The God Who Chose You
Notes
Transcript
In 1995 Joan Osborne released the song “One of Us”.
The lyrics of the song read like this:
So one of these nights and about twelve o'clock
This old world's going to reel and rock
Saints will tremble and cry for pain
For the Lord's gonna come in his heavenly airplane
If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with Him in all His glory?
What would you ask if you had just one question?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?
If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like Heaven and in Jesus and the saints
And all the prophets? And...
Just tryin' to make His way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to Heaven all alone
Just tryin' to make His way home
Nobody callin' on the phone
'Cept for the Pope, maybe, in Rome
That is the way a lost world views God. Impersonal and unreachable. He does not understand what it is to be human. However, the Bible presents a completely different view of God. That is what I hope to present today as we begin looking at the Book of Romans.
Turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 1
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 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.
Though many had surely heard of Paul, most, if any, had never met him. So, as any good writer would do, he introduces himself and explains why he is qualified to express what he is about to write. While he lists his qualifications, he does not brag about himself. As we will see, he brags on the one who qualified him; Jesus.
Let me pause for a moment and say, any preacher who talks as much or more-so about himself than he does about Jesus is not fit to be in the pulpit. I’m not saying a preacher cannot share his testimony, but a good testimony is about what Jesus has and is doing in your life. So, even though it is your story, Jesus is the main character
I. Paul
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Formerly Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee, who trained at the feet of Gamaliel, is the writer of this letter (Acts 22:3).
He does not mention any of this though. Instead, he identifies himself as the slave of Jesus Christ.
Of this, Dr. Ryrie says, “The Believer who voluntarily takes the position of slave to Christ has not rights or will of his own. He does always and only the will of the Master”.
As the slave of Jesus, he had been assigned the duty of Apostle, specifically to the sharing of the gospel in the Roman Empire. As an Apostle, or ambassador, he went where he was sent. If the Holy Spirit said “Go to Ephesus” then as an obedient slave he went to Ephesus. He did not say, “but my feet hurt” or “that will cost a lot of money.” As Dr. Ryrie stated, “He does always and only the will of his Master.”
The message he was called to deliver, as an Ambassador of Jesus Christ, was the gospel.
As I thought about this, I wondered, if he was “separated unto the gospel of God”, why did he write about so many other doctrines?
Then I quickly answered my own question; the gospel is the beginning of all doctrine.
Think about that for just a moment.
If not for the gospel, there would be no doctrine of sanctification.
There would be no doctrine of glorification
There would be no doctrine of eschatology or end times.
We would not study theology at all because what would be the point.
That was the mentality of the Godless in Judah when Isaiah recorded the following verse:
13 And behold joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen, and killing sheep,
Eating flesh, and drinking wine:
Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
II. An Interjection
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Already, Paul is taken with praise for God. He did this often in his writing. He would say something and then break out in praise to God.
Though this is short, he wants the reader to know this important truth.
It is simply too good to skip over.
Paul wants the reader to know that the Gospel was God’s plan the whole time. It was not a new idea.
From Genesis 3:15 on, the gospel promise is present in the scriptures.
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The promise to the serpent
The sacrifice of the animal for a covering, or atonement
The sacrifices of Cain and Abel
The birth of Seth
The Ark and Noah
And that is just the first 7 chapters of the first book.
Of the animal that was sacrificed to make clothes for Adam and Eve, Dr. W.A. Criswell said:
“When they said in the presence of God that they had made themselves fig leaves to cover their shame and their nakedness, the Lord looked upon them and said “But it will not do. Not what human hands can weave. It will not do.” And somewhere in the garden of Eden the Lord took an innocent animal, and before the eyes of Eve and Adam, God slew that innocent animal and the ground drink up its blood. This is the beginning of “The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible.” With the sacrifice of an innocent animal, God took coats of skin and covered over the shame and the nakedness of the man and his wife. This is the first sacrifice, and it was offered by the hand of Almighty God. I have often thought that when Adam saw the gasping, spent life of that innocent creature, and when he saw the crimson stain which soil the ground, it was his first experience to know what it meant to die because of sin. So the story of atonement and sacrifice begins and unfolds throughout the word of God until finally in glory we shall see great throngs of the Saints who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. This is “The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible.”
On a side note, if you think I am long winded, this is part of a New Years eve message he preached. He began the message at 7:30 pm and finished after midnight. He said that he still did not have enough time to preach this message.
The Apostle Peter said that God planned salvation before he created the universe.
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
Because God is omniscient, he knew that man, his creation would sin. So, it was always his plan for Jesus to die on the cross. Let me word that another way, before Jesus created the universe, it was his plan to suffer and die for man’s sins. He knew man would reject him and sin. Yet, he made man anyway. He knew many would reject his sacrifice, yet he made man anyway. Why? For those who would receive him. He loves us. He is glorified through our redemption.
People say, Why would a loving God make man if he knew that he would sin and that would send him to Hell?
Let’s think about that for a moment. Why would a loving God create humanity so knowing it would die?
Based on that same logic, why would a husband and wife have children knowing that they would eventually die?
Creation is not about death but about life.
Just like human parents, God created because he loves life.
Even knowing that there would be rejection, God created and made a means of salvation and eternal life but his creation had to accept his plan.
It was their rejection of his plan that brought about death in the first place.
If they continue to reject his plan then they remain in their condition of death.
This is not the fault of the creator but of the creation.
Now, with the understanding that God planned salvation from the very beginning, also understand this, Paul was set apart before the world began to be an Apostle. Again, God is omniscient. Knowing that would sin, he planned for his son to die on the cross to pay the price for their sins. He also planned to begin his church and to send out preachers to share the message of salvation. Among those he foreknew he would send was Paul. If you are saved today, God has a plan for you. That plan was determined before God created the universe. You have been on God’s mind and heart for all of eternity.
Conclusion:
Close your eyes and shut out everything else. Think about what I just said. Before God said “Let there be light” in Genesis 1:3, you were already on his heart.
Before God made the angels to sing praise and worship him, you were on his heart.
His plan of salvation was determined because of his love for you. It was not a generic love for “creation”.
The Holy Spirit’s call to salvation is in the heart of an individual. That makes it personal.
The call to ministry is in the heart of an individual. That makes it personal.
Paul is just beginning his longest letter that is jam packed with doctrine and just in the introduction there is so much truth.
Just in the first two verses, there is a personal God who loves you as an individual.
He calls us individually.
What is God saying to you though this message?
What is he calling you to do for him?
Will you surrender to him and his plan for your life?