

My Romans commentaries sit in a box in our new temporary, yet slightly unfinished offices. The Noggle Christian Ministries building at IWU is getting a long promised renovation next semester and over the summer, so the Religion division at IWU will be camping in the old College Wesleyan Church. Appropriately, my office is in what used to be the nursery.

So, since there is also a nice layer of snow on the ground outside my house, I'm moving on today to Romans 1:8-15:

First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Messiah for you all, because your faithfulness is announced in the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I worship with my spirit because of the gospel of his Son, as I am constantly making mention of you. Always in my prayers I am asking if somehow at last now I might find safe passage in the will of God to come to you.

For I long to see you so that I might share some spiritual gift with you so that you might be strengthened. And [such strengthening] brings a mutual encouragement [to me] along with you through the mutual faith of one another.

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brothers [and sisters], that I often planned to come to you, but I was prevented [doing so] until now. [I wanted to come] so that I might bear fruit also among you as [I have] among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the ignorant.

So my purpose is also to preach the gospel to you also in Rome.

Since we are on Christmas break (after the last of my grades are in :-)--and since this is not a particularly controversial section of Romans--I will try to cover any interesting comments in the commentaries next Sunday. We'll see.

One interesting point is the fact that faith once again seems to involve obedience. Also, Paul has no qualms about his potential to spiritually benefit the Romans. No tinge of Piper's "dirty rotten scoundrel but for the grace of God" motif here.

For now let me simply note that Paul in this "thanksgiving section" once again thinks of the Roman church primarily in Gentile terms. If the Jews divided the world up into "Jew and Greek," it is interesting that Paul here divides the Gentiles up into "Greek and barbarian."