Romans 15:14–24, 30–32

Family Bible Study
Chair of Theatre, Samford University; Southwestern Seminary graduate

Why Try?
Romans 15:14–24, 30–32
I recently attended the funeral of my stepfather. As these occasions inevitably are, it was a mixed blessing. Of course, there was the stark realization that he would not be with us anymore, and that was a very lonely feeling. But there was also the gathering of friends and family, all of whom had a story to tell about how he had affected their life.

My story was my memory of him getting up at dawn every Memorial Day to raise the flag in the front yard. He was a decorated veteran of three wars and disabled from his service in Vietnam.

To me, this gesture, symbolic though it was, said “this day matters.” He was one man on a block full of houses, but his flag always went up first. And it made a difference in the way people felt about their country — at least for that one day out of the year.

In the letter to the Romans, Chapter 15, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of making a difference in the kingdom of God. His general message in the letter is to reconcile doctrinal disputes between Jewish converts to Christianity and the Gentiles who had chosen to follow Christ. In Chapter 15, he diverges from his role as mediator and begins to address the Jewish believers as elders in a family of faith.

Paul sets forth a challenge in verses 14–16, urging the believers to understand their purpose. He compliments the Roman church and in so doing, presents them with a burden when he says, “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Paul tells the Roman believers, converted to Christianity from their Jewish background, that their goodness and knowledge has equipped them for a special task — to teach and minister to the Gentiles in their community. Likewise those of us blessed with healthy church homes, strong Bible study programs and a nurturing faith family have been equipped for a purpose. We are to feed those in the community who do not have what we have. How? Well that is the challenge, isn’t it? The possibilities are endless. I have, in the past, started Bible studies in nursing homes, worked in summer art and sports camps that provide Bible study to children in underprivileged areas and simply taken the time to get to know people when standing in line at the supermarket. Every day life gives us the opportunity to fulfill our purpose.

In verses 17–19, Paul says that he can only comment on what he has done in spreading the news of Christ “by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.” All of this sounds rather mystical and somewhat daunting. How are we supposed to recognize signs and perform miracles? The answer is simple — you aren’t. The only power you need to spread Christ is from the Holy Spirit. On our own, we can’t accomplish much. When my stepfather stood alone in the front yard and raised the flag on Memorial Day, he was saying thanks to the men who served alongside him. Many of them saved his life on multiple occasions; without them, his lone efforts, important though they were, would have meant nothing. Our efforts in the kingdom of God are meaningless without God Himself. That God is active and working in our lives daily is miracle enough. That we love Him enough to love and care for those around us is a more than sufficient sign.

Finally, in verses 20–24, Paul lays out his plan for spreading the gospel as far and wide as he could. Paul asks the Roman believers to join him in his efforts through prayer, and as we know, they also provided other types of support as well. As Alabama Baptists, we have a plan for spreading the gospel, and it involves the Cooperative Program. Your gifts are your opportunity to be part of an effort much larger than yourself. Yes, your gift does matter, and it does make a difference. Though we have never seen a time when travel was as available to people as it is today, the world is still separated by enormous differences. Christ is the great Unifier, and because we know this, we are obligated to proclaim with the angels, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ.”