Called By God: Romans 1:1-7 (Sermon)
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WELCOME
Good morning, church! It is great to see you. We are kick-starting a new sermon series on the book of Romans. Buckle up. You are in for a treat! This is my favorite book in all of the New Testament, and I am not alone.
In 1522, Martin Luther wrote, “This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.”
In 1526, William Tyndale similarly wrote, “This epistle [Romans] is the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure … gospel, and also a light and a way in unto the whole scripture …” [Fascinatingly, William Tyndale and Luther sound very similar in their wording.]
In 1539, John Calvin agreed, writing, “When any one understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”
Pastor James Boice wrote, “The book of Romans is the most basic, most comprehensive statement of true Christianity.”
Author John Stott wrote that Romans is “the fullest, plainest and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament.” (https://ruc.org.za/2016/01/rescued-by-gods-grace/) (https://www.crossway.org/articles/why-romans-is-the-greatest-letter-ever-written/)
And finally, J. I. Packer wrote, “All roads in the Bible lead to Romans, and all views afforded by the Bible are seen most clearly from Romans, and when the message of Romans gets into a person’s heart there is no telling what may happen.”
Needless to say, I think you will enjoy the book of Romans and learn a few things along the way. I know I will.
CONTEXT
Before I begin this letter, I would like to set the stage and provide some context. Romans is a letter to the church resident in Rome. (Another word for letter is an epistle. So you might hear us say epistles from time to time about this letter.) Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire, spanning the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a population of roughly 50 million people. One million were living in Rome. (https://www.pilgrimtours.com/church_history/italy/devotionals_history/RomeChurch.htm). Alexandria, in Egypt, was the second largest city. Antioch, in Syria, was the next. Rome was a melting pot of trade, politics, and culture. The country was polytheistic, with many gods, including the familiar names of Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and more. Nero was the emperor. He was a Caesar, and, like other rulers, he probably viewed himself as divine, worthy of worship. The date was around AD 57. Paul was writing to a mixed community of Jewish and non-Jewish Christians. He had never visited, yet he was planning on heading there to bring the good news about Jesus as he journeyed to the edge of the known world to a region called Gaul (which we know as Spain). This was Paul’s third mission trip, and the point at which he penned his letter was likely in the Greek city of Corinth, 700 miles away. With him was a scribe named Tertius (16:22). After writing and sending off the letter, we don’t know if he ever made it to Spain, but we do know he made it to Rome. He would head there to lose his head.
MARTYRDOM
You see, Jewish leaders sought to stop Paul from promoting Christianity. One day, they accused him of bringing non-Jewish men into the temple in Jerusalem to defile it. They were correct that Paul went to the temple and did bring men inside, but it was not for sacrilege or offense. Instead, he brought them in to perform ritual purification according to their customs. Paul believed that being Jewish and Christian were not mutually exclusive. These opponents disagreed and went to great lengths, even resorting to lies, to destroy Paul. They saw Christianity as a perversion and wanted it stopped at all costs. Their bankrupt accusations afforded a mob a chance to kill Paul before he went to trial. Plans were hatched. But they were foiled. Someone overheard the plot and leaked it. Paul didn’t have a death wish, so he pulled a string that would disrupt his assassination and protect his life. What did he do? He made it known to those guarding him that he was a Roman citizen. This was a surprise. Citizenship costs a lot of money. But payment was not the only way one could become a citizen. You can be born a citizen. What that meant was that his trial could be reviewed by the capital, bypassing the lower courts. So he turned around and went in chains to Rome. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. None of this had happened at the time of writing.
LETTER
Let’s get back to the epistle. The letter to Rome was Paul’s longest and explores theology and discipleship. It delves into the nature of humanity, God, history, and our hope. The heart of it is verses 16 and 17, which state,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17, ESV)
If you were going to memorize verses in Romans, these two should be the first. They capture the heart of the letter. In simpler terms, Romans is an invitation for us to “Live together in the power of the gospel for it saves everyone who believes.” Let me say that again. This is a phrase we developed during our Monday meeting. Live together in the power of the gospel, for it saves everyone who believes. As we unpack the 16 chapters of Romans, we will see that God calls us to live in the strength of the good news for our benefit and God’s glory. I am excited. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
TEXT
I am going to have P. H. read for us. Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word?
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 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, 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, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
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. (Romans 1:1 7, ESV)
PRAYER
Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you. Teach us what you have called us to. Speak to us. You know our situations. Break into our lives. Don’t let us leave unchanged. Help us as we unpack your Word, for your glory and our joy in Jesus’s name, amen. You may be seated.
STRUCTURE
These first few verses are an introduction to the letter. They tell us Paul was the writer and the Roman church was the recipient. But that is not all. On closer inspection, we discover that God called Paul to a threefold role as a servant, a spokesperson, and set him apart for the advancement of the gospel to the nations. These verses inform us that God called his church to be his holy possession: loved, beneficiaries of grace and peace. The passage breaks down into three sections.
VERSE 1: THE AUTHOR
VERSES 2–6: THE ANNOUNCEMENT
VERSE 7: THE AUDIENCE
Let me repeat.
VERSE 1: THE AUTHOR
VERSES 2–6: THE ANNOUNCEMENT
VERSE 7: THE AUDIENCE
VERSE 1
Let’s look at the AUTHOR. Who was he?
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1, ESV).
We see in this verse Paul’s three callings as a servant, a spokesperson, and one set apart.
SERVANT/SLAVE
God called Paul to the role of being a servant. He was a servant of the Messiah or Christ. The New Living Translation of the Bible interprets the word “servant” as “slave.” I looked at the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, and it translated the word as “servant.” Almost all translations use the word servant. Who was correct? Well, both are. Paul was a slave and a servant. The job of a servant was not like that of a maid who could quit or go home sick for the day. Servants were possessions, owned, and belonged to their masters. This was not like colonial slavery, limited to just people with African ancestry. Ten to twenty percent of the world was slaves; they were people of all shades of skin color. Why? Well, for various reasons. For one, when a country attacked or defended against an attack, whoever won could have killed every survivor, or they had the option of enslaving them. So that was one of the reasons for so many slaves. Other times, when people were in financial difficulty, after selling everything they had, they could sell themselves into slavery. A third way people became slaves was through kidnapping. That was how a majority of the Roman Empire was classified as slaves and non-citizens. God gave his people, Israel, laws to safeguard them and help them. A provision he made for slavery in society was that the role was temporary. They had to give freedom to their slaves regardless of their debt after several years. If the owner or circumstance was desirable, a slave could continue to be a slave, making the role more like a live-in gardener or butler. God also made the act of kidnapping and trafficking a sin in his Law. When God’s people were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, they understood how being property can be harmful and wrong. They cried out to God. He heard their plea and sent Moses with ten plagues to free them from their shackles.
GOOD SLAVERY
At the same time, God’s people didn’t throw out the role of slavery entirely. We read in Genesis 26 that God called Abraham his servant or slave (Genesis 26:24). To be God’s possession, as in that case, was good and pleasing. It puts God above and humanity below. It also connects God to his creation. The Bible describes Moses as a servant of God (Deuteronomy 34:5), and Joshua (Joshua 24:29), and King David (2 Samuel 7:5), and Job (Job 1:8), and the prophets (Jeremiah 7:25), and the nation of Israel (Isaiah 41:8). The New Testament describes Peter (2 Peter 2:1), James (James 1:1), and Jude as servants of God (Jude 1:1). In Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, even Jesus was a servant of God (Philippians 2:2) which makes sense because the prophets predicted that one day a suffering servant or slave would take away God’s people’s sins. So, when Paul identified himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, he was in good company. To be a servant of Christ is to communicate his ministry, but also an aspect of his relationship. Analogies, images, and metaphors help us understand God and how we relate to him. The Bible describes us as brothers and sisters with the Lord, sons and daughters of God, members of a Body of Christ, clay pots and God as the potter, sheep with God is the shepherd, chicks where God is the mother hen, soldiers and ambassadors and citizens where God is the King, and more. In the first verse of Romans, we see Paul identified with the historic role of a servant of God. That was one part of his calling. And we can identify with him.
SERVANT CALLING
What is your calling? We belong to God and live on borrowed time. Our lives and bodies are not our own. How are we stewarding ourselves? God has called us to serve him, to be his. We can relate to Paul. But he has some unique callings we can’t connect with.
APOSTLE/SPOKESPERSON
For example, we read in this first verse that God also called him to be an apostle. To be an apostle meant “sent one.” It was a role that combined the responsibilities of a messenger, church planter, and missionary. The Bible gave only a few this title. Eleven of the early disciples had it. Matthias took Judas’s place to make twelve. The pre-requisite was that the apostle must have been with Jesus from his baptism and witnessed his resurrection. We read in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15, that Paul considered himself an apostle. He was not with Jesus at either of those events as far as we know, but he did encounter Jesus. He heard him and saw him. And his role was unique as God’s spokesperson. He was a servant and a spokesperson.
SET APART
The final thing we read is that God called Paul to be set apart. He had a specific mission. We read about it in the book of Acts, which follows the book of Romans. In Acts 8, the author introduces us to a man named Saul, hailing from the city of Tarsus. He was a Pharisee, a legal expert, but also worked as a tanner, making tents. As a lawyer of sorts, he punished those who were following the teachings of a dead Jewish carpenter from Galilee. Saul went so far as to oversee the stoning of an up-and-coming leader named Stephen. Afterward, he traveled to Damascus to continue his prosecutions. Or was it persecution? God had other plans. He blinded Saul with a great light and spoke, saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The voice was Jesus’s, whom Saul thought dead. Around that same time, the Lord spoke to a follower of Jesus named Ananias and sent Saul to him to heal and share a message. The message was that Saul,
“Is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15–16, ESV).
God changed his name to Paul and set him apart explicitly to preach the good news about Jesus to non-Jewish people. So verse 1 lets us know who is writing.
GOSPEL
Verses 2 through 6 let us know what he is writing about. And the second part of the passage is the announcement. We have learned about the author; now let's look at the announcement. What was it? It was the gospel. What is the gospel? Well, the next few verses explain. Look at verses 2 and following:
Which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 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, 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, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:2–6, ESV)
Gospel means what? [Good news]. Long ago, God promised that something good would happen to a broken humanity and undo the effects of the curse. The Holy Scriptures and prophets predicted and foretold it. Genesis talks about a descendant of Eve who would come to crush the serpent who wrecked paradise (Genesis 3:15). The prophet Moses recorded a blessing to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a blessing of a Promised Land, people, and a global benefit. Hundreds of years later, the prophet Nathan predicted a son of King David would reign forever. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, among others, foretold the coming of a prophet like Elijah, a priest, and a king who would bless God’s people moving forward. Jesus was the three-fold promised one. He came in the flesh and was entirely God and fully man. He was the Son of God and the Son of man. He was born miraculously of a virgin, but lived before his birth. He was there at Creation and was the creator. He did miracles, spoke authoritatively, predicted the future, and commanded the elements and spiritual world. The confirmation stamp of his otherworldly power was his resurrection from the dead. Then, in verse 5, Paul threw in the benefit of this announcement: grace. Grace is an unearned favor. It is a gift. God gave grace through this Son, and that was not all. He gave apostleship, sent ones to lead, plant, and encourage the church. Why? What was the point of both? That all nations would know and obey the teaching of Jesus. Why did God want that? What did the text say? Look at verse 5 again. This obedience was “for the sake of his name among all the nations.” God’s name was the point. God cares about what we say about him. He cares about his reputation. He cares about honor. He cares about himself. Is that arrogant? Is that right? If I wanted you to obey me so that I get a round of applause, that doesn’t seem right. Why would God want to have his name known? It is the same reason we read that he wants us to worship, praise, and make a big deal about him. We spend a lot of church energy to make Sunday morning about God. The reason God wants and rightly so is that he is worthy of it. (I am not). Does that make sense? I want to sit in that for a minute.
TOOL
I’m not handy, but I do have some tools. I know that if you use a Phillips screw driver for a hammer, [bring it] it doesn’t work so well. I know that much. Using the right tool for the right job is satisfying. I was watching a friend from church use an automatic wrench that could bend at a 90-degree angle. The tool was made for specific jobs in tight spaces. It worked so well. It made me want one.
MADE FOR A PURPOSE
In a similar vein, have you ever found yourself doing something and thought, “I was made for this?” I like leading meetings. When a meeting goes well, I have thoughts like that. I like counseling. When a session goes well, I feel great. What were you made for? Where is your sweet spot? You may not know, but one thing I know we were made for is worship. God is great and deserves our praise. He is greater than America, whose birthday we just celebrated. He has bought us a better liberty from tyranny and taxation without representation. He has freed us from sin by the blood of his Son, Jesus. He is above us and beyond us, but comes near, by the Spirit through Jesus. Let’s give God some praise by clapping. The letter of Romans tells us that the result of a life of worship is that the nations will take notice. Paul wraps up this gospel implication to his audience in verse 6. He wants them to be obedient servants to God. They belong to God. They are his possession. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are God’s.
PRE - APPLICATION
Friends, you are not your own. In our individualistic and self-centered society, where rights, liberties, and freedoms are valued, this passage highlights the concept of being owned, property, and belonging to God. How does that strike you? What visceral, or gut, reaction happens in you? For some, it is a comfort. God is in charge. We can trust him. We don’t have to worry. It may bestow a sense of peace and confidence. Others might feel a threat. We have several natural leaders and entrepreneurs here. When it comes to spirituality, it may be harder for those of us who are like that to view ourselves as belonging to God. And even for those who naturally prefer others to lead, when God leads in ways we don’t enjoy submitting to him, it can be hard. We need to recognize we are his in all our ways, thoughts, and plans. Do we? Is there some tension in submission? Friends, relinquish that resistance. If we hold out our fists, grasping at our agendas, calendars, investments, time, and energy, let God have it back. He is worthy and able to lead us better than we can ourselves. There is comfort in being well-led and belonging to something bigger and greater than ourselves. We are not islands or self-made people. God has woven us into his kingdom. We belong to him.
VERSE 7 : AUDIENCE
That brings us to the last section, Paul’s audience. Look at 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” (Romans 1:7, ESV).
Paul is blessing the people. He is asking God to give them grace and peace. God’s affection is spelled out. He loved them and called them to be saints. Sometimes we think of saints in the Catholic sense as those who have had a miracle attributed to them. That is not how the Bible uses the word. God calls all followers of Jesus saints. They are pure and imitators of God. He calls his people to a life of holiness, not blending into the cultural cesspool and tides. If you follow Jesus, then you are a saint! You are loved. You belong to him.
NIAGARA
The other week I went on vacation. We saw incredible works of God’s creation and fantastic historical displays and artifacts. Imagine it’s your turn. You are on vacation and stop at Buckhorn Island State Park in New York, near where I visited.
https://www.iloveny.com/listing/buckhorn-island-state-park/124957/
You bring inner tubes and your family, and enjoy some cold drinks from the cooler in the 100-degree heat. You soak in the vitamin D, relax, and float down the river.
The current takes you at a five miles per hour clip. It is faster than walking but slower than a jog. Your eyes start to shut, and you doze off. You have worked long hours and saved up for this. You think you hear the kids are fighting. But they are further away. You tune them out. No one else is on the river. You take a deep breath, but things are getting louder and louder, and the speed is getting faster and faster. What was fun becomes frightening and deafening. And all of a sudden, you are headed to Bridal Veil Falls.
https://i2.pickpik.com/photos/729/964/1022/niagara-falls-waterfalls-river-canada-preview.jpg
How would you like to take an inner tube off that? We visited it two weeks ago. Amazingly, 75,750 gallons of water per second come off those cliffs at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour. Friends, the world is heading off a cliff with no hope of rescue, barring faith in Jesus. They think they are fine, for the most part. They are not. Jesus is the world’s only help and hope. He is our message. Paul writes to the church, asking God to give them grace and peace, exactly what the world needs. We live in an anxious world. We don’t have to worry. Our King is on the throne, he is in complete control, and good. We can trust him. We can rest in a peace that passes understanding because he guards our heads and hearts. God has called us to live in this reality of belonging and blessing to obey him so that all the world might be saved.
CALLED UP
In April, I turned on the TV and saw some of the NFL draft. The guys were pumped. People gave speeches. Families and friends watched with bated breath for the results. Contracts got signed. Players got uniforms and hats from their teams. They were so excited and smiled from ear to ear. People cried, hugged, and raised their hands in celebration. Pictures were taken. Speeches were given. Maybe going pro is your dream.
Some of those men will get injured this season.
Others may have a few good years and quit.
While others might go a decade or two.
But then it is over. After the career, then what? You don’t belong to that team anymore. Work like that is temporary. It only lasts for so long. But God has called us to something better, something that will endure beyond our death. He has called us to be his holy, obedient servants. He offers us grace, peace, and love. That’s way better than a million-dollar signing bonus. That is the good news. Jesus made this possible through his death and resurrection.
APPLICATION: HEAR THE CALLING
Friends, as we conclude, maybe you don’t know if you are called by God and loved. You don’t feel like you belong, have God’s grace, or peace. You can. Turn from life apart from God and turn to him. Receive the forgiveness and hope that is yours through understanding and hoping in Jesus’s death on your behalf. He did what only he could do. He rose from the dead. He is good and faithful.
APPLICATION: HEAR THE MISSION
Lastly, consider obedience of faith. You think about being a servant. You think about your calling, but you don’t know what that looks like. What would it look like for you to orient your life around God? Follow Jesus today. What is he calling you to? What does it mean for you to belong to him? What say do you allow him over your life? Take this encouragement from Peter:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9–10, ESV)
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