God's powerful Gospel

Romans chapter 1, verses 1 to 17.

Romans 1:1–17

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh,

and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness,

by his resurrection from the dead.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship

to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints,

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Firstly, I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son,

that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers,

asking that somehow by God's will I may know, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you,

but thus far have been prevented, in order that I may reap some harvest among you,

as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

I am under obligation, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish,

so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel.

It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.

As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

Well, the question I want to put in your mind this morning to get your thinking juices going

is a very simple one, and we'll end with it as well.

What is God like?

What is God like?

Now, that question is a question that every person asks and answers at some point in their lifetime.

Every person.

Of course, some decide, haven't asked the question and answer it by deciding that God doesn't even exist.

So, there comes a conclusion, our vast universe,

life itself, from the biggest point down to the most detailed experience of our own personal existence,

is simply the product of natural forces.

And yet, I found it really interesting that people who decide that

often still speak of spiritual experience.

When they engage with nature, for instance.

And so, simply deciding God doesn't exist doesn't seem to close out their craving for something spiritual.

Most, of course, decide that God is real.

And I think people decide that it's because people need a beating heart,

something real, something personal at the center of our universe.

And these people, generally, are openly religious people.

Some, of course, then, there's subdivisions in there.

Some are driven by their own sort of warm, fuzzy feelings.

And so, they decide that God is like an indulgent grandfather,

or a best buddy type figure.

He's the one who always thinks you're special.

It doesn't matter what you do.

He's the one who will always accept you,

and just be happy to hang out with you.

No rules, no demands.

Just spoils you, just like that indulgent grandfather.

Even though he might be thinking about different things inside.

Others are driven by a deep-seated fear.

Fear of death.

A fear of standing before God's justice.

Fear of being rejected by God.

The God they believe in is somewhere out there.

And oftentimes, they decide that God is something akin to a cruel tyrant.

Often, these same people are desperate.

They please God through their religious actions.

And yet, for all their religious actions,

they don't seem to be able to discover a sense of peace,

or a sense of being accepted,

and the joy that that might bring them.

But let's make it more personal.

Most in this room,

if not all in this room,

I'm only excluding the very, very young here,

most in this room, that is from toddlers up,

are already forming,

or have already formed,

your view of God.

Then the question becomes,

on what basis have you decided your view of God?

And with what degree of certainty

do you hold your view of God?

Do you have any sense of embarrassment

in speaking of God

to those you rub shoulders with on a daily basis?

Paul declares,

he's not ashamed of the gospel.

He's not ashamed of God

as displayed in the gospel.

Now, I assume,

and it is an assumption,

but I assume that since Paul leads with that,

then it is fairly likely

that some Christians in the church at Rome

were indeed ashamed of God

or ashamed of the gospel.

Perhaps that's you too.

In some hidden part of your brain,

you're not even game to give voice to.

Well, friends,

I want to say to you this morning

that studying Paul's letter

to the Christians at Rome,

I believe,

will radically change your life,

whether you're a Christian or not,

at this moment.

Why?

Why am I so confident in that?

Because the letter

to the Christians at Rome

is all about God's gospel,

and God's gospel

is all about showing us God,

what he's like.

And you can't really discover

what God is like

without being profoundly impacted

and changed by that.

In his introduction,

Paul,

which we're looking at this morning,

the first 17 verses,

in his introduction,

Paul gives a beautiful summary

of what God has done

and how it so perfectly suits

what we need.

everything by nature

of the introduction,

everything will be dealt with

in depth

in the subsequent chapters.

The intro is just

to whet our appetite,

as it were,

just to make us drool

over what's coming

when we see something

and what God's like,

what God has done,

what God is doing

in our lives,

that which we sort of summarize

as the gospel of Jesus.

And I want to use

three headings to unpack it

and then come back

to a more personal thing.

So the first one is

that the gospel

is God's initiative.

Paul's introduction

begins and ends

with an emphasis

on the gospel of God.

Verse 2,

the focus is on

what God has announced,

what God has done

for his people.

The gospel,

in Paul's mind,

is entirely

God's doing.

Verse 17,

as we understand

what God has done

in his gospel,

we also learn heaps

about what God is like.

The gospel reveals

God's righteousness

or God's character.

But what does that mean?

What does it mean

to talk about

the righteousness of God?

Well,

it means lots of things,

but in part,

it refers to his character.

God always does

things properly.

God always acts

with integrity.

He maintains

perfect justice,

yet manages to show

mercy and generosity

to his guilty,

rebellious people.

God,

in his righteousness,

doesn't fudge

or cover over sin.

He confronts it

and deals with it

and the guilt

of his people.

And in part,

God's righteousness

refers to his actions.

In the gospel,

we see God acting.

Acting to do what?

acting to deal

with the basic dilemma

of human life.

That is,

we are sinful,

dirty people

and God,

being clean and holy,

cannot relate to us,

will not relate to us

in that condition.

So,

the righteousness of God

is God's action

to make dirty,

undeserving people

clean and acceptable to him.

God's action

is about God

doing for us

that which we could

never ever

do for ourselves.

Meet God's standard

of obedience

and justice

and truth.

That's not the most

amazing thing,

that's amazing as it is.

The most amazing thing

about that

is that it's all

available to anybody

who wants it

through faith.

Verse 17,

by faith

from first to last.

Hard to know exactly

what that means

but it seems to mean

that from the start

to the finish,

it's just about faith.

God has done

what he has done.

We receive

what God has done

through faith.

And what is faith?

Well, faith

is taking God

at his word.

It's not simple.

It's believing

what God has said.

The gospel of Jesus

is God's declaration

that in recognizing

our need to be rescued

or saved

from the consequences

of our rebellion

or sin

and simply trusting Jesus

to be our righteousness,

to be the means

by which we will be

acceptable to God

and loved by God,

we find therefore

forgiveness

and restoration

to relationship

with God.

In a very real sense,

God does all

the heavy lifting

and then says,

it's all yours

if only you will believe,

if only you will take me

at my word

that I've done this for you.

Something you can never

do for yourself.

Friends,

the gospel shows us

what God is like,

but in more detail,

the gospel shows us

how much God

loves his

fallen,

distorted,

grotesque image bearers,

grotesque because of sin,

how much he wants

to relate to them,

how much he wants

to restore them

to be that

which he created them

to be.

He's announced

this way of restoring

full relationship

to people

who deserve

only his condemnation.

We call it

the gospel of Jesus.

Second point then

is that God's initiative

comes with

all God's power

guaranteeing

therefore it will be

successful

or it is successful.

Paul describes himself

as a servant

or an apostle,

a special messenger

of God in other words.

We might use

more modern terms,

a contract worker

with a specific task

of making known

this wonderful initiative

from God

to anyone

and everyone

who will listen.

The next cab

off the rank

for Paul

is coming to Rome

and then he hopes

to get to Spain.

Wherever people

will listen,

wherever Paul can go,

he's contracted

to speak of this

wonderful initiative

of God

to rescue

undeserving people.

But God's gospel

is never dependent

on Paul

or any of the other

apostles for success.

Look at verse 2.

What Paul is speaking,

his message,

is not a new message.

In fact,

it's the culmination,

it's the final piece

of a jigsaw

that's been built

throughout the whole

of the Old Testament.

God's one plan

of salvation

promised over generations

the plan

to re-engage

with his people

in rich,

everlasting relationship.

And God's power

over the generations

was seen

in keeping his plan

on track

in spite of all sorts

of white-anting

of his plan

by evil people.

God's power

was clearly evident.

but never more clearly

than in the birth,

life,

death,

and resurrection

and return to heaven

of Jesus

as Lord and Savior.

And we see there

in verse 4,

Jesus was clearly human,

descended from King David.

God's promise to David

was that a descendant

of his would re-establish

God's kingdom

as an eternal kingdom.

And God's power

demonstrated

in Jesus' resurrection

from the dead

proved that Jesus

was truly God

as well as truly human.

And therefore,

perfectly qualified

Jesus to establish

God's eternal kingdom

and rule.

And so he returns

to heaven

as Lord and Savior.

And verse 5

is that same

power

which underpins

the authority

of Paul

and other apostles

and which

in Paul's own generation

has resulted

in so many people

being saved,

being changed

from the inside out,

coming to Jesus

for salvation.

And verses 6

through to 12

is very personal details

as Paul just

reflects

on his desire

to visit

with the Christians

at Rome.

The fact that there

are so many Christians

in Rome,

the fact that there

are any Christians

in Rome,

confirms the reality

of the gospel

to Paul.

But very simply,

it's just hard

to argue

with the evidence

of radically

changed lives.

Everywhere Paul goes,

he's seen

those radically

changed lives

with people

who've been confronted

by God's

powerful gospel.

gospel.

Paul had heard

about the changing

power of the gospel

in the Christians

in Rome.

Changed from the inside out,

changed in their actions,

changed in their attitudes,

changed in their thinking.

And Paul couldn't wait

to meet them

and swap stories

of how they'd experienced

God's grace,

God's powerful gospel

to encourage

one another.

And so powerful

is this gospel.

Paul uses

a very interesting word

in verse 16.

He describes it

as God's dynamite.

The Greek word

is dunamis,

the word we get

dynamite from.

The gospel

is God's

blasting powder.

Blasting

as dirty,

sinful people,

as Beck said

in the talk,

but I won't do

all the theatrical things.

The old technology

of a piece of paper

works so well for me.

I don't have to dance

and jig around

unless my pages

blow away.

But yeah,

the gospel

just blasts

the dirt away.

Not just on the outside,

but on the inside

right to the depth

of our being.

Blasts us free

from the guilt

and power of sin

and leaves us

totally renewed

from the inside out.

Which in turn

allows God

to treat me

and everyone else

who believes

like we'd never

ever sinned

in the first place.

Complete restoration

of relationship.

Complete removal

of dirt

so that clean

now relates again

to clean

in Christ.

Clean in Christ.

That's a wonderful

picture word,

isn't it?

One little stick

of dynamite

doesn't look like

very much.

Not that many of us

have seen a stick

of dynamite,

but one little stick

of dynamite

doesn't look like

very much.

But boy,

oh boy,

when it's well applied,

it's powerful

in what it achieves.

in exactly the same

way,

my friends.

The gospel

may not look

or sound

powerful

in comparison

to what others

in the world

says is the way

to the good life,

the way to security.

But it is the solution

for our deepest

problems.

It is the answer

to our deepest

cravings.

It demolishes

the solid walls

of unbelief

and resistance

to God's rule.

No trouble

at all.

And the third

point then is

this power

of God

has a purpose,

the unbelievably

radical outcome

intended in God's

powerful gospel.

So as best

we can say,

Paul wrote this

letter about

57 AD,

which means

it's a little

over 20 years

since Paul himself

was confronted

by Jesus

and the gospel.

He himself,

while trying

to persecute

Christians,

was so radically

captured

and blasted

by the gospel,

blasted into

a whole new

orientation in life

and contracted

to take the message

of salvation

both to Jews

and to every

other nation

on earth.

20 years on,

what's Paul

excited about still?

The gospel.

He's still pushing

this radical gospel

of God,

that salvation,

forgiveness,

new relationship

with God

and guaranteed

place in heaven

is promised

to everyone

who recognizes

their need

and simply

turns to Jesus

for the righteousness

that's necessary

to get into heaven,

a righteousness

they can never

produce by themselves

but is on offer

in Jesus.

Jesus.

We probably

find it a bit

hard to understand

how radical

this would have

been in Paul's

day.

We're so familiar

with the terminology

that it's just,

well I think in some

cases,

ho-hum for us

but this was

radical stuff

in Paul's day

and age.

Let me try

and illustrate.

The Jews

for instance,

if you ask them

what a person

needs

to get to heaven,

they would say,

well the first thing

they have to do

is become a Jew

in every shape

and form

and do all

the things

that are required

of the Jew.

Pray and sacrifice

and go to the temple

and do this

and do that

and have your

alms days

and your holidays

and do,

do,

do.

Yeah,

that's what,

that's,

do that for a start

and then we'll see.

the Romans.

The Roman worldview

was that they were

a superior race.

We've heard that

in our own sort of

20th century,

haven't we?

They believed

they were the superior race

in the world

and therefore naturally

would be acceptable

to the gods.

In fact,

the gods would consider

an honour

to be friends

and associated

with the Romans

and the evidence

of that

was the physical

prowess of the Romans.

The superior intellect,

the good character.

In fact,

that's why

the Roman would say

that's why

we're the rulers

of the known earth.

Biggest civilization

and empire

had ever been seen.

Again,

adoption

was a big thing

in Roman society.

Adoption into a family

but only when

the adopted person

was respectable

and commendable

and came with

a list of great achievements.

So yes,

it was a great thing

to adopt somebody

but they had to be somebody

before you would adopt them.

God's gospel

is so radically different

to anything

the Romans would have known

because God's gospel

is big on adopting

those

who are down and outs,

who are

dirty,

unlovely,

undesirable

before God.

God's gospel

is clear

that anyone

and everyone

regardless of their race,

regardless of their

circumstance in life

will receive

a fresh start.

Grace and salvation

if they'll receive it

as a gift

through trusting Jesus.

It's that simple.

And again,

we can feel

Paul's excitement

at this incredible truth.

If you look at

verse 6 there,

in the church

at Rome,

Paul knew

there were people

from all over the world

sitting shoulder

to shoulder

in unity

together

recipients

of God's righteousness,

together

loved by God,

together

assured of his favor.

and as a direct result

of that,

they loved each other.

People who naturally

would hate

and divide each other,

they loved each other.

They were committed

to helping each other

and Paul wanted

to be part of it.

He soaked it in

and just,

wow,

this is the result

of God's powerful gospel.

If I put it

in modern terms,

I think I could say this,

that the gospel

was doing

around the world

at that time

what the United Nations

would long to do,

what the United Nations

was set up to do

and which everybody

in the world knows

the United Nations

will never be able to do.

Now,

I'm not saying

they haven't done

good things.

Don't misunderstand.

me.

But they're just

on the surface.

The gospel

reunites humanity

so hopelessly

divided by ethnic,

religious,

and nationalistic

boundaries.

And boy,

how I wish

the gospel

would sweep

through Europe

in the coming weeks

before warfare does.

So,

moving towards

conclusion,

to the conclusion

now,

now we're in a

position,

I think,

to understand

what Paul's

getting at

in verse 16

when he says,

I'm not ashamed

of the gospel.

Because to understand

that phrase,

we need to understand

something of shame

and honor.

And why Paul says

he's not ashamed

of the gospel.

It's Paul's great thing

which the rest

of this letter

explains in detail.

So, shame and honor

were huge categories

in Roman society

as indeed

in many

Middle Eastern

societies

still are.

Perhaps some

Christians in Rome

thought that

aspects of

Paul's person,

Paul's character,

or of the gospel

itself

as a body of truth

were shameful.

Now, how might

that work

for these people?

Well, perhaps

Paul's background.

He was a Jew

and a Roman citizen.

Now, lots in Rome

really resented

dual citizenship,

especially when

it was a Jew

who was a Roman citizen.

It was embarrassing.

It was actually

unpalatable to some.

Then, perhaps,

if you add into that

the circumstances

in which Paul

was commissioned

to speak the

gospel.

In Roman circles,

to be a rhetorician

or a public speaker

or a teacher

in public places,

you needed

an illustrious

background.

When they dig

into Paul's

background,

what did they find?

Hmm.

He was a bit

of a rat pack.

He had blood

on his hands.

And he,

according to some

sources,

he was a bit

of a roughneck.

Perhaps he was

embarrassing

to know

that he was coming

to Rome.

Perhaps some

Christians

struggled with

the apparent

shameful beginnings

of the gospel.

Well,

we understand

the gospel

and the results

of the gospel,

but boy,

we want to play

down the fact

that, again,

the gospel

is sourced

in the person

Jesus,

the Jewish nation,

Jewish history.

And my goodness

me,

we Romans,

we're persecuting,

we're trying to get

rid of the Jews.

The suspicious

circumstances

of Jesus'

birth,

the ordinariness

of Jesus'

life,

his crucifixion

as a criminal,

and that was

crucifixion under

Roman law,

remember.

His claim

for resurrection,

people just don't

come back

from the dead.

Jewish links,

indebtedness

to the Jewish nation,

and so on and so forth.

Yeah,

you could well

imagine that people

might be a tad

embarrassed

slash ashamed

of this guy

coming to preach

the gospel.

Sort of,

we love the outcome

of the gospel,

but Paul,

can you just

tone down the

background?

Perhaps some

Christian,

Roman Christians

find the gospel

itself shameful

because it

flies in the face

of Roman

self-value.

It identifies

individual Romans

as being equally

guilty before God.

Yes,

those wretched

barbarians out there

that we conquer

because we're better,

well,

actually the gospel

says you're not

a whit better

than them

in terms of God.

Equally in need

of a rescue

because of a bad

heart towards God,

because of your

determination for

rebellion and autonomy.

perhaps even some

people find the

gospel or ashamed

of the gospel

or embarrassed

by the gospel

because of what

it says about

God's heart.

See,

Romans took

their lead

from their idea

of the gods

and the top gods

were merciless.

The old idea,

if you got power,

you got wanted.

But this God

of the Christians,

this God

of the gospel,

well,

for goodness sake,

he actually takes

the cost of

repairing relationship

upon himself.

He's known

and characterized

by mercy

and kindness.

He doesn't

treat his enemies

as they deserve.

He treats them

with honor

in spite of

what they deserve.

My friends,

these are not

the qualities

that the world

in general

appreciate,

let alone

the Roman world

in particular.

Paul knew

that he deserved

to be treated

shamefully

before the righteousness

of God

because he had brought

shame on God.

God's name,

God's character

by his horrible,

persistent rebellion.

God's power

and the gospel

but then Paul says,

but how could I

be ashamed

of God

or the gospel

which treats me

with such honor?

honor.

So,

for you and me,

if you've experienced

God's powerful gospel,

how could you be ashamed?

How could you be embarrassed?

We've been treated

with honor

contrary to what

we deserve

in the gospel.

We've been rescued,

renewed,

adopted into

God's own family

and all of that

when we know

actually

that it was Jesus

who was treated

shamefully

on our behalf

so that we might

be treated

with honor.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Ethered is

the

way

that

by

May

God

God

we

collect

on

back

to the

old

way

of

thinking

that we

can create

our own

righteousness

that we

can bring

our own

assets

to the

bargaining

table

and say

actually God

you need

to let

me an

heart

I

deserve

it

On this basis and that basis and that basis.

My religious actions here.

My attitude there.

My good works here.

That brings incredible shame.

To the Lord.

Or if we claim to be Christ's renewed people.

But fail to be concerned.

To be his single united community.

I said before.

Changed lives.

Are hard to argue with.

And if we want to speak.

And adorn God's powerful gospel.

Then there's no better way.

To do that.

Than the model of changed lives.

A radically.

Different community.

Where all the natural divisions of the world.

Just mean nothing.

My final comment then.

Is if you've not yet experienced.

God's powerful gospel.

Then why not.

Ask to be changed.

From the inside out.

This morning.

Right here now.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Because renewal by Jesus.

Is precisely what you need.

To fix.

The deep-seated problem of guilt.

That manifests itself in a whole heap of ways.

In your life.

Even though you may not realize at this point.

That it is the deep-seated problem.

Of sin and rebellion of God.

That manifests itself in all these different ways.

and the beauty of the gospel is that this morning

the Lord doesn't ask you to produce your own righteousness

he doesn't ask you to achieve

a standard that he knows is impossible for you to achieve

he says I've done it for you

and what I want you to do is take out your hand

put out your hand and take it as a gift

take me at my word

and believe that your whole relationship with God

is going to be transformed and renewed

simply by believing that Jesus has died

and dealt with your sin

see at the end of the day

you may not realise it but I can tell you

that renewal by Jesus is the answer

to your deepest longing to be loved

to be accepted by God

that's where we started at

it's the key to the good life

a life of purpose

and a life of security

that's what we're all craving for

that's why we ask that question

to start with in life

what is God like

and from there we ask the question

well okay

if God's like this then

how do I engage in the good life

so my friends I end where I started

what is your God like

I'm not talking theory

I'm talking on the ground

rubber meeting the road

practical stuff

on any given day

in any given circumstance

what is your God like

and what sort of world

are you building around that

because the world you build around that

the answer to that question

will determine your security

and your future

make sure you consider the question well

and consider the answer

in the light of what God himself says

not in what you might think

pray with me

please

Lord what an exciting start

to this letter

as we just have you showcased

what you've done for us

what you keep on doing in us

and ultimately what you intend us to be

we thank you Lord

that you've not demanded from us

a righteousness

which you know is not possible

for us to deliver

but instead Lord

have provided that righteousness

for us in Christ

and offered it to us

as a free gift

a gift Lord

that's been ever so costly

for you

to formulate

but Lord

a gift which is free

to us to take

help us Lord

not to be ashamed

help us to live

as people who

are fully aware

of how you honor us

in a daily basis

and I pray this in Jesus name

Amen

thank you

God bless you

God bless you