Established on the Solid Rock
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Understanding Paul's urgent desire to establish the church at Rome on the Solid Rock.
Text: Rom. 1:9-11
Date: 10/18/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Romans: Unashamed of the Gospel" Part 12
Description:
After encouraging the Roman church that the Christian world was "buzzing" with the news of their faith, Paul begins to reveal how passionately he desires to come to them to impart the spiritual gifts that will strengthen or establish them in that faith. We will ask ourselves why Paul feels this urgency, and realize that for every Christian and every church a storm is brewing-- a spiritual storm driven by malicious enemies who want to see their faith destroyed. We will turn in part to Jesus' parable of the house built on the rock to help understand why Paul feels this urgency. It is because of this spiritual danger, and the fact that his life and movements are subject to the sovereign will of God, that Paul writes this amazing epistle to immediately begin that establishment. It will impress on all of us the need to draw near to God and to do all that we can to live in His Presence, in order to be established on the Solid Rock when the storm inevitably comes.
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I. Introduction, Matt. 7:24-27.
II. Exposition of the text, Rom. 1:9-11.
A. Context, James 4:8.
B. Established in the Sovereign Will of God.
1. A vow and a prayer, vs. 9-10.
a. The vow, James 5:12; Matt. 5:33-37; 2Cor. 1:23, 11:31; 1Thess. 2:10; Rom. 9:1; Gen. 22:16, Psa. 89:35, 95:11, 105:9, 132:11.
b. Paul's servant's heart.
i. Paul as a man in humble servitude, Ex. 20:4,5; Luke 4:8; Rom. 12:1.
ii. Paul as a man in heartfelt servitude, 1Cor. 2:11; John 4:23.
c. The Gospel, Rom. 1:1.
d. The prayer, vs. 9b-10.
i. The declaration vs. 9b-10a.
1) Looking at the words.
a) Regular and fervent prayers, 1Thess. 1:2.
b) The emphasis, Eph. 1:16.
2) Two important points.
a) Noticing Paul's "shepherd's heart", Phil. 1:8; 2Tim. 1:4; Philem. 4.
b) The integrity of intercessory prayer.
ii. The content of the prayer, vs. 10b.
1) A tentative statement.
2) Subservience to the will of God.
a) God's will in this case.
b) Another great lesson, Matt. 6:10.
c) The importance of Paul's example.
2. Paul's focus on "establishing" the Romans, vs. 11.
a. The longing, Psa. 119:131; 2Cor. 5:2.
b. The desire.
i. What Paul longs to impart.
1) Defining "spiritual gifts", 1Cor. 12:8-11; Gal. 5:22-24; Rom. 5:15; 1Pet. 4:10.
2) A mission of sanctification.
ii. The need for being "established".
iii. The urgency of "establishing", Acts 20:29-31; Eph. 6:11-13.
III. Application
A. Enemies in the storm.
1. Our primary adversary, Gen. 3:1, 4:7; 1Pet. 5:8.
2. The false prophet.
3. The "whore of Babylon", Rev. 17:5.
4. The old man or woman.
B. Growing in grace.
IV. Conclusion
