“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” -Romans 1:14–15
As theologians are often divided about nuances of meaning in words and the construction of language, various theories abound about the meaning of Paul’s debt (under obligation) to these various categories of Gentiles.
Some suggest they had contributed to his understanding of the meaning of life. He was first educated at Tarsus (Roman education; his father was a Roman citizen) and then later at the feet of Gamaliel (Jewish education).
Others have suggested that he had “got fruit” among the various nations and was thus indebted to all of them. This is why he now hoped to gather fruit among the Romans as well; thus, depending on how one viewed the expression, he wanted to either incur a debt with them in Rome as well or discharge his debt to all Gentiles by preaching to them at Rome.
While there may be some measure of truth to each of these theories, it is more likely Paul Minear’s explanation best expresses Paul’s meaning: “To the extent that Paul was indebted to God for this call, to that very extent he was indebted to those Gentiles for whose sake God had called him.”
Understanding his meaning this way has a universal application in that believers should see the gospel as imposing a debt on all of us who receive it, a debt for which the only repayment consists of passing on the good news of Jesus Christ to someone else.
Jesus paid the sin debt of the world (1 John 2:2). Some of us have, by the grace of God, realized the significance of that payment and trusted in Christ’s mercy; others are still lost in their sins, groping for the truth. Perhaps, Paul’s eagerness to preach the gospel to [the Romans] reveals the degree to which he realized the weight of the debt of the gospel.
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