Title: Mad Man (Romans 1:1-7)
Contents
Mad Man (Romans 1:1-7)
There are a lot of crazy people like this in the world. There are a lot of people who are crazy about gambling and people who are crazy about money. For money, even mothers, fathers, and children are invisible. Other than that, it's hard to meet people who are crazy about this and that. What have you been crazy about? Are you spending your one-time life in a 'lukewarm state that is neither cold nor hot'? Are you getting that old? Are you going to end your life like that? I have a more important question. It's crazy, but it's about what.
The author of this book is Paul. People called him “a madman” (Acts 26:24). He didn't get angry or bothered by that name. Rather, he was proud of that title, and he even counterattacked to those who said that, saying, ‘I hope you, too, become crazy like me’ (Acts 26:29). What the hell is he crazy about? Have you been crazy about ‘what’ and lost everything you thought was useful, or threw it away like excrement without any regrets? (Philippians 3:8)
We can find that ‘something’ in “Romans 1:1-7.” If we compare the other Bibles Paul wrote with the book of Romans, we find that the context is not very smooth, or even unusual. Paul's letters were always of a certain form. Sender, receiver, and blessing. It's always the same pattern. However, in Romans, the sender is introduced in verse 1, and the receiver, who should appear after that, appears in verse 7. And the blessing is also introduced in verse 7. It's very extravagant. It transcends a certain format in the past.
What words did Paul lose his composure with? He must have opened the lid in front of a certain word. What is? ‘Gospel of God’, ‘Gospel’. I am suddenly unable to restrain myself in front of the word ‘gospel’. As soon as the word ‘gospel’ appears, he is explaining the gospel for a long time without even knowing himself, forgetting to write the format of the letter and the recipient who should appear one after another. Then, belatedly, after reconciling his emotions, he realized that the blessings to be given with the recipient were missing, and he hurriedly placed it behind him. It was not easy to correct a sentence once written like now, wasn't it?
We find an important fact here. He was crazy about the gospel, the gospel of God. It was all focused on it. His only interest is one! It was the gospel, the gospel, the gospel. Even when Paul tried to go to the Roman Church like that, the road was blocked and his eyes were so dark that he could not write. Then, what was the core of the message that he had someone named Thedio write a letter again and again, and was held by the butler Phoebe and tried to deliver it to Rome? It was the gospel. He's been crazy about the gospel all his life.
How crazy are you? We must not miss the three words ‘servant, Paul, and apostle’ in verse 1. First, he did not hesitate to become a ‘servant’ for the sake of the gospel. At that time, Roman slaves, or slaves, were a means of production that was no different than the machinery of a factory. Moreover, Paul used the word doulos here, which refers to the lowest rank among the servants.
Second, he did not hesitate to become ‘Paul’ for the sake of the gospel. The name Paul means 'Paulos' in Greek. The root of the word Paulos, 'pauer', means to give up. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, descended from a royal family, and was a great man. However, he did not hesitate to put everything down and become the least of himself (Ephesians 3:8). He was so crazy about the gospel that he lost what he had been good at, what he had been trying to grasp, and even regarded them as excrement.
Dear saints!
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who are crazy about the world, the things that are visible, and the things under the sun, those who work hard to salvage it all, and those who long for the gospel, the things that cannot be seen, and the things above the sun and work hard for it.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and from now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and it will be given not only to me but also to all of you, the manifestation of your compassion. ” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
What am I really struggling for? What are you living for? What are you crazy about?