Romans 1:1 – 7, A Meditation (7)

 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have used bold print above to emphasize the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel; indeed, Jesus Christ is the Gospel and the Gospel is Jesus Christ – from Genesis through Revelation. If Jesus Christ is the motif of the Gospel, of the Bible, then ought He not to be the motif of our lives and the lives of our congregations? Ought we not to be permeated with Jesus Christ, immersed in Jesus Christ, sharing Jesus Christ with one another?

 

Note that in verse 4 we read, “Jesus Christ our Lord,” and that in verse 7 we see, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” If Jesus Christ is our Lord then we belong to Him, we no longer belong to ourselves. If Jesus Christ is our Lord then we are called to obey Him and not our own desires and agendas – yes indeed, we ought to be praying “Not my will but Your will be done,” and “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” May our Father meld our wills into His will, making us one in the Trinity.

 

How is it then that we can live life without regard to His will? How can we fail to live in subjection to His lordship? When we make sin a matter of therapy we excuse ourselves and others. When we speak of poor judgment, of brokenness, of poor choices, we fail to recognize sin and disobedience and our excuses and lack of repentance set the stage for more of the same. Without confession of sin, a turning away from sin and a turning to Christ and the Cross, there is no avenue of deliverance from sin, no avenue of freedom from sin and death. God is not interested in improving us, He is interested in bringing us to the end of ourselves as we participate in the death of Jesus Christ, so that we might be raised – here and now – into New Life in Him (see Romans 6; 2Cor. 5:14 - 21). Indeed, we are to consider ourselves “dead to sin but alive unto God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11).

 

But the absence of sin, does not a Christian make; nor should the goal of our lives be to live without sin – rather we should desire to be “conformed to the image of His Son so that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Naturally this statement can be misunderstood, just as saying, “Love God and do as you please,” can be misunderstood; but it can only be misunderstood by those who do not love our Lord Jesus Christ, it can only be misunderstood by those who do not name Him “Lord.” The “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2) – is this the truth in Christ or is it a lie?

 

Jesus says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep my words…” (John 14:21, 23, 24a).

 

The Apostle John writes (1 John 5:2 – 3), “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”

 

In Jesus Christ, our Nature is His Nature because His Nature is our Nature, and His Nature is to delight to do the will of God. “Then I said, Behold, I come, in the scroll of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Your will O my God, Your Law is within My heart” (Psalm 40:7 – 8). Before the ages, in the eternal counsels of God, we were set apart unto Him, to belong to Him, and to fulfill a destiny on this earth and into eternity (Ephesians 1:1 – 2:10).  Hence Jesus Christ comes to redeem us, to rescue us, and to call us to His Father and our Father, His God and our God – proclaiming the Name/Nature of our Father to us (Hebrews Chapter 2).

 

We have an Exodus so that the promises of God given before Egyptian slavery might be fulfilled in Israel. We have Golgotha so that the promises of God given both before the Fall, and as a result of the Fall, might be fulfilled in us, in Jesus Christ. O how Jesus desires to unveil the Father to us! O how He desires for us to be His friends (John 15:12 – 17). The mature son or daughter will stand in Christ, revealing the Father to his or her brothers and sisters; for the unveiling of the Trinity is our glorious calling, and hence, among other things, we call Jesus Christ “Lord,” while reckoning ourselves to be “dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.”

 

Isn’t it time we left behind our guardians and mangers and tutors, and cry out, “Abba Father!” (Galatians 4:1 – 7)?

 

When Jesus Christ is our Lord there is a glorious liberty and freedom that is beyond comprehension, a liberty that is found in obedience and a secure safety and joy and peace in the depths of the splendorous love of the Trinity. (John 17:23 – 24).

O the delight in calling Jesus Christ "Lord"!