Marks of True Spiritual Service:
Eagerness

“So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also”

(Verse 15) - So, as much as in me is - As far as opportunity may be offered, and according to my ability.  Again we are forced to note that this is precisely what God expects of us as His servants.  It is a two-edged sword of expectation and comfort.  I am expected to do all that I can, as much as lies within me; but that is all that I am expected to do and I am not held accountable for anything that lies genuinely beyond my ability to act.

I am ready … - I am prepared to preach among you, and to show the power of the gospel, even in the splendid metropolis of the world. He was not deterred by any fear; nor was he indifferent to their welfare; but he was under the direction of God. As far as he gave him opportunity, he was ready to make known to them the gospel, as he had done at Antioch, Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth.

He concludes what he had before said of his desire - that as he knew it to be his duty to spread the gospel among them, in order to gather fruit for the Lord, he was anxious to fulfill God’s calling, as far as he was allowed to do so by the Lord.  This readiness goes hand-in-hand with the above obligation.  We are responsible to act according to our abilities and capacities; but we are also required to be “ready” to act whenever and wherever God directs us to act.  The word means “ready,” “willing,” “eager,” “active,” or “passionate.”  In the LXX it carries such senses as “ready,” “willing,” “resolute,” “brave.” Philo uses the word for “ready” or “courageous,” and Josephus has it as an adverb for “willingly” or “eagerly.”  In Mt. 26:41 Jesus tells his sleepy disciples that the spirit is “willing” but the flesh is weak. The sense is more that of “eager” than “willing.” Doubt has been cast on the authenticity of the saying because the antithesis of spirit and flesh seems to be more typical of Paul than Jesus. But the antithesis here is a different one. The point at issue is taking the right way. An inner eagerness is not enough to accomplish this; it runs up against human limitation. The disciples declare their solidarity with Jesus (Mt. 26:35) but they are unable to live up to their good intentions.  Here in Rom. 1:15 Paul expresses his eager resolve to discharge his apostolic office in Rome; he has a sense of obligation to Rome, too, within his apostolic calling (1:5).

This underscores for us another key quality of genuine ministry – eagerness to minister.  Many minister out of obligation, or because it is expected of them so to do.  This is not the spirit in which ministry is to take place Biblically.  God’s servants are to be eager to minister – ready and anxious to get in there and “get in the game” so to speak.  It is not sufficient just to be on the field – they are anxious to make a contribution, and, as much as lies within them, to make a difference in the plan of God.

We ought also to note that Paul was eager to preach the Gospel to them.  He was not eager just to be with them, or have a set of meetings.  He was eager to communicate the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.  That means it was important for them to hear those principles.  This necessitates that we be certain of what is and is not a part of the Gospel, and that we exercise care in being sure that this is what we proclaim that we do not cloud the issue with politics or social issues, etc.  The Gospel is about Christ and His birth, life and death for His people and the implications of that finished action.  It is not about anything else.  To make it about anything else is to do violence to the Word of God and subjects one to the judgment of God.

As we have already mentioned, Paul’s external obligation to minister did not preclude his internal desire to fulfill that obligation. He not only was willing but eager to preach the gospel to believers in Rome.

He was as determined to preach … in Rome as he was to go to Jerusalem, although he knew great danger awaited him there. “And now behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me (Acts 20:22-23). In his spirit he was compelled to go because that was God’s will for him. Therefore he said, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God” (v. 24). Paul knew that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), that “to be absent from the body [is] to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

Paul had the same concern for the Roman believers as for those in Colossae, to whom he wrote, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24).

Life had but one value for Paul: to do God’s work. He was consumed by an eager desire to serve God, which included serving others in His name. That absolute commitment was shared by Epaphroditus, who “came close to death for the work of Christ” (Phil. 2:30). Such godly servants are like racehorses in the gate or sprinters at the starting blocks. They cannot wait to get on with the race of serving Christ.

A final characteristic of spiritual service, a bold spirit, is seen in the following verse, which will be studied in more detail in the next section. Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). He knew that Rome was a volatile place and that Christians there had already experienced persecution. He knew that the capital city of the empire was steeped in immorality and paganism, including emperor worship. He knew that most Romans would despise him and that many probably would do him harm. Yet he was boldly eager to go there, for his Lord’s sake and for the sake of the Lord’s people.

Paul was always zealous to do his duty; at the same time, he always acknowledged his dependence on God. This is an example which Christians ought to imitate on all occasions, never to deviate from the path of duty, but to leave events in the hands of God. The contrary of this is generally the case. Christians are often more anxious and perplexed about their success, than with respect to their duty. They forget what regards themselves, and wish to meddle with what does not belong to them but to God. To you also. - He does not inquire or decide whether they ought to be reckoned among the Barbarians or the Greeks, the wise or unwise; he was ready to preach the Gospel to them all.

Here terminates the preface to the Epistle. The first five verses include the general introduction; the last ten embrace the particular address to those to whom it is written. The introduction contains the name, the character, and the office of the writer; his vindication of the Gospel against the cavils of the Jews, proving that it was not a novel doctrine, and that the Apostles were not opposed to the Prophets. It authenticates the whole of the Jewish canon, and attests its inspiration. It undermines the errors of the Jews respecting tradition, and directs them to the Scriptures alone. It next announces the Messiah as the subject of the Gospel, - His glorious person as God and man, His birth and resurrection, His abasement and exaltation, and His almighty power. It finally asserts the communication of grace to the Apostle, his appointment to the office he sustained, the purpose for which it was conferred, along with a commission, of which he states the grounds, to all the nations under heaven. Where else shall be found so much matter compressed in so little space? Where so much brevity connected with so much fullness?

In the latter part, in which Paul addresses those to whom his Epistle was directed, he introduces many things well calculated to rivet their attention and engage their affections, while at the same time he conveys very grave and salutary instructions. What must have been the feelings of the Roman converts, when they saw the intense interest with which they were regarded by this great Apostle; when they considered the grandeur and value of the Gospel, to which he was about to call their attention in his Epistle; and when they were cheered by the hope of shortly seeing in the midst of them one whose heart glowed with such love to God, and such benevolence to them! All this must have tended to produce a reciprocal regard and reverential feeling towards the Apostle, an ardent desire to profit by his instructions, together with much gratitude to God, and many prayers to hasten his voyage to come among them. Paul did arrive at Rome, but, in the providence of God, in a very different manner, and in circumstances very different, from what he appears to have expected when he prayed for “a prosperous journey.” He went there a prisoner in bonds, was shipwrecked on his voyage, and kept in confinement after his arrival. But although he was bound, the word of God was not bound; and all fell out, in the adorable providence of God, for the furtherance of the Gospel. The circumstances, however, in which he was placed were not in the meantime joyous, but grievous. Yet now that he stands before the throne, now that he has received the crown of righteousness, and is numbered among the spirits of just men made perfect, what regret can he experience that, during the few and evil days he spent on earth, he was conducted to Rome through persecutions, imprisonments, storms, and shipwreck, an outcast among men, but approved and accepted of God?