Set Apart by God and for God

In Romans 1 we learn that Paul was sought out by Christ to be His apostle. Paul did not seek or take on this position of his own accord, but he was summoned by God. Paul, formerly known as Saul, was an unlikely and surprising choice - not only had he been a persecutor of the church, but we even find him keeping the clothes of those who stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:54-60). That act indicated he was a consenting participant in Stephen's death.


Yet God chose to set apart Paul for preaching the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. This young, well-educated, intelligent, tent-making rebel was literally marked, appointed, or separated from others to be devoted to God's purpose of sharing the treasure of Jesus Christ. Paul was to preach and defend the gospel, and after his life-changing, dazzling light appointment with God on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-19), he did so with faithfulness and integrity.

In Romans 1:9 Paul tells us that he serves God with his whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son. He is not assuming this role half-heartedly or with his eyes on worldly aspirations, but Paul is committing the entirety of his being to this incomparable task. He has been entrusted with the mission of proclaiming Jesus to the Gentiles, and to the astonishment of his listeners in Damascus, he proclaimed Jesus vigorously, declaring Him to be the Son of God!

The all important subject of this gospel message is Jesus. Not only has He accomplished God's work on the cross, but every aspect of who He is - that is the essence of Paul's teaching and preaching.

Jesus, in the midst of this world's disgusting and rampant sin, walked in absolute and perfect holiness. Ponder that again - Jesus was 100% holy and 100% perfect. He conquered sin once and for all through His hideous crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension, and He delivered us from sin's penalty of death and hell.

Paul was especially honored and set apart to bear these glad tidings of God, and he spread the news of God's grace over and over and over again. Even though he was beaten and imprisoned, he did not sway from his duty.

According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, Paul's life ended thusly:

During Nero's time, " A fierce persecution now broke out against the Christians. Paul was seized, and once more conveyed to Rome a prisoner. During this imprisonment he probably wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy, the last he ever wrote. 'There can be little doubt that he appeared again at Nero's bar [court], and this time the charge did not break down. In all history there is not a more startling illustration of the irony of human life than this scene of Paul at the bar of Nero. On the judgment-seat, clad in the imperial purple, sat a man who, in a bad world, had attained the eminence of being the very worst and meanest being in it, a man stained with every crime, a man whose whole being was so steeped in every nameable and unnameable vice, that body and soul of him were, as someone said at the time, nothing but a compound of mud and blood; and in the prisoner's dock stood the best man the world possessed, his hair whitened with labours for the good of men and the glory of God. The trial ended: Paul was condemned, and delivered over to the executioner. He was led out of the city, with a crowd of the lowest rabble at his heels. The fatal spot was reached; he knelt beside the block; the headsman's axe gleamed in the sun and fell; and the head of the apostle of the world rolled down in the dust' (probably A.D. 66), four years before the fall of Jerusalem."1

When I was a child, decoder rings and spy toys were extremely popular.  My friends and I used to sneak about the house with our periscope tubes spying on the goings on about the house. We were intrigued by perceived secrets.  How blessed are we that our heavenly Father did not keep the finished work of Christ a secret!  Our precious LORD proclaimed the mystery loudly to Paul, to the apostles, and to each of us, and we must take our commission to spread this great news seriously. We must be the "Pauls of our times"!

Additional Scriptures to read and meditate upon:

Acts 9:3-19
Romans 1:1-32
1 Timothy 1:15
Romans 5:11-12
Romans 12:1-3
2 Corinthians 4:1-18
Ephesians 2:3-5
Titus 3:4-6
Hebrews 4:15-16
1 Peter 1:2-4

Dear Precious Heavenly Father,
Your plan, purpose, and calling are beyond are mental capacity, but we trust you. When and if you call us to be set apart for your commission of sharing the treasure of the great news of Jesus, may we take that task as seriously as the apostle Paul did.  Prepare us to be vigorous and steadfast, and through your strength may we persevere until the end. Amen.

1. M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.