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Romans 1:14–15
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise (Rom. 1:14).
Paul has laid bare his heart for the Romans, telling them of his intense desire to visit their congregation and minister among them, a desire piqued by the encouraging reports about their faithfulness that are spreading abroad. However, each time he has made plans for the trip God has “hindered” him from coming by giving him fruitful work among other Gentile peoples.
And Paul is OK with that. He knows himself to be Christ’s bond-servant, bound to go where his Master sends him at any given time. But there is more: Paul sees himself as “a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.” The word debtor speaks of “obligation”; Paul is saying he has been given a responsibility in the propagation of the Gospel, to proclaim it “to Greeks and to barbarians,” “to wise and to unwise.” It is not that Paul’s calling is limited to certain nationalities, to the people of Greece and certain “barbaric” tribes. The parallel words “wise” and “unwise” reveal his meaning for us. In Paul’s time, Greek was the language of the educated, while “barbarians” were those who could not speak it. Thus, Paul is telling the Romans that he is sent to all of the world’s peoples, cultured and uncultured, educated and non-educated, sophisticated and simple alike. The Gospel is for all of them, for “God shows personal favoritism to no man” (Gal. 2:6). Thus, though Paul’s heart longs to be with the believers in the sophisticated, urbane, cultured capital of the empire, he cares about the spiritual well-being of illiterate, simple, uncultured peoples just as much, for they need his message, too. Therefore, whether God wants him to preach the Gospel to the intelligentsia of Athens (Acts 17) or to uneducated farmers in a small town of Asia Minor before sending him to Rome, Paul is content, for those “wise” and “unwise” both need the Gospel and he is charged with bringing it to them. This emissary of the Gospel feels compelled to go to all classes of people. Clearly he sees his message as the Good News for all. The world is his field.
Naturally, Paul’s “obligation” applies to the Romans, too. Thus, he hastens to add, “As much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” He will come gladly when he receives permission from his divine director.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
All too many modern churches are homogeneous in terms of income, race, or nationality. Thus, they tend to reach out to their “own kind.” Obviously, this should not be: Like Paul, we are to reach out to “ ‘all the nations’ ” (Matt. 28:19). Will you dare to pray for blindness to the status of those around you who need the Gospel?
For Further Study
- 1 Samuel 16:7
- Acts 10:34–35
- 1 Corinthians 1:20–25
- Revelation 7:9–10