1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—
2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,
4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- the way to be lastingly relevant, is taking stand on old, tried, unshakable truths
- Romans: solid, durable, thorough
- a rather "personal" book --- Paul has a lot to say about himself
- two distinctive approaches in preaching: completely without pastor's personal perspective, but sometimes a good personal perspective is a living testimony to God's Word
1) all of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)
2) the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23)
3) God demonstrates His love for us in while we were sinners Christ died for us (Rom 5:8)
4) therefore if you will confess and believe, you will be saved (Rom 10:9)
- went to college, aspiring to go to med school and be doctor
- went to hospital because of sickness, then God moved Piper to spread God's Word instead
- moved to a single room in hostel, to pursue God and quiet time (how have I, in contrast, used the space given to me?)
- Man made new, John Stott (Rom 5-8)
- seminary: Romans 1-8 (Daniel Fuller), Unity of the Bible in Rom 9-11
- calling: away from seminary Bethel, to pastorate
- I, the God of Romans 9 will be proclaimed and heralded, not just analyzed and explained
- a "Blaise Pascal" moment: Fire!
("From about half-past ten in the evening until about half-past twelve … FIRE … God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and not of the philosophers and savants. Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace."
He recorded the experience (called the "Mé;morial") on a piece of parchment, which he carried with him the rest of his life, sewed inside his coat. He began a life-long association with Port-Royal—though he, unlike his sister, never became a "solitaire.")
He recorded the experience (called the "Mé;morial") on a piece of parchment, which he carried with him the rest of his life, sewed inside his coat. He began a life-long association with Port-Royal—though he, unlike his sister, never became a "solitaire.")
how did a former Pharisee who hated Christianity, killed the first Christian martyr, persecuted church violently ----> wrote a book in the Bible that changed the face of the world?
v1: 3 words ---> bonded by, called by, set apart for .... SOMEONE ELSE is in this verse
--- not WHO am I, but WHOSE am I?
- the ultimate question is not what we are like, but Who we belong to
1) bondservant of Christ Jesus
-- JC was (according to Tacitus, Josephus etc) dead! and Paul says that JC is his master, that He is alive.
2) bought, owned by Jesus: we are owned doubly by God: by virtue of creation and redemption
-- to please God (Gal 1:10) "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
~ therefore do not please men (unless it glorifies God)
3) set apart for the gospel
-- from his mother's womb (predestined, Gal 1:15) --- huge detour!! resonates with Rom 11:33
-- God chose someone and allowed him to venture into the depths of sin, later still willing to use him
Leon Morris: frequency of "God" in this chapter extremely high
Rom 11:36 "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
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