SERIES: The Book of Romans
The Ministering Mentality
Introduction: I grew up in the Roman Catholic church. There are three inevitable things about your life if you grew up as a Catholic boy in St. Louis. The first thing is you went to mass every day. The second is you served mostaccioli at your wedding reception. And third, you played soccer. Until the 1980’s, about the only people playing soccer in America were Catholic school boys in St. Louis.
In the summer after fifth grade, I went to a soccer camp with a couple hundred other Catholic school boys. One of the counselors was a man named Pat McBride. At the time, Pat McBride was one of the greatest American soccer players. Many times during that week of camp Pat McBride would huddle a group of us around him and explain and demonstrate how to pass, how to kick, how to dribble, how to tackle. Here was the greatest American player in essence saying, “Kids, come here, let me show you some of the fundamentals of being a good soccer player.” We got a personal clinic from one of the best as we all gathered in a circle around Pat McBride. Every eye watched and every ear listened.
One of the fundamental truths that the Reformation won back to the church is that of the priesthood of all believers. Ministry—its joys, its hardships, its ownership—had been solely in the hands of the professional clergy for a thousand years. Luther, Calvin and Melanchthon wrenched it back and put it into the hands of the people. So when someone comes to Christ, they are given some cleats, some ministry socks and a jersey, and they are put out on the field as key players in the game. Every one of us who is in Christ is a minister. Every one of us is on God’s staff team.
For 15 chapters, Paul has carefully explained the gospel and addressed the implication the gospel is to have on our lives and our relationships. Along the way, he explained some very difficult issues—the Jewish-Gentile issue, the original sin issue, and the legalism/license issue. Now in chapter 15, Paul begins to wind down his letter. It becomes very personal in its nature (he uses “I/me” at least 28 times). And in today’s text, we get a glimpse into Paul’s ministry mindset: where he gets his courage to minister; what his motivations are, what his goals are and what his priorities are. Here is arguably one of the greatest ministers of all time giving us a personal clinic. He is calling out to us, “Kids, come here, let me show you some of the fundamentals of being a minister of Christ.” Our task is just to gather around, watch and listen.
Please stand as we read our text for today, Romans 15:14-33:
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. {15} I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me {16} to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
{17} Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. {18} I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— {19} by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. {20} It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. {21} Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
{22} This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
{23} But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, {24} I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. {25} Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. {26} For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. {27} They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. {28} So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. {29} I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
{30} I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. {31} Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, {32} so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. {33} The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul begins in verse 15 by telling the Roman church, “I have written to you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again.” This word “boldly” can also be translated “courageously.” The implied sense is that Paul did some things that were hard for him to do personally, but that he was able to get over the hump and courageously do what needed to be done.
Our boldness for ministry comes from God’s grace. (14-16)
Where does Paul get his courage and boldness to speak so strongly? Is it his charisma? Is it his maturity in Christ? Is it his reputation? No! Paul says in verses 15 and 16, “I have written to you quite boldly on some points … because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.” Paul is telling his readers that he does not have a leg to stand on in his ministry without the grace of God.
Paul serves within an area of specific gifting. The grace Paul is referring to is his special gifting by God to be a pioneer church planter and missionary to the non-Jewish people. The source of his courage and boldness comes from this gift. It is as if he is saying, “I’ve written quite boldly, not because I am anything by myself, but because God has given me special gifts to do what I’m doing, so I am bold within the boundaries of my gifts.”
Each of us has been given special gifts by the Spirit of God. In Romans 12 we learned that we all have different gifts according to the grace given to us. Some have gifts of mercy, some gifts of administration, some service gifts, and some encouragement gifts. Peter tells us what the purpose of these gifts are in 1 Peter 4:10-11: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.”
Paul’s boldness and courage come from knowing he has got to do what he has been gifted to do. If he doesn’t, he is withholding God’s grace from God’s people. Our attitude should be the same. Some of you feel inadequate for the ministries you are doing. As you exercise your gifts, do so with courage and boldness because God has gifted you especially for your service.
Now the proclamation of the gospel was not a well-respected occupation in Paul’s day. What good is there in spending your time running around the world telling people about some dead guy who was crucified by the Romans? It was viewed as an irrelevant way to spend your time. But despite this …
Paul viewed his ministry with great dignity. Paul says that he is a minister of Christ Jesus with “the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God.” Paul understood that regardless of how other people might view his ministry, God’s grace instantly infused it with the honor of a priest making a worship offering in the temple. Do you feel that way about your ministry?
Paul wanted God to be honored through his ministry. Paul viewed himself as a minister of Christ Jesus “so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Paul’s over-arching motivation for ministry was not concern for the lostness of the lost but rather the deep desire to see the Lord honored through the salvation of the Gentiles. The ministry to the Gentiles was not the end, it was the means by which he could worship God.
At a church conference I attended in 1991, I stayed an extra day so I could observe their Junior High ministry. It was a dynamic ministry of over 1000 youth. I found a place up in the deserted balcony of the church’s 5000 seat auditorium. After about 20 minutes, I noticed a woman to my right who was crawling on her hands and knees washing the huge oak banister on the front of the balcony. She would spray the banister with some solution and then rub like she was waxing a Corvette. I was curious about why she was doing this since the banister didn’t look dirty to me. When she took a break, I went over and talked with her.
First, I asked her if she was part of the plant operations staff. “Oh, no,” she said. She was just a mother. She told me that she came here every Saturday morning and washed down all the banisters. I asked what motivated her to do this. She told me she had first come to the church as a non-Christian skeptic with a chip on her shoulder. She came looking for some reason to discount God, the message of the gospel, and what God was doing at the church.
She later came to faith in Christ through the ministry of a friend who attended that church. She was so overwhelmed by God’s grace that she just wanted to minister in some way. Since she didn’t like to talk in front of groups but desired to serve behind the scenes, she asked the leadership if it would be okay if she washed the woodwork. She chose that because it was one of the things she noticed. She wanted to make sure that the woodwork would not become a barrier for someone discounting God or the church. I don’t remember anything about the Junior High ministry I went to see. But I remember the woman who administered her priestly duty by washing the banisters and who had the same bold attitude as Paul.
Now Paul moves from where he gets his boldness and courage for ministry to where he boasts or glories in ministry. Now there is a lot of boasting in the Church of Jesus Christ about church things—how big this ministry is, how big that ministry is, how many people are coming. The pastor’s conference in Atlanta next month should be quite interesting. Seventy-thousand pastors in one stadium telling each other how many people are going to their churches. It would be interesting to take what every pastor says and add up the numbers and see what we get. I suspect that with the inflation that usually accompanies these conversations, the numbers might show that all of America and a few thousand extra are attending their churches.
Paul is quite different in his perspective of his ministry. It is an example we should follow.
Our boasting in ministry is in the accomplishments of Christ. (17-19)
Two attitudes are evident in verses 17-19 that will help us get our eyes off ourselves, and how we perform, in contrast to others and their accomplishments, and get them back where they belong—focused on Jesus. First, look at verse 17, “Therefore I glory (or boast, NASB) in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God.”
Paul understands that accomplishments in the kingdom of God are measured in people, not programs or performance. Paul’s ministry was to work as diligently as possible to help lead Gentile pagans to personal faith in Christ and obedience to God. He understood that his goal was not to build great ministries but to build the Great One, Jesus Christ, into people. When God asks us to give an account of our ministries, He will be not be as concerned about the how of our ministry as He will be of the fruit of our ministry in the lives of people.
Paul understands that ministry is a human/divine partnership. Do you see that in verses 18-19? The human side of the partnership is implied by the phrases “what Christ has accomplished through me”… and … “by what I have said and done.” Paul seems to understand that what is accomplished for Christ is accomplished not by what he does for Jesus but what Jesus does through him. It is a subtle difference that humbly acknowledges that the best delivered sermon may not be as useful to Jesus as the sermon preached by a guy fresh out of seminary.
And even though he glories in Christ’s accomplishments, from a human perspective he still senses that he must do everything within his power to carry out the ministry to its completion. So in verse 19, he says “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” This is as if to say, to the best of my ability, I have put myself in a position for Christ to use as the tool to lead the Gentiles to Christ. I did my best. If God wants to use it, great. If He decides not to use it, that is great, too.
The divine side of the partnership is tipped off by these words: “what Christ has accomplished by the power of signs and miracles through the power of the Spirit.” Paul understood well that if the Holy Spirit didn’t show up and do something, everything he said or did could have no lasting impact. When the Spirit of God comes, there is power, there is life change. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For we know brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thes. 1:4-5) Discipleship, obedience, and mercy to those who are suffering should be the results. This should be our collective prayer in our corporate ministry and our personal ministries, “Oh Father, accompany our ministry so that it is not merely words, but send power, send your Spirit and fill us with conviction. If you don’t come, our ministry will be only human effort.”
When Jesus looks around to accomplish something in the life of a child or a teenager or an adult, what does He use? He doesn’t go looking for a program. He looks for a person. He looks for you and me. Isn’t that incredible? He will use the less than qualified; the less than skilled, the less than experienced as long as they are yielding themselves to Him. Those kinds of people are powerful tools in the hand of God.
How do you tell a friend about this church? Do you say the preaching and teaching are great? Or the worship is great? Or the children’s or youth ministries are great? These are great things we have done. But can we honestly say, too, that what is making this church great is that Christ is accomplishing great things in the lives of people? I can! If so, let’s raise the stakes in our witness. I am going to continue telling people about the great programs, but I’m going to add this: “You know what is most exciting, I can’t explain it really, but you just sense Jesus is doing incredible things in the lives of people who call this their home. People’s hearts are being healed. People are finding new life in a relationship with Jesus Christ. People are changing and growing.” This way we can give credit to both the human and divine aspects of the partnership.
We have seen so far that we can be bold in our ministries because God is behind our gifts as we minister. Not only that, but the mindset of ministry also focuses its boasting and glory on Jesus and not on ourselves.
Now Paul moves on and shows us his goals and ambitions in his ministry. I came to First Free over 10 years ago. My first ministry to the Body was setting up tables and chairs for children’s Sunday School. It was a hot, back-breaking job because there was no air conditioning in the Westminster gym. Since I was brand new in the Lord, some of my thinking was still a bit rough. (Some would say that this continues to be a problem). After doing this for a few weeks I was beginning to realize that no one noticed what I was doing. So I made it my personal ambition and goal to get noticed. Whenever Mike or one of the elders would be in eyesight or earshot, I would grunt really loud or wipe my brow, just to help people see what I was doing in case they were busy. Paul models something different.
Our ambition is ministry is to meet the needs of other people. (20-29)
Paul had been planning to visit Rome for quite some time—for his own personal edification, as well as to establish a base of operations for a new church planting movement into Spain. In verses 20-29, Paul outlines his future plans. He models for us both his priorities and his flexibility in ministry. But always other people are in his mind.
Paul’s primary goal was to reach unreached people. Paul tells us why he often postponed his desired trip to Rome in verses 20-22: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’ This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.”
This priority was motivated partly by his gifting as a church planter but also by his clear understanding of the great privilege that had been given to the Body of Christ. Even though we may not be gifted to be pioneer church planters, this ambition is to be one of our priorities. When Paul speaks of the collective responsibility of the whole church in 1 Corinthians 5:18, he communicates this big picture with wonderful clarity. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself though Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us!”
The message of reconciliation is the primary ministry we have to those outside the Body of Christ. God has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. He has not entrusted it to anyone else. Here is our motivation for investing money to reach Tatar people. Here is the motivation to intentionally spend time with people in our workplace and in our neighborhood. Here is the motivation to invest time, energy and money to reach the people in our spheres of influence.
Paul’s secondary goal was to serve God’s people. Starting in verse 23, Paul tells us, “But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain ….” Then in verse 25 he adds, “Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Paul allowed himself to be interrupted from his church planting ministry in order to take part in a ministry of mercy for the church in Jerusalem. Given the lack of mercy he showed toward John Mark during his second missionary journey, this may not have been a ministry he was well suited for, but it is a ministry he undertakes anyway.
I really don’t like using the terms primary and secondary because I think, in reality, the situation is not so cut and dried. There are balance and tension in Paul’s ministry between the need for the gospel for those outside the body and the need for support for those inside the body, the ambition to serve in gifted areas and the need to serve in demanding areas. I find the same balance and tension in my own ministry and I hope you do as well. There is the need for a mindset to be ministering in both areas. Sometimes I say “no” to opportunities for service in the Body in order to say “yes” to those outside. While at other times I say “no” to those outside the Body because my gifts can more strategically be used within the Body. Which is better? “Yes” to both. We do both at the same time.
Paul’s third goal is to be served by others. In chapter one of Romans, Paul began his letter by telling his readers that he longed to see them so that “you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” He picks this idea up again in verses 23 and 24 of our text. Here he tells the Romans, “since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there after I have enjoyed your company for a while.” For a long time, Paul had wanted to fellowship with the believers in Rome. He knew that when they got together it would be just one big old encouragement party in the Lord. But he has put aside this need in order to give himself fully to the ministries at hand.
Here is a refreshing change of pace to our self-oriented, self-saturated culture. Paul had his priorities in order. His ministry is not self-centered; it is other-centered. He does not deny that in his heart he has some things he would like to have happen that would personally benefit himself, but he is willing to sacrifice his pleasure for greater purposes.
Paul’s model is kind of a revolutionary model for life. It is a self-sacrificing life. It is a life where we become “people for others.” Paul made his personal desires subservient to higher priorities. It is a risky way of living, too. It tends to be costly—financially, personally, and to your family. I know many of you feel that cost. It has added stress to your life and at times to your family. It has involved time that you would have personally chosen to spend in other ways. It is not easy to enlarge our hearts to include other people, both believers and unbelievers.
Paul was ambitious in his ministry. I encourage you to be ambitious, too. Dream big kingdom dreams. Bring God a vision to reach your section of your company, your neighborhood, your school or team. Dream big dreams about God’s people growing in faith and obedience and love for their Lord.
We have seen so far where our boldness for ministry is to come, where our boasting is to be focused, and how our goals and ambitions should be tempered. Finally,…
Our urgency in ministry is to pray for God’s blessing on our work. (30-33)
It is easy to get busy carrying out ambitious ministry plans, seeking to have Jesus use us to accomplish great things for His kingdom. But our greatest urgency in ministry is prayer. This is what Paul does. He is not making prayer some sidebar.
The first thing Paul does is to enlist others to pray for his ministry plans. In verse 30, he writes: “I urge you brothers by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to join me in my struggle by praying for me.” Paul is pleading with the Roman Church to strive together with him, and to be persistent and earnest in prayer, as he sets the course to achieve his ministry. He is not doing so merely to sound spiritual, for the tenor of his plea is very strong. He asks the Roman Church to partner with him in two areas:
Paul seeks corporate prayer for specific obstacles to be overcome. Paul recognized the obstacles ahead as he pursued his desire to take this gift to Jerusalem. Having been a prominent Jewish leader and teacher, Paul knew that when he returned to Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders were not going to have a party for him. He asks the Roman church to “Pray that I may be rescued from unbelievers in Judea.”
Do you want some great reading tonight before you go to bed? Read Acts, chapters 21-23 and see how specifically God answered this prayer, though He answered it in a non-conventional way. When Paul gets to Jerusalem, some Jews from Asia recognize Paul. They begin to incite a riot and Paul is arrested. A group of 40 men meets secretly to conspire to assassinate Paul, but oddly enough, his nephew catches wind of the plot which sets into motion a string of divine coincidences that gets Paul transferred to another city out of harm’s way.
Paul seeks corporate prayer for specific blessings to be achieved. Paul asks the Romans to pray “that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there.” At first glance, this seems like an odd prayer request. How could a gift for the poverty needs of the saints be unacceptable to someone? But Paul is anticipating what I have seen even in this body. Because of our pride, we lack the humility to accept the gifts and grace of others in our times of need. We have been conditioned by our sinful nature and our society not to need anybody and to return a favor when we receive one. I have seen a few times even in this body that those in a season of financial need are embarrassed or reluctant to receive the gracious gifts of those who are now in a season of abundance. I believe this is what Paul is anticipating. Paul is seeking God’s grace to pave the way for the delivery of other forms of grace.
Were his prayers answered? Good question. In Acts 21, Luke tells us in verse 17: “When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.” The Roman church had interceded. God answered both requests. Should we expect any less?
Friends, we should be as diligent as Paul. Let us seek out prayer partners for our ministries. If you are in a small group, this is a natural place to do it. If you are not, don’t be shy about asking for help. There are no guarantees that your ministry will be a success simply because your side of the ministry is covered. What are the obstacles to communicating the gospel with your coworkers or your neighbors? What are the hindrances that might keep your ministry from being fruitful to the Body of Christ? List them out, specifically, just like Paul did. Then enlist others to pray and let God answer. I would for like us to corporately take this last point to heart and not let it pass till next Sunday. If you are a leader of a commission, small group, mini-congregation, elder chair, deacon chair—I want to ask you to pray.
Conclusion: After Pat McBride gave us a little personal clinic, he split us up into two teams and we played each other, putting into practice the skills and attitudes that Pat had modeled and taught us. We got out on the playing field and you know what? I was not as good as Pat McBride. But our team scored some goals.
In a soccer game only 11 people can play at one time. But in the church, the field is wide enough and long enough for every person to play. Together we are running down the field toward the goal of seeing other people come to faith in Christ and to see believers strengthened in the Lord. When you come to Christ, you get a uniform and a pair of cleats because you are needed on the field. There is no bench. We have just had a personal clinic from one of the best in the game. We may not play as good as the apostle Paul, but there is chance that you might score a few goals.
DATE: January 14, 1996
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Spiritual gifts
Prayer