Series - Summer in Rome
Sermon 1 - The Gospel – The Power of God
Romans 1:1-17
Written by Paul, a Servant of Christ Jesus, set apart for the Gospel
Written to Romans, those Loved by God, called to be Saints
The Gospel is the power of God to live life eternally
The Gospel is the power of God to live life Righteously
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Series Introduction
Good morning.
It is hard to believe that we are already in May. The kids are going to be out of school in the next month, but at least the weather seems to be finally turning a corner toward summer.
Before you know it, the kids will be on vacation for the summer and many families and people will be planning summer vacations.
So, I thought we would have a summer vacation as well and that we would all spend our Summer in Rome!
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How does that sound?
Well, we aren’t actually going to go there, but we are going to be spending most of our summer with the people of Rome as we work our way through the letter to the Romans over this summer.
As we begin this journey, I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do in our church, both in the lives of us as individuals and as the body of Christ. This is a book of the Bible that has had some profound impact upon the lives of great men of faith throughout history.
This is the book that Martin Luther
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called the “chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel.” He wrote a commentary on the letter to the Romans and God has used the teaching of even that to spur men onto great things.
John Wesley,
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a missionary and preacher during a time of great revival, in hearing a message on Martin Luther’s preface to Romans, was saved as he wrote in His journal later that “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death.” (as quoted by Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 514)
Sermon Intro
So this morning, we are going to jump right in as we turn to Romans 1:1-17
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As you turn there, I will let you know that we will take a few weeks off here and there from preaching on Romans for things like Mothers’ Day next week, but it is my hope that as we go through this letter, we too, will experience an awakening in our hearts and in this community like was sparked during revivals in the time of John Wesley.
Let’s begin by reading
Romans 1:1-17
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." NIV
Pray.
Ok, we are going to start by looking at a little background of this letter and of the author in particular.
We find out off the bat this letter was
Written by Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, set apart for the Gospel
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Now when we think of Paul, many often think of a great missionary and man of God and that is true.
However, Paul was not always a great man of God.
We first meet Paul at the end of Acts 7 and his name is Saul and he is persecuting Christians. In fact, he is giving his approval to the death of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the church in Jerusalem.
So Paul, at this point is not only NOT a Christian, he is a persecutor of Christians and of Christ. In this letter to the Romans, though, we see that now he calls himself a Servant of Christ.
Persecutor of Christ to Servant of Christ.
What happened?
What happened is he met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus as he was going to persecute more Christians, and he came into a relationship with Christ and Jesus removed him from the road he was on that led to hell and put him on the road to heaven.
It was through this encounter with Christ that Paul was changed.
Changed from
persecuting those who believed in Christ to instead
proclaiming the gospel so that everyone might believe in Christ.
God powerfully transformed Paul and He wants to powerfully transform you and me.
As we go through this letter, we are going to learn about the means and method that God can transform every one of us.
And Paul introduces the topic he is going to be talking about right away, the gospel of God as he calls it in verse 1 and the gospel of his Son, as he says in verse 9.
In this letter, Paul is going to lay out his most detailed theology of the gospel.
Prophesied throughout OT history
But, he says this gospel is not something out of the blue that God is doing.
This gospel, this good news that the Messiah, the Christ, is coming to bring salvation has been prophesied throughout the Old Testament. From Genesis (3), to the Psalms (22) and Isaiah (53), all the way to Malachi (3:1), the last book of the Old Testament. The Father has been preparing to do this since the very beginning, and Paul begins with that reminder, which is especially for the Jews in Rome who are hearing this letter.
Christ is Human and Divine
Not only that, but right in verse 3 and 4, he tells us about the dual nature of Christ, that he is human and divine.
Romans 1:3-4
3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
And then he informs his readers that this Messiah who has come, who has been prophesied to come throughout Jewish history, is not just for the Jews, but for Gentiles, in fact for all people. This gospel is very good news! This is what Paul has been called to preach and proclaim, this faith that leads to a transformation in our lives, not through an obedience that comes by trying harder, but an obedience that comes because we really believe in Christ.
So, Paul starts, just as most letters from this time period, telling who he is and then he moves on to whom it is being written to.
In verse 7, we find that this letter is being
Written to Romans, those Loved by God, called to be Saints
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He is writing to the Roman Church. Now, Paul has yet to come to Rome, and there hasn’t been any apostle that has gone there and begun this church, because Paul’s custom was to not go where others have established churches.
So, this church was probably formed by those who heard about Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2:10) and then returned home and began meeting together and telling others about Christ.
Paul wanted to go to visit them and share the gospel and encourage the Roman believers and have a harvest among them, as well as to be encouraged by them. He is writing this letter around 57 or 58 AD, during his 3rd missionary journey.
Says they are called to be Saints
He tells them they are loved by God and he says they are called to be saints.
Now if you were raised in the Catholic tradition like I was, then when you think of a saint, you probably think of someone who has supposedly 2 miracles credited to them that they did after they died as someone prayed to them.
The Bible, however, teaches something different about becoming a saint.
The way the apostles use the term saint, it is in reference to someone who is a Christian.
That is it.
If you are a Christian, if you have received Christ as your Savior, the Bible calls you a saint. You don’t need to be dead to become a saint and you don’t have to do two miracles or even one. You just need to put your faith in Christ and receive Him as your Savior, and you too can be a saint.
So, in these opening introductory verses, Paul introduces himself and his credentials, and informs us who he is writing to and who they are in Christ.
Now in the last 2 verses of this passage, Paul gives us the theme of the entire rest of his letter to the Romans. Let’s read it again and I would urge you to commit this to memory because I believe it will help you live out the gospel and God’s power in your life.
Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." NIV
Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation.
The Gospel is the Power of God to live life Eternally
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I believe that most of us here believe the truth of that statement in our heads.
But I think we struggle with that belief being lived out in our life.
Love Wins?
There is a book out recently called ‘Love Wins’ that has the basic premise that everyone will go to heaven eventually and if they don’t believe in Christ when they die, they will have an opportunity after they die they can still make a choice to trust Christ and be in heaven.
http://marshill.org/pdf/LoveWinsFAQs.pdf
Now as much as we may want to believe this so that we would not have to worry about telling people about Jesus, or getting outside of our comfort zone, the Bible clearly teaches that there is a judgment that we face at death.
Hebrews 9:27 – “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” NIV
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Rich Man & Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
Jesus also tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.
Both of them die and Lazarus is in paradise and the rich man is in hell.
The rich man is in agony and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue because he was in agony. (Luke 16:24)
Abraham said that it is not possible because there is a great chasm that has been fixed that nobody can cross over (Luke 16:26)
Parable of sheep and goats
Jesus talks about the kingdom of God being like a shepherd separating sheep and goats.
He says he will separate the unrighteous to eternal torment and the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:46) This is not temporary.
There is a judgment for sin in this world and in your life. Each of us will face this judgment. You have this life that you are living to make plans for your eternity, because when you leave this life, you enter your eternity.
This is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel and preaching it and speaking it to those he comes in contact with. He knows that the gospel is the only hope of eternal life for everyone who believes.
And this is important. It is for everyone who believes. This is why it is so important for people to be sharing the gospel with others.
Listen to what Paul asks later in this letter to the Romans
Romans 10:14
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14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? NIV
Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because he knows that this message is for everyone and he is going to preach it so everyone that he comes in contact with and has an opportunity to believe.
Apply
Are you ashamed of the gospel? I would bet most of you would answer this question with a no.
But if I spoke with one of your friends, someone you have spent time with and talked with for a while, if I asked them what they thought about the gospel of Jesus Christ that you have shared with them? Would they say, they have never heard you speak of it, or would they say, oh, yea, he is all about the gospel and living it out.
Do we really believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation for all who believe? Do we believe that it is only through Christ that salvation is possible?
That is what Christianity teaches.
Jesus said
John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV
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Peter says this about Jesus in Acts 4:12 - “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." NIV
God loved people so much that he made the way through Christ. That is the good news, the gospel. We now have a hope for eternal life where there was none before.
Do not be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.
But it is not only the power of God for eternal life.
The Gospel is the Power of God to live life Righteously
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Romans 1:17 - For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." NIV
We are unable in ourselves to live righteously in this life. We are powerless.
We are slaves to sin.
But through trusting in Christ, through the good news of Jesus Christ, we are given the power of God to live righteously.
This is not accomplished by trying harder or living by the law, or not going to see certain movies or giving money or even serving others.
This righteousness is received by faith, not as a one-time act, but as a day in and day out faith.
Yes the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation of all who believe. When we truly come to a point of recognizing our sin and our need for a Savior, and that Jesus is that Savior, and we put our faith in Him, trusting that He is God in the flesh and died for us and resurrected from the dead, we receive by God’s power, to live life eternally. We don’t need to do that over and over to truly have eternal life.
But as we live in the light of the gospel, day in and day out recognizing what has truly been done for us, that Christ took my sin, my pride, my lies, my stealing, my dishonoring of my parents, my impure thoughts and motives, all the fullness of my sin and unrighteousness, and put it on Himself and instead gave me His righteousness, we can experience living the righteous life that we are called to by faith.
It is by faith we live this. As we trust in Him and believe in Him and walk in the Spirit each day, the gospel continues to affect us and empower us to live righteously for His glory.
I think this is where many people struggle. We come and believe, but we fail to live our daily lives in the faith that gospel reveals, that Christ died not only to save us, but to empower us to live for Him.
Paul expounds on this righteousness that is by faith throughout Romans and many of his other letters.
Romans 3:21-22
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21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. NIV
Romans 4:4-5
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4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Paul tells us in
Galatians 2:21
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I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" NIV
He confirms again that you can’t be righteous through trying harder to be obedient. That obedience comes not by trying harder, but through living daily in faith.
Listen to how Paul lives his daily life.
Philippians 3:8-9
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I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. NIV
The Gospel is the power of God to live righteously and in the fullness of life that Christ has come to give.
This righteous life we live also helps us when we share the gospel with others, because they will be able to see our lives and the power of God at work in our lives to live out the gospel by faith.
The gospel is the power of God to live life eternally and righteously.
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Apply
Do you believe that?
I want to challenge you this week with 2 things.
First, think of someone you know whom you care about that you have not shared the gospel with.
Pray for that person. Pray for their life, their job, and for their heart to be softened to hear and respond to the gospel.
While you are praying, I also want you to live in the power of God by meditating on the gospel and what Christ did for you.
Commit Romans 1:16-17 to memory
Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." NIV
Then over the course of this month, I want you to look for an opportunity to invite this friend to church and share the gospel with them.
This is their only hope of eternal life, their only hope of living a righteous life.
You may be the one that God has sent into their life to share with them the gospel, the power of God to live.
Seize that moment and do not be ashamed.
Conclusion – Sharing the Gospel
As we close, I realize that there may be some here today who have never really received Christ as Savior. And I am certain that there are those here who don’t know how to share the gospel.
A person has to basically come to a belief and knowledge of 3 things.
Who you are, Who Jesus is and ,What Jesus did
Who are you
You are a sinner. Because I have sinned, I have been separated from God. I have no hope to change myself or restore my relationship with God because I am permanently scarred by sin.
Who is Jesus
Jesus is God. Yes, He is the Son of God, but that is the same as being God. The Jews recognized this.
John 5:18 - he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 10:30 – I and the Father are one.
What did Jesus do?
Jesus died for your sins by his death and proved his deity through the resurrection from the dead and when you receive Him by believing in Him, you receive eternal life and are empowered to live in this faith through the Holy Spirit by the power of God.
You can receive Him by confessing this belief.
Romans 10:9 – “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” NIV
If you want to receive Him, then confess your belief with your mouth as you pray this morning.
Pray
Closing Song – Mighty to Save
