Romans 1:6

Among whom are ye also, called to be Jesus Christ's.

A glimpse of what seems to have been in Paul's mind when he wrote that line may be seen in Sanday's paraphrase, as follows:

Among these Gentile churches to which I am especially commissioned, you Romans too are called to the same obedience of faith, and therefore I have the more right to address you.[11]

The "called" are not merely those who hear the gracious gospel invitation, but are a company made up of the ones who obey. In a certain sense, all are called, in the sense that the gospel is for all mankind; and yet, in the Pauline usage of the word, it is applied to those who have responded to the great invitation. Such a word as "called" emphasizes the divine initiative in redemption.