Romans: Exposition of Chapter1: The Gospel of God by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Author:D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Catholic, New Testament, Christianity, Romans, Religion, Biblical Studies
ISBN: 9780851514673
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Published: 1985-02-14T22:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son. Romans i: 9

We have been considering together what we can deduce, from verses 8-15, about Paul's prayer life and also about his submission to the will of God. The third thing that we gather here from the Apostle is about his service, his work, and especially, perhaps, his attitude towards the work. This, again, is most important, and an entrancing matter. I am sure you will all agree when I say that we can never have a better model, a better pattern for ourselves and our service in God's kingdom, whatever the service may be, than that set by the Apostle Paul. Here, undoubtedly, is the greatest evangelist that the church has ever known, and at the same time the greatest teacher, and therefore, it is particularly important for all who in any way have the privilege of preaching the gospel, to watch him and observe him, and to note the things he says about his service, and, as I say, especially his attitude towards his service.

Now there are quite a number of things to be said about that service, so let me try to tabulate them. The first is Paul's actual description of the work. In the ninth verse he says, 'For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son'. This statement shows his attitude in general towards this work. He describes it as a 'service' - 'whom I serve' - and the word he used is very significant. It is a word that is commonly used in the New Testament, and also in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. This word always carries the idea of a 'religious' service, and the Apostle is very fond of it. He uses it elsewhere. So his service, he wants them to know - his service for God - is always a 'religious' service; it is always a service that has in it an element of worship and of adoration. We must be very careful here that we do not import into it any false priestly conceptions, because there is nothing like that in the Apostle Paul. He, like the other New Testament writers, would say that all true Christians are priests. We find firmly stated in the New Testament the great Protestant doctrine of the universal priesthood of all believers. In that sense it is priestly, but not in the sense of a number of people who are set apart and put on a pedestal; there is none of that here. But it is a worshipping and a worshipful service.

I emphasize this because surely we should all realize that any service we may render for God in His kingdom should always have this quality and this characteristic. Anything done for God is a religious service, a religious act. It should always be done with this element of worship. Even if you are doing

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