Romans 1:1 - Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart unto the gospel of God,
Do you have a desire to be a dynamic believer in Jesus Christ?
To be the real thing instead of playing religious games?
Years ago the Emperor of China had a famous orchestra.
One particular member of the group did not have any real musical talent but had simply weaseled his way into as a member.
During the concerts he would always pretend to play but loved the attention and the money he was paid.
One day the Emperor had a idea. He wanted to have each member of the Orchestra play him a special solo performance. The man whose life was only pretend realized he couldn’t escape having to admit his lie and ended up committing suicide.
This event coined the phrase we still use today of being unwilling to ‘face the music’.
Are you the real thing? What if your Christianity became a solo act? ‘Give your testimony’ ‘Share your faith’….one day we will all stand before Jesus the King and give a solo performance!
•PAUL WAS THE REAL DEAL: Romans describes the genuine Christian life and what it is all about; It answers questions like…
1) What is sin?
2) How is a person saved?
3) How do I live life by the Spirit’s power?
4) What about spiritual gifts? Genuine surrender?
I believe every Christian desires to live a successful Christian life. Yet many of us have blown it. The devil discourages us because of our many failings.
We want to serve God but find it so difficult to consistently live the way we know we should. Paul was a successful Christian.
In the first verse of Romans we find some characteristics of Paul’s life that made him successful. Characteristics of a successful
We are beginning a new study and I promise that if you give yourself to learning the truths of this book your life and the life of this church will not be the same when we are done.
Not a simple book although the ROMAN ROAD is used to lead to salvation
Paul wrote because he could not physically go to Rome where a church had formed and wanted to explain the Christian life and essential Christian principles.
Our benefit that Paul wrote instead of went: wrote from Corinth which was one of the most wicked cities of his day. 55-56 A.D.
ROMANS’ IMPACT THROUGHOUT HISTORY
AUGUSTINE(386) – Sitting in the garden of a friend and was upset over his sinful life. Heard a little girl’s voice from the other side of a wall singing ‘Tolelego’ take up and read.
He looked around and saw a scroll which had been left. Opened it and read the 13th chapter of the Book of Romans, ‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh with regard to it’s lusts’.
MARTIN LUTHER(1511) – Augustinian monk who was teaching a class on Romans and read 1:17, ‘The just shall live by faith’. WORKS RELIGION: Indulgences Sacrament
Made right before God without any action we do but by simple faith.
Brand new truth to him and changed him and let to the Protestant Revival.
JOHN BUNYAN – Sitting in a Bedford jail with the Book of Romans. Bunyan puts the themes of Romans in allegory through a book called Pilgrim’s Progress.
JOHN WESLEY(1700’s) – Came to Georgia as a missionary to the American Indians. Failed miserably and came to the conclusion that he was not saved. ‘I came to America to convert the Indians but who will convert me?’
Return trip: Storm – sailors panic – Moravians praying and praising.
Some time later while walking down Aldersgate street – reading Luther’s preface to Romans and heard 1:17 – ‘heart strangely warmed’.
If the Bible could only contain one book I would choose ROMANS
THEME: Righteousness of God and subtitle is The Total Depravity of Man
2cnd Century description: Short, bald, hook-nosed, had an eye disease and was not an eloquent speaker:
God used him to change the world – may think you have nothing much to offer.
One verse this morning: Description of Paul given by himself. Not a physical description: How would you describe yourself? Clues to why Paul was such a dynamic Christian.
1) No physical characteristics mentioned nor vocation or age: Hard to pick out of a police lineup described this way.
Three Important Truths(Keys to success in the Christian life) MASTER MISSION MESSAGE
A MAN WHO KNEW HIS MASTER Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus…
1. BONDSERVANT:
Unique word for slavery: English language has 26,000 words and you would be shocked at how few of them we really use in conversation but the Greek has about 122,000 different words to chose from. Paul chose a very specific word to describe himself: DOULOS
Jewish slavery was unique: Debt related – Exodus 21 – Jew only a slave to fellow Jew for 7 years or year of Jubilee
At that point a decision: Slaves choice to stay a slave: doorpost/Awe/stigmata
Sign that he has forsaken his own free will
Marketplace observation: ‘what a wonderful master’
It is said that someone followed Mother Teresa around Calcutta watching her minister to the sick and poor people, many of whom were in a leprous condition. The person was repulsed and said, "I wouldn't do this for a million dollars!"
Mother Teresa replied, "Neither would I, but I would do it for Jesus for nothing."
We live in a day where few in the Christian world understand this world. The expectations of the average church goer is now very far removed from this idea.
Excerpt from book with Forward by David Platt who wrote RADICAL.
The book is by Mark Devers and is called the Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
So, how’s it going? Did you get enough sleep last night? Did you have trouble finding a good parking place this morning? Were the doors clearly marked? Did the people welcome you as you came in? Did the building seem nice and neat? I wonder, did the church’s name make it more difficult for you to decide whether to come in? Or maybe that was part of the reason why you decided to come in. Any trouble dropping the kids off? And what do you think about the stained glass? It’s really pretty, isn’t it? Then again, maybe it’s a little too traditional for you. Are the pews comfortable? Do you have a good view of all the activities from where you are sitting? Can you see clearly? Can you hear okay? Is it warm enough for you right now? Do you feel pretty comfortable?
And how about the bulletin? Nice, clear, simple, pretty straightforward? Not too complicated. Did you notice all the announcements in it? There are a lot of them, aren’t there? Probably more than you’ve even read. Of course, it’s easy to read, but I guess the print is kind of small, isn’t it?
And what about the people sitting around you? Are they the kind you like to go to church with? Yeah, I know you’re too nervous to look around you right now, but you know who they are. What do you think? Are they the right age? Are they the right race? Are they the right social class? Are they just like you?
And what about the service so far? Have the leaders seemed informed, yet not know-it-alls? Competent, yet not overbearing? There weren’t too many announcements were there? Have the prayers been involving? Have they engaged your heart and mind? It is a bit unusual these days to read so much Scripture in church, isn’t it?
And of course, there’s the music. We’re still trying to get some things worked out, as you can tell—contemporary or traditional, classical or more modern and informal. As with every other church in America this very morning, there are probably some people who have come to this church in the past who this morning are out looking at other churches because they would like a different musical experience. And there are probably some people who are still here because they like this musical experience.
And how’s it been for you with the offering? Can you believe that? They actually took up an offering in public with visitors and all! That is the kind of thing they tell you in seminary these days you should never do. How did it make you feel? Did it make you feel that the church is full of a bunch of money-grubbing people who just want to get from you when you come?
And now, of course, well, you know what’s coming now. Maybe it has already begun: the sermon! For some people, this is what you just have to sit through to get to maybe some more singing, or meeting and talking to people afterwards. The preacher does have a difficult job, doesn’t he? He has to be someone that you feel you could relate to and talk with and let your hair down with or trust in some measure. But he needs to seem holy, too. But not too holy. He needs to be knowledgeable, but not too knowledgeable. He needs to be confident, but not too confident. He needs to be compassionate, but not too compassionate. And his sermon needs to be good enough, relevant enough, entertaining and engaging enough, and certainly short enough.
There is so much to consider when you are evaluating a church, isn’t there? There are so many different things to think of and, as much as Americans we have to evaluate churches. It happens all the time.
We have to ask ourselves what makes a really good church. You would be amazed at how widely the answers vary. They range from friendliness to financial planning to pristine bathrooms to pleasant surroundings to vibrant music to being sensitive to visitors to plentiful parking to exciting children’s programs to elaborate Sunday school options to the right computer software or clear signs to uniform congregations. You will find books written and sold that advocate all of those things as the keys to a good church. You’ll find experts who will tell you the answer is everything from how religion-free your language is to how invisible your membership requirements are. So, what do you think? Are secure nurseries and sparkling bathrooms, exciting music and look-alike congregations really the way to church growth and church health? Is that really what makes a good church?
Where would Paul fit into our mindset today? Slave? Nobody thinks of themselves as a slave to Christ anymore. Jesus is to serve us, isn’t He? Sunday morning is about me, isn’t it?
When Paul introduced himself as a doulos/slave it was a term of derision:
In Rome there were about 600.000 in a population of 1 million
Paul could have said ‘Paul a citizen of Rome’
You ever have anyone look at a picture of you and tell you it looks nothing like you? Maybe you went to glamour shots and got made up to the maximum and had your picture taken? Maybe you are a Hollywood type who airbrushes their photos so they don’t look like the rest of us.
You ever see those magazines at the grocery store checkout that have ‘Stars without Makeup’. I think they look worse than the rest of us.
I have with me a picture of you today. At least most of you in here would say it is supposed to be a picture of you. This book is supposed to contain a depiction of what a true believer in Jesus looks like. Does it look like you?
Paul carried a good likeness to it, do you look like Paul?
Paul described himself as a slave of Christ
Not resisting God’s authority is a huge secret to living a successful Christian life. Trusting Him without trying to call the shots or set the agenda for your life.
Not doubting or second judging His will and ways but learning to trust Him.
Luke 13 ‘How I would have ______ but you would not’….
List of God’s ‘would haves’ for our lives and I am not sure I want to ever see that list.
There is a wonderful line from the movie Hook. In that movie Robin Williams plays a Peter Pan who grew up. In the process of growing up he lost the memory of his real identity and of his adventures in Neverland.
He is now married with children and has become Peter Banning, a busy executive with more time for his cellular phone than for his children.
When he and his family return to England to visit Granny Wendy, something horrible happens. Captain Hook secretly steals his children and takes them back to Neverland in order to provoke a confrontation with Peter Pan. As Granny Wendy attempts to explain to Peter Banning that he should fly away to Neverland and rescue his children, he is confused.
Fly away to Neverland? How could he do that? What is she talking about?
She looks directly at him and whispers, "Peter, dear- don't you know who you are?" A fantastic line! It's the key to everything!
What Peter really needed was to know his real identity.
You see, once you know who you really are then you know how you should act.
A MAN WHO KNEW HIS MISSION
Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called to be an APOSTLE
Second description Paul gave of himself Lit. Called Apostle(to be not in the original)
Summoned for a very important task: Apostolic boat/commission for specific use
My relationship of being a servant/slave/doulos had placed upon my life an extremely important calling.
World desires to pull us aside to its priorities instead of God’s (squeeze us into it’s mold Rom 12) exhaust us with its priorities/waste our years on its ways
KEY: Use to punch holes/screwdriver/pick teeth or other parts.
Lots of potential uses but only one real purpose.
Designed with personality(ridges/cuts) for only one lock.
May find a key and have no idea what to do with it. Use it for all these other reasons but never discover the real purpose it was made for.
Keys on keychain that not sure what they are for but don’t throw them away because some day I might discover their use. Some here in church today and not sure why God made you but just keep going hoping to someday discover your real purpose
Can keep yourself busy with many other things but to miss God’s calling is tragic.
WHERE ARE MY KEYS? Not where supposed to be.
God must ask the same question
Every time I preach I am reminded that God has a sense of humor.
The farthest possible thing I ever imagined for my life.
Shows how far on my own I was missing what God had designed me for.
While walking on an Australian Beach I began a process of surrender to God on His terms and allowed Him to lead me to wherever His will was for my life.
WHEN THE LEVEL OF MY FAITH RISES ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE FEAR I HAVE OF ANY PARTICULAR THING GOD MIGHT CALL ME TO DO THEN ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN GOD’S WILL.
Do you have that kind of confidence in God’s sovereignty over you life and His willingness to do great things thru you? God does not use great people but great faith.
HEBREWS 11: List of people who were nothing without God but who allowed God to use them in spite of their fears and accomplish mighty things.
ADRIAN ROGERS: Great preaching pastor in SBC who was called on to pray in a church service as a young man and simply said NO….intimidated to do even that much for God at that point
GOD WANTS TO SHOCK YOUR WORLD WITH THE DIFFERENCE HE WILL MAKE THROUGH YOUR LIFE.
Someone has said, ‘The will of God is what you would choose if you had enough sense to choose it’: Profound statement! If you could see from God’s perspective or vantage point knowing past present and future and how He has gifted and designed you and what will come along the path of your life.
Jesus was approached one day by the man we now know as the RICH YOUNG RULER. He asked Jesus a simple question: ‘Good Teacher what shall I do must to inherit eternal life?’ First thing to notice is he answered his own question. To INHERIT anything is about relationship and not doing anything. So he needed to be rightly related to God.
Jesus said, ‘No one is good but God alone’ and then gave him a list of commandments. The man said, ‘I have kept these from my youth’.
(Must have missed the Sunday when Sermon on the Mount was preached).
Jesus then told the man that if he truly wanted to follow that he needed to give all he had away to the poor and then come and follow Him. I see two things:
1. Jesus identified the man’s primary sin which was covetousness. He didn’t covet what other people had but he coveted his own stuff.
2. He told the man to give up what most of us would have thought would have made him most valuable to God’s kingdom. Would you want Bill Gates to join First Baptist if he gave away all his money first?
A lesson I had to learn many years ago is that we are more valuable to God without that which most of us think makes us the most valuable to God.
My big thing when I came to faith in Christ was sports. I did not see any other strength that I had to offer God so I began to consider how I could use that area of my life to serve God. In fact I didn’t think just running track at OSU would bring God enough glory so I decided to go out for the football team also. I showed up as a 20 year old walk on and started trying to draw attention to myself.
The coaches knew I had come over from the track team so they were watching me.
I did everything I could to find their prize defensive back recruits and outrun, out lift and out cover them every chance I got. At the end of most every practice we would finish by running 10 lengths of the football field. I made sure I always finished way ahead of the others at my position. Then picture day came for the scholarship players. They got their uniforms and went out to the field for their program pictures. I sat in the locker by myself and started taking my equipment off. I heard someone call my name from the side. I turned and it was Jimmy Johnson the head coach at OSU at the time. He had a jersey in his hand, #17. He tossed it to me and said, ‘McGraw, go get your picture taken’.
I thought God had big plans to use this only thing I thought I could do for Him. Soon after that I decided to get down from a balcony to my car without taking the stairs. I hurt my knee just enough to where I could no longer play football that year and could not also run and prepare for the track season. When it came I was out of shape and lost to people I have never lost to before.
I struggled to understand why God took away the only things I had to give Him.
We often try to force God to take from us the only things we feel comfortable giving to Him. But God is calling us to areas where it will demand that we trust Him.
We have more money than most so we will give Him some.
We can sing better than lots of people so that will be our ministry.
We have a big personality so we will use it to impress people.
A MAN WHO LIVED FOR A MESSAGE Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart unto the gospel of God.
SET APART: Apharidzo – sounds like Pharisee (similar root ‘separated ones’)
Lit. ‘off horizon’
Horizons are the boundaries of life: Your life exists within certain boundaries: geographical, relational, responsibilities, authorities over you
When God came into my life He changed my horizon: It was no longer about___
It changed where my life was and gave me a whole new set of boundaries.
He moved me from one to another where I needed to learn to live instead of going back to the old horizon that I was used to.
One shaped like a 19 year old typical American male with no real life purpose other than to run in circles and another shaped like a 19 year old American male with a great future in God’s plan.
One of the initial steps in the Christian life is to LEARN WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST
GOD WILL ENLARGE THE POTENTIAL OF MY LIFE BY THE NEW HORIZON HE PUTS ME IN. I can hide in my fear or expand to live out the potential God has for my life.
My old Horizon had me at the center and new one has Jesus
Before one Saturday afternoon years ago I was my own man:
I would wake up and ask ‘what am I going to do today?’ and go with that
But one December things changed with two words, ‘I DO’
A totally new horizon entered my life:
I had finally married the wonderful woman I had met. Now I still wake up and ask the same question but just add one word, ‘What am I going to do today HONEY?’
Could have lived out years of things being all about me but instead I look back at the many years of family and memories and shared purpose and becoming one together.
My horizons became brand new and it came with a brand new potential
UNTO – Pharisees were separated from various things but we are separated unto one thing.(Religion vrs Relationship) We are separated unto Christ
We don’t have to remember a long list of don’ts but only remember one thing:
MY LIFE IS CENTERED AROUND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!
Make peace within God’s horizon and trust every element of His plan for you.
SET APART UNTO THE GOSPEL: Great Commission to share it, make disciples, be unashamed to stand for it regardless of the cost
FANNY CROSBY: Eye infection at age 3 – treated by a doctor who placed a chemical compound on a rag and put it over her eyes – caused her to become blind.
Doctor was so ashamed he left and disappeared.
Fanny grew up and stated, ‘I wish I could find out where that doctor is…If I could I would thank him and tell him that is was all right, and that God had a bigger plan in mind than any of us could have ever know. BECAUSE I LOST MY PHYSICAL EYES I WAS ABLE TO SEE THINGS WITH MY HEART THAT MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE.
7000 hymns: Blessed Assurance
D.L. MOODY asked her once, ‘If you could have on thing in life what would that be? Everybody would assume her answer would be eyesight but she said, ‘I would ask that I would never be able to see for the rest of my life….WHY?.....I want the first face that I ever remember seeing to be the face of my Master Jesus Christ’.
She was separated unto a Person
So many things steal the successful Christian life:
Live for things that have so little real meaning. WOOD HAY STUBBLE
Missing out on what really matters in life. Not seeing with our heart.
Paul was a man who had a MASTER….
He knew his MISSION….
He lived for a MESSAGE
