From: The Editor’s Desk
In Romans 1:1 Apostle Paul introduces himself to the people of Rome as a “bondservant of Jesus Christ.
Becoming a servant is not a desirable thing in this day and age. Everyone fights for their right to be free and to exercise their freedom. Nowadays man moved the concept of freedom to a different level. The restrains are removed and gave room for the right to think and act in any way they want.
In the past slavery was a practice, and a bondservant (Slave/ Doulos ) was the personal property of his owner. A bondservant is entirely at the disposal of his master, who serves his master without wages, and who has no rights. Paul used this concept to explain our relationship with Christ. Every believer who is saved by the blood of Christ must consider himself as a bondservant of Christ.
Christ came to this world to serve and ultimately was killed by the hands of the people for whom he came to serve . He never sought for publicity. He did innumerable miracles but never stayed back to claim any credit for it . He praised and glorified His father in heaven. He has demonstrated God in His service attire. Mathew 20:28 ‘Even as the son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give life as a ransom for many.”The mission for His first coming was not something that the Jew’s of his time expected. John the Baptist got much more publicity than Jesus. People came to him to Jordan be baptized, “God’s elected people,” were found corrupting God’s commandments and made a system of religion for their own personal gains. They put heavy burden on men with their system and practices. Christ confronted with them and their corrupt system of religion. On the other hand Jesus showed kindness to those who approached Him with faith. He healed them, fed them and even raised some from dead. In Philippines 2: we see, Christ emptied himself and took a servants position. In 1st Peter 2:23 Apostle Peter writes “ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judge righteously.” The reason why he suffered is because He had a mission that was entrusted to Him by His father. His focus was to complete that mission and give Glory to God who sent to do His will.This is why he said at Gethsemane “nevertheless it is not my will, thy will be done,” (Luke 22:42) . He was a true servant who came to fulfill the will of the master.
This is the type of attitude God expects for us to a have. We are God’s children and citizens of heaven but functionally we are His servants in the world. Our primary mission is to bring forth fruit. The world is our mission field, and our mission is to serve the one who called us.
Moreover In Romans 1:1 Paul states ‘he has called to be an apostle.’ This means “the sent one” with a mission given by the commander. He also says that he is separated to the Gospel of God. God foreordained the Gospel and promised through His prophets concerning His son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Gospel of God . Paul continues to say that we received grace and apostleship for “obedience” to the faith. When a person gives obedience to the faith, he receives grace through that faith, and he receives Salvation and the mission of apostleship-“the one who is sent off.” Every believer has this mission and he is part of the ‘spreading of the Gospel.”
As the recipients of God’s grace, we need to fulfill His mission in this world. That mission includes the responsibility to serve Him by spreading the gospel and bringing forth fruit, being filled with the word, and equipping the believers for the mutual growth and joy in the Lord.
Apostle Paul states in Romans 1:14– ‘I am a debtor both to Greek and to barbarians.” In the case of the church in Rome, Paul’s hunger was to be there to impart some spiritual gift to them and he was eagerly waiting for that opportunity. So he continued to pray for the believers in Rome. And when he writes to them, the takes the courage to use God as his witness and states – “ whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His son.” Paul had never been to Romebefore. The church in Rome was established by the work of some other disciples. Now Paul has this great desire in his heart to visit them. He is fully committed to his mission. He is not ashamed of the Gospel of God. He regards the troubles of the mission as his privilege. When he addresses the believers in Philippines, he wrote (Phil 1:29-30) “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
In Luke 17:5-10 when the disciples asks Jesus to increase their faith- Jesus tells them about a servant and his master. Here the servant after a days toil in the field, comes home and prepares meal and serves the master. Even after doing all these, the servants attitude should be “I am an unprofitable servant, I have done what was my duty to do.”So, we are debtors to God. We are duty bound. We are debtors to the perishing soul. Let this responsibility motivates us to work tirelessly in his vineyard.