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Our Christian Identity Romans 1:6-7 |
February 1, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
And with a sizable percentage of the populace still "undecided," the candidates continue to search for that one thing that they can tell us about themselves to make us want to vote for them. And it's been fascinating to watch them try to figure out what to tell us. Which aspects of their biographies they want to emphasize and which aspects they would rather not talk about, at all.
This is the fourth week of our journey through the book of Romans and, today, we come to the end of the "Introduction." Remember that this book was actually a letter written by Paul to the Christians scattered throughout Rome. And since his letter comes in advance of his first visit with them it is understandable that it would begin with a few words of personal introduction. And even as it has been of great interest to see what our current crop of presidential candidates have chosen to tell us by way of personal introduction, it is also quite interesting to note the details of Paul's personal introduction.
If he had wanted to do so, Paul could have provided us a lengthy and impressive biography filled with all kinds of interesting personal details. Instead, he focuses our attention on a handful of facts that he considers absolutely key to his identity. And here's what he tells us. He says,
--"First, you must understand that I am a servant of Jesus Christ. Jesus bought and paid for my absolute allegiance with His sacrifice on the cross."
--Second, you should know that the primary way I serve Christ is by being an apostle, which basically means that I speak for and represent Him everywhere I go. And this is not something I just decided to do, God called me to this work.
--Finally, you should know that God didn't just call me to be an apostle. He's also gifted me for this work. I couldn't do this on my own. God empowers my service to Him.
Paul says, "If you want to know what matters most about me, this is what you need to know."
Now, as we begin to soak in all that Paul has just told us about himself, we begin to see that there is a unifying thread woven through all of these insights into Paul's identity. And the unifying thread is this: Paul has not drawn our attention to a single thing that he has accomplished on his own. None of the things that Paul has offered as key insights into his identity are things accomplished through his own hard work or effort. His complete emphasis has been on those things that God has accomplished for him. Which means that Paul's self-introduction basically comes down to this, "I am who I am because of what God has done for me."
So, against that context, we come now to verses 6-7 where Paul shifts his attention away from his own identity to focus on the identity of the Christians to whom he is writing-and that includes those first century Christians in Rome who were the original recipients of his letter as well as us 21st century Christians in Petaluma who are reading his letter, today.
So, in verses 1-5 Paul says, "Here's what I want you to understand about my identity." Now we come to verses 6-7 and Paul says, "And here's what I want you to understand about your identity." And, I suppose, that we should not be surprised to find out that Paul's passion is that we would follow his example and fully embrace that part of our identity that is not based upon our own accomplishments, but rather on what God has accomplished for us.
Now, I want to say very clearly that Paul is not in any way suggesting that the work that we do with our lives is unimportant or insignificant. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we saw last week, God is in the process of building His Kingdom and He calls and gifts each of us-His children--to join Him in that work. And there are no insignificant roles in God's Kingdom building work. But there's a difference between what we do and who we are and Paul's emphasis here is on who we are. And, again, what he most wants us to understand is that who we are as Christians is all about what God has done for us.
So, let's read our text and see what Paul has to say to us about Our Christian Identity.
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to your from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 1:1-7
Here in verses 6-7 (see bold print above) Paul says that our Christian identity is primarily rooted in two actions that God has initiated on our behalf, namely, that God has "called" us and that God "loves" us. Now, let's think first about this idea that God has "called" us. To help us understand what Paul is talking about here, I want to ask a series of questions.
Question #1: TO WHAT DOES GOD CALL US?
Back in verse 1, Paul told us that God called him to be an apostle. So, is Paul saying here in verse 6 that God calls each of us into His service? Is that the "call" that he's talking about? Well, the short answer is, that while God does indeed call all of us into His service, that's not the call that Paul is describing here. Here in verse 6 Paul is specifically talking about the initial call of God to respond in faith to Jesus. Listen, again, to what he says, "And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." In other words, this is the call to say, "yes" to all that God offers us through His Son, Jesus.
This is the same call that Paul is speaking to in 1 Corinthians 1:9 where he says, "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." This is the call that leads us out of estrangement from God and into a relationship with Him through our relationship with His Son.
So, the process looks like this. Before God calls us to serve Him, He first calls us to say "Yes" to the good news of the gospel: that through Jesus our sins can be forgiven and our relationship with God can be made right. That's the call that Paul is speaking about here, in verse 6.
And that brings us to Question #2: WHO GETS THIS CALL?
In other words, God calls us to belong to Jesus, but who exactly does He call?
And this is where things get just a little bit complicated and a little bit unnerving, at least for some of us. And here's why.
On the one hand, we can truthfully say that Jesus' offer of salvation is extended to everyone. Jesus gives us the mandate to go to all nations, preaching to everyone the Good News of salvation through Jesus. And that's why we send out and support missionaries all around the world.
Now, that's the easy, comfortable way to understand God's call. But there's another aspect of God's call that is not nearly so easy or so comfortable. And we get our first hint of that part of God's call here in verse 6 in this word, "among." "And you also are AMONG those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." And slowly a question begins to form in our minds: "If some of us are AMONG those called, does that mean that some are not among those called?"
And it's about this time that I remember that passage we all love in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, those who have been called…" Here is God's promise to work some measure of good from even the worst of life's circumstances…at least among those who are called.
And Paul continues in verse 30, "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified…" That word "justified" basically means "saved." So, Paul appears to be saying that the called will be saved, but those not among the called will not be saved.
And now we're left to ponder the very unsettling thought that some may have actually been left out of God's call to belong to Jesus?
And that brings us to Question #3: HOW DOES THIS CALL WORK?
In other words, when God calls, what happens?
I think the best way to answer that question is to read 2 Corinthians 2:4-6 and, as we do so, I'm going to offer some commentary along the way. Verse 4 begins like this:
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
So, here we see that our natural inclination to rebel against God is intensified by the blinding efforts of the devil, described here as "the god of this age." The consequence of this rebellion and blindness is that we don't recognize the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Good News that it is. We hear the words. We hear the message. But it doesn't resonate as true. It fails to capture our hearts.
Verse 5 continues, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."
So, the point here is that even though the message of the gospel may sound like so much foolishness to unbelieving minds, the missions mandate that God has given to us remains in force: we are to continue to share the good news of salvation through Jesus with all people. Regardless of their response or lack of response. We don't change our message and we don't stop sharing it. We faithfully and tirelessly continue to share the gospel with all people.
Which leads us to ask this question: if the good news of the gospel sounds like foolishness to unbelieving minds…and if we ALL start off as unbelievers…then how does anyone EVER get saved? That's the point of verse 6 which says,
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus."
In other words, this process that makes it possible for us to respond to Jesus' offer of salvation is exactly like that process that took place at that moment of creation when God spoke and light began to shine into a world that, until that very moment, had been utterly dark. In the very same way, the Good News of the gospel will be forever hidden until God shines His light into our darkened hearts making it possible for us to see "the glory of God in the face of Jesus." What we couldn't see before is suddenly clear to us, because now God's light is present. And God's light reveals the truth.
And, upon whom does God shine His light? God shines His light into the hearts of everyone that He calls. Now, let me see if I can make this personal for you.
If your desire, today, is to be counted among those who belong to Jesus, you need to know that you did not and you could not have created that desire on your own. That desire IS the call of God. In other words, if Jesus' offer of salvation is appealing to you it is only because God has already shined His light into your life. And that means that you, my friend, are among those who are called to belong to Jesus. All that remains is for you to say, "Yes."
Now, does that answer all of our questions about the call of God? No. But, for me, it's enough.
--I am completely at peace knowing that my mandate is to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone. And I pray that same mandate will fill you with a sense of peace, as well.
--What's more, I feel so very blessed knowing that my affirmative response to Jesus' offer of salvation is proof positive that I am among those that God has called. And I pray that your response to Jesus' offer of salvation will be a profound blessing in your life, as well.
I said at the beginning of this message that Paul is telling us in these verses that our Christian Identity is primarily rooted in two actions that God has initiated on our behalf. We've looked extensively at the first of those actions, that God has "called" us. Now, let's look briefly at the second of those actions, that God "loves" us. Paul writes about this in verse 7 which says, "To all in Rome who are loved by God…"
Folks, the point is not that God doesn't love everyone. He does. The point is that there is a substantive difference between the love that God has for the peoples of the world in general and the love that we get to experience with God as a result of our personal relationship with Him.
I love all children…well, almost all children. That I have a special love for my daughter does not in any way diminish my love for other children, it's just part of the unique bond that a father has with his child. And so it is with God's love for us, His children. And this love…the love that God our Father shares with us, His children…is a defining attribute of our Christian identity.
--We are marked by His love.
--We are shaped by His love.
--We are secured by His love.
In short, we are who we are because of His love.
I am a husband and a father.
I have a high school diploma, a college diploma and a couple of graduate degrees somewhere.
My hobbies include cooking and recreational eating. To relax I love to read. I hit the pool at 5:30 in the morning to swim a little over a mile 4 times a week.
I'm 50 years old, I see a chiropractor for chronic back pain, but the rest of me is working just fine, thank you.
I absolutely love my work and still can't believe that you let me do it.
But if you want to know me…know this…I am who I am because God loves me and called me be a part of His family. It's the most important part of my life. And if it's true of you, then it's also the most important part of yours.
This is your Christian identity. Claim it. Discover the joy of living within your true identity everyday.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum