Romans 1:1-7 - Part 1
Set Apart for the Gospel
Last week we noted that the theme of Paul's epistle to the Romans is the gospel of Jesus Christ. But Paul applies the gospel to a very real problem in the first century: How do we incorporate these new Gentile believers into the one people of God, particularly without disenfranchising God's original people, the Jews? The main source of tension between the Jewish and Gentile believers was the proper place of Torah (the Jewish law) in the Christian life. What answer will Paul give to unite these two factious people in love? What will remove this barrier wall of the law of Moses between the Jew and Gentile and bring these believers in Jesus Christ together in the one, new people of God?
For Paul the answer he brings to these Roman Christians is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "the righteous man will live by faith (Rom. 1:16-17).
This morning we now turn to Paul's own introduction to the epistle (vv. 1-17), which is longer than normal, because Paul has never visited the Roman Christians before and he must now introduce himself in what is the longest letter we have from the apostle Paul's pen (over 7,000 words).
In our verses this morning Paul will introduce himself by stating:
1. his divine calling as an apostle and servant of Christ (v. 1);2. the message that he has been called to proclaim (vv. 2-4);3. the specific task with which he is occupied (vv. 5-6);4. his address and salutation to the Roman believers (v. 7).Right upfront Paul wants to establish his apostolic credentials in his worldwide commission to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. But why must Paul always set forth his apostolic commission before his audience?
Because Paul is a servant, ambassador under the authority of another and he must set forth from the beginning that as the servant of Christ he does not speak for himself or by his own authority but only as the mouthpiece of Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-20). Therefore, we have a responsibility before God to listen carefully to all that Paul teaches and to obey his word as if we were hearing the voice of our Savior Himself.
Paul begins the letter by identifying his master, his office, and his purpose.
A Bond-Servant of Christ Jesus
First, in v. 1 Paul tells us that he is a "bond-servant," literally a "slave" of Christ Jesus. This is a very interesting phrase filled with a lot of history among the people of God. In the Old Testament the leading figures like Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and King David, and prophets would often identify themselves as the "servants of Yahweh." In the same way, Paul understands his place in the Kingdom of God as one who has been purchased with the price of the blood of Christ, that he is no longer his own, but he has died to himself and now he is to take up his daily cross and follow Jesus Christ as his faithful servant. Paul gladly bears the title, "slave of Jesus Christ."
But this little phrase wonderfully defines the true nature of all believers. The cross of Christ has an incredible leveling affect turning the most powerful among us into slaves of all.
The term "slave" denotes total devotion to Christ -- a slave is completely at the disposal of his or her Master, Jesus. It connotes absolute humility, devotion and obedience to the Messiah, Jesus. In Christ, the way the world thinks of leadership, power, and authority is completely reversed. Jesus taught us in Mark 10:
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 “But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).
Notice that in the Kingdom of Christ, the roles that we so value on earth are completely reversed. The greatest among us here becomes a servant of all. The first among us must be a slave to his neighbor. Why? Because of the gospel. Jesus Christ did not come to us to be served, but to serve us, to become our slave by laying down his life for us.
Paul teaches us in Ephesians that we are to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ (Eph. 5:21). Why does Paul add this little phrase "in the fear of Christ"? Because in the ancient wisdom literature of the Jewish people "the fear of Yahweh" was the beginning of wisdom. Because Jesus is God, Paul now applies this same idea to Christ. Jesus Christ crucified on the cross for our sins is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18-25), which is the ultimate display of Christ's servant-hood to you. The cross is the way Christ did not come to be served but to serve you by becoming your slave to the point of death, even death upon the cross. Now, if we are to have the wisdom of Christ we will follow our Savior in not seeking to be served by others, but to become the slave of all and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
In Philippians Paul says:
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:3-5).
In Galatians we have died to ourselves and live out of our new life in Christ:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).
Paul will also have much to say about this in the book of Romans:
For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think . . . Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation (Rom. 12:3a, 9-16).
We have all become servant-submitters one to another in the cross of Christ. We have become slaves to all. This is an incredibly valuable lesson that will forever change your life here on earth. If you need a purpose for your life, look at the cross of Christ, and serve everyone in your life that way.
In all the most basic relationships in your life, whether between husbands and wives, parents and children, master and slaves, you each have first a common call between you to walk worthy in your identity as Wife, Child, and Slave. Paul says in Ephesians 4:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).
To walk in a manner worthy of your calling in Christ, you are to walk according to your new life in Christ as a Wife, Child, and Slave. This establishes your core attitude to everything and everyone else in life and it applies equally to all. In what way?
Well, first, each of you, whether man or woman, is the Wife of Christ, who is your Husband (Eph. 5:25-32). Both male and female, you are married to your Husband, you are the Wife of Jesus Christ, and you are called by Christ to fear only Him and live a life of submission and obedience to Him. If Christian husbands would first understand this gospel work in their own calling to their wives before they do anything else they would then learn to express their leadership in the home in the way Christ truly loves His bride the church and lays down his life for her.
Second, you are a Child, beloved of the Father of Heaven (1:2, 5; 5:1). Whether you are a parent or a child, you are first a Child of God and are called to obey and honor your Heavenly Father. If Christian parents were to grab hold of this they would be careful not to provoke their children to anger or exasperate their children so that they loose heart, but they would rather love and cherish their children raising them in the fear and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, you are a Slave to the Lord Jesus Christ (5:8-10; 6:5-9). Whether you are in authority or under authority in your workplace, you are first and foremost a Slave to Christ, called to obey and fear Him above all others. If Christian employers were to let this humble thought truly shape their walk, how much more would they be a true witness of the humble and gentle character of the Kingdom of Christ to their employees showing each day that they do not come to work to be served, but to serve and truly give their lives to their employees?
You may be a man, but you are first a Wife. You may have children, but you are a Child. You may be the most powerful man on planet earth, where everybody must answer to you, but you are a Slave of all.
Each of us first lives out our lives in light of the cross as a subordinate, inferior to Christ. This is the essence of Christian discipleship. We receive love, provision, attention, mercy, protection, security, and encouraging grace from our Husband, Father, and Master. Jesus is our Head, Leader, Lord and we are His Subjects, Followers, Dependents. We stand under Him and as we mature in Christ our submission to Him deepens. As we grow up in Christ, He must increase and we must decrease. We actually grow in humility, dependence, teachable-ness, and loving service to all as we increasingly learn to serve Christ, to please Him in all respects.
Jesus Christ is Paul's Master and he introduces himself to the Romans as a man under His sovereign authority alone.
Called as an Apostle
Second, Paul introduces his office, his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Note that it is his calling as a "slave" that precedes and therefore shapes his calling as an apostle. Before he introduces his specific calling, he first identifies his common calling as a Christian. You might have a calling as a lawyer, a doctor, or a teacher, but you are first a Slave.
As an apostle, Paul fills a very unique role in redemptive history, as a part of the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). The apostles were the uniquely chosen witnesses who were commissioned by the Risen Christ to testify in the world's court of law to the person and work of Jesus Christ, to the gospel ("set apart for the gospel of God").
But Paul was uniquely chosen ("called" by Christ), separate from the original 12, to be Jesus' special apostle to the Gentile people (cf. 1 Cor. 15:8; Rom. 11:13; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11). READ vv. 5-6, 13-14. When Paul was suddenly arrested by Christ on the road to Damascus, Jesus specifically chose Paul:
“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake" (Acts 9:15-16; cf. 22:21; 26:17).
Paul clearly understood the nature of his commission right away as he was sent out by Christ. On his first missionary journey when the whole city in Pisidian Antioch came out to hear him preach, Paul announced boldly to the hard-hearted Jews there:
“It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For thus the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (Acts 13:46-48).
Nowhere was Paul clearer on his specific calling to the Gentile people than in his letter to the Galatians:
For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:13-16).
Set Apart for the Gospel of God
And Paul has been "set apart" by God "for the gospel of God" (v. 1). While Paul's calling to proclaim the gospel was only first revealed to him on the Damascus Road and further acknowledged when he and Barnabas were "set apart" for missionary service by the church and through the laying on of hands (Acts 13:2-3) he soon realized that in God's sovereign election he was set apart for the gospel from his mother's womb (Gal. 1:15) like the prophets before him (cf. Jer. 1:5). God had absolute control over Paul's entire life and calling, as He does yours, from the very moment he was being knit together in his mother's womb.
Amazingly, ever before Paul was "circumcised on the eighth day, born in the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, advancing in Judaism far beyond his own countrymen, even to the point of persecuting the church" (cf. Phil. 3:5-6; Gal. 1:13-14) he had been set aside, chosen, elected, called out for a special purpose in God's eternal plan in history: "for the gospel of God."
The gospel refers to the good news that Jesus has done for us what none of us were able to do. He perfectly kept the whole law for us, meriting the righteousness that God requires of us and freely bestowing that gift of righteousness to everyone who believes in Him.
And because we did not keep God's law and therefore were under the curse of God, Jesus also laid down his life as our Substitute to be our propitiation for sins, to satisfy the wrath of God towards us and to pay the death penalty due for our sins.
And God has victoriously raised Jesus from the dead, declaring him righteous and accepting his perfect work as the sole basis for our righteousness, our acceptance before God. Now the good news is proclaimed to all that everyone who believes, trusts, rests in this work of Jesus Christ alone will be saved. In Christ, your sins and rebellion are forgiven by God and you are declared by God that through the obedience of Christ you are right with Him, justified, as if you had never sinned and as if you had always perfectly obeyed the law of God.
Truly this is good news! And this is the gospel of God that Paul has been set apart by God to proclaim to the Gentile nations of the world.
Paul is living his whole life in total abandonment to the cross of Jesus Christ, complete devotion to God's glorious good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. This is why he has been sent by God and why he is now writing this epistle to the Roman Christians.
Ultimately then, the whole letter to the Romans is about God: how God has acted to bring salvation, how God's justice is preserved in His justifying us, how God's purposes in eternity are worked out in history, how God is glorifying His own name through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ "for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen" (11:36).
As an "apostle" Paul does not address the Roman Christians and specifically their particular problem of divisions and factions among them, merely as a private individual. His words bear the Divine seal of authority. God is the ultimate authority behind Paul's authority as an apostle.
Therefore, all, who love Jesus Christ above all others, must heed Paul's words and willingly submit fully in obedience to all that Paul, as a slave of Jesus Christ, called as His apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, has to say to you the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen!
-SDG-
