Climbing Everest
Climbing Everest
Romans 1:1-7
Mount Everest sits at 8,848 meters. It is the tallest mountain in the world, and one of the deadliest. So far this year (2023), seventeen people have died trying to climb Mount Everest. Since 1922, an average of four people die each year trying to scale the beast. If it is so dangerous, why do so many people want to get to the top? Alan Arnette, an avid climber and Everest enthusiast, writes,
I can wax poetically for hours about this, but I thoroughly love the mountain. It represents the ultimate, the pinnacle for many people. I think Everest is a magical mountain with magnetic qualities. It’s like a light to bugs that attracts people once they hear about it.
Maurice Isserman, a history professor at Hamilton College, aptly writes,
There are more interesting mountains to climb. There are more beautiful mountains. There are more challenging mountains that are a better experience. But Everest is a trophy. It’s the biggest.
I am not a climbing enthusiast. I am more of a casual hiker. I will never climb Mount Everest, but today I start the trek up the Mount Everest of the Scriptures: the book of Romans.
I was led to Christ at sixteen years old by my friend and mentor, John Picciohiotti. I vividly remember a conversation in which he described Romans as Mount Everest and chapter 8 as its peak. I believe what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy,
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is useful but for a preacher, Romans has always been talked about like Mount Everest. Dr. Martin-Lloyd Jones spent fifteen years preaching through Romans. John Piper spent eight years walking up the mountain of the book. A pastor friend of mine, who has been at his church for more than twenty years, recently shared with me that Romans will be his last book. He said, “My church knows that when I start Romans, I am about to retire. I may never finish it, but it will be my last book.”
So today, with some fear and trepidation, we start our climb together up the mountain. As far as I know, no one has died simply by reading Romans, but I do know a number of people who have, after reading it, never been the same. Romans changes people because it speaks about the power of the gospel of God. It speaks about the glory of Jesus Christ. It outlines how God rescues His people from depths of their own depravity through the shed blood of the cross of Calvary. It highlights the glorious hope we have in the resurrection from the dead and the eternal inheritance that awaits us in the life to come. Romans is, in many ways, Mount Everest. And as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2,
Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:16b -17
May Christ lead us up this mountain that we may see a glimpse of His beauty, His majesty, His eternal glory.
The Authority of this Mountain
The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Romans. Although he had never visited the church, he knew about many of its members. He had tried for years to arrange his schedule to visit and encourage the church but had been providentially hindered. He finally wrote to the church at Rome, in part, to help prepare the hearts of the church to support him on his way to Spain because he had made it his aim to preach Christ where there was no gospel witness. As he begins the letter, Paul needed to establish his apostolic authority.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
Romans 1:1–6
Paul introduces himself in three specific ways. He identifies himself as: a servant or slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God.
First, Paul identifies as “a servant of Christ Jesus”. In this verse, the ESV translates ‘doulos’ as servant, but it could also be translated as slave. Paul is highlighting that he is subservient and controlled by Jesus Christ. Most people do not rejoice in being a slave, but Paul viewed this as a high honor. This title was used of Moses (Joshua 14:7), Joshua (Joshua 24:19), David (Psalm 89:3), and the prophets. Paul uses it of himself not to highlight his importance, but to emphasize that his authority was derived from another. He was a servant of Christ Jesus. He belonged to and was controlled by his Master and Lord.
The second way Paul identifies himself is “called to be an apostle”. Paul was a strong opponent to Christianity. Until he met the Lord Jesus on the Damascus road, he believed Christians were blaspheming against God and deserved to be punished. Jesus appeared to Paul in a blinding light knocking him off his horse and changing the direction of his life forever. Throughout Paul’s letters, he often speaks about his calling to be an apostle. He did not choose this path for himself, but God chose him to be an apostle.
An apostle had two meanings in the New Testament. The first is more general as “one who was sent for a purpose”. We would call these little ‘a’ apostles. The second, which is how Paul refers to himself, is “the title or office of an apostle”. The apostolic office had authority to teach doctrine and command obedience to it. The teaching of the apostles was the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20/Jude 1:3/Revelation 21:14). Paul is establishing his apostolic authority to the Romans. He is not highlighting his privileged place but again showing how his authority is derived from God. God called Paul to be an Apostle.
Thirdly, Paul identifies himself as “one who is set apart for the gospel of God”. As a servant of Christ Jesus, as one who was called to be an Apostle, Paul was to give himself to the gospel of God. He was given a specific purpose. The word gospel in the Roman world meant ‘joyful tidings.’ As one scholar notes, According to an inscription from 9 BC found in Priene, just south of Ephesus in Asia Minor, “The birthday of the god was for the world the beginning of the joyful messages [εὐανγελίων] which have gone forth because of him.
The Romans would have understood the word and how the Christian gospel contrasted with the joyful tidings of the world. The gospel of God was how God would rescue His people from sin and death through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The gospel is indeed good news for the world.
Paul will spend the next eleven chapters outlining and expounding on the who and the what of the gospel. Paul begins the letter underlining his apostolic authority so that the Romans would receive the message with glad and sincere hearts. Paul is writing under God’s authority. He drives the point home by connecting the gospel he preaches with the gospel as it was taught in the Old Testament. Paul is not saying anything new, but merely that which was. In verse 2, he writes which he [God] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. In this opening greeting, Paul will continue to underscore how the gospel was rooted and established in the prophetic word.
Paul had a very unique role in the life of the church. He was called to be an Apostle, to be one of the few who would teach the doctrine to help establish the church. He wrote thirteen letters of the New Testament. We may not be able to share Paul’s title as a capital ‘A’ Apostle, but we share his other two titles. As Christians, we are servants of Christ Jesus and set apart for the gospel of God. We should submit to and be controlled by Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and our Master. He is our Commanding Officer who has enlisted us into His service. We belong, in body and soul, to Jesus Christ, and he has entrusted us with the gospel. We are set apart to live in and live for the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
I have always appreciated Paul’s uniqueness of purpose in proclaiming the gospel. His singular focus was to make Christ known, which is why he wrote this letter. He wanted to take the gospel to Rome and to the ends of the earth. Beloved, do we want to take the gospel to our community and to the ends of the earth? Are we living as servants of Christ Jesus, set apart for His gospel? What is governing your life?
I have been thinking a lot lately about my early years as a pastor of Park Baptist Church. I remember how often I would say, “The greatest thing about being a Baptist was the Bible.” Baptists believe the Bible. And if we believed the Bible, we would live by the Bible. We would look to the holy Scriptures on how to live as individuals and as a church. I would say the same thing today. The greatest thing about being a Baptist is the holy Scriptures, and in the holy Scriptures we see that we are servants of Christ Jesus, set apart for the gospel of God. Are you living as a servant of Christ Jesus? Is He the master you try to obey, or do you take His commands as suggestions? Are you making decisions that will set you apart for the gospel of God or decisions that will make your life more comfortable? Do we allow our bosses or coaches or our children’s schedules to dictate our life of faith or the holy Scriptures?
Paul is establishing his apostolic authority for the Romans, but he is also giving us an example to follow. Christian, you are a servant of Christ Jesus. You are set apart for the gospel of God.
The Aim of this Mountain
Romans, as all books of the Bible, is written with a specific purpose to a specific audience. Romans is somewhat unique in tha, based on references in the letter, we cannot pinpoint any obvious situations in the church that Paul is addressing. The reason Romans has resonated with so many people through the ages is because Romans is the summation of Paul’s theology. It is saturated with the person and work of Jesus Christ. The aim of the book is for you to glory in the gospel of glory and believe and live for Jesus Christ, the King of glory. This purpose begins to take shape in Romans 1,
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, Romans 1:3–5
Paul gives at least three titles of Jesus Christ as he unpacks the gospel in his introduction, but I want to add a fourth one to remove any confusion. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God. Jesus is the resurrected Son of God, and Jesus is the Lord. The first is not obvious in the text, but I want to highlight it as well. First, Jesus is the eternal Son of God. The holy Scriptures speak about a divine Son who will save and rescue their people from their sins. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, who was with the Father at the beginning (John 1:1-2), the Creator of the Universe (John 1:3-4), and the One who upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:2-3). This is especially important as we unpack Paul’s next two descriptions of Jesus.
Secondly, Jesus is the incarnate Son who, according to verse 3, “ was descended from David according to the flesh.” God promised a forever Son on a forever throne in 2 Samuel 7,
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. 2 Samuel 7:12-14a
We see this also in Isaiah 9,
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:6-7
And also in Ezekiel 34 when God promises to raise up a true shepherd of Israel,
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. Ezekiel 34:23–24
All of these references show how the Messiah will be from David concerning the flesh. This is why we see both Matthew and Luke include genealogies in their gospel accounts. Jesus Christ is the Messiah because He was from the line and lineage of David which is why Luke writes,
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Luke 2:4–5
Jesus was the promised Son of David. He is the incarnate Son.
Third, Jesus is the resurrected Son. After highlighting Jesus’ humanity, Paul moves on to emphasize His resurrection,
and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Romans 1:4
The ESV translated the Greek as “declared to be the Son of God”, which is correct, but the word may be better translated as “appointed” or “determined”. Jesus was always the Son of God, but some have taken the word declared and implied that He became the Son of God. This may lead to the heresy of ‘adoptionism,’ which purports that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God who was always with the Father, but rather that he became, or was adopted as, the Son of God.
Jesus fulfilled His role as the Messianic Son in His resurrection from the dead. Jesus was appointed to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness (a reference to the Holy Spirit) by His resurrection from the dead. Jesus overcame the grave. Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried, and the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead in power. Power and the resurrection from the dead are often linked when Paul highlights the victory we have over sin and death. We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power.
This leads us to the fourth title given to Jesus, our Lord. Because Jesus Christ was descended from David in the flesh and lived a perfect obedient life and because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in power, He has taken on the title of Lord. He has been raised to the heavenly places and is seated at the right hand of the majesty on High. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, the Judge of the living and the dead, the King of kings, the image of the invisible God, the exact imprint of His Nature, and He is our Lord.
This is why Romans is called the Mount Everest of the Bible. The letter speaks about the peak and purpose of all creation: Jesus Christ, our Lord, for everything was created through Him, by Him and for Him. In verse five, Paul wants the world to see that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all,
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
Romans 1:5
Again, Paul highlights his derived authority from God; he has received grace and apostleship from Jesus Christ to (purpose) bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations.
In Romans 1:5, Paul specifies his purpose as he opens the letter, and he repeats it again at the close of the letter,
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Romans 16:25–27
Paul is not hiding his aim: he is writing to bring about the obedience of faith. So what is the obedience of faith?
This phrase probably has a double meaning. Jesus was asked in John 6:28, “What must we do, to be doing the words of God?” He replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” The work of God is believing in Jesus, and if you believe in Jesus, you will obey His commands just as Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” As one scholar notes,
It is likely, then, that Paul used this phrase to refer both to the obedience of believing the gospel (cf. 10:16; 11:23, 30–31) and to the obedience that arises from the powerful reign of God’s grace in the believer’s life (5:21; 6:1–23; 7:5–6; 8:4, 7–9).
The obedience of faith is believing in the gospel and believing from the gospel. Our obedience reveals our faith.
Paul wants to bring honor and glory to Jesus for the sake of the name of Jesus. As John Piper has said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” Paul wants to take the gospel to Rome and to places where Christ has not been named. He wants Jesus Christ to be honored as Lord among all the nations!!
Hear verse six, “including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” Do you belong to Jesus Christ? Have you obeyed the gospel by submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord? Those of you who have never trusted in Jesus as Lord, let me encourage you to do it today. We have all fallen short of God’s perfect standard. We are all sinners, and because of our sin, we all deserve judgment. We have rebelled against the eternal King and deserve eternal punishment. Let that sink in for a moment. There is a mountain we can’t climb. There is no amount of good work we can do to get us to God. We will always fall short. This is why Christians love Romans so much. We love Romans because it speaks about the gospel of God. It tells about the good news of Jesus Christ who came to save us. He died on the cross, taking God’s wrath for us. The Bible says,
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
This is the core of the Christian gospel. Jesus died for all who would come to Him in faith. Jesus wants you to obey Him by believing in His name. Do you want your sins forgiven? Do you want to be made whole? Do you want peace with God? Believe in Jesus. Call Him Lord, and live for His glory.
Beloved, we have been saved by grace through faith. We have received grace and lower ‘a’ apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations. This is why we financially support His work around the world. This is why we send missionaries to places where Christ is not honored. This is why we go and encourage gospel workers we have sent. This is why we strive to be a holy people. We want to continue to live in the obedience of faith so that we will encourage others in this body to continue to walk with Jesus as Lord and for the sake of the millions of people who are outside of the gospel.
The Audience of this Mountain
At the end of verse six and continuing in verse seven, Paul continues what may seem like a generic Christian introduction but is, in reality, packed with theological significance.
including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:6–7
Paul calls this largely Gentile congregation by two Old Testament markers of the people of God. He calls them ‘loved by God’ and ‘saints.’ The Israelites were created by and known for the love of God.
The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you…Deuteronomy 7:6b-7a
The people of Israel defined themselves as a people as loved by God or the beloved. Paul is making the distinction that true Israel is not ethnic Israel but those who believe in Jesus Christ by faith: Jews and Gentiles. As one scholar notes,
Since Jesus is the true Israel, those who belong to him constitute the people of God. We observe here Paul’s interpretation of the OT, in that the promises focusing on Israel as a nation are now extended to both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus as Messiah.
This was important for every congregation, especially a congregation made up of Jews and Gentiles. Paul is writing “To all those in Rome”. He does not make a distinction between Jew and Gentile, for since the resurrection from the dead, the world is no longer divided by Jew and Gentile but by those who are with Christ and those who are against Him.
In 49 AD, the Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) made a decree that all
Jews must leave Rome. Most scholars believe this what Luke was referring to
in Acts 18,
And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. Acts 18:2
Many scholars believe the church in Rome was established by Jews before their expulsion in 49 AD. Nero took over as Emperor in 54 AD, probably lessening the restrictions against Jews being in Rome. So, by the time Romans was written, an influx of Jews had returned to the church in Rome. This could have created a conflict and/or power struggle about who would lead the church, which may be some of the context Paul was speaking about in his letter.
We do not fully know the state of the church in Rome, but we do know the importance of unity in the local church. Paul was writing “to all those in Rome”, He was addressing the entire church and their new identity in Christ. Unity is a community project. So many things work to divide us. Things like age or gender, socio-economics or racial identity, preferences of ministry or music, third-tier doctrines or politics. Many things could divide us, but those things are nowhere near as strong as what unites us. We have been united in the power of the gospel through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have been united in the call to proclaim the gospel among all nations for His name’s sake. We are united in Christ.
Paul is uniting the church in the power of the gospel of God, which was promised in the holy Scriptures from the beginning. He lays out the foundation of the book, which he will build upon over the next sixteen chapters.
As we start at base camp and begin to climb this mountain of the gospel, we can rejoice that we were called to belong to Jesus Christ. When we were aliens and strangers of the promise, God rescued us for His name’s sake. Beloved, let's lace up our boots, study our Guide, and continue to grow in the power of the gospel as we are carried up the mountain of grace by our gracious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.