I believe that Paul’s self-introduction might cause us to reexamine what we find important enough to highlight in our biography. For example, in my bio for this blog, I chose other points of interest to help you know who I am rather than sharing about my relationship with God, so that you might better understand where I’m coming from in these daily devotionals. You will note that my bio is quite different to that of Paul’s. Think about yours as we look at these verses today!

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-03-18
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BY: Ed Algreen

SCRIPTURE FROM: Romans 1:1-4
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.  God chose me to be an apostle and gave me the work of telling his Good News. 2 God promised long ago through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures to give this Good News to his people. 3-4 The Good News is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. As a human, he was born from the family of David, but through the Holy Spirit he was shown to be God’s powerful Son when he was raised from death.

APPLICATION: You’ve heard it before, a long-detailed biography is read for a politician who is about to speak at a meeting you might be attending. Generally, you will hear everything about the politician, their parents and everyone that might make his or her life appear important enough to gain our confidence, and ultimately your vote. For a new pastor being introduced to our church, we will hear about his largest congregations, his achievements, his theological degrees earned in seminary, and we may even hear his testimony. Paul’s primary focus was on his relationship with the Master, and how God was instrumental in his desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I looked at what commentators had to say about this introduction, and the Gospel in particular, I felt like I must share the best one I found: John Courson said:

‘Truly, the gospel is Good News—not just good advice. A lot of preachers, authors, and speakers try to make Christianity a bunch of good advice. Most best-selling Christian books today are full of good advice about child-rearing, financial planning, or marriage counseling. But remove the name of Jesus Christ from most of them, and it won’t affect the book at all.
We’ve got something so much better than good advice, folks. And I would encourage you to be on guard against sermons or authors, churches or organizations that give you good advice. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a sermon without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time listening to it. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a book without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time reading it. Paul wasn’t separated unto the good advice of Christian living. He was separated to the Good News of God.’

So, I gathered that perhaps the key to why Paul felt like it was important to link his authority to that given by Jesus Christ, is that his primary mission would be to share the Gospel with the folk he would minister to. For us, that seems so logical when we consider the meetings that we attend to hear the preaching of the Gospel, or the teaching of the Gospel, or we visit the sick or unchurched to share the Good News of the Gospel. It’s easy to conclude that the most important thing about us, as Christians, is that we are committed to go out and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ! I know, you’re not a preacher, right? Well guess what, might I remind you that in the same way you can’t stop telling others how you lost that weight, or about the beauty aids you use, or the wonderful recipe you found, why not also tell them the Good News of Jesus Christ – the One who died for them so that they might have eternal life in heaven? You see, the ‘preacher’ is not just the pastor who stands before you on Sunday mornings. Telling the Good News is like ‘preaching’ the Good News to hungry and needy ears. Try telling God what you feel your assignment is in His earthly kingdom and ask Him to strongly correct any misunderstanding you might have. Try revising your bio to include who you are in Christ first and foremost. It might open the doors of opportunity for you to ‘preach’ in your interview for a job, or at public meetings!!! Why hide the fact that you are a servant of the Great I Am?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Being ‘in Christ’ and directed by Christ, helps us better identify that we are qualified to tell the Good News about Jesus Christ. With Christ, we are more than conquerers. Without Christ, we are nothing at all!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for all You did on Calvary, for the sake of Your precious children. You created us, and because of Calvary You identified with us by fulfilling our need for a Savior, so that Eternal Life might be within reach for us. Without a Savior we would be destined for the pit of Hell. Please help us to never dissociate ourselves with that love shown through Your sacrifice. Oh that we might be like Your servant Paul, and tell the world that because of our relationship to You, and our association with You, we are more than conquerors and therefore well qualified to share the love of Jesus Christ with them. Help us to turn a deaf ear to the teachings of the evil one, who would rather us be afraid, timid, withdrawn, ashamed, and ignorant of the things of God. Your precious Holy Spirit is within us and will embolden us to overcome all of the above and instead stand firm on our faith in You – Almighty Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The world needs You. As Your representative, may we never disappoint them! AMEN!