How many of you have ever written a letter to a friend? Good, then you are all familiar with the process! How many of you have ever written a letter to a stranger? Good, then you know that the way you compose a letter to a friend is different from the way you would write to a stranger. How many of you have ever written a letter to a stranger to ask for money? Now this is indeed a tricky task! If you have ever written such a letter, you probably know how important it is to make a good first impression. Therefore, it may be wise to introduce yourself and establish your credibility before asking for financial support. And a polite greeting and a few compliments goes a long way too!
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul did when he wrote his Epistle to the Romans. Although he was aware of the Christian church in Rome, Paul had neither planted nor visited this church. He was currently stationed in the city of Corinth during his third missionary journey. He was on his way back to Jerusalem to deliver the collection he had gathered for the poor Christians there. After the finished this mission, he planned to go west and visit the Roman church. He hoped to use Rome as a launchpad to take the gospel all the way to Spain.
So instead of going to Rome directly, he sent this letter to prepare the church for his intended visit and request for financial support for his mission trip to Spain. For many years Paul had wanted to visit Rome to minister there, and this letter served as a theological introduction to that hoped-for personal ministry. Since he was not directly acquainted with the Roman church, he goes to great lengths to establish his credibility as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
As Paul introduces himself in Romans 1:1-7, he uses the titles “servant” and “apostle” to describe himself and the title “saint” to identify the Christians in Rome. As we will see, all three of these titles help us understand our own identity and calling to gospel ministry. Let’s take a closer look at Paul’s greeting with the gospel.
1.) We are called to be servants of the gospel (1)
Contrary to the way we compose letters today, Paul states his name at the beginning of the letter, which was customary in the ancient world. After this, he immediately describes himself with the title “servant.” The Greek word [doulos] can be translated “servant” or “slave.”
Either way, the title carries a vertical and horizontal dimension.
Vertical Servanthood
Vertically speaking, servants have a lower status than their masters. By Paul referring to himself as a “a servant of Christ Jesus,” he is admitting that he has a much lower status than Jesus. He could have introduced himself with any number of personal honors or accolades to try to impress the Romans, but instead he chooses “servant,” which highlights his humility. Paul understood that the values in God’s kingdom are often opposite of the values of this world. In God’s economy, humility always trumps hubris. The highest status in God’s kingdom is to be a humble servant of Christ Jesus.
This vertical dimension of servanthood is illustrated by economist John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, who tells the story of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper: “It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. “Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.” “He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.” “Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.” “No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.” When he called the President back, Johnson could scarcely control his pleasure. “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”
Friends, like the apostle Paul, we are all called to be vertical servants of Christ Jesus. May we always remember our rightful status under Jesus’ authority. Let us live lives of humility by submitting ourselves to our master. Despite our human achievements and successes, may we never think of ourselves more highly than we ought. And may we always be willing to follow him wherever he leads us!
Horizontal Servanthood
Horizontally speaking, a servant is someone who actually does something for somebody. Servants use their resources and abilities to help, assist, support, promote, advocate, or contribute something to benefit someone else. Paul had given up his personal ambitions and used his God-given abilities to serve the interests of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He served Christ by serving Christ’s people!
I can think of many beautiful examples of horizontal servanthood right here in our church community, but let me share just one. Two weeks ago, Linda Hartman and Nancy Wilson took it upon themselves to plan and put on a dinner for our Beeson students from Alabama and all of our host families. They spent a whole Saturday afternoon and evening setting up, cooking up, and cleaning up for more than thirty people. Not only did they provide a wonderful meal that nourished our bodies, but they provided a powerful time of fellowship that fed our souls. Sacrificing your own time, talent, and treasure for people—that is what is what it means to be a servant of Christ Jesus!
Likewise, we are all called to be horizontal servants of Christ Jesus. May we be willing to use our God-given resources and talents to serve Christ and his people. This may mean sacrificing a day or afternoon of our time when we wanted to do something else. It may entail cooking, cleaning, fixing, teaching, driving, playing, baking, hosting, painting, plowing, or knitting. It could be something as extravagant as writing a big fat check or something as simple as sitting down and listening to someone. There are many ways to be a servant of Christ! How will you serve him?
2.) We are called to be apostles for the gospel (2-6)
After Paul introduces himself to the Roman church as a servant of Christ Jesus, he immediately moves on to the next title: “apostle.” The term “apostle” literally means “messenger”—someone who delivers a message to someone else. As verse 2 indicates, Paul was not a self-appointed apostle; God had specifically called him and set him apart to be the messenger to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people).
This title draws our minds back to Paul’s miraculous conversion. Do you remember the story? While Paul, the notorious Christian persecutor, was walking on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by the light when Jesus appeared and confronted him about his unbelief. This persecutor of the faith was transformed into a preacher of the gospel.
But what was this gospel he was called to deliver? The word “gospel” (euangelion) simply means “good news”—more specifically, the good news of redemption for this broken world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Paul unpacks the meaning and significance of the gospel in verses 2-6. He mentions that this good news was promised throughout the Old Testament. There are many places in the Hebrew Scriptures where God promises to send a Messiah who will redeem and restore all the brokenness in the world. The prophet Isaiah promised that the Messiah would be born from a virgin mother. The prophet Micah promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. The prophet Jeremiah promised that the Messiah would establish a new covenant—a covenant of grace.
These promises were fulfilled when the Messiah finally appeared—when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, took on human flesh and was born of a virgin mother in the town of Bethlehem. Jesus’ full humanity was declared through his descendance from King David. Jesus’ full divinity was proved by his resurrection from the dead. This same Jesus, who rose from the dead, was the very one who gave Paul the gift of grace, forgave all of Paul’s past sins, and called him to be an apostle to take this good news to the gentile nations. Just as the Romans were called to belong to Christ, so other people in other places were called to belong to Christ. They just needed someone to tell them!
The term “Apostle” is typically reserved for Jesus’ original twelve disciples and Paul, those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus and were called to proclaim the gospel. Most of us sitting here this morning have never seen the resurrected Christ with our physical eyes, but we are all called to be apostles with a lower case “a.” We are not all called to be a missionary like Paul, a preacher like Peter, or an evangelist like John, be we are all called to testify to the good news that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and rose on the third day to offer us eternal life!
Are there people in your world who don’t know what Jesus has done for them? Who do you know that needs God’s grace—someone in your family, in your workplace, at your school, on your street? Will you be there for them? Will you tell them what Jesus has done for you? Will you invite them to come to church with you? Like Paul, we are all called to be servants and apostles of Jesus Christ!
3.) We are called to be saints because of the gospel (7)
After Paul finishes his lengthy introduction, he finally greets the Christians in the Roman church in verse 7. In his greeting, he reminds these believers that they are deeply loved by God and that they are called to be saints. A saint is simply a person who has been set apart to live a life of holiness or moral purity. When most of us hear the word “saint” we think of it with a capital “S” in reference to those individuals who have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church with the special status of Saint. That is not the type of saint Paul is talking about here. He means saints with a little “s” as in “communion of saints” when we recite the Apostle’s Creed. The communion of saints refers to the myriads of simple faithful followers of Jesus Christ through the centuries. These Roman Christians were not perfect in any sense of the word, but they were called to be saints because they were loved by God. It was now their job to live a life worthy of their calling.
And so it is with us today—I doubt if any of us will ever achieve the status of Saint in the Roman Catholic Church (although can you imagine how ironic it would be for a Protestant to do this?), but we are all called to be saints because we are loved by God. As we saw in the preceding verses, Jesus loved us so much that he died on the cross to redeem us from our sins. One of the ways we show our gratitude for this is to live a holy life—to avoid arrogance and egotism, addiction and abuse, dishonesty and corruption, and monetary manipulation, and sexual sins, just to name a few.
Instead, as saints, may we pursue honesty and integrity in everything we do, even when it is difficult! May we honor God with our attitudes and our actions, our minds and our money, and our bodies and our behaviors! Let us live like the saints we are!
Well, as we begin this sermon series through the Book of Romans, Paul is greeting us with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we have been transformed by this gospel, God has given us three titles: servant, apostle, and saint. Let us live according to our identity and calling! Be a servant by serving God’s people! Be an apostle by sharing the good news! And be a saint by living a holy life! Now let’s get to it!