This letter is written to the Gentiles, but to the world. It is the clear presentation of the theology of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So Paul lays the ground work here.
Read with me Romans 1:1-17
I. Starts with JESUS vv 1-4
A. Prophesies about Him
Genesis 3:15
(serpent)… He shall bruise you on the head, …
Genesis 12:3
(From Abraham’s Descendants) … all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Genesis 49:10
" The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him {shall be} the obedience of the peoples.
Job 19:25
"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
Psalm 22:13-15
They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots
Psalm 69:8
I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons.
Isaiah 7:14
"… Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of {His} government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.
Isaiah 11:1-2
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, …
Isaiah 50:6
I gave My back to those who strike {Me,} And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
Isaiah 53:1-4
Says he was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, we esteemed him smitten of God
Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, {the} days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ’The LORD our righteousness.’
Jeremiah 33:17-18
"For thus says the LORD, ’David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout {in triumph,} O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 11:12-13
… give {me} my wages; … So they weighed out thirty {shekels} of silver as my wages. Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, {that} …
B. Made to be a Man Declared Son of God
John 1:1, 14;
Is 9:6 (son given)
1. made to be a man - born into the family of David
2. “declared” - The Son of God - the word “declared” has a full
def - “to mark out boundaries or limits … to determine or be determined”
3. Becoming a man was something Jesus, The Son of God, did in a moment in history
4. Declared the Son of God - was a matter of Revealing to Time what he had been for ETERNITY. It was a matter of God setting the boundaries for defining who he was in a way we could understand and relate to. He already existed and was given the responsibility and jurisdiction of the Son of God
5. PROVED - By the Power of the Resurrection -
a. the resurrection was an unveiling
b. it was giving physical evidence to the spiritual reality that he was more than a man
c. he was “unmasked”
Because he was prophesied and DID COME and was UNMASKED, revealed as Son of God, we can believe the prophesies yet unfulfilled
Let me give you a taste
C. Prophesies Yet to Come
Psalm 102:25-27
"Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
"Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
"But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.
Matthew 19:28-29
And Jesus said to them, "you who have followed me … And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life
John 16:16
"A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me."
Acts 1:9-11 9 … He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
Daniel 7:13-14
"… And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and {men of every} language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
Revelation 1:5-7, 18
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-- and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; …
… and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Revelation 19:11-12, 15-16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Since the dawn of man Messiah had been promised … The Good News is …
He Has Come
The Good News REALLY is Good! Because it Started with Jesus .. and It …
II. Continues to Reach Me vv 5-7
A. For Paul
1. Called, - God has a Plan
2. Chosen to Tell - His Plan Includes Us
3. Good News Promised - He Satisfies his Promises
Paul is saying “This is GOOD NEWS for ME; But This is Good News FOR YOU TOO”
B. For Us
Luke 2:10 … Good news of great joy which will be for all people
1. Jesus declared it himself
John 5:25
"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
2. Received Grace … Called to Belong
3. Loved By God -
a. ag-ap-ay-tos
b. def. - beloved; dear; esteemed; favorite; worthy of love
4. From Faith to Faith it starts, continues, and finishes with Faith
a. Hab 2:4 - “those who are right will live by trusting God”
b. i. e. we live BY faith, because we Have Faith and have received Salvation
> Your whole Life you have thought "there must be more" …
The Good News is … There is More and He Has Come
The Good New REALLY IS GOOD … It Starts with Jesus, it Continues to You and Me and It …
III. Satisfies - Be Anxious Not Ashamed to Share vv 15-17
It takes Courage but Paul said he was NOT ashamed but on the contrary was ANXIOUS to Preach the Gospel
Let me define courage - ME
“Courage is taking an action or position that seems dangerous, foolish, reckless, or unnecessary to some. However, the Courageous One is convinced that it is the ONLY course of action and is driven by Understanding that Powerful consequences will occur if any other action is chosen. The courageous one is driven by a a powerful force and conviction of Truth.”
A. It is Powerful
1. Power - “dunamis” - dynamite
def. - strength, power, ability -
inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth;
power for performing miracles;
moral power and excellence of soul;
the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth;
power and resources arising from numbers;
power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts
2. power to bring death from life; bound for hell bound for heaven; from condemned to redeemed
3. Power to change
a. fishermen into missionaries
b. greedy tax collector into generous benefactor
c. turn a rejected thirsty woman by a well into an accepted, proud, forgiven, loved woman who brings others to Christ and speaks freely of her “secrets” now forgiven
d. to take a zealous persecutor of Christians into the chief preacher of the gospel
e. to turn the vast races of people separated from God and turn them into a Kingdom of priests and the new people of God
B. It is True
Truth is TRUTH and will be truth, but until you receive it as truth you can’t live in the blessings of Truth.
It is true in Eternity, True in the Spirit realm, it must become true in Your Heart
… to all who believe
C. It is Trustworthy
John 8:58
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
1. He was telling them that I AM the ONE who was there for Abraham
2. I was there for Isaac
3. I revealed myself to Moses
4. Has he proved Himself UN-TRUSTWORTHY?
a. Has it let you DOWN?
b. Has it been proved a lie?
c. has it been unreliable?
d. It has been said that …
the Way of Christ has NOT been Tried and Found WANTING but has been found DIFFICULT and Left UNTRIED
The Good News REALLY is Good because we have ONE Need from the moment of conception and that is Salvation - and He HAS Come!
> A person on the tracks with a train bearing down doesn’t need to be told that his “shoe is untied”
> He doesn’t need Fashion advise
> She doesn’t need Financial assistance
> They Need SALVATION
The Good News IS that Jesus Christ IS the Power of God TO SALVATION for ALL who Believe
>Sometimes you may have to Coax them off the Tracks by pointing to need that they feel so you can point out the REAL NEED that they perhaps don’t see
The Gospel REALLY IS GOOD News
It started With Jesus, It Invades our Time and Space and Continues with You and Me and it COMPLETELY Satisfies ALL who believe because It is the POWER For Salvation for ALL
Salvation is a person
Salvation has a Name
His Name is Jesus
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is in NO ONE ELSE. There is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved” but Jesus
