As we begin a new chapter together at Robertson Reformed Community Church under the leadership of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I would like to begin by clarifying my role or ‘job description’ among you. I will do this with the help of the Bible and the letter to the Romans in particular. In the opening 15 verses we are pointed us to the supreme example of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by way of a further example to one who followed Him - the apostle Paul.
These are our models. We are called to imitate them (1 Cor 11:1; Eph 5:1). I am going to present the apostle Paul as a model of a pastor. His life and his words describe my work, and I would like to take at least three sermons to explain that with the help of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
I will also make the letter to the Romans my main preaching material for this year. Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1981) has argued that, "the epistle to the Romans has possibly played a more important and a more crucial part in the history of the church than any other single book in the whole of the Bible .”[1] This is because Romans speaks with such clarity and power about the life changing gospel! We do not need motivational speaking and life coaching to get to heaven. We need the gospel. We need gospel clarity in this generation! You will see this very quickly in 1:16,17 - the pivotal statement of the letter to the Romans. My prayer for you is that if you lack gospel clarity you will receive it, and if you lack assurance of salvation, that you will receive it. If you are simply a religious man or woman, a churchgoer without passion for God, I pray that you would stop being religious and live by the power of the gospel of God.
But today I wanted to say something about the gospel messenger, because the letter to the Romans begins with a note about the messenger - “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God…” (1:1)
He says three things about himself:
(i) Servant of Christ Jesus
(ii) called to be an apostle
(iii) set apart for the gospel.
Here is Paul’s job description. We would miss something important if we did not pay attention to this for here we have an introduction to the man whom God used to bring about a huge transformation in the world and indeed in all generations of this church age.
1 . A servant (doulos – bondservant) of Christ Jesus...
The Gospel had changed Paul’s life radically (Acts 9). The result was that Paul's whole life was lived in service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus occupies the centre of Paul's life and proclamation. Jesus Christ and His great work on the cross is Paul's great theme (see 1 Cor.2:2). He calls himself a slave of Jesus. This tells us that he was a man owned by another. I remind you all that, prior to becoming a Christian, every man and women is a slave of Satan, who had captured us to do his will (2 Tim 2:26). By His mercy we have been redeemed (purchased from) the market place of sin by Jesus. We now belong to a new master. I also remind you that there is no such thing as belonging to nobody! All of us are attached to, and enslaved to somebody or something. But if you are a Christian you belong to Jesus forever! And then let me also remind you that servants never choose their master. Their master chooses them. So it is with Paul. He is a servant of (Genitive – case of possession ) Christ Jesus. He is completely owned by the Lord Jesus.
Reflection: This is not only something that characterizes Paul or
your pastor or a church leader. This is the growing characteristic of every
true Christian. Let’s apply these diagnostic questions to ourselves:
·
Does Jesus Christ
occupy the centre of my life? Does He
rule my heart and my mind?
·
Is He the
reference point and standard by which all things are measured?
· Does He govern what comes out of my mouth? As I grow in grace do I talk less about myself and more about Jesus? “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus‘ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). Do we use our bodies to glorify God? “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not our own, for you were bought with a price." (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
2."Called To Be An Apostle..."
This
describes the second aspect of what Paul is and does. He is an apostle. What is
an apostle? The Word "apostolos"
is derived from two words "apo"
(from) and "stello" (to send). Paul is actually a messenger boy sent by
Jesus. In the more formal definition of
that word, as it was used in
general conversations in the Greek world an apostolos would be one who is specially called and
chosen by a higher authority to
convey a message on behalf of
that authority.
APPLICATION : When
Christ (the higher authority) called
the 12 disciples (Lk 6:12-13 / Matt 10:1,2) He chose them
and designated them to be
apostles. They were to be his spokesmen.
They did not speak and work in their own authority, but they spoke in and by His
authority (see the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20)
What Are The Marks And Signs Of A Biblical Apostle?
·
No man could be
an apostle unless he had been appointed by Christ and had seen the risen Lord. (Acts 1:21 ; 1 Cor. 9:1). Paul had met the Lord Jesus
on the Damascus road and was called
by Him to be the apostle to the gentiles.
·
An apostle was
given authority to do miracles e.g. see
2 Cor. 12:12 where Paul speaks
about the signs of an apostle.
·
They had
authority to teach and lay down doctrine (as seen by their writings). They were given authority to ordain and appoint
elders. In short, they spoke and acted with the authority of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. Their words represented the mind of God (see 1 Thess
2:13; 2 Cor.10:8; see also 2 Peter
3:15,16 - where Paul's words are placed on
the same level as Scripture). When the N.T. Canon was being decided upon
(with large number of other Christian
writings in circulation) apostolic authority of the letters (directly or
indirectly) was the criterion.
·
Are There Apostles Today? This question needs to be asked in the light of claims
made by the R.C. Church, the Charismatic movement and other movements e.g. New/old Apostolic
Churches etc. If the criteria concerning the marks and signs of an apostle are
applied to the modern claims then it becomes clear that
there are no apostles (in the
narrowest sense of that word) after the
apostles of the early church. Some people would challenge this by appealing to Ephesians
4:11. Are we robbing the church of an essential gift by denying the existence
of modern apostles? No, provided that we
understand that the apostles chosen by Christ still have
a major influence on our modern
day. Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians says that the Christian church is "built
on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets , with Christ Jesus as the
chief cornerstone...". (Eph
2:20). Look at the logic of this paragraph. You certainly do not go on
building the foundation. A foundation is something that you lay at the
beginning. Following that you build the
walls upon that foundation. The foundation is still there and it is still
influential and it still dictates the stability of the building. But we do not
continue to lay foundations. The foundation is laid. We are building RRCC upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets with Christ Jesus as. We don’t need
new apostles and prophets any more than we need a new Lord Jesus – the cornerstone. We stand
upon the old foundations. So then, in what sense is the apostolic and prophetic
ministry still among us? Every time the Word of God is read and proclaimed with
the help of the Holy Spirit, the apostolic ministry and the prophetic ministry
is in operation. Our job is to build a spiritual house upon this foundation – using
special gifts to equip and train us.
These are called evangelists and pastor
- teachers (Eph 4:11). This is where my work comes in.
Notice
the progression: "A servant... called to be an apostle...set apart
...!" Paul's own "separation" is described in Gal. 1:15,16. He is called from His
mother’s womb! You will see that Paul
frequently speaks about this
calling; this act of separation by God.
In Romans 9, he says: "Jacob I have
loved, but Esau I have hated." (Rom
9:10-15). There is an act of separation here.
When did this happen? Before they were born! Paul was called to be a
preacher of the gospel before his birth!" (see also Jeremiah 1:5 ; John the Baptist, Moses, Samson , David )
Acts 15:18 tells us, "...the
Lord who does these things that have
been known for ages." Here we come face to face with that great,
unsearchable, glorious doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. Paul's calling was
not an afterthought. IT WAS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE ETERNAL PURPOSE AND FOREKNOWLEDGE AND COUNSEL OF GOD. We shall
learn about this matter with respect to
ourselves when we get to Romans 8
4. "…For The Gospel Of God..."
Gospel
means "Good News". We have become so familiar with this word that we
fail to appreciate its tremendous significance. The apostle is thrilled by the
gospel (see Rom 1:16,17). By way of
appreciation, we have to remember that he is now no longer a teacher of the law (he was a Pharisee, a
great expert in the law, but there was no good news in the law). Now he is a
preacher of the Good News.
The
relationship between Law and Grace will take much time in our study in this
book. It is at the heart of the book of Romans. We shall discover that the law
is utterly unable to bring a man
to God. What then is the purpose of the law? The purpose of the law is to show
us God’s holy standard and how far we fall short of that standard. Its purpose
is to expose our sinfulness, making us to cry out, "Wretched man - who will deliver me from this body of sin?"
(Rom. 7). The answer to this is, “Thanks be to God - Jesus !”
And so, Paul introduces us to His main calling –
to preach the gospel- the gospel of God (1:1,15,16-17;16:25)
APPLICATION
This
then, in a nutshell is the heart of the pastoral ministry: Serving you by being
a servant of Christ Jesus. I am not an apostle in the classic sense of the
word, but I do have a sense of calling and urgency about being a messenger boy
for Jesus, making sure that you understand the
gospel and the freedom that this gospel alone brings. Later in the book
of Romans Paul will deal with the great
problem of sin. Sin alienates us from God and from one another. We must take
the problem of sin seriously. The gospel of Christ’s death on the cross deals
with that problem alone. We must look to Jesus. My greatest priority will be to help you to look to Jesus and to see (as far as this is possible) that you are truly converted, and bear fruit that will last, and get to heaven
by that narrow gate. Again, I identify with Paul, ”My
little children for whom I am again in the
anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” (Gal. 4:19)
To that end the pastor works- to make the gospel clear. That is the FIRST thing. Frome there my job is to help people to see how our Lord Jesus Christ must be embraced in all kinds of situations. My field of activity embraces every known profession, and that makes it quite challenging at times. I speak from some experience. Peter Leithart writes[2],
“The ideal pastor would combine the
dialectical skills of the best attorney, the bedside manner of the most
compassionate physician, the rhetorical passion of politicians from ages past,
and a breadth of scholarship that befits a student and teacher of the Creator’s
book. The pastor is no specialist. He is called to represent Christ in every
kind of situation of need or pain. He anoints and prays with the child
suffering from leukaemia, rebukes and guides the adulterer in the way of
repentance, offers counsel and encouragement to the entrepreneur whose business
has folded, rejoices with new parents and mourns with those bereft of friends
and family. Beside the doctor, beside the financial consultant, beside the
nursing home attendant, stands the pastor. In the maternity ward, in the jail
cell, in the home tense with marital strife, stands the pastor. At the baptism,
at the wedding reception, at the funeral, stands the pastor. He is a generalist
in human crisis, a generalist in moments of passage, a generalist confronted
with all of the infinite varieties of human suffering. There is a sense in
which the pastor is a specialist. For every situation, he has essentially one
word, the word of the gospel of Jesus.
Among the sick, the pastor’s concern is not only for healing but to indicate
how suffering can be transformed into joyful witness. Among the poor, the
pastor’s concern is not just how to pay next month’s bills, but to consider how
poverty may strengthen faith in the goodness of the heavenly Father. At the
bedside of the dying, the pastor’s concern is not just to ease pain but to hold
forth the promise of resurrection life.
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