Series:
Romans
Title: The
Making of Christ’s Servants
Text: Romans
1: 1-7
Date:
4-15-2018
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Romans 1: 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2: (Which he
had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3: Concerning his
Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made 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: 5: By whom we have
received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations,
for his name: 6: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 7: To all
that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul
begins this epistle by declaring who he is—Romans
1: 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. Men
like to speak of themselves as being free and having a free will. What would a man be free from? What would our
will be free from?
Truth is,
all men are divided into one of two categories: we are either the servant of
the devil unto sin or the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ unto righteousness.
Romans 6: 16: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
But all
men serve one or the other. All those
God saves were once under the power of the devil as his slaves, the spirit that
is now in those who are still under the devils power:
Ephesians 2: 2: Wherein in time past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3: Among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past…
The only
thing an unregenerate, natural born sinner can do is sin—first and foremost by
hating Christ and his gospel.
John 8:34: Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Christ
said the Spirit will convince his people of sin because ye believe not on
me. Those who commit sin are those who deny
Christ, deny the gospel, attempt to come to God by their will and their religious
deeds.
But those
born of Christ—though we are sinners and yet sin—in the new man we are the
servants of Christ and in the new man we can only bring forth good fruit, that
is, we can only believe on Christ and love our brethren. We cannot stop doing
so by the power and grace of God.
Matthew 7: 17:
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth
forth evil fruit. 18: A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit.
All men
are in one of these two categories: all either the servant of the devil unto sin;
or the servant of Christ unto righteousness. But no man is free, we all yield
to one of these two. So Paul begins by declaring which category he was in—“the servant of Christ”
So how
does one go from being a servant of the devil unto sin to being a servant of
Christ unto righteousness?
Proposition: When we see how Paul was made a servant of Christ we see
how all God’s elect are made servants it is by being called and separated.
Divisions:
I. Who calls and separates us? II. From
what are we called and separated? III. Unto what are we called and separated?
WHO CALLS AND SEPARATES US?
Romans 1: 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,…6: [speaking
to believers, he says] Among whom are ye
also the called of Jesus Christ: 7:
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:…
Servants
of Christ are made by the sinner being called and separated by God.
All who
are called were “beloved of God.” It means we were loved before of God. In eternity, before the foundation of the
world, God, by sovereign grace, chose, called and separated his people whom he
loved in Christ. Scriptures calls it election.
Ephesians 1: 1:
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at
Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. 3: Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4: According as he hath chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love:
God the
Father blessed his elect with all spiritual blessings when he chose us in
Christ. It means right then:
Romans 8: 29:
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30: Moreover whom he did predestinate,
them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified. 31:
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?
That
sounds like he saved us before we needed saving! That is exactly right! God told Jeremiah,
Jeremiah 1: 5: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and
I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Those who
believe do so because before we were ever born God ordained us to believe.
Ephesians 2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath BEFORE ORDAINED that we should
walk in them.
That is
why when Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles, scripture says, “as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed.” (Acts 13:48) This is what scripture means when it says that God,
“Declar[ed] the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” (Is 46: 10)
Men speak
of God giving all men a chance to be saved. When a wise man builds a house, he
leaves nothing to chance. From the beginning, he figures where every dollar
will go. He has plans. He knows the end from the beginning. If changeable men
do so, you can be sure that God our Father does. But unlike men, God says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure.” We have to change our
plans. But God is sovereign. What he determined from the beginning he brings to
pass without ever having to change his plans.
Ephesians 1:11: In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will:
Since God
predestinated us to experience his salvation, in his set time, he calls each
one and separates us in regeneration. All
who shall be saved by God, shall be called and separated by God through the
gospel of Christ in regeneration. The
apostle Paul said,
Galatians 1: 15
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and
called me by his grace, 16 To
reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I
conferred not with flesh and blood:
So the
first thing is it is God who calls and separates his people. Man does not do
it. It is God who calls and separates his people.
FROM WHAT ARE WE CALLED AND SEPARATED?
We called
and separated from our vain ways. God
separates his child of grace from the darkness of our sinful flesh, from the
power of Satan, from this present evil world, from our idol gods and our false
gospels.
The
apostle Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus, had been a Pharisee—“the separate ones”—those
who distinguished themselves from others.
The Pharisee’s made themselves separate and distinct from others by outward
observance of external rituals, by outward forms they considered holiness such
as, ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving. And they prided
themselves on their good works. While they claimed to believe and look for the
coming Messiah, they were bitter enemies of the true Messiah who had come. They
hated the Lord Jesus and his cause. Sadly,
that is a description of most in religion in our day. It was a description of us and it was a
description of Paul.
Paul had
separated himself and had all his confidence was in his flesh—in natural, external,
outward religious things. He said,
Philippians 3: 4:…If any other man thinketh that he hath
whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5: Circumcised the eighth day, of
the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews;
as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6: Concerning zeal, persecuting the church;
touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Yet, by
all his works, Paul had not separated himself at all. The very religious men and sinful men he
claimed to be separate from, he was one with.
He proved it because he would sooner embrace the lies of the Sadducees
before he would embrace those truly called and separated unto Christ and his
gospel. By all his religious works, the
only one he further separated himself from was God.
Isaiah 59: 2: But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will
not hear.
Brethren,
Paul was like all God’s elect. You and I were lost in the darkness of our own
depraved hearts and spiritual ignorance.
We were all ignorant of God and his providence, ignorant of ourselves
and our sin, ignorant of the scriptures and of the gospel, ignorant of Christ
and his righteousness. It is from ourselves and our sinful vain false ways that
God called and separated us.
Near
Knoxville, the Tennessee River flows southward. But near Jackson, it runs
north. Yet, even though it has changed directions, it is still the same old
muddy water. When a sinner turns his
life around himself, gets baptized, joins the church and engages in a frenzy of
church activities, if God has not called and separated him then it is the same
muddy water flowing in a different direction. Outward reformation is not
regeneration. A new lifestyle is not a new nature. An outward form of holiness
is not sanctification of the Spirit. To have the form without the power is to
be worse off than before—twice dead. Then a man thinks he has life and light,
when he is still dead and in darkness.
Not only
does God separate us from our vain religious ways, God also separates us from
our former life in which we loved sin and walked therein. When God separates his child he makes us love
righteousness and love godliness. He
makes us hate everything that would bring dishonor on the gospel and on our
blessed Redeemer.
Titus 2: 11: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men, 12: Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13:
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14: Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works.
2 Corinthians 5: 17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he
is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new.
WHAT ARE WE CALLED AND SEPARATED UNTO?
Romans 1: 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2: (Which he had
promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3: Concerning his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made 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: 5: By whom we have received grace
and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6:
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Since the
last apostle died, no one has been called to be an apostle. But we are all called to be servants of our Lord Jesus. Christ calls us to himself to be his
servants. We have been made willing bondservants of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ex
21: 1-6)
“By whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.” Obedience to the faith is to bow and
trust the obedience of the Author and Finisher of our faith, Christ Jesus. Christ
is our Righteousness. Christ is our
Holiness.
He set us free from the curse of the law and from our sinful flesh. Now,
we are accepted of God and can serve God our Father and his Son the Lord Jesus
Christ by the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is to
be separated unto the specific work he would have each of his people do in his
church with the end goal to spread his gospel into all the world—for obedience to the faith among all nations,
for his name:. Christ has left us in
this earth to do as he commanded his disciples,
Matthew 28: 19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and,
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
It is
Christ who separates out his preachers.
But though you may not be a preacher, make no mistake, it is Christ who
separates you to whatever service he has gifted you to perform in his church
just as he separated Paul and Barnabas.
Acts 13: 1: Now there were in the church that was at
Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called
Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod
the tetrarch, and Saul. 2: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy
Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called
them. 3: And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on
them, they sent them away. 4: So they, being sent forth by the Holy
Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Whatever
Christ has called you to do and gifted you to do in his church, do it will all
your might as unto the Lord because he is the one who gave you the privilege.
God gives each of his saints gifts and abilities so that his church is
complete.
1 Corinthians 12: 4:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5: And there are differences of
administrations, but the same Lord. 6:
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all.
We saw it
when we began remodeling our building. God had provided someone with a talent
to do each job that needed to be done. Each of those talents is given so that, collectively,
together we can send forth this gospel into all the world. Here is our purpose in this earth, we are all
separated unto the gospel of God.
What is the
gospel of God that we have been separated unto?—Romans 1:…the gospel of God, 2: (Which he had promised afore by his
prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3: Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made 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:
The
gospel concerns only the GodMan, Christ Jesus. Everything in the scriptures is
concerning Christ. The gospel is not the
message of mere morality which this world preaches. It is not church laws, not man’s works. The gospel is concerning God’s Son!
It is
called the gospel of God because God
is the author of it, God’s free and sovereign grace is the cause of it, God’s
Son is the subject of it and God’s glory in the salvation of his elect is the
purpose of it.
It is
only when we have been saved by the power of the gospel then we are no longer
ashamed to confess that it is the power by which God saves all his people.
Romans 1: 16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17: For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by
faith.
The
gospel is the message of God’s righteousness. It is the message of how God can
be just and the Justifier of his people.
God sent his sinless Son who willingly was made sin for his people. Then our Substitute was willingly made a
curse for us. He was separated from God
and his people that we might be made one with God by his blood. God is just and
God is the Justifier of his people. It
is through the preaching of the gospel that God reveals Christ. It is through
the preaching of the gospel that God reveals Christ is our Righteousness. It is all “to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he made us accepted in
the Beloved.” (Eph 1: 6)
God has
purposed to call and separate each one Christ redeemed through the preaching of
this gospel using those he has already called to preach it. Paul said he called
us to go forth preaching this gospel “among
all nations, for his name.” Christ
gave us a command:
Mark 16: 15:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. 16: He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
This is
why the apostle Paul declared that it is by the power God to establish us
through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 16:25: Now to him that is of power to stablish you
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26: But
now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience
of faith:
True preachers are made preachers by Christ
and sent by Christ and no other way.
Romans 10: 13:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14: How then shall they call on him in
whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they
have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15: And how shall they preach, except
they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach
the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Through this gospel Christ calls out his
people. Christ told Paul, I am sending you to preach my name for this reason,
Acts 26:18: To open their
eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
For every sinner called out of darkness into
the light of Christ we have one to thank, God! He chose his people and he chose
how they would be called and he calls them,
2 Thessalonians 2: 13: But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14: Whereunto he called you by our gospel,
to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord Jesus has called us to himself to
serve him. He has separated us unto the gospel of God concerning Christ his
Son. Our purpose in this earth is to preach his gospel in all the earth. Therefore, let us serve him with all our
hearts.
One last question: shall those he has called
and separated ever be separated from him again?
No way.
Romans 8: 35: Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen!