Doctrine of the Mysteries #4
Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. (15) So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. (16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
The grace gospel, to all nations
When the Lord chose Paul to be the apostle and minister of the Mysteries, He indicated to Paul that this message was for everyone, saying,
Act 9:15 … bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Similarly, Paul confirms this condition in our key verse saying that he was a debtor to the Greeks and the Barbarians. The term, Greeks, could denote “those who dwelt in Greece”, but it can also be synonymous with those who are civilized, or refined, or the wise. As for Barbarians, the term itself, properly denotes one who speaks a foreign language, or a foreigner, and the Greeks applied it to all who did not use their tongue. See the following verse for example,
1Cor 14:11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
Thus, Paul declared himself a debtor to everyone. This does not mean that he owed anyone (as per conventional understanding), but that he was under an obligation to preach the gospel to all to whom it was possible. This obligation arose from the favour that God had shown him in appointing him to this work. He was specially chosen as a vessel to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, Act 9:15; Rom 11:13, and he did not feel that he had fully satisfied this obligation until he had made the gospel known as far as possible among all the nations of the earth, 1Cor 9:16; Eph 6:19; Col 1:23.
It was the power and the value of the gospel that compelled Paul to this endeavour. It worked so strongly within him that he suffered greatly under the burden of its message, see Act 9:16; 2Cor 11:23-28. Yet the suffering was nothing compared to the faith and reality he held for its necessity and ultimate prize, Rom 8:18.
Not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
Why did Paul say he was not ashamed of the gospel? Well, there are two scenarios to bear in mind.
First, the message Paul preached was controversial and contentious. Paul says, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; …”, 1Cor 1:23.
The Jews were abhorred by crucifixion as it was a particularly shameful punishment, reserved for the worst criminals, such as murderers, traitors, and rebels. Crucifixion was also considered a curse under Jewish law. The Torah states that “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse”, Deut 21:23. Therefore, the idea of Jesus, the ‘Messiah’, being crucified would have been particularly scandalous to Paul’s Jewish audience, who were expecting a powerful and triumphant leader to deliver them from Roman oppression.
As for the Greeks, it was foolish talk based on their intellectualism and rationality. Why would a ‘god’ die on a cross as a criminal. Would this not be weakness and stupidity. A message like this would be ridiculed and mocked.
Second, and on a completely different trend, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel as He has revelational insights concerning its power to save. The forgiving grace, the power of justification, the capacity to transfer a person from an administration of death into an administration of life, and the sheer weight, and absolute wholeness of the gospel, was too overwhelming to deny. One simply had to experience, and witness the salvation of the soul, to know how deep and how all-encompassing the power of the gospel message was. Instead of shame, it produced glory and boasting, not for the outward appearance of the cross and its suffering, but for the inward, spiritual power, life, and liberty it contained, Gal 6:14; Phil 2:16.
The power of God unto salvation
There is an innate power in hearing the gospel, as it releases the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, John 16:8. This power is the Holy Spirit who works within the one who hears (comprehends) the gospel, and it is the Holy Spirit who generates the faith to believe it. A great example of this is found in Acts 16 when Lydia hears the gospel for the first time. Notice the pattern,
Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Lydia heard the gospel being proclaimed by Paul. She comprehended the details of the message. At this point the Holy Spirit was able to release faith within her heart (her heart was opened) so that she could believe the message and respond to the truth in the gospel. The response by faith to this message is the miracle of regeneration in the heart of a person, and the ultimate power of the gospel.
Therein is the righteousness of God revealed
The gospel is the summation of the plan of God to save us. It reveals the scope of His character, from His righteousness and justness to the ultimate character of His forgiveness and love, and it is this very epistle of Romans that fully reveals this message.
It is said that the cross reveals the dual nature of God. Believers look fondly on the symbol of the cross since it represents the grace of God for their salvation. However, have you considered the cross from the view of Jesus? Where we see the cross as God’s undiluted grace, Jesus saw it as God’s undiluted wrath. Jesus bore the full brunt of God’s wrath as He took upon Himself the sins of the world. For us, the cross shows the pure love of God, but Jesus saw the cross as the unconditional hatred and disdain of God. The cross represents God’s forgiveness to us, but Jesus received God’s righteous punishment.
Can you see the paradox? The cross is a powerful symbol of both the righteousness of God, requiring the sentence of death for sin, but also the grace of God to give life to those who trust in Christ. The cross is our salvation, but it required a sacrifice of the highest degree as payment.
The gospel is only fully understood when we weigh up our sinful, unrighteous, and ungodly nature with the absolute holiness, righteousness, and justness of God. Within this comprehension, the forgiveness and love of God is brought to light by the Spirit of truth, who searches our hearts and brings us to the conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgement. This is the eternal work of the gospel message of the cross, and of Jesus Christ. It is within this context that the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith, from the gospel of our salvation to the transformation, and revelation, of the adopted sons of God.
For more detailed information on the gospel and salvation, see here.
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