Bible Study Romans Part 24-Constrained

Paul drops a phrase in Romans 1 that sounds almost foreign to modern ears: “I am debtor.” Not guilty, not ashamed, not pressured by people, but internally bound by Grace. We take a close look at Romans 1:13-14 to understand what Paul means by “fruit,” why he feels an obligation to preach the Gospel in Rome, and what that reveals about authentic Christian faith.

We also walk through the hard honesty that sits underneath real gratitude. God’s law does not flatter us, and when we actually face what it demands, it exposes our helplessness and the seriousness of judgment. That darkness matters because it sets the stage for light: when we finally see what Christ has done, the natural response is not spiritual laziness but a deep, steady compulsion to share Good News with people we love and people we’ve never met.

Along the way we clear up Paul’s categories of “Greeks and barbarians” and “wise and unwise,” showing why he is not trying to insult anyone but to underline a mission that reaches every kind of person. We then turn the mirror toward ourselves: the hymns we sing, the urgency we lack even with today’s technology, and the warning in Hebrews about neglecting “so great Salvation.” We even wrestle with the uncomfortable idea that the church loses something when preaching becomes just another occupation, and we read Paul’s sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11 as an example meant for our learning.

If you want Bible Study that presses past comfort into clarity, listen through and ask yourself one question: do I “get it” the way Paul did? Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these Romans studies.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Scripture Matters

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Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries. We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. Never treat what God has said lightly. There's truly nothing more important to you. Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word.

Why We Study Paul Closely

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As we're teaching the through the letter to the Romans, we're sort of taking a side road, but not really a side road. We're learning a lot about the man that wrote this letter, the type of Christian that he happens to be. And we're learning so much about the way we can have effect, impact on those that we're trying to share the gospel with. It has everything to do with our attitude, in my opinion. So as we're going through these verses, we're also taking sort of a closer look, a focus on Paul himself. We are in the first letter to the, we are in the first chapter of the letter to the Romans. We are going to start today on the 13th verse. So we are in the letter to the Romans. We are in the first chapter. We're starting with the 13th verse today. And we I am going to read out of the King James. Please follow along with the Bible in front of you. Make sure that you bring a Bible with you every time you come to Bible study. But if you forgot this time, we do have the verses up on the screen. Romans

Paul’s Plan To Bear Fruit

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1:13. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren. That just means I want you to know. Paul wants them to be aware that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hindered hitherto, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. Now, Paul set up churches all over the area of what the Bible calls Asia Minor, roughly where Turkey is today. He's also responsible for the establishment of three churches in Europe. Of the 27 books of the New Testament, at least 13 were written by this apostle, Apostle Paul. Since nearly the very beginning of the church, the doctrine of the Christian life, the Christian church, has largely been based on the writings of this inspired man. And that's why we study him so intently. If it is our goal to understand what it means to be a Christian, then we study the writings of Paul. Yes, of course, it's important to know the whole Bible, but the things this man wrote are especially pertinent. He indeed had fruit among many other Gentiles and Jews, and he was now eager for the same thing in Rome. Though I'm sure you know what Paul means here, the fruit he speaks of is poetic language, referring to successful exploits for the Lord, positive outcomes from labors on behalf of God. He wanted to partner with that church in Rome in an effort to add to the kingdom. Together, he was proposing that they could find more souls to convert to the cause of Christ. Bearing fruit is a common biblical metaphor and not just here in the New Testament. And Paul's words would have needed no explanation to those who read them.

Law First Then Gospel Relief

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Paul continues in verse 14. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. One of the marks of someone who is truly a Christian or truly Christian is their sense of what has actually happened to them. There are some who insist that the right way to teach the gospel is to first preach the law. The more I get into God's word, the closer I get to him personally, the more I agree with that approach. You see, one of the things the law teaches us is how far we are from God's ideal. And there's no way to, there's no way to teach what the law says without teaching the penalty for not following the law. Spending time on those things naturally leads the pupil to discover his own helplessness. The only correct reaction to an understanding of God's law and our natural obligations to it is terror. When we truly grasp what the law is and why God sent it, we should find ourselves in utter desperation. When we see how God is holy and how unholy we are, and we realize, we come to realize that holy and unholy cannot exist together, we find ourselves in such misery that we're certain our only true path is one that leads directly to destruction. Then and only then can we honestly appreciate what Christ has done for us. And when we finally make that decision, once we give our heart to Christ and accept his payment on our behalf, we find ourselves so grateful, so humbled, so humiliated that we have an intense urge to show our appreciation. Constrained is the New Testament word for that feeling. You and I find ourselves under constraint to share the good news that has delivered us from ruin. When we come to realize what the law is saying to us, and then when we come to realize what the gospel is saying to us, we can't help but to feel inside a compulsion to share that. We're almost afraid for our loved ones and even strangers. We don't want them to fall into the ruin that we see we saw ourselves heading toward before we accepted the gospel. That's what Paul is describing here. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.

Greeks Barbarians Wise Unwise

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Now, quick me, quickly let me address what appears to our modern ears as a harsh statement. To Paul and his contemporaries, the world was divided between Hellenes and foreigners. That's those that are culturally Greek, Hellenistic, which by the way is also includes the Romans. These are considered the Hellenes. That's on one side, and then on the other side, those that were not. So Hellenes to include the Romans and foreigners. Honestly, the original meaning of the Greek word barbaros, from which we get our word barbarian, listen to me, really had more to do with language than anything else. Those that did not speak Greek were labeled barbarous or barbarian. Now, though its origin is a little difficult to nail down, some say that the original sense of the word is that of a stammering or a stuttering. A more detailed definition says that barbaros refers to, quote, a speaker of an unintelligible tongue. That's all it originally meant. And of course, what they meant by unintelligible is anything that was unintelligible to the Greeks. Though definitely carrying a tone of arrogance, the pejorative use of the word barbarous didn't come along till much later, long after it had made its way into the English. So Paul is not insulting anyone by referring to them as barbarians. He's simply using a well-known in his day classification method. And then Paul goes on and mentions the wise and the unwise. Again, if Paul was preaching today, he'd be run out of the pulpit for using such offensive language. His YouTube channel would have been shut down because of the myriad of hurt feelings these statements elicited, Paul. Making people feel unsafe. But no way around it. He means exactly what it sounds like he means. And he's not being unkind, but he does make a distinction between the educated and the uneducated. Then as now, there were those who were blessed with instruction in culture and literature and sciences, and those who weren't. In contrast to our own time, in Paul's day, it was okay to say there was a difference between the two. So, yes, Paul said there were some educated people and some ignorant people. By the way, this verse is actually rather tame because in other places the same original Greek word is located. It's translated into the English word fools. Cancel culture would have a field day with that one. Let's move on. Paul in verse 14. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. It's not that Paul owed money all over town. It's just that he recognizes and is motivated by the great blessing of grace that he's received, and he feels compelled to share the knowledge of that grace. It's because he has received grace and apostleship from the resurrected Son of God that he has incurred this debt, not financial debt, but debt of action.

Hymns That Reveal Our Real Loves

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Now, the amplified version of the Bible puts it this way. Just a quick reminder, by the way, the amplified Bible is not a translation, but a very good paraphrase. And it renders Paul's statement in this way, statement in verse 14, I mean, Paul speaking. This is the amplified version. I have an ab obligation. I have an obligation to discharge and a duty to perform and a debt to pay. You know, we meet so few people like the Apostle Paul these days. At one time, especially in that first century church, almost every Christian was like this. You know, sometimes I listen to people singing hymns in church, and I think, oh, how I wish you meant the words you're singing at this moment. You know, one of the saddest truths of my religious upbringing is we didn't have some of these beautiful Protestant hymns in our hymn books. Listen to these words. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Isn't that a beautiful thought? O Lord of my heart, not be all else to me, save that thou art, thou my best thought, day by day or night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light, riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise. Thou mine inheritance now and always, thou and thou only, first in my heart, high King of heaven, my treasure thou art. I wish when people sing that song, they think about the words, the things that they say. How about this one? Perhaps some of you have sung this recently. Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nations, do you think Jesus is the ruler of all nations? O thou of God and man the Son, thee will I perish, Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, though my soul's glory, joy, and crown, thou my soul's glory, joy and crown. Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring, Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, who makes the woeful heart to sing, fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight and all the twinkling starry host. Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast. Beautiful Savior, is your Savior beautiful to you? Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations, Son of God and Son of Man, glory and honor, praise, adoration now and forevermore be thine. Listen to me. If only a fraction of those attending Christian churches this Sunday actually saw Jesus as the Lord of the nations, honestly wished him glory and honor, praise and adoration now and forevermore. If that was truly our attitude, we could evangelize the whole world in a generation. Literally, for the first time in history, we actually have the technology to reach the entire globe, but sadly not the desire. And that says one thing to me. We have no idea of the true magnificence of the grace we've received. It makes me think of the following passage. Some

A Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

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say Paul wrote it. I'm not so sure, but anyhow, here it is from the anonymous letter to the Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 1. Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? You know, when Paul told those Roman Christians that he was a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise, it wasn't all that necessary. From a practical teaching point of view, what did he think he could gain by letting them know this about himself? He didn't say they had to be debtors or should be debtors, he just said he was. Why did he write that in this letter? Well, I think it's because he couldn't help it. Just judging from the statement itself, I don't think anything could have kept him silent on this. He had just spent 12 verses describing the gospel and his connection to it, and it just stirred up something in his heart. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. Now, in the original, a word is being used to describe the feeling of being bound to do something. It gives this idea that he's swept away by his obligation to act. I mean, this isn't his job.

When Preaching Becomes An Occupation

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I've always said that I believe that the church started to die the day preaching became an occupation. A professional clergy course has significantly slowed church progress down through the centuries. And I know I should be careful saying that because I risk offending some people. As usual, I'm not impugning everybody, but I still think we'd all be better off if preaching was done without an expectation of a steady salary. Yes, that would put a burden on the position, but it's definitely one way to make sure that the people who do preach do so because they feel indebted to the one who called them to such a service and not to the ones who signed the paycheck. Yes, we'd have fewer preachers, but oh, what a bunch they'd be. Leslie Hale tells a story about a man who began actively supporting his ministry, Leslie's ministry. He was lucky enough to meet the man and encouraged him to come to their services more regularly, maybe even commit to being a part of the ministry. The man declined Leslie's suggestion sadly and said, Oh, sir, I cannot. You see, I'm an ordained minister in a major denomination, and though I know you preach the truth, I stand to lose too much if I leave. I would have to forfeit my retirement and I'd be ruined. There was nothing that could stop Paul from spreading the gospel he was so eloquently describing in these first few lines of his letter to the Romans. And I suspect his description even excited a holy reminder in his own heart of his great love for his savior and his sense of undeserving grace in being chosen as an apostle. Just the thought of the grandeur of it all reminded him of the intense need the world of the Greek and the barbarian and the wise and the unwise had for such soul-saving truth. And that discovery also invoked in him this sense of extreme urgency to get to these people everything they needed to receive it. He, and I sincerely believe this, he saw that he would be nothing but a traitor and an ungrateful monster if he failed to do his part in spreading to the whole world something he knew it desperately needed. To me. No one goes through what Paul went through if he didn't have this extra gear, this irresistible force pushing him

The Price Paul Paid To Serve

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on. Just listen. And this is only a partial list of the things he endured. Just listen to what he went through just to satisfy the compulsion to discharge the debt he felt. Let's go over to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. He says, I'm about to boast about something, but I know I shouldn't be boasting about it. Are they ministers of Christ? I am more. In labor's more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths off. This, you know, it's kind of difficult for me to get up on Sunday mornings, John. I'm not sure I can go to church today. I'm not feeling well. Of the Jews, five times receive, die 40 stripes, save one. You know, my kids are sick. If I go to church, who's going to take care of them? And I think it's going to rain. I'm not sure I want to go out in the rain. Thrice I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I've been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, imperils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. Listen, please, don't treat this as just some interesting bit of ancient history. Get into this, learn from it, emulate it. This has been put in the Bible for a reason. Paul himself says that scriptures have been given to us as examples. They're available to us for our learning.

Measuring Our Own Commitment

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That's what Paul says. I'm going through this with a fine-toothed comb because I want you to compare Paul's efforts with your own. Listen, you can't do anything about the work of others. You may not like your pastor's style, or you may not like the way I teach you things. You may not like the fact that your neighbor sleeps in on Sundays while you never miss a service. What others do is beyond your control, but what you do is not. How do you view your own commitment to the one who saved you from the grave? Look at you're really not under any legal obligation to do anything. In fact, if you do nothing for the rest of your life, your salvation will remain intact, provided you're saved, provided you've accepted Christ's work on your behalf. Even if you, as a saved Christian, listen to me, if you do nothing else for the rest of your life, you're still going to go to heaven. Your entrance to heaven is still secure. But is that really the way we treat people that we're indebted to? Remember, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about Paul's declaration that he's a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. He covered the whole gamut with that. He's indebted to everyone. And he's indebted because of the great, he feels the indebtedness because of the great kindness shown to him by our Father. And this is in this letter, I believe, to get us to face where we stand. I think the Holy Spirit wanted you to see the example of someone who gets it. Do you get it? Have you really realized your own fortunate circumstances to water it down despicably, but still? Do you know what you've been saved from? If you don't see yourself as a debtor both to Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise, like Paul, then I sincerely doubt you do. And if you agree with me on that, if you after reading Paul's attitude toward his salvation and the one who provided it, after reading all of this, you discover for yourself that you've fallen short of this man's example, then do what you can to rectify that. Let me go back to 2 Corinthians again. I got off track. I'm going to start over, no grumbling. Are they ministers of Christ? I am more, in labor's more abundant, and stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews, five times I received, of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I've been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, and perils of robbers, and perils by my own countrymen, and perils by the heathen, and perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren. It never stopped for him. It never stopped. In weariness and painfulness and watchings often and hunger and thirst and fastings often and cold and nakedness, besides those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Put this to the test. Next time you're in your church council meeting, suggest a pay cut for the minister. And if the minister's there, make sure you come in chainmail because, buddy, you're going to have some missiles hurled at you. Just kidding. Don't do that. Do not interfere with your church council. But I do want you to imagine what the room would look like if you made such a suggestion. Now we're not done here, but I think that may be enough for now. We'll get right back to this next time. See you then.

Closing And How To Connect

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We hope this study has blessed you. God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption. It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners. Please join us again soon. New content is being added all the time, so make sure you check back often. For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channel and podcasts, please visit www.chapelontheweb.com. And if God has laid it upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our secure giving page. Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization, and your donations to this program are not tax deductible. It's our hope that you do not rely on taxing authorities to decide for you who is worthy of your generosity.