“Paul: Set Apart for the Gospel”
(Romans 1:1-17)
Series: Romans – United in the Gospel [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
January 9, 2022
Introductory Comments:
Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness.” [on screen]
So, we know that all Scripture is good, beneficial, and inspired by God. Yet, there’s something special about the book of Romans.
The book of Romans is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It is rich in theological truth and explanation and it is supremely committed to lifting up the supernatural power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Tony Evans said, “The book of Romans is the clearest and most beautiful explanation of the gospel ever written.” [on screen]
In his commentary on the book of Romans, R. Kent Hughes said, “No reasonable person would dispute that the book of Romans is one of the most powerful and influential books ever written.” [on screen]
The book of Romans has also had an impact on monumental figures throughout Church history.
St. Augustine, one of the great church fathers, after reading Romans 13 became convicted of his sin and gave his life to Jesus.
Martin Luther moved from being a Catholic monk to becoming the leader of the Protestant Reformation after reading and understanding Romans 1:17.
John Bunyan was so inspired by studying the book of Romans that he wrote the great classic book, Pilgrim’s Progress.
So, Romans is powerful and influential and I pray that you too will experience the power of the book of Romans and be influenced by God’s Holy Spirit as we study it.
Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Today, as we get into this letter, we will first introduce ourselves to the book and to the major theme of the book.
First of all, it’s important to point out that the book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the followers of Jesus who were in the city of Rome. This letter was probably written in 57 or 58 AD.
The letter was probably delivered by a woman named Phoebe, whom Paul would later commend to the Church in Rome.
In this first section (chapter 1, verses 1-17), we’re going to learn about Paul’s commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The title of this first sermon is, “Paul: Set Apart for the Gospel” [on screen]
The overarching purpose of Paul’s writing the letter was to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jewish Christians and non-Jewish Christians who were living in Rome.
In fact, the major theme of this book is the Gospel, hence the name of this whole sermon series, “United in the Gospel.”
So, let’s look at the entire passage now and then we’ll talk about it some as we continue. Look at Romans 1:1-17:
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh 4 and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, 6 including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. 9 God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you, 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 Now I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
So, let’s talk about this a bit. By the way, you’ll see that I have some sermon points and we’ll get to those in just a moment, but I want to make a few comments before we get there.
First of all, notice two descriptors that Paul gives for himself.
First, in verse 1, Paul refers to himself as a servant. “Servant/Slave” means a person owned by another. [on screen] Paul considers himself as someone who belongs to Jesus; he is a slave of Jesus.
Remember, earlier in his life, Paul was one who persecuted Christians. One of his goals in life was to see Christians killed. However, on his way to Damascus, Jesus met him on the road and changed his life! You can read about that on your own in Acts 9. So, Paul has been totally changed by Jesus and he owes everything to Jesus.
As those who are committed to Jesus and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must also take the form of a servant. We belong to Jesus and we must serve Him and His ways!
The way of the Christian is the way of service.
Even Jesus said of Himself in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [on screen]
Second, Paul refers to himself in verse 1 as an apostle. An “apostle” is one sent with delegated authority. [on screen] Paul has been given authority by God to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world.
Now, just to be clear, church, this was a unique role for a unique time. Paul and the other apostles were given a special task for a special time to share the Gospel and establish the first churches.
These men, including Paul, were people who had personal eye-witness interaction with Jesus and were sent directly by Jesus.
In a sense, we are all sent today. I like to say we are “apostles” with a lowercase “a.” Paul and the twelve disciples of Jesus were “Apostles” with an uppercase “A.” Paul was sent with authority to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Paul was one of THE apostles.
So, Paul, a servant and an apostle, is writing this letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome. He wants to see them soon, but he wants to write to them first about the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, let’s journey through this passage a little bit more and draw out three points for us to learn:
First, . . .
I. The source of the Gospel is Jesus. [on screen]
The emphasis on Jesus in this passage is abundant.
First of all, Paul points out in verses 2 and 3 that God promised beforehand that this Gospel would come. The prophets spoke (look in verse 3), “concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, the Gospel is not new to Paul. God had been promising that this would happen for thousands of years!
Paul says Jesus was a descendant of David and appointed to be the powerful Son of God by the resurrection of the dead. Jesus is both human and God, He fulfilled all the prophecies concerning Him, and God worked powerfully and miraculously through His work on the cross.
Of Jesus, Paul says in verse 5, “Through him we have received grace . . .”
Paul says in verse 6, “ . . . you who are also called by Jesus Christ.”
Church, Jesus is foundational to the Gospel; the source of the Gospel is Jesus. The reason there were Christians in Rome, both Jews and Gentiles, was because of Jesus! The reason Paul was no longer a persecutor of Christians was because of Jesus! The reason we are gathered here today in this church instead of living out our sin in full force is because of Jesus!
The reason any of us can be saved by our sins is because Jesus came to earth as a human, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for the punishment of our sins, rose from the dead and conquered death, and sits at the right hand of God the Father today; it’s all because of Jesus!
As the Apostle Peter said in Acts 4:11-12, “This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” [on screen]
First, the source of the Gospel is Jesus. Second, . . .
II. The spread of the Gospel is preaching. [on screen]
Look at verse 8. Paul says, “ . . . the news of your faith is being reported in all the world.”
People were talking about the way that Jesus was working in the lives of the Romans. The Gospel was being shared. The message of Jesus was being shared.
When I say that the Gospel is spread through preaching, I don’t just mean a guy standing behind a pulpit on Sunday mornings. Preaching is the proclamation of the Word of God. Preaching is telling people the message of Jesus!
People have to hear the Gospel! By the way, Paul will talk about this again in Romans chapter 10 (perhaps we’ll be there in a few months . . . or years).
Look also at what Paul says in verses 14 and 15:
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Paul said Greeks and Barbarians, meaning those who were part of the Greco-Roman world and those who weren’t.
Paul said wise and foolish, meaning those who were sophisticated and educated and those who were not.
Listen, church: the Gospel is for everyone, which is why it must be preached to everyone! Every man, every woman, every child. Every poor person and every rich person! Every democrat, every republican, every independent, every patriot, every anarchist, every terrorist, every Jew, every Gentile, every Baptist, every Catholic, every Mormon, every Muslim, every Hindu, every Buddhist, every Atheist, and especially every Presbyterian (I’m just messing with them, I love my Presby friends; if you see Pastor Tanner at ARP church, tell him that I love him). Every tribe, every tongue, every nation needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Therefore we must proclaim it, we must preach it!
This was the very reason that Paul was set apart: to preach the Gospel! So also, Jesus has commissioned us to develop disciples all over the world, which begins by proclaiming the Gospel.
Our love for God and our experience of receiving the grace of God compels us to proclaim the Gospel message. The great historic missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, who gave years of his life to the Chinese people was approached with the suggestion that the reason he served in missions so long was because he must really love the Chinese people. To this, he shook his head and answered, “No, not because I loved the Chinese, but because I loved God.”
So, church, let your love for God drive you to spread the Gospel message.
Finally, . . .
III. The salvation of the Gospel is powerful. [on screen]
Oh, I’m so excited about the last two verses in this passage. Look again at verses 16 and 17:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
Church, there is power in the Gospel! The actual power of God is seen in the Gospel message. How incredible is that? Lives are changed by the Gospel! Churches are changed by the Gospel! Communities are changed by Gospel! Civilizations are changed by the Gospel!
In Paul’s day, it was cool to be a Christian. Christians were mocked and looked down upon. However, Paul said, “I am not ashamed!” Why? Because the Gospel is powerful!
These last two verses represent the entire heart of the book of Romans.
The Greek word used here to describe the power of the Gospel is dunamis. Do you know what word in our English language we get from that word? Dynamite! dunamis → dynamite [on screen] Boom! There is power in the Gospel!
There is so much power found in the Gospel that those of us who put our faith in Jesus Christ are changed and we move from a life of sin to a life of righteousness. We can live that life of righteousness by placing our faith in God, not only for our salvation but for our daily living. Paul says, “ . . . the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” Faith for salvation and faith for living in Christ.
Paul says elsewhere, in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [on screen] There is salvation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There is righteousness in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
There is power in the Gospel, church! Dynamite power!
Concluding Thoughts:
For Paul, everything came down to the Gospel! It changed his life and he believed that it could change other lives as well.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Paul believed in the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus. [on screen]
(repeat)
Do you believe that, church? Do you believe that the Gospel can change lives?
“ . . . it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
This first sermon from Romans introduces us to the book of Romans and to the central theme of the book: the Gospel.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Ask yourself what the Gospel means to you. [on screen]
The Gospel of Jesus Christ meant everything to Paul. What does it mean to you?
Take some time this week and ask yourself that question.
2. Ask yourself how the Gospel has changed you. [on screen]
Have you been changed? Have you experienced dynamite change?
Are you a servant of Jesus Christ? Are you living as one who is sent to preach the Gospel to all the world?
Take some time this week and ask yourself how the Gospel has changed you.
Closing:
Paul was radically changed by Jesus. If you’ve been changed, live in the dynamite power of God. If you’ve not been changed, come experience the power of God today!
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
