August 21, 2000
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Sept. 3 Lesson
___By Charles Walton
Paul tries to lead Christians to deeper thinking
___Romans 1:1-17
___1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God--2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
___7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
___8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
___11I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among other Gentiles.
___14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
___16I am not ashamed of gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a 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."
___Water skiing is a favorite summertime activity in our part of Texas. Several years ago, my wife and I were supervising a group of youth on a water skiing trip in a popular river near our church. One by one, each youth aboard our boat took their turn skiing. Each new skier would help the previous skier aboard and then dive out of the boat in dramatic fashion, attach the water skis and yell out when they were ready to ski. This procedure was repeated several times.
___The final skier could hardly wait his turn. However, while we were retrieving the previous skier, our boat was pushed near the riverbank by a late afternoon wind. As the anxious teenager prepared to dive headfirst out of the boat, I knew we were now in dangerously shallow water. My attempt to stop him failed. Out he went. Everyone in the boat held their breath until the young man finally stood in three feet of water and, while wiping mud and grass from his face, loudly proclaimed, "It ain't very deep here, is it?" The boat exploded in laughter when we realized our friend was dazed but unharmed.
___Years later, as I recall this humorous scene, I am reminded that there are many things too shallow to be any good for us. Perhaps you have experienced the effects of shallow thinking, shallow theology or shallow people.
___Paul's letter to the Romans is deep water. The riches of God's word revealed in this book are abundant. No one has completely explored its depths or mined all its wealth. This first lesson in our study of Romans will help us understand the purpose of this remarkable letter, likely written from Corinth during Paul's third missionary journey, around A.D. 57.
___Apostle of grace
___In the introduction (1:1-7), Paul identifies himself by referring to his call from Christ to become an "apostle" to the Gentiles (1:5; Acts 18:6; Galatians 2:9). An apostle is one who has been sent and receives authority from the one who commands. Notice that Paul immediately proclaims that his authority (apostleship) is bound together with his obedience in the matter of servanthood (1:1).
___No doubt, Paul's view of authority through servanthood (slavery) was a strange concept to the people of the first century, especially to the inhabitants of Rome, where citizenship and freedom were cherished possessions.
___Rome was the center of the greatest civil and military power on earth. Rome's magnificent buildings and impressive commercialism were unequalled. Beautiful statues of gods and goddesses, conquering generals and great emperors lined the well-kept thoroughfares. Imagine that you are a free citizen of this awesome city. Now read the first three words of this letter: "Paul, a slave ... ." The great missionary does not fear the paradox of a "slave" preaching "freedom." Paul refers to himself as a "bond servant" of Jesus Christ and then declares that only in servanthood do we find complete liberty (1:16). With the humiliation of slavery comes the exaltation of the gift of eternal life. We share this gift with our Lord who, himself, was resurrected from the dead (1:4).
___With equal boldness Paul declares he did not seek apostleship but was "called." Few believers have had as dramatic a conversion experience as did Paul (Acts 9). His conversion and call to preach the gospel was seen by Paul as one event, and the entire matter was given to him as an undeserved gift (God's grace). When Paul spoke of "grace," he did not speak primarily as a theologian defining terms, but as one who knew what it meant to be hopelessly lost and then gloriously saved because of God's redeeming love (grace). To understand Paul's emotion when he speaks of grace, remember that the author of this letter is the former Saul of Tarsus. As Saul, he was a self-righteous murderer. As the "bond-servant" Paul, he was a humble preacher of the gospel (Acts 13:9). To Saul, who became Paul, God's grace was extraordinarily profound, intensely personal and eternally precious.
___Abounding in
___thanksgiving?
___Paul established himself as an apostle of grace in the introduction, but he also reminded the readers of the Jewish beginnings of their faith (1:3). By the time this letter was written, the church in Rome was well established and had changed from predominately Jewish to strongly Gentile. This evolution seems to have created friction among some of the believers as the clash of cultures aroused their sinful natures. Paul wisely turned their thoughts to thanksgiving and fellowship. He did not want the Gentile Christians to run roughshod over the Hellenistic Jewish Christians, now in the minority in this growing church. We would all do well to learn from the pastoral heart of this apostle.
___Paul was sincerely grateful to God for the church in Rome. When he wrote this letter, Paul had not yet been to this ancient city (1:10,13). However, he had heard of their faith and was astonished at what was being reported worldwide about the miraculous work of God in this center of world power (1:8).
___With his thankful heart revealed, Paul focused next on their mutual faith and common experiences. Though they had not yet met (except perhaps those mentioned in the final chapter), Paul reminded the Roman Christians that he and they shared a common faith (1:8), a mutual Savior (1:9), prayers for one another (1:10;15:30), the impartation of mutual blessings (1:11-12) and a desire for a great harvest of new believers (1:13). Paul was wise in establishing a foundation of fellowship. He would soon speak in a straightforward manner about God's judgment upon sin. He would not mince his words. Paul wanted the Roman Christians to know he spoke not only with God's authority but with Christ's love.
___A few years ago, I was a guest preacher in an English church. My eight days there were filled with fellowship and the teaching of God's word. We were strangers when I arrived, but brothers and sisters in Christ when I left a few days later. Even now I tear when I think of my last hours with them. We wept openly. Christ had removed the barriers that separated us, and we were one in him (Galatians 3:26-27).
___Our state has been blessed with mature church and denominational leadership. Have you paused to express thanksgiving to God for your church staff, mature lay leadership, associational and state leaders?
___Accountable to others
___The readers' thoughts are now turned to their accountability to each other as servants of Christ. Undoubtedly, some of the conflict in the church had to do with selfish desires and an unwillingness to submit to one another in love. Someone has observed that fallen human nature always seeks to re-write the words of the old spiritual, "It's them, it's them, it's them, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer."
___Paul uses himself as an example of accountability. "For I owe a great debt to you and everyone else, both to civilized people and uncivilized alike ..." (1:14 Living Bible). Paul was eager to claim his indebtedness (accountability) to those who had not yet heard the good news. In order to accept our debt to others, we must first recognize our accountability to God for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:15). In what ways are you accountable?
___Texans have 41 language groups and 45 ethnic groups in our state. Have we made ourselves accountable to God and to them as we share the gospel? Do people without Christ in our state have claims upon our witness?
___Aggressive with the gospel
___At first glance, the word "aggressive" may seem out of place when connected to the word "gospel." However, a careful reading of Paul's letters in the New Testament leaves no doubt about the evangelist's intentions (10:9). When Paul says he was called (1:1), he used the word "separated." Now at last he fully reveals the purpose of his "separation" and the purpose of this letter: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for ... salvation ..." (1:16). Paul's objective was to offer God's salvation to all who would receive it.
___The book of Romans is often considered a theological treatise. However, history records that when we study this letter with sincere, seeking hearts, renewal among God's people will result. Is your heart hungry to know God again?
___Death and resurrection are the heart of Paul's preaching (1:17; 10:9-10; Philippians 3:10-11). There is no doubt in Scripture that our decision regarding salvation in Jesus is the pivotal decision of life. What does Jesus mean to you?
___When Jesus was only hours away from his death on the cross, he was forced to appear before the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate found no fault with Jesus but yielded to the demands of the crowd. "What shall I do, then, with Jesus?" he asked (Matthew 27:22). In the heart of Rome, Paul asks his readers what they intend to do with Jesus, the Christ. How would you answer?
___Demographic projections indicate that by the year 2020, 36 million people will live along the Rio Grande in our state. Can Texas Baptists be "non-aggressive" with the gospel in light of this great need? Are we not in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-20)?
___Someone has rightly observed that great ships may be safe when they are in a harbor, but that is not what ships are for. Paul's desire is to get us all into deep water.
___Charles Walton is pastor of First Baptist Church in Conroe.
For thought and discussion
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