The NIV says “I am bound” and the RSV says “I am under obligation” which should be properly translated “I am [a] debtor” (AV). What Paul is saying in a sense is that he is in debt, not because he has borrowed anything from the Romans, but because Jesus Christ has entrusted him with the gospel for them. Several times in his letters he writes of having been “put in trust with the gospel”. It is true that this metaphor is one of stewardship (or trusteeship) rather than indebtedness, but the underlying thought is the same. It is Jesus Christ who has made Paul a debtor by committing the gospel to his trust. He was in debt to the Romans. As apostle to the Gentiles he was particularly in debt to the Gentile world, both to Greeks and non-Greeks (literally “barbarians”), both to the wise and the foolish (v. 14). Why did Paul feel this way? Because he was amazed at the goodness of God that saved him so radically at the very time he was erring so greatly.

Actually, the gospel has always been for everybody. God reminded Peter that the gospel was for Roman military officers, like Cornelius, as well as for those, like the Jews, were ceremonially “clean. (Acts 10:34-35). Jesus showed the geographical scope of the gospel’s proclamation in Acts version of the Great Commission (Acts 1:8). How easily we forget this! Christians forget, or at least willfully ignore, that the gospel is for people other than themselves. Unbelievers argue, as an excuse, that the gospel is for other types of people.

The gospel is for you if you are among the educated of our world. You need this ancient Christian gospel. Whatever your educational attainments, however wise you may be, you are still a sinful man or woman and are cut off from God who made you and to whom you must one day give account for your many sins. You are mortal. One day you will die. You will enter eternity with or without the Lord Jesus Christ – just as surely as any other man or woman. Your intellect and education are great gifts. But it is God who has given them to you. And if you do not thank Him for these gifts and use them in ways that honor Him, you are more deserving of judgment than those who are unintelligent. You need a Savior. The apostle Paul had one of the best educations of his day, having been taught in the wisdom of the Greeks as well as in the religious traditions of Israel. He was a Roman citizen too! But Paul learned that the gospel of the crucified Son of God alone was true wisdom.

The Greeks called “barbarians” all who were not Greek, the next category of people to whom Paul says he was obliged to preach the gospel. “Barbarian” did not have the negative overtones to the Greeks as it has for us, barbarians were people who didn’t speak Greek. Although the word “barbarian” didn’t have quite the negative overtones it has for us – some of the “barbarians” were quite cultured people – it nevertheless had some. Greek was the language of the educated. Since the histories, epics, and plays were in Greek, to be a barbarian was to be cut off from this cultural storehouse. Perhaps you are a person who feels yourself similarly disadvantaged. I suppose there are more people today who feel themselves to be cut off from the mainstream of society than there are people who feel a part of it.

You may feel cut off because of a lack of educational opportunities, or because of your race, or because of your low income, which shows in the clothes you wear, the neighborhood you live in, the car you drive, and many other distinctions. We too often forget that Jesus Christ didn’t go first to the wise, wealthy, or influential citizens of His day, but to the everyday people, whoever and wherever they were. The important people didn’t like Him for it! They called Him a friend to drunkards and sinners. Nevertheless, that is where He went. His friends were carpenters, fishermen, tax collectors, and others who worked hard for a living. After His death and resurrection, when the gospel began to spread beyond the geographical borders of Israel, it was among the working people – often among slaves – that it advanced most readily.

At the close of his statement of obligation to the Greeks and non-Greeks, the wise and unwise, Paul explains his views by declaring, “That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.” When he mentions “you who are at Rome” Paul isn’t adding a new category, for the Romans fit within the earlier Greek or non-Greek, wise or foolish groupings. The church at Rome included every conceivable type of man or woman and was therefore itself all-embracing. In essence Paul is saying, “The gospel is for you, whoever you may be and wherever you may find yourself.” The gospel is for everyone everywhere, whoever you are, you need the gospel. The world needs the gospel and the gospel it needs is the whole gospel of God’s grace to sinners through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. If you are not a Christian, you need to hear this and come to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you are a Christian, you need to make this great news known to other people, as Paul did!

Romans 1:14-15 Reflection Questions:

Jesus has committed the gospel to your trust; what are you doing to share the gospel to the world?

What are some of your prejudices that you may have in regards to spreading the gospel?

If you are not a Christian, get with a Christian to help you come the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior!