Romans 1:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you

NIV: God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

NASB: For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,

CSB: God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you,

NLT: God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

KJV: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

NKJV: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Paul has just declared how he thanks God for his readers, the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:8). Now he calls on God to be his witness about what he is about to say to them. In other words, Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that he isn't lying to them. If God chose to speak about this, Paul says, He would back me up.

Paul is not being frivolous or light-hearted about God, either. He adds that he serves God with his spirit in proclaiming of the gospel of God's Son Jesus. In other words, serving God by preaching Christ is Paul's whole life. He is being absolutely serious when he says that God would back him up on what he is about to say.

And what Paul is about to say is that he prays something about his readers, the Christians in Rome, "without ceasing." In this case, we should take "without ceasing" to mean "regularly and continually." This does not mean literally every second of every waking moment, of course. Rather, it implies that Paul does not take days off from praying for this thing, and it is important to him that his readers understand that. The following verse reveals what it is that he asks God for.

Romans 1:8–15 contains Paul's description to the Roman Christians of his longing to travel to Rome to be with them. He prays continually that he may be allowed by God to come. He wants to give to them a spiritual gift and for them to mutually encourage each other's faith. Part of his reason for wanting to come to them is that his mission in life is to carry the gospel of Jesus to all people groups, many of whom are represented in Rome.

Romans 1 introduces Paul and his purpose in writing this letter to the Christians in Rome. As servant and apostle of Jesus, Paul's mission in life is to preach the gospel of Jesus to all people groups, both Jews and Gentiles. He hopes to do so in Rome soon. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. It is God's power for the salvation of all people by faith in Christ. We need to be saved because God is angry with us. Because of our sin, humanity has rejected Him as creator and provider. We worship created things, instead. In response, God has given us over to indulge in all kinds of sinful practices that lead to misery now and His angry judgment later.

Romans 1 begins with Paul's introduction of himself and his mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. After telling the Christians in Rome that he is eager to come see them and preach the gospel there, Paul declares that the gospel is God's power to save everyone who believes in Jesus. We need to be saved, because our sin has earned God's wrath. As a whole, humanity has rejected God as creator and provider. We worship creation instead of Him. In response, He has given us over to the full indulgence of our sinful desires. We are guilty and deserve His judgment.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.