Romans: Strategic Spots

Romans 1:8-15

What city in the world is on your bucket list to visit? Paris? London? Barcelona? No doubt, you’d have other cities to add to your list. 

In today’s passage, we learn that the city on the apostle Paul’s bucket list was Rome.  

Following Paul through the book of Acts, we accompany him on three missionary journeys. Paul’s third journey, from AD 53 to 58, focused on strengthening the churches he had founded and addressing false teachings. He traveled through Galatia and Phrygia, stayed in Ephesus for two to three years, and then visited Macedonia and Greece. 

Paul stayed in Greece for three months (Acts 20:3). He visited Corinth, a city where he had established a church about eight years earlier. During his stay in Corinth, Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in AD 57 or 58 (Rom. 16:1). A woman named Phoebe was traveling to Rome, so he entrusted her with delivering his letter to the believers there. Phoebe was a “servant of the church at Cenchreae,” the eastern port of Corinth located on the Saronic Gulf. 

Rome served as the economic and political hub of the Roman Empire. Travelers were constantly coming and going through Rome. Paul likely heard from many believers who had traveled to and from the city that the church there was thriving. 

After his introduction, Paul tells the Romans that this is the first thing he wants them to know: 

Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 

In Paul’s time, when believers traveled to a city, they would ask around discreetly to find out who the other believers were and where they worshiped. This was done secretly, of course, but they knew the right questions to ask and how to ask them. From those reports, Paul was grateful that the Roman believers were making good use of their strategic location. Their love for Jesus was being shared worldwide. 

Indeed, Rome was a strategic location, and God has placed you in a strategic position today. God has given all of us a platform to share him with our family and friends. Wouldn’t you love to hear people say, “Your commitment to Jesus is known throughout your family, at your school, among your coworkers, with your friends and neighbors, and within your sphere of influence”? We must remember that God has placed us all in strategic spots, and we can’t waste our opportunities. 

Paul also knew that when you're in a position of influence, you're a target. So, Paul reminds the Roman believers that he's praying for them and looks forward to seeing them in person. 

Romans 1:9-10
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 

Paul had longed for many years to visit Rome (Rom. 15:23). He wanted to make sure they knew that he often planned to come to them, “but thus far [had] been prevented” (Rom. 1:13). During his third journey, Paul raised funds for the believers in Jerusalem who were experiencing a difficult time. After delivering the funds to the Jerusalem church, he planned to go to Spain and visit the Romans along the way (Rom. 15:22-29). 

Paul wanted to go to Rome for three reasons:

• To “impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you” (Rom. 1:11). This does not mean that Paul was able to give other believers spiritual gifts. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. One of Paul’s gifts was teaching. He sought to offer spiritual guidance to believers, strengthening their faith. Bible scholar Robert Mounce gives insight. He writes,

Here again we see the focus of Paul’s ministry. A visit to Rome would not be for personal advantage or pleasure. It would serve to strengthen the faith of those who recently had turned from idols to serve the living God (cf. 1 Thess 1:9).[1]

• To “be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Rom. 1:12). In their personal meetings, Paul looked forward to sharing his experiences from his missionary journeys. He had many stories about God’s provisions, protection, and deliverance.

The Romans also had their stories to tell. The Roman Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews and Jewish Christians from Rome in AD 49. The Roman historian Suetonius explained the reason in his work, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. He wrote, “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.” We learn in Acts that this was the reason two believers, Aquila and Priscilla, left Rome and settled in Corinth (Acts 18:2). By the time the letter to the Romans was written, many Jews and Jewish Christians had returned, no doubt, with testimonies of God’s faithfulness. 

• To “preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom. 1:15) and “in order that I reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Rom. 1:13). Wherever Paul went, his purpose was to tell people about Jesus—how to trust in Jesus as their Savior and how to live for Jesus as a servant who loves his Master.

Sharing Jesus was Paul’s passion. Paul said, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians [non-Greeks], both to the wise and to the foolish” (Rom. 1:14). The word translated “obligation” (Grk: opheiletes) literally means “debtor.” Paul recognized that Jesus had transformed his life. He understood his calling and identity in Christ. He knew he owed it to Jesus to share the good news of his Lord and Savior with everyone, regardless of their race, social status, or intellect.

We are under that same obligation, aren’t we?  Are we eager to share the good news about Jesus with others?

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Romans 1:8-15. Consider Paul’s desire to go to Rome and the reasons for that desire, which he shared in his letter.

Talking to God: Are you using the place God has put you—your school, job, neighborhood, and community—as a strategic opportunity to encourage others and share the gospel?

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