Sermon Tone Analysis

MBC - 5~/23~/2004 - Pastor Doug Thompson

*/“From Saul to Paul”/*

Romans 1:1

 

ROM 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

ROM 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

ROM 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

ROM 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

ROM 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,

ROM 1:6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

ROM 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Quotes”

The theme of Romans is found in the very first verse: “the gospel of God”--literally, “good news from God!” This is Paul’s obsession in this letter from beginning to end.

Romans contains the most complete diagnosis of the plague of man’s sin, and at the same time, the most glorious setting forth of God’s remedy which is the gospel--there is salvation and peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ!

The good news contained in this book can literally give you a new life--eternal life--and it’s been doing that ever since it was written:

 

Ron mentioned St. Augustine 2 weeks ago.

He was a brilliant pagan philosopher who lived in N. Africa in the 4th century, he had been a professor of rhetoric at the university in Milan, Italy.

But his personal life was a shambles: he was a drunk, he had a live in girlfriend.

One day he was struggling with his thoughts when he heard the sound of a child saying, “Take up and read.”

{read passage, then on Luther, then Wesley. . .

]

 

I have been praying that God would do the same thing in the heart of every person here as we study this letter--the same thing that He did to Paul himself.

You see, what makes this such a powerful book is that it isn’t just Paul’s teaching, it is Paul’s testimony of what the Gospel had done in his own life.

Paul introduces himself with 3 phrases--

 

Paul--a bond-servant of Christ Jesus--called as an apostle--set apart for the gospel of God,

 

*I.

Paul’s new identity: “a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.”*

Imagine that you are writing an important letter to a group of people whom you had never met.

You want to introduce yourself at the beginning of the letter, but how would you identify yourself?

Ø      “I hold a B.A. from such-and-such college, where I graduated with highest honors, I sit on several boards, my name is listed in the “Who’s Who of Hoosiers,” and my income is just unbelievable . .

.”

How did Paul identify himself to the Christians at Rome?

 

“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.”

I.e., That’s really the way Paul identified saw himself: just a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The most important thing about Paul was not /who/ he is, but /whose/ he was.

Ø      Paul used the word /doulos/, the most abject, lowly term used to denote a slave.

It was a derogatory term.

Slaves were the lowest level in the social order of that day when slaves made up more than half of the population in the Roman empire.

Ø      1CO 3:5 What then is Apollos?

And what is Paul?

Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

Servants = /diakonos/ = table-waiters--busboys!

When Janice and I got married I was working my way through school with odd jobs and one of them was serving as a busboy, waiting on impatient people in a little black bowtie.

It doesn’t exactly build self-esteem!

But Paul wasn’t concerned about his own significance or honor.

He had surrendered any self-esteem he might have had to the service of His Master.

Look at--

 

Ø      1CO 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as /servants/ of Christ and /stewards /of the mysteries of God.

The term used here is /hupēretēs/ (“servants”) which literally means “underrowers,” referring to the lowest level of rowers in the large galley of a Roman ship.

This was the most dangerous, demeaning work a slave could do.

These were the lowest of the low.

And the term “steward”--caretaker--comes from the OE word “stywarden,” or pigkeeper.

Paul was adamant that he was nothing, Jesus Christ and the Gospel entrusted to him were everything.

He was just a servant and a caretaker for His Master.

And what is striking is that Paul could have identified himself to these Romans as a Roman citizen and had immediate status in their sight!

Paul did appeal to his Roman citizenship, in Acts 22, when he was about to be scourged--

 

Ø      ACT 22:25 . . .

Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a /Roman/ and uncondemned?"

Ø      ACT 22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do?

For this man is a /Roman./"

Ø      ACT 22:27 The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a /Roman/?"

And he said, "Yes."

Ø      ACT 22:28 The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money."

And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."

Ø      ACT 22:29 Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a /Roman/, and because he had put him in chains.

Paul doesn’t say a word about that here, just “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.”

What did that mean to Paul personally?

It meant that the living Christ ruled his life!

The One he used to hate, the One whose followers, he used to hunt and kill.

The same One who conquered his heart and forgave him for all of that.

For Paul, it meant that he was under new ownership.

He had literally been bought and paid for by Jesus Christ and he belonged to Him, body and soul.

He wrote to the church at Corinth-- 

 

Ø      1CO 6:19, 20 You are not your own. . .

you have been bought with a price.

And being a bond-servant of Christ meant that he wasn’t enslaved to the opinions and judgments of others--

 

Ø      GAL 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?

Or am I striving to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

~*For Paul, everything was Christ, to live was Christ, to die, was Christ, and everything in between was just service to Christ.

You can boil down Paul’s life and identity to this one phrase: he was a slave of Christ.

Let me ask you: is the way you identify yourself?

“Doug, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus?”

The Gospel had done that to Paul--has the gospel done that to you?

I want you to understand as we study this epistle that it is not about a man and his theology, it’s about a man and his Master.

Second--

 

*II.

Paul’s new calling: “called as an apostle.”*

Even though Paul saw himself as nothing but a slave of Jesus Christ, he also recognized that God had called him to be an apostle.

And there has never been any higher calling for a human being than that of being called as an apostle--

 

Ø      1CO 12:28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers . .

.

Ø      REV 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

[You say, “what about Paul--#13?

I’m sure God has something special for him in that holy city--maybe a bridge will be named after him or something. .

.]

Paul identifies himself here as one of these called apostles.

He didn’t boast about it but he never belittled that position or the authority that came with it.

Paul wouldn’t defend himself against personal attacks or criticism, but he would stand up to anyone who challenged his apostleship because it came from God. Look at the end of v. 4--

 

Ø      . .

.Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake.

Ø      ROM 11:13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles.

Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, [But he didn’t take this on himself:]

 

Ø      GAL 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

 

Ø      1TI 2:7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Ø      1CO 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,