Romans

Apostleship Be Holy (Set Apart) Called to Service God's Son Became a Man Obedience Equals Success Servanthood Set Apart by God The Call to Obedience The Power of Resurrection

Servanthood (Romans 1) Romans is a special book which plainly summarizes the Gospel given by the Lord Most High. It explains the Gospel message, how the blood of Christ is reached, by which we're saved, although our bodies die. We have no record of just how the church in Rome was started, perhaps by some who heard the Gospel preached by Simon Peter on the Day of Pentecost when three thousand souls with saving grace were reached. The power of our holy God is in the words he spoke, the power that transforms our lives today. His call is universal to all who would believe and, with all our strength and spirit, to obey. The apostle Paul is writing, led by the Holy Spirit, the second greatest preacher of all time, next to Jesus Christ himself, the living, breathing Word, the Way that leads to heaven's home sublime. Paul's Jewish name was Saul, perhaps named for the king who was also from the tribe of Benjamin. He was called to preach the message mostly to the Gentile race, and spent his lifetime serving, changing them. God calls all men to serve himself and our fellow men, our reason for existence here on earth, the root of all our blessings, the happiness we crave. Of joy his saints will never know a dearth. Moses was a slave of God, with human feet of clay. He made mistakes, yet faithful Moses stayed. He was not allowed to enter into the promised land because God's strict command he disobeyed.  That faithfulness was credited to him as righteousness, just as we see within Christ's law today. He was sent from Paradise to encourage Jesus Christ before crucifixion, God's love to relay. God's slaves give up their own rights in order to enhance and expand the kingdom of the Lord they serve. All their heart, soul, spirit, mind and strength are given in his cause, the blest commands he left us to observe. § Called to Service (Romans 1) Romans is the most extensive book Paul wrote about the Gospel, the Word of God with power of salvation, written for the church, the saints at Rome, as well as us today, to offer hope in Christ to every nation. We are saved to serve, he plainly says, as Jesus gave himself, living here on earth to guide us in his way, to offer his example by which we are to live, and to die a cruel death, our debt to pay. The cross on which he suffered is the focal point, the reason for the history of man. He was glorified upon that cross, but not by human standards. It was there that all forgiveness first began. Even though God owns the universe, is busy with its care, his affection was on tiny Israel. We are to be like Abraham, who proved he was God's friend by his actions, all his faithfulness to tell. We must circumcise our hearts, cut off our selfish nature, be willing, ready, anxious for his leading. In reverent fear and awe, we obey the Lord's commands, with all our hearts his blessed Gospel heeding. He equates our love with service toward our fellow men. Obedience and faith are synonyms. For our own good, he gave his law, a fount of Godly blessings, available to those who follow him. "Why do you kick against the goads?" Jesus asked of Saul. Rebellion is a painful way to live. We have problems understanding the lesson Jesus taught, that happiness comes only when we give. Our earthly life is lived in vain unless we die to sin, pursuing righteousness with all our might. Our hearts are judged by what we do, not merely by emotions, trusting Jesus' blood to keep our souls aright. § Apostleship (Romans 1) Paul says that Jesus called him first to be a lowly servant, and then as an apostle, sent to preach. "Apostle" means "one who was sent," a witness for the cause, all lost and needy wanderers to reach. Paul was the thirteenth of the chosen few in the beginning, and secondary men also were sent. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel I have given," said Jesus just before his great ascent. This commandment still applies to us, the saints and slaves of Christ. We sow the kingdom seeds in needy hearts so that folks will see his saving grace, solutions for their sins, the Great Physician's healing to impart. Paul was his own worst enemy, resisting Christ the Savior, and his conversion is proof of the power that the Gospel has to change us into a new creation, nevermore beneath the devil's grasp to cower. After meeting Christ upon the road, humility was planted inside the heart once bitter with its hate. His attitude was changed completely after his conversion, as he followed closely Jesus' own mandate. "Anyone who serves me," Christ told them long ago, "will be there where my Father reigns above." Humility, obedience in slavery to God are proof of our undying, faithful love. § Set Apart by God (Romans 1) Before one can be sent, he must be called by God, through the word of Christ that always stays the same. Christ talked to Paul in person on the Damascus road, transformed his life, and a new man he became. In his early life as an orthodox Jew, he was very conscientious, thinking that the Christians were opposed to God. Though ignorant of the facts concerning these new saints, on the moral Jewish laws he often trod. "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" asked Christ, the blinding Light, because it was his church Saul terrorized. "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do it unto me," is hard for some of us to realize. The apostles all were righteous men, holy, set apart, examples that we now can read about. Incredulous was Paul that he had been forgiven for persecuting saints of God, devout. By his own admission, he had been the worst of sinners, yet grace was poured on him like cleansing rain. His is a great example of the patience of our God, the power that he has to heal our pain. He goes to great extents to free the people he created, short of rescinding human free-will choice. He died for all men everywhere and wants us to be saved by following the guidance of his voice. We Gentiles owe a debt to Paul for his years of servitude, planting many churches everywhere he went. Through Europe and beyond he traveled, spreading Gospel truth, proclaiming Christ wherever he was sent. He was set apart, thus separated from his worldly past, his family and everything he owned. Scorned by his Jewish brothers, hated and despised, he was treated like a felon, even stoned. But through it all he persevered and called himself contented. He had found the root of happiness and joy. The challenge was invigorating, with the wondrous hope the someday he would hear God's "Attaboy!" § Be Holy (Set Apart) Romans 1 The apostles were eyewitnesses of the majesty of Christ, of the perfect, sinless life he lived and gladly sacrificed. Paul saw him "out of season," only after he had died and rose again in victory, all justice satisfied. The words of ancient prophets are made "more certain" now by the proof from many witnesses who solemnly avow that he walked among them many days, his scars still fresh and plain, and promised that to us, his saints, he will return again. Christians, in a general sense, all are set apart for the work that he has given us, to share from heart to heart the grace that brings salvation and blessed peace of mind which, in this earthly dwelling, is often hard to find. Christ is the bright and morning star, the light to guide us home. His presence deep within our souls is sweet as honeycomb. Our faith is demonstrated by works of righteousness; our actions show our faithfulness to the Name that we confess. These epistles to all Christians tell us how we are to live after he has made us pure and white, our black sins to forgive. Few people walk the narrow way, not because it's hard to find, but because it disagrees with the human state of mind. Many try to broaden heaven's way and make the portals wide, use worldly measures for their rule, and drag their sins inside. Paul spent much time defending his own apostleship against false teachers, heresies that soiled their godless lips. Those wolves dressed up in sheeply garb can lead a saint astray, and he warns us to stay on our guard until the judgment day. "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" he asked of those within the church, some faithful since their youth. God did not spare the angels who sinned against his laws. He is not a doting grandpa nor a dreamy Santa Claus. His love and righteous discipline always go hand in hand, and only those he sets apart will reach that golden strand. § God's Son Became a Man (Romans 1) God promised through the prophets that he would send his Son, the great Messiah, born unto the Jews. His genealogy is traced through Abraham to Adam, his life and death the Gospel of good news. He was not what Jews expected, a ruler with great pomp. How could a humble man lead anyone? Itinerant and poorly dressed, in dusty sandaled feet, how could this preacher be God's only Son? Before creation, he was God, then chose to come to earth, becoming man because he loved us so. He would live as an example and die, a sacrifice, that forgiveness of salvation we could know. In eternity he's simply known as the Word of God, the mind and purpose of the One we serve. Everything we need to know about him has been written down, the gift of grace no human can deserve. In him is life, the light of men, the source of truth and love to banish darkness and the dread of sin. Some folks prefer the darkness and shun the living Word that might bring to view the hidden pain within. The world refused to recognize the Source of its creation. They hung him on the bitter cross in shame. Yet he asked for their forgiveness, as well as yours and mine, that we can share the glory of his name. Recognition of the Son of God is not just intellect, but moral, as the Word rebuilds the soul. It demands complete obedience, diligence of faith, with the Lord's perfection as our shining goal. The God-man is our constant strength and hope, as day by day, we labor in his vineyard, breaking ground. To serve him is the greatest pleasure that this world affords, as the narrow road we travel, homeward bound.  § The Power of Resurrection Romans 1 Christ was proved to be the Son of God by his resurrection, after dying for the sins of all mankind. Before the world's creation, he chose us to be holy, toward his established ways to be inclined. We die to sin, are buried in the water of baptism, are raised like Christ to start our life anew, a practical and faithful application of the scriptures, a glorious new lifestyle to debut. The awesome power of God that brought Jesus from the grave is now at our disposal through the Son. All authority is his, unlimited dominion, and through him our salvation has been won. Effective fervent prayer of the righteous in his kingdom avails more than the world could ever know. His glorious inheritance is poured out on his saints, the extravagant gifts he promised to bestow. Love, joy, peace and patience, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness and self-control will be given as we follow him, partaking of his wisdom, to enlarge the giving nature of our soul. Christ is everywhere, yet in a special way, he is in the church, his body, every saint. Though they are the few, the remnant, the bright New Israel, their faith will never falter, never faint. Holy and blameless in his sight, not perfect, just forgiven, they serve here as his tongue, his hands, his feet, using his authority to preach to every creature the good news that is never obsolete. § The Call to Obedience Romans 1 Paul and the other apostles received from God the grace to call folks to obedience that comes about by faith. Anyone who hears and practices the words that they have taught is wise in ways that matter, what many men have sought. "If you love me," said our Savior, "you will do what I command." He will lead us to the pearly gates if we will hold his hand. Ask, seek, knock - be persistent - and the door will open wide to the one who loves his counsel and walks close by his side. We can share the greatest treasure of the ages if we choose to be the slave of Jesus, let his words our souls perfuse. Yet some human hearts are calloused and rebel against his law, have no respect for righteousness, no longer feel the awe of observing God in nature, all the things that he has made, the glory of the heavens that never change or fade. Christ died for every sinner, invites each one to come, but few accept his calling, rank foolishness to some. We are not to waste our precious time on unrepentant souls who spurn the gospel's way of love and choose the rocky shoals. The narrow way restricts us to the road that he has paved, where no worldly baggage is allowed, no sinful trinket saved. False teachers add or take away from Christ's own narrow plan, to make the highway broad and easy for rebellious man. As Satan appears as an angel of light, false teachers are appealing, can lead us down the garden path and leave our senses reeling. We must use the words of scripture to judge what's true and right, keep studying to feed our souls and walking toward the light. § Obedience Equals Success (Romans 1) Paul was called to teach the Gentiles obedience to God, demonstrating faith and love through wisdom's choice. God's promises to Israel hinged not on Jewish genes, but obedience to the all-wise Master's voice. His protection was withdrawn from them after much rebellion. In Egyptian slavery they suffered long to bring about repentance, a needed change of heart, confession that their evil ways were wrong. They were baptized in the cloud and sea, with water all around, salvation from their slavery at last. And yet they still complained, and were led around in circles, not learning from their disobedient past. "Be strong in your resolve," says God to all his children. "Be courageous and be careful to obey all the law I've given, assuring your success, and meditate on scripture night and day. The Lord will be there with you everywhere you go, so keep your heart in tune to righteousness. Although you suffer trials to toughen up your soul, your mission here on earth I'll richly bless." Israel's disobedience broke the Father's heart, and he grew sick of worship that was vain. Form, ceremony, ritual without a contrite heart is for the Lord a wrenching source of pain. "When you spread your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes. I will not listen,"  says our God above. "Wash clean your heart, take your shameful, evil deeds out of my sight. You have no understanding of my love." The faithful servant who obeys his Master unto death is heir to all the riches of the realm. The blessings God outpours are beyond imagination, our human senses thus to overwhelm. Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the land of promise for this special nation. Christ leads us to the spiritual land of Canaan, heaven's shore, where we will have eternal validation. cgtrent@att.net Home