Romans 1:1-7

Introduction

In the first 7 verses, the Apostle Paul introduced himself, the Gospel, the mission of the Apostolic office, and his audience.

Paul a Servant of Jesus Christ v.1

Romans 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”

Paul introduced himself in three connecting ways: he is a servant of Jesus Christ;” he has been called to the Apostolic office; and, he has been “separated unto the Gospel of God.” In each way he introduced himself, the star of his description is God.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ” - Paul was not always “a servant of Jesus Christ.” Before Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, he was a villain to God’s people and was a servant to darkness. The New Testament gives us plenty of narrative information about the kind of person Paul was. His first appearance in scripture is Acts 7:57–8:1 “Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” In these few verses, we discover that Saul was at and approving of Stephen’s stoning. Saul’s first appearance in scripture is tame compared to what follows after Stephen’s martyrdom.

In Acts 8:3 “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.” The word “havoc” speaks of “desecrating” or “spoiling.” Saul made desecrating the Lord’ church his mission in life. He did this in a few ways: first, be broke into homes and drug out confessed Christians to prison. This action would have not only devastated the church in Jerusalem but the family of the imprisoned Christian. Second, he tortured these imprisoned Christians with the goal of having them blaspheme Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:13 “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”). Luke records in Acts 22:4 “And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.”

In fact, on the day grace arrested Saul, he was branching out the imprisonment of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem to Damascus. He was consumed with hatred of the followers of Jesus. A description of the intensity of his hatred for anything about Jesus Christ is in Acts 9:1 “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest.”

Something divinely amazing happened that transplanted Saul from hating Jesus with all of his essence to willingly becoming “a servant of Jesus Christ.” The “something” was grace. Grace saved Saul from his sins and changed his disposition towards Jesus. He went from hating Jesus to willingly wanting to serve Him as the Lord. On the day Saul was converted to Christ, he asked: Acts 9:6 “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” His question to Jesus points to him embracing Jesus as Lord and was desirous of what His new Lord wanted from him.

The word “servant” in Romans 8:1 comes from a Greek word that means “slave.” There were various reasons a person could have been a slave in the Roman Empire during the first century. “These included children born into slavery, people captured in war, individuals who were sold or self-sold into slavery and infants abandoned at birth. Less common were children sold by their parents, people being enslaved for debts or as punishment for crimes and people who were victims of kidnapping and piracy.”

In what way was Saul a slave? To be sure, he was conquered by grace. So, you can say that grace made him a slave. However, this does not best describe Paul’s slavery to Jesus. Deuteronomy 15:12–17 captures why Paul was a slave to Jesus. “And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.” If a Jew was sold to another Jew as a slave (usually to pay off debts) was set free on the 7th year. However, if the slave loved his master and the he could willingly choose out of love for the master to stay his slave. Paul willingly chose to be a slave to Jesus because He loved Jesus.

Why did Paul choose slavery as a way to describe his relationship with Jesus? The word choice Paul used to describe his relationship with Jesus was painful, piercing, and derogatory. Slavery was a wide-spread problem in the Roman Empire. Especially during the time of this Epistle. It is estimated that upwards to 10,000,000 people were enslaved during the first century. Even though slaves had different occupations (from being professionals to general laborers), no slave had rights or abilities to appeal an injustice by their owner. Some slaves were given a metal collar with the inscription “hold me, lest i flee, and return me to my master.” There would be instructions on to return the slave on the collar.

“In just one sentence he capsulizes his self-perception to his Roman audience…(in which many could have been slaves) He could have introduced himself as ‘Paul, an eminent theologian, master of the Old Testament Scriptures, front line warrior, brilliant of intellect.” Instead he chose to describe himself as a “servant of Jesus Christ.”

Why did Paul choose an inflammatory term to describe his relationship with Jesus? There were less excitable terms Paul could have chosen.

Jesus requires unconditional follow-ship. We cannot be a disciple of Jesus if we believe that we have fundamental rights to disobey God. Jesus requires our all.

Mark 8:34–37 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

“Here (in Mark 8:34-37) is the first condition that must be met in order to follow after Jesus. He must deny himself not a popular topic in our ‘selfie’ generation. The verb must deny is not ‘maybe’ or ‘might’ but speaks of a definite obligation, an absolute necessity to deny self.”

Jesus did not say that we need to deny things but deny ourselves. In the first century the Jewish identity was self-righteousness. The message of hope for people who identified as self-righteous was to deny their self-righteousness. Jesus called people to self-denial. Today, self-identification says people have a right to be whomever or whatever they want to be. The message of hope has not changed. People need to deny who and what they are to follow Jesus!

God does not care if you are black or white, rich or poor, if you were gay or straight. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our identification has to be seen in light of us being in Jesus Christ.

To be a disciple of Jesus mandates total and absolute commitment. We need to follow Jesus wherever He leads and listen to Jesus with whatever He says. There is no such thing as a partial disciple of Jesus. Hence, to be a disciple of Jesus requires a submission to Jesus, not only as the greatest Rabbi but as Lord and Master.

Paul seemed to understand this concept from the very onset of his new life in Jesus Christ - Acts 22:10 “And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.”

Jesus is different than all other slave owners.

Paul shows us how different Jesus is from other slave owners in a number of ways throughout our text:

Jesus is selfless - Jesus was made into man. Romans 1:3 “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;” In order to fulfill the prophecy in v.2, Jesus “had to be a descendant of David.” However, in coming as the seed of David, Jesus came in the weakness of man. Jesus was not a man, He is God. As God, Jesus willingly became man.

Why did Jesus become man? An easy answer is Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

He became man so that He could endure the cross, even though great shame was attached to the cross as a mode of dying.

God became man was necessary to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Jesus’ pursuit is the glory of God - The motivation of Jesus coming was “for the joy that was set before Him.” What was the joy that was set before Him?

“Here is made known to us what was the final moving cause in His mind which sustained the Savior to a persevering performance of duty, and of the endurance of all sufferings that duty entailed. Various definitions have been given of that "joy," and probably all of them are included within its scope. The glory of God was what the Redeemer preferred above all things.”

Jesus coming for His Father’s glory which produced this immeasurable joy gives us insight into the kind of slave owner Jesus is. Jesus is a slave owner whose greatest joy is to do His Father’s will.

John 4:34 “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” What satisfied Jesus longing was “to do the will of Him that sent me.” John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” The motivation of His coming and the joy that was set before Him, was to do “the will of Him that sent me.”

Jesus’ chief pleasure is His Father. His pursuit in everything He did was His Father’s holiness, goodness and righteousness. Jesus is a holy, good, and righteous slave owner. Therefore, to be a slave of Jesus is not derogatory but a blessing of blessings.

Jesus came to serve - In addition to Jesus pursing God’s glory in His humanity; He did not come to be ministered to but to minister. Matthew 20:28 “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” The word for “minister” is the same word for “deacon.” Jesus came to wait on tables by giving “His life a ransom for many.” Jesus is the most selfless person to ever live. He is the kind of slave owner I desire to have.

As a slave owner, we are His friends - John 15:13–15 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Jesus is the Son of God - Romans 1:4 “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” The verb “declared” is in passive voice, which means some event has declared Jesus to be the Son of God. The vent Paul had in mind was His resurrection from the dead. Jesus no longer being in the tomb declares Him to be the Son of God!

When Jesus became the seed of David, He did not lose His position within the triune Godhead; rather, His humanity declared Jesus to be God through His resurrection. The word for “declared” speaks of a boundary or marking out. “Jesus has been conclusively, irrefutably "marked out" as the "Son of God" by the resurrection.

There are two seismic words in Romans 1:4 “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” The first is “according.” Jesus was decreed the son of God in accordance (or agreement) to His “spirit of holiness.” Even as a man, Jesus was separate from sin. His perfect and sinless nature agreed with the declaration that He is “the Son of God with power.” The second word is “by.” “By” is “a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds).” The action of declaring Jesus to be the Son of God came into existence with His resurrection.

A few points of interest to draw from this declaration:

Our loving Savior has unmatched power. Many first generation slaves were the product of defeat. We never have to be concerned with Jesus being defeated by another resulting in us changing slave owners from a person who selflessly loves us to another who corruptly loves himself.

God the Father and Son have a special bond of love that precedes creation. John 17:24 “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus the Son of God, as our slave owner desires to expand the love that exist between Him and His Father to us, His slaves. We are loved by our slave owner. Third, Paul’s “entire horizon, the very atmosphere of his life, is dominated with the resurrected human-superhuman Christ.”

Jesus positions His slaves to succeed - Jesus’ slave named Paul was sovereignly called into grace and apostleship for the purpose of bring people from all nations to “obedience to the faith.” Romans 1:5 “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:”

Paul was called and received the power to fulfill the mission requirements. Not only this, but Jesus strategically placed Paul and the other Apostles throughout the Roman Empire declaring the light of the glorious gospel into darkness, thereby rescuing people from a treacherous slave owner.

This empowerment and strategic placement were the reasons The Romans heard and converted to the Gospel. Romans 1:6 “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:”

Jesus’ mission was not to spread terror through His Lordship and being the Master of Masters. His mission was to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” He did this Himself and continues to do this with His servants.

Jesus describes his slaves:

As slaves we are beloved of God - Romans 1:7 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The word “of” speaks of “by”. We are selflessly loved by God. The love is holy, pure, delightful, special, and forever. There will never be a moment when God hates His servants.

As slaves, we are saints - Romans 1:7 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are “called to be saints.” The word “saints” speaks of something sacred. God saved us and wooed us into being His slaves with a sacred purpose in mind. We have been set apart from all other slaves so that God is glorified through our service in His church. Ephesians 3:21 “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

Sixth, our Master and Owner gifts us with indescribable peace. A few sermons ago, I preached on the peace of God. This morning, I want to give an experience to those who have peace with God. Jesus gives us peace by giving us manageable burdens. Jesus says: Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 1 John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

These six reasons gives us answers why Paul used such a provocative and incendiary word to characterize his relationship within the Jesus Christ. Jesus is unlike all other slave owners in His selflessness, position, purpose, love, in sacredly setting us apart, and the eternal peace He gives. He employed an outrageously offensive word to get their attention so that He could point them to an amazing Jesus!

He was called to be an Apostle

He was “called to be an Apostle” - Paul did not assert himself into the Apostolic office. The fact that Paul stressed God calling him to be an Apostle speaks of his unwillingness to want anything to do with the Apostolic office. It is likely, the reason Paul did not want to be an Apostle was his own unworthiness. He is the only Apostle to persecute Christians unto death. This had to be a difficult mountain for him to cross over. Months after his conversion to Christ, Paul arrived back into Jerusalem. Immediately, he desired to fellowship with the church in Jerusalem. However, Luke records in Acts 9:26 “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.” He writes in 1 Corinthians: (1 Corinthians 15:9–11) “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.”

Proof that he was a slave to Jesus Christ was his submission to God calling him to be one of His Apostles. Throughout the Bible people have struggled with God’s calling on their lives. Moses, Jeremiah and Peter are three that comes to mind. It is not unusual to struggle with God’s calling because often His calling makes little rational sense. When God chose David to be the next king, He rebuked Samuel, who thought one of David’s older brothers was a better fit to replace King Saul. In 1 Samuel 16:7 “…the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

Further, Paul wrote in Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” God does not make mistakes with who He calls to what office; or, what spiritual gifts He gives to saints. God does not make mistakes. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is perfect: The word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” God’s way is without error. Instead of questioning the way of the Lord in who He calls to do what, we should “trust in Him.”

A tragedy exists today in the Lord’s churches. Far too many church members do not know their function within the church. They may be faithful in their attendance and giving, but do know know their God-given calling or purpose as a member for that local church. In other words, they do not know their spiritual gift(s) that God has given them. In the illustration Paul gives for the local assembly in 1 Corinthians 12, they do not know if they are the hand, foot, ear, or nose of the body. The tragedy has paralyzed the Lord’s churches into inaction of ministry possibilities.

He was Separated unto the Gospel of God

He was “separated unto the Gospel of God” - The word “separated” is a perfect and passive verb. The perfect tense of the verb means he was “separated unto the Gospel of God” in the past results. “The emphasis of the perfect is not the past action so much as it is as such but the present “state of affairs” resulting from the past action.” In other words, Paul was “separated unto the Gospel of God,” and is still “separated unto the Gospel of God.” Michael S. Heiser and Vincent M. Setterholm, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Lexham Press, 2013; 2013). The voice of the verb is passive. What this means is that Paul did not actively separate himself “unto the Gospel of God” but God did. This has two implications:

Not only does God call us unto into service but He separates us for that service.

Even though God has separated us to His service, we need to live accordingly to what we have been separated unto. The way Paul constructed the last phrase of v.1 implies that he is stedfastly living out his purpose. His ministry was not about social issues, political policies, military advancements, peace in the empire, or economic stability. No! The centrality of his ministry was “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” All the truth that flowed from Paul’s mouth and pen came from “the Gospel of God!”