A Show of Faith
Greetings Podcast Patriots. This is Perry Greene of GNA. Thank you so much for listening in today. I hope you are checking out our website at GodNAmerica.com. Please stop by occasionally. I am hoping to have some merchandise available for you soon. You may also donate to help us keep our light burning!
Today’s lesson is “A Show of Faith.” We will be focusing on Romans 1:16-17. I want to point out:
1. The Gospel and Its Personal Appeal
2. The Gospel and Its Universal Authority
3. The Gospel and Its Divine Appearance.
I will be using quite a few quotes from some of our Founding Fathers.
Did you hear the story back in 2017 of the veteran living in a retirement village who had decorated his mailbox with a wrap-around decal of an American flag? The village officers were afraid that the flag might offend someone. So they ordered him to remove that mailbox, and they are threatened to sue him if he didn’t.
How about the college which banned and removed all American flags from their campus, including cars that display decals portraying an American flag? They believe that seeing such a flag on their campus might offend someone.
It is not just flags that might offend. Several colleges have announced that any favorable mention of Jesus or Christianity will no longer be tolerated. And any campus groups or meetings that are considered "Christian" will no longer be allowed on college property. (Adapted from a Sermon by Melvin Newland on Sermon Central)
The “fear of offending” unbelievers is silencing Christians. In fact, many Christians are afraid, not just of offending, but of being harmed in some manner by unbelievers. So, they remain silent.
Is that what Jesus wants? Does Jesus want the voices of believers silenced? Does He want His name silenced before those who need to hear it?
There is a time when we are to express our faith in secret, by design. For instance, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:1 (ESV):
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Practicing righteousness” is an idiom for giving to the poor. Here, God wants us to give, not to be seen and acclaimed by men, but in secret, seen by Him alone. He brings great reward for such action.
In that same chapter, Jesus tells us to pray in secret and God will answer openly (Matthew 6:7-8). He also tells us to fast without drawing attention to ourselves (Matthew 6:16-18). The only reward that people have who draw attention to themselves is that attention. God wants to give more.
While there are times to be secretive in our faith, there are also times to be outwardly expressive. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 (ESV):
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus identifies with us as the “God-Man.” He expects us to identify with Him. He expects us to confess or acknowledge Him before others. Our silence in those times is an actual denial of Him. Look at the consequences. If we acknowledge Him, He acknowledges us. If we deny Him He denies us. Which do you want?
The Apostle Paul was a die-hard bondservant of Jesus. That is, he was Jesus’ “slave.” He would go where Jesus sent him; he would what Jesus commanded him; he would, by the grace of God, live up to Jesus’ expectations. He made an important and relevant affirmation in Romans 1:16-17 (ESV):
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
When we are afraid to speak up for Jesus are we ashamed of the gospel? When we are afraid to be identified with Jesus, are we ashamed of the gospel? Paul met repeated opposition to the gospel. If that were many of us, we would become silent and try to blend into the crowd, not Paul. He stood up all the more. On one occasion in Lystra (Acts 14), there was so much opposition to Paul that the citizens stoned him outside the city and left him for dead. He revived, and instead of running away, he went back into the city until the next day!
I. The Gospel and Its Personal Appeal
Paul tells us that the gospel is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” What happens if we separate ourselves from it? What if we are ashamed of it? What happens if we are silent in regard to it? What happens to salvation?
Over the years there accusations have arisen against our Founders. People have asserted that the Founders were unbelievers who established a secular republic. France did such a thing and never did have the stability or prosperity of America. Rather than speculate about our Founders, why not read their own words? There are massive amounts of information from which one can glean the Founders’ beliefs from their own words.
David Barton has a superb article in the Founders’ Bible that quotes several of the Founders with their personal beliefs about God. I want to take the time here to cite several of the Founders’ words. What do you think they are telling us by what they said? Do you think they were ashamed of their relationship with Jesus?
Let’s begin with some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence:
Robert Treat Paine
I’m now convinced that it is my duty openly to profess Him lest He be ashamed to own me another day.
Dr. Benjamin Rush
My only Hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the Cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins [Acts 22:16]. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! [Revelation 22:20]
Samuel Adams
I . . . [rely] on the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.
Some signers of the Constitution:
Alexander Hamilton
I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John Dickinson
Rendering thanks to my Creator… to Him I resign myself’ humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.
James Madison
I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony… them for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and are rising in reputation and wealth publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ.
Other Founders (those who may not have signed the documents but were influential in our cause):
Patrick Henry
Being a Christian… is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.
John Jay
Unto Him Who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son..,. Blessed be His holy name.
George Mason
My soul I resign into the hands of my Almighty Creator, Whose tender mercies are all over His works… humbly hoping from His unbounded mercy and benevolence, through the merits of my blessed Savior, a remission of my sins.
It seems obvious that these men were not ashamed of the gospel or of their relationship with Jesus. So, I want to point out some things about these remarks. First, these are from the writings of these Founders. These are their words. They expressed their thoughts and their faith for all of posterity to see. They were unashamed! We could cite many more, even from those Founders we deem as irreligious, because they were not. The majority had a belief in God in some form or another.
Second, I hope you noticed that these religious men were not only committed to the eternal kingdom of God, they were committed to the cause of Liberty here. While we understand that God is our priority that does not mean that we can shut down our earthly responsibilities. If we do, evil will prevail. If you look around, we are seeing anything but “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are seeing chaos and tyranny by a government that was supposed to be running on biblical principles “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
These men did not sit idly by hoping that the King would come to his senses, they took up the cause of Liberty with faith and trust in divine Providence. Patrick Henry was the firebrand who motivated his fellow Virginians with the “give me liberty or give me death speech.” Yet, according to the quote we read, he prized being a disciple of Jesus above everything. That tells me that there is room to be good citizen patriots at the same time as citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20).
Third, I want to throw out an opinion. It seems to me that these men could not have come up with documents like the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution if the great majority had not been religious men. In their day, the word “religion” often meant more than the general idea of religion. It meant Christianity. Those men knew there were people of differing religions even in the colonies, but in their minds, this country was established on the Christian religion. This is why the First Amendment to the Constitution is important. To have come to such an agreement, they needed to respect the Bible and the God who inspired it.
Today so many people believe that the Founders were irreligious secular men wanting to overthrow the control of England. I think they see these men as we have observed Antifa and other Marxist organizations. They were just rabble rousers that caused dissension until they got their way.
One of the reasons for this view of our Founders goes to the heart of our modern education system. Many people are leaving public schools and even private schools to opt for homeschooling because of the misinformation that is being disseminated. My personal opinion is that this is done on purpose, just like the “Mainstream Media” on our televisions (i.e., ‘Tell-A-Vision’ with ‘programs).
If you do some research you will see that we are not getting the whole story in News broadcasts. In fact, some are twisting the facts and propagandizing their narrative as truth. They have done the same in the education field. Our children are not getting the whole truth and sometimes not the truth at all. For instance, if you will do some digging, you will find that the Pilgrims were not “religious fanatics who came to suppress the Indians.” They came to “advance Christian faith” among them. That is, they were here to spread the gospel. They were not ashamed of it.
I have told you before that I am idealistic. When I read quotes like we have read today I feel a stirring in my soul. I see our Founders as not only great political leaders and great military leaders, I see them as God-fearing. They make me want to be a better disciple and follow Jesus more closely. They make me want to be a better Patriot and work harder for Liberty.
These men, as the apostle Paul, were not ashamed of the gospel. How about us? They were willing to stand with Jesus and His apostles, am I? Are you? Or, do we shrink away because we don’t want the challenges that come along with committing our lives to Jesus?
Following Jesus is not just about going to heaven. He warns us to “count the cost” NOW. Hear some of His words, Luke 14:26-33 (ESV):
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? . . 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Do you ever put the preferences of people, maybe your children, ahead of Jesus? We cannot put others ahead of Him if we follow Him. That includes family. That includes governments. We must always “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We certainly give respect where respect is due, but when there is a conflict between the will of God and the will of men, we MUST choose God.
II. The Gospel and Its Universal Authority
Romans 1:16 (ESV) reads:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Not only is there a personal appeal to the gospel, there is a universal appeal. It is for all who believe, for the Jews as well as the Gentiles. With that universal appeal comes a universal authority. That authority belongs to Jesus Himself. Remember the beginning of the great commission according in Matthew 28:18 (ESV)? He said:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Then He proceeds to give the great commission that was to impact all nations.
All nations belong to Him. He created each one of us and each nation. He died for every one of us. Paul bears this out in his speech at the Areopagus in Athens, Acts 17:26-27 (ESV):
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
All nations are actually related. In actuality, there are not multiple races, there is one, the “human race.” All have come from one man, Adam. Sin and death entered the world through him. The last Adam, Jesus, came to return life to us (1 Corinthians 15:45). He paid the price for us, we belong to Him.
This is something our Founders understood. This is something that many today have forgotten. Jesus is our authority, our King.
During the trial of Jesus, the chief priests shouted, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15, ESV). During the American Revolution Patriots shouted, “We have no king but King Jesus.” We need to remember our true King.
Some Christians today, as the chief priests then, have bowed the knee to earthly kings. They choose to please men rather than God. Do you remember Paul’s sentiment in Galatians 1:10 (ESV)?
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
By whose authority do we act? Men’s or God’s? You see, the gospel or good news is that we only have to serve God. We do not have to please men when we are pleasing Him.
III. The Gospel and Its Divine Appearance
Romans 1:17 (ESV):
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
When we read the gospel we see the revelation of God in the flesh by the revelation of God in scripture (John 1:14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). When you see Jesus, you see how God is and how God intended for us to live. Jesus shows us the perfect example of both.
When we look at Jesus, we see the “righteousness” or the “rightness” of God. This is a righteousness that we aim for and attain by the faith of Jesus. Notice this key passage in Romans 3:21-26 (ESV, explanation added, PMG):
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in [i.e., the faith “inside” or “of”] Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
From the beginning of faith to the end of faith we are to show the world who Jesus is. We exhibit His righteousness by tapping in to His faith. He does a mysterious thing, He justifies us since we cannot do that for ourselves. What a gracious gift of mercy!
There is a story about a Civil War Confederate General - John Brown Gordon. General Robert E. Lee said that he was one of his best brigadiers, "characterized by splendid audacity". Gordon was also one of the most frequently wounded Confederate officers during the war. He was wounded in several battles, but at the Battle of Antietam he was wounded terribly. An article in Wikipedia describes his wounds that day:
"First, a Minié ball passed through his calf. Then, a second ball hit him higher in the same leg. A third ball went through his left arm. He continued to lead his men despite the fact that the muscles and tendons in his arm were mangled and a small artery was severed. A fourth ball hit him in his shoulder.
"Despite pleas by his men that he go to the rear, he continued to lead them. He was finally stopped by a ball that hit him in the face, passing through his left cheek and out his jaw. He fell with his face in his cap and might have drowned in his own blood if it had not drained out through a bullet hole in the cap.
"A Confederate surgeon thought he would not survive, but, he was eventually nursed back to health by his wife." Several months later, recuperating from his wounds, he returned to lead his troops, and was wounded several more times before the war ended in 1865.
After the war the southern states were restored to the Union they had the right to elect Senators and Congressional Representatives as well as other state officers. It was a turbulent time politically, and as a well-known leader, General John Gordon was proposed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate representing the State of Georgia. But in a contentious political convention there was a prominent politician who had served under Gordon in the war. He was angry at him over an old political disagreement, and was determined to see Gordon defeated.
When the time came to cast their votes, this man angrily stomped down the aisle with his anti-Gordon vote in hand. As he approached the platform, he looked over to where Gordon was sitting, and saw how Gordon's once handsome face was now disfigured with the scars of battle - evidence of Gordon's willingness to suffer and bleed for a cause he believed in.
Despite his anger, the politician, an old soldier himself, couldn't control his emotions. Bursting into tears, he exclaimed, "It's no use. I can't do it. I cast my vote for John Gordon." Then, turning to face the surprised General, he said, "Forgive me, Sir. I had forgotten the scars."
What a difference it makes in our lives when we remember the scars! With so many things to distract us, we sometimes fail to remember what suffering Jesus went through on the cross for us.
In the great “Suffering Servant” passage we read in Isaiah 53:5 (NCV):
"He was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to Him, and we are healed because of His wounds."
The wounds make a difference. The wounds remind us of our failures. The wounds remind us of His accomplishment – to right our wrongs and to rescue us from the eternal pit. Are you ashamed or grateful? If grateful, does your gratitude compel you to stand with Jesus and show your faith right out in the open?
Notice lastly this appeal by the Psalmist, Psalm 31:1 (ESV):
In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
Until next time, Keep the Light of Your Faith Burning!
