The church at Corinth was still young and needed a lot of instruction, thank goodness, because the letters Paul wrote to them helped other churches –both then and now. Good came out of those early struggles as the believers learned from each other’s mistakes and successes.

From the beginning, the body of Christ was known for its generosity. The church in Jerusalem set the pace by sharing what they had so no one would be in need. But then a famine impoverished the people of Jerusalem and persecution against the church left widows and fatherless families for the  church to care for.

The church in Antioch was the first to give to the church in Jerusalem.  Paul and his fellow missionaries encouraged the new churches in Asia, Macedonia and Greece to give also, but the Jerusalem congregation was far away and foreign to them. The Gentile believers simply had to learn that giving was part of their discipleship.

Paul had good advice for anyone who tithed or gave to the Lord.

“On the first day of each week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.” 1 Corinthians 16:2-4

it was time for the church in Corinth to fulfill its responsibilities to the body of Christ.

Super Traveler

We can assume that Paul walked just about everywhere he went, except for the times he sailed.  Openbible.info has been able to add up the miles in Paul’s three missionary journeys and they estimate he traveled 10,300 miles in ten years, averaging 20 miles per day when he was on the road.

The Roman highways were beautiful, wide, straight and mostly safe from bandits. There were inns along the way, but wise travelers avoided them because of robberies, prostitutes, and filthy conditions. Paul probably carried his own bedroll and camped out at night or stayed with friends who invited him in. People couldn’t always send word ahead that they were coming, so most folks stayed ready for unexpected guests.

Hospitality, Healing, and the Gospel

When Paul first arrived in a town people usually had no idea who he was or why he had come, so he couldn’t be sure what his reception would be. Sometimes it was better than he could have hoped.

When he arrived in Galatia the first time, he was badly injured and sick from his flogging in Philippi. The Galatians received him, tended to his wounds, and saw him through to recovery. Even in that weakened state Paul preached the gospel and won souls.

“You know, brothers and sisters that our visit was not without results. We had previously been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you the gospel in the face of strong opposition.” 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

“As you know, it was because of my illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Jesus Christ himself.” Galatians 4:13-14

Now, nearing the end of his third missionary journey Paul had friends all over Syria, Asia, Macedonia and Greece. He still drew opposition, but he had places to go when he needed to move on.

Traveling On

Paul began to wind down his time in Ephesus and plan his return home. First he would visit Corinth, then he would go back to Jerusalem.

Ultimately, Paul wanted to go to Rome and visit the Christians there. Jews who were in Jerusalem at Pentecost and heard the gospel in their own language may have been the ones who planted the Roman church. There is no biblical record of any of the Apostles visiting Rome before Paul went there near the end of his life.

Goodbye to Ephesus

When Paul first arrived in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, he worked hard for three months to bring the gospel to the Jews in the synagogue. But he met with so much opposition that he finally gave it up and began to teach the Gentiles daily in the hall of Tyrannus.

The ministry to the Gentiles was successful – so successful that it caused a backlash. As people turned to Christ they stopped buying idols and the idol market crashed, so Demetrius the silversmith started a riot. He claimed that Paul was discrediting Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus and managed to get the whole city to turn out, even some people who didn’t know what was going on.

The city clerk quieted the crowd and pointed out that Paul and his friends had not broken any laws.  Paul was free to go, so he gathered the Ephesian disciples and said goodbye to them. Then he traveled through Macedonia encouraging the churches there before stopping for three months in Corinth. While he was there he wrote his letter to the church in Rome.

The Letter to the Romans

Martin Luther and John Calvin regarded Romans as the key to understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Luther said,

“It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.”

N. T. Wright calls Romans Paul’s masterpiece, “It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages.”

Paul wrote this epistle for several reasons.

• He wanted to tell the Romans how much he thought about them and wanted to come and see them.
• He planned to take a fourth missionary journey and go across the continent to Spain and he hoped the Romans would help supply his needs for that journey. Spain was an unreached region and Paul had a great desire to open it to the gospel.
• He wanted the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome to see how they all belonged together in the body of Christ.
• He wanted to express his deep love for his own people, the people of Israel.

Paul closed his epistle with greetings to a list of twenty-nine dear friends and fellow ministers. Ten of them were women and among those ten was Phoebe who ministered with Paul in Corinth and carried his letter to Rome.

Greetings and the Gospel

Paul’s greeting shows how completely his identity was wrapped up in Jesus Christ, and how much he wanted the Roman Christians to identify with Jesus, too.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God . . . And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.“ Romans 1:1,6

The churches were connected through a network of ministers and missionaries from whom Paul heard all about the Roman church. He prayed for the Roman believers constantly and he longed to go and be with them, because he wanted to proclaim the gospel to them even though they were already believers.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16

God’s Anger Against Sin

Paul wanted his readers to understand that everything people need to know about God has been revealed to them.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

But people refused to give God the glory he deserved, and their hearts grew dark. They turned their attention to what God made and worshiped it instead of him.

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desire of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1:24-25

Three times Paul says that God “gave them over.” God introduced himself and made an appeal to people to come to him, but when they refused, he eventually let them go. Then they experienced the consequences of their choices.

“Furthemore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.” Romans 1:28-29

This epistle was written to warn people of the wages of this kind of sin and Paul did not soften the message.

 

If you want to know more about the time and cost of Paul’s travels, check out this site:

https://www.openbible.info/blog/2012/07/calculating-the-time-and-cost-of-pauls-missionary-journeys/