Bought with a price
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Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
Introduction:
Today we are beginning a new series in the book of Romans.
This book has been considered the apostle Paul’s greatest masterpieces of the faith. Probably more people throughout the centuries have been converted to Christ by scriptures from this book than any other in the Bible.
The reformer Martin Luther, was awakened to the grace of God though -
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Which is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4.
The overwhelming theme of the letter - Justification by faith
In his introduction, Paul sets up the position of believers in contrast to the doctrinal truths of this letter.
Although many have used the findings of these doctrinal positions to establish a rather dry and formal legal set of rules, Paul’s intention is to establish doctrinal stability in a sphere of love and service.
The doctrinal can never be dry and unfeeling, it must be that which underscores the love and grace of the believer toward the world.
I. Our Servant Position.
I. Our Servant Position.
“a bondservant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle”.
There’s been much written about the Greek doulas, that underscores the word bondservant.
This particular Greek word is also translated
servant
slave
menservants
bondservant
Although it properly means one that serves another for no wages, It’s Hebrew counterpart, shows servants who do receive wages -
Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.
Jacob was a servant of Laban and because he was a relative, served for pay, and infact the LXX uses the word Doulas in its verb form in Gen 29:15
Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”
But, probably the most important thing for us to know about this term, is not so much how unjust it seems (a product of our own nations past with slavery and its perpetual rehashing for political purposes), but its higher call and seduction in the Christian faith.
You see, as much as we detest slavery, we are called to be slaves!
And that is what Paul demonstrates here and how we should measure the weight of truth this book presents.
II. Our Universal Purpose.
II. Our Universal Purpose.
“separated to the gospel...”
We have been severed from the world unto the gospel.
It becomes quite confusing for us at times, and some have taken this and used it to guilt people.
I have always maintained that we must serve the Lord with a whole heart, and it is clear from this scripture that we must make the gospel a priority, but, we are part of this world and must find our place in it and still make the gospel our priority.
Sometimes the term clergy and laity sends all the wrong messages.
We begin to equate these terms with rank of holiness.
We are all equally servants of the Lord, and have equally been separated to the gospel, we simply have differing responsibilities and duties.
If as the passage says, we are separated to the gospel and have a duty to serve inn this capacity, than we must do it where we are.
I do not need to quit playing golf so that I can spend time knocking on peoples doors, I can knock upon their hearts on the front or back nine.
Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we are separated to the gospel of God!
Find a way to share the good news wherever you are.
And that good news is that Jesus has set us free from the bondage of sin under the law.
This Paul will bring to its fullest conclusion through the rest of these sixteen chapters.
III. Our possessor.
III. Our possessor.
“Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord… by the resurrection from the dead”
He fulfills all the prophecies and all requirements to be master.
Once again as we saw during advent in the genealogy of Matthew, Jesus fulfills the Davidic and Abrahamic covenant.
because of who He is in divine essence, and because He is the only acceptable sacrifice for sin, He paid for us with His blood.
This ties in perfectly to what Paul meant we he said he was a bond servant of God.
He alone is the master and we are His servants!
Because we are bought with a price:
A. He possesses our bodies.
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
B. He possesses our minds.
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
In other words, keep your focus upon the Lord.
We probably should admit the difficulty of this when everything around us is competing for service.
IV. Our Privilege.
IV. Our Privilege.
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
I love what Paul does here.
He connects the generic idea of apostleship with all those who are the called.
When he says we, he refers to himself and his readers. By using the particle also, which is copulative and cumulative, he connects the two.
So we are all apostles in a sense, that is those who are commissioned and sent for a particular task.
This is our privilege!
In this manner of beginning his letter to the Romans, Paul is setting the stage for willing participation in the gospel cause, not legal loopholes to force our hand.
Many read scripture and preach scripture as law in order to force the will into compliance.
That is the furthest thing from Paul’s mind and intent in this book.
He is persuading his readers to consider the freedom in Christ over the law, as a way of life.