The Set Apart Saints

Romans 1:7-15: Paul displays what it means to be set apart for the gospel of God through his love for the the church in Rome, displayed in his salutation and prayers for them, that he might travel their for encouragement and the work of the gospel.

Paul’s character in Romans 1:7-15, shows Christians what is looks like to love their brothers/sisters through salutation, prayer, thanksgiving, meeting together, encouragement, and preaching the gospel.

Introduction

Welcome back to Beyond everyone!

Last week we asked some big questions like, “what is God doing now?” “We see Him work in the Bible, where is He now?”

We started a journey in the Letter to the Romans, where we learn about the good news that Paul has been called to. As believers we are all called to belong to Jesus Christ, teaching the obedience of faith to all the nations. This is what God is doing now, He is building up the called to be sent into all the world, to proclaim the good news and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28). This is what God is doing. He still is working, opening doors for people to get out into where they have been called to be.

But, how exactly can we know where we are called? What does being set apart for Christ look like in daily life? Where can we even begin with all of these questions?

These are all big questions, that we are going to continue asking as we continue to read through the letter to the Romans.

Before we continue, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Pray

Lets pick up where we left off in Romans 1.

Romans 1:7 ESV

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.

I. Paul greets the church in Rome, loved and called by God, with the salutation of Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:7)

Raise your hand if you’ve written a letter before? How do you typically start your letter?

Like how we start our letters, and our texts, we greet the individuals. All of the passage from last week builds up to verse 7 where we see Paul give a salutation. A greeting, letting individuals know you see them. Paul begins all of his letters with a salutation of Grace and Peace from God and the Lord.

At the beginning of the verse we see a connection with the end of verse 6. Those called to belong to Christ, they are loved by God, and are called to be saints. Another way to say saint is Holy One, set apart. Called and set apart. Each of us who belong to Jesus here, are set apart and called.

Paul, mentions in verse Romans 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” how he is called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel.

But what does it look like to live set apart?

Romans 1:8 ESV

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

II. Paul’s prayer to God for the church in Rome (1:8-13a)

A. Paul’s thanksgiving to God for the church in Rome, because of their proclaimed faith (1:8)

Paul begins by showcasing how he has thanked God, through Jesus, for the Christians in Rome. The reason he says through Jesus here is because Jesus is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6), no one comes to the Father except through Christ. Paul showcases the importance of prayer, and thanksgiving in prayer. We are going to learn later that Paul has not even met the Romans yet! He doesn’t know them but still thanks God for them!

What can we learn from this?

Application #1-> Being set apart for God means talking to Him in prayer, and thanking Him for what He is doing in the lives of believers all around the world.

Rome was the pagan capital of the world at this time, so it showcases the absolute power and majesty of Christ for there to be faithful believers who live there. God is still working in fallen cities, and there are churches working together to reach places like Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, Paris, and so many more! God is placing faithful believers there.

Paul continues, Romans 1:9-10

Romans 1:9–10 ESV

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

B. Paul mentions Rome in his prayers without ceasing, so he can visit the church (1:9-13a)

1. God is Paul’s witness to his non-stop prayers for the church in Rome (1:9)

2. Paul prays that some how by God’s will he can succeed in coming to the church in Rome (1:10)

There is quite a bit here. A lot of questions we can ask too. Let’s start at the beginning, Why do you think Paul is writing, God is my witness?

He is showcasing humility, because it would be easy for someone to say, “yeah right you pray for people you don’t even know without ceasing.”

Paul is completely genuine here. He is not giving up on asking that by God’s will he can come to the church in Rome. There is so much to learn about prayer from that statement and in this passage, as well as the wider context of scripture. In a way it’s like a child asking their parent to go to a friends house, sometimes the parent says not yet. There is always a reason for that not yet. But Paul is showcasing, when it comes to our walk with God, we should continue in asking, without stopping. You might remember the parable Jesus shared of the persistent widow,

The unrighteous judge says about the widow who kept coming to ask for justice, Luke 18:5–8 “yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?””

Jesus says at the beginning of that parable Luke 18:1 “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

Continue praying, do not lose heart. That is exactly what Paul did here, as one set apart.

Application #2-> That is what we should do as well, especially when we have godly desires to reach people with the good news. Continually ask the Lord about where he wants you to be. You could even continually ask him to reveal to you what your specific calling is. What the next step he wants you to take is.

I want to also point out that the serve mentioned here, a commentator pointed out, is the same as worship. It is an act of worship to share the good news. Paul is worshipping God throughout all of this.

Let’s continue,

Romans 1:11–13 ESV

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

3. Paul longs to see the church so he can give them some spiritual gift, that the church and Paul can be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith (1:11-12)

4. Paul doesn’t want Rome to not know/unaware about his intentions in travelling to them, that have been prevented (1:13a)

So why exactly does Paul want to visit Rome?

Yeah, so he can impart on them some spiritual gift to strengthen them, which we see is the encouragement that comes from one another’s faith. We also see at the end of 1:13 that Paul desires to come too so as to reap some of the harvest among them as well as the rest of the Gentiles. This goes back to his mission statement in Romans 1:5 “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,” He received apostleship to bring about just that, the obedience of faith.

So we see the encouragement of faith and the obedience of faith. Part of what it means to be set apart, is encouraging other people in their faith. As we see at the end of this passage in verse 15, for Paul that includes preaching the gospel to the church in Rome. You might be curious, why preach the gospel if they are already saved? What do you guys think?

It’s an important question, one that we will continue to explore as we go through Romans.

But encouragement also comes with coming along side one another and living in the new life, as Paul writes about community in Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

This is worship, and it encourages the saints.

Application #3 - > To live set apart means to build up other believers, encouraging them in their faith and walk with God. This can come through talking about God, things above, and letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly with the other truth statements in Col 3:16.

All of this matters, because if you truly belong to Jesus, this is how we are summoned to live. Are you living this way? Do you want too?

Let’s move to the final verses, Romans 1:14-15

Romans 1:14–15 ESV

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

III. Paul’s obligation and eagerness to preach the gospel to the Romans, Greeks, and every Gentile (1:13b-15)

A. Paul wants to come in order to reap some harvest among the Romans as well as the rest of the Gentiles (1:13b)

B. Paul is under obligation to minister to Greeks, foreigners (barbarians), wise, and foolish (1:14)

C. Paul is eager to preach the gospel to the church in Rome (1:15)

Who is Paul called to reach? As he says here, to Greeks, foreigners, wise, and foolish. To all the nations (Romans 1:5 and Matthew 28). The gospel is a message for all peoples. And Paul is eager and willing to preach this gospel. He wants to preach it to those in Rome.

He is eager, he strongly desires this. It’s a high priority for him. Is it a high priority for us too?

The gospel is for all people, and for those set apart grow in eagerness to share it. Are we eager? How can we be eager if we are not?

There is a lot here that we learn about living set apart:

Application #1-> Being set apart for God means talking to Him in prayer, and thanking Him for what He is doing in the lives of believers all around the world.

Application #2-> Being set apart means continually asking God for direction and for kingdom requests.

That is what we should do as well, especially when we have godly desires to reach people with the good news. Continually ask the Lord about where he wants you to be. You could even continually ask him to reveal to you what your specific calling is. What the next step he wants you to take is.

Application #3 - > To live set apart means to build up other believers, encouraging them in their faith and walk with God. This can come through talking about God, things above, and letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly with the other truth statements in Col 3:16.

Questions:

How can we be a people of prayer in our busy lives? -> Who should we pray for?

What are some requests we could / should continually ask God? How can we encourage the believers around us in their faith?

Are we truly eager to share with others the good news that God has commissioned us to share? What will we do about that?