In the late fifties A.D., the Apostle Paul wrote a
letter. This was by no means the first
letter he had written. But, this one was
unusual, in that he was writing to people he had never met. Most of Paul’s letters that survived and were
eventually canonized into the Bible were written to churches he had had a hand
in founding. They were to Christians
whom he considered to be his “children in the faith”, having had a significant role
in their conversion and discipleship.
However, this time Paul was writing to the church at Rome. He had never visited the city, nor had he met
most of the people in this church, although he hoped to remedy both of those
deficiencies with a visit.
Although the church in Rome would eventually go on to be a
major center, arguably the major center, of Christendom on earth, the actual recipients
of this letter remain mostly unknown to history. They were literally at the center of the
empire, in the city of Rome, and were undoubtedly cultured and metropolitan. But, no records remain of how this church was
initially formed. We see a hint of it in
Acts 2:10. Among the Jewish visitors to
Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost are listed “visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes.” The word proselyte, in this context, refers
to Gentiles who had converted to Judaism.
Luke, the author of Acts, does not mention whether any of these people were
among the 3,000 who believed in Christ after Peter’s inaugural sermon in verses
14 to 36. But, it could very well be
that some of those who believed were from Rome, and took the message of the
gospel back to their city.
In addition to this, we know that about 20 years later, all
Jews were temporarily expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius. Acts 18:2 provides us with this detail. In reference to Paul, we read: and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native
of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because
Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. Historically, this expulsion took place in 54
A.D. Aquila and Priscilla benefited from
their exile by coming to know Paul.
Indeed, they served as ministry partners with him in Corinth. In fact, it may have been this Christian
couple who provided Paul with the point of contact to establish relations with
the Roman church. In Romans 16:3 he
writes: Greet Prisca and Aquila, my
fellow workers in Christ Jesus. Two
verses later it is revealed that the church actually met in their house. From this we can conclude that the Jewish
expulsion from Rome under Claudius did not last long. As stated before, Paul wrote Romans in the
late fifties, perhaps 56 or 57. And
clearly, by that point, the Jews had been allowed back into the city.
Again though, I want to stress that this was a church of
ordinary folks. They had probably not
benefited directly from the “superstar” attention of the Apostles. They were not favored “children” of Paul on
his missionary journeys. Being at the
center of the Roman Empire, this church was not obscure. Indeed, Paul writes in Romans 1:8 that the
faith of these believers was being proclaimed throughout the known world. Yet, this was not a high-powered group of
Christian “all-stars.” They were, to put
it bluntly, probably not too dissimilar from most of those who are reading
this. If you are a Christian, odds are
that you do not attend a mega church.
You probably live in a modestly sized town or city. Most likely, no one beyond your circle of
friends or family has ever heard, or will ever hear, of you. You and I were born, have lived, will
continue to live, and will die in relative obscurity.
I think this makes Paul’s letter to the church at Rome
particularly applicable. In one sense,
of course, the entire Bible is completely relevant to every human being who has
ever read it. Yet, it is fair to
acknowledge that sometimes, due to our specific life experiences and
situations, we find more common ground with some biblical characters than
others.
It is with this in mind that I would like to draw your
attention to the 14th verse of the first chapter of Romans. Paul writes: I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the
wise and to the foolish. In the
world of Paul’s day, to call someone a Greek could mean biological descent from
the Grecian ethnic group. However, using
the context in this verse as a guide, Paul was probably thinking of the type of
person someone was. Greek in this usage meant
that the person being referred to was cultured and sophisticated. The Greeks were worldly people, wise in the
ways and means of their time. By
contrast, barbarians were exactly the opposite.
They were slovenly, uncouth savages who offered nothing to civilized
society other than to trouble it. Paul’s
point is that he feels a debt to both extremes of human culture. To emphasize what he is saying, he offers
another example. Regardless of whether
someone is an imbecile or a genius, Paul considers himself obligated to them.
And what is the nature of this obligation that the great
Apostle feels? Verse 15 tells us: So, for my part, I am eager to preach the
gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Paul believes himself to be under contract, as it were, to proclaim the
good news of Jesus Christ to every person he meets. It makes no difference to Paul whether
someone is cultured or uncivilized, brimming with common sense or a fool. This seems obvious enough. Paul was, after all, perhaps the greatest
missionary who has ever lived. His
specific mission, given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ, was to tell the
Gentile nations of the world about the message of redemption that God was offering
through faith in Christ.
However, consider the object of Paul’s writing. He is saying these things to a church,
presumably filled with Christians. These
people had already placed their faith and trust in Christ and been welcomed
into the fellowship of the church, or they would not have been the focus of
Paul’s attention. With these two verses
the Apostle is saying, in effect, that he wants to preach the gospel to people
who have not only already heard it, but who have decided to make it the centerpoint
of their lives. My question is why. Why was Paul so eager to communicate the
gospel to Christians? It is to
unbelievers that Christians are to preach the good news of Jesus. This was Christ’s final instruction to us,
given just before His ascension into Heaven, in Matthew 28:18-20. We are to be about the business of making
disciples, by telling them about Jesus.
Then why did Paul want to preach the gospel to people who had already
heard of Him?
I think the answer to this question is found in the next two
verses. In fact, I think Paul
anticipated our inquiry, and the purpose of verse 16 and 17 is to explain his
rationale. He writes: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it
is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But
the righteous man shall live by faith.”
These verses do not tell us what the message of the gospel
is. Paul assumes his audience, being
Christians, already know the details of Christ’s life, death, and
resurrection. Besides, he is going to
spend the next 11 and a half chapters exhaustively breaking down and analyzing
the gospel. His point here is not to
provide a detailed description of what it is.
Rather, he wants us to understand what it does. We have to comprehend the effect of the
gospel so that we can ascertain why it continues to be relevant to us, just as
it was to the church at Rome.
Paul gives us two explanations of the gospel, the first
corresponding to verse 16 and the second to verse 17. First, he writes that the good news about
Christ is the power of God that results in the salvation of anyone who believes
it. In other words, the incomprehensible
and limitless power that spun the universe into existence with a mere thought
and word, is concentrated and applied to the business of changing a human
heart. In the act of salvation, God converts
people from rebellious enemies who hate Him to favored children who love
Him. This is the aspect of the gospel
that is in the past for anyone who has already believed in Jesus. Obviously, this is a crucial factor to
consider when we examine biblical salvation.
However, that is not my primary focus today. Because, although a Christian’s salvation
began in the past, it continues on to the present and into the future. This is what makes the gospel relevant for
those who are already Christians. And, this
is Paul’s point in verse 17.
Namely, the gospel is the revelation of the righteousness of
God, for anyone who follows Christ. The
gospel is available to all ethnic groups, whether Jewish or Gentile (in this
context Paul is using “Greek” as a synonym for Gentile). The gospel is the medium through which the
righteous character of God is manifested to those who have already begun to
walk with Him. This is not a passive
experience for the believer. Notice how
Paul ties the unveiling of God to the practice of faith. He writes that God is revealed “from faith to
faith.” This is an odd manner of speech,
but the concept is really quite simple.
When we exercise faith in our Lord, His righteous character is revealed
to us through His compassion in caring for us.
His loving kindness is displayed as He showers us with blessings that
are always spiritual and sometimes material.
His faithfulness is proven as He keeps His promise to sanctify us into
the likeness of Christ.
These displays of our God come to us day by day, sometimes
moment by moment, as we loyally and consistently exercise faith in Him. And thereby, in walking by faith in each
situation we encounter, our understanding of and appreciation for God
increases. This is precisely the pattern
that is visible in the life of Abraham, the first patriarch of the Jewish
nation. From Genesis 12 to 25 we read highlights
of the life of this man. Repeatedly, God
thrusts him into situations that require a response. From regional moves to intra-family
disputes. From dangerous military
excursions to the faith to patiently wait for the fulfillment of a promise that
seems impossible. From interactions with
his neighbors to threats from powerful kings.
At times Abraham was wildly successful in his endeavors. At others his failure was monumental. Yet, at every step of the way, God was
bulding His servant’s faith through testing and the revelation of His own
divine character. Ultimately, the
pinnacle of this process was achieved on Mount Moriah. The supernatural faith of this man of God had
been honed and amplified to such a degree that he was willing to sacrifice his
own son. He had faith that God would
make a way and provide for the fulfillment of His promises.
This type of process is exactly what all Christians experience
as they walk with God throughout their life.
The theological term for it is sanctification. This progression of a sanctifying
relationship with God is exactly what Abraham went through, as he walked by
faith from one day, one situation, to the next.
In fact, we might say that Romans 1:17 is Paul’s theological summation
of Abraham’s entire life.
Now then, with that basis of understanding, there is one more
critical element that has to be understood.
If we miss this piece, then the whole theological construct will come
crashing down like a house of cards.
That is, the gospel is the means by which we are united with Christ, in
both faith and practice. You may ask
where I get that from, since verse 17 does not clearly state it that way. In that verse Paul speaks of the gospel and
faith. What we must consider is who is
the object of our faith. When we embrace
the gospel message, who are we actually embracing?
Paul does not feel the need to clarify this in verse 17,
because he has already laid the foundation of the gospel before ever getting
there. He expects us to read his letter
from the beginning. If we do, we will
understand precisely who Paul is talking about.
The Apostle spends the first six verses of his letter outlining exactly
who the object of our faith is. In verse
1 he writes that he is a bond-servant of Christ Jesus. In verse 2 he points out that the gospel was
promised long ago through the Scriptures.
In verse 3 Paul clarifies that Jesus is the Son of God and was descended
biologically from David. In verse 4 we
find that this man Jesus was emphatically declared to be God through His
resurrection from the dead. In verse 5
we learn that obedient faith in Christ’s name is the message Paul has been
assigned to preach and the mission he has been tasked to accomplish.
It is faith in Christ Jesus that is the object of the
gospel. It is that which is strengthened
from faith to faith in an ever-increasing upward spiral of holy and righteous
living. Yet, if we stop at this point
our understanding is still insufficient.
The reason is that the Bible does not describe an impartial, disconnected
faith in an external person who is far removed from us. Rather, the Scriptures tell of an intimate,
deep, affectionate, symbiotic relationship of faith between Christ and those
who follow after Him.
The Bible communicates this thought through the use of a
simple preposition; in. Numerous times
the New Testament writers tell us that we are “in Christ.” For example, in 2nd Corinthians
5:17 Paul writes: Therefore if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things
have come. We find similar
expressions in John 15:4, 5, 7; 2nd Corinthians 12:2; Galations
3:28; Ephesians 1:4, 2:10; Philippians 3:9; 1st Thessalonians 4:16.
In other places Christ is said to be in us. Galatians 2:20 is an instance of this: I have been crucified with Christ; and it
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
up for me. Look at Romans 8:10; 2nd
Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 3:17; and Colossians 1:27 for additional
context.
The Scriptures also sometimes put our position in Christ and
His position in us together. The Apostle
John, in particular, sometimes combines these thoughts, as seen in 1st
John 4:13: By this we know that we abide
in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
So, it seems pretty clear that the message of biblical
salvation and the Christian life is that it is a symbiotic relationship wherein
we are in Christ and Christ is in us.
But, what does that actually mean?
Briefly, here are eight ways that we can see this concept borne out in
our Christian life.
We are initially united with Christ in regeneration. In Ephesians 2:4-5 Paul writes: But God, being rich in mercy, because of
His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved). We are born spiritually dead
and cut off from God. Yet, because of
His unfathomable love, God has made us spiritually alive. And, this life is only possible in and
through Christ.
We also appropriate and continue to live out of this union
through faith. Galatians 2:20, mentioned
above, captures this aspect beautifully.
Literally the very means of the life that has been granted to us is the
faith that we express in Christ. Apart
from this faith in Him there can be no authentic spiritual life.
In addition to these, there are three other foundational
applications of our union with Christ.
First, we are justified in union with Christ. Justification simply means to be declared
right before a judge. It is a legal term
connoting an acquittal of guilt. In a
biblical context, Christians are justified via the imputation of Christ’s
righteousness. We have no righteousness
of our own, but God credits the righteousness of His Son to our account. This is captured beautifully by Paul in 2nd
Corinthians 5:21: He made Him who knew
no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him.
Second, we are sanctified through union with Christ. We have already looked at how sanctification
is a part of the process of the righteousness of God being revealed to us and
grown in us, from faith to faith. But,
in terms of how this relates to our union with Christ, 1st
Corinthians 1:30 offers an additional angle: But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. It is only through our union with Christ that
sanctification is even possible.
Third, we persevere in the life of faith in union with
Christ. This means that, having once
come to genuine saving faith in Christ, we will never fall away from Him,
because He will hold us firmly in union with Himself. In John 10 Jesus gave one of His most
powerful metaphorical illustrations; that of the good shepherd. He described Himself not only as the shepherd
who cares for His sheep, but the very door way through which His flock enter to
find safety. And, in verses 27 and 28 He
makes it clear that once a sheep is attached to the good shepherd’s flock, it
will never be lost: “My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them,
and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Continuing from all these, we find that we are even said to
die in Christ. In Romans 14:8 Paul
writes: for if we live, we live for the
Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we
are the Lord’s. Both the beginning
and end of our temporal existence in these initial bodies of flesh is entirely at
the whim and disposal of the Lord, through Christ.
Beyond that, having once died in the flesh, we are promised that
we shall be raised with Christ. In 1st
Corinthians 15:22 Paul states it succinctly, as he compares Adam and Christ: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
all will be made alive. Because Adam
was the representative head of the human race, all who descended from him are
“in him”, in a sense. He set the tone
for all human beings who would follow after him. That tone was sin and death. In a similar way, Christ becomes the head of
all those who place their faith and trust in Him. And, whereas Adam represents death, Christ is
the very embodiment of life. He is the
life. Therefore, anyone who is in Him is
also made alive in Him.
Finally, after all considerations of this earthly life have
faded into the past, we are assured that we shall be eternally glorified with
Christ. Turning to the words of Paul
again, in Colossians 3:4 we find: When
Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him
in glory. One of the great
expectations of all Christians is that when the Lord Jesus returns in power and
glory, we will be elevated to rule and reign with Him in His Kingdom. By giving up in this life that which is
ultimately worthless, namely the things of the world, we gain in eternity that
which is ultimately priceless, namely the things of heaven.
This is a fairly comprehensive list of ways and means by
which the Bible says that we are in Christ.
But, what do we say to those who have never felt united with Christ,
even though they are Christians? Perhaps
that question rises to the forefront of your mind right now. All these theological truths are wonderful,
but how do they translate into every day living? I think the analogy of marriage is helpful
here. In Ephesians 5:22-32 Paul gives
extensive instructions to husbands and wives about how they are to love each
other. At the risk of doing a disservice
to Paul’s masterwork handbook of marriage in this passage, I will summarize it
in this way. Husbands are to cherish
their wives. Wives are to respect their
husbands. Both are to do this in a
self-sacrificial manner that is reminiscent of Christ Himself. In this process, the two humans become, in a
sense, one flesh. And in verse 30 Paul
makes it clear that this human relationship is a metaphor for the relationship
Christians have with Christ: This
mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
In a human marriage, if both spouses follow the pattern given
above, then a unity is achieved over time that makes the couple
inseparable. This comes through living
together, laughing together, crying together, working together, struggling
together, and so on. It is the same with
Christ. We will not feel one with Him if
we barely give Him any thought. We will
not know Him if we do not spend time in the Scriptures, learning who He
is. We will not open ourselves to Him if
we do not commune with Him in prayer.
Our faith in Christ will be weak if we do not allow ourselves to be
placed into positions of fear, that are outside of our comfort zones, in
service to Him. Our intimacy with Christ
will be anemic if we do not consciously make Him a part of our lives. This is a relationship that is not a once per
week date on Sundays. It is not a casual
pastime like a hobby. It is an all
consuming relational part of your life that, having once entered into it, would
do irreparable damage to you if you were separated from it.
I fear that most Christians do not live like this. I fear that many of us have been lulled into
a spiritual stupor by the ease and apathy of our culture that preys upon the tendencies
of our own flesh. Further, I believe
this is a crippled, defeated, ineffective model of Christianity. Failing to live passionately in Christ does
not necessarily mean you are not saved; although I think it does raise serious
red flags that you need to examine. What
it does emphatically mean is that you will not live the fullest, most joyous,
most satisfied Christian life that you could be living. I do not know the heart and mind of anyone
except myself, and even that is imperfect at best. But, the Scriptures speak to this issue so
clearly and decisively that it leaves no room for doubt. It is only by embracing oneness and unity
with Christ Jesus that you are capable of experiencing the best that God has to
offer you.
C.S. Lewis, in his book “The Weight of Glory, and Other
Addresses”, offered an utterly compelling and sobering statement about the
human condition apart from Christ.
Although he was writing in the context of initial salvation itself, I
think that what he said often continues to apply to people who profess the name
of Christ and show up at church dutifully each week. This should chill us to the core:
“It would seem that our
Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about
with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an
ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot
imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
