Sermon - Romans 1:1-7 - Belonging to Christ

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - Romans 1:1-7 - Belonging to Christ

December 22, 2013

Four candles on the Advent wreath have been lit. The light of Christ is burning even brighter in our hearts. We have been clothed with Christ by worshiping, studying our Bibles and praying every day. We are trying to live harmoniously treating those with whom we disagree with dignity and respect. We are patiently waiting, keeping our grumbling to a minimum and helping the poor in our community by doing our best to get the world ready for Jesus' return. We don't know when this will happen, but we are almost ready. Let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

One thing that happens at Christmas is that we often meet someone new. Maybe your daughter brings home her new boyfriend. Maybe you meet yet another great grandchild. Maybe you are celebrating Christmas for the first time in a new community. Christmas is a great time to meet new people and make new friends. And when we meet new people we must first introduce ourselves.

The Apostle Paul met new people in the church of Rome through a letter. He had never been to Rome, but he wanted to visit. And so he wrote a letter to the church introducing himself. Today we will be looking at the introduction of that letter and hear how Paul describes himself.  Let's see what he has to say.

Romans 1:1-7 ^IV Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-- ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷ 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.

Paul wants the church in Rome, to “belong to Jesus Christ”. He describes himself as a servant or slave of Jesus. And so the Roman church too must become slaves of Christ. This is a difficult message for Americans. We abolished slavery. We believe in rugged individualism with each person making his or her own way. We believe in liberty and freedom. We don't want to be slaves.

In ancient times slaves were usually prisoners of war. They had been captured in battle and could be bought and sold. Some slaves were thieves who could not make restitution of what they had stolen. Others were sold by their parents in payment of some debt. Occasionally people would sell themselves into slavery to escape poverty. Slaves could be redeemed, usually by family members, who would buy their freedom. And on the year of Jubilee all Hebrew slaves were freed. In New Testament times early churches would include household slaves in worship. But today we no have slavery. So what would it mean to be slaves to Christ?

Paul tells us that we are all slaves to something. There is no way to avoid it. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to Jesus Christ. If we are slaves to sin then we will engage in sinful behavior. We have no ability to avoid sin if we are slaves to it. And without Jesus in our lives sin will take over. But if we belong to Jesus Christ then we become more holy and one day we will be called saints.

Belonging to Jesus Christ begins with a call from God. God decides if we should belong to Jesus or not. And then God gives the ones he chooses the gift of faith. We come to belief in Jesus Christ. The content of this belief is twofold. First, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, whom the prophets of the Old Testament said would come. Jesus was a flesh and blood human being descended from King David. Second, we believe that Jesus is the Son of God whose divinity was proven in his resurrection from the dead. In Jesus, God and man come together. This is the foundation of our faith. Faith is something we receive. And there is no cost. Faith comes to us as free gift from God.

Once we receive this gift and believe in Jesus Christ we are redeemed. Jesus paid the price for our redemption on the cross. Redemption also is a free gift of a gracious God. As redeemed people we are no longer slaves to sin. We are enabled to turn from our sinful ways and turn to Christ. And we become slaves of Christ, doing what he wants us to do. 

 And what is it the Christ wants us to do? According to Paul we receive yet another gift. God gives us the gift of apostleship. An apostle is one who is sent out to tell others the good news that God has come at Christmas with gifts: the gift of faith, the gift of redemption, and the gift of apostleship. These gifts come to us in the form of a baby lying in manger who is the savior of the world.

And so what are we to do? It's Christmas and it's time to give and receive presents. So receive the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Receive the gift of redemption from sin through forgiveness. And receive the gift of apostleship.

One question we have at Christmas is whether or not to re-gift the presents we receive. You get that fruitcake from you uncle. Is it socially acceptable to give it away to someone else? According to a university study re-gifting is very commonplace. It was one of Oprah's Favorite Things. In general re-gifting is socially acceptable if you re-wrap the gift, don't use it yourself, and avoid giving it back to the person who gave it to you in the first place.

So is it acceptable to re-give the gifts that God gives us? The answer to that one is easy. The gift of apostleship is what enables us to re-give the gifts God has given us. All we have to do to use this gift of apostleship is to tell others that we belong to Christ, and offer them the gift of faith in Jesus Christ which is free and comes with no strings attached. And once they have received this gift of faith offer them the gift of redemption where they will be freed from their slavery to sin. Tell them about the birth at Christmas when God and humans were brought together in a person named Jesus as foretold by the ancient prophets and confirmed by Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

So as you give and receive present this Christmas remember what you have been given. You have received the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. You have been given the gift of redemption from slavery to sin. And you have been given the gift of apostleship which enables you to re-give the gifts you have received from God. So re-give these gifts to bless others with gifts from our gracious God. Let us pray.

We are so thankful, O Lord, for all you have given us. We are grateful for the gift of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the gift of redemption freeing us from slavery to sin. And thank you for giving the gift of apostleship so that we can share these gifts with everyone we meet this Christmas. This we pray in the name of Jesus, the Christ and our Lord and Savior. Amen.