The Fourth Sunday in Advent
\nDecember 18, 2016
\nRomans 1:1-7<\/p>\n
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God\u2014the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead:\u00a0 Jesus Christ our Lord.\u00a0 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.\u00a0 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:\u00a0 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 (NIV1984)<\/p>\n
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n
I am not sure if this is true for you, but I have found that one of the more difficult aspects of getting ready for Christmas is simply picking out the Christmas presents.\u00a0 I want to find just the right gift for each person on my list\u2014 and that is not always easy to do!\u00a0 Once that goal has been reached, however, I have discovered that one of the more exciting parts of getting ready for Christmas is wrapping the Christmas gifts!\u00a0 As I wrap each individual present I can\u2019t help but picture the person for whom I purchased that present.\u00a0 I smile as I envision them opening that gift and seeing for the first time what I picked out especially for them.\u00a0 Since I am not much into adding bows and ribbons to the presents I wrap the very last thing I do is to fill out that little gift tag\u2014 you know, the one that says \u201cFrom\u201d and \u201cTo.\u201d\u00a0 Even if I am not there when some of my Christmas presents are opened that little gift tag is a personal handwritten \u201cconnection\u201d between me, the present, and the person who is opening that present.<\/p>\n
I would like you to visualize a Christmas present as we study our sermon text for today.\u00a0 The present itself, the present which Paul picked out especially for you and for me, is found in the closing sentence of our text. \u00a0The majority of this text could then be viewed as the gift tag that proclaims the \u201cFrom\u201d and the \u201cTo,\u201d as well as the \u201cwrapping\u201d in which we receive the greatest Christmas present of all!\u00a0 With that picture of a Christmas present in mind let\u2019s close out our Sunday morning Advent sermon series by looking at these words of Romans chapter one under the theme:\u00a0 Grace and Peace to You!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Now we all know that before we open up a Christmas present we always need to read the gift tag which tells us both who the present is from and whom the present is for!\u00a0 That\u2019s what we will do with our text as well.\u00a0 The \u201cFrom\u201d part of the gift tag is found in the opening two verses of our text.\u00a0 We read, \u201cPaul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God\u2014 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Now when I sign one of these little gift tags I usually state very simply that this particular gift is from \u201cSteve\u201d or from \u201cDad.\u201d\u00a0 Paul, however, wants to make very very sure that the recipients of this letter know exactly<\/strong> who is writing to them.\u00a0 To that end Paul emphasizes three important truths concerning himself.<\/p>\n First, Paul reveals that he is a \u201cservant of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The Greek word that Paul uses here is the ordinary word for \u201cslave.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Paul is a \u201cslave\u201d<\/em> of Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Paul belongs to Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Paul was duty-bound to carry out not<\/strong> his own wishes but rather the wishes of Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Paul lived under Jesus\u2019 authority and willingly served the Christ.<\/p>\n Secondly, Paul brings out that he was \u201ccalled to be an apostle.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Although Paul was not one of the original Twelve, he had been called directly by Jesus Himself to serve as His apostle to the Gentiles.\u00a0 You may recall how Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.\u00a0 (See Acts 9)\u00a0 Therefore, Paul not only spoke with the full authority of an apostle of Jesus Christ, but Paul also wrote under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n Finally, Paul reminds the Romans\u2014 and us, of course\u2014 that he had been \u201cset apart for the gospel of God\u2014 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 You may remember that Paul was trained as a Pharisee.\u00a0 In fact, in his youth Paul (at that time he was known as Saul) was the \u201crising star\u201d among the Pharisees.\u00a0 (See II Corinthians 11:21-23; Galatians 1:14; Philippians 3:4b-6)\u00a0 This means that Paul knew his Old Testament Scriptures inside and out!\u00a0 Once God the Holy Spirit had created the gift of saving faith in Paul\u2019s heart Paul was then able to go back and see that from Genesis to Malachi God\u2019s Word was focused on proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord\u2019s Messiah, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n Now that we have seen that the gift tag is signed by none other than Paul, \u201ca servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,\u201d<\/em> let\u2019s see who the gift is \u201cTo.\u201d\u00a0 Look at the opening part of verse seven.\u00a0 Paul writes, \u201cTo all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I just have to share with you a literal translation of this sentence!\u00a0 Very literally what Paul wrote here goes like this:\u00a0 \u201cTo all who are in Rome, beloved (or dearest) of God, called holy (or set apart as holy) by God.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Take a moment to savor the sweetness of those words, my friends.\u00a0 The Christians in Rome are the \u201cbeloved\u201d<\/em> of God.\u00a0 God Himself calls them His \u201cdearest.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 At the same time the Christians in Rome are \u201ccalled holy.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 They have been \u201cset apart\u201d<\/em> from the sinful world by the Lord God Himself!\u00a0 Once you have savored the sweetness of those words then remember this:\u00a0 Those same words apply to you<\/strong> as well!\u00a0 You<\/strong> are<\/u> the \u201cbeloved\u201d<\/em> of God!\u00a0 God calls you<\/strong> His \u201cdearest.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 You<\/strong> are<\/u> \u201ccalled holy.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Through the power of His Holy Spirit working in Word and Sacrament God Himself has set you<\/strong> apart from the unbelieving world to be His very own treasured possession!\u00a0 What an absolutely wonderful uplifting truth.\u00a0 You are<\/em><\/strong> \u201csaints\u201d<\/em> in the eyes of the God of heaven!<\/p>\n So we see then that the gift tag says, \u201cFrom:\u00a0 Paul, the apostle\u201d and \u201cTo: You, the Saints of God.\u201d\u00a0 In an effort to keep my analogy going here I would like to suggest that the \u201cwrapping\u201d of this Christmas present is described for us in verses 3 & 4 of our text.\u00a0 Paul had just said that the Gospel had been \u201cpromised beforehand through his <\/em>(i.e. God\u2019s) prophets in the Holy Scriptures.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>With those words Paul makes sure that we are firmly grounded on the rock-solid foundation of God\u2019s holy inspired Word.\u00a0 With that focus clearly in view Paul then goes on to describe the very essence of the Gospel message by saying, \u201cregarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead:\u00a0 Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n With these simple yet powerful words the apostle Paul does indeed beautifully capture the essence of the Gospel.\u00a0 The essence of the Gospel centers on the fact that the Child born in Bethlehem is our true Brother.\u00a0 According to His \u201chuman nature\u201d<\/em> He was\u2014 and still is\u2014 a direct descendant of great King David.\u00a0 As we confess in the Nicene Creed Jesus is \u201cfully human.\u201d\u00a0 But at the very same time in a way that is too awesome for us to truly comprehend the Child born in Bethlehem is also the true eternal Son of the one and only Living God!\u00a0 This Child is Immanuel which means, \u201cGod with us.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (See Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23)<\/p>\n The entire Christian faith stands or falls on the truth that Paul is emphasizing here in this portion of our text.\u00a0 Our Savior needed<\/strong> to be a true human being so that He could serve as our Substitute.\u00a0 He had to live the perfect life that we could not live.\u00a0 He had to serve as the innocent Lamb of sacrifice and die on the cross in order to pay the debt of sin that we<\/strong> owed to God!\u00a0 At the very same time our Savior needed<\/strong> to be God Himself so that His perfect life and His innocent death would be \u201csufficient\u201d to pay the debt of sin for the entire human race.\u00a0 By physically rising from the dead on Easter Sunday the Child of Bethlehem proves<\/strong> beyond any<\/strong> shadow of a doubt that He is the Savior we need<\/strong>\u2014 both true man and true God in one Person.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s see where we are, shall we?\u00a0 The gift tag reveals that our Christmas present this morning is \u201cFrom:\u00a0 Paul, the apostle\u201d and \u201cTo:\u00a0 You, the Saints of God.\u201d\u00a0 The beautiful wrapping paper represents the awesome truth that the Child of Bethlehem is both true man and true God in one Person\u2014 the only Savior we need.\u00a0 That leaves just one more thing to look at\u2014 the gift itself!\u00a0 The Christmas gift that Paul places before us this morning is found in those simple profound words, \u201cGrace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Christmas gift that Paul gives to us today, my friends, is not a gift that he made himself.\u00a0 It is not a gift that he purchased.\u00a0 It is not a gift that he or we even deserve.\u00a0 No rather, it is a gift that God Himself gave to Paul for Paul to both enjoy and to share with others!\u00a0 Yes, God\u2019s Christmas gift to Paul is the Christmas gift that Paul now shares with you.\u00a0 It is the glorious gift of \u201cgrace and peace.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 The birth of God\u2019s Son as a little Baby in Bethlehem is the purest gift of grace that this world has ever or will ever see.\u00a0 Jesus came into this world simply because He loves you!\u00a0 In fact, He loves you so<\/strong> very much that He came here into our world as our true Brother so that through His life, death and resurrection you could have the gift of true peace\u2014 the peace that comes from the forgiveness of sins, the peace that guarantees eternal life in heaven, the peace that only God Himself can give to you.<\/p>\n \u201cGrace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 While the words are simple enough the truth they express goes beyond our understanding.\u00a0 My prayer then on this last Sunday before we celebrate the birth of our Savior is that each and every Christmas present you open this year will indeed remind you of the greatest gift of all\u2014 the gift of God\u2019s own Son.\u00a0 When that is the focus of your Christmas celebration then, my friends, you will indeed enjoy and treasure the Christmas gift God gave to Paul, the Christmas gift Paul shares with you and the Christmas gift you now have to share with others:\u00a0 Grace and peace to you!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To God be the glory!<\/p>\n Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Fourth Sunday in Advent December 18, 2016 Romans 1:1-7 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God\u2014the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of 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