Romans 1:1-7; Paul's Introduction

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Introduction

I usually am breathless after I read a Pauline salutation--breathless because it is only one sentence in Greek, and the sentence just goes on and on, piling up theological concepts on us like a swarm of defensive players on a hapless running back caught behind the line of scrimmage. After reading this long Greek sentence you say to yourself: where do I begin? One place to start is to realize that this passage was chosen by the lectionary makers because of the references in vv. 2-3 to the Gospel's being promised by the prophets. This connects with the Isaiah passage for the morning, which also is quoted in Matt 1. So, we have our literary and theological connection--Jesus, according to Christian faith, was "foretold" by the prophets.

But that seems to be a rather thin cord connecting the three passages. Is there something of more significant theological importance from this passage alone that draws our attention? I would like to explore that question in this essay--focusing on Romans in general, the concept of being "separated" or "called" and, finally, the issue of "obedience" to faith.

I. Reading Romans

Romans is Paul at his strongest. He writes here to a congregation he has never visited, to people he doesn't really know and for a purpose not easy to discern. I argued in one semi-scholarly paper about 30 years ago that Paul is really asking the Romans for money (Rom. 15) to speed him on his missionary way throughout the Mediterranean world, but he is not very forthright on that point. But Paul uses this lack of familiarity with his audience as a strength. It gives him an occasion to lay out what "his" Gospel is, even though if you asked him, he would probably have said it is "the" Gospel. He doesn't have to face the internal dissension which we see in I Cor., the attacks on his apostleship which bedevil him in II Cor., the anger he feels at the congregation in Gal., or the difficulty he has saying "thank-you" in Phil. Here he is not bothered by any of these things, and so he can sort of surmount the demands of the present and reflect on the basic nature of faith. As the Republic is to Plato's writings, so Romans is to Paul's--the basic statement of his most important ideas. Some of those are adumbrated in this passage, but he mentions them in such brilliant swiftness that we really don't have time to savor them at all.

II. "Separated" and "Called"

There is one idea, however, that does encourage some consideration, and that is the notion of Paul's being "separated" to the Gospel (v. 1) or "called" to it (vv. 1, 6). The congregation is also said to be "called" (vv. 6,7). I both welcome and bristle at the idea. My personal ambivalence is reflected in the ambivalence of the word translated as "separated" in v. 1--aphorizomenos. It has a dual meaning in the NT: "excommunicated" from the community or "called" to serve God. Two pretty contrasting situations, aren't they? But they both recognize some kind of "separation" from the "crowd." Jesus uses the term in Luke 6:22--"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you" (aphorizo). Paul uses the word in Gal. 2:12 to criticize Peter's supposed insincerity for separating himself from Paul and others when the Jerusalem elders came to check things out. But it can also be used, as here and Acts 13:1, to express a notion of separation of people from a community for a special work to which they have been appointed or "called."

I suppose it is the dual meaning of the term that provides the basis for my theological ambivalence to the concept. Surely those who are "in Christ" are "called" to a task on earth, a call that is as special and unique as can be. But the implications of being separated can also be debilitating. It can give us the impression (and it has given me the impression) that you are super-special, that your message is unique, and that you are not subject to the basic rules of life. In short, being "separated" can justify a great deal of stubbornness, personal willfulness and just plain stupidity. Yet, on the other hand, you really don't get much done in life unless you believe and have discovered a unique angle to apply your gifts to the problems of the world in which you live. In order to discover this unique "angle," you really must have the confidence, almost the chutzpah, to think of yourself as called or "separated." Your energy and focus arises out of this sense of self.

So it is with many things in life. Our greatest strength provides the occasion for weakness; our biggest asset is also tour greatest vulnerability. Being "separated" for the Gospel, which is Paul's experience, is both a tremendous blessing as well as a potential curse. What will it be for you?

III. Obedience of Faith

Paul states it clearly in v. 5--the goal of his preaching is to bring about "obedience of faith." He is interested in growing the movement. Movements grow, at the beginning, if there is submergence of the individual's concerns for the interest of the group. Maybe this is also the way that movements continue to grow down the road. And, in many ways, we can only exist as a society if certain indivudual concerns are submerged to the greater good of the nation. We all pay taxes (or, better said, we are required by law to pay taxes), even though many of us as individuals would prefer not to do so--or not pay so much. By the way, Oregon, where I live, is unique in America in having a "kicker" law--if state revenues actually exceed by more than 2% a Revenue Department projection made a year before, then the excess taxes revenues have to be returned to the taxpayer. So I received a nice check yesterday, just in time for Christmas, from my state dep't of revenue. My kids are already very grateful! But you see the point. Obedience of some kind is necessary to give "glue" to a society.

I think we are at a time of faith in the Mainline and even Evangelical churches where people are going to "pick and choose" among doctrines and practices they desire. The "obedience of faith" is going to be harder and harder to come by as the relentless drive of technology enables us to become individual islands of work and pleasure. So, I close with a paradox of sorts: the things that made Paul's ministry so foundational for Christian faith are the things that we receive today with ambivalence. But I suppose there is one thing that doesn't leave us ambivalent--and that is the birth of the Christ himself. It will not come for two days--but I hope we have "prepared" for him well...

3130