Romans 1:8-15

Second Passage (1:8-15). The Interest long taken by the Apostle in the Christians of Rome.

The address, had drawn a sort of official bond between the apostle and the church. But Paul feels the need of converting it into a heart relation; and to this end the following piece is devoted. The apostle here assures his readers of the profound interest which he has long felt in them, though he has not yet been able to show it by visiting them. He begins, as usual, by thanking God for the work already wrought in them, Romans 1:8; then he expresses his lively and long cherished desire to labor for its growth, either in the way of strengthening themselves spiritually, Romans 1:9-12, or in the way of increasing the number of believers in the city of Rome, Romans 1:13-15.