9/22/24 “Road Trip”
“Road Trip”
Romans 15:14-33
How many of you here this morning love a good road trip?
Maybe you’ve taken a road trip up to Door County...or down to Branson, MO...or maybe you’ve even taken a road trip across the country?? ..........
I absolutely LOVE me a good road trip…
Something about the idea of being on a slab of pavement that could take me all the way to an ocean...(East of West)...or to a Polar Bear (North)...or to incredible Burrito (South)...
Even if I don’t travel that far down the road...just the idea that I could really gets my heart racing!
Maybe it's a guy thing....
Lisa & I are quite different in this area.
Lisa’s idea of a great vacation is to fly somewhere – and when she gets nestled in her Air B&B – that’s when the vacation begins.
My idea of a vacation – on the other hand - is when the car leaves the driveway headed for a destination hundreds of miles away…
I just love the idea of going places that I’ve never been…Seeing things that I may never see again…
And when I get home – I just can’t wait to get back on the road again.
…somebody should write a song about that, you know? 😊
I remember one year when our daughters were pre-school/kindergarten age, we took a road trip to Florida.
For a number of weeks leading up to the day of our departure, we continually told the girls of how much fun it would be to take a road trip.
Finally, the day arrived.
The girls were super excited as they climbed into our Dodge Durango and we pulled out of our driveway headed for the Gulf of Mexico.
The first hour of the trip was exciting as all 5 of us (Grandma came along, too) talked about what fun it was to be driving to the ocean.
The second hour of the trip was a little quieter as we were all eating breakfast that we had brought along…
By the third hour, some were sleeping...it had gotten very quiet in the vehicle…
After a very long silence, little 4-year-old Lexy (One of the few riders still awake) innocently spoke up and questioned in a soft, crackly voice: is. this. fun?
She had been told that driving to Florida was going to be amazingly fun…
…and somehow the cornfields of northern Illinois made her question the validity of what she had heard.
Certainly, road trips aren’t for everyone…
But for those of us who love the open road, we are blessed to be living in a country that offers a wide variety of beautiful and scenic routes to travel on.
Now, you might be wondering what is the longest possible road trip in the world?
(Show Slide)
It’s called the Pan-American Highway….and it covers 18,640 miles from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina in South America.
The Pan-American highway passes through 14 countries and six time zones.
Field Trip, anyone?....We have a bus….
Our passage of scripture for today deals with a road trip as well…
Paul is about to embark upon a 1,000-mile trek from Macedonia (Northern Greece) to Jerusalem.
That’s about from here to Dallas, TX....on foot...The Chevy Palestine hadn’t been invented yet! 😊
Verse 25 (Romans 15:25) says “Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.”
Why was Paul headed East, when he just got finished telling the church in Rome, Italy that he wanted to come see them on his way to Spain…
If you’re familiar with geography, you know that Italy & Spain are west of where Paul was in Greece....while Jerusalem is east of Greece…
Why was it so important to Paul that he go all the way to Jerusalem…before ever taking a road trip of thousands of miles back the other direction to Rome?
It has to do with priorities....
It had to do with putting the needs of the church before his personal wants & desires.
Look at verse 26 (Romans 15:26) “For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.”
So, Paul had been collecting financial offerings from the churches in Macedonia which then were to be delivered to the church in Jerusalem…
Some of you may be wondering “Why would the church in Jerusalem need so much financial assistance? …aren’t they the “Mother Church”, so to speak?
Shouldn’t they be better off financially than smaller, rural churches that are hundreds of miles away?
That’s a very good question.
And....here’s the answer.
The mostly gentile churches outside of Jerusalem weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination – but, financially - they had become more stable than the church in Jerusalem.
Why? …. Because In the late 50’s/early 60’s AD, the church in Jerusalem was suffering not only great persecution – but great poverty.
There was a famine throughout Palestine, and because of persecution from unbelieving Jews, many Christian men had lost their jobs....or been put in prison.
This made for a perfect storm of desperate times for Christians living in Jerusalem…
Paul was aware of this, and his first priority was to bring these financial contributions to a church where they were needed the most.
In verses 26&27 we read that the Gentile believers were pleased to give financial resources to their Jewish counterparts in Jerusalem.
They didn’t look at the situation as a burden…”Oh, man…Paul wants us to give money to a big city church? What’s up with that?”
No, the Gentile Churches were pleased to provide an offering...
And verse 27 (Romans 15:27) reminds us that they were actually indebted to the Jewish Church in Jerusalem.
The churches in Greece understood – that had it not been for the early church in Jerusalem and the vast resources they once had – the gospel message most likely would not have reached their ears….
…and they would still be eternally lost in sin.
THIS is what made them pleased to give of their financial resources to a ministry in need.
The attitude of the Macedonian churches also provides a lesson for us today as well….we should never give to the work of the Lord begrudgingly.
…Our giving should always be from a heart of generosity and joy.
2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us of this when it says “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
We need to look at giving as a blessing…as an opportunity to help advance God’s Kingdom.
Just this weekend alone, look at the opportunities we all have to cheerfully give to the work of the Lord.
On Friday night, we heard all about Zak & Becky Alwin’s ministry called “Bringing Cultures Together”….a ministry that spreads the gospel to primarily foreign students working in the Dells.
…and, of course, today you have the opportunity to give generously to Lex Kyano’s ministerial efforts as a full-time staff member of CRU.
God has blessed all of us – and one way to show our gratitude for those blessings is to give of our financial resources to ministries where God is moving…
…where He is actively saving lost souls through people who have dedicated their lives to ministry.
In chapter 15, we also see Paul begin to conclude this theological masterpiece of a letter by encouraging the believers in Rome to continue serving each other with their individual gifts and knowledge of the scriptures.
Look with me at verse 14 (Romans 15:14) “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”
Let’s briefly unpack what Paul is saying here in this important passage.
The first thing Paul relays to the believers in Rome is that he has heard of their goodness…
…In other words, their high moral character and obedience to God.
It seems as though the believers in Rome – even though living in the capital of worldly corruption – had faithfully submitted to God’s expectations of Christian morality.
This church was a kind, authentic, humble body of committed believers whose reputation for faithfulness and goodness reached all the way to Paul’s ears…hundreds of miles away.
So....Let’s ask ourselves:
What do you think the reputation of this church is amongst other believers in this area…as well as the community at large?
I pray that it is similar to the Roman Church in Paul’s day.
I pray that when people think of this church, the first things that come to mind are goodness…love…humility…knowledge of proper doctrine….fellowship….discipleship…authenticity…integrity…
In other words, my prayer is that not only other people will see this church as a bright light in a dark world…
...But more importantly…that God sees this church as a bright light in a dark world.
The next commendation in verse 14 (Romans 15:14) that Paul expresses toward the church in Rome is that of being ‘complete in knowledge.’
Paul is not talking about human knowledge, but the deep knowledge of God’s truth in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
These believers were doctrinally sound – even without having the written New Testament to refer to if they had a question about the faith.
This is a testament to those who were teachers in the church there...
...As well as to the members themselves who intentionally made it a priority to listen to the teachings about church doctrine – and retain the information they heard.
Brothers & Sisters, it is downright pitiful as to the lack of doctrinal knowledge the average professed Christian in America possesses today.
...Despite having more informational data today than in any other point in history.
Recent polling consistently reveals that the majority MAJORITY of self-described Christians in America hold to numerous doctrinal positions that are clearly unbiblical.
There are only 2 possible reasons for this.
Either a person is truly ignorant to the truths of scripture – they have never been exposed to God’s Word or how to properly interpret it…
OR
They have been exposed to God’s Word and simply choose not to live in obedience to it.
Sadly, I believe that many professed Christians here in America fall into the latter category…
With the abundant information we all carry around in our pockets these days, there really is no excuse for a so-called Christian to be ignorant of what is taught in scripture…
The problem – I believe – is that people in the West have decided to pick and choose which parts of this book they will adhere to…and which parts they won’t.
Remember the old ‘Burger King’ slogan “Have it Your Way”?
Sadly, this has become the mantra for far too many Christians today…
We are so used to having the ability to customize and order things to our exact specifications that it has led to an entitlement mentality...
..And this mindset has spilled over to many people’s spiritual lives as well!
See something you don’t like in scripture?...Just ignore it – or engage in some kind of theological smoke and mirrors to make it say what you want it to say.
Have you ever seen one of those clowns who can turn a long balloon into the shape of an animal?
That has always fascinated me (The balloon part - not the clown part – I’m deathly afraid of clowns)
It intrigues me as to how just a thin film of latex and air can be transformed from one shape to another.
Well…people attempt to do this with God’s Word all the time.
They will attempt to twist a passage of scripture into something that no longer even resembles the original meaning – the original shape.
Paul describes this situation to his young protégé Timothy when he gives him this warning “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
In the world of theology, hermeneutics is the study of how one should properly engage with scripture in order to arrive at a proper, orthodox understanding of the text.
Unfortunately, there are many preachers and teachers within certain “Christian” denominations and traditions who – like balloon clowns – twist and distort scripture using a faulty hermeneutic.
You may have seen a video from earlier this year of a pastor from Africa chastising his own denomination at its annual worldwide conference…
…A denomination that has over the past couple of generations adopted a faulty hermeneutic regarding the understanding of scripture
They have “Exchanged the truth for a lie” as Paul said back in Romans chapter one….
…And this pastor from Africa was holding his bible in the air pleading with the ruling council members of his denomination to return to the literal and obviuos meaning of God’s Word.
…to stop trying to be “balloon clown theologians”
But his pleas fell on deaf ears…deaf, itching ears.
Just this past week, the Catholic Pope was speaking to a group of young people over in east Asia where he made the comment that “All religions are paths to God.”
..He went on to say that world religions are like “different languages that express the divine.”
Folks, the nice way to describe these comments would be to say that the Pope’s words stem from a faulty hermeneutic of scripture…
The blunt way to describe his comments would be to say that they are lies…lies that make a mockery of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Jesus clearly states in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” !!
Only a personal relationship with the savior who died on a cross for your sins will bring you into a right standing with God....
Not the teachings of Buddhism, or Islam, or Scientology, or the Watchtower Society...none of these religions will lead you to being born again...
And, according to the words of Jesus in John chapter 3, being born again is the prerequisite to having your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
The world doesn’t like restrictions…The world doesn’t like absolutes…
Apparently neither does the Pope – the leader of 1.3 billion people who view his statements as essentially having the same authority as God’s Word…
Folks, This is why it is imperative that we know scripture, and that we take the words of the Bible to mean literally what they say.
The fundamental salvific tenets of God’s Word are not a list of neo-gnostic, mystical riddles only to be solved by some ultra-religious convocation of theological elites!
The fundamentals of salvation are plainly conveyed to us in this book (The Bible)
…Where each and every word has meaning and purpose.
When church leaders and teachers twist God’s truth into shapes of their own liking, they are being nothing more than theological clowns in a circus of heresy and condemnation.
Those are strong words, but – folks – we need to boldly stand up for the truth of God’s inerrant and infallible Word when it’s under attack from anyone – inside or outside the church.
The final virtue in verse 14 (Romans 15:14) that Paul mentions about the church in Rome is that they are competent to instruct one another.
…Some of your translations may use the phrase “Able to admonish one another.”
Admonish is a word that means to advise, or recommend, or counsel.
In other words, if you are full of goodness and are knowledgeable about scripture – you are able to counsel others in the faith.
Now, there are some individuals who God has given a natural gift of counseling…and I thank God for those individuals, because I do not possess a natural ability in that area…
But any of us who consistently walk in obedience to God’s Word, and have a working knowledge of God’s Word...
….We are more than capable of helping a brother or sister in the faith with something that may be going on in their life.
…To a certain extent, we are all Christian counselors if we have a decent understanding of scripture – and if walk according to its ways in our own lives.
Many of you have 2 Timothy 3:16-17 memorized: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
As a believer in Jesus, you have also been indwelt with the Holy Spirit…
He not only provides you with peace and comfort…but He also provides you with wisdom – and the words to say to others in difficult situations.
When you shy away from helping a brother or sister in the faith, you are actually underestimating the power of the Holy Spirit to perform His job in your own life.
So...In conclusion...Paul was on a road trip of necessity.
He wanted to see these believers in Rome who had gained such a positive reputation for doing God’s work in ministry…
…But he knew that the immediate priority was to bring the financial collection to Jerusalem…
...so the church there would have the resources to continue on in the work of the Lord.
Sometimes that happens in our lives as well….
Sometimes we must put something desirable in our life on hold – or sacrifice it altogether – for something that is currently a higher priority.
Continue down the road that God has for you…savor the scenery of life around you – because it doesn’t stay the same forever.
We eventually go through different seasons of life where the scenery changes…and our vehicles need to adapt to the changing road conditions.
Lastly, as you travel down the road, look for opportunities to help other people in need
….because someday, you will be that traveler in need.
Let’s Pray.