Post by garywalker on Feb 20, 2011 15:50:33 GMT -5
This may come as a shock to most of you, but those to whom Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans did not, I repeat, did not believe the truths that Paul had been instructed to proclaim when he and Barnabas were separated out by the Holy Spirit for the work that God had called them to. (Acts 13:2)
The reason they didn't believe the truths that Paul taught was because they didn't "know" the truths that he taught.
That's the very reason why that foundational epistle was written.
While it's true that they (those in Rome) had a "faith" that was spoken of throughout the whole world, the question is...
what exactly was the basis of that faith? Was it that they knew that Christ had died for their sins, was buried, and raised from the dead to prove that they were now totally justified?
I submit to you, based on scripture, that they did not know these things. Let's look at the record of scripture to see that these things were so.
After his opening salutation he says in verse 11 of chapter 1...
"For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some
"spiritual gift", to the end that you "may be established; That
is, that I may be comforted together with you by the "mutual
faith" both of you and me".
What was this "spiritual gift" that Paul desired to impart to them?
It was the same gift that he prayed that God might give to the
Ephesians, which was the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, something these Romans did not yet have.
It was this knowledge they would need to be "established".
They (Paul and these Romans) did not yet have a "mutual faith".
The only faith that they had at that time was that Jesus Christ, God's
Son, was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and was
raised from the dead by the power of God. (Romans 1:3-4) This was
the "gospel of God", the first of 3 gospels that Paul was called to proclaim (Romans 1:1).
And here comes the kicker...
in verse 15 of chapter 1 he says this...
"So, as much as is in me is, I am ready to preach "the gospel"
to "you" that are at Rome also".
Why, may I ask, would Paul want to preach the gospel to those who
supposedly, were already saved?
He then tells them in verse 16 what "that gospel" is that he desires
to preach to them...
"For I am not ashamed of the "gospel of Christ" for it is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek".
Yes, these Romans had a faith, these Romans knew the "gospel of God" which again, was that Jesus Christ was God's Son, who'd been raised from the dead. But that gospel didn't save them. If it did then there would have been no reason for Paul to preach "gospel of Christ" to them.