listen here the audio of this study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apZA1gZ56es&ab_channel=Gracedevotionals

Romans 1:1-4 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

We can see in our text today a clear sense of identity in the apostle Paul. He didn’t spend precious time wondering who he truly was and what he should be doing. I suppose that if we don’t know who we are, we will never know what is most important for us to do.

Paul was a servant of Christ Jesus. The word here translated servant is doulos in the Greek and speaks of a person who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own. It is interesting how this status of being a servant of another is used with the highest dignity in the New Testament when it is used in the context of our relationship with God.

It should be noted that God has never taken a servant in the way men enslave other men. It is not in His character to do such things. He calls His future servants through a current servant sharing the Gospel (the good news) of salvation by Grace through Faith (Ephesians 2:8). Grace means it is free to all because of the Cross and Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). The hearing happens when a servant speaks (Romans 10:14). The mystery of it all is that we are simply called to speak and to speak just one very clear message we call the Gospel. Surrounding that communication, the Holy Spirit is convicting the hearer of sin, righteousness, and judgement (John 16:8). We do the speaking. He does the work of convincing and saving.

As I consider these things, I wonder just what kind of servant I am. Do I embrace my identity as a servant of Christ Jesus? Is that sense of identity a kind of Christian platitude: a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful? Does me sense of servanthood change what I do in the real world? Do I as a servant feel dedicated to serve?

Perhaps the greatest stumbling block for a Christian who understands his or her servanthood is serving but never sharing the Gospel in our interactions with others. We live as a servant but never speak as a servant. The former is our identity. The later is our purpose. As you go into the world today, remember your identity but most of all remember your purpose.

you can see here our next devotional:God’s Son Part 1

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Glenn