Paul, the Lord's Chosen Instrument to Write Romans, Part 3

Pastor/Teacher
John Farley
Sunday,
September 27, 2009

So God was at work in the first century AD making sure everything got in place so this book of Romans would be written.

He prepared his chosen instrument Paul for his calling to proclaim the Gospel as the apostle to the Gentiles.

ACT 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;”

We have to take stock of the marvelous way in which God prepared this particular man for his particular mission.

The book was written by Paul in AD 56 or 57 or so.

First of all, Paul was a super-genius.

Then you move from his natural endowments to his training and preparation in life.

First and foremost, Paul was a Jew. And not just any Jew. A Hebrew of Hebrews. In other words, pre-eminent among his fellow Jews.

Paul was trained as a Pharisee, and he had the greatest teacher that a Pharisee could have, Gamaliel.

Under Gamaliel’s instruction, Paul became an expert on the Jewish law, as it was taught and interpreted by the Pharisees.

Paul was an interpreter of the Mosaic Law. And his training as a Pharisee meant that he was a stickler for the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit of the law and the Giver of the Law!

God also prepared Paul for his mission by having him be born and raised in the city of Tarsus.

Tarsus was one of three major centers of Greek culture at the time, Athens and Alexandria being the other two.

Paul quoted two minor Greek poets in the speech he gave when he preached in Athens, ACT 17:24-28.

Paul’s top-notch education in Tarsus and Jerusalem met with his excellent study habits and genius IQ and turned him into a great scholar.

In addition, Tarsus received the status of a free city in 42 B.C. This meant that Roman citizenship was to be given to the leading citizens of the city, and this included many of the Jews living there.

Paul was born a Roman citizen.

Unlike so many in his day, Paul did not have to work for his Roman citizenship. He didn’t have to serve in the military for many years, or pay a large sum of money to Caesar. He received his Roman citizenship at birth.

That is the hand of God working things out from the very day of this man’s birth!

ROM 2:11 For there is no partiality with God.

Roman citizenship would turn out to be an indispensable asset for the man who would preach the Gospel in so many foreign lands.

So Paul had this amazing unique background: he knew Greek culture, he had Roman citizenship, and he was a Jew by race and religion.

Paul saw the world as both a Jew and a Gentile.

1. He wanted Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul was called the apostle to the Gentiles by the Lord himself. He had seen and known the Risen Lord, and so he was qualified to be an apostle.

2. The LORD also wanted Paul to defend Christian doctrine against the attacks of the Judaizers while simultaneously teaching that the Gospel of Jesus Christ did not contradict the Old Testament but rather fulfilled it.

In our book of Romans, Paul takes up Jewish objections to the teachings of the Gospel. He uses the debater’s technique, posing likely objections and then answering them.

God does a masterful job preparing His man for his particular task.

If anyone knows of a more concise and complete refutation of Catholic doctrine than the series Pastor Clark recently did, I’d like to know about it.

The problem - and it is a problem that many have today - was how to reconcile the Old Testament scriptures with the gospel and the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

Paul spent three years in Arabia, and during that time he received personal attention from the Lord Jesus Christ who taught Paul the Gospel and the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

He discovered that all of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament pointed directly to Christ, His death and His resurrection, as well as His future Second Coming.