Romans 15:20

My Notes

What Does Romans 15:20 Mean?

"Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation." Paul describes his MISSIONARY PHILOSOPHY: he deliberately goes where Christ has NOT been named. He avoids building on someone else's FOUNDATION. The strategy is: unreached territory FIRST. The places nobody has preached. The people nobody has reached. The geography where Christ's name hasn't been spoken. Paul is a FRONTIER missionary — his ambition is VIRGIN soil, not established gardens.

The phrase "strived to preach the gospel" (philotimoumenon euangelizesthai — being ambitious/aspiring/making it my aim to proclaim the gospel) makes the frontier-focus a matter of AMBITION: Paul's 'striving' (philotimeomai — literally 'love of honor,' used as 'ambition/aspiration') is directed at UNREACHED areas. His AMBITION isn't bigger churches or more converts from existing Christian communities. His ambition is VIRGIN TERRITORY. The honor Paul pursues is the honor of being FIRST in a place.

The "lest I should build upon another man's foundation" (hina mē ep' allotrion themelion oikodomō — that I might not build upon another's foundation) reveals the PRINCIPLE behind the strategy: Paul doesn't want to build on what SOMEONE ELSE started. The foundation matters — if someone else laid it, let someone else build on it. Paul wants to lay FOUNDATIONS, not add to existing ones. The pioneer instinct drives the geography.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What unreached territory is your ambition directed toward?
• 2.What does Paul's AMBITION being for the frontier (not for size) teach about missionary calling?
• 3.How does 'not building on another's foundation' describe the pioneer instinct?
• 4.What unreached 'city' — what person, group, or space where Christ hasn't been named — needs your first preaching?

Devotional

I made it my AMBITION to preach where Christ had NOT been named — so I wouldn't build on someone else's foundation. Paul's missionary philosophy in one sentence: go where nobody has gone. Preach where nobody has preached. Lay foundations. Don't add to existing ones. The frontier is the calling.

The 'strived' (philotimoumenon) is AMBITION directed at the unreached: the word carries the energy of competitive aspiration — Paul is DRIVEN to reach virgin territory. The ambition isn't for size. It's for NEWNESS. The aspiration isn't for big. It's for FIRST. Paul's honor-pursuit is the honor of being the first person to speak Christ's name in a place that's never heard it.

The 'not where Christ was named' is the GEOGRAPHICAL focus: Paul doesn't target cities with existing churches. He targets cities WITH NO CHURCHES. He doesn't look for places where the gospel has already been preached. He looks for places where the gospel is UNKNOWN. The strategy is frontier — the edge of the reached world, the places just past the boundary of the gospel's current spread.

The 'lest I should build upon another man's foundation' is the PRINCIPLE that drives the strategy: Paul isn't OPPOSED to other missionaries' work. He respects their FOUNDATIONS. He just doesn't want to build on them. The desire to lay his OWN foundations — to START something rather than CONTINUE something — is the missionary instinct that drives Paul past every established church to the next unreached city.

What 'unreached territory' — what place where Christ hasn't been named — is your ambition directed toward?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture