Romans 15:20  Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:
21  But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
22  For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
23  But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;
24  Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

The apostle Paul was called to preach the Gospel where it had not yet been given. He was not trying to be some hero. That is not the nature of a true saint. A true saint can be tempted with pride. We read that God sent the apostle Paul a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble.
He began his ministry in Jerusalem. However, he did not stay there. He travelled to many different places. He often encountered God haters in his travels. The Judaizers were spread across much of Asia. The truth was not being proclaimed there. The people had been saturated with lies. They needed to hear the truth. Many were being saved and true churches were being established. The apostle Paul was directed to choose and train godly men to be godly pastors. He was faithful and pointed those men to build upon the Word of God, and not upon him.
The apostle Paul was not going to build on other men’s works. He was going to build on the foundation of Christ. That was what was needed then, and it still is now. My background is Mennonite. Menno Simons lived from 1496 – 1561. That is quite a while ago. He was converted from Catholicism to true Christianity. He was truly converted and he began to teach others the truth after his conversion. As is common for us as people, he died. His followers chose to build upon his teaching, rather than continuing to build upon God’s Word. Menno Simons did not want people to build on him. He did not start the Mennonites. They took his name after his death. The result is a religion that is dead. There is nothing in that religion now that resembles the Word of God. That is the result of building upon a man.
God’s Word is powerful. God’s Word will impact the hearts and lives of the hearers. Man’s words will put people to sleep. It is amazing to see what the Mennonites of today have embraced. They are just as lost as the Catholics that Menno Simons turned away from when he was saved.
There are many Baptists that are also building upon men. There are many Baptists that follow the philosophies of Jack Hyles, or Peter Ruckman, or Paul Chappel. These are some well known names in Baptist circles. Men are men. Men are fallible at best. Some of them like the ones I just mentioned are way off base. They may sound good to the undiscerning mind. When you build on man, you will not see that. It is like the frog in the water. The water slowly warms up and you don’t notice the danger until it is too late.
We must build on God’s Word. If we do that we can know God’s blessing and be a help to others. In verse 21 the apostle Paul quoted from Isaiah 52:15. He was called to go to the Gentiles. He was going to preach the truth to the people who had not been as polluted by the Judaizers but still just as lost. The Judaizers were a stubborn people. They had great influence over the Jewish community. They despised the Gentiles and did not bother to try to reach them. They just wanted to keep the Jews locked in their false religion.
Paul impacted them with his preaching as well. However, God had called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He was directed by God to seek to help the saints to understand his motivation. We as people have busy minds. We can develop a theory that is way off base. We need to be careful to let God guide us in our thinking.
In verse 22 Paul stated that he had been hindered in being able to come to Rome up to that point. He would travel there as a prisoner, rather than as a free man. However, he had greater freedom than the soldiers that would escort him to Rome. He was free in Christ, while they were in bondage to false religions.
In verse 23 Paul understood that he had done all that God wanted him to do in his current part of the world. He understood that God wanted him to go to Rome. Rome was the headquarters of the Roman government. He would encounter other challenges there, even though he would be a prisoner there. God was his “travel agent”. God’s itinerary was different than that of the apostle Paul. Paul was content to let God plan his life. That is an important place for saints to come to. We all have plans. We all have ideas. We need to come to the place of realizing that God’s will is best.
God had worked in Paul’s heart over the years and he had no earthly attachments to Jerusalem or that area. He was content to leave that behind for the sake of doing what God wanted him to do.
We can become very attached to a house or a neighbourhood. For years I was quite fond of the area I grew up in. We even moved there a couple of times. We tried to make that our home, but God had other plans. God has been working in my life and I am content to be where God wants me to be. Earthly things take a much lesser place in my life. I love my family and desire to see them walking with the Lord. I cannot allow my family or other things to keep me from following God.
In verse 24 Paul continued to speak of his plans for Spain. He stated that he would come and visit the saints in Rome at some point. His plan was to travel further from that point. He did not know the details, but God would allow him to meet with the saints in Rome. Rome would also be the place from which he would eventually be condemned to death by the wicked government.
It is important to know the Lord and trust Him in all things. We do not need to know the details of the future. We need to know the God Who controls the future. He has a plan and He will work out His plan.

I Thessalonians 5:24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Paul had learned this lesson in great measure. He still could learn more and he was willing to learn. He was also willing to serve God where He wanted him. We are blessed in being able to read the Scriptures that God directed Paul to write. We are blessed to learn to follow and trust the same God that had saved and guided the apostle Paul.
Pastor Bartel