The Friday after the Third Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 31, 2025 by under
Scripture: Romans 15:14-21 (NKJV)
15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written:
“To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”
Devotion
St. Paul was not writing this epistle to unbelievers. The church in Rome was not a gathering of unconverted Gentiles. They were believers in Christ. By the powerful working of the Spirit of God, they had received the Gospel and were followers of the faith.
Nevertheless, this did not make them exempt from Paul’s preaching. Just because they were already converted and engaged in works of sanctification did not mean that they needed no exhortation. It is the saints of God who need this preaching! Believers need to be reminded about the Law of God which condemns sin. They need the daily comfort of forgiveness through Jesus. Through such preaching, Christians are made acceptable to God (i.e., justified through faith) and are sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
We also have not ‘graduated’ from our pastor’s preaching. While we certainly possess the promise of salvation through faith, we have not moved past the need for exhortation. Through frequent sermons we are reminded about the Law which condemns our sin; we are comforted with the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are stirred up to love one another, just as the saints in Rome were full of goodness and able to admonish one another. By continuing in all these things, we too are justified by God’s grace and sanctified by His Holy Spirit.
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities, stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
