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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
ARE WE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?
Lesson #3
Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Paul was never ashamed of the gospel. He was compelled to preach the message of the Cross wherever he went for he knew that it was the only message that people could hear that would have the power to convert them and heal their heart and spirit.
He understood that the voice of a single man would not be heard or heeded by the power of the Roman government. He knew that he was limited in his power to persuade people to hear and believe the gospel, but Paul also knew Jesus of whom he preached. His message was not that of other men of the time who made great speeches but had no power to change the heart of man.
Paul also understood that every man needed to hear and believe the message of the gospel. Every man, from Caesar to the prisoner in the deepest dungeon needed to hear the gospel. Paul was ready to preach it anywhere, anytime, and to anybody who would listen.
Oh that we, in modern Christianity, would have that same conviction and desire to see souls saved. There would be no lack of missionaries or ministers if we really understood and believed the message of the gospel.
In our time we look toward so many sources of help but we tend to ignore the message of the gospel in its simplicity. We hear messaged from our counselor, psychiatrist, doctor, friend, professor, boss, TV, radio, newspapers, etc., but none of those voices have the power to save.
Great orators, motivational speakers and gurus of success may give speeches that stir the spirit, make courage arise within us and lift us to the place where we are able to achieve greater things than we would have without them but none of their speeches can wash the soul clean and make the heart sing with the peace that only god can give.
You give me one preacher of the gospel, uneducated, simple and full of the Holy Ghost, and I will show you a man who, with God’s anointing, can see multitudes changed through the preaching of the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
And yet, even the preaching of the gospel cannot save unless those that hear will believe that message.
There is power in the gospel message. All the power of Heaven, all of God’s love, mercy, holiness and forgiveness are behind the words that we speak when we minister to a lost soul about the salvation that Jesus offers.
The power of that message can cross national, ethic, and ideological and religious boundaries to change the heart of a man or woman who will accept it.
Hitler’s vaunted SS Storm Troopers who put their faith in a mentally deranged madman, the Japanese Imperialist Emperor who sat in place of god to those under his rule, the Iron Curtain of Soviet Russia, the Bamboo Curtain of Red China, and every little two bit dictator have done their best to stifle the gospel message – but there was not stopping it!
God ordained that His message would go forth and change the hearts of men. His Word is powerful, quick and sharper than a two-edged sword and it can cut through every barrier to reach a heart that is ready to hear and believe.
Paul first named the Jews as those who would first hear the gospel message and indeed they did. The nation of Israel’s roots, way back at the time of Abraham, before Jacob was ever born, was given the truth of the gospel. Abraham had faith in God and that faith saved him.
But most Jews rejected the message of the gospel and relied upon the rituals and ceremonies that were laid down in the Law of Moses concerning the temple. They would rather believe that their own works could save them. They never realized, and by-in-large, still do not realize that everything they did, every object of worship in the tabernacle was designed as a type and shadow of the one to come, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most people still follow that same path today. They rely on their system of “laws” to abide by in whatever religion they choose to follow and adhere to. The Pentecostals have their “do’s and don’ts” to be sure, but they aren’t the only ones.
In every “faith” there is same counterpart: Catholics have their ceremonies and rituals, Baptist have their baptism rites, Pentecostals their speaking in other tongues, Mormons their temple ceremonies and fasting, Hindus have their pilgrimages to Mecca and their daily prayers, Buddhists have their chants and prayers, and every other religion is the same. WE TRUST IN OUR OWN WORKS FOR SALVATION, BUT WORKS CAN’T SAVE YOU!
In verse 17 Paul says that, only in the gospel message is there power to bring the righteousness of God into a sin-sick soul and black heart of rebellion against God. There are no works that can accomplish such a thing, only the power of God and the Blood of the Lamb of God.
When a soul hears the gospel message and believes in that message, all the power of Heaven begins to move on his behalf. God washes him clean at that very moment when he accepts Jesus as Lord in true repentance. The righteousness of God is poured over him through the cleansing power of the Blood of Christ. God’s righteousness is a gift and not something that we can earn through our own ability.
If it were possible to earn it, we would not have needed a Savior in the first place.
Then, once righteousness is imparted from God, there begins a daily walk in righteousness that we must all be a part of. One day at a time, one trial, one test at a time, God brings us from one point of faith to the next and on we continue, growing daily in the grace of God.
We finish this message with this thought – THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
It is not a faith in works! It is not a faith in ceremonies or rituals! It is faith that is not built upon our ability to keep ourselves saved! It is not faith in our power over sin, but it is faith in the power of the Cross-, to keep us saved!
I can do nothing – JESUS’ BLOOD DOES IT ALL!
We walk by faith in the message of the gospel and the power of God to perform His word in us.
If we really believe in the power of the gospel to bring souls into right relationship with God then we have no business being ashamed, embarrassed or shy about bringing forth that message to every lost soul that God brings before us.
It is truly the only message that leads to salvation. It is the only message that can transform the heart of man and save his eternal soul. WHAT DO HAVE TO BE ASHAMED OF?
THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO BE ASHAMED OF IS THAT WE MAY HAVE ALREADY ALLOWED A SOUL TO GO INTO ETERNITY WITHOUT GOD BECAUSE WE WERE AFRAID TO WITNESS TO THEM!
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation! How about you?
