In about two weeks, I am beginning a long process of preaching through the 16 chapters of Romans. If you know anything about Romans, it is arguably the most theologically weighty of all the books of Scripture.
Like many believers, I have read my Bible for years and years. I’ve read Romans (and all of the Bible) scores of times. But when you are tasked with preaching verse-by-verse, one at a time, sequentially, it makes you slow down and focus. You don’t want to miss anything. You don’t get to pass on the hard sayings. You can’t skip over the rough stuff. And in Romans, there’s a lot of that ilk.
You have to preach about the wrath of God, about sin, about suppression of the truth, about human depravity, etc. The gospel is there, too, rest assured! But the first sections of the Book of Romans are unrelenting in their exposure of, and condemnation of, human sin and moral rebellion against the holy.
This morning, I was reading through Romans again, and I was focused on just the first opening verses. And Romans 1:5 struck me: “through whom [Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his [Jesus’] name among all the nations,” and that was it.
For the sake of his name. Why does God call preachers and teachers and evangelists and apologists? For the sake of his name.
It’s not about our names. It’s about God; it’s about Jesus. It’s about his being the hero of the Bible and of the history of redemption, of salvation through judgment. For the sake of his name.
And that removes us from all except the hard work of being faithful to teach the truth accurately. Because when the people get mad (and they do, and they will), we must remember that verse, and why Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen it: For the sake of his name.
