Easy Answers, Romans 1 Part 2

 ROMANS 1:2-9

 EASY ANSWERS

You can watch this message here: https://youtu.be/bnMWIHtduS0

 

  Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God -- which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s first look at verses two and three in which Paul tells us God “promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son . . .

Many theologians find more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures fulfilled by Jesus. Here are only a scant few that many of you will immediately recognize their fulfillment by Jesus in the New Testament:

Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:20); He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); He would come from the line of Abraham and then through the line of Judah (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18, Genesis 49:10); Messiah would be heir to King David's throne (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:7); And His throne will be eternal (Psalm 45:6-7; Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 2:44); Messiah would be ‘God with Us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23); He will be the mediator of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-37; Hebrews 8:8-13) and He would die as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of humanity (Isaiah 53:5-12).

Many years ago, Professor Peter Stoner, then Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College and Chairman of the science division at Westmont College outlined the mathematical probability of one person fulfilling just eight of the clearest and straightforward Messianic prophecies.

What was his conclusion? The statistical odds of one person fulfilling only eight of the hundreds of prophecies about Jesus are 1 in 10 to the 17th power (in other words, 1 followed by 17 zeroes).

Listen, if those odds of 1 in 10 to the 17th power are insufficient evidence to demonstrate the historical reality that Jesus is the eternal Son of God and Messiah, then no further evidence will suffice.

And since God fulfilled His promise to humanity regarding the FIRST coming of Jesus, we can now have every confidence in God’s promises regarding forgiveness of sins and eternal life for the penitent and obedient follower of Jesus.

That’s why the writer to the Hebrews tells us “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus . . . .let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith . . . . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

Are you reluctant or fearful to come before your most merciful Father in heaven?  Please, don’t be. He is even now holding out His arms to you who desire to come with penitent and humble hearts. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son whose father ran out to meet him when he saw him off in the distance. In the same way, YOUR heavenly Father runs to meet YOU – He runs to meet ALL who come humbly to ask Him in prayer for forgiveness.

Let’s move now to the next point, and we will spend even less time with this one because I talk about the evidence and the significance of the physical resurrection of Jesus many times during the years in my sermons and Bible studies.

So, let me only and simply quote again what St. Paul wrote in this first chapter, saying Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.”

The physical resurrection of Jesus is God’s final and unyielding proof that everything Jesus said about Himself and about the forgiveness of sins, of eternal life and eternal judgment – it’s all true. To the last syllable, it is all true.

Do YOU believe what Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus? “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26).

Please hear me. If the Lord Jesus did not physically rise from death, then all you and I can look forward to is the grave and a slowly rotting corpse. And all our loved ones who followed Jesus, if the resurrection is a fairy tale, then they too had nothing eternal and beautiful to look forward to.  But let me say it loudly and clearly one more time:

Jesus physically came out of that tomb on the third day. He killed death. He stomped on the head of Satan in fulfillment of the prophecy as far back as Genesis 3:15. And all who are children of God through their obedient faith in Messiah Jesus have eternal life on the other side of the grave.

And now the next point – the heart of my message today:

Paul writes in verse six: “Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.” Five verses earlier, in verse one, Paul used the same word when he wrote of himself as being “called by God as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”

Clearly not everyone is called to be an apostle, or a teacher, or a pastor. God tells us that much in, for example, the fourth chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:11-15)  “And [God] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.”

But although God calls some to the roles of professional clergy, God calls EVERYONE who names the name of Jesus to share the good news of Christ with others. For example, Stephen and Philip were waiters (Acts 6, 7 and Acts 8). Barnabas was a businessman (4). Aquilla was a tentmaker (Acts 18). Romans 16 lists no less than two dozen lay persons who helped Paul in his work for Christ in their localities. And besides our calling to tell others about hope and forgiveness in Jesus, God also calls EVERYONE to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. We find that in Ephesians chapter four, which I will read to you in a moment.

And how do I know that YOU are called to faith and eternal life? That’s easy. If you’re breathing, you are called by God to faith and eternal life. But because we have free will, we can welcome the call – or we can reject the call.

And then the question arises – WHY has He called us? That answer is also an easy one: Because He loves us. Let me make this personal – God called you because He loves YOU.

We say that a lot, don’t we? God loves you. God loves me. But I’m convinced that with our finite minds we cannot begin to comprehend the full length and breadth and height and depth of His love for us.

The closest perhaps we can come to such an understanding is to know the love of a mother for her child snuggled against her breast. But Scripture tells us, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but [God says] I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands . . .”. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

But even the love of a mother for her nursing child is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to comparing God’s fathomless love for you.

Listen, our Lover in heaven calls us to Himself because He longs for us to be in intimate relationship with Himself. Which brings us to yet another question related to God’s call to us:

How then should we live in response to His call? Well, the answer to that one is also easy. Here is only one of a multitude of texts to demonstrate the answer. This one is from Ephesians 4 – I mentioned it earlier only briefly. 

Paul writes: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Walking in love.

Some time ago, I heard about a man with a reputation for great piety. During the season of Lent, he went to his church every day, day after day, to pray and meditate at the stations of the cross that were displayed on the walls of the church.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Stations of the Cross, they depict the last hours of Jesus’ life – usually displayed in a series of paintings, carvings, or sculptures. The traditional Stations includes scenes such as Jesus before Pilate; Jesus carrying His cross; Another illustrates Him falling along the road to Calvary; Another, being stripped of His clothing; Another, dying on the cross, and another being placed in the tomb.

So, every day the pious man stopped at each station to pray and meditate – every station except one in particular. His pastor, after observing this for several days, asked him why he always skipped that one specific station. The man answered: “I know the person who painted this station, and I hate him. I don’t want to be reminded of him.”

Let me read that portion of today’s text once more: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Can we hate another – ANY OTHER – and expect God to forgive OUR sins? If you think even for a nanosecond that we CAN, or that we can refuse to forgive another, and still expect God to forgive us – then you simply do not understand the Scriptures, or God’s requirements.

Many Christians are familiar with the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6. Do you remember this verse? “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

But the Lord adds this ominous warning two verses later: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

And as to punctuate that warning, God tells us through the apostle John: “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20)

All Christians are called by God to reflect Jesus in all that we do, say, and think. But if we choose to live otherwise, we sin. And our sin must be dealt with through confession and repentance – meaning a turning from our sin.

I need to bring this message to a close, so I hurry now to the last verse of today’s text. Paul writes in verse seven: “To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called saints . . ..”

Did you know God calls us to be saints? The Greek word means to be ‘holy’ – it means to be separated to God in active obedience to His word. The word is never used in the New Testament to describe super-dooper Christians. It’s used for average, ordinary, regular people like you and me – sinners bought with the blood of Jesus and who strive to do His will.

So, how can we live holy lives, saintly lives? That’s easy to answer (admittedly not so easy to do):

First, believe the prophets who all spoke of the coming Messiah. Second, believe the resurrection of Jesus is not only an historical reality, but that His resurrection ASSURES all Christians that we, too, will be physically resurrected from death. And third, God has called you to Himself, so live a life worthy of that calling – with humility, with gentleness, with tolerance – and with love for one another.

We continue next time in this first chapter of Romans.