14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,“Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
— Romans 15:14-33

I always liked the dapper rock star Robert Palmer, who died young at the age of 54.  Most of us can remember jamming out to “Bad Case of Loving You.”  My personal favorite song of his, however, is “Every Kind of People:”

There is no profit in deceit,
Honest men know that revenge does not taste sweet.
Whether yellow, black or white,
Each and every man’s the same inside.

It takes every kind of people,
To make what life’s about,
Every kind of people,
To make the world go ‘round.

There are every kind of people in the world, to be sure, with much in common.  But, we are not all the same inside.  Even Palmer alluded to honest men, allowing that some are not.  Some seek revenge, others offer forgiveness.  But the biggest difference on the inside of every kind of people in the world is this: either the Lord Jesus Christ lives inside of you, or He does not.  

The Bible divides people into two groups.  There are saints and there are sinners.  Among the saints there are two groups too, the sents and the senders.  The Apostle Paul explains all of this as he begins to bring this big beautiful letter to the Romans to a close.

Saints and Sinners

Paul writes with confidence to fellow Christians around the world, referring to them as “brothers” (vs. 14, vs. 30) and “saints” (vs. 25).  All cognizant adults in the world fit into one or two categories, either brothers (and sisters) in Christ or those without Christ.  Which means, you are either a saint or you ain’t.

Every kind of people are saints and sinners.  Saints are still sinners.  But, sinners cannot become saints apart from God’s grace through obedient faith in the perfect person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Saints are different on the inside, for Christ lives in them, through the Holy Spirit, to bear fruit for God.  

Saints are “filled” (vs. 14), sinners are empty.  “Goodness” as God defines goodness would be a good conversion experience of grace through faith in the gospel that produces real good works (ref. Ephesians 2:8-10).  Saints hunger for good things like the word of God and worship experiences that spring from a rich devotion to Scripture.  Saints are filled with the Holy Spirit from conversion, which leads to sanctification. 

Saints are “sanctified” (vs. 16), sinners are not.  Saints receive Christ, not by their own power and strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who convicts and converts (ref. Titus 3:5).  The Spirit remains in the saints to steer them in the right direction, set them apart for the Lord’s worship and work, continually convict them of sin and cleanse them by the blood of Christ.  

Saints are “obedient” (vs. 18), sinners are rebellious.  Saints are not perfect, always forgiven, and mostly obedient.  It would be impossible to have Christ in you and not lean towards a Christ-like life.  Assurance of salvation comes from observant obedience (ref. 1 John 2:1-6).  Saints favor pleasing God, sinners just want to please themselves.  

Saints have a “ministry” (vs. 19), sinners just have jobs.  Saints have a purpose in life that pushes us beyond this life.  We all have a gospel ministry, to carry Christ into our homes, workplaces, places of recreation, everywhere we go.  The fruit we bear gains a reward to enjoy for all eternity.  Sinners just have whatever they can get in this life, which will one day be all gone and totally wasted.

It should be pointed out that Paul was a saint who could also produce “signs and wonders” (vs. 19) because he was an Apostle.  Apostles, eyewitness of and personally appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ were given powers mere Christians cannot copy.  Such powers have a very short shelf life, belonging only to Moses and Aaron, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus and the Apostles.  

In the end, saints are born twice to die once, sinners are born once to die twice.  Saints find a place in the church, with a few stragglers here and there.  Sinners are often church members, too, but only because they like the formality and false assurance that hypocrisy and nominalism brings.  

Sure, there are every kind of people, every kind of saint and every kind of sinner.  There are saints I just don’t like and sinners I just love.  But be assured you are either one or the other, a saint or a sinner, and eternity is a long, long time.

Sents and Senders

On the saint side there are two sides, the sents and the senders.  I realize I’ve invented a new word, but the sents are those who are sent by their fellow saints to reach sinners with the gospel and baptize them into the church.  There is a sense in which all saints are sent, to be sure.  We are all called to carry out the Great Commission.  But certain saints, from the Apostle Paul to modern day missionaries and Pastors, are sent with certain callings and commissions.  All who are sent should be supported by the senders, which includes every other saint.  How else will sinners become saints?

The Apostle Paul was the ultimate sent.  After his conversion on the Damascus Road (ref. Acts 9) and his seminary stint in Arabia (ref. Galatians 1:17), Paul was sent by God “to be a minister of Christ to the Gentiles” (vs. 16).  He accomplished three missionary journeys “in these regions” (vs. 23), from the Middle East to eastern Europe, then headed west for his fourth missionary journey “to Spain” (vs. 24, 28).  Paul was the quintessential missionary, church planter, and Pastor, three types of sents all in one person.  

God is still calling for sents with good sense.  If you sense God calling you into a vocational ministry, please consider Paul’s calling in order.  We need missionaries, heroes for the gospel, which I believe to be the greatest of the sents and saints.  We need church planters, at home and abroad, for we are bereft of good gospel churches here and around the world.  If you can’t see yourself being sent to do the first two, become a run of the  mill Pastor like me, a dime a dozen, but still precious to Christ and His church.  

My first seminary president, Dr. Gray Allison, told us all to go into the mission field, unless God compelled us to stay in the USA and become Pastors.  My last year I applied for service with the International Mission Board and I was willing to go anywhere in the world.  My interview revealed, however, there was not anywhere in the world I was being called to go, but like the Gadarene demonic, I was to “go home and declare how much God has done for you” (ref. Luke 8:39).  An American Pastor I am to this day.  But I’m still a sent.  And sents cannot function without senders.

Senders have a simple but spiritual commission.  Senders pray for the sents, senders give for the sents to go, and senders occasionally go to the sents (or bring them in to refresh their bodies and souls).  

“Your prayers to God on my behalf” (vs. 30), Paul wrote, made all the difference in his ministry around the world.  Senders pray.  Paul was “helped on [his] journey” (vs. 24) because other Christians “[made] some contribution” (vs. 26).  Senders give.  And at the end of the day, Paul looked forward to being “refreshed in [their] company” (vs. 30).  Paul made it to Rome, twice, albeit the hard way.  He visited with the church in Rome and brought a few of them along on the short term trip to Spain.  Senders go, too, sometimes, or at least bring the missionaries in for furloughs for rest and fellowship.  

Pray, give, and go, that’s what the senders do for the sents.  The result is more saints.  Then the cycle continues, sinners become saints, saints become sents and senders, until the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Just when you think this part of the epistle is totally practical and not necessarily theological, Paul ends it with a trinitarian prayer.  See the names of the Father, “God,” the Son, “our Lord Jesus Christ,” and the Holy Spirit, “Spirit” (vs. 30).  Then he closes with a benediction of Christian “joy” (vs. 32) and “peace” (vs. 33), the second of three beautiful benedictions at the end of Romans (ref. 15:13, 15:33, and 16:25-27).

You know that love’s the only goal,
That could bring a peace to any soul.
Hey, and every man’s the same,
He wants the sunshine in his name.

You want real peace?  Joyfully accept the love of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The offer is for every kind of people, red and yellow, black and white.  Receive it, become a saint, by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then figure out if you are a sent or a sender, and let’s get the gospel out to the whole wide world.