Romans 1:5: Through Whom We Have Received Grace And Apostleship

Romans 1:5
[5] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (ESV)

I once heard someone say, "God could have used the holy angels to preach the message of the gospel to the lost, but he chose us instead." We may feel inadequate for the task. We may be overwhelmed by the thought that many will not want to hear what we have to say. What we do not realize is that being ambassadors of the message of God's love is a privilege. In fact, it is a gift.

Paul says that we have received grace and apostleship. Let's look at what that means. Grace is the unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor of God. If we got what we deserved we would all be in eternal hell. God looks on us with love and gives us his love. That is grace. It is this message of the gospel, which is a gift of God's grace that we share.

The word apostleship in this context means more than just someone who is a leader of the church, like Paul was. Apostleship here means one who is declaring the message of the gospel. We have received not only the grace of God's salvation, but the gift of apostleship. We have been gifted with the privilege of sharing God's message.

What happens when we recognize the wonderful gift of grace that God has given and we declare it as we should? It brings about the obedience of faith for the sake of Christ's holy name. You may wonder, "How will we know if the message of the gospel has been properly received?" A proper understanding of God's grace always results in obedience to Christ, for his glory.

Do you view the task of sharing the gospel as a privilege? It truly is. You are able to be a part of an eternal plan to bring transformation to people. Use your gift!