How can we live as a living sacrifice, pleasing to God?

What have you given Him?

What does it truly mean to be chosen by God—and how can we remain in His grace amidst a world of unbelief and distraction?

At the point that he wrote Romans 10, Paul likely had a lot of people on his mind.  Some studies estimate that Paul was on his third missionary journey when he wrote Romans, addressing Christians who lived in Rome, where he hoped to visit eventually.  Being on one’s third missionary journey naturally means having gone for a first and second. Indeed, he had.  Unlike some of our church’s missionary journeys today that are limited to one country, Paul’s journeys were peppered across the region of Asia Minor. There were hence many different cities he visited, hundreds or possibly even thousands of believers whom he edified. Not only was Paul’s heart sincere towards these Christians whom he met, Paul also took significant actions for them.  Paul wrote of how he affectionately longed for the members in Philippi (Philippians 1:8-9). To the church in Thessalonica he wrote, “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives . For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil…” (1 Thessalonians 2:8-9). Additionally, he explicitly shared that he prays for the churches in Corinth, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonica (2 Corinthians 13:7; Philippians 1:9; Colossians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:11).  Paul knew that God had called him to be “an apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13), and he set an exemplary example for us of how to be a good shepherd for Christ.  But this was not all. Still, his heart’s desire was for even more people to know our God. In Romans 10:1, Paul writes: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” This is fascinating, especially since Paul had tried to preach the gospel to the Jews previously but was redirected to the Gentiles by God’s hand.  He had done above and beyond what many of us may not even consider attempting with regards to preaching the gospel. And yet zeal to see the Jews saved still compelled him.  This makes me think about our congregation’s heart for evangelism. How often do we channel God’s love for humanity into the action of sharing His word? How much do we burn with desire to see souls saved? Or do we feel languid about our own salvation in the first place? For those of us who yearn to preach but feel helpless that others don’t respond well, we can have our faith renewed with Paul’s perspective. He saw the might and personal efforts of the Lord. ‘But Isaiah is very bold and says: But to Israel he says: Whether to Jew or Gentile, God makes Himself known to them. (See also Romans 1:20; Acts 17:26-27).   In God’s salvation plan, He wants to save all mankind (John 3:16).  Paul saw this unity regardless of race and ethnicity that comes through belief in the one true God, Jesus Christ. Moreover, he saw and was motivated by the blessings that would come to one who followed Christ and submitted to the righteousness of God (Romans 10:3). Do our cultural prejudices seep into our evangelical work, such that we only share the gospel with people of certain races, ethnic groups, tribal identities, or nationalities?  Have we forgotten the goodness of God, the hope of His calling, the power of God to salvation in His gospel?   In Christ, there is no distinction between the Chinese, Singaporean, Indian, Burmese, Iraqi, Austrian, Finnish, the Algonquin people, the Māori, Ghanaian… This year, where will your work of evangelism begin?

In the previous chapter, Paul declares that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ: Yet in chapter 9, out of love for his brethren, Paul expresses a willingness to be accursed and cut off from Christ for their sake: As God’s chosen people, the Israelites had received great privileges: However, in their pride, many Israelites rejected and despised God’s calling. But their rejection does not mean that the word of God has failed. Not all who are descended from Israel are truly Israel. Rather, it is those whom God has elected who are His children. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of God’s sovereign election: how Isaac was chosen instead of Ishmael (Galatians 4:22–23; Romans 9:7–9), how Jacob was called instead of Esau, the firstborn, and ultimately how God calls not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles. Some of us today may wonder: How then can we become His people and receive His mercy? Let us remember that God delights in our obedience to Him. The Bible reveals His commandments clearly: to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), to partake in His Holy Communion (John 6:53–58), to keep the Sabbath holy (Isaiah 58:13–14), and to keep all His commandments. This list is by no means exhaustive—other important teachings include receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 8:17) and the practice of footwashing (John 13:14–15), among others. As we grow in faith, we must continue seeking His will through Scripture and be diligent in observing all that He commands. Furthermore, having become part of His people, let us remain vigilant and humble, lest we fall:

Written approximately between the late 55 and 57AD, the book of Romans is considered one of Paul’s most complete epistles in its doctrinal discussion. At the time of writing this epistle, the Christian community in Rome were confronted by external persecution from the Roman emperors and internal discords between Jewish and non-Jewish Christians. Paul was therefore eager to visit and strengthen them (Romans 1: 13-15).  Rome at Paul’s time was a major city and political center of 1 million inhabitants, where emperors and the senate resided. Its inhabitants consisted of slaves, freedmen, official Roman citizens, as well as military and political nobilities. The population was mostly polytheistic. Influenced by Greek mythology, they worshipped gods, demigods, as well as Roman emperors. Until the appearance of Judaism and Christianity, the authority tolerated most religions so long as the emperors were included in people’s worship. By 40 AD, Christianity had become a major presence in Rome. Although it was unclear how the churches first started in Roman, many believed that it began with the Jews who visited Jerusalem and brought back the gospel. Some even believed that the gospel was preached to Rome by the Jews as early as during the Pentecost.  The Christians at the time were not collected into a single congregation. They were small groups of Christ-followers that gathered in house churches to worship, such as exemplified by the mentioning of Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3-5). It was also believed that the early church was mostly led by Jewish Christians. However, the Jews were banished from Rome between 49AD-54AD under the rule of Roman Emperor Claudius (1 Aug 10 BC-13 Oct 54 AD). For five years, during the banishment of Jewish Christians, non-Jewish Christians took over the church’s leadership. By the time Jewish Christians were allowed back to Rome, they found the church a different one from the one they left behind. As a result, the two groups conflicted as Jewish Christians struggled to incorporate Old Testament law into their daily Christian living, such as the practice of circumcision. Paul therefore spent a great portion of the epistle expounding on the relationship between the Jews and the non-Jews (Romans 9: 1-5, 30-32; 11: 11-16), as well as between being justified by faith and by the Mosaic law (Romans 3:22; 4: 6-12; 5: 1).  In addition to internal conflicts, Christians of Pauls’ time also confronted great persecution. Paul wrote the book of Romans during the early reigns of Emperor Nero (Dec 15, 37AD-June 9, 68AD). Despite his short reign of 14 years (54-68AD), Nero was infamous for oppressing Christians that first started with the Great Fire of Rome (18-23 July of 64AD). The fire destroyed two thirds of Rome. Many believed Nero was the masterminder who set Rome on fire in order to build a new city named after himself. However, responding to mounting political pressure, he made Christians the scapegoat. As punishment, Christians were set on fire daily as human torches to lit up Nero’s gardens. During gladiator matches, Christians were fed to lions. The oppression of Christians continued and worsened well into the reign of Emperor Diocletian (303-311AD), lasting altogether 250 years after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Christians were subject to mockery, crucifixion, decapitation, extreme torture, eaten by wild beasts at amphitheatre, and burned at the stake. John was banished to the island of Patmos, Paul was decapitated in Rome, and Peter was crucified upside down. It is then of no wonder that Paul likened Christians’ experience to that of putting on a highly theatrical entertainment, “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men” (1 Corinthians 4: 9 and 10).  It was in these extremely inhuman circumstances, Paul repeatedly reassured the Christians in Rome, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8: 18). Despite Jesus’s physical absence, Paul comforted the believers, “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8: 26). In spite of their daily hardships, Paul pinpointed that sufferings could work for rather than against those who are faithful to God, “[a]nd we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (8: 28). Paul finally ended his exhortation with a series of rhetorical questions to profess his love for Christ, “[w]ho shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?.... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8: 35 and 37).  2,000 years after the ascension of Jesus, 5 years after the outbreak of a global pandemic, the world rapidly changes more than ever. Are we still able to boldly and confidently assert, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Social media? Shifting paradigms? Information explosion? Artificial Intelligence? Financial adversity/prosperity? Health issues? Relationships? Loved ones? Wars and rumors of war? References