Carl Westerlund :: Romans 1:1 - Servant of Jesus Christ

Romans in Outline No. 1

Introduction - Romans 1:1-17

Salutation - Romans 1:1-7

The writer - Romans 1:1

The subject - Romans 1:2-4

The recipients - Romans 1:5-7

Prayer - Romans 1:8-15

Theme - Romans 1:16-17

Paul did not introduce himself as "servant" but "slave"

Romans 1:1  "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,"

not "servant" but "slave"

Paul's favorite title for Jesus is LORD (kurios)

1.1  THE STATUS OF THE SERVANT

2.1  The Status of Humiliation

3.1  ROMAN SLAVES

300,000-350,000 out of 900,000-950,000 were slaves in Rome.

2 categories in Rome:

4.1  Field Hands

20 years

Romaine: Men are jerks

4.2  Household Slaves

3.2  HEBREW SLAVES

Hebrew: 'ebed - Exodus 21:5-6

⁵ And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: ⁶ Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

2.2  The Status of Exaltation - Prophets and Kings

Abraham - Genesis 26:24  "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."

Moses - Numbers 12:7  "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house."

Joshua - Joshua 24:29  "And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old."

David - 2 Samuel 7:5  "Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?"

Isaiah - Isaiah 20:3  "And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;"

1.2  THE MODEL OF A SERVANT OF THE LORD

2.1  Ebed Yahweh, the bondslave of Jehovah. "slave songs of Isaiah", (Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 50:4-9; and Isaiah 52:13-53:12) in figures which shift from Israel as Jehovah's bondslave, to Messiah as the suffering bondslave who is to be made sin for "His people"

Isaiah 53:5  "…wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities…"

2.2  Upon Him, the Bondslave of Jehovah, the LORD was to impute the iniquities of His people-the "us all" of Isaiah 53:6. Even though this glorious Bondslave of Jehovah was to be sinless, and perfect in His obedience, the prophet in wide-eyed amazement cries:

Isaiah 53:10  "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him. He hath put Him (His bondslave) to grief:…"

2.3  When the Father made the soul of His beloved Bondslave "an offering for sin," as He did at Calvary, He saw the fruit of His soul-travail and was satisfied.

Isaiah 53:10-11  "…By His knowledge shall My righteous BONDSLAVE justify many - for he shall bear their iniquities."

Philippians 2:7-11

⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a BONDSERVANT, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1.3  THE BASIS OF BECOMING A SERVANT OF THE LORD

2.1   1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - RANSOM

ἀγοράζω agorazw ransom 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

1 Corinthians 6:19  

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

2.2   Galatians 3:13 - REMOVAL

ἐξἀγοράζω ecagorazw removal Galatians 3:13

Galatians 3:13  "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')."

2.3   Colossians 1:13-14 - RELEASE

λύτροω [lutrow]* release Colossians 1:14
ἀπολύτρωσις *apolutrwsis

Colossians 1:13-14  

¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Psalm 116:16  "O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant and the son of Your handmaid: You have loosed my bonds"

1.4  TESTS OF THE SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST

2.1   2 Timothy 2:24-26 - Am I gentle or quarrelsome?

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, ²⁶ and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Paul as a nursing mother. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

2.2   John 13:16-17 - The servant takes a position more lowly than his master

¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Mark 10:45  "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."

2.3   Luke 5:4-6 - Am I obedient even when I do not understand?

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

2.4   John 15:18-20 - Am I willing to accept persecution?

¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also."

C.f. Paul in 2 Corinthians

2.5   Romans 14:4-5 - Am I able to let others servants be responsible to their own master?

⁴ Who are you to judge another's servant oikethn: a servant in a household)? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. ⁵ One person esteems [one] day above another; another esteems every day [alike]. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

2.6   Luke 16:13 - Do I show undivided devotion to my master?

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

2.7   Matthew 10:24-25 - Is my life a good reflection of my master?

²⁴ A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.

2.8   Mark 13:35-37 - Am I waiting for my Lord's return?

³⁵ "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming-in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning- ³⁶ lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

1.5  THE CHOICE OF THE SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST

2.1  All Christians - It's a choice.    Romans 6:11-22

¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. ¹⁸ And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. ²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

2.2  Serve God by allowing Him to work out His righteousness in us.