Lesson 12: A Vision for Missions

Schedule the final test and make sure the group is prepared for it.

Three cultures shaped the world that received the gospel in the first century. God prepared the world to be in a condition for the gospel to be most effective.

Greek Culture

Alexander the Great conquered the civilized world and formed his empire. He purposely spread Greek culture, because he believed it was superior to all others and because it would help to unite his empire. He wanted everyone to speak Greek and practice Greek customs. This prepared for the gospel because missionaries could preach the gospel in Greek throughout the empire.

Greek thinking caused people to see themselves primarily as individuals instead of members of a tribe and family. Therefore, they became more open to making individual religious choices. People realized that it was possible to change their religion.

Greeks saw themselves as citizens of the world, instead of just citizens of their own small state. They realized that there is truth that applies to all people, instead of each people group having their own truth. This made them realize that truth might come to them from somewhere else, and not only from their own tradition.

Greek philosophers tried to answer questions about the meaning of life and the universe. They believed that answers exist that would explain life for everyone.

Greek philosophers used reason to show that the old religions were wrong. They also caused people to be dissatisfied with the legends of the gods. The gods were exaggerations of humanity with human faults, guilty of immoral and evil actions.

Greek philosophers proposed new explanations for life and reality. Each new philosophy was debated, and no philosophy succeeded in answering the questions completely. They discovered and discussed the important questions but could not answer them.

Philosophy could not satisfy the spiritual need of humanity.

Christianity answered the questions asked by philosophy and also satisfied the spiritual need.

► How did Greek culture change the world and prepare for the spread of the gospel?

Roman Culture

The Roman Empire developed after the Greek empire had broken into various territories. The Romans conquered and united many nations, but much of the common culture was still Greek.

Roman conquests caused people to lose faith in their local gods who were unable to help them. People became more willing to hear about an omnipotent, universal God.

The Romans believed in many gods and had legends like Greek mythology. Many educated Romans did not really believe in the gods but practiced religion as part of their culture.

Roman law brought clearer concepts of justice. The Roman courts considered evidence in a reasonable way. This helped lay the foundation for the doctrines of man's guilt and justification.

The Roman domination ended the small wars between nations, bringing what is called the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace. This made travel safer, and missionaries could cross national borders without trouble.

► How did Roman culture change the world and prepare for the spread of the gospel?

Jewish Culture

Jews were scattered throughout the civilized world, and everywhere they established synagogues and taught their faith. The apostles observed that Moses was taught in every city (Acts 15:21). Jews faithful to the religion of Israel had influence in Rome.

Judaism’s concept of a sovereign, holy God was more respectable than mythology with its fallible, immoral gods. The high ethics of Judaism were attractive in a world of moral chaos. Christianity shared these ethics, raised them, and preached the potential of grace to transform a sinner and enable holy living.

Judaism's concept of God’s purpose in history and expectation of a Messiah gave hope for the future. The hope was in an intervention of God, not human solutions. Christianity announced that the Messiah had arrived and that a new age had begun.

► How did Jewish culture change the world and prepare for the spread of the gospel?

In this passage, the apostle explains why he is writing the letter. He wants to visit them, then receive their help to begin missionary work in Spain. This purpose of the letter guided its structure because Paul explained what the gospel is, why everyone needs it, why messengers are important, and why he was qualified to go. He showed that worldwide missions were always the plan of God.

► A student should read Romans 15:8-33 for the group.

Notes Verse-by-Verse

(15:8) Jesus fulfilled the messianic promises given to the Jewish patriarchs and came through the Jewish nation and religion.

(15:9-12) Through several Old Testament quotations, the apostle shows that God always planned for the gospel to go to the Gentiles. In the scriptures Paul quotes, the prophets had predicted that:

• Gentiles would become worshippers of God.
• The Messiah will rule over the Gentiles.
• Gentiles will trust in the Messiah.

(15:13-14) The Apostle gives a prayer of blessing for the Roman church and says that he believes they are spiritually strong. In the following verses, he will call them to have a vision for mission work. Even a blessed church that is spiritually strong is not complete without a vision and involvement with missionary work.

► What happens if a church does not have a desire to support missionary work in distant places?

(15:15-16) He tells them about the special call he has to take the gospel to the Gentiles. God has given him special spiritual gifts for this work. His desire is that the Gentile churches be holy and genuine, pleasing to God.

(15:17-19) God has given success to his ministry. Many Gentiles have become obedient to the Word of God. The most important result of ministry is that people repent and live in obedience to God. No other sign of success is so important. He says that his ministry is also marked by miracles by God. He spread the gospel throughout great regions.

(15:20-22) His practice was to preach in places where the gospel had not been preached before. He systematically covered regions. That priority was the reason he had not made the trip to Rome, because the gospel had already been preached there.

(15:23-24) He had preached the gospel in every area near him. He wanted the Roman church to help him make a missionary trip beyond them into Spain. The trip would give him the opportunity to preach and fellowship in Rome, and also help him to reach a region that had not been reached yet.

► Explain how every Christian and every church has a debt to support the spread of the gospel. (If needed, see the note on 1:15, in the first lesson.)

(15:25-29) First, he would make a trip to Jerusalem to carry an offering from the Gentile church to the Jewish church. This offering was very important. By sending the offering, the Gentiles were acknowledging their debt to the Jews, because Jewish Christians brought them the gospel. By receiving the offering, the Jews acknowledged that the Gentiles were in the same church. There would not be separate Christian religions. That is why Paul asked them to pray that the Jewish believers would accept the offering.

(15:30-33) He asked them to pray that he would be delivered from danger from the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem, so that he would be able to come to Rome. This prayer was answered, though not the way he would have chosen. Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner after he was arrested in Jerusalem by Jewish rulers, taken by the Roman governor, and sent to Rome for trial. (The story is in the book of Acts, starting at Acts 21:26 and going to the end of the book of Acts.) We do not know if Paul ever made the trip to Spain.

► How do we see the providence of God in the events of Paul’s life, even if the trip to Spain did not happen as he planned?

Summary of Chapter 16

There are more greetings by name in this epistle than in any other of Paul's. It may be that since he had not been to Rome, he mentioned all of his acquaintances who were there in order to help begin his relationship with the church.

► A student should read Romans 16 for the group.

Notes Verse-by-Verse

(16:1-2) Phoebe was probably with those who carried this letter. Paul told them to help her in her ministry because she met the needs of many people. The best person to help is the person who is already a blessing to others.

(16:3-4) Aquila and Priscilla had risked their lives for Paul. (See Acts 18:1-3, 24-26 for more history about them.)

(16:7, 11, 21) Relatives of Paul are named in these verses.

(16:13) The woman mentioned is probably not literally Paul's mother. Rufus may have been the son of Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross, because in Mark 15:21 his name is mentioned as if he were known to the church later.

(16:17-18) There are people who try to separate others from the foundational truths of the church in order to build their own followings. They are not serving Christ, but their own desires. Their message is contrary to right doctrines of salvation. (See 3 John 1:9-10 and 2 Peter 2:1-3.)

(16:19) We need to learn as much as we can about truth. We do not need to know much about evil. People who study evil things face the danger of an unhealthy attraction and distortion of their thinking.

(16:20) The church will ultimately triumph over Satan through the work of Christ (Genesis 3:15).

(16:22) Tertius was not the author, but the person who wrote as Paul spoke the letter to him.

(16:25-27) These verses refer to the main themes of the letter. Notice the phrases “my gospel” and “preaching of Jesus Christ.” He again states that the gospel is both a fresh revelation and the old message of the prophets. He ends with a final reference to missions, reminding them that the message is for all nations. The goal of mission work is the same as Jesus stated in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20): to bring people into obedience to Christ. This concludes the letter as it began, as 1:5 says: that the reason for ministry is to bring people of all nations into obedience to God.

The gospel can be explained using verses only from the book of Romans. This presentation of the gospel is sometimes called the “Roman Road.”

The first sentence of explanation for each reference is the most important one to remember.

Romans 3:23      

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Every person has sinned by doing things they know are wrong. This verse shows the real problem that people have. They have not obeyed God; they have deliberately disobeyed God. No person is an exception. No person can be accepted by God on the basis of having always done what is right.

For further emphasis of this point, you can use 3:10 (“None is righteous, no, not one”) and 5:12 (“Death spread to all men because all sinned”).

Romans 6:23

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Sinners have earned eternal death, but God offers eternal life as a gift through Jesus.

This verse shows why sin is so serious. Because of sin, the penalty of death is passed to every person. It is eternal death, the judgment of God which every sinner deserves.

In contrast to the death we have earned, God offers the gift of life, something we have not earned.

Romans 5:8

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The gift of God was provided by the death of Christ for us.

God was not willing to let us receive the judgment we deserved. Because he loves us, he provided a way for us to receive mercy. Jesus died as the sacrifice so that we can be forgiven. God did not wait for us to do something to deserve salvation – it comes to us while we are still sinners. Salvation is offered not to good people, but to sinners.

Romans 10:9

“If you confess... and believe... you will be saved.”

The only requirement for salvation is for the sinner to admit he is a sinner and believe God’s promise of forgiveness.

What about repentance? If a person admits that he has done wrong and wants to be forgiven, he implies that he is willing to quit his sins.

Romans 10:13

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The offer of salvation is to every person. Nobody is excluded. No other qualifications exist.

Romans 5:1

“Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God”

Believing God’s promise makes us a friend of God, no longer counted guilty.

To have peace with God means that we are no longer his enemies; we are reconciled. The sin that separated us from God is taken out of the way. To be justified means to be counted as not guilty. To be justified by faith means that believing God’s promise is all that is necessary for our forgiveness.

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Because we are connected to Christ, we are no longer condemned for the sins we committed.

Christ lived a sinless life and fulfilled the requirement of justice with his death on the cross. By faith we identify with him and with him are accepted by God the Father. God treats us as though we have never sinned.

Conclusion

Explain that an unbeliever can be saved by praying to God, confessing that he is a sinner, and asking for forgiveness on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice for him.

For Learning and Practice

The best way to learn and practice this method is to first mark each verse to be used in Romans by circling or underlining it in your Bible. Then, put a number beside each one showing the order of its use. For example, beside the verse to be used first, write the number 1.

Practice presenting the gospel. Read each verse and give the explanation that goes with it. Be sure to include the concepts that are in the first sentence after each verse (above). Then, add whatever explanation is needed, using the other sentences if they are helpful. It is not necessary to use the exact words that are provided in this lesson.

Practice until you can do it without looking at anything except the Bible.

(1) Explain how three great cultures prepared the world for the spread of the gospel in the first century.
(2) How did the apostle show that God always planned for the gospel to go to the Gentiles?
(3) Why was the offering for the church in Jerusalem so important?
(4) How did Paul arrive in Rome?