Romans 1:1-7 Series

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 all 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.

(Romans 1:1) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set a part for the gospel of God.

I love this verse, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.” When I read this it makes me want to walk around all day introducing myself to everyone in that same way. Zak, a servant of Christ Jesus.

In reality as Christians we really should be introducing ourselves this way. Being a Christian should be our primary role in life. Our number one thing. And if it is our primary role, and we do feel in our hearts that it is, it should be what we say we are first, not second or even last. It should be what we say we are and it should be truly who we are.

Not to say that we shouldn’t take pride in what we do for a living. Our jobs are given to us by God. We should always be proud of what we do and do it well in order to glorify God. Doing your job poorly or being resentful of your job does not bring God glory.

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be looking for better job opportunities. But while we are in the job we are in, always thank God for it and glorify Him by doing that job the best that we know how.

(Colossians 3:24) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Paul humbly calls himself here a servant of Jesus Christ. For a Roman citizen, which Paul was, and to choose to be a servant of anything was unthinkable. Then as now, if you are a servant of someone it is not looked upon as a job that would earn you respect and honor. Back then servants for the better part were just slaves.

But Christ is not just anyone. He is the Messiah, The Son of God, and The Chosen One. Paul chose to be completely dependent on, and obedient to, his beloved Master. He chose to be a servant of Christ. We should all strive for this.

What is your attitude towards Christ? Is He your beloved Master that you desire to serve? Or does He fall somewhere down the list a little?

Our willingness to serve and obey Jesus enables us to be useful and usable servants. Servants to do His work. Work that as Christians we are called to do.

Why are we servants of Christ? Most servants or slaves have to be purchased right?

(1 Corinthians 6:20) “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

In the original text the term “bought at a price” is equal to the phrase, when slaves are purchased. Christ’s death on the cross freed us from sin, but it also now obligates us to His service. He bought us with His death on the cross. We now as Christians must repay that dept by giving our entire self to Christ and serve Him however He sees fit. As Christians though, our service to Him is done with a true desire to serve, from our heart, and not because of the obligation.

(2 Corinthians 5:15) “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

If you are living in a home owned by someone else, you respect that home and try not to violate the rules of that home. If you are a Christian your body now belongs to Christ, and Gods Spirit is living in you, you must now follow Their rules. That means not violating the demands that God and Christ have put on us.

We are no longer our own, we are now Christ’s. We must put away the thoughts and things in our past that are all about us as individuals. There is no more us, only Christ.