Romans, Day 1
Romans 1:1 – 17
Introduction
The Driving Force Behind Paul
Many of the books of the New Testament are letters from Paul, including the book of Romans. The book of Romans is different from the rest for a few reasons. First, most of Paul’s letters were addressed to churches he helped start. Paul did not start the church in Rome. Second, Romans was not to address particular problems in the church; instead, it focused on God. David Guzik says that while Paul desired to go to Rome, he knew he might not make it, and because of that he felt compelled to write a comprehensive letter about the Gospel that he preached.1
The driving force behind Paul’s ministry is on display in the first chapter of Romans. He starts by declaring himself a “Servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle” (Romans 1:1). The word “servant” here means complete and utter devotion.2 The word “apostle” can be translated as “messenger.”3 Paul lived his life in complete and utter devotion to being a messenger of Christ Jesus. This is who Paul was — this was the driving force behind everything he did. You see this play out first-hand in the words he used to conclude this section of his letter:
“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
Paul believed he was obligated to share the message of God with everyone. Why? I believe it’s because of the grace he has received and the calling he has. Paul, once an enemy of the faith, experienced salvation through an encounter with the risen Christ. Paul was a man who did some things that were likely considered unforgivable in the eyes of those around him, yet God forgave him. Luke 7:47 comes to mind: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Paul viewed himself as a great sinner (1 Timothy 1:15) who was forgiven much. I believe this mindset motivated him to help others experience the same.
In Acts 9, we see the call upon his life in a conversation between Ananias and God. In Acts 9:15, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.'” Because of the grace he had been shown by God and the call on his life, Paul lived as a servant of God, which meant he felt he had a duty to share the message of God with everyone.
If you’re reading this, chances are you have experienced the transformative power of the Gospel message. The question I continue to ask myself — that I think is a good one for every believer to ask themself — is, “Do I live in a way that properly represents God to the world around me?” In Paul Tripp’s book, Lead, he references 2 Corinthians 5:16 – 21, which states that because we have received forgiveness for our sins, we are now ambassadors for Christ. Tripp says that “The single call of an ambassador is to represent.”4 Tripp goes on to explain that we are not ambassadors of a particular church or ministry, but instead that “in every task, in every relationship, in public or in private, we are called to an ambassadorial mentality, to ambassadorial values, and to ambassadorial functioning.”5
This is the mindset we see in Paul. This is what drove his ministry to, in every part of his life, point people back to Christ. Paul lived “on mission” to represent God to the world around him in everything he did. What in our lives would need to change if we were to adopt an ambassadorial mindset? How might our words, priorities, values, spending, and interactions be different?
What would our lives look like if we adopted the mindset of Paul and lived every part of our lives as ambassadors for God?
Adam Deering
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Rom/Rom-1.cfm?a=1047001
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Rom/Rom-1.cfm?a=1047001
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G652&t=ESV
- Paul Tripp, “Lead” (Illinois, Crossway, 2020) 107.
- Paul Tripp, “Lead” (Illinois, Crossway, 2020) 107.