ALL IN DEBT
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Opening Prayer
Loving God, thank you for the blessings you offer me each day. Help me express my gratitude in ways that others can see and be drawn to you.
Read ROMANS 1:8—17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Romans
Romans 1
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong–
12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Reflect
Think through your plans for the next 24 hours. Ask God to speak to you about them as you spend time with him now. How do you think God would have you use them?Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of being in debt? The feeling of owing someone else what is rightfully theirs can trigger very negative emotions, but it can also positively motivate us to do everything we can to repay what is owed.
In today’s passage, we read that Paul considered himself a debtor (v. 14). It wasn’t financial debt, but gospel debt: he had the good news that rightly belonged to others. For sure, God was the giver of the good news (1:2—4), and Paul himself had received it. But its rightful ‘owners’—the people to whom it was addressed (v. 14)—were not yet in possession of it.
Paul’s ministry had demonstrated that when people hear the story of God’s love, as shown in Jesus, it could have powerful and life-changing effects. So he’s not ashamed to talk about Jesus. Quite the opposite: he can’t wait to get to Rome to pay off some more debt (vv. 10—13)!
What is your church doing to pay back the debt of the gospel to the world? Where else do you see this happening?
Apply
Do you have friends, colleagues, or family to whom you owe the debt of God’s good news? How might you go about sharing Jesus with them?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, convict me in those places where I need to share the good news, giving me courage to trust in the gospel’s power to save.
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