Are You Apathetic and Faithless?

Romans 1:8

We finished Paul’s introduction last week so now we get to dive into the letter itself. Verse eight says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” This is similar to what Paul wrote in other epistles and letters, so this is still a somewhat generic statement, but it was still one that he fully meant.

We see some great truths in this verse that we often skip over (at least I know I do). Paul said, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ.” Paul realizes and remembers that God is only His God through the Son. Most of us (including me) seldom think about our salvation after a time. On the day we got saved, salvation was very real to us. We were astounded that Jesus died for our sins and rescued us from eternal damnation and eternal separation from Him and the Father. However, as the months roll along this awe begins to fade. Our thankfulness turns to expectation. Our wonder turns to reality. The greatest gift that we have ever received becomes nothing. We become apathetic.

This is not what God intended. Just because it is in our sin nature to forget about the greatest gift of all (which is exactly what the devil wants), does not give us an excuse to become emotionally numb. Paul’s words may be simple, but they show us that he remembers why he gets to have a relationship with God. Jesus died for him. Jesus paid the penalty for his sins on the cross so that he may be free, so that he may experience a relationship with God, so that he may be rescued from hell. Paul remembers why he gets to experience a relationship with God. He remembers the greatest gift of all. Do you? Do I?

We also see the faith of the Romans in this verse. We see that it was in fact so great that it was “spoken of throughout the whole world.” This is a fantastic testimony that the Roman believers had. They were faithful to God despite their circumstances. Of course, they were not perfect, none of us are, but they clearly were obedient despite their difficult circumstances.

Nero was the emperor at the time that Paul wrote Romans. Many of us know that he persecuted Christians in horrific fashion. In fact, Christian tradition holds that he even killed Peter and Paul along with several other Christians. Nero fed the Christians to lions, crucified them, and burned them alive. Yet, the Roman believers remained faithful.

There are two different but great challenges in this one verse. First, do we remember our salvation? Do we thank God for it regularly? Or have we allowed ourselves to forget about it and unintentionally become apathetic towards it, falling into the devil’s trap. Second, are we faithful despite our circumstances? The Roman believers faced life or death for their faith. Our circumstances are not so harsh, but we all have our own form of temptations. The devil wants to distract us and make our faith seemingly non-existent. The persecuted church was full of holy men and women who showed by their actions that they were willing to live and die for Him no matter what. If we were put in the same situation as the Romans were, would we live and die for Him too? Or would our faith disintegrate as soon as we had to choose God and lose something in return?

Follow Us on Social Media!