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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Romans 1:1-4
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God – the Gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of Holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Jesus is The Christ, the Son of God – God Himself.
The Book of Romans has to be one of the greatest books of the whole Bible. It has been described as the ‘Himalayas’ among the Biblical mountain ranges, with Chapter 8 being Mt Everest itself.
For those of us living in a pagan/secular world, it is essential reading. Although Paul’s writings are sometimes hard to understand, that is no excuse for avoiding them or for putting them to one side.
He introduces himself as “a servant of Christ Jesus.” That puts us all on an equal footing. “Called to be an apostle” – there was quite some debate over this. The apostles – the 12 were all eyewitnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:21-22). Paul evidently wasn’t among that group but his ‘claim’ to apostleship stems from his encounter with the Risen Christ while on his way to Damascus, which we studied in Acts 9. He also lists some of his ‘qualifications’ in 2 Corinthians 11.
I should think there are very few people that would ever seriously doubt his place in the development of the church or that his role in the tender years of the early church was that of an apostle. However, he does not use the term for effect, pride or for commanding respect, for though he was an apostle, he always considered himself a servant – not only of Jesus Christ but also of His Church throughout the regions.
In a lot of ways Paul sums up Romans by saying…
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (v 16-17).
Paul then gives a classic description of the character of mankind: how while man knows of God from his God-consciousness within him and God’s creation around him, he nevertheless refuses to try and embrace a relationship with God. That rejection is not passive but active and leads to the worst possible conclusion.
You really need to take time out to read verses 18 – 32. No better commentary on the human mind and state of the world has ever been written and it serves as an equally pertinent warning for us today.
We all deserve the Wrath of a Holy God – and it is the Sentence hanging over us all. The only way out is by putting your faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Has your Sentence been paid? Are you a servant of Christ Jesus?
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