Bible Study

Romans 15: 20-33

SUMMARY:God had specially equipped Paul with the spiritual gift of apostleship for the spread of the gospel message. This spiritual gift provided the apostle with special revelation from the Lord and special grace to take the gospel to places where the name of Jesus Christ had never been heard. It authenticated his preaching with signs and wonders and emboldened the apostle to break new ground in the preaching of the gospel and even venture into areas where he knew that the preaching of the gospel was a dangerous proposition. In these few verses alone, the apostle, who was then in Corinth, spoke of preaching in Macedonia, Achaia, Jerusalem, Rome and Spain. The special gift that the Lord had given enabled him to travel far and wide to preach the gospel.

APPLICATION: Like the Apostle Paul, we too have been specially equipped to spread the gospel. Though none of us has the gift of apostleship in the manner that the Apostle Paul had it, we in the church have many different spiritual gifts, which when combined in cooperative work enable us to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is our Christian duty and we must strive to perform it. We must endeavor to take the gospel to new ground, understanding that there will be opposition, but we need not be afraid of it. Rather than cower in fear, let us work cooperatively and pray, both personally and corporately, for God’s favor. God has equipped us to spread the gospel, and if we use our equipment – our various spiritual gifts – we will succeed.