Romans 16:25-27

And take out, at least for some time, for us on Sunday morning, for the last time, and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 16, beginning in verse 25.

Romans 16 · chapter mention

And while you're doing that, the stab this morning about my contact was from last week. If you weren't here, I couldn't see, so I had somebody preach for me.

And my glasses were broken. They're fixed, and I can see this morning. And it's such a wonderful thing to be able to look out and see you together as we gather.

Let me also say, as you're turning there, and as I'm getting situated here, that I really, really, really appreciate the way Wes is committed to bringing to us songs that have true content in them.

He referred to the song we sang by Rich Mullins as, the words of it are the Apostles' Creed, and we don't actually affirm every part of the Apostles' Creed.

That may come as a shock to you, but we don't believe that Jesus, when he was buried, descended to hell and preached the gospel.

I'm not going to get into why we don't believe that. I think there's a very clear biblical explanation for it.

But the Apostles' Creed affirms that, and so Wes wisely changed the wording, so we're not singing something that we don't affirm together as a church.

Secondly, the song we just sang, you may know the words a little bit different.

The second verse says, it was my sin that held him there, was the original writing of that.

And Wes didn't appreciate the way it seemed that our sin had power over Christ.

So he changed the words to, it was his love that held him there.

It was his desire to love us, to make the sacrifice for our sins that kept him on the cross,

as he did it sacrificially as a volunteer in our place.

And so, I just want to point that out. I know some of you are looking for a home church right now.

Some of you are settled here, but may not be here forever.

And I just would encourage you that as you go places and you see what they have to offer,

make sure that what they do is true in every way.

So let's learn to Romans chapter 16. I hope that you're there already.

Romans 16 · chapter mention

And before we get into this, I want to point out one potential discrepancy that you may notice in the text.

If you look carefully at your Bible, you will probably notice that you do not have a verse 24.

Is that the case for everybody? Probably so.

You do not have a verse 24.

And if you carefully look at your footnotes, it will show you that this didn't exist.

Verse 24 didn't exist in some of the early manuscripts.

I just want to deal with that before we move on.

And then verse 24 in some of the later manuscripts says,

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

And simply because it's not in some of the early manuscripts, they've excluded it here.

At least in the ESV, they've excluded it by giving us a footnote.

So, as you're looking around in the text, I know my eyes tend to wander a bit as I'm listening to sermons.

Don't panic.

There's not a typo in your copy of God's Word.

If it's excluded, that was for that very reason.

And I take no issue with that.

I also take no issue with it being included because it's very consistent.

There's no untruth there in the potential of verse 24.

Well, we come to the end of Romans.

I did a little bit of research just looking back at our recorded sermons.

The first sermon that we preached on the book of Romans was on March 20th of 2011.

I realized that at the time, Cademan, our three-year-old now, was not even one.

Sam, I believe, if I'm doing my math correctly, was pregnant with Judah, but we had no idea when that was the case.

And we so now have a one-year-old as well.

Life was a little bit different.

It seemed like a long, long time ago that we began looking at this book together.

We have 72 sermons on record.

Today would make 73.

There were a few Sundays that were not recorded for various technological reasons.

For example, the Sunday that I unmuted the mic but had never turned it on, so there was just no power to it at all.

So I would say we've done 75 to 76 sermons or so through the book of Romans.

And I say braggadociously with boasting that we have just barely scratched the surface of the book of Romans.

Not to boast on me by any minute.

If you are paying attention to my words, I'm actually deflecting that for myself.

To say we have spent roughly two years with some breaks in there, 76 times together looking at this book.

And there is so much more to be wrung out of it.

There's so much more depth to be found in it.

I hope in this time together, though, that it's been beneficial to you.

I hope that the pages in your Bible, if we were to look at it, are looking a little more worn in this particular section.

I hope also that you're not done with it.

As we go from this and move on, we're going to be looking at the book of Nehemiah together beginning next week, Lord willing.

That you come back to Romans and you soak in it and you let it work in you and through you.

It is certainly a precious, precious book.

Martin Luther called it the greatest letter ever penned.

I look back, just of interest, just to look back at the very first sermon that I preached.

And be aware, too, I didn't preach all of those sermons.

I had lots of help throughout that.

But I did preach the very first sermon that we did in the book of Romans.

And I want to read to you something that I wrote and spoke at that time as a reminder to what we had hoped to accomplish as we studied the book of Romans together.

I know many of you weren't here on March 20, 2011.

God has used Paul's letter to the Romans in mighty ways before.

In AD 386, a man took up a scroll of the book of Romans and read from it.

Chapter 13, verses 13 and 14.

He later wrote of the occasion.

No further would I read, nor did I need.

For instantly, as the sentence ended, by a light, as it were, or security infused into my heart, all the gloom of doubt vanished away.

That man was Aurelius Augustine, Augustine of Hippo.

A thousand years later, an Augustinian monk was teaching the book of Romans to his students and struggled with the expression, the righteousness of God.

When he came to understand it, he wrote,

This man was Martin Luther.

Several centuries later, another man would record the account of his salvation in these words,

I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the epistle to the Romans.

About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ,

I felt my heart strangely warmed.

I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation.

And an assurance was given me that had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

This man's name was John Wesley.

I long to see, I wrote this here, I long to see us join this great lineage.

Let it be said one day, when Christ's family church studied Romans together,

there ignited a flame amongst them that spread throughout North Georgia and beyond.

And we have yet to see that flame extinguished.

Has that been accomplished in our hearts?

Are the truths contained in Paul's letter to the Romans working on us in this way?

It's my prayer that it is.

It's with some sorrow I come to the end of Romans.

And as I looked over the past two weeks,

I had an extra week due to the contact issue to revisit what it was I was going to say this morning.

I struggled with how do I conclude this book?

Because honestly, what I really want to do is go back to the beginning and start all over,

just to be sure that you've got it.

Just to be sure that the truth really worked into you.

Because we're not going to come back to the book of Romans together for quite some time.

Praise God that I'm young enough that at least statistically,

I'll still be preaching the gospel.

I may get hit by a bus,

but statistically I'll be preaching the gospel,

and we'll have another chance to preach through the book of Romans.

I hope in ten years or so at Christ Family Church we go back through Romans together.

But I struggled.

How do I close this up?

How is it that I reintroduce and drive these truths?

And then I realized that Paul had the same struggle,

but he does so beautifully in these last three verses.

These last three verses are a doxology,

a glory saying if you translate that literally,

or an ascribing of glory.

They happen occasionally throughout the scriptures.

We see people just burst into praise of God

in light of the truths that they've been proclaiming.

And here we see Paul burst into,

as a closing to this grand letter, a doxology.

Read with me.

Now to him who is able to strengthen you,

according to my gospel,

and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

according to the revelation of the mysteries

that was kept secret for long ages,

but has now been disclosed,

and through the prophetic writings

has been made known to all nations,

according to the command of the eternal God

to bring about the obedience of faith,

to the only wise God,

be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Father God, I praise you this morning

for Paul's letter to the Romans.

We know that by your Spirit,

you moved in him to pen these words.

And as such, they are your very words.

And they were delivered to the churches in Rome

for their benefit.

And they have been immortalized for ours.

We can see, Father,

that these are your words for us this day.

And I pray, Father, that you will find us,

and if you don't find us this way,

you will work in us,

and desire to meet with you,

and to hear from you this morning.

I pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So even as we come to the closing here,

as Sinclair Ferguson put it,

even in the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Romans,

we must apply a great deal of gray matter.

He doesn't sum it up for us quite simply, does he?

It's rather complex.

I'm kind of looking forward to Nehemiah being a narrative mix.

It'll exercise a different part of my brain.

I know most of you won't be able to see this,

but this is the sentence diagrammed Greek

from these last three verses.

I've been doing this kind of stuff

for the last couple of years.

I'm really tired.

This is what I'm spending my time doing

if you want to take a look at that later.

Feel free to do that.

A great deal of gray matter

still must be applied to this.

So let me see if I can break it down for you simply.

Beginning in verse 25,

he says,

Now to him who is able,

and he elaborates upon that,

but if you will,

allow me to extract the middle

and note that what he's saying is,

Now to him who is able,

to the only wise God,

skip to verse 27,

Now to him who is able,

to the only wise God,

be glory forevermore,

through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

So the overarching thing he's trying to accomplish here,

the main point of the text,

is that Paul is giving to God

the glory that's due him.

Right?

For two things.

For his power,

and for his wisdom.

Verse 25, the very beginning,

says,

Now to him who is able to strengthen you,

and I think our English text kind of loses the veracity of the word able.

The word able here,

I think would be better translated power.

So now to him who has the power,

or to him who has the strength to strengthen.

The word here, able, in the Greek,

in the original language,

is dynamai.

Bring any other words in the English language to your mind?

It's the root word of the word dynamite.

Dynamite sets out to accomplish the very thing it was meant to accomplish.

A person who knows the power of dynamite puts dynamite in place,

and it accomplishes the thing that it was set to.

And here we have God who has infinite power

to accomplish whatever it is that he wants to accomplish.

And it's consistent,

and it's appropriate that Paul ends praising God for his power.

Because if you'll turn back to the beginning of Romans,

to chapter 1,

verse 16,

the thesis statement, if you'll allow,

of the book of Romans.

Paul says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is the power of God

for salvation to everyone who believes.

It's the same word.

It is the ability of God.

In it is the veracity of the gospel.

The very substance.

This gospel is the power of God.

And recall as well,

in chapter 1,

verse 11,

he says,

For I long to see you,

that I may impart to you some spiritual gift

to strengthen you.

As he longs to come to them,

he writes them a letter

that accomplishes this very thing.

And he has the confidence

that God has the ability,

the power,

the strength,

to strengthen them.

To strengthen them according to the gospel

and to the preaching of Jesus Christ,

which he elaborates on here to say,

according to my gospel,

this thing that is precious to me,

these very words that I have penned for you,

my gospel,

and the very words of our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

That's why he uses these two phrases in this way.

So,

God is able,

by the power of the gospel,

to strengthen us,

to make us firm,

to make us stable,

to help us to stand fast

in Christian living.

Beloved,

it is foolish

for us to look

to any other source

for strength

for Christian living

than to the gospel.

The gospel is the source

of all strength

for proper living

in God's kingdom.

It's foolish to look to pop psychology.

It makes no sense.

The gospel is the power of God

for righteousness.

Notice what he goes on

to praise him for

in verse 26.

To bring about what?

He's going to strengthen us

according to the gospel

and the preaching of Jesus Christ

to bring about

the obedience

of faith.

That's what all this crazy diagramming

helps you see.

This is the connection

that he's making for us.

That he strengthens us

by the gospel

to bring about

obedience

of faith.

That we might

walk in his ways.

Be not just

hearers

but doers

of the word of God.

And this

is the power of God

at work

in us.

He praises us

also

for his

wisdom.

Recall at the end

of chapter 11

verse 33

that he bursts forth

into one of these doxologies.

We turn back

just a bit.

Verse 33

he says,

Oh,

the depth

of the riches

and wisdom

and knowledge

of God.

How unsearchable

are his judgments

and how inscrutable

his ways.

So as Paul

comes to close

out this book,

just as I feel

the desire

to go back

through it again

to make sure

that you get

these important

gospel truths

that they have worked

down into your heart

in such a way

that they've taken root

and they're now causing

Christian living

to come out

of who you are.

You've changed

your very being.

As Paul,

I'm sure,

experiences the same emotion,

he comforts himself

by praising God

for his strength

and his wisdom.

As Paul concludes

his letter,

he's able to say,

I've done my part.

He hands it,

we suppose,

more than likely

to Phoebe

to deliver it

to the church in Rome.

And he knows

that God's sovereign purpose

will be carried out

for his people.

That brought comfort

to me

this past two weeks.

It's good.

We've finished

the book of Romans.

And I can have confidence

in the fact

that it is

God's power,

his strength,

his ability,

which will accomplish

in you

his good pleasure.

But this gospel

we should talk

more about, right?

It's the strength

of God

to us.

Charles Spurgeon wrote,

See what vitality

the gospel has.

Plunge her under the wave

and she rises,

the pure for her washing.

Thrust her in the fire

and she comes out

the more bright

for her burning.

Cut her in sunder

and each piece

shall make another church.

Behead her

and like the hydra of old

she shall have

a hundred heads

for every one

you cut away.

She cannot die,

she must live,

for she has

the power of God

within her.

We should talk

about that gospel.

Here,

Paul calls it

the mystery

that was kept secret

for long ages,

that was hidden,

that was veiled

from those readers

of the scriptures,

from God's people.

They didn't see

that Jesus

was the puzzle piece

that made it all

make sense.

I think most of us

in this room

have probably done

a jigsaw puzzle

at one point

in your life.

Maybe you went through

a jigsaw puzzle phase

and you always had

the picture on the box.

If you really wanted

to challenge yourself

you threw the box away.

You had the picture

on the box to look at

and you got the edge pieces,

you did all those

types of things.

And if you were missing

one piece

at the very end

of putting all the puzzle

together,

the puzzle still looked

like the picture,

did it not?

It was just one piece

in a much larger picture.

Like you got the corner

of the barn was there.

You could imagine it

being there.

The wagon wheel

still exists in your mind

because it was just

a little piece.

In the same way

the scriptures

have painted for us

a puzzle

of how it was

that God was going

to redeem his people.

But in this case

Jesus was the missing piece

but he was so key to it

that everything else

was blurry.

It was put together

for them

but they couldn't

quite see

the whole picture.

And then Jesus comes

and plugs in that perfectly

and everything

becomes abundantly clear.

We can see that

Jesus is the offspring

of Eve

that crushes the head

of Satan

spoken of in Genesis 3.

In Genesis 22

Abraham was told

that the nations

would be blessed in him.

Jesus is that blessing.

Jesus is the spotless lamb

foreshadowed in Exodus 12.

Jesus is the ruling king

of Psalm 2.

Jesus is the suffering servant

of Isaiah 53.

All of it comes

into perfect clarity

when Jesus

came on to the scene.

And this mystery

like this puzzle

even the apostles

didn't fully realize

what it all meant

until Jesus

expounded it

for them.

Until he met them

on the road

and taught himself

from the scriptures.

Until he

said in

John 10

14 and 16

I am the good shepherd.

I know my own

and my own know me.

Just as the father

knows me

and I know the father

and I lay down my life

for the sheep

and I have other sheep

that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also

and they will listen

to my voice

so it will be one flock

one shepherd.

And in Matthew 28

19

he sends the disciples

to go

and make disciples

of all the nations.

And suddenly

these promises

these realities

are coming into clear focus

for even the disciples.

They are seeing

how it is

that the promises

to Abraham

are to be fulfilled.

It is all coming

into clear focus.

And this book

is a magnificent

presentation

of the gospel of Christ.

A mind-blowingly

brilliant presentation

of the gospel of Christ.

And on a number

of occasions

I have summed it up

for you

but I feel like

I just haven't done it

quite the justice

it deserves.

And so in my studying

last week

I came across

a prayer

that John Piper wrote.

I want to read it to you

and I'm going to

insert the reference

for you

as he's quoting

scripture throughout this.

And so I just ask you

if you need to close

your eyes to pay attention

just try to listen

carefully to this

as he praises God

for the things

he's accomplished

in Christ.

With all of our hearts

now we thank you

for what you accomplished

for us

when you came.

No one else

could do it.

It had to be you

or there would be

no salvation

from our sin

and from our own wrath

the wrath

of the Lamb.

Only you could do it.

That's what your servant

means in Romans 8.3

God has done

what the law

weakened by the flesh

could not do

by sending his own son

in the likeness

of sinful flesh

and for sin.

Only you

Lord Jesus

only God made flesh

could accomplish

what had to be done

if we were to be saved.

No ordinary man

would do.

You were a faithful servant

to the circumcised

to show God's truthfulness

in order to confirm

the promises

given to the patriarchs.

Chapter 15

verse 3

You secured

every promise

God ever made.

You were sinlessly

chapter 8

verse 3

obedient to your Father

your whole life

and fulfilled

all righteousness

at every point

where we have failed.

And that obedience

reaches the most glorious climax

when you became

obedient unto death

even death

on a cross.

For as by one man's

disobedience

the many were made sinners

so by the one man's

obedience

the many will be made

righteous.

Chapter 5

verse 19

Oh how you suffered

and bore reproach

on our behalf

for you did not

please yourself

but as it is written

the reproaches of those

who reproached you

fell on me.

Chapter 15

verse 3

And then you died.

And this is the most

important moment

in the history of the world.

Once for all

sins were paid for.

Nothing before

and nothing since

has contributed anything

to the payment you made

for sins

when you died.

For while we were still weak

at the right time

you died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die

for a righteous person

though perhaps for a good person

one would dare even to die.

But God shows his love for us

and that while we were still sinners

you Christ

died for us.

Chapter 5

verses 6 through 8

And then you rose from the dead

three days later

never to die again.

We know that you Christ

being raised from the dead

will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion

over you.

Chapter 6

verse 9

You were declared to be

the Son of God in power

by your resurrection

from the dead.

Chapter 1

verse 4

And you did not die

without us

but you took us

all of your elect

the ones who trust in you

you took us into death

with you

so that the curse of your death

might be behind us

and not in front of us.

For if we have been united

with you in a death

like yours

we shall certainly be united

with you

in a resurrection

like yours.

Chapter 6

verse 5

I hope your hearts are warming.

And when you died

our sin was condemned

in your flesh

by sending his own Son

by sending you

in the likeness of sinful flesh

and for sin

God condemned sin

in the flesh.

Chapter 8

verse 3

Were clear words

ever spoken

Lord Jesus

concerning the glory

of penal substitution.

this glorious doctrine

that today

to our shame in the church

is so embattled

and denied

that God

in your flesh

condemned sin

not yours

ours

our sin

you

the substitute sacrifice

you were wounded

for our transgressions

you were crushed

for our iniquities

upon you

was the chastisement

that brought us peace

and with your stripes

we are healed.

O Lord

rescue this great truth

from the mangling hands

of foolish men

and may it be the foundation

of all our faith

and joy

and worship

and obedience

and because you bore

God's condemnation

in your flesh

for our sins

there is redemption

chapter 3

verse 24

the forgiveness of sins

countless sins

was purchased once for all

nothing we do

can add

to your payment

every debt

that we ever has had

was paid up in full

by your blood

O Lamb of God

and all your obedience

and all your righteousness

was consummated

when you died

so there would be

for us

a perfect righteousness

by which we could

stand acceptable to God

justified by grace alone

through faith alone

on the basis of

your imputed righteousness alone

to the glory of God alone

chapter 5

verse 19

and 4

verse 25

and by all this

and as the goal

of all this

the greatest good

of the gospel

was achieved for us

reconciliation

with God

not just forgiveness

of sins

not just imputed righteousness

but being at home

in the presence

of your Father

and our God

while we were enemies

we were reconciled to God

by the death

of his Son

chapter 5

verse 10

your death

Lord Jesus

restored us

to what we were created for

seeing

and enjoying

and reflecting God

and what is all this

but eternal life

to know

and enjoy God

forever

all because of you

for the wages of sin

is death

but the free gift of God

is eternal life

in you

Christ Jesus

our Lord

chapter 6

verse 23

oh how much more

we could say

about your work for us

your sending work

chapter 1 verse 5

your faith awakening work

chapter 10 verse 17

your welcoming work

chapter 15 verse 7

your church building

church uniting work

chapter 12 verse 5

your signs and wonders

and sanctifying work

chapter 15

verse 18

and 19

what a glorious

glorious

gospel

we have

received

and this book

is such

a precious

treatise

to that end

not that we just

know these things

that is not why

Paul wrote the letter

he didn't write

a systematic theology

that we might

debate with others

that we might boast

in our knowledge

that our wisdom

somehow becomes

valuable to us

but to produce

in us

righteousness

in chapter 11

he concludes his

doctrine

in chapter 12

he goes on to talk

about how these

things ought to work

in and through

our lives

and he so

beautifully

sums this up

as he begins to talk

about how this power

of God works in us

to bring about

the obedience of faith

to say

to the only

wise God

be glory

forevermore

through Jesus Christ

Amen

that is the

desired work

of this book

this is why

Paul penned it

this is why

the spirit moved

through him

this is why

I believe

we are moved

to preach

through the book

of Romans

that these doctrines

might work down in us

so that they will

work back

out of us

to the glory of God

to the nations

is that the desire

of your heart

does the gospel

does even my reading

I know sometimes

somebody reads

something to you

it's hard to

click your brain

into what's going on

but I hope

that as you hear

these things

this great gospel

proclamation

that it

that it awakens

your soul

that it causes you

to spring to life

to the praise

of our God

and that you can't

wait to stand up

and sing praises

to a name

to partake

in the Lord's

supper

that you can't

wait to get out

of here

that you might

go and share

his glorious

goodness

with the world

do you desire

to see God's

glory spread

it belongs to him

it's his

it's our work

to ascribe it to him

to let our lives

be a doxology

that is my desire

as we complete this book

that you see

that that is what

the gospel should be

doing in your life

let's pray together

thank you

Thank you.