In Rome the word euangelion was known by almost everyone. This word was used in the worship of the Emperor because many of the Caesars claimed to be divine and therefore demanded worship from every person in the empire. The slaves, the free, the rich, the poor, the known, and the hiding all knew the word euangelion. When favorable events relating to the emperor were given to the residents of Rome they were proclaimed euangelion, that is good news about our god. The town herald would stand in the village square and shout these words: "Good news! The emperor's wife has given birth to a son." " Good news! The emperor's heir has come of age." " Good news! The new emperor has ascended to the throne."
Now the opening verses of Romans are devoted to discussing good news. The good news that Paul discussing is of a higher order than the trivial vain proclamation of the emperors. Paul discussed the good news of the LIVING and TRUE GOD! This was not man's news to man. This book proclaimed God's good news to man.
If one identifies the most important word of Romans, it is the word God. The book of Romans is about God. No topic in the book has a greater frequency than the topic of God. Every subject Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. It is GOD'S gospel--good news--to which Paul refers. He stresses the divine origin and character of the gospel.
Paul begins the book of Romans by giving us a description of the messenger of God's gospel. In Paul's day, the messenger who brought good news was highly valued.
Isaiah 52:7, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
This book begins by describing every messenger of the gospel, not just Paul. The messenger of God's news must meet certain conditions or criteria.
Romans 1:1, " Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."
In this verse messenger of the gospel is described as a servant. A servant or bondservant has wide ranging connotations in the Bible. The emphasis is placed upon subservience and insignificance. No where is the emphasis that of honor. The term expresses total allegiance and the absolute ownership of the individual who is enslaved. And in this case the ownership belongs with Jesus Christ.
Because Paul was a "Hebrew of Hebrews," thoroughly at home in the Old Testament we can safely assume that when he uses this term servant he is most likely reflecting on the Old Testament idea of the bondservant of God. We read that Abraham was the servant of God.(1) Moses was the servant of God.(2) David was the servant of God.(3) Isaiah was the servant of God.(4) And the prophets were the servants of God.(5) Humility and dependence upon God is the Old Testament perspective of the servant.
Genesis 26:24, "And the LORD appeared unto him [Isaac] the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
2 Samuel 7:8-9, "Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth."
A servant of Christ is one who is totally dependent upon God.
This statement of dependence would have been striking to the Greek world. Freedom was highly prized in Paul's day. A Greek did not think of himself as a slave to anyone (whether king or god). And most certainly no one would boast of their slavery! And yet here, Paul accurately identifies himself as an insignificant, humble slave whose life was not his own, but God's!
All would be messengers of God should be wholly dependent upon God. The faithful messenger of God is the slave of God. Those who live in faith live a humble life of constant dependence upon God! And this is where God would have His messengers!
Mark 10:43-44, "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all."
Christ disciples found this principle to be true. Peter knew this principle. This was the same Peter who confidently told Christ that "even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away."(6) And later that very same night Peter cursed Christ and swore to the servant girl, "I do not know the man!" This is the same Peter who wrote these words:
1 Peter 2:20-21, "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps."
Paul also learned this truth. In his quest to become the greatest Pharisee of his day(7) he strived to become the Hebrew of Hebrews(8), the Pharisee of the Pharisees, without blame in his keeping of the law. Yet Paul set this all aside and became the servant of Christ at his conversion.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
Those who want to be the faithful messenger of the Lord should expect a life that results in constant reliance and dependence upon God. Many of us struggle to be witnesses for Christ. We are quiet when we should speak. We ignore opportunities to confess Christ. We allow opportunities to minister to pass. We do all these things because we seek to serve Christ in our own strength! We seek to maintain our dignity. We serve selfishly. We are guided by society's standards of right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, and politically correct and incorrect.
Service to Christ requires us to forget our pride, respect, and appearance. When we care more about what others think we will not serve God but others. Society must not dictate our service. Results cannot drive our service. What the majority thinks is not the measure of our service. The measure of our service must be Christ. One will never be strong in the Lord until we become weak in our flesh.
1 Corinthians 4:10-13, "We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."
This is the condition of the bondservant of Christ! The messenger of the gospel must understand that this is their condition: slaves of God and wholly dependent upon God.
Romans 1:1, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle(9), separated unto the gospel of God."
Here Paul proclaims that he was called to be an apostle. The basic meaning of the word apostle is sent one. From the other seventy-nine times that this word appears in the New Testament we find that it refers to an officially commissioned task such as an envoy or ambassador. This word has its origin in classical Greek. Here the word referred to cargo ships because they were dispatched with a specific cargo for a specific destination. Hence they were termed apostolic.
Here Paul uses this same term. Paul was sent with a particular cargo--the message of salvation--to be delivered to a specific destination--to mankind.
John 15:27, "And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."
Thus in the apostolic age, an apostle was one who was sent by Christ to deliver the message of the gospel to both the redeemed and lost.
Now the apostolic office was invested with the authority of Christ. As such an apostle was one who was chosen, called, and sent forth by Christ.(10) An apostle was one who was equipped by the Holy Spirit to do special tasks.(11) They were inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit,(12) had the power to work miracles,(13) demonstrate their power through the laying on of hands,(14) had the gift of distinguishing spirits,(15) and served as the foundation of the church.(16) All these abilities were given to attest to the message of Gospel.(17)
However if we just emphasize that Paul was and apostle we would overlook the main emphasis of this message. Paul also was called. Paul's position as an apostle was not his own doing. He was CALLED as an apostle. He did not volunteer for the office. Neither did fellow believers elect him to his apostleship. When Paul was still blinded from his miraculous encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, the Lord said to Ananias these words:
Acts 9:15, "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."
Acts 22:14-15, "And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard."
1 Corinthians 1:17, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."
Paul recognized that he was chosen by Christ and invested with the responsibility and authority to preach the gospel. And this same responsibility and authority is invested in every faithful messenger of God. The faithful messenger is called by Christ to minister the gospel.
Now, some may say that this is taking this verse a little bit too far. Yet, notice Romans 1:6-7.
Romans 1:6-7, "Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
These verses say that all believers are called of Jesus Christ. This is the same calling that the great apostles had. All believers have been chosen of Jesus Christ. They have been gathered unto and intimately united to Christ and therefore they are called saints. This means that they are literally devoted to God because of their calling.
The idea, which emerges from these verses, is that every Christian is the property of Christ AND therefore has been called into His service! This means that we are called into the service of the gospel.
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
2 Timothy 2:2, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."
Every Christian is called to be faithful, not just the apostles. Every Christian has been chosen by Christ and given a call to extend Christ's kingdom. Therefore Christians must recognize that God has called us to be witnesses. God did not give this call to only a select few in "full-time" Christian service. Our witness is not optional! All believers are called to witness. All are called to full-time service for Christ. It is not something that only spiritual giants do. It is not something that one does in his spare time. All believers have been called to faithfulness all the time.
From the beginning God planned to save a people for Himself.(18) This is why Christ came into this world to save sinners.(19) And God's path through which the lost are saved is through the witness of His people.(20) Therefore, God has commission the whole church with the task of making disciples.(21) God has saved believers for the purpose of using them to extend His kingdom. Indeed, we have been saved to witness! We have been saved for Christ's sake.
Philippians 1:29, "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake."
One of the things Christ would have us do is witness. He wants us to witness in our everyday situations.
Mark 5:18-19, "And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
This "report" is not necessarily the whole gospel presentation. Indeed we have seen here that the "gospel" to which Paul is referring is the whole epistle. Rather, "to report" is to bring the truth of God's word to bear on society. That is why Paul rejoices and commends the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 1:8, "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."
And just like with Paul, when you and I realize this, we should be compelled to minister the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:16, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"
The messenger of the gospel is the one who understands their condition. They are slaves of God and therefore are to be wholly dependent upon God. They understand their calling. They have been specifically called to herald the message of the gospel. And finally they understand their commitment. They are set apart for Christ's service.
Romans 1:1, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."
Here the word separated implies a negative and a positive action. Negatively, it means a cutting off of all interests and attachments, which are extraneous to the "set-apart end".
Leviticus 20:26, "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine."
2 Corinthians 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."
Positively, this means the devotion of all faculties and ambitions toward the fulfillment of the "set-apart end".
Exodus 13:11-12, "And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S."
Numbers 15:20-21, "Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations."
Acts 13:2, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
Here the positive is in view. Paul was separated "for" the gospel. Thus, Paul's goals, life, future, happiness, and contentment were all set apart unto the gospel!
Galatians 1:15, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."
God had COMMITTED Paul from the very beginning to be a messenger of the gospel. One must see that this separation to the gospel goes beyond mere proclamation. To be "set apart for the gospel" is to be a "gospel man". One will live the gospel. One will serve the gospel. One will exalt the gospel. One will exemplify the gospel every way and in everything you do.
Paul lived his life as an example for us of one who was dedicated to the gospel. Paul went were the gospel dictated.(22) He at what the gospel dictated.(23) He formed relationships so that the gospel would go forth.(24) His Freedom as a Roman citizen was dictated by the gospel.(25) The gospel guided what he rejoiced over.(26) Everything that Paul did had the gospel as its focal point.(27)
1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."
All believers should have the gospel as the focal point of their lives. If one is to be the faithful messenger of God, we must be gospel men. The Gospel must dictate EVERYTHING we do!
Some may say, "This was only for Paul. Only Paul was to be a gospel man." Yet the commands of Scripture clearly tell us that all Christians ought to be just like Paul. Whatever we do is to be done, "heartily, as for the Lord rather than for man."(28) Our lives are to be devoted to disciplining ourselves "for the purpose of godliness."(29) In fact in everything we do, even in the most mundane things of life like eating and drinking, all is to be done, "to the glory of God."(30)
Now, this does not mean that we should quit our jobs, sell our homes, put the kids up for adoption, divorce our spouses and go an join a monastery. No! Rather this means that we are to be ever mindful that our purpose on this earth is to herald the gospel of God! This means that we should strive to always be holy so that we might at ALL times be useful to the master.(31)
2 Timothy 2:21, "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
This will transform your view of your own moral purity. No longer will you seek to be pure so that you can go to God and impress Him with your holiness. Rather, you will seek to be pure so that God might use you for His glory!
Titus 2:9-10, "Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."
Endeavor to have your life adorned by the gospel. Everything we do, every relationship that we have we must seek to "beautify" the gospel by the way we live and conduct ourselves!
1 Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."
Strive to herald the gospel at all times. Look for opportunities to make disciples. The Great Commission literally says, "as you go" make disciples.(32) This is in the imperative. The faithful messenger recognizes that the gospel of god commits him to be a gospel man.
There is no greater news in the entire world than God's gospel! There is no greater privilege than to proclaim the gospel. To faithfully proclaim the gospel we must be wholly dependent upon God. We must recognize that we have been specifically called to herald the good news. God has set us wholly apart for the gospel. We are to be gospel men.
In light of these truths ask yourself: What kind of Messenger are you: Faithful or Faithless? I urge you to meditate on these truths so that you will become the faithful messenger of God.
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These footnotes are not part of the original. They are added by the editor to aid the reader in the study of the Scripture. This sermon was reformated for publication and style varies from the original. This commentary was originally preached by Greg Thurston. Copyright � 1998 Cornerstone Publishing � Post Office Box 691, Windsor, CO 80550. This may be reproduced as long as it is done so without charge--non commercial purposes-- and proper credit is given. If you desire to publish this commercially contact Cornerstone Publishing.
1 Compare Genesis 26:24 and Psalm 105:6, 42
2 Compare Numbers 12:7, Deuteronomy 34:5, Joshua 1:1-7, and Psalm 105:26
3 Compare 2 Samuel 7:5-8 and Isaiah 37:35
4 Compare Isaiah 20:3
5 Compare Amos 3:7, and Zechariah 1:6
6 Compare Matthew 26:33
7 Compare Galatians 1:13-14
8 Compare Philippians 3:4-6
9 Literally this could be rendered appointed or called an apostle.
10 Compare John 6:70; 13:18, 15:16-19; and Galatians 1:6
11 Compare Matthew 10:20, John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-14; 20:22; 1Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 12:12; and Galatians 2:8
12 Compare John 14:26; and 16:13
13 Compare Matthew 10:8
14 Compare Acts 9:15-8 and 19:6
15 Compare 1 Corinthians 12:10
16 Compare Ephesians 2:20
17 To see further detail on this aspect see the commentaries entitled: Spiritual Gifts
18 Compare Ephesians 1:4
19 Compare 1 Timothy 1:15
20 Compare Romans 10:14
21 Compare Matthew 28:19-20
22 Compare Acts 16:6-8
23 Compare 1 Corinthians 8:13
24 Compare Galatians 2:14
25 Compare Acts 16:28-37
26 Compare Philippians 1:18
27 Compare 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
28 Compare Colossians 3:23
29 Compare 1 Timothy 4:7
30 Compare 1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Compare 2 Timothy 2:21
32 Compare Matthew 28:19-20