I. To Beget the Believers through the Gospel

Paul told the Corinthians that he begot them through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). This is not to win souls but to beget children.

J. For the Building Up of the Body of Christ

We go to beget people, to regenerate people, not that they may go to heaven but that they may be the material to build up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12).

K. Burdened

1. To Bear Fruit among All the Gentiles

The name Paul means “little.” He was a little man, but he had a big heart. He wanted to bear fruit among all the Gentiles (Rom. 1:13). Because we are so narrow, we may be happy with getting one person saved a year. It is better if we aspire to gain ten yearly, in following Paul’s example. If there is a will, there is a way.

2. To Pay His Debt of the Gospel
as a Debtor to All Kinds of People

Paul said, “I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish” (Rom. 1:14). Paul owed people the gospel. To announce the gospel to them was to pay off his debt.

3. To Announce the Gospel to the Romans

In announcing the gospel to the Romans, Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes (Rom. 1:15-16).

4. To Stress the Beauty of the One Who Announces
the Gospel as the News of Good Things

Paul said, “How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the news of good things” (Rom. 10:14-15). When you go out to announce the gospel, you must have the realization that your feet are beautiful. If you were going to the theater, you would say, “How ugly are my feet.” But when you go to visit people, you say, “Hallelujah, how beautiful are my feet!”

5. To Enslave Himself to All That He Might Gain
the More and to Become All Things to All Men
That He Might by All Means Save Some

Paul was free. He was not a slave to anyone, but he enslaved himself to all men that he might gain the more. He became all things to all men. To the Gentiles, he became a Gentile; to the Jews, he became a Jew; to the people under the law, he became one under the law; to the people without the law, he became a person without the law. This was so that he might by all means save some, doing all things for the sake of the gospel; otherwise, it would be a woe to him (1 Cor. 9:16-23). Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (v. 16). This is because he was entrusted with a stewardship which would bring him a reward as an incentive.

6. To Charge His Young Co-worker Timothy
to Proclaim the Word in Season and out of Season
While He Was Ready to Receive His Martyrdom

Paul told Timothy, “Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). We often excuse ourselves by saying that it is not the right day or time to announce the gospel. But we need to be ready in season or out of season. That means we should proclaim the word whether the opportunity is convenient or inconvenient, whether we are welcome or unwelcome. Paul charged his co-worker to do this while he was ready to receive martyrdom (v. 6).

7. To Have the Saints as His Partners
in the Gospel, Striving for the Gospel

The saints in Philippi were Paul’s partners in the gospel, striving for the gospel (Phil. 1:5, 27). The Philippians joined Paul’s move in the announcing of the gospel.

8. To Fully Preach the Gospel of Christ
from Jerusalem and Round About to Illyricum

Paul was burdened to fully preach the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum (Rom. 15:19; cf. 2 Cor. 10:15-16). Illyricum was a remote region located northwest of Macedonia. Paul, with his co-workers, started preaching from Jerusalem. This shows that Paul preached extensively. At his time, he nearly exhausted all the places where he could preach the gospel. If we compare Paul with ourselves, we can see that his standard is very high and his example is excellent and perfect in announcing the gospel. When we consider Paul’s pattern, we have no excuse for not going to announce the gospel.