Romans 1:1Scripture
Exodus 21:1–6. I'm going to read that today, and then I want to read, let's see, where's the Romans 1, as well in just a moment.
Actually, I have probably about 15 verses, so this ought to be fun. All right. Exodus 21. Our assignment was the whole chapter, but I just want to take the first six verses, because that's all I can handle today. All right? While you're turning there, we mentioned that in the first 17 chapters we learned and discovered a God who saves. And that's good news, right? Because we live at a time where we need to be saved. It's always been a time we need to be saved.
You can think of a multitude of things that you've needed to be saved from. And then we shift in 17, and then we see a God who sanctifies. And we're still in this, God's sanctifying, winnowing work, right? He's trying to move us from who we were to who we are and who he designed us to be. And so we continue to see that here, and we see that God uses slavery to sanctify. And so that's kind of what we're going to look at today, just a little bit. 1–6: "Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. When you buy a hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing." This is the Year of Jubilee. It is the year that slaves are freed from their servitude. Now, if you were in a situation where you had got yourself upside down with debt, then you could sell yourself into slavery.
This is a way that you could pay off your debt. And the rules were basically God's, so that we did not take advantage of people, that you would serve for six years, and on the seventh year you could go out free. "If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's," that's interesting, "and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says," listen to this is the key, "'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'" you opt out of freedom. Are you tracking with me
Point 1Love is the catalyst for opting out of freedom
Here?
And listen to what the catalyst is of opting out of freedom: love.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 2:55
That's the catalyst. That's beautiful, guys. That's beautiful. Love is the catalyst. "Then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost." You remember the door and the doorpost? You remember that, the lintel and the doorpost? They would sacrifice the lamb, shed the blood of the lamb, eat the whole lamb, and put the blood of the lamb over the doorpost and the lintel of the house. Look what happens here in servitude. This is pretty cool. "Then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore," sounds really awesome, "his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever." And the marking... You ever have your mom grab your ear and pull your ear to get you somewhere, or for correction? They would take the ear and they would put it on the doorpost, and they would pierce it on the doorpost.
Jesus was pierced for you. A life of Christ does not avoid piercing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 4:07
We will be pierced as well, and it is a sign of our love of him. It's good stuff, right? Let me ask you a
Point 2Who are you when everything is stripped back?
Question this morning: who are you? I mean, if somebody were to come up to you today and they were to ask you the question, "Who are you?" What would be your answer? Would you maybe say what you do for a living? Would you talk about your hobbies, or your loves, or your interests? What would be your reply? Many of you sitting in here today under the sound of my voice had many things pop in your head. But who are you when the rubber meets the road, and when everything is stripped back, all the busyness of life? Who are you? Who are you? If we go to Romans 1, let's turn there together. Romans 1, written by the apostle Paul, opens the chapter answering this question. And I don't believe that it's only Paul's answer. I believe that we all answer this way who are believers in Christ. He says, "Paul." And if we read in the ESV, it says "servant." If we read in the Legacy Standard Bible, it says "slave." The word here is doulos, which is d-o-u-l-o-s, which means slave. It does not mean servant; literally it means slave. That's the translation. So I'm going to read it that way: "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God." Here's how I would answer this today.
Who are you? "I, blank..." You might fill that in "Kirk Merrick." I would fill that in "Shawn Gray," because I'm not Kirk Merrick. "I, blank, a slave of blank." That's my title today, and I'll let you fill it in, because there are some of you here today that are a slave to Christ Jesus, and there are some of you here today that are not.
But everyone here is a slave to something, and you get to fill in the
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:19
Point 3Jesus himself delighted to do his Father's will
Blank. Paul is a slave to Christ Jesus. I would say that I am a slave to Christ Jesus. What are you a slave to? Let me tell you who Jesus was a slave to. We learn here and discover here in this Scripture, because we see shadows and types of Christ in this text. Let me go to Psalm 40:6–8. Here's what Psalm 40:6–8 says. It's quoted actually in Hebrews 10:5–7, and Christ is speaking here, and he says this: "Sacrifice and offering you have not desired," listen to this, "but you have given me an open ear," or in another actual translation, "pierced." "I delight to do your will, O my God." That's good. That's good stuff. Thank goodness Jesus delighted to do God's will. Thank goodness Jesus was a slave to God and did the will. Thank goodness that God was his master. He was pierced for our iniquities. Are you with me today? And he was pleased to do that. Jesus is a slave of God. You know why? Because Jesus loves God. And track with me here: and he loves his bride, the church. Because if you love God, Master, and you love your wife, you will choose him, and you will be a slave of his, and you will serve him all your days. Jesus is a slave, in other words, to love. And that's the summary of all the Ten Commandments, isn't it? Love God, love your neighbor.
If you love God and you love your neighbor, you're a slave to love.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 9:27
It changes how you treat God, and it changes how you treat your neighbor. Can I get an amen? I mean, really, that's what this whole chapter is about. It's about how to love God and love your neighbor. That's what it's about. And in case you didn't know, Jesus is a slave to love, and the Bible says God is love. He's a slave to God. Love God, love your neighbor. Not only is Jesus a slave, but I'm a slave. I'm a slave. And for all of you who are believers in Christ, you're a slave too. For all of you who are not believers in Christ, you're a slave too. Everyone here today is a slave. The Bible says you're either a slave to sin or you're a slave to righteousness, but you're a slave to something. That's the facts. "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God." Doulos. Doulos. Slave. If someone asked you to choose one word to identify yourself, would this be the first word that popped into your mind, "I'm a slave"? The thing that popped into your mind when I asked earlier is the one thing you think most about yourself, and that controls your life. And if it's not God, it's not God. "Well, I'm this. Well, I'm that. I have this title. I have that title."
Things that are esteemed by men are often despised by God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 11:30
And here's the definition of slave: one who belongs to his owner, and his entire life is shaped by the will of his master. One who belongs to his owner, and his entire life is shaped by the will of his master. Who's your master? Now, do you describe yourself as someone who is completely belonging to someone else, and whose life is completely shaped by the will of a master? "Well, who are you, Shawn?" I'm a pastor. I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a friend. I'm an arm wrestler. I had a tournament last week, and I had practice yesterday, and I literally slept zero hours last night, sitting in my bed with tears running down my cheeks because my arms hurt so bad I thought I wanted to die. I'm a director.
All of this is worthless. It's worthless. Titles of men mean nothing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 12:47
The first thing that ought to pop into your mind is, "I'm a slave of Christ Jesus, wholly and completely his. I belong to no other. I've been bought with a price, and my entire life is shaped by the will
Point 4Everyone is a slave; the question is whose
Of the one who bought me." Is that your story? "I, blank, am a slave of blank." Who are you?
It's not a question of whether you're a slave. It is only a question of whose slave you are.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:32
You're a slave to something.
In reality, those in today's society who claim to have the most freedom are in fact under the most bondage.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 13:52
That's a fact. Everyone is a slave. The only question is to what.
It is striking that the only time we recoil at the thought of slavery is when it is in reference to our slavery to God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 14:05
Fascinating, right? Oh, I can name some stuff, but that's pulling up in your garage and blowing my exhaust. You understand what I'm saying? You know what I mean? So I won't. I'll just let you do it. You see what I'm
Point 5Sin, glory, the world, self, and pleasure compete for you
Saying? A slave to sin or righteousness. I'm going to go down a couple things that we might be a slave to, because the only thing you can be a slave to is not Christ Jesus. There's many things you can be a slave to. You can be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Romans 6:16, and I'm going to go through some scriptures here. Romans 6:16 says this: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" These are striking words. "I, blank, am a slave of blank." Which is it for you, when you look at your life?
The Christian life is not marked by bondage to sin; it is marked by bondage to righteousness.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 15:30
You can be a slave to the glory of men. Matthew 6:5 says, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward." Oh, man. It is a terrifying thing to apply Psalm 37 here in this context, which says God will give you the desires of your heart. Romans 1 says he gives them over to them. We like this when we're thinking about getting our Maserati. We don't like it when we think about getting things like this. Are you with me today? But he'll give you that. You can be a slave to the things of this world. It is not that we can't enjoy the things of this world, but are you a slave to it? 1 John 2:15–17 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Period. It is not a question mark, and "maybe, I think so, I'm not sure, and I don't want to offend people in church, so I'll say it may or may not." The Bible don't care about your feelings. It don't care. That's why it says, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does..." Notice it moves beyond feelings into doing.
See, the world is all about feelings; God is all about doing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:40
Notice the difference. And know this: you can do something without feeling it. "I'm going to wait till I feel it first. I worship when I feel it."
No, you offer a sacrifice of praise even when you don't feel it, because God moves you out of feelings.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:04
And we do it because we love. Sometimes, when I'm tired, like last night, I get up and I put a drop of some vitamins in a glass, and I give Brook juice in that, and stir it up, and bring it to her, because I love her, not because I feel like doing it. Are you with me today? Okay. I use a specific towel that she has sequestered to a specific place in our kitchen, and I don't use other towels that have been sequestered to the other places in the kitchen, because I love her, not because I think it makes any sense. It makes no sense. It's awesome that I have the pulpit; I can just get this out. You know what I mean? But I do it because I love her. A lot of you have opinions. As a matter of fact, you might even make polls and take polls about what God should and shouldn't be doing, and you want to give your opinions, and that's all great and fine and well.
But at the end of the day, his will be done. Your feelings and your opinions matter not. He's God; you're not.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 19:22
That's just the way it is. That's the way the cookie crumbles. You know what I mean? I don't even know what movie that's from. It's probably inappropriate, and I apologize for quoting it. Okay. A slave to the things of the world. Are you enslaved to the things of this world? Okay, I'm going to do it. I'm rooting for the Chiefs tonight. Okay? My son's rooting for the Eagles. He wanted to go get a t-shirt to troll all of you. You know why? Not because he's against the Chiefs, but because he notices that people worship the Chiefs more than God. Yes. And he'll come tonight and he'll troll you, and you just ignore him. But no, this is what we hear. And I'm for the Chiefs, and I want you to root for the Chiefs tonight. I don't want you to come to the Super Bowl party and it be weird because I preached this sermon. We can shout, we can cheer, and we can love and root for the Chiefs.
You just shouldn't love them more than God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 20:33
Are you with me today? I was flying home, and people were flying into Kansas City. I'm not sure why, because the Super Bowl's not here. So I was like, "Do you know you're going to the wrong place?" People were flying in from Orlando to come to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs game. I'm like, the same TV that's in Orlando, they have here. It's weird. I just don't... It's weird. So I'm flying, and there's a group of ladies back behind me, taking up several rows behind me, and they were just gabbing, and, "Oh, Chiefs!" And you know, and everything. I was for them. I was like, "Yeah," you know. And I was rooting, until one lady says, "So if the Chiefs lose, I'm going to have to take two weeks off work to mourn in my bed with a box of tissues." And I thought to myself, "You got to say something. Don't say something. Say something. Don't say something. Say something. Don't say something. Brook, where you at? Help me." And I turned around kind of like this, and I went, "Really? Really?" And she went, "No, not really." I said, "Thank the Lord. You are not serious." Then we went to lunch. I got home, the next day went to dinner at Seiki, and we sat there, and, you know what's going to happen, this person's going to be in church today.
And so we were sitting there, and we were having dinner and talking about the Chiefs and Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and then we were talking about all these things. And so one lady said that every day, when she's riding in the car or when she's in the house, whenever she gets by Travis Kelce, she kisses him. I'm like, "Oh." I'm thinking, is he family? Does he hang out with you a lot?
Her husband said, "I see you're all, you know, perplexed. She has a cardboard cutout of Travis Kelce." I thought that was weird. I mean, I thought it was really weird, actually. I looked over at Brook and went, "I'm in an insane asylum. People have cardboard cutouts and they make out with cardboard." It's weird. "I, blank, am a slave of blank." "I, blank, am a slave of blank." Interesting, isn't it? You can be a slave to self or wealth. 2 Timothy 3:2 says, "For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy." "For people will be lovers of self," and "lovers of money." These are closely connected. Okay? Now, just so you know, because some of you are going, "Yeah, get the rich people, man." I would say that people who are lovers of money are not just rich people. Poor people have a problem with this, and average-income people have a problem with this, because we prioritize self. You know how people get in debt? Because you prioritize self, and you love money, and you use it on self wants rather than self needs. Are you with me today? We get it convoluted, and we're a slave to money. A slave to fleshly pleasures. This probably doesn't apply to anybody in here today. A slave to fleshly pleasures: Romans 16:18 says, "For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ." They're not slaves to Christ, those that are slaves to pleasure, because you can't have two masters.
Those who are slaves to pleasure: "For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive." 2 Timothy 3:4: "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." Notice that there isn't provision for you to be both.
It doesn't mean you have to sit around all day and poke yourself with a tack to be a lover of God. There are certain pleasures in life that are cooked in by God, and he's happy about it. And then there are certain pleasures that rob you from loving God and being pleased with him, and it's your job to determine which it is. James 4:1–2 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask."
A slave does not live to gratify self; a slave lives to gratify his master.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 26:43
And for many of you would answer the question, "I, Shawn Gray, am a slave to myself." Is that how you would fill the blank in, when you look at your life? Because that's a miserable way to live. I promise, it never satisfies. Can I get an amen on that? How many of you have tried to live filling the blank in that way, and you realize that you just felt as empty as the day you tried to please yourself? Are you with me?
And the more you try to please yourself, the more empty you feel, because the only thing that fulfills is putting God in the blank.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 27:31
That's it. That's it. Who are you? James 1 says this, James 1:1, James, in case you thought it was just Paul. Listen to these apostles, man: "James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." This is James, man. James, the half brother of Jesus. He didn't say, "Hey, James, the half brother of Jesus." He says, "James, the one..." He doesn't say, "James, the one who's risen to great prominence among the churches and the brethren in jerusalem." He says, "James, a slave of Jesus Christ." Who are you?
I'll close with this: slaves hear and do the will of their master.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 28:24
That's what we're learning. They hear and they do the will of their master.
55:08
49:20
54:12
51:05
39:27
1:02:21
1:05:55
1:08:37
1:14:26
56:32
48:06
1:00:59
50:25
59:35
40:20
49:20
45:24
47:29
40:57
47:59
32:41
38:34
40:34
36:34
28:51Now playing
40:09
53:10
44:36
47:32
29:24
39:47
44:44
51:20