2020-07-17
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Paul’s letter to the Romans begins with RO 1: 1, “From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus and an apostle, chosen [set apart] and called by God to preach His Gospel.” He not only wanted his followers and potential followers to know what beliefs he has, but he also wants them to know the truth and value of what he is saying. RO 1: 16-17, “I have complete confidence in the Gospel, as it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and then the Gentiles. For the Gospel reveals how God puts people right with Himself. It is through faith from beginning to end. For as the Scripture [HB 2: 4] says, ‘The person who is put right through faith shall live.’” Of course, just because Paul made these bold statements doesn’t make them true alone. We can know they are true, because they have remained to show us that over the test of time and observance of how they change the lives of believers.
It’s useful to have some background information about what happened to Saul of Tarsus in the first three years after his conversion. Remember that he was brought up in a Jewish home where intelligence and training were revered. He had a good working knowledge of the Hebrew beliefs. His conversion involved a supernatural meeting where he heard the Lord’s voice and was struck blind on the road to Damascus, Syria with the Lord Jesus [AC 9: 1-19a]. In the first three years after his conversion, Saul [who came to be called Paul], was in the Arabian desert. GA 1: 11-12 picks up with the only mention of what happened in this period. “Let me tell you, my friends, that the Gospel I preach is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ Himself, Who revealed it to me.” With the kind of transparency that anyone hearing such a message would want, Paul told them of his own story. GA 1: 13, “You have been told of how I used to live when I was devoted to the Jewish religion, how I persecuted without mercy the church of God, how I did my best to destroy it.” In verse 15, Paul asserts that by God’s grace, he was chosen before he was born, and was called to serve Him. Paul had been created as a person able to feel strongly about his beliefs. He was given the mind of a brilliant lawyer who could anticipate any opposition and quell it. Paul spoke of leaving the desert and visiting Jerusalem for two weeks to see Peter. The only other apostle he saw was James, the Lord’s half-brother [GA 1: 17-19]. Verse 23 tells us that ‘The Christians who had heard about Paul’s preaching where saying, ‘the man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And, the praised God because of Paul.’” This is how Paul became an apostle. His meeting in Jerusalem with Peter (who eventually became the leader of the Jews in Jerusalem and to whom Christ said, “The rock upon which My church will stand”-- in MT 16: 16-19]. How appropriate this was, as Peter in Greek is “Petros,” which means “rock.” The word “apostle” means “set apart by God for a particular task.” It was first applied to the men that were named in the Bible to be apostles by Jesus Christ-mentioned in MK 3: 14-16. Simon’s name was changed to Peter, just as Saul’s name had been changed to Paul.
Just as Paul has been characterized here as emotional, determined and strong in his belief, it is probably the reason he was a great an apostle as he was. He had been raised to have leadership qualities. Peter also had them too, as he was the first to recognize the messiahship of the Lord Jesus. RO 8: 29, “For those God had already chosen, He also set apart to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the First among many believers.” This notion is hugely important, because it means that the spread of the belief in the hope of glorification [resurrection to heaven to be with our Deity forever]. When Christ told Paul, as He had Jeremiah, that it was decided “before he was born” we better understand that He foreknew him from birth to death, that he would believe due to His most excellent grace.
PRAYER: O Most Heavenly Father, once again we bow our heads to You, to demonstrate our love and respect for You and what You teach. Our lesson on how Paul became an apostle, what an apostle is, and on the truth of Your teaching is Your will that we should become stronger, more obedient believers. Your love for us is so great, that You give us Your most salient argument for our need to recognize the truth when we see it and yield up our wills to Yours. We bow before You to acknowledge Your wisdom, Your tender heart, and Your desire that we gain eternal life with You. We live in a cold, cruel, and greedy world. Only living by Your teaching can lead us to justification, eternal forgiveness, and salvation. Only You can impart the courage we need to stand up to the ethics and motives the world lives by. We offer You praise and thanks for all the blessings You bestow upon those who love You! Today, we ask You for Your continual guidance and intervention in our lives. We feel Your continuous presence and the aura of Your love that surrounds us. We open our hearts to your Spirit, knowing our honest confession of sins is in our best eternal interests. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The subject of next week’s devotion is false teaching and how to deal with it. In the meanwhile, I can’t help thinking of why I would never want to be the president of this country or have the task that God has before Himself. Imagine how organized one would have to be! God knows every task He needs us to do and how to convince us to do it. His method is to imbue each person with a skill set and personality right for that task. “Christ is the visible Likeness of the invisible God, the Firstborn Son superior to all created things,” COL 1: 15. How blessed we are to know who He is! The first part of this description is self-explanatory. But, the second part deserves some explanation. The Lord Jesus is the first of God’s creations. It is He, Who is to do the work of all creation once the Father has decided what He wants. Christ is also superior to anything or anybody else in the universe. Verses 16-20 go on to further describe Christ, and I pray you will read this passage. God’s love for us is so great that He provides us with the open, two-way channel of prayer and countless other blessings. He wants as many of His human creation to come to faith as possible. He gives us leaders like Mahatma Ghandi, MLK, our more able presidents through history, and many others who advance the cause of peace, connection to Himself, and those who practice of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. His covenant goals for us are yet another gift. That is why I write these weekly messages, so each of you will come closer to our God. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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