Rom
15:18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ
has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word
and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit
of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have
fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
A simple verse at the end of the most profound letter ever written, but it carries some implications that might be overlooked unless understood in its context.
1)Paul begins this letter by saying to a church that was full of both mature and immature Christians,
(Rom 1:11-15) "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome."
This gives us a clue that what we commonly mean by "preach the gospel" is not what Paul means.
2) Paul shared the Gospel and planted churches for decades and fully understood the great commission was not to evangelize and put these new converts in the care of someone else, but to "go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
So connect this first verse with what Paul says at the end, and we can get into Paul's head to understand what he was thinking at the time. You see, he was called to go preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. So he went, and evangelized, then would spend days ministering and teaching those new converts. Even when he was stoned (possibly killed) he got up, went back into the city and finished ministering to them, promising them to stay in contact with them and send others to teach and build them up. As soon as he got wind that someone was teaching them something wrong, he wrote I and II Thess. That kind of immediate follow up is unheard of in today's missions trips.
As a missionary and short term missions leader I can confirm that what we mean by sharing the gospel is definitely not what Paul meant. We use it as a means of counting heads and calling this the fruit of our churches. Paul wrote to a church full of strong and weak Christians and said, "I have wanted to share the gospel with you all for some time!" For Paul, making sure that those new converts understood not just the doctrines in Romans but also the implications and applications of those doctrines. It wasn't until he had accomplished this could he say, "I have fulfilled the ministry God gave me in that region," and it was off to a new "mission field."
When we send out "evangelists" to share the gospel in the furthest corners of the earth, and come back with huge numbers but we are not committed to these converts by assisting in training them up and making them into strong Disciples that can grow on their own, we have failed the Great Commission.
Many churches today are the result of this kind of lack of follow through and "so-called" missions. It is no wonder that the world is filled with churches that fall easily into heresy, cause divisions in the body, watered down preaching, and preach easy-fix gospels.
As Pastors we need to commit to do ministry the way Christ and Paul exampled for us...not just in thousands annually that hear the gospel but to commit to make these same ones into strong Christ dependent disciples that are strong in their walks, doctrines, teachings, methods, etc. Let us knock off short term church plants and missions that are more of a salt-gun effect, but rather go where the Lord is leading and invest all that our churches have to build up those areas to the fullness of the measure of Christ.
Let us be Proud of what Christ has accomplished through us so that we can say as Paul said after decades of sacrifice, follow-through, faithfulness, and plain old hard work..." as ministers of Christ Jesus... in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God"...and finally, "I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ"
A simple verse at the end of the most profound letter ever written, but it carries some implications that might be overlooked unless understood in its context.
1)Paul begins this letter by saying to a church that was full of both mature and immature Christians,
(Rom 1:11-15) "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome."
This gives us a clue that what we commonly mean by "preach the gospel" is not what Paul means.
2) Paul shared the Gospel and planted churches for decades and fully understood the great commission was not to evangelize and put these new converts in the care of someone else, but to "go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
So connect this first verse with what Paul says at the end, and we can get into Paul's head to understand what he was thinking at the time. You see, he was called to go preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. So he went, and evangelized, then would spend days ministering and teaching those new converts. Even when he was stoned (possibly killed) he got up, went back into the city and finished ministering to them, promising them to stay in contact with them and send others to teach and build them up. As soon as he got wind that someone was teaching them something wrong, he wrote I and II Thess. That kind of immediate follow up is unheard of in today's missions trips.
As a missionary and short term missions leader I can confirm that what we mean by sharing the gospel is definitely not what Paul meant. We use it as a means of counting heads and calling this the fruit of our churches. Paul wrote to a church full of strong and weak Christians and said, "I have wanted to share the gospel with you all for some time!" For Paul, making sure that those new converts understood not just the doctrines in Romans but also the implications and applications of those doctrines. It wasn't until he had accomplished this could he say, "I have fulfilled the ministry God gave me in that region," and it was off to a new "mission field."
When we send out "evangelists" to share the gospel in the furthest corners of the earth, and come back with huge numbers but we are not committed to these converts by assisting in training them up and making them into strong Disciples that can grow on their own, we have failed the Great Commission.
Many churches today are the result of this kind of lack of follow through and "so-called" missions. It is no wonder that the world is filled with churches that fall easily into heresy, cause divisions in the body, watered down preaching, and preach easy-fix gospels.
As Pastors we need to commit to do ministry the way Christ and Paul exampled for us...not just in thousands annually that hear the gospel but to commit to make these same ones into strong Christ dependent disciples that are strong in their walks, doctrines, teachings, methods, etc. Let us knock off short term church plants and missions that are more of a salt-gun effect, but rather go where the Lord is leading and invest all that our churches have to build up those areas to the fullness of the measure of Christ.
Let us be Proud of what Christ has accomplished through us so that we can say as Paul said after decades of sacrifice, follow-through, faithfulness, and plain old hard work..." as ministers of Christ Jesus... in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God"...and finally, "I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ"
— at Escuela Superior de Teologia, Real Del Alamito, SON. Mexico
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