The Greeting: Part... 5???

"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..." -Romans 1:1-6

Okay, so we've looked at quite a bit of information so far... We've seen Paul profess his willing slavery to Christ Jesus, and his apostleship. We've looked at the prophets, whom Paul mentions, and their prophecies concerning the coming of the Christ. And we've looked at Jesus' fulfillment of ALL of the prophecies and His fulfillment of God's demands for a blood sacrifice, for the atonement of sins. With that being said...

Today we're going to look at verses 5 and 6. Paul begins these words with a turn-around that references back to verse 1. So, he points back again to the source of grace in his life and the source of his apostleship, Jesus Christ. Here's the reason that Paul gives... "to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake..."

Paul's calling was to the Gentile nations (anyone who was not a Jew), a calling which he took very seriously and passionately pursued for the rest of his life. Notice, though, that Paul says "through whom we have received"... There were others who were also called to the Gentile nations. Paul then says something that hits us right where we are at, look at this... "among whom YOU also are the called of Jesus Christ."

WE are called to the purpose of spreading Christ's name and glory throughout the earth! Are you looking for the meaning of life? There it is, right there! There is no higher calling on your life, if you are a professing believer in the work and person of Jesus Christ, than to glorify His name and lift up His name and to preach His name to the ends of the earth! Hear me loud and clear on this one... There is no greater calling... We are to lift up our God in highest praise. Everything else that we do is worthless, unless the light of Christ shines through us and causes our efforts to become opportunities in which to share the Gospel with others.

So, when Paul says that we're called, understand what he means... He means that our lives are marked with the purpose of reflecting Christ as our greatest love and our greatest pursuit. He means, and I mean really means, that without Christ EVERYTHING ELSE is worthless.
Also, it is important to understand that we being called by Christ means that we did not come to Him, but rather that He called us to Himself. We were dead in our transgressions... are we God, that we might raise ourselves from death? No! Only by the grace and mercy of a loving God and beautiful Savior are we made alive! From the beginning of time we have been set apart for the glory of God. You were called...

Do I mean that you had nothing to do with your salvation? Yes... Do I mean that it had everything to do with God choosing you and predestining you to Himself? Yes... Do I mean that God is unjust and unfair in choosing you and not choosing others? Absolutely NOT! The question is not "Why didn't You choose them, God?" ...but rather... "Why on earth did You choose me?" God IS perfect justice... He is holy, which means that He is complete and whole, not lacking anything. We are broken... we are cracked and misaligned. Perfect judgement would cast every human who has ever existed into condemnation! BUT GOD... such powerful words from Ephesians (and elsewhere)!

The Bible tells us that God is rich in mercy. Mercy is when you do not receive the punishment that is justly due you... If you were to look at the 10 Commandments... would you pass all 10? None of us can say that we have kept all of the Commandments. In doing so, you will have lied and thus broken one of the commands right there! Congratulations! You're a part of the fractured and broken system! There is good news, though... That mercy that we've mentioned... God sent His Son to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. The perfect blood of Jesus Christ has covered over our sins, if we will only repent (to turn away from) our sins and follow Him. God loves you... not because you've done something to deserve it... just because He loves you! That is why He has called you to Himself...

This is a lot to try and digest... Unfortunately, I'm out of time for today, but we'll continue with these same verses, tomorrow.

In the meantime... Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .