TREASURY OF SERMONS
Called of Jesus Christ
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
(Preached at Calvary BPC Sunset Gospel Hour, Jul 4 1999)
Text: Rom 1:1-9
Introduction
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central theme
of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans can
also be called the Gospel According to St Paul. The key text is
found in Rom 1:16-17. Here Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as
it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ." If you were to read this epistle carefully, you will not
fail to see the intense passion with which Paul wrote this letter.
Paul was very passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
His love for Christ and His Gospel comes through very clearly in the
words, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." Paul’s heart and
mind was in overdrive as he sought to present and defend the Gospel
of Christ in this epistle.
Why was he so moved? He was so moved because of
the personal call he received from the Lord Himself. Before his
conversion, as Saul the Pharisee, with great zeal he persecuted
Christ and His Church. But since his conversion on the Damascus
road, he became Paul the Apostle, and with greater zeal, instead of
persecuting Christ, he now proclaims Christ and establishes His
church.
So you see, dear friends, Christianity as
demonstrated by Paul is not an occupation (a job you have to do,
whether you like it or not, in order to make a living); neither is
it a profession (paying lip service to Christ only—professing faith,
but never possessing faith). Christianity is a vocation—a calling.
It is something you respond to not only with your mind, but also
your heart, even your whole being.
In Rom 1:1-9 Paul rightly starts off with the
Call of Jesus Christ in his attempt to present and defend the Gospel
of Christ. God calls sinners into His kingdom through His Gospel.
When Christ calls us to His Gospel, how should we respond? Paul says
here that we ought to respond in these 2 ways: We ought to respond
to the Call of Christ by,
1. Believing the Gospel of
Christ
Paul in v1 introduced himself as "a servant (or
a bond-slave) of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God." What is this "gospel of God?" Paul defines
what the gospel of God is in the next 3 verses (vv2-4).
First, the Promise of the Gospel in v2. Paul
said that the Gospel of God was that "Which he had promised before
by his prophets in the holy scriptures." The Gospel is not an idea
that originated from man. The Gospel is a Plan that came directly
from God Himself as found in the Holy Scriptures. The Gospel is not
human invention, but divine intervention. When the first
man—Adam—failed the test of obedience in the garden of Eden, and
plunged himself and all of mankind into the depths of sinful
depravity and corruption, God intervened and promised a Saviour who
will save His people from sin. God was the first Evangelist. He was
the first to preach the Gospel in Gen 3:15, "And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This is the
First Gospel—the Promise that the seed of a woman—the Virgin-born
Son of God—would crush the head of the serpent (viz, Satan and all
that he represents), by His death His death on the cross. Not only
Gen 3:15, There are at least 36 other direct prophecies in the OT
(not counting all the analogies, allusions, or types of Christ)
concerning Christ’s first coming as Saviour (Gen 12:3, Gen 17:19,
Num 24:17, Gen 49:10, Isa 9:7, Mic 5:2, Dan 9:25, Isa 7:14, Jer
31:15, Mal 3:1, Ps 2:7, Isa 9:1, Deut 18:15, Isa 61:1, Isa 53:3, Ps
110:4, Zech 9:9, Ps 41:9, Zech 11:12, Ps 35:11, Isa 53:7, Isa 50;6,
Ps 35:19, Isa 53:5, Isa 53:12, Zech 12:10, Ps 22:7, Ps 69:21, Ps
109:4, Ps 22:17-18, Ps 34:20, Zech 12:10, Isa 53:9, Ps 16:10, Ps
49:15, Ps 68:18). The Gospel is not new. It is as old as the
universe. It is something planned by God, promised before in the
Scriptures, and performed in history at the appearance of Christ.
Second, the Provision of the Gospel in v3. What
did God promised to provide in the OT? God promised a Saviour in
"His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh." Please take note of how Jesus Christ is
described in this verse. Christ is here called "His Son." Christ is
the eternal Son of God the Father. Christ is the 2nd Person of the
Holy Trinity. In other words, Christ is God Himself. He is 100% God.
Christ is also of "the seed of David." How is
Christ of the seed of David? Take note of the word "made" here. The
KJV translation of the original (genomenou) here as "made" instead
of "born" evinces the theological astuteness and faithfulness of the
KJV and its translators. Ordinary human beings are born into this
world. We all have a beginning in our existence. We all began to
exist at the time of conception in our mother’s womb. But Jesus was
no ordinary human being. He was the eternal Son of God who existed
from eternity past. He existed before He became a human being. So,
he was not born but made a human being. He was made flesh by the
power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary who was from
the line of David. Thus, Christ was made "flesh." He is 100% Man.
In order to save us, Christ had to be 100% God
and 100% Man—fully God and fully Man. Christ had to be 100% God
because only a perfectly holy Sacrifice can atone for sin. Only God
is holy. Only God alone can offer Himself as a Sacrifice for our
sins. But being God alone is not enough. In order to save us, Christ
had to be 100% Man in order to represent man, and be his Substitute.
Only a Person who is both God and Man can save us from our sins. Our
Lord Jesus Christ is such a God-Man. Even His name reveals this: His
humanity is seen in His name JESUS which means "Saviour;’ and His
deity is seen in His name CHRIST which means "The Anointed One." In
Christ, God provided a perfect Sacrifice for our sins.
Third, the Power of the Gospel in v4. Jesus is
declared "the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Jesus saved us by His
perfect life on earth, "according to the spirit of holiness." The
"spirit of holiness" here does not refer to the Holy Spirit. Again I
am glad that the KJV translates the word "spirit" here accurately
with a small "s." When it clearly refers to the Holy Spirit—the KJV
translators usually translate with a capital "S" like in Rom 8. Here
the "spirit" refers to Jesus’ essential virtue of holiness and
purity. In holiness, He lived a perfect life on earth; He fulfilled
all righteousness; He kept perfectly every jot and tittle of the Law
to earn our righteousness.
Then He had to die for us on the cross, shedding
His precious blood for the remission of sins. And that is not the
end of the story. If that is all Christ did—dying for us—and no
more, then it is bad news and not good news for us. Paul said, "If
Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is
also vain,…ye are yet in your sins" (1 Cor 15: 14,17). But praise
the Lord! Jesus saved us by His resurrection power. It is a
irrefutable historical fact that Christ rose from the dead on the
third day. We have a Living Saviour, not a dead one. A dead saviour
is useless. Because He lives, we who have believed in Him live also.
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John
11:25-26).
What is the Gospel of God? The Gospel of God is
the Gospel of Christ—that Jesus died for us according the
Scriptures, was buried, and then rose again the 3rd day according to
the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4). May I ask this vital question now?
Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have not, then
you are a man who stands condemned before God, condemned in your
sin, condemned to face the fiery judgment of eternal hell-fire. But
do you not know, dear friend, that God loves you, and desires for
you to escape this terrible judgment that is to come. How to escape?
Paul says in Rom 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Confess and believe
right now! Don’t delay! God is calling you. He is calling you to
believe in the Saviour—the Lord Jesus Christ—who can save you from
your sins. Salvation does not cost you a single cent. Salvation is
not something you can work for. All the work is already by Christ.
That is why Paul said in v5 that it is "grace"—"we have received
grace." This grace is the free gift of salvation in Christ. Won’t
you receive this gift now? Confess! Believe!
2. Preaching the Gospel of
Christ
The call to believe in the Gospel of Christ also
involves the call to preach the Gospel of Christ. This is clearly
taught by Paul in v1: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God." Having been bought
out of sin’s condemnation, Paul now belongs to Jesus as His servant.
The word "servant" here refers to a servant who is a bond-slave.
Now, what is a bond-slave? In the OT, a slave served his master for
6 years, and in the 7th, he would be set free. But there is a
provision for him to choose to remain a slave in his master’s house.
We read of this in Exod 21:5-6, "And if the servant shall plainly
say, I love my master,…I will not go out free: Then his master shall
bring him unto the judges;…and his master shall bore his ear through
with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever." He has become a
bond-slave. So a bond-slave is a willing and a happy slave. He loves
his master because of his master’s love for him, and he wants to
serve his good master for life.
And what was Paul’s specific duty as a
bond-slave? He was "called to be an apostle." The word "apostle"
literally means a "messenger." Paul was a messenger for God. What
message did he preach? He preached the "Gospel of God." Paul was
"separated unto the Gospel of God." This reminds us of God’s call of
Paul and Barnabas to the ministry of the Gospel in Acts 13:2. The
Holy Spirit spoke to the Church in Antioch, "Separate me Barnabas
and Saul (or Paul) for the work whereunto I have called them." So
the separation here has to do with a separation from the world or
all secular pursuits, so as to be fully occupied with the ministry
of the Gospel. It was a call to full-time Christian service.
As Bible-Presbyterians, we believe that God
calls certain of His saints into full-time Christian service. I pray
that God will call some more from Calvary BPC to serve Him
full-time. We thank God for your faithful witness in establishing so
many global churches and gospel stations. But do you also realise
that not a few of these places do not have a residential full-time
and more-importantly trained shepherd? As you pray that the Lord
would open more doors to plant churches, do pray all the more for
God to raise up full-time servants to shepherd the flock of God.
When there is no shepherd, the sheep will scatter.
How do I know if I am called? There are
basically two evidences: (1) There must be an intense desire and
willingness to serve God full-time. You must have a heart of a
bond-slave: "I love my master because He is so good to me, and I am
going to give my life to serve Him full-time." It is an inescapable
desire. It is a desire that will bring you misery all your life if
you do not submit to it. (2) There must be a confirmation from the
church. The Lord will confirm God’s call in your life through
spiritually mature and sensitive men in the church. This was what
happened to Paul in the Antioch Church. The Holy Spirit spoke to the
leaders of the church and told them to "Separate me Barnabas and
Paul."
We thank the Lord a good intake this coming
semester in FEBC. We have over 20 who have registered. They come
from Africa, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines,
Thailand, and from Singapore not a few. We pray that the Lord will
raise up more, especially from this congregation.
Now the duty of preaching the gospel is not only
for the full-time pastor, but for all believers. This we find in
vv5-6, "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for
obedience to faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are
ye also the called of Jesus Christ." All Christians are called of
Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel to all nations. The Roman
Christians were active in preaching the Gospel. In v8, Paul thanked
God for the testimony that the Roman Christians bore, for "your
faith is spoken throughout the world." God has called you to preach
His blessed and glorious Gospel, are you doing so? Let us reach out
to our family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers with the
Gospel of Christ which is the power of God to salvation to all who
believe.
Conclusion
God is calling a people for Himself today. To
you who are still outside the family of God, He calls you to be part
of His family by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only
Saviour of the world. To those of us who are have already believed,
God’s call to you now is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all
the world before He returns. Time is not on our side, dear friends.
Jesus is coming back real soon. The trumpet call will soon sound.
When it sounds, will you meet God as your Judge or your Friend? Let
us pray.
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