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Recently, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that simply said, “not a fan”. No explanation, no context — just a bold, personal statement about life.
The word “fan,” comes from its longer form, “fanatic.” We’ve all seen various forms of fanatical devotion in sports, music, politics, or religion. I took my wife to a Red Son game once—she concluded that those fans were “crazy”. Me might agree. Some fans are endearing. Others are extreme, annoying or even unsettling. But what happens when fanaticism becomes more serious, more than enthusiasm—when it becomes a worldview
To some, the Apostle Paul may seem like one of those troublesome fanatics. At one point, he zealously persecuted Christians, and he even watched the cloaks of fellow prosecutors as they stoned Stephen to death. (Acts 7:58) The worst kind of fanatic. But then, something happened. He encountered Jesus, and that encounter changed everything. He didn’t just believe differently — he became different. The persecutor became the preacher. The hunter became the missionary. He found a reason to live beyond himself.
What changed him? What new worldview inspired him? What new vision captured him?
1. Two Roles
Some 20 years later, Paul writes a letter to Christians who had begun meeting in homes around Rome. In the very first lines of the letter, he uses two words that describe his new point of view. He introduces himself with two powerful titles:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1)*
“Servant” is not a title we often celebrate—especially not in a culture that prizes freedom, independence, and leadership. We want to be the one making the rules, not following them.
Except when we find someone worth following. An experienced guide on a safari, a clever lawyer in a courtroom, an accomplished conductor in an orchestra. Good leaders turn servanthood into a blessing, a privilege, and a good reason to yield our autonomy.
In Jesus, Paul found this sort of leader. His servanthood was not forced servitude. It was willing devotion. Something about Jesus convinced him that this leader knew what He was doing. Serving Him would be well worth the sacrifice of self-determination.
“Apostle,” on the other hand, is a word that carries authority, but not without responsibility. It literally refers to a “sent one,” like an ambassador on a mission. Sometime in our lives, someone has sent each of us on a mission, even small missions, like getting something from the grocery store or picking up the mail. Even then, we feel the pressure to get it right. We have the authority to spend time and money to complete the task, but someone will hold us accountable. Paul feels this same responsibility on a much larger scale. His entire life is defined now defined by a new mission. He is not simply completing assigned tasks. He is fully engaged in achieving an objective. He is part of something much bigger than himself.
When Paul met Jesus, he discovered a new reason to be, a new mission, defined by these two roles of servant and apostle.
2. Two Natures
Paul defines this mission with a brief phrase. He is “set apart for the gospel of God.” (verse 1). “Gospel” means “good news,” and he is now sent to share that good news with as many people as possible. It is news that brings hope and healing to a devastatingly broken world.
This message is about a person with two natures, a son of David and a Son of God. As Paul puts it in his letter:
“…[T]he gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:2-4
Both natures involve family. As a son of David, He is part of a human family. Many interpreters argue that both Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus in His “earthly life,” could trace their linage to this ancient King of Israel. On this human level, Jesus was the “Anointed One,” or “Messiah”, promised to come from David’s line. (See, for example, Isaiah 9:7, 11:1).
Jesus, however, also had another nature, “begotten” by God, the Father. He is Son of God not simply in the sense of being one of God’s children, but in a completely unique sense.
Both natures convince Paul that there is no leader like this One. Jesus proved Himself a servant, before asking others to serve. The King became a servant. God humbled Himself and became human. This leader could therefore be trusted to love those who served Him.
At the same time, to serve this leader is to serve God. He gives authority, but He also holds His ambassadors accountable. And His mission is unlike any other. As the Son of God, he comes for all of God’s children, all His brothers and sisters. There can be no higher mission or calling than this one, to save humanity from its own broken self.
3. One Big Family
Paul sees himself at a critical turning point in God’s historical, saving plan. He describes that turning point beginning in verse 5:
“Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:5-6
For hundreds, even thousands of years, God had primarily worked through one extended human family to reveal His plans for the world. He ensured that this family’s stories were recorded for generations in what we know as sacred scripture. Paul believed that Jesus introduced a new dimension to this story. People outside of that family, Gentiles, were now called to become a part of the family in a new, dramatic and powerful way.
Participation in the family was no longer a matter of blood lines. It would come through “the obedience that comes from faith.” Faith is belief, but much more than that. It is believing in something or someone enough to change how we live. In Jesus, God comes to change how people view Him, themselves and their world. In Jesus, we see new truth, new possibilities and new opportunities and receive the power to embrace them.
When Paul writes to the believers of Rome, he writes with an entirely new point of view. He now regards former enemies and strangers as family:
“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:7
The apostle interestingly includes Gentiles as well as the children of Jacob among, the “holy people” of God. God is also their “Father,” and Jesus the “Christ,” the Messiah, is also their Lord and King. Now all the children of Adam are invited back into the garden to fellowship with their creator.
So, What’s the Point?
We began by reacting to fans, especially disturbing ones, who took things too far. After reflecting on his opening lines, should we consider the Apostle Paul to be one of these disturbing “fans”. Is he just a bit too much?
Perhaps now we can see what he sees, what drives his passion. It is faith, not fanaticism. His inspired vision comes the person, Jesus, this unparalleled leader whom the Father has sent to save the world. He is fully convinced that he is now part of this saving mission.
The question remains, then, whether we see ourselves as part of the same mission. Do we see what Paul saw. Do we believe what he believed. Do we live for the same thing that he lived for?
Paul knew that he mattered to God, and that he now had a role in his Heavenly Father’s saving mission. This, then, seems to be the point:
God knows we matter, but we must believe Him.
We must trust that He has a role for us in His tireless effort to win back His children from a broken and torn world.
Next Steps: Where Do We Go from Here?
Imagine what we could do if we simply believed God, if we trusted His calling on our lives. Perhaps, like Paul, we can make a difference by sharing the same good news about Jesus that he shared. We might not be fans. We might not buy the T-shirt. But we believe in the cause, because we believe in the Person leading it!