Mission for the New Year
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Introduction
Introduction
I would like to begin today telling you a story. I would hope that all of you know what happened on Dec. 7, 1941. A day that will live in infamy as spoken by President Roosevelt. Not as many people today however still remember or know about the Doolittle raiders. Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt tasked senior U.S. military commanders with finding a suitable response to ease the public outrage. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a difficult assignment. The Army Air Forces had no bases in Asia close enough to allow their bombers to attack Japan. At the same time, the Navy had no airplanes with the range and munitions capacity to do meaningful damage without risking the few ships left in the Pacific Fleet.
In early January of 1942, Captain Francis Low, a submariner, visited Norfolk, VA to review the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. During this visit, Captain Low realized that Army medium-range bombers might be successfully launched from an aircraft carrier.[1] The bombers however would not be able to land on the carrier. They would have to proceed on to land in China. Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle was selected to lead the mission and put together a team of volunteers to complete the mission. These men who volunteered did not know the final mission, only that it was one of great importance. On April 18 1942, not yet to their designated launch point but having possibly been sighted by a Japanese patrol boat, 80 men in 16 aircraft left the flight deck of the USS HORNET and flew to Japan. After attacking their targets 15 of the plains continued their paths on to China, one however went on to Russia as it was closer and that plane was the lowest on fuel. Of the men and planes, 7 men died, 3 were prisoners of war in Japan, the 5 that landed in Russia were held for 13 months. This was not a particularly successful mission in terms of destruction of enemy infrastructure. It was however an extreme morale boost to the American people and had the strategic impact of the Japanese pulling back to protect their homeland.
I tell you the story of the Doolittle raiders for a purpose. These men volunteered for a special mission, of the utmost importance. They knew the mission had to be accomplished and set out to do so. We see this frame of thought in the opening verses of our text for today, Romans chapter 1:1-7. Please open your Bibles with me as we look into the text that Paul wrote to the believers in Rome.
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[1] http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/wwii/doolittle.shtml
It can be easy for those who know their Bibles well to simply glance at the beginning of these letters and dismiss them as formality, wanting to get deeper into the text to really get at the meat and potatoes of the subject. We shouldn't however go running by these introductions so quickly because they are often the foundation upon which the rest of the letter is written. This can often lead us to mistaken ideas such as the book of Romans being merely a book of doctrine. Through this introduction we see that Paul is building the idea that we have a mission. A mission of the utmost importance. We as believers can see in Paul's introduction to the Romans that we have been given a mission to share the gospel of Jesus just as he was.
Paul as our example.
Paul as our example.
Paul is writing the letter. V. 1a
Writing to believers in Rome. v7
1. Different translations of the Bible have this word listed in a few different ways.
a. The ESV translates the word to be servant.
b. The NASB and NKJV have the word listed as bond-servant.
c. The HCSB and NLT have translated the word to be slave.
d. The reason for this is that the word δοῦλος in the original Greek has a deeper meaning. The word means "being under someone’s total control, slavish, servile, subject."[1]
e. Paul is using this word as a description of his relationship to Jesus.
f. So what does that mean though? The slavery of New Testament times more often did not look like what we often think of slavery being today. Often today the word brings up thoughts of abuse and neglect but slavery in this context it was often a way to repay a very large debt or a way to simply survive when someone was so broke they had no other way live. Often these people were treated more as servants, hence the differing translations. A slave or servant however still has a job to do. That person is someone who does things when they are asked or commanded to do so.
g. Through this we can see as an example that Paul belonged without reserve to Jesus.[2] He was completely devoted to Jesus and the mission which Jesus had placed him on.
h. Paul by claiming himself to be a slave or servant of Christ does something else in our minds as we read the text. It elevates the position of Jesus. Most of us, especially if we have read our Bibles have high view of Paul, and for him to place himself in such a low position brings Christ to a greater position in our minds as we read and understand the text. [3]
Paul sets about to establish his authority in writing the message.
i. A final point that can be made here is that Paul actually lived what he was writing. We can read of Paul's missionary journeys and the joys and the sorrows that he faced as he traveled.
2. I would like you to think for a moment of your own relationship with Jesus. As sinners, we have no other way out. We have such a great debt that there is no other way that we can possibly repay it. Jesus is the only one that can make that payment and all he asks for is our devotion and service.
[1] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 259.
Paul’s credentials
[2] Robert H. Mounce, Romans, vol. 27, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 59.
Paul labels himself a servant of Christ
Paul does so using the Greek word δοῦλος.
[3] Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 36–37.
ESV translates the word servant.
NASB and NKJV translate to bond-servant.
HCSB and NLT translate to slave.
The word carries the idea of “being under someone’s total control, slavish, servile, subject.”
This describes one aspect of Paul’s relationship to Jesus.
Paul described himself as a pharisee of pharisee’s
Paul took his mission and call very seriously.
Paul views himself as being und Jesus total control, His slave, His servant, His subject.
Slavery in the NT did not look like what we think of slavery as today.
Slavery today conjures up thoughts of abuse and neglect but this is not the context of the NT.
In those times it was used as a way to repay a debt.
If someone was at the point they could no longer survive, they could become a slave as a way to survive.
These people were treated more like how we would view a servant which is why we have the differing translations.
They still however, had a job to do or tasks to accomplish.
They were people who did things when asked.
Paul belonged to Jesus without reserve.
Paul stating himself to be a slave or servant also helps us a readers to see how Paul views himself in relation to Jesus.
Most of us have a high view of Paul as we should but here he is showing how he compares to Jesus.
He is trying to place Jesus at the forefront as we continue in the text.
How about your relationship with Jesus?
As sinners, we have no way out on our own.
Our debt is too great.
Jesus is the only one who can repay the debt that we owe. We cannot survive without Him.
All he asks for in return is our devotion and service.
Another aspect of Paul’s credentials is his apostleship. V1 b
In the early church the word apostle was used to denote a person who was sent out to proclaim the gospel, it was not limited to the idea of an office.
Paul rares used the word apostle to describe the twelve but used it to describe those sent to share the good news.
Paul is stating through this that he is part of a group of highly honored believers with a special function of being sent out as God’s messengers.
We as followers of Jesus are sent out in the same way.
We have that same mission to go out and share the gospel with those around us.
One place we see this mission coming to us is from .
19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are disciples that have been made are are called to continue that.
All of that said and we aren’t quite through verse one! Paul is serious about his mission to share the gospel to all the nations. This leads us into our second point showing Paul’s authority.
Paul was set apart for a purpose.
Paul was set apart for a purpose.
I. Paul was set apart for a purpose. V 1 c
A. One reason that Paul saw his calling in such a serious way probably stems from his conversion experience.
B. Paul's conversion experience .
1. Paul's conversion is recorded for us in Acts chapter 9.
a. Just previous to that in Chapter 8 we read of his passion for his cause.
b. states that "Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
c. We can see that when Paul felt he had a job to do, it was not something that he took lightly.
2. The word that Paul uses here, set apart, describes the work that God did in Paul's conversion.
3. When we first think of the words set apart, the first thing that comes to mind is something of being set aside.
a. This however is a passive idea and does not correctly reflect the idea behind the text.
b. The idea here is that of selecting a person out of a group for a purpose.
c. God initiated the process of Paul being an apostle, Paul did not choose this role.
d. Jesus appeared to him.
e. Paul was pulled from the extreme end of the Jewish spectrum to become a follower of Jesus.
f. Paul was set apart for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
g. Set apart to serve, for the interest of the gospel.
h. The gospel that is of God, and God's plan alone, not anyone else's.
Paul speaks clearly about the gospel.
Paul speaks clearly about the gospel.
1. Paul was set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.
a. Paul is rooting the gospel in history.
b. The gospel of which Paul is speaking, the same gospel that we have today, is rooted in history!
c. The gospel is God's answer to sin!
d. The Gospel is God's Story from the very beggining.
2. I really appreciate the way Robert Mounce describes the gospel in his Romans commentary.
a. "The gospel comes in fulfillment of a promise. In Genesis, God spoke of the heel of the woman’s offspring crushing the serpent (). Messianic psalms portray the coming deliverer (; ). Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant (). The Old Testament continually points beyond itself to a time of fulfillment, the age to come. God made his promise “through his prophets” in the Old Testament. He entrusted his message to men chosen to speak for him. Beyond that, he allowed his message to be written down. What the prophets wrote became “Holy Scriptures.” Here we have a brief summary of the method God chose in order to communicate with his people. Scripture originated with God. He used prophets to communicate his will, and they accomplished that purpose by writing down what God was pleased to reveal. The result was Scripture that is holy.[1]
3. The gospel is not something new that was drummed up by Jesus.
4. It is an ongoing story set in motion by God himself.
5. John Calvin speaks of this in his commentary as to the gospel not being something new.
a. Calvin writes "He (being Paul) confirms the faith of the gospel by antiquity; as though he said, “Christ came not on the earth unexpectedly, nor did he introduce a doctrine of a new kind and not heard of before, inasmuch as he, and his gospel too, had been promised and expected from the beginning of the world.”[2]
D. Paul continues in verse 3 to let us know one way in which Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and in turn also declare Jesus humanity.
1. Jesus being in the line of David fulfills the prophecy that a descendant of David would rule forever.
2. This promise is recorded as being given to David in .
3. This is the purpose for which he was called. Jesus gave the mission to spread the kingdom of God throughout the world one disciple, one believer at a time.
E. Paul then continues in verse 4 to declare the deity of Jesus.
1. Jesus is more than just a man.
2. Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in three ways which are all linked together.
a. Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power.
i. Another way to understand this is that he is marked out.
ii. Jesus was designated in power.
iii. This power is displayed by Jesus resurrection from death.
b. The next link in power according to the Holy Spirit describes for us how Jesus lived in the power God provided through the Spirit.
i. We as Christians live out our faith in the same way.
ii. We live in a strength that is not our own, rather the power of the Holy Spirit.
iii. God gives us the strength to make it through each day.
c. The third link that Jesus was declared the Son of God was by his resurrection.
i. The emphasis on the resurrection is proof of Jesus deity.
ii. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, the whole argument would be in shambles.
F. Jesus resurrection from the dead is the key that sets him apart and confirms His deity. Jesus Has been shown to be both fully man and fully God. Paul's direct interaction and salvation through Jesus set him on a new mission. A mission to proclaim the gospel to all nations. A gospel that is more than just words. A gospel that is Jesus Christ crucified and raised from death to glory.
Jesus Christ is Lord
Jesus Christ is Lord
[2] John Calvin and John Owen, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 43.
I. Paul has said all of this up to this point to end verse 4 with the declaration that Jesus Christ is our Lord but still isn't quite done with his long run on sentence.
A. Do you know that person that when they are excited, just spews out one big long sentence full of so much information.
B. That is Paul right here and he is about to get to one of his favorite parts.
C. It is through Jesus Christ our Lord that we have received grace.
1. Grace can be a very difficult concept for us to understand.
a. As an example, think in your own life, have you ever had a late fee of some sort and not had to pay? A library book or a late fee on a bill of some sort that you forgot to pay? Or perhaps have been pulled over for going a little too fast and let go with a warning? These are some light examples of grace. God's grace is so much greater than these examples. Grace, "in a Christian context nothing brings joy like that great, inexplicable saving act of God in Christ in which he freely brings about our salvation without any contribution from our side."[1] Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God.[2] And it is by this grace that we are able to live our lives in the way in which God would have us live.
D. It is also through Jesus Christ our Lord that we have received apostleship.
1. There is some debate over how this is to be understood.
a. One way is the literary plural, or a "royal we." This is something we think of when a king is speaking of the royal family.
b. Translating it this way would have a meaning of Paul saying "we (being the Paul and the 12) have received grace and apostleship,"
c. Though this may not be a wrong translation, I think Paul has a greater meaning to the text that he is trying to communicate.
d. The word used here, ἀποστολὴν, has the connotation of "the role of one who has been commissioned and sent as a special messenger"[3]
e. I think Paul's use of we caries the meaning that as followers of Jesus we have received both grace and a mission.
f. That mission being to spread the gospel which Paul has just introduced in the previous verses out among all the nations.
g. The Romans who Paul was writing to and us as believers today have all received the grace Jesus gives and the mission He has called His followers to.
E. For this reason we can see that the gospel has a greater purpose than simply being words on a page. Paul continues on in verse 5 with the purpose for which Jesus has brought grace and apostleship. That purpose being the obedience of faith for the sake of His name, among all the nations.
[1] Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 48.
[2] Dictionary
[3] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 541.
Jesus calls for our obedience.
Jesus calls for our obedience.
A. The mission of the gospel is an important one.
B. So important that Paul lays it out right at the beginning of his letter to the Romans.
This obedience is a continuation of the thought from earlier in the passage.
Paul stated he was a servant or slave of Christ.
We as Christians also belong to Christ without reserve.
C. We have received the mission of the gospel and in working out that mission we are acting in the obedience which comes from faith.
D. The process of us becoming more like Jesus should bring a nature of obedience to our lives.
E. This obedience also is only for the purpose of bringing glory to Jesus.
F. Through our obedience we are an example to all the nations.
G. Paul moves on in verse 6 and explicitly states that the Romans to are called to belong to this cause. The cause of Jesus.
H. The mission of the gospel going to the nations is self perpetuating.
I. Each person that believes and becomes obedient to the will of Christ takes part in the mission.
J. This emphasized in the final verses of Paul's introduction.
1. Paul blesses the believers in Rome.
a. Paul wrote that those in Rome were loved by God.
b. Paul is emphasizing here that he is writing to his fellow believers in Rome.
c. Paul wrote they were called to be saints.
d. This has the connotation that they are working towards a goal of Christ-likeness.
2. Paul is asking God for grace and peace for his readers.
a. Paul is asking for grace which we have already covered but also peace.
b. This peace is not only a freedom from conflict but echoes the Old Testament concept of shalom, where a person's life with God and with everything else is ordered in harmony, both physically and spiritually.
Paul’s blessing on the believers in Rome.
Paul’s blessing on the believers in Rome.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In conclusion I would like for us to take Paul's purpose in writing here to heart. Paul provides for us an example. He is completely sold out to Jesus and the mission that he has been given. If you remember back with me to the introduction, the men of the Doolittle raiders volunteered not knowing what was in store for them.
We have a great benefit over that situation. We know exactly what is in store for us.
When we place our faith in Christ, we are secured for eternity. We can look forward to the glorious hope we have in Christ.
As we are here on the doorstep of a new year I hope we go forth from here today knowing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior, being obedient to his calling, working with Him on the mission that He has laid before us.
We have a mission to take the Gospel to the nations.
We have a mission to share the Gospel which is true power for life change, hope, healing, regeneration.
Only Jesus can give us the new hearts we all so desperately need.