Preached September 21, 2008, Grace Family Church of Americus
"…..I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world……" (Romans 1:8, ESV)
Quote from sermon transcript:
"Paul, being a missionary, is expressing the supreme joy of missionaries, which is to know that the name of God is glorified in the world. Paul is exceedingly glad for the fame of the Romans faith. Why would he be so glad? For Paul, as of the writing of this letter, had not been to Rome. So he was not rejoicing to see that a work he had started was going well. It was not simply that rejoiced to see someone else's work going well. It is not joy in that Paul saw others being convinced of his position. No, Paul's joy in this was something much deeper.
"The Roman Church had made headlines throughout the whole world. Rome, because it was the focal point of the world at that time, the things that took place there ended up being known throughout the whole world. Now, I want to direct your attention to the types of things that make worldwide news…..very noteworthy things. Things that shape nations make the news. Things that divide peoples make the news. Things that alter the course of history make the news. These types of things that become known throughout the whole world. And according to the New Testament, faith is such a thing, to be proclaimed throughout the whole world, because faith is such a thing that changes entire nations, it changes entire cities, it transforms families….because faith at its core is heart-transforming….it is not the work of fallen man, but a supernatural work of God given by His grace so that He be glorified."
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