1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm very excited about digging into the book of Romans! I often find Paul's letters to be somewhat difficult to grasp - especially with his writing style and tendency to use super long sentences! Case in point, Paul's got almost the entire gospel presented in this introduction to the book of Romans.
First we are introduced to the preacher of the good news - Paul - which shows us the important truth that God has chosen and entrusted human instruments with the task of spreading the gospel, under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then we see that the promise of the good news was already seen in the Old Testament. Jesus didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. The New Testament is the completion of the promise of the Old Testament.
We then see that the person of the good news is Jesus Christ. It's what we do with the Son of God that determines whether we inherit all the riches of the Father. We see both His humanness (v3 - descendant of David) and His deity (v4 - declared to be the Son of God with power through the Holy Spirit as evidenced by His resurrection). MacArthur sums it up so succintly.... He had to be man to take man's place. He had to be God to conquer sin and death and hell and Satan.
And when we receive Jesus Christ, the first of the riches that we receive is grace and apostleship. We are saved by grace - the unmerited, completely unearned favour, mercy, and lovingkindness of God. And with the receiving of that grace also comes apostleship - the responsibility to be messengers of the gospel. To serve Christ for His glory using the gifts He has uniquely given to each of us.
We are to go out proclaiming the good news and calling all believers to be obedient to the faith. If faith does not manifest itself in obedience, that faith is dead. There is no such faith. No, works can`t save you. Only faith, through God`s mercy and grace, can save you. But when faith is genuine it always results in good works. Obedience is the evidence of faith.
It is not faith unless it obeys. Salvation is submission. Salvation is affirmation of the Lordship of Christ.
And we should long to proclaim this message!
We are sent for obedience to the faith among all nations because that is what has happened to us.
The good news also comes with tremendous privileges!
We are the beloved of God. What an incredible thought - we are the beloved of God.
We are also called - we are the elect. It is never ever calling alone but there is always with that call the act of faith in Christ that goes with it. But nonetheless, we're called. From our viewpoint, we come to Christ as an act of our will. But from God's viewpoint, it was determined before the world began and He called us to Himself.
And we are saints. Saints! It`s true, we are! By virtue of being beloved of God, by virtue of being called, you are a saint. You've been made holy. What does it mean? To set apart...to set apart from the world unto God...The Holy of Holies doesn't exist, the veil was rent. The holy place is no more, the temple's been destroyed. The tithe isn't anymore because we're not under a theocracy. The priests aren't around anymore. The nation of Israel has been temporarily set aside. What is left that is holy? I'll tell you what it is, it is the new temple of God which is His church. And we're holy. We're set apart unto God. Set apart from sin unto God. And we're to live like that.
And the purpose of the good news? The glory of God. Yes, when we are saved we are spared hell, we are promised heaven and we experience the love of God. That`s all true. But that`s all secondary. The primary purpose is the glory of God.
God is glorified when you believe His gospel. God is glorified when you love His Son. God is glorified when you accept His diagnosis of your sin and your need. God is glorified when you take Him into your life. God is glorified when your plans become His plans and your thoughts become the thoughts that are common to Him. We live and exist for the glory of God...
The good news comes from God. It is the gospel of God, verse 1. And it is preached by the preacher, promised in the Old Testament, personified in Jesus Christ, providing grace and service, proclaimed by those who receive eternal privileges and it is all for the purpose of glorifying God.
Amen!
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Romans 1:8-15
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