“…a servant of Christ Jesus…” Romans 1:1

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In his salutation of his letter to the church in Rome, Paul begins by providing a litmus test for those called to the gospel ministry. There is a ‘hidden’ list given by Paul, which ministers should carefully examine before committing their lives to this ministry. Open your Bible and follow along with me; see how Paul quickly moves from an “I” perspective to “we”, and then to “you”:

  1. The attitude for ministry should be one of humility. Ministers are servants of Jesus Christ who are to be sensitive to the needs of others over their own needs (v.1a).

  2. The personal cost of one in ministry is to go where the gospel needs to be heard. The word, “apostle”, actually means, “one who is sent out”. One must be willing to leave their hometown and extended family to carry the good news where God may lead. There is a certain authority that goes with the role: one who can communicate the good news of salvation through Christ with certainty and truth… one who has actually experienced regeneration. It is not an authority to control others’ lives or to abuse others by Lording over them (vv. 1b, 5).

  3. The one sent out is commissioned for the purpose of carrying the gospel message; the same gospel prophesied in centuries past (v.1c-2; I shared with you many of the prophesies of this good news in our recent study of Hebrews). The word gospel means, “good news”, so the assigned task can be a joyful one when it is received by others. A pastor, then, should be an authority on the scriptures and how they reflect the Living Word that became flesh, revealing them in a way that will connect to those listening.

  4. The good news specifically focuses on Jesus (vv. 3-5), Who:

a.   Was completely man while being completely God;

b.   Descended from David;

c.   Was declared to be God’s Son;

d.   Defeated death through His resurrection;

e.   Calls apostles to carry His message of salvation by faith.

This brief list should describe your pastor’s main responsibilities and passion. If the list does not describe your pastor, the church should rethink their mission and responsibility to fulfill The Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20). Over the next several months, I hope this study on Romans will both provoke you to live Godly lives and dig deeper in God’s Word.

Have a blessed day…