SC Sermon - Advent 4 (Romans 1:1-7)

You’ll likely know that Paul’s letter to the Romans is a theological tour de force. The Apostle Paul packs so much theology into this letter – remember this is a letter, not a book. The books of the OT are books, they are written records. They are usually long form. Our family read through the whole Bible this year (we’re in Revelation now), and we would be in some OT books for weeks, but when we got to the NT, it may be just one day. For reference the book of Exodus has around 33K words (that’s about as long as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe), while the letter to the Romans only has about 9k words. Now, it is a long letter, but my point is that Paul does a lot with a little.

I’d like to briefly look at just Paul’s greeting today. Verses 1-7. A greeting that is basically gospel concentrate.

Before we start though I’d like to tell you where I’m going with this. We noted on the Men’s group on Friday that Romans 1 might seem a little odd as an Advent passage. My focus in this text (which of course I believe is Paul’s focus) is the gospel itself – the good news of the arrival of Jesus, the Saving King of the whole world.

NT Wright Speaker analogy. Surround sound. Multiple speakers. Emmanuel, Savior, Moral Exemplar, Royal, Kingly.

As we move from Advent to Christmastide I want to turn up the dial on the rOyal speaker. I think for the most part, our balance is off, and the royal speaker needs to be set at the proper volume in the mix, so that we can properly see and savor King Jesus.

Exposition

Let’s just quickly walk through this text. This would be a great time to open your Bible’s and follow along. “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus” - The Greek here is dulous. It’s just the normal word for slave. Translations that use the word “servant” or “bond-servant” are working with the assumption that slavery is bad, and thus trying to soften the slave language here. But Paul’s not trying to soften anything. Paul means slave. What is a slave? Someone who is bought and owned? In 1 Corinthians Paul says you were bought with a price. He says, you are not your own. A slave is obedient to a Master. Surely the Christian is to be obedient to our Master, our Lord. Paul says that he’s writing 2 Corinthians to test the Corinthians obedience to King Jesus. A slave is completely dependent on their Master for food, clothing, and shelter. Paul tells Timothy that God richly provides us with everything.

The problem with slavery is directly related to the Master - is he good or is he bad? Slavery under human masters is fraught with problems, because humans are sinful. But think about this, what if the Master was perfect in all of his ways? What if he was love and light and in him there was no darkness at all? What if the Master was the most benevolent being that exists? Would you rather be a slave to yourself and the world, or a slave to that kind of Master? This is what Paul’s envisioning. He is not his own, he has been purchased by God. He subject to his Master, knowing that his Master is altogether good. All of his provisions will be met by his Master. The line between slave and son is nearly indistinguishable. Paul is happy to use both words for those who pleadge complete allegiance to Jesus.

Paul tells the Romans, the Philippians, the Galatians, and Titus that he is a slave of Jesus. Where do we stand today? Are we too proud to call ourselves slaves of Christ Jesus? Just something to consider. “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus” - I’ve mentioned this before, but it needs to be repeated here. This is a key that unlocks a major theological reality in the New Testament. Here it is. Christ is a royal title. It’s not Jesus last name. It is a royal title. This is kingly language. The Hebrew word Messiah is an anointed king. Christ is the Greek equivalent. Whenever you see the word Christ, in the Bible or in our liturgy, feel free to think or say the word King. Paul is a slave, not to Caesar, not to Agrippa or Festus, but to Christ Jesus - King Jesus is Paul’s Master.

I would argue from the New Testament that Jesus as King is the primary way we are to understand him and our relation to him. Paul leads with this royal “Christ” language in every one of his letters. So does James and Peter and Jude. The very first thing the New Testament itself says about Jesus is that he is the Christ - the King. What is a king? A king has a kingdom, a king has authority as the sole ruler of his kingdom. A king has subjects who obey him, who pledge allegiance to him.

Sometimes we get a little squeamish with the royal dynamics of Jesus’ identity. Allegiance and obedience language can sometimes make us as uncomfortable as the slave language. Western evangelicalism doesn’t typically call about allegiance to a king. We gravitate to savior and belief language as a primary way of relating to Jesus. It’s a little nicer to talk about believing in a savior than being an obedient slave to a King. But, here we are, just a few words into Romans, and that’s what Paul leads with. I’m not denying that Jesus is a savior or that we need to believe. Just noting the force of how Paul sees himself. We are going to sing a lot of royal songs on Wednesday evening and in the coming weeks. Jesus is King, our King. It’s healthy to consider the weight of that.

Let me pick up the pace here. 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… - An Apostle someone who is sent. A messenger. Paul is a capital A apostle. King Jesus himself confronted, redeemed, and sent Paul. What is he sent to do? What’s his message from the King? It’s the Gospel. Paul understands that his life is to be spent for the Gospel. The Good News. The good news of Mankind? The good news of his favorite political party? No. The good news of God! Did this good news, this gospel, come out of nowhere? No. It was promised beforehand through the prophets.

Isaiah says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” A messenger, a herald, a sent one with good news, good news that brings peace, and happiness, and salvation! What is the good news? That God reigns. The God of Zion is King. This is the good news. The Gospel of God is a royal proclamation. The prophets told us!

If you look up this phrase “Gospel of God” it only appears two times outside of Paul’s writing. In the Mark 1 Jesus comes preaching the Gospel of God. What does he say? Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” A royal proclamation about the Kingdom arriving. A royal message that demands allegiance. Peter also talks about the Gospel of God. He tells us to “obey the Gospel of God.” Interesting. We don’t typically talk about obeying the Gospel do we?

The Gospel of God is a royal message about the Kingship of God, about the arrival of his Kingdom on earth - a kingdom of peace, happiness, and salvation. What is obedience to the this royal proclamation other than whole-person, life long, allegiance to this kind King? Paul, a slave of King 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… - The Gospel of God is about Jesus. It is “concerning his Son.” There is no gospel if there is no Son. This royal good news is about King Jesus. His arrival, and the arrival of his Kingdom. Who do we pledge allegiance to? King Jesus. Who is the reigning God of Zion that Isaiah mentions? King Jesus.

This messiah language of the OT and christ language of the NT is frequently tied to the covenant God made with King David. You remember it right? David will have a son who will reign forever and ever. His throne will have no end. The prophets can’t stop talking about David’s coming royal Son. The prophet Hosea speaking hundreds of years after the death of King David says this about Israel returning from Exile: “Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to Yahweh and to his goodness in the latter days.” The returning exiles will find both God and David, and enter into God’s goodness. Interesting. How? In the person of Jesus! Jesus is both Yahweh God and David’s royal Son. The Prophet Amos tells us that after the exile the Yahweh will restore the throne of David. The Prophet Zechariah says about the Day of Yahweh “that there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” David’s Son is a saving King who cleanses his people from sin and uncleaness. The Prophet Jeremiah writes, “Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘Yahweh is our righteousness.’” The branch that springs up from David is fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. The Branch is the saving King who’s reign has no end. I could go on an on quoting the Prophets about David’s coming royal Son.

The Gospel of God, which we can read about in the prophetic Scriptures, is about Jesus - God’s Son, who is himself the long promised Davidic King. I mentioned that the very first thing the New Testament itself tells us about Jesus is that he is the Christ - the King, The very next thing it says about Jesus is that he is the son of David. The New Testament fronts the kingship of Jesus. And just so we don’t miss it, do you know how Jesus describes himself in his final words of the New Testament? In Reveleation 22, the last page of the Bible, Jesus says this about himself, ““I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Jesus is the everlasting King from the line of David. He is and will always be the royal Son of David. Paul, a slave 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… - King Jesus, the one whom the Gospel of God is about, is the royal son of David according to the flesh. He’s a man. King Jesus, the eternal King is a man, descended from David. But he’s not just the son of David. He is the Son of God. He is divine. He is the God Man. The Christ is Yahweh and David (remember the words of Hosea). But listen, the Christ died on the Cross. What?! The eternal King died? What?!

Paul, the slave of King Jesus, says this to the Corinthians, that his message is simple. It is Jesus Christ and him crucified. Jesus is King, yes! But he’s a crucified King. Jesus, the sovereign King of the universe, hung on a cross. As he was bleeding out he died of asphyxiation. Our King! The king of Glory, entered into death. Why? Let me use the words of the Nicene Creed, for us and our salvation. For our sake he was crucified. He entered into death, so that he could break the bonds of death that bound us. When he burst out of the grave he was designated the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead!

The crucified King is the risen King - the Son of God in power. The last enemy to be defeated is death, and Jesus is the Christus Victor the Victorious King! Jesus is the saving King. This is the Gospel of God – that Jesus is the saving King. Remember Isaiah’s words? The Good news is a a royal proclamation about the reigning King who brings peace, happiness, and salvation. Remember the Prophet Zechariah, the fountain will be opened. The Davidic king will cleanse his people from their sins and uncleaness.

Jesus is a King our saving King to whom we own total life-long allegiance and obedience. Paul, a slave 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. Notice that this Gospel of God is triune, in this one sentence We have God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let’s close this out with some final observations.

Jesus Christ our Lord. King Jesus our Master. This word Lord is the greek word for Master. Paul is a slave. King Jesus is the Master. He is our Master, we are his grateful slaves. Paul and his companions have received grace from the Master, they have been sent by the King. Why? To do what? How would you describe the mission of Paul and the other Apostels? Well, it’s actually pretty easy if you remember the Great Commission (or what our beloved Jon Shuler calls The Final Command). At the end of Matthew Jesus says  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus knows the is the King, and in light of his unending authority, he sends his Apostles to make and baptize disciples from all the nations - teaching them to obey everything the King has commanded. I really hope you guys are hearing all this royal language. Jesus is our King. We are commanded to obey him.

So what is the mission of Paul and the other Apostles? Paul says it is to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of King Jesus’ name among all the nations. Paul is running with the Final Command of the King. When we started Advent this year I preached on Isaiah 2. Do you remember that passage?

It shall come to pass in the latter days     that the mountain of the house of Yahweh shall be established as the highest of the mountains,     and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,      and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,     to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways     and that we may walk in his paths.”

All the nations will flow to Yahweh’s mountain and house in the latter days.

So we close out this Advent season with another gospel reminder that the Saving King isn’t just saving a remnant from Israel, no our Advent hope, that the Prophets foretold in the Scriptures, is that Jesus is the Saving King of the world, of all nations. He’s gathering up the scattered and confused families of the earth and bringing them into his presence for blessing. Paul mentions the obedience of faith, just like Peter talks about obeying the Gospel, just like Jesus talks about his disciples learning to obey his commandments. As we enter into Christmastide, we enter into a celebration that should strengthen our allegiance to our King. I love the way John Piper talks about our allegiance, he calls it “glad submission.” Because of the redeeming work of the saving King, we get to walk in his ways. Because of the regenerating and sanctifying wok of the Spirit we get to delight in his will. It is a high privilege to pledge allegiance to our King and Master. On Wednesday day evening we will come together and sing these words:

What child is this? This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing: Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary!

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh, Come peasant king to own Him, The King of kings, salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him. Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth, and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled Joyful, all ye nations, rise Join the triumph of the skies With th' angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King! O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant; O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of angels; O come, let us adore Him; Christ the Lord!

Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King Advent is a silent season marked by fasting and waiting, but that fasting and waiting is marinated in a regal hope with global proportions. Christmastide is loud celebration marked with gifts and feats because the Saving King has come, the Davidic King, the Son of God in Power, Christ crucified and risen, the desire of every nations, has come and will come again. Let us now make our way to his great thanksgiving feast and commune with the King in the obedience of faith, in glad submission. Amen.