We pay attention to what someone tells us only if we believe that he knows what he is talking about. To put it another way, we don’t listen to people whom we believe are ignorant about the subject under discussion. For example, if someone who has no experience in building tries to tell us how we should construct our house, we will pay little attention to his advice.
Even if someone is knowledgeable, we usually won’t listen unless the subject is important to us. For example, someone might know everything about trains, but if we have no interest in trains, we will soon try to change the subject.
In the same way, when someone tries to teach us, or to give us instructions, we want to know his qualifications or his right to do so. With this in mind, why should we pay attention to Paul’s letter to the Romans? In the first 6 verses of chapter 1, he tells us the subject of his letter and his right to say the things he does. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience of
faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake; among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ;”
Who is Paul and what gives him the right to pen this letter? He calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus. The word he uses for servant is often translated, “slave”. What he is saying is that he is not writing on his own authority. On the contrary, Christ is his Master and he writes with the approval of and at the direction of Christ. Though the words of the letter are Paul’s, in reality the message is from Christ.
Paul is also an Apostle. The word apostle means “one who is sent”. Therefore, as an Apostle, Paul is Christ’s representative. He is acting on behalf of Christ, or we can say, that Christ is working through Paul. In another place Paul writes that he is Christ’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). However, this is not a role which Paul gave to himself. He writes that Christ called him to this position. The implication is clear: If we reject Paul or what he says, in reality we are rejecting Christ who sent him; we are rejecting Christ’s message.
But Paul is writing to the church in Rome. Why should we be interested in his letter? Though Paul writes specifically to the followers of Christ at Rome, his opening words make it plain that his subject is important to all Christians. If we claim to follow Christ, then anything which helps us learn more about Him should be of vital interest to us. In this passage we learn two important things about Jesus Christ.
One thing we learn about is Jesus’ human nature. We tend to have such a high and exalted view of Jesus that we sometimes forget that He shared our humanity. However, as the writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us, Jesus is able to sympathize with us because He has already faced the same kinds of trouble and temptation we do. The difference is that Jesus never sinned – therefore, He is able to help us in our weakness.
While this is certainly true, Paul points out a different aspect of Jesus’ humanity: Through His human lineage, He is a descendant of king David. Many of the people to whom this letter is addressed were from a Jewish heritage. This is a reminder to them that all the hopes and aspirations of the Jewish nation find their fulfillment in Jesus.
The other thing we learn from what Paul writes is that Jesus not only shares our human nature, He is also the Son of God. “Son” is a word which describes relationship. Just as a human son shares some of the characteristics of his father, so Jesus shares God’s nature. How can we know this? Paul writes that the Holy Spirit revealed or declared Jesus’ Sonship through His resurrection from the dead. By His resurrection, Jesus conclusively demonstrated that He shares the attributes of God.
What does this mean for us today? Whether we view Jesus from the perspective of His human ancestry or His divine nature, we arrive at the same conclusion: Jesus Christ is our Lord. Are we truly submitted to Him, or are we still living according to our own will?
Paul writes that the reason Jesus called him to be an Apostle was for the gospel. We saw in the previous program that the term “gospel” refers to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, as Paul points out, the gospel is a fulfillment of promises which God made in the Holy Scriptures through the prophets. But how can the death, burial and resurrection of Christ be good news? Paul’s answer is that, for him personally, it is through Jesus that he received the grace, that is the gift, of apostleship. However, in a more general sense, in verse 16 Paul writes that it is through the gospel – that is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ – that everyone, whether Jew or non-Jew, receives salvation. If it were not for the gospel, no one could be reconciled to God. It was to proclaim this message to all people that Paul was called to be an Apostle.
What should be our response to the gospel? Paul writes that it is “obedience that comes from faith.” If we really believe the gospel, that is if we really believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died for our sins, was buried and rose again; if we really believe that Jesus is Lord, then we will not only give Him lip service but will obey Him. If we do not obey, then we cannot really call ourselves His followers.
What is the result of obeying the gospel? Paul writes that we belong to Christ. Just as Christ called Paul to be an Apostle, Christ calls us through the gospel to belong to Him. When we respond in obedience, Christ includes us in His household. Have we responded to the call?