ROMANS 1:8-15 THE PASTOR’S NATURE: THANKFUL, PRAYERFUL, USEFUL, FRUITFUL

 

I have  begun my series in the book of Romans  with  a deliberate look at the nature of the pastoral ministry, looking as it were with Paul’s eyes  at  the work  which God is calling  me to do among you. 

At the beginning of this letter we find quite a bit of autobiographical matter.  In the opening verse we find that Paul sees himself  as a  servant (bondslave), a messenger boy, set apart for the gospel of God- the  gospel (good news) about Jesus Christ.  Paul says  that  Jesus has two natures  in His person: 

(i) He is  man of very man, and as such He is  descended from the  line of David (Judah) 

(ii) He is God of very God –  sent from the eternal throne of God (as the beloved Son of God)  to take on the nature of  a man. He does this in accordance  with the eternal plan of God. He does that which could not be done  by sinful men – to be reconciled  to a holy God  whom we have all (Rom. 3)  offended. As perfect man and as the Son of God  He  is the perfect mediator between God and man. As such He offered up Himself as the Passover sacrifice by which He atones for our sin through His death on the cross. But He does not remain in the grave. Paul says that He was resurrected. He came alive triumphing over man’s greatest enemy – death. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Those who belong to Him (including representatives from every nation) are saved from eternal  death and they are called saints- literally 'set apart ones'.  It is these alone that enjoy the grace and peace from God.  This is the Good news – the great message that Paul has for the Romans is also offered to us  here in  Robertson. 

We are currently  focusing  on the work of the gospel minister  with the help of Romans 1:1 -15.  We shall now  consider a few more  autobiographical  aspects by which Paul makes known to us  his pastoral nature, which  reflects the  heart of Christ – and by way of application every  pastor’s  heart.

In  1:8-15   we find  four  important character  traits  of  a man called to the ministry  

(i) 1:8 A thankful man  

(ii) 1:9,10 A  prayerful man  

(iii)  1:11-12 A useful man 

(iv) 1:13-15 A  fruitful man. 

[NOTE – these four aspects are not peculiar to pastors, but pastors must possess them, and in doing must  pass on and generate a culture of thankfulness, prayerfulness,  usefulness and fruitfulness. The Holy Spirit honours such work]

1.      A THANKFUL MAN (1:8)

What makes Paul thankful?  Surely the fact that there  is a biblical church in Rome. A biblical church is made up of “born again believers“. They are called saints  (1:7).   When Paul hears of  them he gives thanks to God for the faith of this little group of Roman Christians. Please note that he is not congratulating them on their achievement of establishing a church in this spiritual wilderness among the pagans. It is God to whom Paul gives thanks…”I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you”. God alone, through Christ alone has done this.  In this regard  I also remind you  that  He alone has kept Robertson Reformed Community Church. You have not done this. God has done this! And so Paul   praises God for the faith of the Roman believers, for this faith that they have received is a gift from God.  A number of them may have received this gift of faith when they were in Jerusalem at Pentecost (where visitors from Rome are mentioned in Acts 2:10),  when the Holy Spirit descended on them,  and when  3000 were converted in one day.  The amazing thing was that this living out of their faith had begun to acquire a reputation in the then known world. The gospel (as we shall see) makes a real difference and people will soon talk about the difference.  It is inevitable. 

Have you been converted dear friend? 

Is your life a changed life? 

Whenever we hear of testimonies of conversion and when churches make great strides in their faith, we hear them being talked about. Is our church a church where the gospel makes a difference to anybody? Do people see it and is it being talked about?  I love to hear about conversions and new churches forming. It is so encouraging.  How thrilled I was to  visit a small Reformed Baptist Church in Wetzlar, Germany  in 2010, and  again in 2024, and to see this  church  growing, making disciples and making such a difference today in that community.  I have been there to encourage them, and tell them about likeminded churches in Namibia and Southern Africa whilst at the same time have them encourage me - see 1:12. 

I want to be a pastor who is a thankful man as I see God’s Word taking root and shape  among  us.

2.     1:9,10 A  PRAYERFUL MAN 

Not only was Paul thankful. He was prayerful. He had never been to Rome, but he heard of them, and when he heard of their testimony of faithfulness, he included them regularly in his prayers. One of his prayers was  that he may be able to see them in person. He is interested in God’s work there and he wants to come and encourage them. We find a pattern in Paul’s pastoral ministry. Paul prays for the church everywhere. I encourage you to do the same All his plans and desires for these churches are put  before God in prayer. This is a typical pattern in all Paul’s epistles.  I want to show you this by way of a brief review.  

•          Romans 1:8-15

•          1 Cor. 1:4-9

•          Eph. 1:15-23;  3:14-21

•          Phil. 1:3-11

•          Col. 1:3-14

•          1 Thess. 1:2-3; 2 Thess. 1:3-12

•          Phil. 4-6

We do well to imitate Paul in his prayers for the church. Jesus in the Lord’s prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) taught us that we must pray continuously that God’s kingdom will come on earth.  The kingdom of God  advances through men and women being converted, being baptised into Christ, and by being added to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ wherever they live. To that end we must always pray- may your kingdom come! 

I want to be a pastor who is obedient in praying always for God's work, and I want you to join me in this work.

3.      1:11-12 A USEFUL MAN

Paul is not only a thankful and  a prayerful man. He wants to put feet to His prayer. Paul prays  for an open door  to come  to them for  the purpose  of strengthening them  with his  spiritual gift! He uses strong  language that  sounds like an oath … “God is my witness ….that without ceasing I mention you in my prayers asking that somehow  by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you…” (1:9,10). Why does he do this?  Paul strongly  believes that he has a contribution (a spiritual gift) to bring to their work in Rome. He has a spiritual gift  (charismata) to  give  to the church at  Rome  (1:11). What is he talking about?  Paul knew that  God  had endowed him  with an ability that could propel the church in Rome to  new a  height. He was conscious of God’s indwelling power and he was aware of the authority with  which God had endowed him with.  

Spiritual gifts bring spiritual advancement. At  my former church  we  once  had a  problem with our administrative  side of things. Being a growing church with a growing budget and growing responsibilities we were just not doing well. God in His great mercy provided us with a  young, spiritually minded couple, and  He used their  spiritual  administrative gift  to  help us in  a short time  to  put the church on to  a new organisational  level. It was so helpful, and it made an imediate difference and we all rejoiced. That is what spiritual gifts do. They build spiritual capacity in the church, and the church is better off because of them. Paul was very aware of that.  

Paul’s apostolic gift,  had many  facets  to it – in some ways  he was   able to do everything – teach, preach, administer, heal, encourage etc., but  Paul’s usefulness was rooted,  not in his own strength, but in God’s  strength. He always boasted in what God would do through him. It was ultimately God that made him useful, and in that sense we can only really be useful if we work  according to His gifts  and by His power.  Jesus reminded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had been endued with that power from the Holy Spirit (Lk. 24:49; Acts 1:8). We cannot work for God, we cannot  build the church without  that power and authority from Christ. After they had received that power we read that the apostles  “with great  power testified to the resurrection (Acts 4:33). So when they spoke they spoke with great effect. Their words came with the power.  It crushed men. It convinced men. It made them fall to the ground and cry out, “Men and brothers what must we do to be saved?“  We can have a well- organized church, but it will be useless without this power- this authority. If you and I want to be useful we must do it by the authority and by the power that God gives. 

Please note  too  that  Paul did not propose to come to impart spiritual gifts as  the modern charismatic movement  and their so called apostles claim to do. No! That belongs  to the sovereign ministry of the Holy Spirit! (1 Cor. 12). He is the only Giver of spiritual  gifts. He gives them (or withholds them) sovereignly to each as He wills! The spiritual gif, given to Paul by the Holy Spirit  is used to strengthen the church. It  is  linked to his own apostolic ministry and gifting.  And it always leaves the church in a better shape.  That was Paul's supreme  concern. 

Paul's apostolic gift wasso profound and so pervasive that it has outlasted his own generation. The whole letter to the Romans is actually the best illustration for what I am saying here.  The teaching he provided  here to the Romans  is so strengthening and so profound  that beyond this church  at Rome it proves to  have strengthened the whole church in all ages. That is the power of the  apostolic  gift.

Therefore  I can be most useful to you if I  remind you  of that which is written in the Bible- God's eternal, infallible Word  to remind you of  God's unchanging truth  and to ground  you in that truth. Jesus prayed for this, “Sanctify them by your truth – your word is truth“ (Jn 17:17). It is by the truth that we are changed. 

I want to be useful to that end.

And finally… 

4.      1:13-15 A  FRUITFUL MAN

Paul’s prayerful desire is to “strengthen” (1:11b) the Roman  church, by the use of his spiritual gift. But that is not all. No hardworking farmer works in a field without desiring a result.  And so Paul says “ …that I may  reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the gentiles…” (1:13). A farmer plants to reap fruit ! My prayer is that  this time that God has given us together, for as long as He deems,   may be a time  when God would be pleased  to let the ministry of the Word not fall on  barren soil, but on rich fruitful soil  (Parable of the sower and the seed – Mk 4).

To that end will you pray with me that I would be such a man to you?  Thankful, prayerful, useful and fruitful!

And God shall receive all the glory,  and we shall  receive  all the satisfaction. Amen

ROMANS 1:2-6 THE GOSPEL - THE HEART OF THE PASTOR’S MESSAGE

 

ROMANS 1:2-6

THE HEART OF THE PASTOR’S MESSAGE

If you ask, “what is our pastor’s chief calling and message?”, then we must reply, “The chief calling of the pastor is this faithful, consistent proclamation of the Gospel of God”.  

If you then say, “well is this all?”, then the answer is clearly “no!” for from the heart proceed the issues of life (Prov. 4:23 KJV). Even as the human heart is a vital organ – perhaps the most important one - and yet not without reference to the other organs, so the gospel is the heart of our life, but it connected to all sorts of other important applications. The gospel produces a healthy spiritual heart and therefore a true gospel spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Gal. 5:22,23). The gospel produces a life of good works. We shall see what the application of the gospel produces in Romans 12 and following.  The gospel not only makes us glad. It not only makes us worshippers. The gospel also drives us to consider  the world in which we live. So the gospel produces so much more than we would bargain for. In one sense this is what the whole letter to the Romans is all about – the Gospel of God - in all its fullness. 

To that end we will find the key text in 1:16,17. This is followed by a lengthy explanation from 1:18-3:20 as to why the gospel is necessary. Sin makes the gospel necessary. Paul shows us the pervasive problem of sin (all have sinned- that means – me, you and the whole world) and he shows us the consequence of sin (the wrath of God).  The gospel is then introduced in 3:21  by means of the great “But now”  and an explanation of how sinners are justified  by grace alone through faith alone, through Christ alone.

And therefore we can say that this is what the work of your pastor is all about. He is the one man  who must keep these things constantly before your eyes – constantly, because we forget these things  so very quickly. That is also why we regularly have the Lord’s supper – to remind us of the gospel.

We are a gospel church in Robertson.  “We exist for the gospel of God”.  

Now I remind you that the word Gospel means good news (euaggelion) and good news is only meaningful if we understand why it is good. The Good news is meaningful against the background of bad news. The  God who loves this world  has placed  the church into  this community called Robertson, South Africa, Africa and the world  to be explainers  and examples of the Good news in  a world ravaged by sin and degradation. This clarifies our vision as a church. It helps us to understand why we exist. It gives reason and meaning to our gathering. 1. The gospel makes us glad. Therefore we worship the God who has saved us by His gospel  2. The gospel compels us to share this good news with those that still live under sin’s curse, and who are not yet reconciled with God, and who continue to live under the wrath of a holy God. The gospel gives us reason to pray for our world, and evangelise and engage in missionary activity.   3. Once the gospel is received it gives us power to say “no!” to ungodliness (Titus 2:12ff NIV). This means that  men become better husbands  and fathers, women better wives and mothers , children more obedient to parents  etc… 

 1:2-6 THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

And now let us consider this message  or content of the gospel in itself

4 Things

1. It is promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures...The gospel is not Paul’s invention. It is not a new thing. It is based on a promise consistently contained in all the OT Scriptures.  In Acts 17:2 we read that Paul “reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying, “This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.” 

The Lord Jesus Christ explained Himself to 2 discouraged disciples on the Emmaus road by means of the OT Scriptures, beginning with Moses and the prophets (Lk 24:27)  

At RRCC we need to make sure that we spend enough time in the OT to understand how the gospel is rooted there.

2. It is concerning His Son (Jesus) – descended from David according to the flesh. 

This promise is concerning a Messiah (an anointed One) who would in due time be sent from God to redeem His people Israel from the weight of their slavery – and especially from the burden of the slavery of sin. The gospel is not an abstract philosophical concept. It is a person and He makes a massive difference in the lives of those that embrace Him. The first thing about the gospel is that it is not something new. It has ancient roots.  Paul tells us that the OT prophets had spoken about this gospel.  The gospel is found in the OT.  Concerning him we learn two things (i)  that He would arrive in a form of a human being, via the line of David. This is what Paul consistently draws attention to in his preaching everywhere (e.g. Acts 13:23).  The gospel is rooted in God’s ancient revelation 2 Sam. 7:12ff (Davidic covenant)  tells us that a greater Son of David will sit on the throne, occupying an eternal kingdom.  Through the Genealogies in Matthew (1:1-16)  and Luke (3:23-38) we know that both Mary and Joseph were descended  from the line of David, so that when Jesus was born, one could truly say,  “as to his human ancestry” that he was a son of David!  He was often called “Son of David”. Sadly Jesus came to His own but His own did not receive him (Jn 1:10,11. Yet there were a few  that saw  Him for who He was. 

• The Magi saw him for who was  (Matt. 2:1-12
• Simeon and the prophetess Anna  saw Him for who he was (Luke 2:22-38). But that was not all ...

3. He was  also declared  to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead:  The Holy Spirit confirmed Christ’s  identity as Son of God :   

•     At his baptism  (Matt. 3:17)
•     At the transfiguration (Matt 17:1-13)
• BUT the gospel   was made supremely  visible by the Holy Spirit  at  Christ’s resurrection  (1:4) 

Although Jesus was the Son of David as a physical descendant, He was more than the physical Son of David. He also is the eternal Son of God - God the Son. At this point Paul asserts something very important.  Jesus is both fully man  (and as such He identifies with us – minus sin) AND  fully God. These two aspects of Christ’s nature were much debated  in church history. People have always found it difficult to hold to the two natures of Christ, because our human experience finds no counterpart in Christ. But early church councils  e.g. the Nicene creed and Chalcedonian creed,  made it very clear that  the Bible reveals that our Lord Jesus Christ had two natures, which were undivided. And here, in the opening sentence of the letter to the Romans we have  a powerful statement of the fact that Jesus is descended both from a human ancestry (through the line of David) AND  from a  divine  ancestry  through Holy Spirit’s work at  the resurrection. He represents both realms.

And so  Paul  names him, “Jesus Christ our Lord “ (1:4). He is ….

•          Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins

•          Christ  (Greek- Christos);  Messiah (Hebrew) – God’s anointed One,

•          Our Lord ( Greek- kurios) – literally  our Master, Owner.  He is the One,  says Paul,  who has called me into service to bear testimony to the Gentiles.

Having said that, the gospel is rooted in the Old Testament redemptive purposes, revealing   the Messiah as the   Son of David  and  as the eternal Son of God, Paul now he goes on to say that…

 4.      The gospel is for all nations:  “…through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for  the sake of His Name among all the nations ...

Paul is announcing something radical here. He is a Jew. The knowledge of salvation came from the OT scriptures to the Jews. But  this does not exclude the  nations – the gentiles. The gospel for which Paul has been set apart now becomes a message for the whole world – for Jew and gentile.  The gospel is for all nations. The gospel  brings a divided  world   together  again.

The Implications Of The Gospel

In  1:5-7  we  see just how radical are the implications of the gospel  are – particularly in terms  of how we view ourselves. You and I need to understand what the gospel does for us.

The gospel is not a little addition to life e.g. going through the rites and motions (baptism, church membership   etc).  The gospel transforms you. It changes who you are, because of who He is. And He  redefines us  and helps us to see  what we are meant  to be.  Paul says 4 things  concerning this: 

1.  1: 5,6  Paul makes it clear that we are part of a united body  which includes both Jew and Gentile -  i.e. those  that are saved  out of  the whole world, uniting us  in gospel bonds, uniting  Jew and Greek, Israel and the nations into one church, transcending cultural  boundaries that separate us “in the obedience of  faith for the sake of His Name”. The gospel redefines the way in which we look at people and culture. The gospel makes us one people through Christ. The gospel changes the way we look at one another. It changes the way we look at the world.

2. 1:6. He goes on to mention specifically that we are called by Jesus Christ Himself. Think of yourself that way. Jesus has called YOU! A personal, particular call.

3. 1:7 Those saved by the gospel are loved by God the Father. Think how important that would have been for those early Roman Christians.  They were hated by the world. They were thought to be part of an evil  sect and accused of all sorts of things, including cannibalism. But the apostle Paul says that they are the loved ones of God.  If you have the  hate  and wrath of the world against you but the love of God for you, then you have what really matters.

4. 1:7 “called  to be saints".  Christians are holy, set apart  for the pursuit of holiness. Our fallen nature is progressively  recreated  by God.

We must preach the gospel. It is the  gospel alone that changes everything because it re-introduces  us to the One who made us – the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone has the power to change us. 

This gospel is for all the nations- for all people. 

This  gospel not only  transforms us individually but it places  us into one body – the body of Christ.

Now this is my message. This is my calling. This is my work. This is  what I am called to remind you of.  Amen

ROMANS 1:1 THE PASTOR AS SERVANT AND MESSENGER BOY OF THE GOSPEL OF GOD

 

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.

 3.    "Set Apart ..."

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. 

 So pray for me. It’s  a tall order and I am under no illusion that I am  not  going to be that in my own strength. I am not a young man any longer, but I do have His energy. And pray for our church that we may be enabled to raise up pastoral leaders/elders for the future. The health of the future church depends upon this.  I would like to speak to you about this some more next time. 

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[1] D. Martyn Lloyd Jones : Romans, Exposition of Chapter 1:1-32 , p.3

[2] Peter Leithart in his introduction to  “ Mother Kirk: Essays and  Forays in Practical Ecclesiology ” by Douglas Wilson p.9

Romans 1:16,17 "In Remembrance of the 16th Century Reformation"

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

This text from Paul’s epistle to the Romans   changed a man, and that man in the hand of God  changed the world of his day, and his influence  has  been felt to this day. Martin Luther,   in his own words :

“I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary  desire  for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But …. a single phrase  in  Romans  1:17, “for in it ( i.e. the gospel)  the righteousness of God is revealed,”  stood in my way. For I hated that word “the righteousness of God,” which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically regarding the formal or active righteousness, as they called it, with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner. Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly… I was angry with God….Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I desired to know what St. Paul wanted… At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I understood the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’ ” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith… Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me. [1]

Martin Luther, born in  1483 in Eisleben, Germany, son of a miner   was  once caught in a horrific thunderstorm. He feared for his life and cried out to St. Anne, the patron saint of miners, saying, “Save me, St. Anne, and I’ll become a monk!” The storm subsided and he was not killed.   He kept his vow  and entered the  Augustinean monastery. He had an astute mind and had become a theology professor at the University of Erfurt. At  this time he was a God fearing man, but not a converted man.  Luther had understood the nature of sin as few people in our day would and  he  had understood the holiness of God in a profound way, as few people would do today.  But he did not know how to deal with his sin  before a holy God.  He knew that all his attempts   at  justifying himself  before God  were failing. 

As he was studying the letter to the Romans, it was this text  that made him understand  for the first time God’s method of justifying sinners. Until then he had always thought  of justification  from  the typical Roman Catholic works oriented perspective. It was this text in  Paul’s letter to the Romans that  helped him to see that  a person’s justification before a just, righteous and holy God was not  something that a man could achieve in his own  efforts. It was something that God  did  for man, and which a man  could  only receive by looking to God  by faith  alone.  When  Martin Luther had understood the basis of the gospel, namely, that a person’s justification came by the grace and mercy  from  God alone,  the  foundations  for a new  mighty work of God were laid. A  Holy Spirit sent revival    had begun.   

All because of Romans 1:16-17.

These words constitute the theme of  Paul’s letter  to the Romans. The whole letter to the Romans is about “the gospel of God”.  That phrase  is first used  in  v.1,  in the opening statement : “Paul… called to  be an apostle set apart for the gospel of God”.   This is the reason  that Paul wants to come to Rome.

The gospel is at the heart  of evangelical theology. This explains the difference between evangelical Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church, and  every other system of religion in the world which operates on the primary basis of works righteousness rather than a righteousness  from God – a righteousness outside of ourselves!  

VERSE 16

I am not ashamed of the gospel

Why does  Paul  say  this  negatively?  Why  does he not  say,  "I am proud of the gospel”? This form of speech is  known as  litotes   Litotes is a figure of speech in which a negative statement is used to affirm a positive sentiment.  We use it often  in our conversations e.g.  we say,   “I am not opposed to doing this” when  we could   have said  “I  can do this”. Paul may  have said it like this  because of the peculiar  position in which the Roman Christians  had found themselves.  It was not easy to be a Christian in Rome. It still is not easy to speak  about Christ for fear of ridicule or rejection. Looking at the gospel at face value, it would  appear as  "foolishness"[2].   Jesus  was the  son of a poor carpenter, with little means,  with no   formal education   and  with  no  political  ambition  or influence. His  message    was  a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles (1 Cor.  1:22). He  was crucified as a common criminal. Such a man  claimed to be the Saviour of the world  and  He claimed to  be equal to God. All this was so  absurd to  Jews and Gentiles. With all these thoughts in mind  it is easy to feel ashamed of the gospel. This is what Paul experienced and yet despite  all this  Paul  was  never  ashamed of the gospel.  

Here  is  the reason, as to why he says that:

“Because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone  who believes...”

Despite the fact, that the gospel may be resented by man, it does  not deny the fact that it is powerful!     It is clearly seen in the  words and deeds of Jesus. His Word and His works  changed the world.  The gospel is  the power (Gr. dunamis) of God. Knowing this Paul felt no need to  be embarrassed for coming to Rome. He knew that in the gospel there is a power that would overwhelm  proud Romans !  

How does this power work?  Paul give  three answers.

(i)                  The Gospel provides the power to save (16a). What does the gospel do? It saves sinners from the coming  wrath of God. And it saves in the fullest sense of that word, past, present and future. The gospel has the power to …Forgive sins (past)—Impart new life (present)—Admit into heaven (future).

(ii)                The Gospel provides  the power to save those who believe (16b)  To “believe” means to make a personal commitment to the God  who  has given us the gospel. It is not enough to  hear  and to  pray a sinners prayer.  The gospel must be believed  in the fullest sense  by  hearing it, receiving it  and by a continual  walking in its truth.

(iii)             The Gospel provides  the power to save everyone  who believes 16c : “For I am not ashamed of the gospel , for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The gospel has the power to save  all kinds of people in the world without regard to the distinctions that divide us. That’s why Paul wasn’t ashamed to preach the gospel in Rome. He knew it had the power to save anyone who would believe it.

VERSE 17

In verse 17 Paul reveals the second reason why he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel. “For in it (i.e. the gospel )   the  righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, ’The righteous will live by faith.’”  This is the text that  woke  Martin Luther  up from the dead !  Why is this such a powerful truth ?

(i)                 Because it reveals a righteousness (17a).  The key word  here is righteousness, which means to have a right standing in God’s eyes. Here is where the greatness of the gospel is clearly seen. It provides for us what we could never provide for ourselves. Righteousness is what we need but do not have. Therefore God, knowing that we could never be righteous on our own, has provided a righteousness which comes  from Him, given to us as a free gift through Christ .That brings us to the second reason why the gospel is so powerful.

(ii)                Because the righteousness that is in the gospel is received only by faith. (17b)  The key word here is faith. In the Greek, it literally reads, “is revealed by faith unto faith.”  (ESV) It has the idea of “faith from first to last.” Everyone who is saved by the gospel  is saved the same way: By faith. It is faith alone and faith always. This answers the great question,  How can I be right with God? The answer is simple: By receiving the righteousness of God that comes only by faith in Jesus  Christ alone. He  is our substitute. He alone  has  righteously kept the righteous law  of God in  His life. You have broken the law  so many times, and in God’s eyes you are unrighteous.  But God in His great love  gave His Son, the Lord Jesus, the Righteous One   to die  the   death that you deserved to die. All that God  now requires of you is to  have faith in Jesus- to trust Him with your whole life.  He is the object of your faith. 

There is a third and final reason why the gospel is so powerful.

(iii)             Because the righteousness  that is in the gospel, which when believed in,  conveys saving faith  to men and women. (17c) To prove his point Paul includes a quotation from the prophet  Habakkuk 2:4:  “The just shall live by faith.” It was this text—quoted by Paul in Romans 1:17—that ultimately shook Martin Luther to the core and brought him to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

FAITH ALONE !

From that  simple and yet profound truth, came the Protestant Reformation.  It saved  the world from the hopeless doctrine of  salvation by  a system of works  or self- justification. It restored the biblical doctrine  of  “Faith” as the operative principle  by which men and women  would be saved, and  so with it the battle-cry of the Reformation became  SOLA FIDE -  “by faith alone.”

So, how much faith does it take to go to heaven? The answer is  this : With whatever you have you must look to Jesus! Saving faith is putting your trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone. In order to do that you have to stop trying to save yourself.

What happened to Martin Luther can happen to you. Those who trust in Christ alone will never be put to shame, not in this life nor in the life to come.

Amen !

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[1] Luther's Works, Volume 34, P336-337). cited in http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/8742/when-and-how-did-martin-luther-arrive-at-the-justification-by-faith

[2] see Paul's arguments in 1 Cor 1:18-31