Romans 1:1 - “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ
Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God”
I love the way that Paul introduces himself. He acknowledges
that his whole identity is in Christ.
"a bond-servant of Christ Jesus and called as an apostle set apart for the gospel
of God"
He
acknowledges that he was called, or chosen, to be an apostle. We also know this
because of the account of Paul on the road to Damascus.
But
what is interesting to me is the term bond-servant. This term is not translated
correctly. We, humans, as a race have become squeamish. We don’t like taboo
words. Anything that could be inappropriate or possibly insensitive is removed.
That is what has happened here.
The
Greek word that is used here is doulos.
The definition of doulos is someone
who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own.
“Without
any ownership rights of their own”
Paul is
saying here that he belongs to Christ. That Christ owns him. All of who Paul is
belongs to someone other than himself.
We, as
Christians, just like Paul, are part of the elect, chosen by God to be His
children. But the important thing here is that there is nothing we are or have that belongs to us. Our heart, our mind, our entire being belongs to God.
By
grace we have been saved and through that incredible grace, God has provided
everything we need for eternal life and godliness. We have been sanctified and
justified through the death of Jesus Christ. His death purchased us. He paid a
price we can never afford and therefore we belong to Him.
Nothing
we have done or will do can take away or withhold what God plans to give to
you. That is the power of His abounding grace.
Knowing
this, why would we use our bodies, Christ’s property, to dishonor and disobey
God by choosing to sin?
Yes, we
are still human and therefore we will never be without sin while we are in this
world, but… BUT!
In
response to the most incredible, priceless, amazing gift of grace, why would you
not want to respond with love to the One that gave it to you?
