Romans: By His Grace - For His Glory
4th in the Series
Romans 1:5-7
March 17, 1996
by J. David Hoke
Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and
apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from
faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in
Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 1:5-7 NIV)
There is an old story from the Middle East about a little sparrow: "A man was
traveling on his donkey when he came upon a small fuzzy object lying in the road. He
dismounted to look more closely and found a sparrow lying on its back with its scrawny
legs thrust upward. At first he thought the bird was dead, but closer investigation proved
it to be very much alive. The man asked the sparrow if he was all right. The sparrow
replied, 'Yes.' The man said, 'What are you doing lying on your back with your legs
pointed towards the sky?' The sparrow responded that he had heard a rumor that the sky was
falling, and so he was holding his legs up in support. The man replied, 'You surely don't
think that you are going to hold it up with those two scrawny legs, do you?' The sparrow,
with a very solemn look, retorted, 'One does the best he can.'"
A lot of people today are much like that sparrow. They are going through life trying to
do the best they can. As a matter of fact, they think that is the way things ought to be.
After all, everything is up to them. They are in charge of their life. They make the
plans. And they do what they have to do to try to accomplish those plans.
There is something intensely individualistic and ego affirming in the idea that you
make your own way. We would all like to think that we could pull ourselves up by our own
boot straps. We like the idea of being in charge of our lives. We want to cry aloud with
W. E. Henley, in his Invictus,
I am the master of my faith;
I am the captain of my soul.
To discover just how much we believe this, visit the self-help section in your local
bookstore. The shelves are filled with all kinds of books describing how you can take
charge of your life and accomplish your dreams and goals. It's big business. The message
is clear: "You can do it!"
Perhaps this kind of thinking comes from the fact that we, as a society, have really
bought into the idea that there is no overriding purpose for each individual. The French
writer, Andre Maurois, said: "The universe is indifferent. Who created it? Why are we
here on this puny mud-heap spinning in infinite space? I have not the slightest idea, and
I am quite convinced that no one has the least idea." Many people today agree with
him. For some, all of life is meaningless. There is no purpose, no underlying goal for
human history. So, for them, life is only what you make of it.
But the Bible reveals that there is a plan. It is God's plan. And it is His plan for
us. There is a very popular Gospel tract that is used in witnessing that gives "four
spiritual laws" for life. Law one is: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for
your life. The marvelous thing about this spiritual law is that it is true!
God does have a wonderful plan for your life. It is called the Plan of Salvation, or
the Gospel. Gospel means "good news." The good news of God is that He has a plan
for each of us.
Do you know God's wonderful purpose for your life? What is the purpose of the gospel?
What does receiving this good news from God produce in our lives?
If we can understand what is God's purpose for us, then that purpose can be
accomplished in our lives. We will walk from a different perspective, seeing our lives in
light of God's purposes, and consequently we will live differently. Rather than do the
best we can, we will be able to live a life that matters. So, to understand this, let's
look at several purposes of the Gospel. Our text reveals one primary purpose and three
secondary purposes.
To Exalt Our Savior
The primary purpose for the Gospel is found in the first phrase in verse five. When
Paul says that he received his mission as an apostle through Him and for His name's
sake, he is revealing the central place that God holds in all of this. It all begins
and ends with God. It is all by His grace and for His glory.
You see, everything in the entire universe finds its meaning in God. He has created all
things. He sustains all things. And one day all things will return to Him. This is what
Paul means when he says, in Romans 11:36, "For from him and through
him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."
God is the source of all things because He is the creator. He is the sustainer of all
things because He supplies what is necessary for life to exist. Therefore all things will
ultimately bring Him glory because this was what they were designed to do. The primary
purpose of the Gospel is to bring glory to God - to exalt our Savior.
To Effect Our Salvation
This brings us to the first of three secondary purposes of the Gospel. The primary
purpose of the Gospel is to exalt our Savior. A secondary purpose is to effect our
salvation. Paul tells us that he received grace and apostleship to call people from
among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
The great commission that Paul received from God was to call people to Christ. This
call goes out to all people. The call first came to the Jews. Here we see that it is
extended to the Gentiles as well. Indeed, it goes out to all people everywhere. It goes
out to you.
Two phrases are used to describe this call. It is referred to as the obedience that
comes from faith. It is also described as a call to belong to Jesus Christ.
These are interesting phrases and very descriptive of what it means to be a Christian. We
see from them that there is a visible obedience required and a personal
commitment demanded.
The obedience that comes from faith concerns the foundation of our walk with
God. The call of God is a call to obey. Paul makes clear that for faith to be
considered real and viable, it must be revealed in obedience - it must be made
visible.
Jesus Himself made this clear when He asked, in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me,
'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" It should be clear from this statement
that for us to consider Christ our Lord means that we must obey Him. When we come to
Christ, we always come by a step of faith resulting in obedience.
And when we come to Christ, we also surrender ourselves to belong to Him. We
give ourselves to Him. This is our commitment. Paul speaks of this commitment in 1
Corinthians 6:19-20, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price."
Peter explains what this price was in 1 Peter 1:18-19, "For you know that it was
not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty
way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."
It should be clear that we belong to God because He purchased us with the blood
of His Son Jesus Christ. The good news is that God purchased us through Christ's blood and
now has received us into His Kingdom. He was not content to see us go to hell. He bought
us for Himself. This is our salvation. A purpose for the Gospel is to effect our
salvation.
To Enhance Our Significance
Another secondary purpose for the Gospel is to enhance our significance. You see, like
the Roman Christians, we are loved by God. This is what gives us our true
significance.
Because we live in a society that has forfeited it's belief in a Creator, we find
people looking desperately for a measure of significance for their lives. They seek
significance through human relationships only to find that people let them down. They seek
significance through their employment only to find that after years of loyal service they
are summarily laid off by their company. And the quest goes on. But it is a futile quest
without God.
You see, it is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we can find true
significance. Our significance comes from knowing Him. It comes from understanding that He
knows us. It is knowing that He knows all about us and yet loves us that gives us a sense
of true worth - a sense of true significance. We are somebody because we know the ultimate
Somebody and because He loves us.
You see, it was God's will to choose us. He called us in order to adopt us as His sons
and daughters. We are told that this is His will. In other words, God has given us what we
do not deserve. He has freely bestowed on us His grace and made us part of His family. No
wonder John could say, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that
we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).
God loves you. He has accepted you. There is nothing you can do for God to love you
more. God doesn't change you so that He can love you; He loves you in order to change you.
It is His love that changes you. Surrender to that love. Bask in it. Rest in your
relationship in Christ. In Christ you're secure. In Christ you are significant.
To Establish Our Sainthood
The final secondary purpose for the Gospel is to establish our sainthood. Paul declares
that all in Rome, indeed all Christians, are called to be saints.
Saint is a good biblical term commonly applied to all believers. It comes from
the Greek word hagios, which literally means "holy." To be a saint, in
the New Testament sense of the word, is to be a "holy one." Now, this does not
mean that we are a "holier-than-thou" kind of person. What is usually referred
to by that phrase is someone who is self-righteous. It refers to someone who thinks he is
holier than most people. No, to be "holy" in the biblical sense of the term is
simply to be in Christ.
Don't be mislead by the mistaken idea that sainthood is something which can only be
conferred upon certain dead people by some ecclesiastical body. According to God's Word,
all believers are already saints. From God's perspective, we are saints, not
because of who men say we are, but because of what Christ did for us. We are not holy
because of our own good works or righteousness. The Bible tells us that "all our
righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). We are righteous because
Jesus died on the Cross so that He could give us His righteousness. We read in 2
Corinthians 5:21, "God made him [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God." What an amazing
statement! We are now the righteousness of God in Christ.
When Christ died on the Cross, he paid the penalty for our sin. He died there to put to
death our old self. But He not only died to forgive us, He died to enable us to receive
His life. As we surrender to Him, He gives us His life in exchange for ours. He becomes
our life. We live by His life. He is in us, and we are in Him. Now we live from this new
level of life. His righteousness is made ours. So when God looks at us, He sees us in
Christ.
This is who we really are. It has been said that some people can't get saved because
they won't accept their sinnership, and that some Christians can't walk in victory because
they won't accept their sainthood. And it is true. Unless we know our true position in
Christ, we will never begin to live from that perspective. We are saints because of our
position in Christ. This is what we must begin to see by faith. You are a saint. And you
have His permission to live like a saint!
Do you begin to see the purpose of the Gospel? Do you see how that purpose impacts your
life? The purpose of the Gospel is primarily to exalt Christ and secondarily to effect our
salvation, enhance our significance, and establish our sainthood.
Do you understand that you are indeed a saint? Can you even begin to comprehend just
how much God loves you? Have you given yourself to Christ? Are you walking in obedience to
Him? If these things are true for you, then you are a living testimony to the grace of
God. You are one who has been redeemed - by His grace and for His glory.
Copyright (C) 1996 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of
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