Romans 1:1
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.”
Paul is writing to the Roman church and his purpose in writing is both to introduce himself and also, to teach them some basics of the faith and he also tells them that he intends to visit them in the near future.
He says in verses 11-13 he says he wants to accomplish three things in this writing: first, he wants to impart some spiritual gifts to them. Second, he wants to give and receive comfort from them and then third, he wants to preach the gospel and he wasn’t specific as to whether he wants to preach to them or to those who lived around them.
The interesting thing about this church is, we don’t have a clue as to whether it was a large fellowship of believers or a small church in its beginning stages or if it was comprised of several small fellowships that gathered in homes for specific purposes. In chapter 16 he mentions at least twenty-four people he knew who were fellowshipping in Rome.
I find it interesting that Paul doesn’t give himself much of an introduction. He doesn’t share his testimony and tell them how he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. He doesn’t stress any credibility he might have in terms of either his academic or spiritual background, and he doesn’t say anything about his past accomplishments of church planting or even mention any miracles he had witnessed. He simply says, ‘I’m Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.’ And these words would have sounded unusual to anyone let alone those who were part of Roman culture.
Rome had 60,000,000 slaves and slaves did everything from total dirt work to teaching the children of their owners. And the last thing you’d want to say to Romans is that you were a slave but Paul did because he wanted them to know something of his relationship to God.
When I was a pastoring churches I had attended various Bible conferences where the speakers were always introduced as men who had pastored huge churches, they had written several successful books, they had preached everywhere and had even visited the far flung mission fields of the world and they were also the most sought after speakers and if we who were on the front lines of ministry ever expected to accomplish anything, we needed to pay attention to every word that fell from their lips. Listen, none of them were ever refer to themselves as slaves or allow themselves to be treated as insignificant.
But Paul calls himself a bondservant and a bondservant was a slave but a particular kind. The Old Testament taught that a slave could be made to work for six years but in the seventh he was to be set free and as he was leaving; he was given adequate provision so he could go and start a new life.
However, if he chose to stay either because his wife and children were part of the household or because he had enjoyed the way the master had treated him; then the master would take a hammer and an awl (which would be like a three inch spike) and he’d have him stand by the main doorposts and then he’d punch a hole in his ear. I guess that signified that he was attached to the house. And from then on, that servant was called a “bondservant,” which meant that he voluntarily committed himself to stay and serve for the rest of his life.
Some of the bondservants would actually put a ring or some kind of a wooden object in the hole in their ear to keep it open and the purpose was to let everyone know they were a bondservant.
Whenever I see a man with an earing, I always want to ask who he belongs to.
In Galatians 1:10 Paul said, “Am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” In other words, being a bondservant meant he was in absolute submission to Jesus Christ and to no one else.
So, bondservants were slaves and some slaves became slaves when they were captured in battle and they became part of the spoils of war, and some inherited their slavery because they were had been born to a family of slaves and they belonged to the owner just as their parents did. And then there were some who had been sold into slavery because of debt. So, if you made a poor investment, wasted your money or got in trouble by gambling or some other kind of debt you could simply be sold and have to serve until you worked your debt off.
John MacArthur described the role of slaves when he wrote, “A slave is someone whose life belongs totally to someone else, absolute ownership, absolute control, absolute subjection, absolute obedience, absolute loyalty, absolute dependence. Slavery was a social relationship between two persons where one had nothing, willed nothing and received nothing but what the master authorized, desired and provided.” And listen, the apostle Paul was willing do all that and then some.
In studying this passage, I found three outstanding qualities that are found in the lives of bondservants and they are: hard working, humble in attitude and obedient in all things.
First and foremost, they were hard workers and they had a desire to give all they had and do their absolute best from the beginning to the end of the day, and they did all this without complaint. And the reason a bondservant would work so hard was because they were part of the household and they knew that if the master prospered so did, they. On the other hand, they also knew their place and they knew the master demanded a full day’s work. So, a bondservant didn’t just make the effort because someone was watching but he was driven to do his best in all he did.
We don’t live to work but we work to live but, some people spend more time watching the clock and then they act as though they’ve been cheated on pay day; while others work as though they owned the company.
I remember when Sally and I were vacationing in Barbados a few years ago, there was a man who worked at the beach which was part of this complex. His job was to set up and take down the umbrellas, to serve drinks to the guests and do whatever else he could do to make sure the guests were comfortable.
There were only a few people on the beach most of the time we were there and he decided he would spend his time talking to me. During the conversation I asked how many hours he worked and he said twelve hours every day, six days a week; but lately he said, I’ve been very fortunate because one of the other guys got sick and I’ve been able to work seven days. I asked if he’d mind telling me how much he was paid and he proudly said he was paid a hundred dollars a week and when I asked him what benefits he had, he didn’t understand the question because the hundred dollars was it. And listen, he thought he had it pretty good. We would see his job equivalent to modern day slavery but he was just grateful to have the work.
So, the first mark of a bond slave was hard work and as far as Paul was concerned, there was no room for slackers in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Colossians 3:17 he said, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” And then down in verses 23-24, “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.”
So, the bondservant first and foremost had to be serious about his work.
The second characteristic was humility.
And there’s certainly no market for humility in our world today. There’s a country song that says, “Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Someone said, “People who think they know everything really bother those of us who do!” Ted Turner said, “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.” And Laurence Peter wrote, “Humility is the embarrassment you feel, when you tell people how wonderful you are.”
Listen, humility is the virtue that is the opposite of pride. When someone is really humble that doesn’t mean they feel or act as though they’re insignificant but it means they’re aware of who they are and to whom they belong. After all, all the gifts we have and various abilities were given to us by God, and they weren’t given for ourselves but for the benefit of others.
And a slave is a great example of humility because they never ran around with a pompous attitude saying look at me, I’m the greatest slave in town. They knew they were not only insignificant but they were easily replaced and they also knew that their lives were in the hands of their master and he could legally kill them or do anything he wanted any time he wanted and what he did was his business, because a slave was his property just like his stove, his table or his garbage and he had the right to do with it anything he wanted.
Aristotle said, there can never be friendship between a master and a slave, for they have nothing in common; ‘for a slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave.’
Varro, writing on agriculture, divides agricultural instruments into three classes—the articulate, the inarticulate, and the mute. The articulate were the slaves; the inarticulate were the cattle; and the mute were the vehicles. The slave was considered to be no better than a cow except he could talk.
Cato gave advice to a man taking over a farm. He said, ‘he must evaluate everything and throw out anything that’s worn out including any old slaves that can no longer work. When a slave is sick it’s a waste of money to feed him.’
So, needless to say, for the apostle Paul to call himself a slave was a very humbling perspective.
In Philippians 2:3-8 he wrote, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
And just before his death, Jesus gave His disciples a clear picture of the attitude they should have when He took off his outer garments, got a basin, and washed their feet.
Those twelve pair of dirty feet belonged to men who walked roads that were shared with all kinds of animals and their waste and this was in a day when no one showered and the roads were never cleaned. Needless to say, the washing of feet would have been the filthiest job given to the lowliest of servants but Jesus did it and if He could humble Himself not only in washing dirty feet just before He went to the cross and died for our sins then we all need a change of attitude.
Someone said: “The biggest difference between you and God is God doesn’t think He’s you.”
There are strange things in ministry today and it’s hard to know whether some of the big names are even saved because they’re using the gifts God gave them to make millions and then they live like kings with palatial homes, private jets, multiple vehicles and everything else you could wish for.
It makes me wonder if they’ll ever hear Jesus say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant” when they have spent their lives preaching while accumulating the wealth of the world.
A friend of mine once told me he had visited Wheaton, Illinois which is where all the successful Christian writers and publishers live. He said there was one main street where many of these men and women live and this street was full of huge houses with manicured lawns; but there was one little house that stood out because of its size. He asked a friend who lived there who owned that house and his friend said, “That’s George Beverley Shea, the man who sang on Billy Grahams campaigns.” George was world famous and no doubt he sold a ton of records but he poured all his money back into the ministry.
I’m sure George will sing in heaven, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.”
Someone once asked Winston Churchill, "Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed?" "It’s quite flattering," replied Churchill. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remind myself that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."
C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” And I don’t think the bondservant was too occupied with what people thought of them.
I remember when I used to sing at coffee shops and special events of all kinds. One day I had accepted two events for the same day. One was a coffee shop and the other was a sports banquet and I wrote down the first and forgot the second. A day or so later the guy from the Christian sports group called and tore a strip off my back. The very next year he called me again and I was surprised to hear from him. I accepted and he twisted the knife a bit by saying, “Are you sure your going to make it?” Do you need me to call to remind you or do you need a ride?” I assured him I’d be there and was.
At the end of the event he handed me a cheque and said, “I’m sure glad you were able to show up. We called everyone we could think of and no one else was able to make it.” He couldn’t help but to let me know how little I was appreciated.
The bond slave knew his place and willingly served his master.
Then the third quality of a bondservant was obedience.
And this almost goes without saying because the very nature of a servant is to serve. I think one of the greatest pictures of service in the New Testament was given by Jesus in the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10. Many focus on the Jewish men that ignored the man who was hurt but Jesus focused on the Samaritan who not only went out of his way but he spent time and money on this Jewish man who he knew hated him, but it says in verse 33, “he had compassion on him.” In other words, he had a driving compulsion in his heart to do something and he couldn’t just walk away but he crossed the road to see what he could do. And then it says, “he saw his wounds” which tells us this guy was not only still bleeding but he may have had a few broken bones because he couldn’t walk and the Samaritan knew that if he didn’t do something soon, this man was going to die.
And we see here that his compassion cost him because he had to either tear up his own clothes or use something else to bind the wounds and then it says, he also poured on oil and wine. And the words ‘poured on’ conveys the idea that he generously washed the wounds. Listen, he wasn’t just doing what he had to but he was giving much more than this guy needed.
And then it says, he put him on his animal and took him to an inn where he could take care of him, and we know he stayed and cared for him all night because it says he left the next day. And before he left, he gave the innkeeper enough money care for this man for the next two months and then he told the innkeeper that when he came back; he’d pay him whatever else he owed. Listen, he wasn’t doing the least he could but he was doing his absolute best. He had willingly made himself this man’s servant. And I believe this parable was meant to demonstrate what serving God was all about.
Let me give you a second illustration, it’s called the parable of the talents. Jesus described a wealthy man who was going away on a trip, but before he left. he assigned a huge amount of money to three of his servants.
It’s hard to understand because it doesn’t sound like much but when we translate the amounts, we realize that even the man with the one talent guy received the equivalent of $2,000,000 which was like winning the lottery and all this money would be like a profit-sharing venture where he would invest in any way he could and then he’d share in the gains. So, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The master gave these servants all this money and did you notice what instructions he gave them. There were none. They had total freedom to use their gifts and abilities and it seems like he was using his money to encourage them to do their very best.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, each according to his ability and then he went away. Immediately, the one who had received five talents went to work and it says he gained five more. In the same way, the one with two had won two more. But the third guy couldn’t seem to be bothered and he simply dug a hole and buried the money.
So, the three of them have this tremendous opportunity and two are excited to see what they could do while the third couldn’t be bothered, he just dug a hole, and buried the money. And from that day until his master returned, his life was no different than it had been before. This gift didn’t do anything for him to challenge or change him in any way. His sin wasn’t the sin of what he did but it was the sin of what he didn’t do. He just thought the whole thing was nothing but a waste of time and he said I’m not doing anything for the one who gave me everything.
The problem he had was the problem we have because there are plenty of multitalented people who are worked off their feet while the one with the one gift can’t be bothered. And in the end when the two were rewarded he also got what he deserved and that was nothing.
The most difficult people to motivate are the one talent type but there are a few who shame the rest for there effort. The Oakland Tribune had an article about an elderly widow, who was housebound but she still wanted to serve the Lord. After praying about this, she realized she had blessed others in the past by playing the piano. So, the next day she placed a small ad in the paper. It said, "Pianist will play hymns by phone daily for those who are sick and despondent--the service is free."
The notice included the number to dial and when people called, she would ask, "What hymn would you like to hear?" Within a few months her playing had brought cheer to several hundred people. Many of them freely poured out their hearts to her, and she was able to help and encourage them. Listen, she was simply using the one gift God had given her.
We’re all called to obedience. Letters from the close of the 18th Century often ended with: “I am, with due respect, your obedient, humble servant.” But over time this closing shriveled into a mere formality: “Sincerely yours.”
Listen, we are saved by faith and only by faith but our obedience is the evidence of our faith. Saving faith is obedient faith and any faith that isn’t obedient will never save you. Or as James 2:26 says it so simply, “Faith without works is dead”
Anyone can say they’re saved by the blood, a member of the church and on their way to heaven but if there’s no obedience to the Lord and His word then all they’re doing is talk.
Many of us belong to a church and its goal is to preach and teach Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. We take communion, we believe in the Bible from cover to cover and we not only support missions but many of us support individual missionaries as well.
We are bonified, genuine evangelicals; but listen, four times or at the end of every gospel Jesus gave us the great commission in which He tells us it is our personal responsibility to share the good news of the gospel with others.
I have a personal friend who is an evangelist and he was telling me he was preaching in a small church and he stressed that this church was very fundamental. He said they not only believed the Bible from cover to cover but they said they even believed the cover that said Holy Bible.
This church called him to conduct an evangelical crusade in their town and he said every member was there every night; but no one had brought anyone with them. All the faithful, fundamental Bible believing Christians came to hear him proclaim the gospel to a lost and dying world, but none of them were invited. I asked him what he did and he said he simply turned it into a Bible study on the second night and everybody was happy.
A famous story tells how Jesus, after the Cross and the Resurrection, returned to heaven, still bearing the marks of his sufferings. One of the angels said to him, "You must have suffered terribly for men down there." "I did," said Jesus. "Do they all know about what you did for them?" asked the angel. "No," said Jesus, "not yet. Only a few know about it so far." "And," said the angel, "what have you done that they should all know?" "Well." said Jesus, "I asked Peter and James and John and a few others to make it their business to tell others, and the others will tell others, until the whole world has heard." The angel looked doubtful for he knew what poor creatures’ men were. "Yes," he said, "but what if Peter and James and John forget? What if they get tired of the telling? What if, away down in the twentieth century, men stop telling the story of your love for them? What then? Haven't you made any other plans?" And Jesus said, "I haven't made any other plans. I'm counting on them."
So, we are to be committed to the work, to be humble in attitude and to be obedient to the great commission which was the final message of Jesus.
II Paul says he was a bondservant and then he says he was “called to be an apostle.” I was with Jack Wrytzen an American evangelist and we were waiting for the service to start and Jack handed me a penny and said, “Here’s an apostle, one sent.” And that’s what an apostle is, one who has been sent.
So, let’s say you’re driving down the road flipping around the radio dial looking for something to listen to and a very energetic voice catches your attention and you soon realize you’re listening to a man who calls himself Apostle Billy and he claims he can perform miracles, speak prophetic messages and most importantly he has a word from God that you are to send him money and not just a little but this needs to be a sacrifice.
The next day you’re at the mall and a well dressed pleasant young man approaches you and realize that he’s a Mormon. You ask a few questions about what he believes and his church and find out the Mormon Church currently has twelve apostles.
And then on Wednesday evening, a missionary speaks at your church and says that missionaries are basically apostles, they not the same as the original twelve but they’re doing the same work because the first apostles went out to start new churches.
The work of an apostle was foundational in nature and if we’re still laying the foundation of the Church, we have a problem.
So, the question is, who is an apostle? There were at least 19 men who are called apostles in the New Testament but only twelve who were specifically chosen by the Lord to be the foundation of the church. We’re told in Matthew 19:28 that these men including the one who replaced Judas would sit on thrones in the kingdom of heaven.
There’s been an argument since Paul first claimed to be an apostle that he wasn’t one of the twelve and I think he was an apostle but was specifically called to be an apostle to the gentiles.
The other apostles were sent to the Jews first and then to the gentiles but Paul was sent to focus solely on the gentiles.
Paul speaks of the characteristics of his apostleship in three ways.
(a) It was an honour given to him by God Himself.
(b) It was a responsibility. God had called him because he wanted him to reach the gentiles.
(c) His apostleship was a privilege and Paul didn’t see his role as the head honcho or some kind of burden he had to bear but it was a joy to be part of what God was doing.
When we hear the term apostle, we tend to focus on the authority but Paul wasn’t trying to be the head of anything. Verse 1 says he was ‘called’ and this meant that God had appointed him for His purposes.
III So, he says he was a bond servant, he was called to be an apostle and then third, he was separated to the gospel of God.
The problem we have when we talk about separation is when tend to go to one extreme or the other. Either we take the legalist position who lives by a list of do’s and don’ts and some of these actually goes as far as to dress like they did back in the fifties. Black suit with a narrow tie and a white shirt. And some like the old order Mennonites go all the way back to the eighteen hundreds. On the other hand, are those who say, “God doesn’t care about the externals He’s only concerned with your heart.
There’s a story about an elderly man who was traveling with a little boy and a donkey and on his travels, he stops in at four villages. In the first village, he was leading his donkey and the little boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding on the donkey and so, to please them he climbed up on the donkey’s back.
When he got to the second village, the townspeople said the old man was cruel because he was letting that poor child walk while he was enjoying the ride. So, as to not cause offence he got off the donkey and put the boy on the animal’s back and then they continued on their way.
In the third village: the townspeople accused the child of being lazy because he was riding while the old man walked, and they suggested that they both ride. So, he climbed on and they both set off again.
In the fourth village: the townspeople were indignant because of the cruelty to the donkey who was made to carry two people. And the old man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road.
What does separation look like? To be separated means we are separated from something to something. But the purpose of our separation is not to please someone else’s taste but to avoid anything that will inhibit our preaching of the gospel. And what that is, is for you to decide.
Vance Haver said “We are not to be isolated but insulated, we are to move in the midst of evil but not be touched by it. Separation is contact without contamination. Jesus was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners”, yet He was still “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
There are three principles to follow in the area of separation. One, we are to avoid anything that would get in the way of our relationship with God. And second, we are to avoid anything that would cause us not to walk in His Word. And then third, realize that the purpose of our separation from the world is for the gospel of God and that means avoiding anything that hinders our testimony.
One of the oddest stories about death I have ever heard is the story of Aeschylus. According to legend, Aeschylus was an Athenian veteran of some great battles who had helped the Greeks fend off the Persians. He had been a leader of the great Greek navy. After his service, he became a great orator and one day while he was giving a speech an eagle dropped a turtle on his bald head and killed him instantly.
I mean you’ve heard it said that you could die in a car accident on the way home but you could also die from a falling turtle. The fact is, we’re all going to die but the question is, what then? And then what will happen when you’re standing in the presence of God?
How do you get forgiveness from God? Simply by asking and trusting Him to provide it. We don’t have to beg or bribe Him. There’s no bargain to be made because He’s already paid the price. We simply believe and accept that Jesus has paid it all on Calvary’s cross for us.
Year ago, when I pastored in Guelph, I used to visit with a very old man we all called uncle Jack. He was in his nineties and moved very slowly but he loved to share his experiences and take the time to tell me about all the wonderful people he had the pleasure of knowing. He’d talk about government agents, shop keepers, potato farmers, Catholics, atheists, war heroes and retirees, he remembered them all. One day about speaking of many people and both their successes and failures, he paused and quoted a line from an old poem, he said, “The paths of glory lead to the grave.”
Listen, regardless of who we are; we’re all headed for the same end and my question to you is, are you ready?
