Romans 1 (Annecks)

v1 -- "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ . . . "


Here we have Paul's greeting to the saints in Rome, and it is significant because this is a group of people he has never met (v11, 15); and yet one with whom he is well-acquainted because of the reports of their faith (v8).  No doubt they also had heard of him, given his prominence in the early church, and the fact that he was writing them a letter; but he had never met them face-to-face.


Notice the word Paul uses to describe himself, the first word he uses: servant.  The Greek word here is doulos, which can mean servant, but can also be translated as "slave."  It's no small thing for Paul to introduce himself as a slave because the Romans were well-acquainted with slaves, as there were some 60 million slaves throughout the Roman Empire.  They lived a very difficult existence, and were considered a piece of property and not a real person.  They were the property of their owners, who could use them or rent them out however they saw fit, whenever they wanted, with no questions asked.  They could even kill the with no fear of punishment (much of this information came from Warren Wiersbe's commentary on Romans called "Be Right").


It would have been a shock for such a prominent figure in the early church to identify himself as a slave.  For him to downplay his significance or glory--a stark contrast to other prominent figures of Roman history--would have taken them by surprise.  But he paints a great picture of what the Christian life is: service, slavery.  Doesn't conjure up a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings inside of you, does it?  But that is essentially what we are--slaves to God, slaves to righteousness (Paul will get there explicitly in Chapter 6).  Is this not the picture Jesus himself gave when he bent low to wash the feet of His disciples?  And yet, this is not a burdensome task for us because our Master is "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love" (Psalm 145:8).


Do you ever view yourself in this light, as a slave to Christ?  Probably not.  It's easier for us to consider ourselves "Ambassadors for Christ" or "Soldiers of God."  These carry a connotation of honor and importance.  Even the term "Martyr" carries such a feeling with it--a feeling of significance and prestige.  But to consider ourselves a slave would be to give up those feelings of significance and importance, and to give up our rights as well.  But that is how God wants us, and how we are best used: broken and humble before the Lord.  As the Lord himself says in Isaiah: "'This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit'" (66:2).


I challenge you to practice taking the mindset of a slave, remembering the description above of what it was like to be a slave: your life is the property of someone else; your decisions are made by someone else; you do not have rights and entitlements.  Make a practice of daily submitting your rights to God.  Live your life as if Jesus was physically present to be your Master.  Take on this title, one in which Paul took great pride: a servant of Jesus Christ, a doulos of God.  May we all be content with being nothing more than a servant of the Lord.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
Shalom aleichem.

Annecks