Indebted to the Gospel

Opening Up Romans—7

Exploring the riches of God’s grace, one passage at a time.

Paul had been praying for an opportunity to visit the believers in Rome. His desire? To “reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (v. 13). He didn’t just pray about it—he worked faithfully where God had already placed him. Pray and work—ora et labora, as the medieval monks said. That’s still our calling: serve the Lord where we are while trusting Him for what’s next.

As Paul continues his introduction, 1:14–15 reveals what drives him. His reason, audience, and eagerness to preach all spring from one truth—he was indebted to the gospel.

His Reason to Preach

Paul says, “I am under obligation.” The word he uses means debtor. Not in the financial sense, but spiritually. He’s indebted—not to people, but to God Himself. Jesus had rescued him, transformed him, and entrusted him with the good news. Once a persecutor, now a preacher, Paul knew that the grace he received wasn’t meant to stop with him.

Think of it this way: if someone gives you $1,000 and tells you it’s meant for someone else, you’re indebted—not to the giver, but to the purpose for which it was given. That’s how Paul viewed his ministry. God had entrusted him with the gospel, and now he owed it to others to deliver it.

That sense of calling still matters today. Ministry isn’t a nine-to-five job—it’s a life poured out. Preaching, serving, praying, wrestling with doubts and discouragement—these are all part of the calling. Paul lived with this sense of holy necessity: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

His Audience to Preach

Paul’s debt extended to “Greeks and barbarians, the wise and the foolish.” In other words, everyone. The gospel doesn’t belong to one group or culture—it’s for all nations and peoples. Paul’s ministry fulfilled the promise made to Abraham, that through his offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed.

This should shape how we see the church today. The church is meant to be a foretaste of heaven—a gathering of people from every tribe, language, and culture united in Christ. Our world keeps chasing after diversity without unity or unity without truth, but the gospel gives us both: one Savior for every kind of sinner.

If you’re reading this and not sure where you stand with Jesus, hear this: you are God’s audience. You’re not outside His reach. You’re in His presence right now, and His Word is calling you to seek Him and believe. 

His Eagerness to Preach

Because Paul was indebted, he was also eager. “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Grace had transformed his obligation into enthusiasm. He couldn’t keep it in. Like Jeremiah, it was “a fire shut up in his bones” (Jer. 20:9). Like Peter and John, he “could not but speak of what he had seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

That’s what the gospel does—it changes not only what we believe, but what we love. It makes us want others to know the same Savior who has set us free.

Our Reason to Share

Paul’s sense of debt, his wide audience, and his eager heart all flowed from one source: the transforming grace of God in Jesus Christ.

You and I may not be apostles, but if we’ve been saved by grace, we’re also entrusted with the gospel. We have an audience—our families, neighbors, co-workers—and we have every reason to be eager.

The gospel changed Paul. It’s changed you. Let’s go out and change the world.