Our scripture reading for this evening's service is from the very first chapter of the book of Romans. When Pastor Voss called and asked if I could be available since he had a very busy week for this evening's service, I wondered what I should bring as a message. And I happen to be right here in Romans in my own personal devotions. So that's part of the reason why we're going to look at Romans chapter 1. Providentially, this is where I've been. And our text will be verses 7 and 8. So as we read, you'll notice when we come to verses 7 and 8 that that's the point of concentration of our message tonight. So what you're about to hear is God's Word. Let us listen with reverence and respond with obedience. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his son, who, as to his human nature, was a descendant of David, and who through the spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His namesake, we receive grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. Because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. And I pray that now at last, by God's will, the way may be open for me to come to you. I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. That is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you, but have been prevented from doing so until now, in order that I might have a harvest among you just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obliged both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. And that is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. First for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Here ends the reading of our scripture reading for tonight. And as I said, I'm going to direct your attention to verses 7 and 8. You know, the way Paul writes letters, the way the letters were written in Paul's day, the origin is identified right at the outset. Now, we usually identify the recipient, the person to whom we're sending the letter. And we say, dear grandma, if you're writing a letter to your grandma, or dear friend. And we wait till the very end to identify that we're the source of the letter. Well, it was right just the reverse in that age. And therefore, the very first word in this epistle is Paul. So we know the letter came from him. And then it was typical to say some things about the author. And then finally identify the ones to whom it is written. So let's start with Paul and move down to verse 7 for our text. Paul, to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith is being reported all over the world. Dear friends in Christ, not long ago, Pope John Paul II declared Mother Teresa to be worthy of consideration for sainthood. Maybe you knew about that. I have a Catholic friend back in the Chicago area who was very excited about it. And she said she couldn't wait until the second miracle that Mother Teresa performed was identified. She's already been credited with one miracle. I don't know what it is, but the officials in the Vatican have identified a miracle. It's one of the requirements for sainthood. Well, it stimulated my thinking about what the Bible says about sainthood, because it's different from John Paul II's idea. John Paul II began what is called a canonization process. Now, that's a big word. But it means the beginning of a process, the end of which would be declaring a human being to have arrived at a position called sainthood. It's a long drawn out process. To begin with, that person has had to have a reputation for sincere religious devotion, A life of piety, known for works of charity, a pious person, a reputation for virtue and sanctity. And then it has to be confirmed, as I already said, by the actual performance of some miracles, at least two. And finally, a solemn mass is held in the Vatican, where that person is elevated. That's the term they use, to a position of sainthood. And that person then can become an object of veneration. That's almost worship. Certainly, you can pray to someone, from a Roman Catholic point of view, of course, who has been declared a saint. Now, I would be the last to minimize the life and work of Mother Teresa. The world needs more of her types. She poured out her life in service to her fellow men. She certainly was Saint Lee because she ministered to the homeless. She founded an orphanage for little children born with HIV because they're irresponsible parents. had AIDS and produced these children and abandoned them. And these poor children have a very short life expectancy and Mother Teresa was there to show that somebody cared. She helped the poor, the discards of society. We need more of her types. But the question is, does human merit works of charity that a human can perform qualify for a special category among people who are identified as Christians, to qualify them as a special category called saints? Are there really two levels in the believing community? The saints and the ain'ts, which is most of us? Well, the Bible's answer is no. You see, if we look at the Scripture, we soon discover that every sincere believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is a saint. in God's sight. Because it is not human merit that qualifies us to be called saints. But the merit of Jesus Christ who makes us by His power one of His own. And He forgives our sins. And He changes our hearts. And in God's sight we become saints. You see, when Paul writes this letter to the believers in Rome and he says to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints, he's not talking about some special category of pious folks. He's not just addressing the elders and the deacons and the pastors and the cadet and gem leaders and the Sunday school teachers and the coffee-baked ministry leaders. No. He addresses the average believer, the rank and file, the ordinary person who loves Jesus. That was Paul's consistent pattern, folks. Listen to Ephesians chapter 1. Listen to the way he starts that book to the church in Ephesia, in Ephesus. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus. Well, it still doesn't say quite who that includes, does it? So let's turn to Philippians, where he begins his letter this way. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the elders and deacons. So he's not singling out some class in the church. Obviously, in Philippians, he said to the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the elders and deacons. So, he does include the elders and deacons too, doesn't he? Well, you see, this is not an exception in Paul's practice. And our Reformed, our Reformation fathers have not only reminded us of the priesthood of all believers, Because medieval Roman theology said that there was a special priestly class that had to serve as intermediators between us and God. And the reformers said, no, it's the priesthood of all believers. Our Reformation fathers also reminded us of the sainthood of all believers. Now, if you were to ask me where Roman theology got these ideas, where they got the idea that human beings can attain perfection in this life and when they die, they actually can be addressed in prayer, where did that idea come from? Where did the idea come from that some human beings can do so many righteous deeds that they have done literally more than is necessary to save themselves? that's really what the doctrine, I'm going to give you one more word, big word, of supererogation. That word simply means more than was asked of you. Where did they get the idea that some human beings can do so much more than is necessary to save themselves that the extra they did could be deposited with the church in what is called a treasury of merit like good works in the bank and that the church can then dispense this to others who haven't done enough of course if they will pay the price that's all part of the whole bargain and that's one of the things that triggered the reformation when Tetzel was trying to sell indulgences good works that were deposited with the church and now available for a price to the common member of the church. Where did they get that idea? Well, they didn't get it from the Bible and they didn't get it out of thin air either. They got it from paganism. Did you know that most pagan religions have the idea that some people can become so pious that they reach a point of perfection and they become saints? That's true in Buddhism. That's true in Hinduism. That's true in a lot of pagan religions. People who through rigorous religious activity, through disciplined meditational techniques, through self-denial can attain what the Buddhists call nirwana. A transcendental state. And when they pass on from this world, they can literally be addressed in prayer. Maybe you've heard of the movement called Harakrishna or Krishna Consciousness. There are about a million of those in America. Well, Krishna was simply one of these saints who had attained to perfection. And now, Harakrishna people pray to Krishna 1,782 times every day. And prayer is simply the repetition of the name. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. 1752 times. Well, that's what the reformers faced in medieval Roman theology. And that's what they rejected. So you see, it was not the idea of sainthood that the reformers rejected. but the unbiblical, the wrong idea of sainthood. So, let's look at these two verses and we're going to address the issue called to be saints. That's the theme for this sermon. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. I want you to notice, you can follow the outline that's printed on the back here. First, an apparent contradiction. And when you approach that issue, we're going to answer the question, what is a saint? Secondly, a divine possibility. Yes, it's divine. God makes it possible to be called to be a saint. And then we'll be answering the question, are we saints? Hinted at that already, haven't I? And then finally, I want you to notice a specific purpose. God has a specific purpose for calling us to be saints. And then we're going to answer the question, why are we saints? Okay, called to be saints. Now, if you were to ask at the very outset, what is a saint? We have to begin to answer with what sounds like a contradiction. Because you know that a saint is a sinner. A saint is a sinner. Now, I know in the popular mind, that seems like a contradiction. You're either a saint or you aren't, right? Can't be both at the same time. But, if anybody can become a saint at all, they have to be applicants from an available human race, all of whom are sinners. So if it's possible to be a saint at all, it has to come from a category of people called sinners. The Bible makes that very clear. And yet, you know, I think if we're honest with ourselves, we seem to think that there's a contradiction in this issue also. That you can't be a saint and a sinner at the same time. Ask yourself, ask yourself. if someone were to ask you whether you were a saint what would your first reaction be maybe your first reaction would be no i'm not a saint i'm a calvinist and calvinists know that we are born and conceived in sin subject to all manner of misery to condemnation itself that's a quote from our baptismal formulary when we present our little children before the assembled congregation for baptism, we confess before God and his people that they were born and conceived in sin. That's a condition of all of us. And yet, Paul calls the believers in Rome saints, and he knows that they were born and Conceived in sin and subject to all manner of misery? As a matter of fact, just two chapters later in Romans, Paul quotes a passage from the Old Testament as follows. It's verses 10 and 11 and 12. There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. So much for seeker services, folks. The Bible says there's no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They have all together to become corrupt. There is no one that does good, not even one. Of course, you know where that came from. From Psalm 14, and it's repeated in Psalm 53 to make sure we get the point, don't we? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So if there are any saints at all, they have to come from a category of human beings called sinners, right? In the third chapter of Romans, Paul also says, verse 23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And all folks means all, without exception, inclusive. As a matter of fact, Paul includes himself among the category of sinners. Romans 7, verse 18, Paul says, Within me, within my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. And you have no trouble calling him Saint Paul, do you? So, apparently, sainthood is compatible with human sinfulness. If you read the rest of the book of Romans, you soon discover that these people whom Paul addresses as saints were very imperfect people. I'll give you just two short passages. In Romans chapter 12, the 16th verse, this is what Paul says. Live in harmony with one another implies that there was some disharmony in that congregation. Do not be proud. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. And he goes on to identify these unsaintly characteristics in this church in Rome, whom he addresses at the outset as saints. And then listen to Romans 13, verses 12 to 14. The night is nearly over. The day is almost here. So let us put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Now those are not saintly virtues that Paul is identifying among the people in Rome. And yet he doesn't hesitate to call them saints. And despite human sinfulness, because of the power and grace of our sovereign God, it's literally possible to be a saint. It's a divine possibility to be called to be a saint. Because, you see, while all saints are sinners, not all sinners are saints. You see, a saint is a special kind of a sinner. And that special kind is identified in our text by one word. Paul to all in Rome who are loved by God and called, there it is, to be saints. You see, a saint is a sinner who has been called by God through his Holy Spirit and has responded in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the nature of the gospel, isn't it? Repent and believe. Hear the call of the gospel and repent and respond in faith. And that's why Jesus one day said, Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And those who were called by the Holy Spirit responded in faith. And it still happens today because we have the same gospel today, the word of God to which we are called to respond. As a matter of fact, the word church in the New Testament literally means called ones. That's what we are. As a matter of fact, we are called by God himself to be his people and therefore called to be saints. The whole Bible presents God as calling sinners to be saints. Right at the outset, Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and started running. They didn't seek God, but God sought them. And they hid in the trees among the trees of the garden. And God took the initiative. He took the first move, as Pastor Voss told us a few Sundays ago, to seek and find the lost, Adam and Eve. And God said, Adam, where are you? Adam was not a seeker after God. God was a seeker after Adam. No matter how many seeker services there may have been in Adam's time, he would have never responded. Because, you see, his heart, as the Bible says, all our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. We left to ourselves our self-seekers, not God-seekers. But God seeks the lost right from the outset in the Scriptures. He sought the lost. He called sinners to be saints in the words of 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. If my people who are called by my name, identified as my own, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. God called sinners to be saints through Isaiah. Though your sins be as scarlet, blood red, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. He called the covenant community through Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 5 where he promised to raise up unto David a righteous branch and this is the name by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. Not our righteousness. His righteousness for us. And in the New Testament, our Lord Jesus is the good shepherd calling lost sheep into the household of the faith. And the Bible ends with the call of God for sinners to be saints when we read, and the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him who is a thirst say, come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. So saints are sinners who have come in response to the Spirit's call. So your very desire, your will to believe has its source in God Himself. And what an encouragement that ought to be for us. We saw a bit ago that these Roman believers were not very perfect. They were very imperfect. They were unsaintly in many regards. But the Apostle Paul calls them out of darkness. Out of pride. Out of immorality. Out of jealousy and dissension. And he calls them into the communion of the saints. Into the household of the faith. into the fellowship of called-out sinners. And now you know what a saint is and whether you're one. We now realize from the scripture that a saint is not one who is rewarded by his or her own righteousness. We are saints by our calling in Christ Jesus. Jesus, by His grace, makes us saints. He forgives our sins. He robes us in His righteousness. And He is the Lord, our righteousness. And that's what medieval Roman theology, and continuing to the present day, failed to see by claiming that sainthood is a result of human effort, human achievement. And therefore, a basis for human boasting, bragging. But Paul knew different. He says, God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. So not only are we called to be saints, even though there's an apparent contradiction, and not only is it a divine possibility, It really happens, but it has a specific purpose. And here we answer the question, why are we saints? And verse 8 tells us why. Paul says, after calling them saints, called to be saints, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith is being reported all over the world. Did you get it? We are called to be saints so that our faith may be proclaimed throughout the whole world. In other words, we are called to be ambassadors for the spread of the gospel. To praise the name of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In other words, saints are sinners who have been called to do a job, to be agents for the spread of the gospel. And every called sinner can do something because just as it is not our good works that saves us, so it's not our ability that makes us ambassadors. All you have to do is to tell somebody else what Jesus means to you. You don't have to criticize their lifestyle or tell them how desperately they have to repent and believe. Just tell them what Jesus means to you. And the Holy Spirit will take it from there. I had a professor named Johannes Blau in the Netherlands. He was, at the time, not only a professor of theology, but Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board of the Kirchmer der Kirchen. And he wrote a book. He was an Old Testament professor. But he wrote a book in English, incidentally, they encourage that because there's a wider distribution, entitled The Missionary Nature of the Church. Old Testament professor writes a book on the missionary nature of the church, And he just used the Old Testament. And he points out in that book that every time the word called or chosen or elected is used in the Old Testament, the purpose or reason for being called, chosen, and elected is also given. So Isaiah, for instance, says that the covenant community was called to be a light unto the Gentiles. Or another, they were chosen that the Lord's name may be known throughout the world. Called for a purpose. Now, when we read that their faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world, does that mean their reputation? That is, a reputation for being people of faith? Or does it mean faith in terms of what they believe? And I'll tell you, of course, it's the second one, isn't it? You see, Paul isn't simply saying it's great that you've got this great reputation, church at Rome, that you're a people of strong faith and they know it everywhere. No, what Paul is thanking them is that the content of their belief, the gospel, the substance of their faith is known throughout the whole world. And that's what we are called to do. We are called not only to let people know that we believe, but we are called to let the world know what we believe. And that's why I think Paul mentions in verse 14, I am obligated, he says, both to Greeks and to non-Greeks. He was under this obligation. He was called a sinner to be a saint so that the faith, the gospel, may be proclaimed throughout the whole world. And that's true for us too. Not just by our godly lifestyle, and that's one way, of course, in which we honor the Lord. not just the testimony of our life or the generosity to the kingdom, but also to let others know the substance of what we believe. And of course, that centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. People, we are not called to be great. We are not called to imitate worldly standards. We are not called to succeed. but we are called to be Christ's living and active ambassadors in this troubled world. God help us so to be. Please pray with me. Thank you, Father, for your gospel, the call unto salvation to all who believe, and thank you for putting the willingness within our heart, For you are the source of both to will and to do and to respond to your gospel. And Father, help us also to be your agents to proclaim your call to the ends of the world to the everlasting glory of your name through Jesus Christ our Lord and all God's people said, Amen.