Romans 1:16–17

Bit of an opening. Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.

! Very fun movie.

Over 20 years old now, interestingly.

! Main character in this movie, Frank Abagnale Jr.

! He's played by Leo DiCaprio.

He begins a life of crime and deception,

in part, to fix his parents' broken marriage

and regain his father's lost honor.

He idolized his father,

and his father was on this descent,

and his, again, in part,

his purpose for his life of crime,

stealing money, was to restore his father's honor.

And while giving an acceptance speech,

while accepting a prestigious award from his Rotary Club,

Frank Abagnale Jr.'s father, Frank Abagnale Sr.,

tells a story, and the story goes something like this.

He gets up, and he goes,

two mice fell into a barrel of cream,

and the first one struggled and quickly gave up and drowned.

But the second one struggled and swam and struggled and swam

and turned that cream into butter and then climbed out.

And then he says to this audience of his peers,

I am that second mouse.

And that, interestingly,

that line, that image,

follows Frank Jr. all the way through the story.

So, he tries to give his father money after he steals a fortune,

and his father,

you know,

who is now, you know,

descending into poverty,

he says to his son,

which mouse am I?

And then his son kind of transforms back into that lowly 14-year-old boy,

and he says,

well, you're the second mouse.

He goes,

what do I need your money for?

It's a very interesting story,

an interesting analogy,

because I think what it does is it highlights something that,

in a movie, of course,

it's really exaggerated,

but it's something that is found in all of us,

that we have a hard time accepting help or receiving charity.

It's difficult for us.

So, maybe you're not as proud as Frank Sr. from the film,

but I would venture a guess that almost everybody here has a difficult,

maybe I'll put it this way,

would rather give charity than accept it.

Maybe receiving charity would give you a feeling of discomfort.

It would maybe even offend you.

We can feel that such help or charity is actually an affront to our dignity.

And for some here, like I've mentioned,

the shame or offense of receiving charity means we will never really accept it.

Our text today will touch on this very issue.

Romans chapter 1, verses 16 and 17.

Romans 1:16

And make it clear that such a mindset is actually

not just a weird character quirk,

but something that will inhibit us

from receiving saving faith from God himself.

So as we open Romans chapter 1, verses 16 to 17,

Romans 1:16–17

we're going to take our time through it.

And we're focusing on these two verses

because Romans 16 and 17 are really like the thesis statement

of the entire book of Romans.

So we're going to take some time and really understand it.

But as we open to Romans chapter 1, 16 and 17,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

we'll look at God's power,

we'll look at God's righteousness,

and then how to properly respond to both.

And I hope and pray that in doing so,

we can better understand our deep need to feel dignified,

which I think is a real need that we have,

and how the gospel of God helps us in ways

that are both uncomfortable but deeply needed.

So, if you're following along in the scripture journals,

page 8, verse 16, point 1, God's power.

And I'll read it for us.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is a power of God for salvation

to everyone who believes to the Jew first

and also to the Greek.

The gospel is God's power to save sinners.

It's displayed in Christ for all people

to the Jew first and to the Greek.

And the Jew first and the Greek,

it's a very interesting thing to explore.

We're not going to explore it today.

It'll come up throughout our time in Romans.

But I'll just have a quick side note

that Paul is,

he'll constantly refer to the Jews

and their priority in proclaiming the gospel

primarily for two reasons.

Number one, because this is the combination

of the promises made to the Jewish people

in the Old Testament,

but also because Jesus himself was a Jew.

That's all I'm going to say.

If you have any questions,

you can talk to me about it afterwards.

I don't want to get too sidetracked,

but I wanted to bring your attention to that.

Again, we'll discuss this in weeks to come.

Nevertheless, it is God's power,

the gospel is God's power,

to save sinners displayed in Christ for all people.

It says a lot about God,

his willingness to exercise his power to save.

He did not have to.

Instead, God saves out of an act of love.

And we'll see in this next point

that it is actually an expression of his very character,

of his righteousness.

But for us,

I think it is,

it reveals a great amount

about who we are as human beings.

And very specifically,

that we are sinful

and wicked and corrupt.

It tells us that

we are not actually inherently good,

but there's something,

again,

again,

bent or corrupted

about us.

Put it in

very stark terms,

we are spiritual failures.

Why?

Because we are unable

to use religion

or spirituality

to achieve

our salvation.

It tells us that

our wickedness

is far worse

than we would have

ever imagined,

for it requires

the highest sacrifice

to atone for such evil,

namely,

the Son of God

dying on our behalf

on the cross.

And what it truly tells us

is that

all our pride

in being completely put together,

ultimately dignified,

is nothing more

than deluded self-righteousness

and self-indulgence.

And it's a heavy thing to say,

and I would prefer

to sugarcoat it

in some ways,

but

I think the fact

that God

is going to save

speaks,

of course,

to who God is,

but also to

the calamity

that is

the human experience.

And this

is where the shame

and offense

come in

because

our dignity

is offended.

The prideful heart

responds to the gospel,

not with a,

yes,

I'm a spiritual failure,

yes,

I need your help.

It responds,

I'm that first,

or I'm that second mouse.

who are you

to tell me

what I need,

that I am bad,

or that I am weak,

or that I am a failure,

or that my way

of salvation

is a false way,

or that true salvation

isn't about my happiness.

Who are you,

God,

to tell me

what I need?

And it sounds

potentially silly

to put it that way,

but this is

the nature

of a deluded mind

that is

self-righteous

and self-indulgent.

In addition to that,

it says that

we cannot lean

on our own pedigree

or achievements

to give us

preferential treatment

for salvation

because salvation

is for everyone.

So you see,

again,

going back to

Catch Me If You Can,

Frank Sr.,

he is so dignified,

what made him

so dignified

was his admittance

to this inner circle

of the New Rochelle

Rotary Club.

But if the inner circle

is open to everyone,

it no longer is

a special place.

Feeling special

is always in relation

to the status

of others,

and the Gospel

is making it

very clear

that because it is

offered to everyone,

everyone is

in the same position.

There is no

special person.

The Gospel

then insults

our desire

to be set apart

from the peasants.

It tells us

that we are a peasant.

And that is

precisely what is

so, again,

offensive about the Gospel

because it undermines

this delusional

self-righteousness

and self-importance.

It tells us

that we are not

special at all

for we all

need saving.

And yet,

and this is the

beautiful part,

and this is why

the Gospel

on one hand

is such a

beautiful picture

of God's grace

and love,

but it seems

almost comical

because although

it says that we

are not special

at all,

on one hand,

we are actually

so special

that God

has chosen

to save us.

So what does

the Gospel

do that can

both reveal

our self-delusion

and rescue us

from it?

And this brings us

to our second point,

God's righteousness

that is revealed.

Look with me

at verse 17.

For in it,

that is the Gospel,

the righteousness

of God

is revealed

from faith

for faith,

as it is written,

the righteous

shall live

by faith.

This one verse

is both crucial

to the rest

of the letter

and historically

very difficult

to interpret,

but the big questions

are what does

Paul mean

when he speaks

about the righteousness

of God?

What does he mean

when he says

from faith to faith

that the righteous

shall live by faith?

It's a really,

it's a really good question,

it's an important question,

and it's a question

that we need to answer.

Again,

because this is the thesis

of the entire book,

but also,

out of all of Paul's writing,

so he has written,

in the New Testament,

there's a number

of books written by Paul.

There are letters

written to specific churches,

but then there's

general letters

written to the

to people,

but they're called

the general epistles.

In all of Paul's writings

outside of Romans,

he talks about righteousness

something like 69 times.

In Romans alone,

he speaks of righteousness

77 times, okay?

So it's important for us

to get a good handle

as best as we can

so that we can read Romans

with some clarity.

So let's walk through this verse,

verse 17,

and attempt to answer

these questions.

So,

what is the righteousness

of God?

And I'll just say,

I'm indebted to

the late John Stott

for providing these

three possible options

or understandings

of what this righteousness

could be.

The first,

that the righteousness

of God describes

God's quality and character.

It is who he is.

God is himself righteous.

He hates wickedness.

He hates sin.

He hates evil.

He hates death.

He hates decay.

Conversely,

he loves what we would call

the fruits of the Spirit.

Love and joy and peace

and patience and kindness

and goodness and faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

He hates evil.

He loves good.

This is what God is all about.

He himself is righteous.

And a part of that righteousness

is that God judges justly

wickedness.

And that justice,

that just judgment

is an expression

of his character.

Therefore,

at the cross of Christ,

God's just judgment

and perfect righteousness

are supremely revealed.

So, therefore,

the righteousness of God,

his very character,

is fully displayed

in his acts of salvation

and judgment

in the gospel

God is committed

to his own righteous nature,

which is to say that

he cannot deny himself.

So, the gospel is

God's character

on full display

and he cannot not

be righteous.

Option one.

Second option

is that God's righteousness

describes his activity.

So, if the first option

is his character,

the second option

is his activity.

It is what he does.

God has made promises

in the scriptures.

He has made covenantal promises

throughout history

that he keeps

beyond

all hope.

He will keep his promises

because he is all-powerful

and, therefore,

his activity

in fulfilling them

cannot be undone

or thwarted.

The Lord acts righteously

when he fulfills

his promises,

overthrowing evil,

saving his people.

It's what God does.

That is option two.

Now, the final

and third option

describes the status

that God confers

upon those he saves.

If the first

is who God is,

the second

is his activity,

the third

is what he achieves.

In this final view,

God gives us

his righteousness.

It is a status

that is alien to us

but is who God is

and how does he do it?

By laying on Christ

our sin,

our brokenness,

our wickedness,

which deserves

his just judgment

and instead

of rightly punishing us,

Jesus takes on

our punishment

in our place

and pays our penalty.

But not just that,

okay,

because it's great

to not be in

the red anymore

but when you're at zero,

I mean,

that's,

I mean,

at least you're not

in the red

but what we have here

is that

then he gives us

his righteous status

so that we are

in the black

in an infinite

type of way.

Because of this status

given to us

as an act of love

and grace

and received by us

through faith

and we're going to

touch on that faith bit

in the third point,

we have a certain hope

that we can stand

before a righteous God

not just be unmade

and this is from

the scriptures

that nobody can

stand before God

and live

but that we can

in Christ

stand before God

being in his presence

and that we can

enjoy his presence

and fellowship forever.

The scripture talks

about being clothed

in the righteousness

of Christ

or given the status

of Christ's righteousness

something that we need

and strive after

but we constantly

fail to achieve.

It is an alien status

given to us.

So,

as a recap,

okay,

this is like heavy,

thick theological things

we can talk about it

after if you need

a bit more clarification

but as a recap,

the righteousness of God

that Paul has in mind

could describe

either his divine character,

his divine activity,

or his divine achievements.

Okay?

So,

which is it?

I'll make the case

today and throughout Romans

that the great weight

is given to the third option.

That God,

in his perfect justice

and perfect mercy,

he atones for our sins

and wickedness

by laying them

onto Christ

and giving,

and Christ giving us

his righteous status.

Okay?

Some theologians

call it the great exchange.

Our sin for his righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5

says it this way,

he who had no sin

became our sin

so that we could be

the righteousness of God.

This is primarily

what the apostle

will lay out

in this letter.

However,

okay,

however,

to ignore God's

divine character

and activity

I think is the key insight

to help us understand

what the righteousness

of God

that is being revealed

in the gospel

is all about.

So I think,

and I'm going to put forward

to you today,

that although the third option

has,

I would say,

the most weight

in terms of Paul's letter

in Romans,

all three aspects

of this righteousness,

God's character,

activity,

his achievement,

should not be pitted

against one another.

They are complementary.

I'll put it this way,

how could God be faithful

to his righteous promises

if he was not

himself righteous?

How could those promises

be fulfilled

that he has made

so that we could enjoy

his presence forever

if we did not share

that righteousness?

There's a lot of interplay

happening here,

okay?

God's activity

is an aspect

of who he is

and what he does

in his activity

is to give us

his righteousness

so that we could

be redeemed,

counted as worthy

to be in his presence.

So in a big way,

we can't really have

one without the other.

However,

for Paul,

he is emphasizing

the third option

above the other two

in his letter.

So the predominant view

presented in Romans

is that the righteousness

of God

as revealed in the gospel

is this incredible

achievement of God

through Christ.

He is taking sinful,

spoiled,

corrupted humans,

he is paying the penalty

for their sin,

not overlooking

their transgressions,

not overlooking

our transgressions,

our sins,

but what he is doing

is he is paying

the penalty

through Christ.

No more red ink.

And then giving us

the very status

of being the son

so that it's not just

we have no liabilities,

but that we are himself,

we are ourselves,

in God's view,

as righteous

as Christ himself.

And this will lead

to our third point,

because,

because,

with any gift,

and friends,

this is a gift,

with any gift,

we need to receive it rightly.

And this leads

to our third point,

how we respond.

And that response

is by faith.

So three times,

three times in two verses,

the Apostle Paul

will speak of belief

or faith.

He'll say in verse 16,

the power of God

for salvation

to everyone

who believes.

And then he'll say

in verse 17,

the righteousness of God

is revealed

from faith for faith.

The righteous

shall live by faith.

faith.

So,

if the gospel

is God's power

to save,

bestowing on us

his righteous standing,

his righteous status,

then the means

by which we receive

this gift

is faith.

We are to believe

in the gospel.

Before we dive

into belief,

let us again consider

not our own ability

to believe,

but first and foremost,

the faithfulness

of God,

the trustworthiness

of God.

So I think

before we consider

a belief in God,

a trust in God,

a faith in God,

we ought to ask

the question,

is God trustworthy?

Is God worthy

of our faith?

Is God faithful

to keep his promises?

And the answer is yes.

He is the one

who keeps his promises.

And we touched on this

in the previous point

where we said

that God's righteousness

is an expression

of his very character.

So therefore,

when we ask the question,

is God faithful?

Is God trustworthy?

We're really asking

the question

that has plagued humanity

from the very beginning,

what we've wrestled with

from the very beginning.

It's a very hot-button question.

Is God who he says he is?

Is he a trustworthy God?

And I would just say

to you now, okay,

you might be feeling

like your faith

is at maybe

a solid eight and a half

out of ten, okay?

You're feeling great

about faith.

Maybe you're

kind of potentially

cratering, right?

You might be

in a tough season

where faith isn't

really there.

I think it's always

an appropriate question

to ask the Lord.

Are you worthy

of my trust?

If you ask

in the question

with the heart

of God,

I believe,

help my unbelief.

There's another way

to ask that question

that isn't good.

It is the way

that the serpent

asks the question

in the opening chapters

of Genesis.

Did God really say that?

Did he really say

you couldn't eat

of the apple?

Is God really trustworthy?

Which isn't so much

a question,

it's more of a statement.

But I'll say to you,

and this is actually,

it's just an aside,

it's not in my notes,

it is an entirely

appropriate question

to ask God

because God

is strong enough

to weather

that kind of question.

So ask that question

prayerfully.

So is God,

is God faithful?

Can we really trust

that God will keep

his promises

to restore

our dignity,

to remake us,

and to redeem us?

And friends,

the answer is yes.

And it is on this basis

that we believe.

That is in part

what Paul is referring to

when he says

from faith for faith

because what he is saying,

and again,

this is why this is

a very difficult section

to interpret,

but it would have

kind of many facets to it,

but this is what Paul

is saying in part,

that upon the faithfulness

of God we base our faith.

From faith for faith.

From the faithfulness

of God,

that is what we,

that's what we build

our faith upon.

But as it is multifaceted,

there's more.

For it would seem that

by saying from faith

for faith,

Paul is also communicating

that the faith

we are to have in Christ

is to increase in quality

and quantity

as we continue on

in the Christian life.

And by the way,

I mean,

I'm not trying to contradict

what I previously said

about having potentially seasons

where faith isn't really there.

You know,

you zoom out,

the line is going like this

in terms of quantity

and quality,

but if you zoom in,

it might be like this,

okay?

But Paul here

is saying

that faith in Christ

ought to,

for the Christian,

increase in quality

and quantity.

It's to permeate our lives.

And we can see this

if we take a moment

to understand this last line,

the righteous

shall live by faith.

So this quotation

is from the Old Testament

from a minor prophet

named Habakkuk.

He was a prophet

during the time

that the Israelites

were exiled

out of the promised land

into Babylon,

which is modern-day Iraq,

more or less.

Without getting lost

in the details

in its original context,

and in connection

with our text today,

it describes

how the righteous

live by faith

and how they can hope

to live through faith.

So the emphasis here

with this quotation

and with our text

is not so much

about proving

one's righteousness

by the way they act,

as if,

I'm righteous,

therefore I have faith,

but on how sinners

become saints

by faith

and how they continue

to grow in their righteousness

and trust in the Lord

through faith.

So from faith to faith

or from faith for faith.

If you remember last week,

we talked about

how the gospel

is not simply

the way into

the Christian religion,

but the very thing

that continues

to animate it.

Therefore,

faith must be

continually fed

and fostered

because we are quick

to either take pride

in our own righteousness

again

or to be embarrassed

or ashamed

by the gospel,

for we are slow

to remember

that it is the power

of God for salvation

and it's offensive

to us

and our sensibilities.

So therefore,

faith and belief

require action

and commitment.

Few ways

that that faith

can be fed

and faith,

how it's more

of a verb

than it is a noun.

That we participate

in the life

of God's covenant people,

the church.

Again,

I emphasize it

and I might have

emphasized it a bit too much

because a couple people

were saying,

well,

if you don't go to church,

were you saying

if you don't go to church

you're not a Christian?

I would take a step

back from that.

But only to say

that the life

of the Christian

is lived out

in community,

in the church,

in the life of the church.

It will require us

to be disciplined

and grow in our discipline

in spiritual practices,

in prayer

and in scripture reading

and in saying yes

to virtues

and no to vices.

And then it also

means that we grow

in godly wisdom.

We need to feed

our faith

with the gospel,

with a reminder

that God

is at work

in our lives

in a huge display

of power

through the death

and resurrection

of Christ Jesus.

As we believe

and grow

in our belief,

we will see

this power

at work

in our lives

transforming us.

I mentioned

the fruit of the spirit

earlier.

That is a way

that we will see

this transformation

take place.

Again,

saying yes

to the things

of God

a lot more

and saying no

to the things

of the world

or our flesh

or the devil

a lot less

or a lot more

or we will say yes

to it a lot less.

We will begin

to change

and be transformed.

But friends,

this is activated.

This power

is released

as we begin

to put our faith

and trust

in what God

has said

and in his word.

A great line

by a 5th century

Syrian bishop

named Theodorat.

It was quoted

in Timothy Keller's

commentary

on this text.

So I'm indebted

to the late

Timothy Keller

but this quote

by this 5th century

Syrian bishop

describes how faith

releases

this righteous power

of salvation

by likening

the gospel

to a pepper.

I think it's brilliant.

This is what it says.

Quote,

A pepper outwardly

seems to be cold

but the person

who crunches it

between the teeth

experiences

the sensation

of burning fire.

A pepper

and that's

end quote.

A pepper may

or may not be

spicy

but the power

of it is not

released

until it is

consumed.

Which is to say

that you can talk

about the gospel

until the cows

come home

but until you put

your faith

and trust

in what God

has done

that that power

of transformation

will not be at work

in our lives

for the gift

will not be received.

When we believe

in the gospel

and the one true God

to save

we are saying

no to our own

vain efforts

to achieve

our own

version of dignity

and saying yes

to the incredible

work of God

to dignify us

in ways

we could never

imagine.

I'll end with this.

the great irony

of shirking

help to safeguard

our dignity

is that we become

undignified people.

We fail to see

that the God

of all creation

who made us

in his image

does not treat us

as garbage

when we fall

into indignity

but rather

restores our dignity

for Jesus Christ

who is the message

of the gospel

remember we said

last week

that it's not just

good news

but it is a good person

namely Christ

for Christ Jesus

who is the message

of the gospel

who is the power

of God

for salvation

who is the righteousness

of God

he becomes

undignified

by leaving

the ultimate place

of divine dignity

that is heaven

taking on human flesh

dying a very

undignified

indign

way on the cross

for our sins

sins he didn't commit

and wearing wickedness

that was alien

to him

and then giving us

a righteousness

alien to us

we then get to

revel in his

righteousness

as saved sinners

as those who are

united to Christ

that share in his

sonship as children

of God

and this is accepted

by faith

and tell me

what is more dignified

than being a son

of God

okay

and I say son

because

although

definitely the imagery

in the Bible

and the language

uses sons and daughters

of God

but here it is

the place of the

firstborn son

the place of honor

in the ancient world

there is no

higher honor

than that

and that is what

God in Christ

is bestowing on us

as a gift

what is more

dignified than that

Christ has made

a way for the sinner

to become a saint

and then we understand

that all of life

is a gift

and we are not too

proud to take help

and then to give it

without any strings

attached

the sooner we know

friends that

that we are not

that second mouse

but that both mice

die and drown

we would do well

to start as a beginning

so that we would

understand the gospel

of Christ

in a

in a sweet

beautiful way

and receive it

by faith

that is the life

of dignity

that Christ offers

as a woman