Through The Bible - Romans 1:1-7 - Part 3

Brett Meador: We need to realize being a Christian often means you're going to be contrary to the world.
Guest (Male): Pastor Bread Metter with assurance, God's purpose remains through every circumstance.
Brett Meador: It's interesting that we have to be in this world but not of this world. I I kind of liking it to oil and water. You mix up and shake up, but if you set it down and leave it there, pretty soon they separate. You see a line in the middle. That's what we have to be. And how does that work? It's the word of God that will separate you out from the sinful ungodliness immersed in the word of God. That's what sanctifies.
Guest (Male): Paul's epistle to the Romans begins with Paul introducing himself, not as someone seeking recognition, but as a servant of the Lord, called and set apart for the gospel. And coming up, Pastor Bread Metter notes in this verse by verse study from today's word that before any teaching of the gospel, Paul reminds us whose we are, why we are called, and what God has entrusted to us.
Brett Meador: Paul's going to start out this letter sort of introducing himself. Romans chapter 1 here in verses 1 through 7. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Did you know the word apostle? It's a Greek word apostolos that means a delegate, a messenger, one sent forth with orders. The term apostle didn't start in the Bible. It started by a king who was giving someone a task and saying you're being sent to do this, so you're an apostle. The ultimate of all apostles when we're speaking biblically is that Jesus Christ is the ultimate apostle. And the Bible even kind of refers to him in that way. Question, if the word apostle is sent, who sent Jesus Christ?
Guest (Male): God.
Brett Meador: Yeah, God the Father sent Jesus the Son, the two parts of the Trinity, right? And it's the ultimate sending out is God the Father sent by the Father. That's why Jesus is sort of the ultimate apostle. The second apostles you should know is the 12 disciples. Now, would you agree the 12 apostles are not at the same level of Jesus the apostle? Wouldn't you agree that it's it's like a whole different level you might say. But obviously the disciples are called in the Bible the apostles of Jesus Christ. So we we give them that because it was given to them. They were sent out directly by Jesus. That's important. How is Paul numbered with the 11 if you would? And you guys know the story. Remember they voted in another apostle after Judas was gone. I think that was a mistake. They didn't really seek the Lord as much on that one. They just kind of said, oh, we need a 12th guy. So they voted. And voting is never the right way to do things. And you see that in the Bible. Who was really the 12th apostle? It was Paul. But Brett, you said he had to be literally physically sent by Jesus. Well, isn't that what happened when Paul was knocked down on the road to Damascus and Jesus was there shining brightly and Paul says, who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, the one whom thou persecutest. And that's when Jesus sent Paul on his mission. So Paul makes a list. So I'm going to put the little asterisk or whatever we're including Paul on that one. And then question, who are the other apostles? Well, that might be controversial, but I'm going to say it's this right here, you. You are apostles. Why are we apostles? Now, like I said, the 12 disciples aren't the same level of Jesus the apostle, right? I would say in the same way you and I are not apostles in the same way the 12 including Paul were sent because they were literally sent by Jesus literally in a powerful way. But I believe we're all apostles in in that sense because look at verse 5 of our text. In verse 5, Paul says by whom we have received grace and apostleship. We meaning more than one. It's not just Paul who's an apostle, but he's referring to some of the other guys. Now, this is kind of interesting because beyond the unique 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, there were also other apostles numbered in the Bible. Anybody want to remember who's one of the other people called an apostle in the Bible? Barnabas, yes. Barnabas was an apostle. Acts 13:2 and Acts 14:14. He's referred to as an apostle. Some of them lesser known guys that were called apostles, Andronicus and Junias were mentioned as apostles in Romans 16:7. And then also the same Greek word usually translated as apostle is used to refer to Titus in 2 Corinthians 8:23 and also Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25. So there's definitely seems to be room for the term apostle being used kind of on a next level, but I think that's also where you and I are included in that group. The greater group of apostles is all of us because have we been sent by Jesus? Yeah, you know, the the great commission is to go into all the world. That's to us. Anyone who's a Christian, a believer in Christ, we're given that commission to go into all the world, preach the gospel, make disciples, teaching. You know, this is what we're called to do. So in that sense we're all apostles. So after Paul it becomes a general apostleship to the true Christians of the faith. So back to Paul's credentials, an apostle. And then it says an apostle separated. And it says separated unto the gospel of God. We learn more about what this means in 2 Corinthians 6:17. Paul kind of I think articulates what he's talking about there. It says, wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. This is by the way is sort of a quote from Isaiah 52:11. So Paul's quoting the Old Testament, but this is Paul as he says, I've been separated out from others by the gospel. And so this is what Paul's saying, come out from among them. Be ye separate, saith the Lord. Isaiah says, depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence. Don't touch any unclean thing. Same kind of thing. Separate from what? Uncleanness. You and I as Christians are called to be separate out of this world. We're in this world but not of this world. We're not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the Lord himself. He wants to transform us. So we're called out of the world to be separate. Question for you, for me is that perhaps the greatest challenge for Christians in America to be separate from the world? I think that it might just be one of the hardest things because of the way we've been integrated with digital connectivity. We've been integrated with the world. Like do you ever wonder if like Paul the apostle showed up in our house and saw what we watch or what we listen to or what we're into or the podcasts? What do you just go, what are you guys doing? Be careful, mom and dad. The idea of being separate, that college, that university, that high school, that junior high, their whole thing is to make your kid not be separate, but to be fully immersed in their worldview. And they they've got lots of dollars, lots of skilled people trying to indoctrinate your children. And we're losing that battle. People why are our young people departing from the faith? Why are we having people deconstruct their faith? What's going on? And we're asking this question, duh. It's the dumbest thing. If you just think about it, it's not even you don't even have to think about it for 10 seconds. Be careful, mom and dad today and and for all of us. Come ye out from among them and be ye separate. I love how Paul he says, I'm separated unto the gospel of God. By the way, how do you stay separate? Just I think I can. I think I can. No, not that. Not not that. How do you stay separated from this world? Especially you and I integrated so with our all of our podcasts and all of our media and news and music and Hollywood. How do we do that well? I think the answer is given to us in the word of God and it is the word of God. John 17:17 sanctify. That's a fancy word that means separate. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. You got to make your word the standard. Boy, can I just say be careful Christians because man, it's so easy now. You got your iPhone that's linked to all your podcasts and man, it's such a go-to. You can go to all your favorite podcasts and you can listen. And man, they just going to talk about stuff and you're how much Bible reading did you do that same day? You know, it's you got to be in the word because you're sanctified by the word of God through thy truth and thy word is truth. You know, you'll see that stuff that what you're listening to for what it is if you're immersed in the word of God. That's what sanctifies. And man, I believe in these last days I think we're living we need to be sanctified in the word. You know, learning the scriptures which will just naturally, I should say supernaturally, start to sanctify us, separate us out from the world. It's interesting that we have to be in this world but not of this world. I I kind of liking it to oil and water. Or you know, those things that you mix up and shake up, but if you set it down and leave it there, pretty soon they separate. You see a line in the middle. That's what we have to be. And how does that work? It's the word of God that will separate you out from the sinful ungodliness. That's the way to go. You know, it was very easy in those days to be Corinthian and Hellenistic and be all into that stuff. But Paul he saw it even in those days. And we need to realize being a Christian often means you're going to be contrary to the world. It's been said any dead fish can go with the flow. But we're called to be moving against that flow. Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's not right. So it starts with you and taking in the word of God and being careful not to be too tweaked out by all the other stuff you're taking in with your mind. So Paul, his credentials, humble, name means little, servant, slave, apostle, sent by Jesus and then separated which is a key. And what is he separated unto unto the gospel of God? The word gospel, you guys know it means good news. It's an interesting Greek word which is the word where we get our etymology of evangelical. So an evangelical is someone who's supposed to be all about the gospel. Can I just say some modern evangelicals are really not all about the gospel anymore? Uh be careful. I I hate when people try to call me something like an evangelical or because it doesn't really mean the same thing today. Evangelical can mean anything. Watch out for all the terms of the world and especially ones they want to put on you. But the true meaning like I am an evangelical if you mean into good tidings, the news, the message, a reward for good tidings, that's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is what Paul is given to. Let's make the gospel be the main thing. Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried and rose from the grave. Question, where do we learn the gospel in a nutshell? Theologians say in the Bible there's this all perfectly laid out for us. 1 Corinthians 15. Paul says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached to you. So that's where we get this gospel in a nutshell kind of thing. He says this is it. I declare unto you the gospel which I preached to you. And that's what the next several verses 1 through 6 are going to talk about. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also you have received and notice wherein you stand. You're not just saved by the gospel, but you stand in the gospel. It's all about the gospel, not just to be saved once, but to be saved forever and stand in a good relationship with God. And it says by which also you are saved. If you keep in memory what I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain. And then he says, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died. This is the three points. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Now, pause just for a second. I just want to kind of drill it in there. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6. If anybody ever asks you what is the gospel, don't say, well, I think the gospel is it's better to say it is written, you know. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 says that the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose the third day according to the scriptures. Notice the last part I got to include and that he was seen of Cephas, which is Peter, then of the 12. After that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once whom the greater part remain to this present, but some are asleep or dead. So this is just a reminder that the part where he rose from the grave this last part is saying, and 500 people saw him resurrected from the grave which is proof positive by the way. Don't forget this. So Paul is saying, I'm separated unto this, the message of the gospel that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and 3 days later rose again from the grave. His whole life is all about that. Interesting note Paul gives us about the gospel in addition. He says, I am separated unto the gospel of God. You might say, well, shouldn't it be the gospel of Jesus Christ? Where did the gospel originate? Well, you can say God. One thing that we need to know is the gospel was not invented by man. Paul will call it something different later like in verse 16. If you look ahead, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. So which one is it, Brett? Is it the gospel of God or the gospel of Christ? Which one? Yes. Because Jesus is God, right? It's it's one and the same. Very important to know that. And by the way, notice in verse 9 it says, for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son. That's kind of an interesting delimitation too. Is it the gospel of God or his son Jesus? Yes, both. And then there's kind of a third component later I want to show you because it's just kind of fun thing. So it's the gospel of God and it's the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it's also my gospel. How can I say that? Well, Paul did in Romans 16 verse 25 and 26. Now, to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel. I love how Paul by the end of Romans he's saying, this is my gospel. Now, why is he saying that? Because he came up with it? He made it up? No. He owns it because it was given to him. The good news was given to him and entrusted to him to pass on to others. And so he called it my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began. But now is made manifest or made known. And by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. So the it's the gospel of God which means good news. And I hope you can say that like Paul, my gospel. I hope the gospel is your gospel where you own it and have accepted and believed it. Now, by the way, the gospel is not a new message. It was promised in the Old Testament. The gospel is embedded throughout the whole Old Testament. Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God, and the word God there is in the plural. Why? Because the polytheism? No, because of the Trinity. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three are seen in the first verse of the Bible. That's part of the gospel. Jesus is there. Jesus was there at creation. Colossians tells us that all the way into the Bible Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 there's the proto evangelium. The what? The proto means first. Evangelium means the gospel. So the proto evangelium the theologians call it the first gospel is in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 where it says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman speaking to the serpent, the devil, and between thy seed and her seed. Isn't it interesting between the serpent's seed and her seed, the woman's seed? And the word for seed is sperm. You're like, uh Brett, should we talk about that in church? I just did. Now, why do you say that, Brett? What's the point? The point is there's no such thing as her seed. Do you know that biologically? Did the Bible make an error when it said between thy seed, the serpent's sort of descendants, which if you know Genesis chapter 6 and the whole sons of God coming down to the daughters of men and that whole you know, uh I'm not even going to go into all that, but uh thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, serpent, and thou shall bruise his heel. What's this all about? Her seed, sperm. You're saying what does that have to do? That's just wrong. No, remember virgin birth. This is this is the first mention of the virgin birth and her seed, the descendant of the virgin will actually be the one that will bruise you know, it says bruise thy heel means he died on the cross. But when he died on the cross, he crushed the head or defeated Satan. And that's why they call this the first kind of picture of the gospel in the Old Testament. Other mentions Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 55, Isaiah 53. We can just go on and on. Even Abraham in Genesis talking about taking his son off the mountain and there's so many pictures of the gospel. Remember the toilet worm in Psalm 22 verse 6 about the worm that would be attached to the wood leaving a red stain on the wood and like uh for her children. Like it's an amazing thing about the gospel just embedded. That's why it says, lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me. Churches think it bored with the Old Testament. It's because they don't see layer upon layer of powerful amazing correlations to the gospel. If you just read the Old Testament is a bunch of literature, like an Old Testament history book or whatever, it is that and it's pretty cool just by itself. But there's a layer upon layer. When you start seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, oh man, the whole Old Testament pops and it's amazing. Well, the gospel was seen through all the scriptures promised of the Lord. In fact verse 2 says that which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures. Verse 3 concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord that says which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. The seed of David speaks of Jesus being the rightful heir to the throne. Whenever you see Jesus called the son of David or the seed of David, it's actually declaring that he was the king of the Jews in truth, but ultimately the Messiah, the king that would come. So you know, Paul's even dipping into that when he says Jesus the seed of David, when he's saying that Jesus has both a human origin born of the seed of David according to the flesh. And then also an eternal existence declared to be the son of God. The evidence of Jesus's humanity was human birth, but the evidence of his deity I think is the greatest is the resurrection from the dead. How did Jesus declare his power? Verse 4 and declared to be the son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. And if he didn't raise from the grave, then he would have been known as a liar. And he wasn't who he claimed to be, but he in fact is. Verse 5, by whom we have received grace. Oh man, we'll talk more about grace a lot. And apostleship for obedience of the faith among all the nations for his name among you are also the called of Jesus Christ. This some people forget to put the word thy here, almost like all things work together for the good for those who love God, for those who are called according to Nope. Do you remember what it really says? For those who are the called according to his purpose. When Romans says that, people always leave out the. But it's an important word because it's sort of more like we're called the called. You and I are the called. It's not just that we are called. We are the called. You say what what's the difference? We're just part of God's people that we're given that name. We're already It's a done deal. We're the called. We're the people who are called out. I love that. And don't miss that the. Verse 7, uh final verse of our evening, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God. See what he means? He's telling these Roman people who are you know, Gentiles, not Jews, that they were loved by God so much that when Paul would be willing to go there even knowing he would be killed there, he went to Rome more than once being willing to die. And then he says, called to be saints. You know, it's interesting because the word to be there, the two words to be are in italics in most of your Bibles. That means they weren't in the original text and they're meant to be helpful and often they are because it's a translation, but sometimes they're unfortunate. I think this is really unfortunate because when you read this and it says called to be saints, well, then what do you have to be to be called a saint? Why, we've made a big doozy out of that one. You have to perform a miracle and then the Catholic Church will decide if your miracle was really that holy and if you're really holy, you might be sainted and you'll get your statue and all the the saints and stuff like that because of the little to be. The question is to be or not to be. Sorry. No. No. Uh here I've crossed out the words to be and I'll tell you why because I don't think that's in the original. It wasn't meant to be that. It should say it this way, called saints. Who are called saints? You're either a saint or you an ain't. If you're a Christian, you're a saint. So this whole idea of the saints and praying to the saints, that's a invention of Catholicism, but if you're a Christian, you're called a saint in the Bible. We I'll show you all kinds of evidence. We're called saints. To be is not really to be in there at all, which is really important. We're called saints. So according to the Bible, anyone is saved by grace is called a saint. So you're either a saint or you're an ain't. The Romans are called saints here. And so guess what? If you're a Christian, you believe in Jesus Christ, congratulations, you're a saint.
Guest (Male): Pastor Bread Metter drawing our study of Romans to a close reflecting on Paul 's reminder to believers that we belong to Jesus called by his grace to spread the gospel's good news. And before we go, Pastor Brett will be offering a closing prayer inspired by our study in today's word in just a moment. But first Bread Metter is the senior pastor of Athey Creek Church just outside of Portland, Oregon. Each episode of Today's Word Radio serves to enrich your understanding of God's word and support your ongoing spiritual journey. If you missed any portion of our study, you'll find all of his messages online at todayswordradio.com. You can also watch full video messages from him by going to todayswordradio.com. Also want to mention that if you'd like to share your story of how God has impacted your life through these daily studies, you can email us at [email protected]. That's [email protected]. Well, leading us in a brief word of prayer now, we invite you to bow your head with Pastor Bread Metter.
Brett Meador: Lord, we thank you. Your word is in fact living and powerful, sharper than any judge's sword, Lord. And we're just blessed. This book is going to be a giant blessing as it has been for the centuries for all Christians throughout all the ages. May it be a blessing as we go through this book together. Uh may it bring good fruit. Bless these your people they in Jesus's name. Amen.
Guest (Male): Amen. Pastor Bread Metter closing our time here on Today's Word. And that's all the time we have. Next time Pastor Brett will continue another verse by verse study in the book of Romans. Today's word with Pastor Bread Metter is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in Westlin, Oregon.