Romans pt 10: Paul's Work is Often Misunderstood (Ro 15:14-22)

By: Tommy Preson Phillips

Paul's Unique Work

People often misunderstand Paul’s ministry; some think of Paul as a reformed preacher calling people to repent and pray the "sinner's prayer;" Others believe he was creating a "Romans Road" to lead people to the salvation of their souls from eternal conscious torment; There are even Christians who believe that Paul is the architect of the Christian religion.

But Paul’s ministry differed from the other Apostles, even from Jesus’ ministry. The entirety of Paul's work was centered on one thing: bringing outsiders into the community of God's people; tearing down the boundaries of separation between insiders and outsiders so that Jesus could be the King of All, not just the Jews.

Before Paul… the church was simply another sect of Judaism that believed Jesus was the Messiah and that he had come to do what the prophets — like Amos — said he would: restore and unify a divided Israel, throw off its oppressors, and restore the twelve tribes around the presence of God. But not much thought was given to the proclamations of the prophets that, one day, the Gentiles would be included in God's people.

Before Paul… there was a strict separation between Jews and Gentiles. This separation boundary went back to the very beginning of Israel because they were a “set-apart-people,” and the boundary was enforced in the temple even in the time of Jesus. For example, a plaque hung in the ancient Temple, which we have in a museum today, says this:

“No stranger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure. Whoever is caught will be himself responsible for his ensuing death.”

The racial boundaries among God's people were vehemently enforced in the time of Jesus.

So I want to draw your attention to the prophet Amos's words; He starts by railing against the people: “You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. … There are those who oppress the innocent, take bribes, and deprive the poor of justice in the courts….” And so we pick up Amos’s crescendo in 5:21-24: 

21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5:21–24

Amos says, “all of this is for the betterment of the world; it is supposed to be good news for the poor, the immigrant, the outsider, the oppressed… but your religious activity has done nothing for anyone but yourselves!” Furthermore, when we reach the end of Amos’s big vision for God's people, we see God changing everything: 

So that… all the nations that bear my name, declares the Lord, who will do these things. ~ Amos 9:12

Justice, equality, and sameness for all people was the core of his message, so you can guess what happened to Amos; The Apocrypha tells us that the priest's son killed him at the direct order of his father.

“Minister to the Gentiles” V16

Paul was doing exactly what the prophets had called the people of God to do for centuries.  In Romans 10, Paul quotes Isaiah: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Paul saw himself as the prophet with “beautiful feet” who would bring God's new boundary-breaking kingdom to the Gentiles.

Paul called himself “a minister of Christ to the Gentiles” (v16).“Minister” is a word that refers directly to the work of a priest, the one who brings the sacred gifts to God. Paul pictures himself walking through the temple courtyard, bringing a Gentile as his sacred gift to God.

“What do you bring to the Lord? What is the precious gift that you have acquired; what do you offer him?” The Priest might ask, “Money? Power? A long and successful career? Church attendance? A beautiful worship song? A monthly tithe?”

The words of the prophet Amos ring in Paul's ears: “Away with the noise of your songs… but let justice roll on like a river!” (Am 5:23-24).

And the word of the Prophet Hosea return to his mind: “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Ho 6:6).

But Paul understands what God truly desires of us, and he responds: “I have abandoned my gifts of piety and religion; I have brought my enemy to you, a Gentile that I have received as my brother so that ‘all nations might bear your name’ (v18).”

This is Paul's entire ministry, to break the cultural boundaries our world is building up every moment of the day. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul paints this exact picture when he says:

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (1 Thess 2:19-20)

He calls the Gentile Christians in Thessalonica his crown. Now, if Paul wanted it to refer to a royal crown, he would have used the word diadema, but he didn’t; he used the term stephanos, which refers to a wreath that an Olympic athlete would wear after being victorious. 

Paul says, “I wear you all like a gold medal around my neck! Look at the victories that I have won! Look at how, with the help of God’s Spirit, I have cultivated love in my heart and fill you with it, like storehouses of wealth in your chest!”

Of course, we admire Paul for his writing and theology and bravery and his intellect… typical praiseworthy gifts. But Paul knows that all that the only sacred gift, the only sacrifice that matters, is bringing his former enemies to the table as his sisters and brothers; The lost ones being found. 

The Boundary Breaking Body of Christ

Sometimes I will hear someone say something like this: “Are you really friends with that person? How could you spend time with that kind of person?”

This is usually a warning of a social boundary that you are in danger of breaking. Our current surrounding culture is a boundary-making factory; our entire political system thrives on creating more and more labels, separating us into smaller and smaller groups. It helps them maintain power, and it keeps us from becoming too familiar with each other, lest we find out that we all want the same things -- things that threaten their power.

But Paul knew that God's first enemy has always been separation, both between He and us, and between each other. And so when Paul hears accusations from his own team that he is friends with outsiders, he would respond:

“We aren't just friends, we don't just share table fellowship, they are my prized possession! They are the most important things in my life.”

Breaking boundaries will get you shunned and ostracized; it might even get you killed, like Paul, Amos, Peter, and like so many Christlike disciples through church history. But taking up our cross requires making space for outsiders, those you don't understand, those you do not agree with, and those with whom you are not sure how they fit in. Our model is Jesus, who's dying breathe on the cross tore the veil that separated us all, prompting an outsider, a Roman soldier, and a Gentile, to proclaim that truly this was the Son of God.

Discussion Questions:

Have you ever discovered a social boundary in your community by breaking it?
How did the community respond? How did it disrupt?

Have you ever found yourself on the wrong side of a boundary?
A time when you realized that you weren't wanted?

Have you ever suffered for breaking a social or cultural boundary?

Have you ever had someone take up their cross for you in a way that helped you feel included?
Did this bring you salvation in any way?
What did God do through that?