Proud Of The Gospel
Text: Rom. 1:16-17
Introduction
1. Illustration: No matter what you are looking for, you can find a religion or philosophy to fit your state of mind. We find this culture creating pressure on the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We find people church-shopping--looking for the right "fit" for their needs. And I realize that we need to "become all things." But you can't shop for a church that's not for sale. Perhaps this may sound a little old fashioned but in this hour more than ever we need to stand in the pulpits across America and the world and present Christ to the crowd. We need to preach him in our homes and on our jobs. We need to echo the words of the Apostle Paul “I am not ashamed of the Gospel - it is the Power of God!" (--W. L. Vincent)
2. There's a real problem in Christianity right now in that we have been apologizing for the gospel. We've started saying things like "I'm sorry, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but..."
3. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine the Apostle Paul saying he was sorry for speaking the truth. Because Paul was not ashamed of the gospel! We need to stop being ashamed of the gospel!
4. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is...
A. Expression Of God's Power
B. Revelation Of God's Righteousness
5. Let's all stand together as we read Romans 1:16-17.
Proposition: We need to stop being ashamed of the gospel and start being proud of it!
Transition: First, the gospel is the...
I. Expression Of God's Power (16).
A. It Is The Power Of God
1. At the end of the previous section we looked at Paul expressed that he was eager to come to Rome so that he could preach the Good News. Now he tells us why he is so eager.
2. In the first part of v. 16 Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ..."
A. In four short clauses Paul summarizes the purpose of his letter that salvation is not a humanly controlled occurrence but it comes entirely from God.
B. In v. 15 Paul expresses his desire to preach in Rome, and here in v. 16 he declares why, because he is not ashamed of the Gospel.
C. There are two aspects of not being ashamed of the Gospel, first, the fearless proclamation of the gospel in difficult circumstances, and second, the positive confession of the saving power of God to the world.
D. The difficulty of shame for the gospel caused by fear of the negative reactions occurred as much in the first century as it does today.
E. Jesus warned the disciples against being ashamed of him (Mark 8:38), and because of Timothy's timidity in condemning the false teachers in 2 Timothy 1:7-8, Paul had to challenge him to not be ashamed of the Lord or of Paul.
F. Mark 8:38 (NLT2)
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
G. The problem of being reluctant to share the gospel, that is in essence shame, is a great problem among Christians today as it was in Biblical times.
H. So Paul stresses that the gospel centers on the righteous judgment is the revelation of God's faithful exercise of his power in bringing about salvation.
3. The main reason he is not ashamed of the gospel is because "...It is the power of God at work.."
A. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because “it is the power of God at work."
B. Divine power produces salvation not human effort. The gospel is a powerful source that carries with it the call to salvation.
C. Nearly one third of all the references to power in the NT are from Paul, and all three members of the Trinity are connected to this divine power for salvation.
D. At the heart of salvation is the concept of deliverance, with the imagery stemming from Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
E. The idea is connected to the concept of liberation from evil powers, and in the ultimate sense deliverance from hell itself.
F. Here there is both a present and future dimension comprising liberation from the power of sin, reconciliation with God and deliverance from the final judgment.
G. The Greek word for power (dunamis) is the source for our words dynamite and dynamic.
H. Dynamite was not invented by Nobel until 1867, so it is obvious that Paul did not have that specific picture in mind. Instead, the inventor of the explosive took its name from the Greek.
I. But the parallel is instructive. The Good News, as the power of God, can be like spiritual dynamite.
J. Under certain circumstances it has a devastating, even destructive effect, demolishing worldviews and traditions - paving the way for new construction.
K. Placed inside a stone-hard heart that is resistant to God, it can shatter the barrier.
L. God's power in the gospel is not only explosive; it also overcomes evil (Barton, 581).
4. In fact, Paul says the gospel is so powerful it is "...saving everyone who believes..."
A. This power is especially seen in the fact that salvation is given to "everyone who believes," that is each person who comes to God in faith and accepts his offer of salvation.
B. Acts 2:21 (NLT2)
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’
C. The verb believe and its related noun faith occur four times in these two verses.
D. The act of faith involves surrender to God, mental assent and the commitment of the will.
E. The call to faith and the power to achieve it comes from God; the surrender of the will is our responsibility.
F. The commitment of the will is a major aspect of faith; a person does not know Jesus as Savior until beginning the process of Lordship.
G. But this is not a work, for it is the power of God alone that makes this possible.
5. In addition, Paul indicates that the gospel is all inclusive. He says, "..the Jew first and also the Gentile."
A. Now Paul does what seems to us to be an unusual thing, he comes up with a definition what he means by everyone.
B. It difficult to understand why he draws this distinction, but it may have something to do with Paul's own practice during his missionary journeys.
C. When he would go into a town he would first go to the local synagogue and only after they had rejected the gospel that he would go to the Gentiles (Osborne, 39-41).
D. What's important for us here is that it is an inclusive rather than exclusive gospel.
E. This divinely given gift is for anyone who will receive it (Witherington, 51).
B. All-Powerful
1. Illustration: Years ago on a TV show, a guest appeared that was a body builder. As he entered the stage with his huge muscular body the crowd went crazy as the body builder began to flex his muscles and show his power. The first question asked of him was this: "What do you use all those muscles for?" Without answering, the body builder again stood up and began flexing his muscles while the crowd cheered wildly.
A second time, the question was asked, "What do you do with those muscles?" Again, the body builder flexed his muscles and the crowd became almost ecstatic. After asking three times, "What do you do with all those muscles?" the body builder just sat in silence. He had no answers. The man was all power but his power had no purpose other than to show off and bring attention to himself.
2. The gospel is about the power of God to save sinners and destroy the power of our sin.
A. 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NLT2)
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.
B. Have you ever had anyone sin against you? Done something that was so despicable that you said, "I'll never forgive you for that!"
C. Then you should understand that power of the gospel. Because that is what we do to God over and over all day long.
D. And yet the power of the gospel not only forgives all of those sins but treats them as if they never happened.
E. Because of sin we deserve death, but because of the gospel we get life.
F. Because of sin we deserve eternal damnation, but because of the gospel we get eternal life.
G. Because of sin we deserve chains and imprisonment, but because of the gospel we get redemption and freedom.
H. All of this is because the gospel is the power of God to save us and set us free from the power of sin!
Transition: Not only is the gospel and expression of God's power, but it is also the...
II. Revelation Of God's Righteousness (17).
A. Makes Us Right In God's Sight
1. When God's righteousness is mentioned in the gospel, it is God's action of declaring righteous the unrighteous sinner who has faith in Jesus Christ. The righteousness by which a person is justified (declared righteous) is not his own but that of another, Christ. (Martin Luther)
2. Another reason Paul is not ashamed of the gospel is because it reveals the righteousness of God. In v. 17 he says, "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight..."
A. There are several different views as to what Paul means here.
B. However, the one that makes the most sense is that of God declaring us right.
C. It is a judicial decision in which God announces that we are guilt free based on what Jesus did for us on the cross.
D. When God justifies, he makes a legal acquittal and a declaration of innocence.
E. The picture is of God sitting on the judgment seat accepting the believer as free from guilt.
F. It is clear in the writings of Paul that this is based on the faith of the sinner and not on works.
G. It is a gift from God called "the gift of righteousness." (Rom 5:17).
H. Romans 5:17 (NLT2)
17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
3. Furthermore, Paul says, "This is accomplished from start to finish by faith..."
A. This righteousness is further defined as "from start to finish by faith."
B. Faith - unconditional trust - is the appointed way of receiving God's righteousness.
C. Faith in what? Faith in the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself, taking the punishment we deserved, and, in exchange, making us righteous before God.
D. By trusting in Christ, our relationship with God is made right both for now and for eternity (Barton, 581).
4. Paul ends this seciton with an interesting quote from the OT. He says, "As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
A. To nail down his point, Paul quotes from the Prophet Habakkuk.
B. It's interesting what happens here. In the original Hebrew OT there is a pronoun inserted centering on the individual: "the righteous will live by his faith."
C. In the Greek version of the OT, there is different pronoun that centers on God: "the righteous will live by my faithfulness."
D. However, here Paul purposely leaves it ambiguous: "the righteous will live by faith."
E. What Paul is saying is that those whose righteousness is expressed in faith (i.e. absolute trust in God) will truly find life.
F. In other words, they live by faith and therefore find life (Osborne, 43-44).
B. Just As If I'd Never Sinned
1. Illustration: H. A. Ironside told the story of pioneers who were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow.
One day they were horrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly. They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them.
One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it.
As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror, "Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?" The leader replied, "My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!"
What a picture of the believer, who is safe in Christ!
On Him Almighty vengeance fell,
Which would have sunk a world to hell.
He bore it for a chosen race,
And thus becomes our Hiding Place.
The fires of God's judgment burned themselves out on Him, and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for they are now standing where the fire has been.
(Ironside, Illustrations of Bible Truth, 34-35).
2. We cannot earn right standing with God, but the Good News is we don't have to because Jesus already did it for us.
A. Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT2)
8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
B. People like to think they can get into heaven simply because they are a nice person.
C. People think they can get into heaven because they give to the poor.
D. People think that can get into heaven because they've never done anything "really bad."
E. But the truth is that none of that will get you into heaven.
F. You can't be nice enough, or kind enough, or good enough.
G. There's only one way to get into heaven, and that is through the blood of Jesus.
H. That's the Good News, you can't earn heaven, but you don't have to because Jesus was good enough, kind enough, and above all holy enough to stand in your place.
I. It is by grace that we are saved. Not by works. It is a gift from God, and all we have to do is accept the gift.
Conclusion
1. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is...
A. Expression Of God's Power
B. Revelation Of God's Righteousness
2. TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WE SHOULD BE PROUD OF THE GOSPEL BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY POWER IN THE UNIVERSE THAT CAN CHANGE HISTORY...YOUR HISTORY!
B. WE SHOULD BE PROUD OF THE GOSPEL BECAUSE IT ANNOUNCES THE FACT THAT, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE GUILTY, GOD PRONOUNCES US NOT GUILTY BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR US!
