Sermon: “Called of God”

TEXT: Romans 1:1-7 (page 757 of pew Bibles)

Paul,

a bondservant of Jesus Christ,

called to be an apostle,

separated to the gospel of God

² which He promised before

through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord,

who was born of the seed of David

according to the flesh,

⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power

according to the Spirit of holiness,

by the resurrection from the dead.

⁵ Through Him we have received grace and apostleship

for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ To all who are in Rome,

beloved of God,

called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace

from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

THE PASSAGE:

This important letter opens in the format of a standard ancient greeting. From Paul, To the Church in Rome, Greetings. Of course it is much more than that, since the apostle amplifies each of these three parts to prepare us for what is to come.

1. Paul

Paul was once Saul of Tarsus. He was once a Pharisee, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and a persecutor of the church. But now he is a slave of Jesus Christ. His life is no longer his own. He serves a master. He is an apostle – one who is sent out. What kind of apostle is he? He is a called apostle – sent out by God, and separated from the common things of this world – separated by God unto a message – the good news of God. This good news or “gospel” is at the center of this new man, Paul. Met on the road to Damascus by the risen Lord, Saul the persecutor has been given marching orders by Jesus, the King of the church.

If the gospel is at the center of Paul’s existence, Jesus the King is at the very center of the gospel. Without Jesus there can be no gospel. Jesus is the Son of David according to His human nature, but He is more than human. He is the divine Messiah King – the Son of God. This has especially been declared by the power of the Holy Spirit through His resurrection from the dead. This Jesus gave Paul a new life of grace. This Jesus gave Paul a new job of apostleship. This Jesus gave Paul a new goal of bringing to God the obedience of the faith of God’s elect throughout the nations.

2. To all in Rome

Paul says that his letter is to all in Rome, but He immediately qualifies this statement by making it clear that he is writing to all the church in Rome. There are many citizens and residents of Rome around the year 55 when Paul wrote this letter, probably from Corinth. Paul is not writing to each and every one of them, but to a select group of Romans. They are the beloved of God in Rome. They are the saints in Rome, the “called” saints.

Of course the scope of this letter goes well beyond a small group of Christians living in the capital city in the middle of the first century. All of those church people are gone from Rome today, but Paul still speaks through this letter – and more importantly, God speaks. He speaks to us who also are the beloved of God – to us who are saints, called saints.

You who hear these words who have been gathered into the people of God are the beloved of God. You are called saints. This word “called” is an adjective. It modifies the word “saints.” Let’s take a closer look at both of these words. The word klhto,j (klay-tos'), translated “called” here is used in three ways in the New Testament. First, it is used in the sense of invited guests in the phrase “many are called, but few are chosen.” Many are invited through the proclamation of God’s Word. The second and third uses are similar to each other. They both have to do with a divine call that is more than a general invitation. In these cases the word “call” means divinely selected and appointed. The difference between the second and the third use is simply a matter of what the office is, whether an apostle or a saint.

Romans 1:1-7 has an example of both the second and the third use. Paul is a called apostle. The church members in Rome are called saints. Both are divinely selected and appointed. This is the way we should think about our place in the church of Jesus Christ. We are all saints, and we are saints by calling – by the selection and appointment of God.

Now we need to understand the second word, which is translated “saints.” This is a very common word in the New Testament frequently used to denote those who are part of the number of the faithful – the church. The word a[gioj (hag'-ee-os), simply means holy. Here it is an adjective being used as a noun. It means “the holy ones.” This was the word used for those who were considered to be part of the church, and is used by Paul in another place to describe the child of even one believing parent. Even the littlest one who is included in the number of the church is a “saint.” We are saints. We are the called ones and the holy ones through Christ.

3. Grace to you and peace

The final part of the opening of an ancient letter is the word of greeting itself. Here the Father and the Son declare grace and peace to you who are the saints of God. God’s riches at Christ’s expense (G.r.a.c.e.). Grace has been extended to you, and you who were at war with God now hear the word “peace” declared to you because of the atoning work of Jesus, the Son of God. This is very good news, and it is a fitting way to speak to those who have been rightly included in the New Testament church.

Before we proceed to our application, there is one other thing for us to remember. Paul, the called apostle, and we as called saints, become called because someone else was called first – Jesus. Jesus was called before we were ever called. He was declared the resurrected Messiah King of the saints, and we are His servants, and through Him, sons of God.

APPLICATION:

Something for you to consider… The things that you will hear from this book, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, are not options for you. Paul is not presenting optional ways of thinking and living for free religious consumers. You have been arrested by the grace and peace of God, and happily so. You are in the custody of Jesus Christ. You are saints. This is your calling – THE CALLING OF GOD upon your life. Each of you may have come to be His servant in different ways. But the facts of your arrest are not nearly so important as the fact that you are daily being arrested by the grace and peace of God through the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.