Romans 1:1-7 (NRSV)

¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ²which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ³the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, ⁶including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

A short reflection on the Epistle for next Sunday ...

Paul was a servant of Jesus Christ, called by God to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God. Paul reminds us here that Jesus loves us and gave himself for us and as a result, we no longer belong to ourselves, but entirely to our Lord. We have an obligation of love as Christ’s servants to do everything, not because we have to, but because we want to.

But there is another dimension. In the Old Testament the word doulos which is translated in the NRSV as servant is used in the LXX to describe some great men of God: Moses was the servant (doulos) of the Lord and it was also used for the prophets Amos and Jeremiah. So when Paul refers to himself as the doulos of the Lord he is claiming to be in the succession of these great prophets of God. Their greatness and glory comes from their servanthood. Barclay comments: “... the phrase, the slave of Jesus Christ, describes at one and the same time the obligation of great love and the honour of a great office.”

In verse 5 Paul tells of two things that he received when he was ‘set apart’ for his calling. Firstly, he had received grace. Grace always refers to a gift that is always free and absolutely unearned and undeserved. In his pre-Christian days, Paul had striven to earn glory in the eyes of people and merit in the eyes of God by meticulously trying to adhere to the Law, but he had never found peace. Now he had come to realise what really matters and that it is not what we do, it is what God does for us. Our salvation is all up to God; it is all of grace, all free and undeserved.

Secondly he had also received a task; he was set apart to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. He had been chosen, not for special honour, but for a special responsibility. Originally, as a Pharisee, Paul had chosen to set himself apart from others because Pharisees saw themselves as being better than others, especially the Gentiles. Now his life was to be completely different; he was to spend himself in bringing the good news of God’s love to the very people he had originally despised.

We too are separated for service, but also for humility and love for all people.

In addition to providing his own credentials, Paul provides an essential outline of the Gospel. It is a Gospel centred on Jesus Christ (verses 3 and 4) and a Gospel of incarnation. It tells of Jesus who was truly a man. Barclay explains: “He became what we are, to make us what He is.” It is also a Gospel of Resurrection. If Jesus had lived a good life and died an heroic death – and that was it – he would simply have been yet another one of many heroic figures. What makes Jesus unique is the Resurrection. Barclay concludes: “The others are dead and gone, and have left a memory. Jesus lives on and gives us a presence, still mighty with power.”