Romans 1:1

Romans 1:1 says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.  We see first that the writer is Paul.  Some consider Paul to be, if not the greatest Christian of all time, then at least one of the greatest.  Paul tells us who he is, not by earthly degrees and standing, but by his relationship to God.  When asked who we are, this would always be a good place to start.  Our relationship to God is all that will ultimately matter, so it should be of primary importance now.  Paul said he was an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.  As followers of Christ, we to are separated to the gospel and should live accordingly.  The apostles are considered those who were the first called by Christ, but Paul considered himself no less an apostle. Verse two adds, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)  The gospel is no afterthought for redeeming mankind.  The plan for redemption, the gospel, existed before creation, because God gave man the free will to choose or reject His will for their life.  We may have a hard time understanding such love as God has shown us.  Knowing the possibility of people rebelling against Him and following their own will, God not only created us, but had a plan of redemption already in place.  Verse three continues, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;  The redemption plan was, and always will be, salvation through Jesus Christ alone.  Having been a devout Jew, Paul understood the coming Messiah, and after encountering Him, he never doubted Who the Messiah was, and that was Jesus.  Likewise, we can never doubt Him once we encounter Him.  Verse four states, And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:  Paul tells us here how we can be sure that Jesus is the Messiah.  He was declared to be the Son of God, by the spirit of holiness, through His resurrection from the dead.  No other religion can call people to follow their leader because he has overcome death.  Christ alone can make this claim.  Verse five adds, By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:  Here, Paul tells us how we are to live as God's people.  Since by His grace we have received our calling, we are to be obedient to God, a witness to Christ to all nations.  This is and always will be our commission from God.  Verse six continues, Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:  We are the called of Jesus Christ.  All people are called to come to Jesus, but only those who accept His calling are the called.  Accepting Christ as our Savior makes all the difference.

(I missed the last few verses of Ecclesiastes it seems, so here they are before we move to Romans.)  Ecclesiastes 12:4 says, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;   Solomon is continuing to tell us why we should remember our Creator when we are young.  He continues to speak of some of the problems of old age.  As we get older, we tend to not want to venture out as much.  We close the doors to the streets.  This could also mean being more fearful even when we are at home.  We hear so many times about the elderly being attacked in their homes that we may become fearful.  Our hearing, as well as our vision is failing us, yet we rise up at the sound of a bird.  We just don't sleep as deeply as we once did.  We don't hear music as well as we once did.  No matter how good the sound reproduction of a product, if our hearing is gone, then it really doesn't matter to us.  Verse five says, Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:  As we grow older and less sure on our feet, then we are less likely to go to high places.  Again, remembering that Solomon is telling us why we should remember our Creator while we are young, we need to serve God when we ar ready to go anywhere.  I know that if we are truly serving God that we will serve Him at any age, but we cannot deny that our abilities may decrease with age.  Sixty may be the new forty, but neither is the new twenty.  Verse six says, Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.  Now matter how many years we live, death is our fate unless Christ returns, and even then this old body will die to be transformed into something new.  That is why in verse seven, Solomon concludes, Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.  Our spirit will return to God for judgment.  Those who accept Christ will stay with Him, and those who reject Christ will be sent away to everlasting separation.  In verse eight, Solomon pronounces the final conclusion about this life: Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.  Everything done simply for this world amounts to nothing, as it will all pass away.

As we look back at the Book of Ecclesiastes, we can reach several conclusions.  The first is that earthly wisdom, that not based on God's knowledge, amounts to nothing. We may learn more about the world, mankind, and the universe than any group of people before us, but we cannot keep an atom together.  We cannot really explain why it doesn't implode in on itself.  We may be able to destroy an atom, and all that is around it with it, but that is not the knowledge of how to create one.  Real wisdom comes from acknowledging that we can never be God, no matter how wise we are.  Second, we must realize that earthly wealth, no matter how much we attain of it, is only temporary and should be used for the glory of God and to help those who are less fortunate than we are.  Even as followers of Christ, if we start to spend everything on maintaining our status with no regard to the less fortunate, then we are laying up treasures on earth, and they will pass away.  Third, if we look for happiness in earthly pleasures, we will be disappointed.  There is a saying that no one starts out to be an alcoholic or drug addict.  People start by just seeking a new thrill or pleasure, then they try more and more as the misery compounds.  The same is true of any earthly pleasure we pursue to find happiness.  We soon discover that ultimately we are disappointed, because true happiness comes from doing God's will. Fourth, the time to remember God is in our youth.  The earlier we recognize that God is the source of wisdom, purpose and happiness, the better off we are.  Still, no matter our age, today is always the best day to choose to follow God.  Finally, the conclusion of life is that we are to follow God in all aspects of life.  This is what we were created for.  Still, the choice is always ours.  We as followers of Christ must always seek to serve God.

Morning Sky

As I look to the sky,
On this Easter day,
Tears of joy I cry,
For Jesus providing the Way.
That first Easter morn,
There at the empty tomb,
The veil of death was torn,
And sin met its doom.
Nothing is ever the same,
For those who believe,
As through Jesus' name,
Salvation we receive.
Will you this day rejoice,
Making Jesus your choice?
      16 Apr 17
         JBD

This morning I am going to leave the book of Romans for the day, because this is the day we celebrate Easter, the day that Jesus rose from the dead, overcoming death for all of us.  This is the greatest gift that was ever giving to mankind, yet so many refuse to accept it.  We hear of people doing anything possible to hang on to this temporary existence, but Jesus willingly laid down His life that we might be victorious over death.  Still, people will not accept this free gift that we celebrate today, even while searching for a way to prolong this life we live.  Just as the Friday of the crucifixion paid the death penalty for the sins of all mankind, that Easter Sunday morning was the ultimate victory over death for all time.  Jesus did not just die on the cross and rise from the tomb for a select few, but for all people for all time.  Still, not all, or even most, accept this gift.  We must come to Christ in faith that He died for us in order for Easter Sunday to have meaning.  That first Easter, most people were still celebrating the death of Christ.  They felt they had put an end to His claim to be the Messiah.  This was especially true of the religious leaders who were supposed to represent God to the world. Today, most people in the world will ignore the true meaning of Easter, that Christ arose as the eternal Savior.  Most of God's Chosen People still do not acknowledge that Jesus, Who went to the cross for their sins, is the Messiah they still await.  Some of us, as followers of Christ, have sunrise services to celebrate the fact that the empty tomb was discovered early on that first Easter Sunday, though sunrise may be celebrated later than it actually occurs. When we do celebrate Easter, whether at sunrise or later, we need to have that urgency that the women and the disciples had that first Sunday and go and tell others.  We wear empty crosses to acknowledge that Christ died for our salvation, but the empty cross means nothing without the empty tomb.  Men took Jesus down from the cross and sealed Him in the tomb, but He took Himself out.  Matthew 28:5-7 says, And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Ecclesiastes 12:9 says, And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.  Even as Solomon sought to find purpose in life, he still considered himself to be wise.  He did not attempt to keep his wisdom to himself, but sought to share it with those that he ruled over.  We need never attempt to hoard knowledge, especially the knowledge of God, Who is the source of all true knowledge.  Solomon tried to share his wisdom in a way that all people could understand it.  When we share the good news of the gospel, we need only simple words, not those that not everyone would understand.  We need to share our wisdom with simplicity, as did Solomon.  He sought new ways to share his wisdom, and we can benefit by doing the same.  In verse ten, Solomon continues, saying, The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.  When we speak today, we need to search for the words of truth as Solomon did.  We can be sure that his words, and all written in the Bible, are upright and the words of truth.  Verse eleven says, The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.   Again, I believe we can apply this to the words of the Bible, which ultimately come from one Shepherd, and that is God.  Verse twelve states,  And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  There is definitely no end to the number of books today that tell us how to live, but as Solomon warned, studying them is a weariness of the flesh.  Only God's word can really reveal wisdom and truth to us.  Verse thirteen begins to summarize Solomon's wisdom, stating, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  To find purpose in life, we simply need to live in awe of God and keep His commandments.  Solomon concludes with the reason this is true in verse fourteen, saying, For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.  God will one day judge all our works, and we need to be sure they are washed by the blood of Christ.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;  In contrast to the last two verses of chapter eleven, here Solomon offers advice instead of sarcasm to those who are young.  When is the best time to remember God, to look to the Creator instead of to the ways of the world?  From our youth on.  Some people say that when they are older they might follow God, but while they are young they don't want to miss out on the fun. We must remember what Solomon had just concluded about all the things the world chases after in the pursuit of happiness.  It all amounts to nothing.  The longer we wait to follow God, the more we have to be accountable for.  Now, I know that God forgives all sin for all time through our faith in Christ, but that doesn't mean that we are to see how many sins we can commit before turning to Christ.  In the next few verses, Solomon gives us some good reasons to remember God in our youth.  As we grow older, our physical abilities begin to fail us and we are less able to work for God.  In verse two, Solomon says, While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:  I believe Solomon was speaking of vision beginning to dim.  As we grow older, things just don't look as bright as they once did.  Also, the older we get, the more we seem to be afflicted by the weather.  It seems that the sky quickly clouds again after the rain, though it is no sooner for an older person than for a young person.  Verse three says, In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,  I believe Solomon paints a good picture of getting older.  Our arms and legs will begin to tremble as we exert ourselves, our teeth, or grinders will become few, and again our vision will dim.  We need to serve God in the strength of our youth, while our abilities are the greatest.