If Not, Why Not?

 

My text today is from the first verse of the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome. But because context is always important when we study any subject – and especially so when we study God’s word – I will read the first several verses of the chapter:

 

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 saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Obviously, the apostle Paul did not take a composition class in high school. I don’t know how many words there are in this run-on sentence in the Greek language, but in this English translation, there are 132 words. Yes, he used a lot of commas – but no periods to let the reader catch his breath.

 

Well, I am not here today to critique the apostle’s writing. What I AM here to do today is to focus our attention on some important points Paul makes – points directly related to our walk with Christ – and to our work for Christ.

 

Before we get there, I need to first say that I believe what I am about to say is nothing that most of you have known and believed for many years. But as the apostle Peter communicated to his readers, so I now do the same thing: “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.  I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.” (2 Peter 1:12-15)

And as an aside, no, I do not have any premonition that the Lord will soon be taking me to Himself, but – who knows what a day or a week may bring?

So, back to the first verse in Romans chapter one. I want to draw attention to three foundational points in this first verse:

 

First, we ought to remind ourselves who Paul was before his Damascus Road encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. The man – known at the time as Saul – was a religious terrorist. This is not a point to gloss over. Here is his own testimony as he spoke before King Agrippa and the Governor Festus: (Acts 26) “I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. (Acts 26:9-11)

 

Why is Paul’s history important? Because God demonstrates through this man – as He has repeatedly shown us throughout Biblical history – no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy.  No one. Not you. Not me. No one.

 

Therefore, for us to say about someone – or about ourselves! – “There is no sense in praying for him, or inviting him to Bible study, or to talk with him or her about Jesus. To say and believe such things is to deny God’s power.

 

Here is what Paul said of himself in this regard (1 Timothy 1) - It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-15)

 

I hope you caught that last part of this section. Paul, the former violent blasphemer and persecutor of every Christian man and woman he could find, wrote: “For this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

 

That is precisely why Paul could also write to Timothy: “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:3)

 

A clear conscience. Why do you think Paul had a clear conscience, considering all he had done to Christians? Because he knew God’s mercy took all his sins and placed them under the blood of Jesus. He knew his dark slate of sin was wiped clean, on one side and then the other, through and through. Not a stain remained.

 

The relevance to 2026? Do you have a clear conscience? Are you as certain of that YOUR sins are completely erased as the former terrorist Paul was certain that His were gone, washed by the blood of Jesus?

 

I know you’ve heard this point from me a hundred times over the years you’ve sat in those seats – and you will hear it another hundred times if the Lord continues to give me this podium. So hear it is again: You can have a clear conscience, if only you repent of whatever sin is holding you back from a close and intimate relationship with God.

 

The promise God made and fulfilled for the former blasphemer and persecutor of the Church is also offered to you and me – and to everyone at your table in the dining room, and to all the other tables in the dining room, and to everyone who works in this building. And to everyone beyond the perimeter of this building.

 

I love what Fanny Crosby wrote about this message of evangelism:

 

“Rescue the perishing, care for the dying/Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave/Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen/Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

 

Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting/Waiting the penitent child to receive/Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently/He will forgive if they only believe.”

 

Time is too short to miss this urgent call of God who said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel.” How many residents here died in the last 12 months? How many of them were not Christians? Do you realize where those who died without Christ are at this moment?  I didn’t ask where they ‘might be’ – but do you understand where they ARE right now if they died without Christ Jesus.

And how many in Ashwood Meadows will die in the next 12 months? Maybe someone at your table, or at the tables around your table. Listen again, God saved Paul. Don’t ever think God is not able to save anyone.

 

And let me be quick to say, sharing your faith with others does not require you or me to do anything extraordinary. For example, and we’ve talked about this before – do you bow your head before you eat your meal in the dining room?  If not, why not? Are you praying for people here? Do you have a prayer partner?  If not, why not?

 

Do you invite people at your table to the Thursday Prayer meeting, or the Friday Bible study, or Sunday church service? If not, why not? If some have told you they won’t come because I’m not of their particular church – well, they have you to vouch for what I have to say about God that transcends denominational labels. Invite them to ‘come and hear’ for themselves.

 

Brothers and sisters, I’m trying to encourage each of us to help others learn again of God’s love for them while they still have time to learn – and respond favorably – to His love.

 

Let’s now look at what else Paul tells us in that first verse

 

Paul calls himself a bond-servant of Christ Jesus. A slave. Paul’s readers knew exactly what a bond-servant was. Much of their population were slaves. Paul understood he was no longer his own. He had been bought with a precious price.

 

What does it mean to be a slave of Jesus Christ?  That’s a good question, isn’t it? A reasonable question. We’ve looked at this question before. And let me add, if we know our heart is soft toward God, then we also know what it means to live under the ownership of Christ.

 

Paul often wrote about what such slavery to Christ looks like. For example, here in his what he wrote to the Christians at Galatia: (Galatians 5:19-24,26 NLT) “ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. . . .Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there . . . Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

 

Is this easy to do, to be a slave of Jesus Christ? Of course not. Our flesh recoils at the idea of fully and unquestionably submitting ourselves to someone else – even to God. But such submission is God’s absolute requirement for spiritual growth and learning to walk by faith with the Master. Will I – will you – fully submit to God’s will in our day-by-day interactions? We have a choice, don’t we?

 

You may remember what Joshua said to the people after they’d crossed into the Promised Land – a land full of flagrant immorality and idolatry and a culture of death not too dissimilar to our culture in America today. Listen to what he said to the people then – and what God says to us here today:

 

(Joshua 24:14-15) “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

As I prepared this message I was reminded of the hymn by Isaac Watts:

 

When I survey the wondrous cross/On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss/And pour contempt on all my pride.

 

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast/Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most/I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet/Sorrow and love flow mingled down!/Did e’er such love and sorrow meet/Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

 

Were the whole realm of nature mine/That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine/Demands my soul, my life, my all.

 

Paul continues in this first verse to the third point. He tells his readers that God called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” God called him to tell others the good news of salvation.

 

And that raises an important principle related to our hearing, reading and reflecting on God’s word. You may remember this vignette in Matthew 21:

 

“When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)

 

My brothers and sisters here at Ashwood: If what the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome is NOT fully and inerrantly from God Himself through His word, then we are wasting our time trying to learn how to please and serve and follow our Lord because we have no sure word of faith and truth to guide us.

 

But, on the other hand, if what Paul and the other writers of Scripture wrote is from God Himself through His word we call the Bible, then we are responsible to obey its dictates and commandments – and that without wiggle-room. 

 

Let me now conclude my message today:

 

In those first few words of chapter one the Holy Spirit declares to us at least three points of reference which undergird the rest of the 16 chapters of this book:

 

1. Never think anyone is outside of God’s reach of mercy. If God’s mercy extended to the former terrorist Paul, God’s mercy will extend to anyone anywhere on this planet.

 

2. Being a slave of Christ means we have voluntarily chosen to go and to do and to say WHATEVER He commands. But if we choose to not be a full and complete slave of Jesus Christ, then we have also chosen to not belong to Him. That’s a very simple equation. If Jesus is not fully Lord of my life, then Jesus is not my Lord at all. And I remind us of what Jesus asked those around Him in Luke 6:46 - “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” 

 

Good question, isn’t it? A reasonable question, isn’t it? An eternally consequential question, isn’t it?

 

3. God called Paul to give the one-of-a-kind message of hope, exhortation, challenge, and warning to a world in need of hearing from God – not only those in first century Rome. The same God calls you and me to give to others the same one-of-a-kind message to our generation – including those here as Ashwood Meadows in 2026.

 

A one-of-a-kind message: God became human for one purpose – to seek and to save the lost. God became human to call sinners to repentance. God became human so that everyone who comes to Him by faith in Christ’s sacrificial atonement could live forever with Him in His eternal kingdom.

 

His command to “Go into all the world” was not consigned only to the first century. If we don’t go, if we don’t speak, if we don’t give so others can go – then why not?