In the gospel, God powerfully calls people out of slavery to sin and sets them apart for a new life in Christ. Today, hear R.C. Sproul’s opening sermon in the book of Romans examining Paul’s Apostolic calling and the shared call of every Christian. Get R.C. Sproul’s commentary on the book of Romans for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3853/offer Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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Every Christian is called out of the world, out of bondage, out of death, out of sin, into Christ and into His body. And so He reminds them, I'm not the only one that's been called. But if you're a part of the church, then you too have been called out, separated by the power of the Holy Ghost.
As Christians, you and I have been called out of the world. We have received the grace of God. And this was also true for the Apostle Paul. He shared this truth and his incredible privilege to be called as an apostle in the opening verses of the Book of Romans. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and this is the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind, where each week we feature the preaching ministry of R.C.
Sproul. Romans is a significant book of the Bible, not just for the truths it communicates, but also for the way the Lord has used it throughout church history. And over the next few weeks, Dr. Sproul will introduce us to Romans and some of the key early truths found in this epistle. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Here's Dr. Sproul to start this series in Romans chapter 1.
All a bondservant of Jesus Christ. I've never been too happy with that English translation of that second clause. In some translations, it simply says, Paul, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's far worse. Bond servant is an improvement on that, but I think the proper translation should read like this, Paul, a slave of
of Jesus Christ, because the word that he used when he wrote this epistle is the Greek word doulos. And a doulos was not a hired servant who could come and go as he pleased, but a doulos was a person who was purchased. And once he was purchased, he became the possession of his master.
Now where you see this idea of the doulos in Scripture, you will see it always connected to another descriptive word, and that is the word kurios, the highest title. that is given to Jesus by the Father is the title kurios. It translates the Old Testament, Adon, Adonai, which means the sovereign one. That was the name that was reserved for God in the Old Testament.
Now when you see that title Lord or kurios in the New Testament, there are three ways in which it is used. There's a simple common way where somebody could be called kurios. It's just simply like calling them sir, a polite form of address. The supreme use of the term kurios refers, again, to the sovereign God who rules all things.
But there is yet a middle level of usage of the term kurios in the New Testament, and that is it is used to describe somebody who is a slave owner. And in this case, it aptly describes Jesus. And here is where Paul gives his identity. Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. Not just a servant, a slave.
And here's the paradox, here's the irony, that when the New Testament describes our condition by nature, by birth as fallen people, we are described as people who are slaves to sin. Sin. We are by nature in bondage to sin, bond servants of the flesh. And the only remedy for that, according to the New Testament, is that we be liberated by the work of the Holy Spirit.
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