Three Marks of an Effective Christian
A quick look at any newspaper or a few moments listening to any news broadcast reminds us that in our world most news is bad and seems to be getting worse. Especially in light of the recent school shooting at Virginia Tech.
Human beings are in the hold of a terrifying power that grips them at the very core of their being. Left unchecked, it pushes them to self-destruction in one form or another. That power is sin, which is always bad news.
Sin is bad news in destructive. Among its consequences are four inevitable byproducts that guarantee misery and sorrow for a world taken captive. First, sin has selfishness at its heart. When Satan fell, he was asserting his own will above God’s, five times declaring, "I will …" (Isa. 14:13-14). Man fell by the same self-will, when Adam and Eve asserted their own understanding about right and wrong above God’s clear instruction (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-7).
By nature man is self-centered and inclined to have his own way. He will push his selfishness as far as circumstances and the tolerance of society will allow. When self-will is unbridled, man consumes everything and everyone around him in an insatiable quest to please himself. When friends, fellow workers, or a spouse cease to provide what is wanted, they are discarded like an old pair of shoes.
Second, sin produces guilt, another form of bad news. No matter how convincingly one tries to justify selfishness, its inevitable abuse of things and other people cannot escape generating guilt. Like physical pain, guilt is a God-given warning that something is wrong and needs correcting. When guilt is ignored or suppressed, it continues to grow and intensify and with it come anxiety, fear, sleeplessness, and countless other spiritual and physical afflictions. Many people try to overcome those afflictions by masking them with possessions, money, alcohol, drugs, sex, travel, and psychoanalysis. They try to assuage their guilt by blaming society, parents, a deprived childhood, environment, restrictive moral codes, and even God Himself.
Third, sin produces meaninglessness, still another form of bad news and one that is endemic to modern times. Trapped in his own selfishness, the self-indulgent person has no sense of purpose or meaning. Life becomes an endless cycle of trying to fill a void that cannot be filled. The result is futility and despair. In the words of Edna St. Vincent Millay in her poem "Lament," he can only say "Life must go on; I forget just why."
A fourth element in sin’s chain of bad news is hopelessness, which is the companion of meaninglessness. The consumptively selfish person forfeits hope, both for this life and for the next. Although he may deny it, he senses that even death is not the end, and for the hopeless sinner death becomes therefore the ultimate bad news.
This is all bad news. We hear bad news every day. But the essence of Paul’s letter to the Romans is that there is good news that is truly good. The entire thrust of the sixteen chapters of Romans is distilled into the first seven verses. The apostle apparently was so overjoyed by his message of good news that he could not wait to introduce his readers to the gist of what he had to say. He burst into it immediately.
In the first seven verses Paul unfolds seven aspects of the good news of Jesus Christ. He first identifies himself as the preacher of the good news which we will study this morning. He then tells of the promise (v2), the Person (vv. 3-4), the provision (v5a), the proclamation (v5b), the purpose (v5c) and the privileges of the good news (vv6-7).
From Paul we can learn the marks of an effective Christian.
I. Paul’s Position as a Servant of Christ
A. A Submissive Servant (1a)
1. doulos - bond-servant
Carries the basic idea of subservience and has a wide range of connotations. The Hebrew equivalent (‘ebed) is used hundreds of times in the Old Testament and carries the same wide range of connotations. The Mosaic law provided for an indentured servant to voluntarily become a permanent bond-slave of a master he loved and respected. "If a slave plainly says, ’I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently" (Ex. 21:5-6).
That practice reflects the essence of Paul’s use of the term doulos in Romans 1:1. The apostle had given himself wholeheartedly in love to the divine Master who saved him from sin and death.
2. A look at the slave market of Paul’s day shows more clearly what Paul meant when he said he was a "slave of Jesus Christ."
a. The slave was owned by his master; he was totally possessed by his master.
b. The slave existed for his master and he had no other reason for existence. He had no personal rights whatsoever.
c. The slave served his master and he existed only for the purpose of service. He was at the master’s disposal any hour of the day or night.
d. The slave’s will belonged to his master. He was completely subservient to the Master and owed total obedience to the will of the master. Paul belonged to Christ. In fact, he said that he fought and struggled to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5)
e. Paul considered that he had the highest and most honored profession in the world. i.e., the servant of God. It was the highest title of honor.
If someone were to attach a "slave-meter" to you, how would it register? Maybe a 2 on a 10 scale? Would it register your total allegience to Jesus?
II. Paul’s Calling as an Apostle
"apostle" - means a person who is sent out to represent another. In the broadest sense, apostle can refer to all believers, because every believer is sent into the world as a witness for Christ. Three things true of an apostle. (1) he belongs to the One who has sent him out; (2) he is commissioned to be sent out; and (3) he possesses all the authority and power of the One who sends him out. Note three lessons:
A. Paul said he was "called" an apostle. He was not in the ministry because he...
• chose to be.
• had the ability.
• because he wanted to be.
B. Paul heard and answered God’s call.
C. Paul was called to be an apostle, i.e. to serve
Every servant of God is called for two primary purposes:
(1) to serve and minister. (Matt. 20:27-28; Gal. 6:10)
(2) to go forth and bear fruit. (Jn. 15:16; Rom. 7:4)
Paul did not exist to enjoy his Christianity and build a country club with exclusive membership criteria. He existed to work for God. He was sent.
III. Paul’s Power in being Set Apart for the Gospel
A. Because he was called and sent by God, his whole life was set apart in the Lord’s service.
B. His life was for the Lord’s service, not for the service of pleasure or sin.
How do we measure up to Paul’s description of himself? Do we bear the marks of an effective Christian in our life? Are we God’s bond-slave, totally subservient and obedient to Him? Do we consider ourselves to have been sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel to the lost? And are we set-apart for the Master’s use? Surrender to Him this morning.
