Romans 1:1-7

“The Messenger and His Message”

Romans 1:1-7 (Message #1)

January 17, 2016 (Sligo, Ireland)

INTRODUCTION: 

            Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is the mother lode of NT Theology. It reveals the pulse of the Apostle Paul. Moreover it is the truth-foundation from which to combat heresy.

• A very long letter (Maybe it got out of hand?J)
• An instructional letter to ground the Romans in the truth
• A letter to pave the way for a planned visit
• A personal letter mentioning many dear friends by name
• A group perspective (Rome had multiple small bands of +/- Gentile Xians)
• A loving letter (he loves them, prays for them, encourages them)

The letter was probably written from Corinth, or possibly Philippi in AD 55/56. The General Flow of the Letter looks something like this:

·        Chapters 1-8 = The importance of righteousness in man’s relations with God

o   Paul points out that man is not righteous but sinful to the core

o   He asks, “How does a man become righteous before God?”

o   He explains how Christ’s righteousness can be applied to the sinner

o   Tells how a man should live who has become righteous before God

·        Chapters 9-11 = God’s plan for Israel and the Gentiles

·        Chapter 12 – 15:13 = Specific exhortations for Roman Christians concerning their outlook, attitudes, and actions

·        Chapter 15:14 – 16:27 = Paul’s personal plans and personal greetings

TRANSITION:

            Our text for this morning: ¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴ and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, ⁶ including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, ⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

MAIN BODY:

            Paul begins this letter in verses 1-7 according to the epistolary formula of his day: In 1-5 he identifies himself as the sender; then he identifies the intended recipients in verse 7; and finally, he gives a warm greeting. The main difference from Paul’s other letters is the very long and involved first section in which he goes into detail about the Gospel.

Verse 1: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God,

• This fellow Paul was none other than Saul, of Tarsus, a Jew who before his conversion was a persecutor of Christians and of the Church. He was a lifelong student of Judaism and a teacher of the Law. Moreover, he had been a respected Pharisee before he embraced the Gospel. He was also well known to the recipients of this letter. Some knew him personally, others only by reputation.

• “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus…” He uses the Greek word, doulos, which has two meanings: (1) A person born as a slave who could only be freed by death, who belonged completely to his owner and had no rights or freedom to leave. This was the most abject form of slavery. The second use of the word doulos is for, (2) a bondservant who has undertaken his servitude voluntarily out of love and admiration for his master [cf. Exodus 21:1-6]. Paul thought of himself in this second sense, and this word, doulos, is most common word he used to describe himself. He wore his servitude to Christ as a badge of honor. He was not ashamed to admit that he belonged to Jesus Christ. He was Christ’s property and was doing his Master’s bid.

• “Called to be an apostle…” (literally, “a called apostle”) Paul was a bondservant by choice, but he was an apostle by royal appointment. This word, “called” is kletos, and means, an official appointment. Paul was very aware of God’s sovereign working in his life. His face-to-face meeting with the risen King Jesus on the road to Damascus was a life-changing event for him (cf. Acts 9:15-16). Even as he lay there in the dusty road, afraid and confused, he heard the words of the Lord Jesus, “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen Me and to those in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷ delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:16-18). But we should never forget that we, too, have been “called out” by Christ to represent Him before men (cf. Eph. 4:1; Rom. 8:29).

• The Greek word, apostolos, means “one sent on a mission with a message and with authority to represent the sender.” By calling himself an apostle Paul was affirming his rightful place among the Twelve, for he too, had been hand-picked personally by the Lord and commissioned to the specific task of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles, thus he claims authority from Christ for his ministry.

• “Set apart for the Gospel of God…” The Greek word for “set apart” is aphoridzo and it means “to be marked off from others by boundaries or limits, to be separated unto a special purpose.” Paul lived every day in the awareness that he had a task to complete, a mission to fulfill. That task, that mission was the priority of his life and it limited his other choices. Because he was set apart for the Gospel he did not let himself get too involved in the affairs of this life. He was focused on the main thing and refused to allow himself to get sidetracked and caught up in things that didn’t matter. Proclaiming the Good News was his life. He broke clean with the world to follow Christ.

• It is interesting to note that in Galatians 1:15 Paul traces his commission all the way back to his birth! “But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…” When I read this I have to ask, “What was I born to do?” And I ask you the same question: “What were you born to do?”

• Our word “Gospel” comes from the Old English “godsel” meaning good story or good news. It is an accurate translation of the Greek word, euangelion, which means the same thing, and gives us such words as “evangel, evangelist, and evangelism.” But exactly what is the Evangel, the Gospel? It is the great good news that despite our depravity God has chosen to provide us with eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, if we will but believe on Him and cast ourselves on His mercy.

• So to recap, up to this point Paul has been telling us about himself as THE MESSENGER.

1.   As to his relationship to Jesus Christ, he was a slave/bondservant

2.   As to his office, he was an apostle sent forth on a mission

3.   As to his authority (right to his office), he was specifically called

4.   As to the limits of his work, he was set apart from everything else and confined to the Gospel

• In other words, Paul had...

o   A divine Master = Jesus Christ

o   A divine office = apostle to the Gentiles

o   A divine authority = a direct commission from the Risen Christ

o   A divine message = the Good News of salvation from God

Verse 2: …which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 

• So now in verses 2-6 Paul switches the emphasis from THE MESSENGER to THE MESSAGE itself.

• But what was that message? It is the euangelion (literally, the Good News), the Evangel, the Gospel.

• Isn’t it funny that we almost never expect Good News? For example:

o   They never break into a TV program with good news

o   The headmaster doesn’t call you at work to report good things

o   Telegrams seldom bring good news

o   A guarda on the doorstep is probably not there with good news

• Paul tells us that this is Good News from God Himself. He is the Source. Moreover, this is Good News that is rooted in the prophecies, covenants, and promises of the OT Scriptures.

• The word “which” refers to the “Gospel” in the preceding verse. Paul is saying that this Good News was not a New Testament invention but was deeply grounded in all of the Holy Scriptures, i.e. the Old Testament. In fact, the OT is the documentary defense of the Gospel. As such, it was the foundation of all Early Church preaching and teaching (cf. II Peter. 1:21-22; II Timothy 3:14-17).

• Notice these two words that show the uniqueness of the Gospel:

o   “HIS Prophets” = emphasis on possession

o   “HOLY Scriptures” = emphasis on the character of Scripture

Verse 3: …concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

·                On the road to Emmaus the risen Jesus confronted two of His grieving disciples over their unbelief and biblical ignorance: “And He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory’ ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”  Paul here is simply confirming that the Old Testament is HisStory. From beginning to end Jesus Christ is the central character of the biblical story. From Genesis to Malachi, the story is all about the Messiah who would come to take away the sins of the world, and Jesus is that Messiah.

·                 Illustration: Harry Potter books would fall flat if you removed Harry. It is the same way with the Bible. Jesus is truly on every page.

Verse 4: …and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 

• “who was descended from David according to the flesh…” When we contemplate Jesus Christ we must remember that He is Lord of two realms: (1) His human origin = He is the Princely Seed of David (cf. II Sam. 7). “According to the flesh” speaks of His connection to the race of men (cf. John 1:14; Gal. 4:4).

• (2) The second realm has to do with His divine origin = He is the powerful Son of God. “…and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness…” This declares His connection with Heaven (i.e. Heb. 1:4, he is higher than all angels; John 20:30-31).

• Christ’s Sonship was asserted/declared at His baptism; but it was proven at His resurrection, which was His supreme credential. Note however, that the Resurrection demonstrated His eternal Sonship, it did not make Him a son, as some cults try to say.

• The Resurrection is the foundation of the Book of Romans [cf. 1:4; 4:17, 24-25; 5:10; 6:4-5, 9; 7:4; 8:11, 34; 10:9; 11:15 etc.]

• The Good News is that we have a Risen Savior! He is “Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

Verse 5: …through whom [i.e. Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations,

• This is Good News of God’s amazing grace, poured out on us.

o   “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”

• “…through whom we have received grace and apostleship” = past complete action continuing to present

• “…we have received…apostleship” along with Paul as part of that grace.

• N.B. “…the obedience of faith” = obedience that grows out of faith; i.e. true faith will produce obedience

• “among all the nations” =This Good News is for all, Jew and Gentile alike

o   Cf. Luke 2:10, “Good News of great joy for all people”

o   The Roman Xians were mostly Gentile believers 

Verse 6: …including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;

·                 Pay special attention to the three phrases used in verses 6-7 to describe Christians. The first is here in verse 6: “called of Jesus Christ” (KJV) meaning called to Him and by Him, to be His own possession. Paul affirms that the Gospel is a universal message and applies equally to all peoples, in all places, in all times, and in all circumstances.

Verse 7: …To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

• The second and third descriptive phrases are here in verse 7:

o   “loved by God” = beloved of God

o   “called to be saints”  = literally, “holy ones”

CONCLUSION:

Paul was…

• Sure of WHO he was = messenger of the Most High God
• Sure of WHAT he was on this earth to do  = share the Message handed to him
  
• Sure of WHOM he would eventually answer to = God Himself 

FEEDBACK:

        How about you?

• Are you a saint? Have you been made to be a holy man/woman?
• Have you recognized that you, too, are called already? 
• Do you feel the thrill and the weight of the message?