God's Calling: A Gospel Greeting

Introduction

Job vs. Vocation

“What do you do?” “What’s your job?” We introduce ourselves in this way because we believe that by it we figure out some of the most important things about a person that we could know. We find out what interests them. We learn about how they spend most of their waking hours. We may even find out what part of society they belong to, whether the wealthy, middle class, or the poor, the physical man or the mental man, the conservative woman or the progressive woman. The deeper we go into discussion on that topic, the more we learn about someone, such as the types of people they enjoy working alongside or under and the way they balance their lives. Ask more and you can find out what sort of things preceded their time in that career field, how family, interests, education, and providence each contributed to their taking up that job.

But there’s an older word that took on better meaning in the Reformation. The word is “vocation.” Vocation, which means “calling,” used to apply to those who had taken holy vows, such as priests and monks. However, when the Reformation spread across Europe, Luther and others began to apply it much more broadly. See, they held that God’s providence was such that whatever task God had given you in life, whatever station you were in at a particular moment, that was your calling, and since God is the one who designed it, it is a holy calling. In other words, they took the words of the Apostles seriously who exhorted their readers to do all things for the Lord. God is our Master no matter what task we’ve been given, and so no priest and no monk is any more holy than anyone else.

This is serious when we think of the pastorate, the very thing you are considering calling a man to here. The office of overseer is weighty; the task is noble. But the man’s calling is of the Lord, like others to other tasks, and he too must understand that his task is to serve Christ, and to do so by preaching the Word and by shepherding the flock. Each member has its own function in the body, and each his or her own ability to contribute to the building up of the saints. The pastorate, then, is the calling of a qualified man to a holy work. As you look for a pastor, you are seeking a man who is qualified, a man who fulfills the qualifications laid out in the pastoral epistles and who meets certain doctrinal standards for your flock. But the man you must be looking for, he ought not to be looking to rule people, to lift himself up before the eyes of others, but to serve Christ. He must be a man whose understanding of his life is such that his desire is to serve Christ by feeding Christ’s sheep and loving Christ’s people.

As we begin looking at the letter to the Romans, and as we consider the idea of calling, I want us to look at Paul’s greeting in the letter in three parts: the Caller, the Called, and the Calling. Before we begin, let’s get a little bit of the context of the letter.

Setting of the Letter of Romans

Likely from Corinth (16:23)

Had not been to Rome yet

It’s the late 50’s AD

Purpose of the Letter to the Romans

Fulfill his calling as an Apostle to the Gentiles (more on that in a moment)

Prepare his way to Spain (ch. 15)

Theme of the Letter to the Romans

The Gospel: Paul declares the gospel throughout and lays out a gospel theology, demonstrating the fallenness of all people in Adam, Gentile and Jew, and the redemption of all who come to Christ, Gentile and Jew, and then he explains what it looks like to live in light of that fact. In other words, this book could be considered a whole course in Paul’s theology.

Now, let us begin. Remember, that we will be looking at the Caller, the Called, and the Calling.

Caller: Christ, God, the Apostle

The Apostle (v. 5a)

God Calls

The nations (v. 5b)

The Saints at Rome (v. 6)

God Calls

The Apostle (v. 1) (cf. ; )

English Standard Version Chapter 1

But when he cwho had set me apart dbefore I was born,4 and who ecalled me by his grace,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them.”

The Saints (v. 6; v. 7)

English Standard Version Chapter 13

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them.”

The Apostle (v. 5a)

The nations (v. 5b)

The Saints at Rome (v. 6)

The Saints (v. 6; v. 7)

Jesus Calls

The Apostle (v. 5a)

The nations (v. 5b)

The Saints at Rome (v. 6)

Paul Calls

The Saints (“the gospel of God” v. 1; v. 5)

Called: Christ, the Apostle, the Saints

Christ is Called

God’s Son (v. 3)

Promised (v. 2)

Messiah/ Son of David (v. 1, v. 3)

Lord/King (v. 4)

The Apostle is Called (v. 1; v. 5)

Servant after OT prophets ( [Abraham]; [Moses]; [Joshua]; [the prophets]; [David])

As a servant (v. 1)

Also has connotation of “slave”

Apostle: Special servant of Christ with first-hand knowledge of him, sent out with the message of the gospel

The Saints are Called (v. 5b; v. 6; v. 7)

Named after OT Israel

Calling: Christ’s, the Apostle’s, the Saints

Christ’s Calling ()

Fulfillment of Scripture (promise, v. 2)

Humility (Incarnation, v. 3)

Exaltation (v. 4)

The Apostle’s Calling

Serve Christ (v. 1)

Preach the Gospel (v. 1)

Reach the Nations (v. 5)

Reach the Roman Christians (v. 6)

The Saints’ Calling

Submit to Christ (v. 5; v. 6)

Magnify the Name of Christ (v. 5)

Live Holy Lives (v. 7)

Conclusion

Will you believe the Christ, proclaimed to us by the Apostles?

Will you continue you walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called? ()

Will you call forth others to follow Christ?