As I try to put myself in the shoes of those first century Grecian saints, I think that I can see several arguments impelling them in their generosity. A few of them might have had plenty of money, so it was no problem for them to give some of it away. And some of the people of those churches were Jews, and they may have visited Jerusalem, or even had relatives living there, so they gave with energy to meet the needs of their kindred and acquaintances. Others might have given simply because they loved Paul and would have done anything that he asked. On the other hand, some of the Gentiles might have given because they felt superior, or wanted to establish their superiority, over those Jewish brethren. And some might have been thrilled at the challenge and opportunity to give to the Lord’s work in this way. Some gave what they had, while others might have given in faith, trusting the Lord to make up in their budgets that which they sacrificially gave.
Paul raises a point in these verses, which takes this giving in yet another direction. “For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.”
Before we continue with Paul’s thought right here, let’s take one side-step, and run along a parallel line. Turn to I Corinthians 9:1. In this scripture, Paul teaches that we are obligated to meet the physical needs of those who try to meet our needs in the things of the Spirit. “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” Most Christians do not have a problem with what Paul is teaching in this scripture. A pastor should be financially supported by the people with whom he works and to whom he preaches. A missionary deserves to be as well supported as an ambassador of the American government. Galatians 6:6 – “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” The word “communicate” in Greek doesn’t speak about “having a conversation with someone.” It’s the word “koinoneo” (koy-no-neh’-o) and it refers to having a partnership with someone. The minister of the gospel, should be supported by those who are his partners in the ministry. And again, I know that this is not a problem with the members of this church.
May I point out that Paul is using that same logic here in Romans 15, but on a much broader plain?
Isn’t there a certain kind of debt that we have to those people But…. wasn’t it really the Lord who preserved His Word, just as He had promised? Do we really owe the Waldensians, the Donatists and the Anabaptists anything, since it was the Lord who guaranteed His Word? Despite our debt to the Lord, we are still debtors to those people whom the Lord used.
Now think back into the depths of the Old Testament. God made a covenant with Abraham, part of which undeniably spilled over onto every tongue and tribe in the world. If the Lord hadn’t given those promises to Abraham, they would have been given to someone else, and yet they were given specifically to that man, and therefore, there is a kind of debt that we owe to him through whom we have been eternally blessed. And wasn’t one of the things promised to Jacob the eventual arrival of the Messiah – our Messiah? Without the Saviour, we’d have no salvation, and Jacob played a role in the coming of that Saviour. We owe a debt of gratitude to that man as well. Have you ever been blessed by any of the Psalms? Every single Psalm – all one hundred and fifty Psalms – were written by Israelites. And most were written by a member of the Tribe of Judah. Can you name a single Old Testament book which wasn’t written by a descendent of Abraham? Perhaps Job.
Moving into the New Testament, if I’m not mistaken, all but a couple of books were written by Jews. Paul was a Jew, as were Peter, James and John, Matthew and Mark. The only New Testament exception was Luke. Certainly, we owe the blessings of the New Testament to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But at the same time we must owe something to those men through whom the Spirit spoke. When we get to Heaven and eventually have the privilege to meet some of these great servants of God, we will be quick to thank them for their part in passing the Lord’s revelation on to us. And for the most part we will be shaking hands with people who were born and raised – Jews.
As Christians we are debtors to Jews. “And their debtors they are. For … the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things.”
For some time in Israel, there had been years of famine and lost crops. The people of God were suffering as much as the wicked sinners who had actually crucified the Lord Jesus. The Christians who were living in more prosperous parts of the world, felt an obligation to meet the needs of the starving saints in Jerusalem. And they reached out to them with their silver and their gold.
But of course, our relationship to Israel has changed slightly. We are over 7,000 miles away and 2,000 years removed from the disciples. Our economies have changed; the need and opportunity to send gold and silver to Jerusalem has changed. I don’t believe that the Lord wants us to send church funds, or even our personal finances, to support the government of Israel. The fact that Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah and Jeremiah were all Israelites, doesn’t financially obligate us to their Christ-denying children. We have no more cause to financially support the nation of Israel, than we do to support the government of Taiwan, South Korea or England. However – if we know of Christian brethren, Christians with the same true doctrines as our own, who are in need there, then that would be different.
I don’t think that either Paul, or the Holy Spirit, will be upset with me, if I take Romans 1, I Corinthians 9, and Galatians 6 and blend them together in the spirit of Romans 15:27. Just as Paul felt obligated to preach the gospel in Rome, we are obligated to give to Jews around the world that same gospel. In fact, in some ways our debt to unsaved Jews and Israel is greater than to unsaved Italy and the Catholics. One of the earthly reasons that we possess the gospel today, is because some Jews a few centuries ago, first gave it to us. The great-great grand-nephew of John Mark or Matthew Levi may be a Christ-denying sinner, but for the sake of Matthew and Mark, he should be given the gospel once again.
A few weeks ago, we looked at some of the civil laws which were given to Moses. One of those laws stated that if someone gave his neighbor the responsibility of caring for his sheep while he went away on business, if that sheep was not returned to his original owner, then the neighbor was to be responsible. To you and me has been given something of much greater value than a sheep – “the Lamb of God.” We are debtors not only to the “Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise,” but even more so to those who first passed Christ, and the message of Christ on to us. “If the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things” and even more so in spiritual things. That was true in Paul’s day and just as much so in our own.