Romans Theme Verses – Romans 1:16-17
16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Paul was not ashamed of the glorious Gospel of Christ!
Paul was......Imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Damascus and Berea, laughed at in Athens, considered a fool at Corinth, and declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra...He was never intimidated...ready and eager to preach at Rome, the capital of sin and paganism, and he was not ashamed of the Gospel.
It was dark, it was cold – he had been in these cramped quarters for quit some time. He wasn’t sure whether it was day or night. Nor was he sure just how long he had been there. Now he had always wanted to come back to this city, but he had hoped it would be under different circumstances.
AND – as Paul struggled to find comfort, while wearing shackles on his hands and feet…occasionally, having to flick off from his body, a crawling creature, whose identity was hidden by the darkness of his prison cell… He thought about his life, where he had been what he had seen, what he had been through.
NOW – Paul knew that before too long the sound of jailers keys and prison bars would break the silence, Paul knew that at any moment the would be coming - to take him to his death. The year was 67 AD, and the apostle Paul after fighting the good fight, after keeping the faith – was in Rome awaiting his death, at the edge of an axe, by the command of Nero. Paul was in prison, and he was about to be executed for one reason and one reason only – preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
AND as the torch flickered, Paul wrote his final recorded words. They are found in 2 Timothy. PICTURE – in your mind the great apostle Paul weary, tired, worn out, leaning against the damp walls of a Roman prison…put yourself there…
QUESTION - What would your final words be if you were him?
“My life is being given as an offering to God, and the time has come for me to leave this life. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now, a crown is being held for me – crown of being right with God. The Lord, the judge who judges rightly, will give the crown to me on that day – not only to me but to all those who have awaited with love for him to come again….The first time I defended myself, no one helped, everyone left me. May they be forgiven. But the Lord stayed with me and gave me strength so I could tell the Good News to all those who are not Jews. So I was saved from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me when anyone tries to hurt me, and he will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory forever and ever be the Lord’s. Amen. The Lord be with your spirit, grace be with you: 2 Tim 4:6-8,16-18
And perhaps, it was when he wrote those final words, “The Lord be with your spirit, grace be with you” that he heard the soldiers walking, that he saw the flickering torches, perhaps it was then that Paul went so confidently to his death – knowing that the Lord would bring him safely into his heavenly kingdom…
We know that the gospel is repulsive to the lost man, unattractive, intimidating. It exposes his sin, wickedness, and depravity. Many have turned to the health and wealth gospel that is not so intimidating and not so politically incorrect.
Geoffrey Wilson wrote. "The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel. Thus Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends."
I. PERSONAL STATEMENT - "I"
A. Fiercely personal commitment that cannot be made in the "kumbaya" of the brotherhood.
B. You must make this commitment as an "I" not a "we".
C. There are times when you must make this commitment alone, when everyone else disagrees, dissents, disgusts.
II. PRESENT STATEMENT - "AM"
A. Forgetting those things which are behind, uncertain of those things that are before.
B. This moment in time, where conviction and grace collide to ignite in me the fires of an emboldened testimony.
C. It must be a persistent, continual, daily declaration.
III. POWERFUL STATEMENT -- "NOT ASHAMED"
A. Like Peter's heavenly boldness on Pentecost
B. Like Stephen's shining face in martyrdom
C. Like the singing of the saints while being devoured by beasts and burnt in the flames of witness
D. Polycarp (Burned at the stake 168 AD) when they tried to get him to deny Christ - “86 years have I served the Lord Jesus Christ, and has never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?” When they tried to nail him to the stake – “leave me as I am, He who gives me strength to endure the fire will enable me to remain still within the fire.”
E. Julius Palmer (burned at the stake England 1556) “We shall not end our lives in the fire, but make a change for a better life”
F. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (hang by Nazi SS 1945) “This is for me…the beginning of life”
G. Jim Elliot - (killed by headhunters in Ecuador 1956) “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
H. There is an unshakable conviction that cannot be swayed by the threats, snears, beatings, or cruelty of the earthly
I. I'm ashamed of a lot of things. I am ashamed of the things I have done and things I have failed to do. I am ashamed of seeing those who are hurting yet passing by while looking the other way. I am ashamed of not taking the time to celebrate with those whose joy has overflowed around me.
J. I am ashamed of failing to help the lost find their way. I am ashamed of the days I have wasted, the grace I have tested, and that I have failed to give God my best. Oh, there are a lot of things that I am ashamed of, but I am not ashamed of the Gospel of my Lord Jesus Christ.
K. I am a member of the fellowship of the unashamed.
• I have Holy Spirit power.
• The die has been cast.
• I have stepped over the line.
• The decision has been made.
• I am a disciple of His.
• I won't look back, slow down, back away, or be still.
• My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.
• I am finished and done with low living, side walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, same visions, mundane talking, chincy giving, and dwarf goals.
• I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, promotions, positions, plaudits, or popularity.
• I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, regarded, rewarded, or praised.
• I now live by present, lean by faith, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
• My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission is clear.
• I cannot be bought, compromised, lured, manipulated, enticed, or bribed.
• I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the Adversary, negotiate at the table of the Enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
• I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I've stayed up, prayed up, and preached for the cause for Christ.
• I am a disciple of His.
• I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, work till He stops me.
• And when He comes back He will have no problem recognizing me.
• For I have forgotten all that is in the past, I'm pressing on for the prize, the high calling of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• My colors are clear.
• I am a disciple of His!
IV. PRAISING STATEMENT - "OF"
A. It is the content of a greater story, the perfection of a greater Being, the promise of greater redemption, the grace of greater Love that removes my typical shamefacedness.
B. I have had stupid ideas, I have made ignorant statements, I have grown comfortable in the introversion of my humiliation.
C. Oft, I am ashamed of what I have done, where I have been, what I have, what I have said, what I am, because I am but a sinner rescued by the Savior.
V. POTENT STATEMENT -- "THE GOSPEL"
A. With the power to transform the chief of sinners to the mightiest apostle
B. With the might to exalt beggars and break kings
C. Thought mocked, fought, burnt, outlawed, spat upon, like a mighty tank crushing a bicyle it has vanquished foes like Nero, Voltaire, Stalin, and has come back to be preached atop their corpses and printed from their houses.
D. Speak with the conviction of a personally experienced testimony. I don't tell you an abstract idea of salvation or healing or deliverance that I read about from an ancient text.
E. You shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set you free.
F. Truth that is known is experience -- Adam knew his wife Eve.
G. I think sometimes this whole thing becomes a charade for us. Church is about socialization, worship a form of recreation, and preaching is for entertainment. You "amen" it, but you don't truly believe that the gospel delivers, rescues, forgives, heals, and restores lives.
H. The Gospel is the power of God to salvation! Do you know it? It will set you free!
I. Four words critical to understanding the gospel.
1. Power
2. Salvation
3. Believe
4. Righteousness
J. Power 1:16 "...for it is the power of God..."
1. From where we get the word dynamite.
2. The gospel comes from the omnipotence of God who alone has the power to save the lost from sin and give them eternal life.
3. Scripture testifies to God’s power:
• Glorious power Ex. 15:6
• Irresistible power Deut. 32:39
• Unsearchable power Job 5:9
• Mighty power Job 9:4
• Great power Ps. 79:11
• Incomparable power Ps. 89:8
• Strong power Ps. 89:13
• Everlasting power Is. 26:4
• Effectual Power Is. 43:13
• Sovereign power Rom. 9:21 "HATH NOT THE POTTER POWER OFFER THE CLAY, OF THE SAME LUMP TO MAKE ONE VESSEL UNTO HONOUR, AND ANOTHER UNTO DISHONOUR?"
• Jeremiah 10:12 "He hath make the earth by his power..."
4. The powerful God who said as recorded in Ps.33:8,9 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done he commanded, and it stood fast." Is the God who has the power to save and it is manifested in the gospel!
K. Salvation "...unto salvation..."
1. The greatest manifestation of God’s power is in providing for man’s salvation, transforming their nature, and giving them eternal life.
2. Psalm 106:8 despite their rebelliousness...
3. Salvation through Christ is God’s powerful hand that He has let down to lift men up. "I was lost and undone without God or his son when he reached down His hand for me."
4. His Salvation is deliverance from...
...This perverse generation
...Lostness
...Sin
...The wrath of God
...Spiritual ignorance
...Evil self indulgence
...Darkness of false religion
5. His Salvation is deliverance to….
...Purity
...Purpose
...Perfected Glorification
VI. PRINCELY STATEMENT -- "OF JESUS CHRIST"
A. This is not a lightweight, temporary, uncertain man
B. This is Jesus Christ of Nazareth -- the Eternal God en-clothed in human flesh, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Bright and Morning Star, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father
• Banker Hidden Treasure
• Jeweler Pearl of Great Price
• Baker Living Bread
• Lawyer Advocate with the Father
• Shepherd Lamb of God
• Doctor Great Physician
• Lonely Friend That Sticks Closer than a Brother
• Florist Lily of the Valley, Rose of Sharon
• Builder Sure Foundation, Corner Stone
• Thirsty Fountain
• Lost Way, Truth, Life
• Philosopher Word of God
• Carpenter Door
• Gardener True Vine
• Astronomer Day Star
• Judge Faithful Witness
• Sinner Savior of the World
C. Is He God or is He man?
• On His Daddy’s Side On His Momma’s Side
• Heavenly Father Earthly Mother
• Son of God Son of Man
• Before Abraham Seed of Abraham
• Root of David Earthly Mother
• Eternal Temporal
• Was Word Preached Word
• Walked on Sea Walked by Sea
• Ancient of Days 33 Years Old
• Fed 5000 Hungry
Conclusion: Paul made a personal, present, powerful, praising, potent, princely declaration in this verse, that is the crux of the entire book of Romans. This epistle, a profound picture of grace, has in its contemplation and proclamation sparked and combusted the mightiest revivals of history – the Great Reformation and the Wesleyan revival. Yet all the mysteries of justification and redemption that are unveiled by the apostle spring forth from this statement. The plague of shame is cured by knowing – even experiencing – the truth and power of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
This morning, I too declare “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.” With unalterable, irrefutable conviction, I declare to you that Jesus Christ will deliver you from hopelessness, depression, anger, addiction, loneliness, emptiness, sickness, and sinfulness. And it is so simple to receive His grace – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”
The euphoria of joy and peace in your life do not come from an attainment of goodness or internal merits. It comes freely bestowed as a gift from a Loving Savior.
