"to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
This verse wraps up the introduction to his letter. He explained who he was and what his authority in the first verse because the church in Rome possibly only knew by reputation and as far as they knew he was still one of the most fervent persecutors; in the same way, after Saul (who was latter called Paul) became a Christian and started preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in the synagogues, "All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, 'Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name [Jesus Christ] and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?'...When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple." (Acts 9:21, 26). This is a mighty testimony to the transformative power of God to so thoroughly change a person and to use someone who was, in earlier times, the worst enemies of Christians. Paul also points out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not so dramatically new and different than what was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the writings (what we call the Old Testament) but rather that it was all leading up to, is, and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He briefly touches on the the basics of the gospel in the next few verses in the person of Jesus (verses 3, 4) and the nature of his ministry (verses 5, 6), and now we come to the "to whom" of the introduction.
"To all," Paul is referring to all confessing Christians in Rome. Whether Jew or Gentile (non-Jew), rich or poor, slave or free, educated or uneducated, they all met and fellowshipped together in their mutual Lord and savior, Jesus Christ; for we are all parts of the same of the same body, in which Christ is the head and all are just as much in need of God's grace.
Well that is all the time we have this week. I apologize for the brief posting as I did not budget my time properly this past week. Tune in next week for the continuing adventure into this amazing letter.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your Name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Romans 1:5c-6 (the introduction)
"among all the Gentiles for His names sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"
The first part of this posting, "among all the Gentiles" touches upon the command that the Lord Jesus gives frequently both before and after his resurrection to wit Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15f, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47 and the sum of all of those verses (and elsewhere I am sure) is that we are to proclaim the gospel (which comes from the Greek work euaggelion) which is to say "the good news" everywhere and to every one; as Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of fist importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to thee Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That is the best news anyone could ever have. Whether a person believes unto salvation is not really our business for we are not commanded anywhere to save people from their sins; only Jesus Christ can do that through His Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we should not pray fervently for the salvation of those to whom we witness.
Paul was commissioned especially to reach the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord Jesus is explaining to His slave Ananias, "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;'". All these first six verses of this chapter have been Paul presenting his credentials because, if you remember from earlier posts, he did not found the fellowship of believes by planting a church in Rome. Also he was not only looking to visit the brethren there to share blessings but also he was looking to spring-board from there to Spain so that he might preach the gospel and establish churches in heretofore unreached territory. It was always Paul's custom to never go to a place where the gospel had already been preached, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another mans foundation; but as it is written, [in Isaiah 52:15]"They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand."
The last part of verse 5, "for His name's sake," which in its most basic form is to say that it is for the magnification of God's glory and greatly expressive of His joy; for it is written, "In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."(Luke 15:10) This verse comes right after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in which the common element is "Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost!" Anyone who thinks it is dull in Heaven is dead wrong: there is a constant party going with God almighty cheering the loudest each and every time one sinner repents and it saved. Can you imagine? There is one party after another and no one every gets bored with partying. It is just like being around someone who is so happy, it cannot help but spread; even more than that this is God we are talking about. His rejoicing is infinitely greater than we can imagine and it is always new and fresh. However, everything God does is to bring Himself glory for His own sake. God glorifies Himself in everything He does for it is right an proper that He should do so. To God along belongs all of the glory.
Verse six is a short little thought, "among whom you are the called of Jesus Christ;" The first part that bears notice is, "the called", the word called comes from the Greek kletos (klay-tos) which you may remember is exactly the same word that Paul uses to describe his office "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God,". In that context the word is used to indicate a divine selection and appointment. Just like when Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church, "For it is by grace you have been save through faith; so that it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "Wait," you might say, "but I prayed to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. Is that not worth anything?" Consider Jesus words in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is to say no one is able to be saved until he or she is born again (I prefer born from above as I think it is clearer). Also Ephesians 2:1 (c.f. 2:5, Col 2:13), "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,"(emphasis mine) I think that speaks to the spiritual deadness that we inherited from Adam as it is written, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." After Adam ate the forbidden fruit he did not physically die (although he deserved to), instead shame and terror of God was brought into the world. So Adam and Eve tried to hide form God (smart I know). Of course, because of sin Adam died later but the immediate effect was that he died spiritually. Whereas Adam once walked with God in close fellowship, now he is at enmity with God. With that in mind, can you imagine a corpse willing himself to live? How then can someone who is spiritually dead chose to become spiritually alive through salvation?
Finally to wrap it all up Jesus Christ is the first and the last the beginning and the end and the only hope for our justification before a holy and righteous God. What Jesus did makes it so God can be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ Jesus. That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. God can have mercy upon sinners without sacrificing His justice, grace without setting aside righteousness.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
The first part of this posting, "among all the Gentiles" touches upon the command that the Lord Jesus gives frequently both before and after his resurrection to wit Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15f, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47 and the sum of all of those verses (and elsewhere I am sure) is that we are to proclaim the gospel (which comes from the Greek work euaggelion) which is to say "the good news" everywhere and to every one; as Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of fist importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to thee Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That is the best news anyone could ever have. Whether a person believes unto salvation is not really our business for we are not commanded anywhere to save people from their sins; only Jesus Christ can do that through His Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we should not pray fervently for the salvation of those to whom we witness.
Paul was commissioned especially to reach the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord Jesus is explaining to His slave Ananias, "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;'". All these first six verses of this chapter have been Paul presenting his credentials because, if you remember from earlier posts, he did not found the fellowship of believes by planting a church in Rome. Also he was not only looking to visit the brethren there to share blessings but also he was looking to spring-board from there to Spain so that he might preach the gospel and establish churches in heretofore unreached territory. It was always Paul's custom to never go to a place where the gospel had already been preached, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another mans foundation; but as it is written, [in Isaiah 52:15]"They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand."
The last part of verse 5, "for His name's sake," which in its most basic form is to say that it is for the magnification of God's glory and greatly expressive of His joy; for it is written, "In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."(Luke 15:10) This verse comes right after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in which the common element is "Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost!" Anyone who thinks it is dull in Heaven is dead wrong: there is a constant party going with God almighty cheering the loudest each and every time one sinner repents and it saved. Can you imagine? There is one party after another and no one every gets bored with partying. It is just like being around someone who is so happy, it cannot help but spread; even more than that this is God we are talking about. His rejoicing is infinitely greater than we can imagine and it is always new and fresh. However, everything God does is to bring Himself glory for His own sake. God glorifies Himself in everything He does for it is right an proper that He should do so. To God along belongs all of the glory.
Verse six is a short little thought, "among whom you are the called of Jesus Christ;" The first part that bears notice is, "the called", the word called comes from the Greek kletos (klay-tos) which you may remember is exactly the same word that Paul uses to describe his office "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God,". In that context the word is used to indicate a divine selection and appointment. Just like when Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church, "For it is by grace you have been save through faith; so that it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "Wait," you might say, "but I prayed to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. Is that not worth anything?" Consider Jesus words in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is to say no one is able to be saved until he or she is born again (I prefer born from above as I think it is clearer). Also Ephesians 2:1 (c.f. 2:5, Col 2:13), "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,"(emphasis mine) I think that speaks to the spiritual deadness that we inherited from Adam as it is written, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." After Adam ate the forbidden fruit he did not physically die (although he deserved to), instead shame and terror of God was brought into the world. So Adam and Eve tried to hide form God (smart I know). Of course, because of sin Adam died later but the immediate effect was that he died spiritually. Whereas Adam once walked with God in close fellowship, now he is at enmity with God. With that in mind, can you imagine a corpse willing himself to live? How then can someone who is spiritually dead chose to become spiritually alive through salvation?
Finally to wrap it all up Jesus Christ is the first and the last the beginning and the end and the only hope for our justification before a holy and righteous God. What Jesus did makes it so God can be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ Jesus. That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. God can have mercy upon sinners without sacrificing His justice, grace without setting aside righteousness.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
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