Romans: The Glory of the Gospelಮಾದರಿ

A Portrait of Faithfulness

We get many clues about Paul’s life and ministry as he begins to wrap up the letter. Here we find some personal details about the apostle and about his mission and the specific people he cares about. Studying Romans is like drinking from a spiritual firehose, so by now, it’s hard to take in more—especially a portion that seems so far removed from our life today and focuses on people we’ve never heard of. If you’re feeling that way, maybe these words will help you persevere through this last section: “Sadly, this is a section that many could see as miscellaneous or minor. However, . . . we should not think this. To the contrary, what we have here gives us many useful insights into Paul’s pastoral character, commission, and concerns. Because of this, we should take special heed to it (Ventura, Expository Outlines, 392).” I hope you feel inspired as we begin our final devotion!

In the Old Testament, the priests were the ones who presented the people’s sacrifices and offerings to God in the tabernacle and, later, in the temple. Paul sees his ministry in a similar light, but the offering he brings to God is the people themselves, the Gentiles who come to faith through his preaching.

Paul strategized specific places to take the gospel message, being careful to focus his efforts on unreached areas and to bypass places where others were already ministering. In this way, he was actually fulfilling a particular prophecy found in Isaiah 52:15, which Paul quotes here in 15:21.

As Paul shares his plans, we get an inside look into his life and longings (Romans 15:22–29). Paul then opens up about his personal concerns in verses 30–33. Paul has two prayer requests: (1) that he won’t be held up by unbelieving Jews who were persecuting Christians (as Paul himself had done before his conversion), and (2) that the offering he has orchestrated for the Jerusalem church would be accepted.

Romans 15:33 is another benediction—a blessing Paul holds out to the recipients of his letter. Salvation in Christ brings us peace with God and peace with one another, and the hope here is that we will be characterized by it.

May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (Romans 15:33, ESV)

We typically know how to guard ourselves against worldly influences, people and situations that tempt us to compromise our faithfulness to Christ. Recognizing bad influences within Christian circles is a lot harder and requires discernment. This is the very issue Paul chooses for his last bit of instruction to the believers in Rome (Romans 16:17–20).

Paul sends final greetings, this time from those who are ministering alongside him, and then he ends with a glorious doxology, an expression of praise to God, that basically summarizes all he has written in the letter about the gospel:

Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:21–27, ESV)

Reflection: As we come to the end of Romans, note what you’ve learned or what’s affected you most about the character of God, the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, and the path of discipleship.

Want to dive into this study even more? Check out “Romans: The Glory of the Gospel” by Lydia Brownback when you click the link: https://www.crossway.org/books/romans-tpb-2/