A Servant Called & Separated

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before, by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord... by whom we have received grace and an apostleship for obedience to the faith, among all nations for His name... to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace be unto to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before Paul reveals a single doctrine, he reveals himself—a servant, called and separated—and in that self-portrait lies a pattern for every follower of Christ.

The Setting of the Letter

I have been looking forward to studying through this great book of Romans. A couple of weeks ago we did an introduction, looking at the setting and the various things that led up to this letter being written by the apostle Paul. Now we jump right into it.

It is important to recognize that the letter to the church at Rome was written to a young, predominately Gentile group of people—a church being birthed and established in the great capital of the empire. The church may have had roots in what took place at Pentecost in Acts 2; some Jewish individuals in Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost may have received Christ and returned to Rome to start a small fellowship. That very likely is true.

But as you look through Acts and consider the whole letter—especially chapter 16, with its 29 names—every one of those individuals was someone Paul had close connection with. They were people who came to faith through his ministry, people he had discipled, especially while he ministered for two to three years in Ephesus. I believe Paul was sending people to Rome to establish a beachhead, because his intent was clear: "I must get to Rome. I'm going to preach the gospel at Rome."

So a church was being established, and it already had great influence. As we'll see next week, Paul says, "Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." Because of Rome's strategic position as the capital, people came there to trade and do business. They would leave Rome and say, "You've got to hear what's happening there—a group of followers of a Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who raised from the dead." Paul was excited about that.

When and Why Paul Wrote

As he finished his third missionary journey—his third church-planting mission—Paul left Ephesus and made one last visit to the churches he had planted in Macedonia: Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Then he finished with a three-month stay in Corinth. It was during that period that Paul wrote this letter, just prior to his return to Jerusalem.

His aim was, "I'm going to Rome on my way to Spain." Rome was just going to be a stop on a continued journey westward. He never made it there as he planned, because he was killed as a martyr in Rome in the mid-60s AD.

I believe Romans is a doctrinal primer laid out for discipleship, to raise people up to maturity in the faith. Gentiles were coming to faith who had no Jewish heritage or background. They didn't understand Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or the Law of Moses. They were coming out of paganism, out of an immoral, sensual, worldly existence in Rome—and Jesus Christ changes lives. He transforms us, and He uses the Word of His power to do it. Paul even says in this book that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The Structure of Romans

This great, epic letter became Scripture because God inspired it, and its structure lends itself to discipleship. The first eight chapters talk about doctrinal belief—things Christians should know and believe in their hearts. Then chapters 12 through 15 focus on things we should do. The Christian life is not just about what we believe, but how we ought to live—and all of it is fulfilled as Christ lives that life through us, as Paul says in Galatians. He empowers us to live in a way that we, by our own strength, cannot. That is the awesome truth of the gospel: God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. I'm so thankful for that, because in my own flesh I can do nothing.

Sandwiched in the middle, in chapters 9 through 11, Paul writes a three-chapter section on the importance of the nation of Israel and God's future plans for them. He emphasizes that there is not to be two cultural segments within the church—a Gentile Christian church and a Jewish Christian church. In Christ there is no Jew and Gentile, no bond or free. All of that is broken down in Christ, and He makes all one in Him, because God wants to work dynamically through His unified body.

We still face cultural diversity and the tensions that come with it, living in a nation that is a melting pot. It's an awesome thing to take a snapshot of a church like ours and see the different colors and accents represented in the body of Christ. The kingdom of heaven will be like that—a gathering of every tribe, tongue, and nation. The work God does spreads beyond borders and cultural lines.

Paul knew this tension well. Being a Jewish man ministering among Gentiles, he was often beaten by the Jews for ministering among Gentiles and beaten by Gentile courts because of how he preached. He was even on his way back to Jerusalem carrying a financial gift from the Gentile churches to the Jewish churches, showing the love of Christ—that we are one in Him and take care of one another. That is the foundation of this book: a doctrinal primer for discipling predominately Gentile believers, showing what they are to believe, how they are to live, and seeking to mitigate cultural tension within the unified body of Christ.

"Paul" — The Origin of the Letter

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God...

There is no better way to start a book. Immediately, with the very first word, we are given insight into the origin of this letter. It was not written by Paul's own hand—Romans 16:22 tells us it was penned by a scribe named Tertius. Paul spoke these words as he was inspired by God, and Tertius wrote them down.

It probably took a fair amount of time during those three months in Corinth. Paul was seeking the Lord, spending time with Christ and with the church, and many of the issues he had already dealt with at Corinth are built into this letter. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, as Paul tells Timothy, and so he speaks forth these words.

It is interesting that nearly all of Paul's thirteen New Testament letters begin "Paul and so-and-so"—Paul and Timothy, Paul and Sosthenes, Paul and the brethren with me. Five other letters before this one open that way. Yet here, even though others were with him—Timothy, Luke, Tertius, and more, as chapter 16 tells us—Paul says simply, "Paul." There is much we could glean from that, but I am more drawn to how Paul identifies himself.

A Servant of Jesus Christ

The very next thing he says is, "a servant of Jesus Christ." What a wonderful thing to be. King David said in the Psalms it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than anything else. More than any other thing, the first way Paul characterizes himself is as a servant of Jesus Christ.

We need to recognize that every Christian, by the very nature of the fact that Christ is our Lord, is a servant of Christ. That's what it means to be a Christian. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean that's what we do—it's what we are. We are servants of Jesus Christ because He saved us and He is our Lord. This is one reason Paul says in Ephesians that we must walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called. We are called servants of the Lord; the question is—are we serving Him? Are we practically doing what we are supposed to be doing?

Peter, James, and Jude also opened their letters with "a servant of the Lord." The word they use could be translated slave or bondservant. To a Jewish audience that made sense. But Paul is writing primarily to Gentiles in Rome, where more than 60% of the empire were slaves. They understood servanthood—even slavery—far more than we do. When we hear "slave," we filter it through the slavery in our own nation's early history, which causes problems in our culture today, understandably so. But many coming to faith in Rome were slaves themselves. That was their way of life. They understood having a lord or master over them, so when Paul says, "I'm a servant of Jesus Christ," they connected with it on a better level than we can.

A Slave by Choice

The word can also be translated "bondservant." A Jewish audience would understand a bondservant as a servant by choice. In God's Law in Exodus, if you had a servant you were to release him after seven years—the Year of Redemption, the Sabbath year. But if that servant said, "I love my master; I am enjoying serving this individual," he could become a slave by choice, a bondservant. Paul says, "I'm a slave by choice. I've not been forced into submission by Jesus Christ."

That is a key point. One of the fastest growing religions today is Islam, which is all about submission to Allah—servanthood by submission, forced to submit to his rule or else. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not move forward like that. It is an invitation given to people who are already slaves—although they may not recognize it, they are slaves to sin. As Paul says in Romans 6, God calls those who are slaves to sin to become servants of righteousness by putting their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Sin is a terrible taskmaster. I see heads nodding, because you remember your slavery to sin and how hard a taskmaster it is. Christ is not a taskmaster. He says, "Come to Me all you who labor, and I will give you rest." He is our rest. In Peter's very first sermon, Acts 2:36, he told the crowd, "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When we receive Him as the anointed Savior and Messiah, we receive Him also as Lord, confessing that we are His servants.

Minister, Disciple, and the Honor to Come

We still use this word in a different form: "minister." Unfortunately, we have redefined it, saying ministers are only a select group, and often when you watch a minister's life he is not the chief of all servants. Yet the word "minister" means servant, and every Christian is called to be a minister of the gospel. Jesus said in John 12:26, "If any man serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor." A follower of Jesus is a disciple, a disciple is a servant, and those servants will receive honor from the Father.

What does that look like? Jesus describes it in the parable of Matthew 25: a day is coming when we will stand before our Father, and those who have been good stewards will hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant: you've been faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many things. Enter into the rest of your Lord." I'm looking forward to that, and that's why I want to serve in a way that honors Jesus.

The ultimate question is: have you bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and entered into His service? Philippians tells us a day is coming when every knee will bow—every human being who has ever lived will see Him in His glory and bow. But it is far better to bow now. Wasn't there a song years ago, "Bow Now or Bow Later"? Everyone is a servant of someone. That great twentieth-century philosopher, Bob Dylan, sang, "You're gonna serve somebody"—the devil or the Lord. Romans 6:16–18 says you are either a slave of sin or a slave of righteousness.

Paul surrendered as a servant when he answered Jesus in Acts 9. Saul of Tarsus, fighting against Christ and persecuting the church, was knocked to the ground by a light at noonday and heard, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" "Who are You, Lord?" "I am Jesus, whom you persecute." And then the right response: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" From that day forward, Paul was a servant of Jesus Christ until the day he died.

Called to Be an Apostle

We also see that Paul was "called to be an apostle." While every Christian is a servant of Jesus Christ, the calling under which they serve varies. Within the body of Christ there are different people using differing gifts in different ways for the glory of God, and every part is important. As 1 Corinthians 12 tells us, God gifts people as He wills and fitly frames them together into the body to accomplish the works He has set before them.

An apostle simply means one sent with orders, one sent with a message. There was a unique classification of leaders in the early church called apostles, but others in the New Testament were also labeled apostles—much like modern missionaries, going on mission with orders from Christ to carry the good news wherever they went. Some stayed in Judea their entire lives, yet wherever they went they carried the gospel as ambassadors of Jesus.

Paul's apostleship was confirmed in nine of his thirteen letters, which open, "Paul, an apostle." When he wrote, he spoke with apostolic authority given by God to teach truth, give forth Scripture, and rebuke things out of order. But in his day-to-day life, he was simply an individual sent with a message—sometimes into the marketplace, plying his trade as a tentmaker, making the best of every opportunity to preach the gospel. As Galatians 1:1 says, "Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by men, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead."

Discovering Your Calling

How do we recognize our calling? I am a servant of Jesus Christ first and foremost because I've received Him as Lord. But we only truly discover our calling—which has much to do with our gifting, both of which come from God—as we serve the Lord with our natural gifts, abilities, and talents. As we faithfully administer what we have, we begin to discover the specifics of the overarching call.

Let me give you an example. In high school we had a summer internship program for the youth department, and for three summers I came down here and served—vacuuming rooms, cleaning toilets, putting in sod across the street, planting trees. My senior year I had half days, so after school I'd come help with whatever needed doing—folding bulletins, cleaning rooms, putting cards in seat backs. Then they asked me to do technical things. I had some ability with computers, so when they asked, "Can you build a website?" I said, "I don't know how, but I'll try." Then while building this building, Richard asked, "Can you wire the buildings for phones and networks?" I was eighteen and hadn't a clue, but a guy in the church showed me the basics—and they still work all these years later.

I was just back in a tiny little room, punching wires, serving in whatever way I could. And in that process, over time, God began to reveal His gifts and callings upon my life: the gift to teach and preach His word, and the calling to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, to be a pastor-teacher who enables people to do things they didn't think they could do for the gospel. I learned that as I simply served with whatever talent, ability, time, and availability I had—and then God revealed the calling.

Paul learned his calling the same way. Very early, three days after his conversion, Ananias gave him a word: "You're going to be an apostle to the Gentiles." But that work did not come about until more than fourteen years later. The word was given immediately; the specifics came in God's timing.

Separated unto the Gospel

The next phrase is, "separated unto the gospel of God." "Separated" could also be translated "appointed" or "ordained." Under an individual's call is the specific task to which that individual is appointed. We are all servants of Christ; as we serve, He reveals the overarching call in accordance with our giftings; and within that, He identifies the specific area, task, or ministry to which He separates us.

Consider Acts 13, where this came about in Paul's life. In the church at Antioch were certain prophets and teachers—Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, and Saul. These gifted men were serving faithfully. "As they ministered unto the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate'"—the same exact word used in Romans 1:1—"'Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.'"

What was that specific task? To carry the gospel to the Gentiles. From there they began their first missionary journey—to Cyprus, then north into Galatia, where churches were planted in Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and Antioch of Pisidia. But this came as they were serving in their local church, recognizing their gifting and calling, until God said, "Appoint them to the specific task."

Faithful in the Little Things

Rarely a week goes by without someone telling me, "I really want to serve the Lord," looking for how they're gifted and called so they can do a specific task—often something they can be seen doing. That's not necessarily bad; it's good to desire the position of a leader, as Paul tells Timothy. But you will never come into the specific work God has called you to if you don't begin to serve Him with the gifts, talents, and availability He's given you right now.

It may look trivial. It may seem pointless and unseen, so you ask, "Why am I even doing this?" You're doing it because God called you to be faithful. Sometimes all that's needed is a warm body. Folding bulletins, like I did in 1998, doesn't take a lot of mental ability—it's so easy that now a machine does it. Putting things in seat backs, vacuuming the sanctuary, helping someone get groceries—you might look at these and say, "Really, that's serving the Lord?" Yes! Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we do as to the glory of God. Eating lunch can be worship. It can also be sin, but it can be worship.

As we are faithful in little things, God adds more. That's the story of every Christian in full-time ministry—and by that I don't mean vocational church ministry, but those who recognize that everything they do in life is ministry, using every opportunity for the kingdom of God. This is the revolutionary thinking God works into our minds as He transforms us by the renewing of our minds.

John the Baptist was appointed to preach and baptize in the wilderness, to reveal the Messiah. Jeremiah was appointed a prophet to his nation. Peter served the Lord three and a half years before being appointed an apostle, primarily to the Jews. In Acts 6, seven men well-spoken-of because they served in the body were appointed to the daily ministry to widows. The specifics of the task, which fall underneath the overarching call, are not discovered until you serve faithfully in the work God sets before you.

And God takes all kinds. 1 Corinthians 1 tells us He selects the weak, the foolish, and the base. Can anybody identify with that? We're not looking for people with PhDs and master's degrees—though we'll take you too. God calls everyone in His body to be part of the ministry. Ask anyone serving faithfully how they came to it, and they'll tell you, "I started out setting up chairs," and next thing they knew, the Lord placed them in a specific area.

Availability and Faithfulness

God desires people who are faithful. As 1 Corinthians 4:1–2 says, it is required of stewards that one be found faithful—faithful in the little things. God is primarily looking for availability and faithfulness, because the miraculous ability comes from His power. Look at Peter. He couldn't catch a fish on his own without Jesus' help, yet he's the great fisherman of the Bible—every catch came because Jesus said, "Cast the net on the other side." Even in his daily life he succeeded only when God gave him power. The ability to do wonderful things for God's kingdom comes from the Lord; He looks for someone who says, "Here am I, Lord, send me," as Isaiah did in chapter 6.

The gifts God gives don't come perfectly assembled out of the box. I knew early on God had gifted me to teach His word, but I had to develop that ability He gave by His Spirit. As we faithfully develop our gifts and calling in whatever He sets before us, it becomes specific, and He says, "I'm calling you to do this."

Sometimes the specifics change. The location may differ, the ministry may have a different name, but the calling remains the same. God called me to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. I started with junior highers next door, then He sent me to Germany to teach at a Bible college for a year, then back here to teach at Murrieta and lead Bible studies and the school of discipleship—equipping the saints all along. If the specific nature changes, it doesn't mean God revoked His calling. He's just moving you while keeping you within your calling.

Put Your Name in the Verse

Romans 1:1 is awesomely important—not just for understanding Paul, but for our lives as well. I told you two weeks ago my plan is to finish Romans by June next year, and we're only getting through one verse today, so this is problematic.

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." Now put your own name there: "[Your name], a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be... separated unto..." We should be able, in some sense, to fill in those blanks. If it doesn't fit, there's a problem right off the bat. If you can't put your name where Paul's is, you won't know the blank for your calling, and you won't have the specific task at all.

It starts with saying, "I've received Christ Jesus as Lord." Have you bowed the knee to Jesus as Lord? I don't speak boastfully—I am what I am by the grace of God, as Paul said—but I can say, "Miles, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a pastor-teacher for the equipping of the saints at Cross Connection Escondido." There may come a day when the Lord says to go elsewhere to equip the saints, but the calling remains. We all should be able to put our name here, and the specifics become clear as we serve faithfully.

Learning What You're Not Called To

One last thing in closing: as we serve faithfully while discovering our gifting, we sometimes recognize, "I'm not called to that." That's a good thing. Before I discovered what I am called to, I found many things I'm not called to. I can do them and have done them, but I'm not called to be a children's ministry director. I tend to speak above kids' heads. But some people don't find it hard at all. My brother-in-law Van came to my son's fourth birthday party and for two hours straight had all those kids running around the backyard doing whatever he wanted. I just stood there amazed—couldn't do that! Sonia Searle is called to that ministry, so she's been separated to that work in our church.

There are times you step out, try serving in ESL, and say, "I'm not sure I'm called to that." That's okay—what else can you do? This is why we put the ServeY and the spiritual gifts test on our website: to help us see where you might fit well. One of the problems is that when we force a person into an area where they're not gifted, they get burned and walk away saying, "I tried that serving thing; I can't do it." Let's try something else. Why? Because it's my desire and joy—as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2—that you would stand in the presence of the Lord on that day and that we would all together hear Him say, "Well done, Cross Connection Escondido. You were faithful over the work I gave you in North County. I'll give you much more to do. Enter into the rest of the Lord."

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for Your word, and for these important truths even in this one verse. Lord, in a group this large there are some who have not bowed their knee to You as Lord, who have not received You and become Your servants. They are slaves of sin, but they need to be brought under Your Lordship. We pray for any in our midst in that place today—that they could come and bow the knee to You, Jesus, and find that You are not a hard taskmaster, that when we are yoked to You, You set us into a work that is light but joyful.

If you recognize you've not bowed the knee to the Lordship of Jesus and you want to receive Him today—He died on the cross for your sins and mine, that we might live to righteousness—come and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we thank You that You are doing a work; move mightily in our midst. Help us to see that we are servants of You, to recognize our calling in You, and to be separated and appointed to the specific task You've set before us, for You prepared good works before the foundation of the world that we would walk in them. Lord Jesus, do a work in us, Your church. Make us stand as a city set on a hill that cannot be hid, that people would see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven. For we pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen."