The Gospel, Calling, and a Light to the Nations

From Episode Four of Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast series on the Book of Romans

Paul’s doctrine of calling Gentiles—those apart from membership in Israel—to trust in Israel’s Messiah grows out of the messianic expectations of the Old Testament. In Isaiah 49:1–7, the prophet speaks of a future time in which the gospel will go out to the ends of the earth and bring great blessings to the nations.

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. . . . I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.

According to Isaiah, the coming of the Messiah is connected to those Gentile nations that formerly oppressed God’s people and are now being called to join Israel as worshipers of YHWH. Jesus Christ, who is the true servant of YHWH spoken of by Isaiah, is the light to the Gentiles (cf. Isaiah 42:6; 52:10; 60:3), a theme fulfilled in the messianic mission of Jesus when he declares, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Jesus will call his chosen ones to faith. His messianic kingdom will crush empires and convert princes. Therefore, when Paul reminds the church in Rome that the sovereign God has called them to faith in Israel’s Messiah through the gospel, Paul is bearing witness to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Let us not miss the irony here—the capital of the world’s greatest pagan empire is now home to a Christian church full of former pagans from distant lands who worship Israel’s God. Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled—the church in Rome is proof.

Christ’s call of sinners through the gospel has a particular goal or purpose. Those who obey the call of the gospel through faith are also called to be holy. The ESV’s “saint” is a translation of the Greek word “holy” (ἁγίοις - hagios). The primary meaning of hagios throughout the New Testament is that, by virtue of God’s call, Christian believers are now set apart for God’s own purposes.[1] It is because God has called us through the gospel that we are regarded as “holy.” “Thus those `called holy ones’ in Paul’s letters are those who have been called by God to respond in faith to the person and work of Christ, and so have been given `in Christ’ the status of God’s `holy people.’”[2] Personal holiness (as an achievement) is not Paul’s focus here, although the transformed lives of those called to be saints is certainly a consequence of God’s call.[3] We can think of the tabernacle and its implements as “Holy” not because they earned or accrued merit, but because ordinary things were set apart by God for “holy” purposes (cf. Hebrews 9:2-7).

In no sense is our own achieved holiness the basis for God’s call. In fact, any true holiness we manifest is the effect of God’s call and the fruit of our justification (our right standing before God). Everyone who is called to faith in Jesus Christ through the gospel is set apart for God’s purpose and is both declared holy (justification) and then progressively made holy (sanctification). Every Christian is rendered a “saint” by virtue of God’s gracious call. The title saint is not reserved for those few who manage to attain great levels of personal holiness, as is erroneously taught by Rome. We are all “saints” in this sense.

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[1] “The adjective can be used as a noun to denote people, things, or places that are set apart for divine purposes, such as the sanctuary (Heb 8:2) or the holy ones—i.e. believers or angels (e.g., Phil 1:1, Heb 13:24; 2 Thess 1:10). Christians and Christian fellowship are to be holy (hagios) because they are called out from the world by the holy (hagios) God (1 Pet 1:15–16) and sanctified (ἁγιάζω, hagiazō) by the work of Christ (1 Cor 1:2) and the Holy Spirit (Jude 20).” See Douglas Mangum et al., eds., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2014), s.v. hagios.

[2] Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 86.

[3] Cranfield, Commentary on Romans, I.70.