January 1, 2018
39 Years a Slave
Romans 1:1–3
Todd Wagner
Central Truth
When you love somebody, serving them is a privilege not a chore.
Romans 1:1–3
Greeting
1 Paul, a servant 1 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface of Christ Jesus, 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 concerning his Son, who was descended from David 2 1:3 Or who came from the offspring of David according to the flesh
Dive Deeper | Romans 1:1–3
According to Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright, "When a man loves a woman, Can't keep his mind on nothin' else, He'd trade the world For a good thing he's found." (Do yourself a favor and listen to Percy Sledge sing the song correctly here, and don't let Michael Bolton ruin it for you.)
According to the Apostle Paul, when a man loves a Savior, "Can't keep his earlobe from being pierced by an awl, because of the good Master he has found." (See here if you want the original lyrics Paul likely borrowed from).
Because of the tragic institution of race-based slavery (which is NOT what the Bible is talking about when the word slave is used—listen to this RealTruthRealQuick), we have an appropriate aversion to the word slave and might even find ourselves hesitant to use the word. But Paul had no such aversion, and, when it comes to our relationship to Christ, neither should we. The truth is, everyone one of us is serving something or someone (even if that someone is ourselves); and if the someone that we are serving is NOT the gracious, humble-hearted, easy-yoke, gentle King of the world, we are only hurting ourselves. BUT if our Master ALWAYS has our best interest in mind and NEVER asks us to do anything except the things that bless us and increase the glory associated with our name, who wouldn't want to be subject to His rule.
As in all things, we see Jesus perfectly model for us what it means to love a master. Jesus didn't have His "ear" pierced on a wooden door as a model of humility and submission; rather, He shed His blood on a wooden cross, and He had His hands, feet, and side (not to mention His heart) pierced as an expression of love and devotion to the Father.
May our journey in the Word together daily encourage us to follow in the steps of Jesus and His servant Paul in gladly surrendering our lives to our perfect heavenly Master and King.
This month's memory verse
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
– Romans 3:23
Discussion Questions
1. I often repeat the statement, "What you think about when you think about God is the most important thing about you." Spend some time listing the attributes of God that most remind you of His kindness and trustworthiness so you can more willingly surrender to His will.
2. Take some time, sign into the comment portion of Join The Journey, and encourage others with a couple of the verses that highlight the gracious attributes that you thought of as you answered question #1.
3. What areas of your life do you find hardest to surrender to your King? Send an email or a text to your community group asking them for prayer, daily encouragement, and accountability in laying those areas of your life at your King's feet.
4. Channel your inner "Lewis and Wright" and finish this sentence and post it below (now that you're already signed up) in the comment section:
"When a man/woman loves his/her Savior, ______________________________".