Welcome to Rome

Welcome to Rome – introduction to the Book of Romans[1]- 1:1-7
· Tony Campolo mailman Illustration

In the passage that we will address today, Paul seems to have found his calling, not as a letter carrier, but as a letter writer.

1 The messenger of the gospel - 1:1
Rom 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

a. his captivity - v. 1a - Paul relates to us in his writing that he is a slave to Christ, that his will is bonded to Christ. Dr. Thomas Constable of DTS says that Paul should not be called a slave here, but an alternative translation is a better fit. He states that Paul should be called a servant. He states some translators have rendered this word "slave," but Paul was a willing servant of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:7). This term is the equivalent of the Old Testament "servant of the Lord" (e.g., Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Nehemiah, and especially David). Paul shared this status with his readers. This would seemingly give Paul a historic role and establish him in along line of Spiritual Heroes, but from his writing we can see that being inducted into the Believer’s Hall of Fame is far from his goal.
b. his calling - v. 1b Paul moves quickly from his captivity to his calling which he says is directly from Christ. He is an ambassador of Jesus, a Gospel Messenger and Representative of the Messiah. In revealing this, the Jew, Saul, uses his Roman name, Paul, because he is specifically to the Gentiles as he addresses the Roman Churches. He was so well known that one had only had to mention his first name among believers and they knew of whom he was like when we mention: Elvis, Cher, and Britney. Yet Paul’s status is not just simply that of a messenger, he is much more. The title "apostle" gives Paul's gift and office in the church. He was Jesus Christ's special appointee. This status gave him the right not only to preach the gospel but to found, to supervise, and even to discipline churches if necessary.
c. his consecration - v. 1c The columniation of his captivity and his call is found in his concretion. Paul’s slavery to Christ and his call to Him means that he is set a part fro the use of Christ. His life’s sole purpose is the gratification of God and the Glory of Christ. The human author of Romans states to his readership that he is designated and set apart by an action of God to some special sphere and manner of being and of consequent activity One last comment must be made about Paul and his status in the kingdom, and that is that Paul never thought of himself as a man who had aspired to an honor; he thought of himself as a man who had been given a task. He saw himself as a lowly servant of the Most High King Jesus.
2. The message of the gospel - 1:2-4
Romans 1:2-4 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

a. its source, or, where did the gospel come from? (the OT promise) - v. 2. Paul begins to exalt the gospel that God had called him to proclaim. It was a message that God had promised, not just prophesied, in the Old Testament Scriptures. The words "his" and "holy" stress the unique origin of the gospel. God had inspired the Old Testament by speaking through men as He gave His revelation. Paul did not preach an unanticipated gospel but one that God had promised through His prophets. This is the reason Paul appealed to the Old Testament so fully in this and other of his epistles. Specifically Paul's gospel was not a human invention that tried to make the best of Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ. He calls their minds and ours to the hope we have which was established many years go. Paul reminds us of the words of the Prophet Isaiah in the 53 Chapter. He calls our attention to Moses and his treatises. He speaks of the Psalms and echoes Genesis. For Paul and for us the Gospel begins in the Old Testament
b. its substance, or, whom does the gospel concern? (the NT person) - vv. 3-4 This is what Paul articulate in the next two verses. He moves from the Promise of the Old Testament to the Person who fulfilled it in the New Testament. He fleshed out the Good News that all of the Law and the Prophets spoke of as he reveals again that Salvation is found in Jesus

1) the gospel of God concerns "His (God's) Son" - 3-4a
a) his humiliation & humanity - v. 3
b) his exaltation & deity - v. 4a

2) the gospel of God concerns "Jesus Christ our Lord"- v. 4b
a) his deity
b) his dominion

3. The motivation of the gospel - 1:5-7
Romans 1:5-7 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints :Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

a .the power - v. 5a the power is from Christ, Paul is not the source of the power, but Jesus. His apostleship comes from Christ. So we must answer one Question before we can go further.

Who were permitted to serve as apostles?
(1) Only those whom Jesus chose for this office were ever, in any real sense, apostles, this being a necessary deduction from Acts 1:24, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen." In that remarkable event, the apostles themselves had been able to narrow the choice for Judas' successor to the two men alone who fulfilled the other qualifications for the apostleship;
(2) They had to have been companions of the Master from the time of John's baptism until Christ's ascension - Acts 1:22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."
(3) An additionally requirement was to have been a witness of the resurrection of Christ, that is, having seen him alive after his death and burial .Paul's apostleship was different only in this, that he had not been a personal companion of Jesus during the Lord's ministry, as were the others; but, by special appearances to Paul, the Lord commissioned him as a true "witness" of the resurrection - Acts 26:15-16 So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
(4) that commission as an apostle being by Christ himself and not by men - Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)

Romans 1:5-7 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints :Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
b. the purpose - vv. 5b-6 - obedience
c. the people - v. 7 brings us to why Paul is what all about, reaching his fellow man to Glorify Christ.

Verse 7 really continues the thought of verse 1, verses 2-6 being somewhat parenthetical. "Grace" and "peace" were common salutations in Greek and Jewish letters respectively in Paul's day. God's grace is both His unmerited favor and His divine enablement. It is the basis for any true human peace. The Hebrew concept of peace (Heb. shalom) did not just mean freedom from stress, anxiety, and irritation. It included the fullness of God's blessing. Paul desired a continually deeper and richer experience of spiritual blessing for his readers.
[1] Outline from Dr. Sam Storms, http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/outline-of-romans-detailed-version

sunday leftovers

Membership Matters: A Bride with a Spot February 20, 2008

Acts 20:25-31 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

I address this passage because Paul makes the pastor, aware that the world is not safe and we need to take care and protect the Bride of Christ.

We live in a day when in a day of non-commitment. Marriage is noncommittal now as we have more divorces in the church than we do out side the church. We have no-fault divorces. If you are found with child, you can abort the young one. If you begin to feel bad about having sex outside of marriage and think you might be pregnant you can take the morning after pill. If you do have baby and decide it would just be too hard to raise or that raising one would cramp your style then you can drop it off at the firehouse – no questions asked. If you commit a crime, it is no longer your fault as you can blame society, your parents, poverty, genetics, chemicals, and a myriad of other things and the court of law will not hold you accountable.

• This is evident is our churches. We have lackadaisical Christians who find the Church not worthy of time, tithe, energy or attendance because such little emphasis is placed on membership.
• Membership is a one time commitment in the standard, modern, Baptist Church. Simply raise your hand, walk down the aisle, or worse yet, just fill out a card and you will be counted on the roll. It would seem that numbers are all about. May be this is why a church will a membership of 1,200 will fill blessed to have an attendance of 300. While this is appalling, many pastors are proud as peacocks to tell you of their membership numbers but know the shame of an unredeemed and apathetic membership.

While there are numerous problems with this, it seems to stem for two common sources: 1) Consumerism and 2) Biblical Ignorance.

1. The first of these, Consumerism, has eaten away at the American Church and now infects Churches around the world. Consumerism was turned churches in the wrong direction as their focus has been more about their commercial success and customer satisfaction than their Relationship of Christ and their responsibility with His Church. This influence has further caused a rash of easily believe-ism, once heretical thoughts are okay, backslidden Christians just need a hug, unregenerate membership ruling the voting of the Church as well as the self-serving Christian. Furthermore, Pastors have been transformed from Elders, Bishops, and Shepherds to Managers, CEO’s and Life Coaches. The sweetness of Consumerism is rotting the teeth of Church and now the Church as no bite in the community.
2. The other source of our blight is the Biblical ignorance of the day. This has only compounded as people are moved by emotion and personal devotions as they fail to consider Holy Scripture and enter into prayer. With out attention to the Word feelings have ruled the day and Churches have gained the attendance of the World. The overwhelming ideas that have perpetrated the Church are well intended even if misguided. The have been done for Aunt Sally and to widen the gate to open the Church to as many people as possible. Yet this is not what Christ said, Mat 7:13-4 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Jesus says the road is narrow and hard. Yet for most Churches, to it is easy to enter membership.
   But Christ warns us that there are problems with allowing wide open entrance to the Church.

• The next verse of Scripture reads, Mat 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
• Jesus warns us that Jesus’ own brother, Jude even wrote to us about this.
• Jude 1:3-4 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
• The King James puts it better, crept in unawares, while the NIV read that they, have secretly slipped in, and The Message put it this way, some people have infiltrated our ranks.

Sneak thieves and unsaved hornswagglers fill the membership of most Churches. As spiritual dead people the vote and make decision on spiritual matters, vote for teachers, remove pastors, and adopt doctrines for the Church

These are powerful word left by Christ and his follower/brother. Words that needed to be heeded like those written in Eph 5:24-27, Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Christ Died for His Church! And the Church is to submit to Him! Yet in Churches just like this and in those not at all like this, they have a horrendous habit of submitting Christ to their ideas, their preferences and even their whims. But Christ purchased the Church with His blood. He washed her in the Crimson that flowed from His wounds. And when he returns he expects a splendorous Church. One that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Not a Church that makes excuse for what it has: approved, allowed, overlooked and purposely done. Woe to us if we are not more watchful in our care of His Church for what Groom awaits a Bride pilfered over and tattered by inappropriate relationships.
While this is a high calling, we are responsible for achieving this and held accountable for doing so.

The double headed snake of Consumerism and Biblical Ignorance is manifested in members who do not know what they are getting into. The either do not have a Biblical background or do not have a proper Church History. Furthermore they lack knowledge of the Purposes of the Church. They don’t see the value of membership nor understand its requirements and responsibilities.

• In truth, your satellite provider requires more of a commitment than the local church. They require a minimum commitment of service while the church does not. They require you to financially support them on a predetermined amount that you are notified about upfront. The church hopes you will and celebrates with dancing when you do!
• Many clubs and fraternal groups hold to a greater expectation of devotion. They require you to actually attend their meetings and work special projects. And if you miss more that two or three scheduled meetings you are dropped from their roll. They church will beg you for your support and keep you on the roll like this would save you. They will keep your name in their membership even if you they can’t find your pulse or find an address for you.
  To go to work for a new employer they will run background check and you will sign a contract, the church will take you simply at your word and not investigate your testimony and it is modernly considered inappropriate for to have you sign a Church Covenant that you are expected to uphold.
• To enter into a purchase of a new car the future owner would take the car out for a drive, check the gas mileage, read consumer reports, have their credit checked and sign on the doted line before they took the keys. The only thing typically required of to enter into membership is … well you know how little.
• It is odd how the word requires more from us than we require of ourselves as the church. If we hold such a low view with such a minimum entrance then it is easy for us to see why others do not see it as worthy of their time, energy or attention.

Lowering the standards of the Church does not make us more evangelistic or loving. Just less holy. The standard for Church membership is ever lessening to the point one must thing of the Caribbean Limbo as you hear the would temp us with cries of “how low can you go” The world temps us to reject the high calling of Christ. Yet the very word that we use to describe ourselves, Church, comes from the German word Kirk which is from a corruption of the Greek word, Ekklesia. That word means to be called out from. As a church we need to be a truly born again membership that is called out from the rest of the world. Yet our membership requirement many times is less than the local bar. They require you to have a card.

why the Gospel is important

nuff said

Matthew 6:25-34 Gucci or God

Have you ever spent time watching children play Maybe you have watched your child or grand child play on the playground? If you watch these bundles of joy for any length at all you will notice that they are worry free. They run with reckless abandon, not worried about dinner, or how the mortgage payments will be made this month. As they go down the slide and swing from the monkey bars they never stop to count the cost. They don’t rationalize over the jungle gym. No, they let their hair blow in the wind as they run their hearts out never stopping to think about skinned up knees or repairing the brakes on the pick-up.

Well in Matthew Chapter 6, we find Jesus’ cure to the anxiety that tightens up our chest and rules our lives. Join me as we read this great truth together.

Matthew 6:25-34 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (27) Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? (28) So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (31) Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

As we begin our quest we see that Jesus is meeting us where we live. He addresses our needs. Those things in which we could not survive, he begins with needs because we could not live without them.

The way Jesus is speaking, it would seem to say that we are spending to much time worrying about what we eat an what we wear. Could Jesus really be speaking to our fashion conscious culture? Fashoniestas beware! I mean, really does it matter if your shoes are made by Steve Madden, Kenneth Cole, or Jimmy Choo? No, but we will spend to the name and scoff at the lesser desired brands. We will demand to have such so we can meet the pressure that we feel from our peers. I promise you, Jesus does not care if you purse is Gucci or faded glory. He cares about you, not the clothes.

It is a betrayal of our relationship to with Christ, to worry more about if my meal comes from the trendiest eatery or my clothes from the latest boutique than we do about our walk
as Christ followers.

Jesus turns his attention to nature in verse, (26) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

He reminds us that birds are not caught up in the trivial worries of life and this world. They simply trust God for their provisions. They are not working eighty hour weeks to get night crawlers. They don’t work high tension, passionless jobs that are robbing them of their joy and time with their family.

God desire for our lives is not to be entangled in worrying about this life. His desire is for us to trust Him like the birds do.

Remember the kids playing in the sandlot we were talking about a while ago. Those kids trust us to take care of them – to provide for them their daily PB&J and deliver them from bullies. God designed that relationship to model His care for us so that we would see our care for our children and know that His care for His Heavenly Children, you and me, is so much greater.

The issue that surrounds us is that our lack of faith in God. When we worry we are having a spirit of distrust about God’s ability to take care of us. We do not trust Him to be the “Almighty,” to be in power and in complete control.

So what does worry do for you? I can not honestly think of one good thing that comes worrying. Worrying robs you of your health and destroys your youthful looks. Worrying decreases your thought capabilities, worrying steals your joy, and worrying sabotages your relationships. But ultimately worry weakens your faith.

So really, what can “worrying” do for you? Jesus said it this way. (27) Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Worrying will not add years to your life, add hair to your head or increase you looks. As far as I can tell, or research, there is nothing positive or productive about worrying.

(28) So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

In these verses, Jesus hits the nail on the head. We don’t have faith. Worry is doubting God, having reservations him and mistrust. Worrying means we don’t trust God, we don’t believe.

My Aunt Sandy is a woman that compared to most of us is a person of extreme faith. But there was a time in her life when she was struggling to make it. The ends just did not meet. She was strapped and did not have the money to pay the light bill let alone buy groceries. So what was Aunt Sandy to do … well she prayed. She sought God for counsel, asked for His direction and prayed for provision.

Later when she was looking in her purse she found a twenty dollar bill. That was the last money needed to pay the light bill. You could say that we had over looked it in her purse, that it was a coincidence but what about the knock on the door.

Oh wait I haven’t told you about that. Later that day, there was a knock on the door and when she made it up from the back of the house to open the door, who do you think was there? No one, but there was two brown paper bags filled with groceries. No, you can’t get me to believe she over looked the bags when she went in the house the day before. That my friends is what we see in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

So Jesus urges and really He is commanding more than simply advocating, that we stop worrying and stop thinking about things that are out of our control. In verse 31, He says, (31) Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

In Verse 32 Jesus says that the gentiles, or the non-spiritual, non-Christ pursing people, they worry. They struggle to figure out where their next meal will come from, they have no clue when they will need something. But Jesus tell us that God all ready know our need. He is cognizant of our needs when and where we will need food, clothing, for whatever. This is because He is omnipotent, or all knowing. Life does not sneak up on God. You will never hear Jehovah
say “I did not see that one coming” or “what happened here?” He is all knowing and all seeing. Not just of you physical needs, but he sees the needs of out hearts. He knows our need of
Salvation that is why he provided us with Jesus. That is why he created Heaven and crafted Eternal Life.

God knew we needed to be rescued, to be saved form worry and anxiety. So He gave us a cure.

Read verse 33 along in your Bibles with me... (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Jesus’ solution is to redirect you life; to calibrate it completely in a new way. Jesus charges us to focus upward instead of inward. So it is a sight issue. With all the stimulating things in the world we get distracted. We get blinded by the Hilfiger and the Hurley, the Ford and the Ferrari, the Gucci and the Guess.

Our eyes get pointed toward thing here on Earth, those things in the “here and now, and we lose sight of the everlasting and eternal.

Jesus’ answer is simple – Pursue the Kingdom – and He will take care of the rest. “Keep your eye on the prize,” He says, “and I’ll provide everything else.”

Seek His Kingdom, seek His Righteousness, seek His Holiness, seek His Purity, seek His Truth and seek the meaningful Eternal Things. When you do everything else will fall into place. Other things will seem trivial, non-essential things will fall away like leaves from a tree. So many things that once ruled your life will no longer find the same importance. Pursue Him and He will add to you and He will supply your needs.

So what are we to do. Well there is one more verse that we need to deal with (34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Trust Him and never turn back. Let each day come and go a stop worrying about what is going to happen. Stop letting worry destroy your life and take each day, one day at time, with the help of God, with His care and Provision for you. Let Jesus take care of the things you can not, and start living the life God has called you to.