Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ…

What does it mean to be “saved”?

That’s a very important question that you need to answer for yourself. “What do I think “being saved” is?” Some people tie salvation to an action, or a series of actions they consider sacred (sacraments). For instance, you might think you’re saved because you were baptized by a preacher, or you may think you’re saved because you are a member of a church. Some think they are saved because they were born into a Church family.

Let’s look into the future. Imagine that you leave this life, and are standing at the entrance to Heaven. Peter is not there – that’s a fantasy of Catholicism. Do you know Who is at the entrance to Heaven? Jesus gives us a clue. He said in:

John 5:21-22 (ESV) as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son

Jesus said “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son”. So Who is standing at the entrance to Heaven? It is Jesus Christ. All judgment is committed to the Son. And now Jesus asks you,

“By what right do you enter My Heaven? What makes you worthy to be here?”

How will you answer this? Will you list off a series of things that you did in this life, religious stuff that makes you worthy? Will your Church membership or tithing or attendance, your Bible knowledge, will these things make you worthy to enter? Jesus answers this in the Bible.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Do you know what the proper response to Jesus is, if He asks you “why should I allow you in My Heaven?” The answer is, “Lord, I’m not worthy. But when I was on earth, I realized I was a sinner who deserved to be condemned. But I heard that You gave Your life for me on Calvary, that You paid for my sins in full. Jesus, I called on Your name. I confessed my sins, and committed my life to you as Savior and Lord. And I did my best to do what You told me to do. Jesus, I know You”.

That’s the key. Do you know Jesus? I’m not asking if you know the Bible, but do you know Him? Have you surrendered your life to Him? Is He your Savior and Lord? If so, you know Him – and He knows you. Do you seek to obey Him? When you fail, do you ask Him to forgive your sins.

Is YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS part of your life?

The Bible is a great Book, with 66 great Books in it. We’ve just finished studying the Book of Hebrews, and seen how the Old Covenant was replaced with the New Covenant. We will have the Lord’s Table in a few moments, and when we drink of the Cup we will say Jesus’ words:

“Take, drink. This Cup is the NEW COVENANT in My Blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20, ESV)

The Old Covenant was distinguished by repeated animal sacrifices, but the New Covenant by the Blood of Jesus Christ. “We are BROUGHT NEAR TO GOD by the BLOOD OF CHRIST” (Ephesians 2:13). “If we walk in the Light as Jesus is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON cleanses us FROM ALL SIN”. (1 John 1:7). It is Jesus Who “loved us, and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD” (Revelation 1:5).

It’s all about the relationship. Do you know Him?

Saul Didn’t Know Jesus – But He Knew The Bible
And He Was LOST

The Book of Romans starts with:

Romans 1:1 Paul…

Who was this “Paul”. Before Paul met Jesus, he was “Saul”. Saul was named after the first King of Israel, King Saul. King Saul was a man who started out humble, but because of his position as King he became arrogant. Saul erected a monument to himself at Carmel (1 Samuel 15:12-28), refused to obey God, and made sacrifices as only priests should do. Because of this God told Saul,

“You have rejected My Word, so I reject you as King over Israel”
(1 Samuel 15:26)

He was arrogant. Before he met the Lord and became Paul, Saul was arrogant. He tells us in:

Philippians 3:5-6 {I was} circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Saul was – by every work possible – outwardly a saved man. He was circumcised as a child, dedicated in the Temple on the eighth day. He was of God’s Chosen People Israel. He was “born into the Church”. Saul not only knew his Bible, but he was a “a Pharisee”, of a very strict religious sect. The Pharisees prided themselves on keeping the Law of God perfectly. Saul said, “concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless”. Saul dotted his i’s and crossed his t’s. Saul served on the Sanhedrin, the ruling Council of the Jews – 70 Elders highly respected in Israel.

By every human metric Saul was a saved person, someone who loved God. When the followers of Jesus Christ began to meet in the Temple, the Sanhedrin put out a contract on them. The Sanhedrin tasked Saul with looking for and capturing these “disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1) as they were called at that time.

The name “Christian” was not given to believers in Jesus until the Church was established in Antioch (Acts 11:26). Till then, believers were “disciples of the LORD”.

The Sanhedrin believed these “disciples of the Lord” were evil, blasphemous. The Bible tells us that:

Acts 9:1 (AP) … Saul breathed out threats and murder against the Disciples of the Lord …

As he headed toward Damascus, intent on trapping and killing more “disciples” he met Jesus. Jesus knocked him down on the Damascus Road, and asked him “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:3). When Jesus spoke to him from Heaven

this Saul,
this Hebrew of Hebrews,
this Pharisee,
this Law Keeper,
this member of the Sanhedrin,
this self righteous man cried out,

“Who ARE YOU, Lord?” (Acts 9:5)

He thought he knew God, but Saul didn’t know God. He had all the earmarks of being saved, but he was not saved. He knew the Bible, but did not know the God Who wrote the Bible. He went through all the motions – but missed what mattered most. Saul didn’t know Jesus.

Jesus introduced Himself. “I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). At this point Saul asks the Lord,

“Lord, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?”
(Acts 9:6)

That’s when Saul was saved. Saul was saved when he met Jesus, and realized that he was on the wrong path. Saul was saved when he humbled himself before the Lord. How is a person saved?

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

While Saul was lifted up by his accomplishments, he was arrogant, murderous. He was sure of himself. But meeting Jesus, Saul humbled himself … and the LORD LIFTED HIM UP. That’s where salvation is. That’s how Saul became Paul.

When you meet Jesus and humble yourself before Him as both Savior and Lord, HE WILL LIFT YOU UP. It is His Blood that will save you. It is Christ’s Spirit that will come to you. You will become changed. When you were born, you were given a name by your birth parents. But when you meet Jesus, you will be BORN AGAIN.

Saul becomes Paul. Your life is never the same.

Salvation Is Not Something You Do,
But Something GOD Does

There was a man named Abram. Abram – whose name mean “great father”, had no children, and was not likely to have any children. God comes to Abram one day, and says “If you’ll follow Me – if you’ll do as I say – I will trade your inability to have children with ability. I’ll take what was dead – you and Sarah – and give you life!” Abram started following God. God took Abraham outside one night and said:

Genesis 15:5 …(NKJV) “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And {God} said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

The Bible tells us

Romans 4:3 … Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

When Saul believed in himself, he was Saul. But when Saul met the Lord and believed in the Lord, Saul became Paul. When Abram met the Lord and believed in the Lord, Abram became Abraham – the father of many nations. When you meet Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior, He changes you. You become “born again” (John 3:3; 3:7; 1 Peter 1:23). This isn’t something you do, but something God does to you.

Have you met Jesus?

Saul became Paul on meeting Jesus. Abram became Abraham on meeting Jesus. When you come to believe in Jesus, He changes your life.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a SERVANT of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God

Whereas Saul was a persecutor of the Disciples of the Lord, now he becomes a “a SERVANT of Jesus Christ”. Those who are saved serve the Lord. We do not live to serve ourselves, but to glorify Him.

Psalm 100:2 (ESV) Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Later on in this Book the Apostle will command us who love Jesus:

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The believer in Christ is saved to serve the Lord, to glorify Him with our lives.

Romans 12:10-11 (NKJV) Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord

Like Paul (who was Saul), if we are saved it is to serve the Lord. God told the Church at Thessalonikki,

1 Thessalonians 1:9 … you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

Pastor John Piper notes:

“Over and over again, Paul calls himself and he calls Christians “servants” — literally, “slaves” — of Christ and of God (Romans 1:1; Ephesians 6:6). Peter does the same in 1 Peter 2:16 and 2 Peter 1:1. It is unmistakable. One biblical way of speaking rightly about the relationship to God that we have is to call ourselves servants or slaves of God and of Christ.”

We do not serve God because our service helps us retain our salvation, or our service makes us more saved. We serve God in Christ because we love Him.

He is our Savior, our Lord, our Shepherd. We serve Him because this is the way to true peace and contentment. The world serves itself, chasing after misplaced sexuality, mishandled money, misaligned fame, and misappropriated power. As much as people serve themselves, they are not happy nor content. Why? Because we were not created to serve ourselves or to be our own gods and goddesses. We were created to serve and glorify the Lord Who loves us.

When Saul served the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, and himself, he was not happy nor even content. But when Paul served and glorified the Lord, he began to live the life God designed him for. Jesus said:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The “THIEF”, the devil and his demonic worldly system, tells us that we have life by making much of ourselves, putting ourselves in the center of the universe. As Dr. Phil McGraw often asks those he counsels,

“How’s that workin’ out for ya?”

Every time we choose ourselves and selfishness, step back, look at yourself, and ask yourself “How’s that workin’ out for ya?”. God sets before us life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, water and fire. When we serve the Lord Who saved us, we will always walk in the light, in the life, and our lives will be blessed for it. Once Saul surrendered to Jesus, the Lord made him Paul.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Paul didn’t serve himself, but the Lord. Paul stopped working for the Sanhedrin, and as an Apostle worked for the Savior. Saul was separated unto self righteousness. Paul is now “separated unto the gospel of God”. He is not a dead man walking – which is what he was – but is now a Child of God by faith in Christ. He is a Temple of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

The name “Paul” means “Little, Small”. Saul was big, filled with self. Paul is little, but serves an immense God!

Romans 1:2-3 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord …

Saul used the Scriptures, twisting them to build up himself and the Pharisees whom he associated with. But Paul realized the Scriptures were all about Jesus. He stopped twisting the Scripture, and began to read the Scripture. Jesus told the Pharisees:

John 5:37-39 (NKJV) … the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these {scriptures} are they which testify of Me.

You can know the Bible, but not know the Lord.

Do You Know The Lord Jesus?
Does He Know You?

What did God do to save us? Let’s break it down.

Romans 1:3 Concerning HIS Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was MADE of the seed of David ACCORDING TO THE FLESH

Word Study: Jesus Christ is HIS Son, the Son of God. God MADE His Son flesh. Eternal God became temporal but perfect Man. Jesus was “MADE”, the Greek ginomai (pronounced ghin’-om-ahee) which means to move from one state to another state, to come into being or come onto the stage”. Jesus is the One of Whom the Scripture says, “the Word was WITH GOD, and the Word WAS GOD, the Same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-3). Eternal God the Son lowered Himself to walk among us.

Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with POWER, according to the Spirit of holiness …

Jesus walked on this earth, casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, doing that which only God could do. Jesus did this through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). Jesus lived a perfect life on this earth. Then He laid down His life for your sins and mine.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV) … you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The Lamb of God, Jesus, went to Calvary for you. He died for your sins and mine. Buried, He paid our penalty in full.

Romans 1:4 … by the resurrection from the dead:

But Jesus rose from the grave, and offers His Grace to whosoever will believe on Him. He calls to all, and bids us come, surrendered, to follow Him both now and forever.

Romans 1:5-6 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Jesus Christ gives us salvation by Grace. We are saved by His hand, not ours. But once saved, we are called to “obedience to the faith”. That is the life He calls us to. Do you know Him? Does He know you? If not, I beg you, turn to Him in faith today. As Saul did, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. And once you see Him as He is – both Savior and Lord – ask Him, “Lord, what would You have me to do?”

Through His Spirit His Gospel calls. Amen and Amen.