Cross words with Craig

Category: Bible

  • Romans 1: God Calling

    “Paul, called as an apostle, set apart for…God…to all who are beloved of God, called as saints” Romans 1:1,7

    Paul’s letter to the Romans begins with the observation that God calls. He summons and invites people to move toward Him. Elsewhere, Paul describes this as “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil.3:14).

    One spring day I saw a baby bird on the ground, flapping little wings and chirping. On top of a nearby building was the mother bird, making loud staccato chirps. I imagined that the baby was saying, “How did I get down here? I was just trying to copy you! And how can I get back up there?” The mother was encouraging the fledgling to spread those wings and fly upward.

    Paul experienced the upward call of God in Christ Jesus when a bright light knocked him down, blinded him, and gave his three days and nights of life changing joy and instruction in the third heaven with Christ (Acts 9).

    For “the beloved of God called as saints” in Rome, nothing so dramatic occurred, but God still drew them to Himself, pulling them away from mundane, fading earth-joys with a transformation just as amazing as a fledgling that starts to fly. Later in this letter, Paul will examine this carefully and describe it: “Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (that’s the purpose of the call), and those He predestined, He called.” (Rom.8:29-30). This means that the call of God comes out of His heart; it tracks back to something about Him, not about us. There is no observable reason He should call Jacob and not his twin Esau, but before they were born, He knew who He wanted. Jacob wasn’t better than Esau; he was just more blessed.

    The call of God leads to a life change. The called one is “justified”; i.e., made right with God. He or she has become aware of a whole new dimension to life.. Christians call this the new birth. It is something like going from black and white life to living in technicolor. The final destination of this “upward call” is to be glorified. That last, indescribable transformation occurs on resurrection day.

    The call of God is effectual. It never fails to create a powerful change. Churchill observed that most people stumble over the truth sometime, but they pick themselves up and walk on. When God’s word is spoken or read, the called ones hear God’s invitation unmistakably and compellingly; others just pick themselves up and travel on unchanged.

    The call of God, Paul says, is “without repentance” (Rom.11:29). God never uncalls those whom He called. The call of God creates an echo in those who are called so that they return the call back to its Source. Those who are called, call upon God. As God draws them close, they develop a hunger for that closeness. They find that “the Lord is abounding in riches for all who call upon Him” (Rom.10:12)

    My prayer for anyone reading this is that God will use my inadequate attempt to describe this life changing miracle to call you; to get your attention, turn you toward Him, and draw you upward into His presence, and finally into His glory. Listen! He calls with a still, small voice.

  • Welcome to the book of Romans

    About the author

    Paul was the preeminent Jewish firebrand of his day, taught by the most eminent rabbi, a member of the most exclusive and rigorous sect of Judaism, a very vocal and energetic opponent of the growing, corrupting influence of Christianity (Phil.3:4-6, Gal.1:13-14). If religion were the Olympics, Paul would have been headed for the gold medal in performance. As he travelled to arrest and prosecute Christians, he encountered the risen Jesus, saw his performance-based religion crumble, and, in three days and nights of intense fellowship with Jesus, rebuild a vibrant faith based on a personal relationship with Him (2 Cor.12:1-7). He spent the rest of his life sharing that faith.

    About the letter:

    As a missionary and church planter, Paul wrote letters to address the problems that cropped up with new Christians experiencing a whole new way of life. These letters are often short and to the point. But Romans is different. It was written very deliberately (Acts 19:21) over a three month period (Acts 20:1-3) to introduce himself and his understanding of the faith to a church he had never visited before. Paul’s determination to expand his missionary work to the west meant that he would need to transfer his headquarters to the most westward of the existing Christian churches – the church at Rome. Paul was a controversial figure; his relationship-based religion was a far cry from the performance-based religion of many Jewish Christians. These critics worried that Paul’s freedom in Christ meant that a Christian was free from all rules and guidelines; free to sin if he wanted to, and Grandpa God would indulge him in any misbehavior he enjoyed. In Romans, Paul vigorously corrects this misunderstanding. There is a problem in this church. Jewish Christians, who led the church in its early days, were expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius in 49 A.D. (Acts 18:2), then allowed to return to Rome a few years later (Romans 16:3-5). During their absence, Gentile Christians took the helm. When Jewish Christians returned, confusion ensued. “Who’s in charge?” “Is our faith performance based or relationship based?” “How does God choose His people anyway?” Paul will work to untangle this mess.

    About us readers:

    This letter is a suitcase very fully and carefully packed. We will look at it carefully one piece at a time. But please remember, we are not really reading the book of Romans; we are reading Paul’s letter to the Romans. If you receive a letter, you don’t divide it into 16 pieces and study one piece at a time, you read the letter through. Paul hints at things in chapter 1 that he will unfold in greater depth in chapter 6. Chapter 3 contains the controlling idea that is illustrated in chapter 4, given its proper context in chapter 5, personalized in chapter 7, and gloriously detailed in chapter 8. Paul didn’t know he was writing chapters; he thought he was writing a letter. So do him the favor of reading it at one sitting, as you would a letter. Then we can begin the joyous task of looking at it piece by piece.