Romans 1:8-17 – Motivation par excellence

Paul began by giving thanks to God for the believers in Rome for their faith which had spread far and wide. Their fame had created a desire in him to visit them so he prayed many a times to the Lord for an opportunity to come to them. Since the believers in Rome did not really know Paul, so he called on God to be his witness of how much he longed to visit them. He did so because both he and the Roman believers had a common faith in this God. Paul assured them that God alone would know how intensely he had desired to visit them by the number of times he mentioned them in his prayer. 

Why was Paul so eager to visit the believers in Rome? From verses 11-13, he gave us his first reason. He believed that by his visit they would be mutually encouraged. Paul knew that they had the capacity to grow further and be strengthened. He was conscious that God had given him gifts that could help them in their growth and had hoped to establish them in God. When that took place he was also hopeful that they in turn would encourage him. In this way the encouragement would be mutual. Just like he had been encouraged by the Gentile churches in the various places that he went, he now hoped to be encouraged by them in Rome. But so far he did not have the opportunity. Somehow things just did not work out for him as far as coming to Rome was concerned.

The second reason for his eagerness to visit Rome was his sense of obligation to fulfill His calling as an apostle to the Gentiles. God had given him a mandate to all Gentiles, not only to those of Greek origin but also to those not of Greek origin, whom he termed barbarians. This was the mentality of the Greeks: they were the learned and the rest the unlearned. Paul saw the Gentiles, regardless where they were from, as people he was called to minister to. So he had a great sense of obligation towards the believers in Rome as well.

Finally the third reason is found in verses 16-17. It stamped from his confidence in the power of the Gospel which he preached. In these two verses Paul literally established the theme of this book. In them we see his entire argument in the book of Romans in a nutshell. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”  

Paul openly declared that he was not ashamed of this Gospel. In fact he was glad to associate with it and we can see why. It is God’s power to save. The Gospel is the good news about Christ and His saving works – His death, burial and resurrection and ascension. He tells us that the only condition required to experience this salvation is belief. Besides, this Gospel is all inclusive, it is meant not just for the Jews but also for the Greeks, for everyone. In this Gospel God reveals His righteousness and we can see it increasingly clear through the eye of faith. Paul concluded his introduction by quoting Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”  

Just consider the righteousness of Christ that is made available to us through believing in this Christ of the Gospel. It motivated Paul. And it should motivate us. When we see it through the eye of Paul we will understand why. We exchange our filthy garment for the righteousness of Christ. It meant that God sees in us not what we used to be. And we no longer need to be frustrated by our own frail works to earn God’s acceptance. He accepts us because of what Christ had experienced on our behalf. Now He sees the righteousness of Christ in us. But having the righteousness of Christ meant also that henceforth we will live a life to please Him.