There are few questions that have arisen over the course of human history that have caused more controversy than, "Who is Jesus?" As you well know, there is a wide variety of opinions on this matter, but not for Paul. The gospel he preached has as much to do with who Jesus is as it does with what He did. By the second verse of this letter, he's already begun to clarify who this Person is who is his Lord, and there's not a hint of doubt in his tone as he writes. For him, Jesus is the promised Son of David and the divine Son of God, and he spends no time at all trying to explain how He could be both of these things at once. Maybe such unwavering faith came easily for Paul because he actually saw Jesus in His resurrected glory and heard Him say, "I am Jesus, the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting" (Ac 22:8). Or maybe his unwavering confidence came from his "out of body" experience (2Co 12:2-4) which I assume took place when he apparently died and was resuscitated after being stoned at Lystra (Ac 14:19,20). Seeing the glories of heaven with your own "eyes" must settle many theological questions. You'd think that after an experience like that, one would be inclined to simply believe. But few of us have had experiences like his, yet God still calls us to believe and surrender our lives with unwavering trust like we see in Paul. How can that happen? How can we believe so completely without first seeing the resurrected Jesus with our own eyes? Let's find out.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series.

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!

Paul died with dreams of future ministry still burning in his heart. Old age had not "aged" his spirit at ail. As we read this letter to the Romans, we know something Paul didn't when he wrote it. We know he would be arrested when he traveled to Jerusalem (Ro 15:30-32; Ac 21). He would arrive in Rome not as a missionary on his way west to Spain (Ro 15:24,25), but in chains. He would be released after some years, but then re-arrested and executed. He was certainly no younger than 55 when he wrote this letter to Rome, and no younger than 64 when he was executed (67 A.D.), but to the very end he writes like a young man, full of zeal and interest in life, full of big plans and dreams for the future. Nothing is dying inside of Paul, it's just getting stronger. Undoubtedly, he too had to cope with declining energy and, frankly, the effects from years of physical abuse (2Co 11:23-33). He himself provides a perfect illustration of a truth he taught to the Corinthian church, "...though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day" (2Co 4:16). Aging is a physical process that can't be halted, but "old" is an attitude.

Today as we return to Paul's opening statement about himself, we will again hear him tell us he's a "slave of Christ," "called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God." But in this study we're going to look at a particular gift God gives those who, like Paul, embrace these three attitudes. And the gift is this: a heart full of dreams.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series.

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!

God designs people differently and places them in a wide variety of ministries (1 Co 12:5), but regardless of what kind of ministry a person does, some become spiritually fruitful while others stall and make little progress. And the difference between the two doesn't seem to depend on talent or natural gifting. Those who become very fruitful are not necessarily the ones you or I would have picked. Highly talented people might accomplish little over a lifetime while someone who appears much less talented might go on to accomplish remarkable things. So, what determines fruitfulness must have more to do with attitudes than abilities, at least in the spiritual world. That's why God told the prophet Samuel that what He sees when He looks at a person is their heart, but what we humans see is the outward appearance (1 Sa 16;7).

And it was his heart that made Paul such an effective minister. It takes no more than the first verse of his letter to the Romans for him to let us see three life-changing attitudes that explain why he was so effective. Were any one of those attitudes missing Paul would not have become the great apostle that we know. Today as we examine the attitudes he reveals to us we need to be careful to avoid a common danger. Most of us admire him but think to ourselves, "I could never be like Paul; he was a great apostle." But God isn't asking us to do what Paul did. He's asking us to have the same attitude Paul had, and then to joyfully be what He's made us to be.Because when these three attitudes converge in anyone, unusual fruitfulness results.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series.

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!