The Gospel for Everyone

Romans 1-17

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

the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,

and who through the spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God

by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through him and for his name's sake we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles

to the obedience that comes from faith, and you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

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

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

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,

because your faith has been reported all over the world.

God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son,

is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times,

and I pray that now at last, by God's will, the way may be opened for me to come to you.

I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong,

that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you,

but have been prevented from doing so until now,

in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

I am bound both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes,

first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,

a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,

just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith.

Thanks very much, Thirsty, for that.

So please keep your Bibles open.

Thank you.

At Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

I do have, which I will leave at the back afterwards,

which is really just an outline of what we are going to be looking at over the next lot of months,

next lot of weeks, not months,

and we will be picking it up again in the new year,

from chapter 5.

So there are those, and if you want your own copy,

if there is not enough, I can email it to you.

I will not give it to you now, because you will only read it,

and you won't listen to me,

so collect them afterwards.

Please.

So we're starting into a new series,

Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

I guess the big heading that we're giving of Romans 1 to 4

is the Gospel Explained,

and we're going to get into the very heart of that

in just a moment.

But before we do, we're going to pray

and ask for God's help for us all.

So let's pray together.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel,

because it is the power of God

for the salvation of everyone who believes.

Father, we thank you for your Gospel.

We thank you for its great power.

And we pray that by your Holy Spirit,

that power would be evident amongst us today,

in our own lives individually,

and together as a church,

changing us and transforming us

to be the people you have called us to be.

We pray for us,

that we may better understand your word

and the good news of your Gospel,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're going to start with a quiz this morning.

And because we are on holidays in Germany,

I thought I'd give a little bit of a German theme to it.

So you've kind of got to think German,

things German in this.

Okay, so the first one is sport.

All right.

What do Podolsky, Schweinsteiger, and Klose have in common?

Who said that?

Well done.

Well done.

Top of the class.

Food, right?

What do Bratwurst, Currywurst, and Frankfurter have in common?

Oh, well done.

Here's a geography one.

What do the Zugspitze, the Hotkelter,

and the Großer Hundstöd have in common?

Oh, you're very clever.

This is leisure.

What do Weiss, Helles, and Dunkel have in common?

Deer.

Spot all the students in the Lagerl out there.

Hmm?

Okay.

This hasn't anything to do now with Germany.

Just a general question.

What do a committed Christian, a convicted criminal, and a convinced atheist have in common?

A committed Christian, a convicted criminal, or a convicted criminal, and a convinced atheist.

What do they have in common?

They need the gospel.

Hmm?

They need the gospel.

Well done, Sarah.

The gospel is for everyone, whether we are religious or irreligious.

Everybody needs the gospel.

Look at verse 1 of Romans.

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

So he's been set apart, but who is this gospel for?

Well, he tells us in verse 5.

He says,

Now, we can accept that, can't we?

We can kind of think, yep, the gospel is for those who are not believers.

Those are the Gentiles.

The people who are out there.

The people who don't go to church and who don't read their Bibles.

That's who the gospel is for, isn't it?

But look at verse 15.

He says,

I am eager to preach the gospel also to you.

They were the Christians who were at Rome.

I want to preach the gospel to you as well.

You see, the gospel is also for Christians, for believers.

And that's the big surprise.

It's not just for bad people.

It's also for those who think they are good.

It's for those who go to church and who read their Bibles.

They need the gospel just as much as everybody else.

As he makes it crystal clear in verse 16, he says,

I'm not ashamed of this gospel.

Because it's the power of God for the salvation of everyone.

Whether you are a committed Christian or a convinced atheist,

there is not one person in this room, speaker included,

who does not need the gospel.

Whether you're Irish or German, a believer or a non-believer,

moral or immoral,

this is a universal need.

And the big question we need to ask at the very beginning of our studies is,

what is this gospel?

Why does everybody need it?

It's such a common term that we come across in the Bible.

What is the gospel?

Well, simply, the gospel means good news.

Think of it this way.

In the past, when kings conquered lands and people,

they, after their great victories,

they would appoint an evangel.

Literally somebody who would bring the good news from the king to the people.

And you could imagine his message would go something like this.

He would go and stand up in the town square,

up high with his scroll,

and he would read his message,

the king has won a great victory for you.

You have now been rescued and set free.

You have been liberated from your oppressor.

Roll his scroll up and off he'd go.

So there was this great message from the king to the people.

Literally, it was the gospel.

It was good news.

And that's what gospel means.

It's just good news about a great rescue.

So in verse 9 we read that Paul, he says,

God whom I serve with my whole heart

in preaching the gospel of his son.

So Paul is also an evangel.

He has been appointed by God

to announce the good news,

literally the gospel to all people.

The good news that the Lord Jesus Christ,

the ultimate king, the true king,

has won a great victory for us.

Not by weapons and brute force,

but through his death on the cross.

Through the planned death of Jesus,

the punishment that we deserve

for rebelling against our king

has all been taken by Jesus

so that we can be set free

to live under his loving and caring rule.

This is what Paul had been appointed to do,

to announce,

to preach this gospel.

But what makes this gospel

particularly good news

is that it is news

that has been done for you.

This is a victory that has been achieved for you

by someone else,

but is ours to enjoy and celebrate.

And that's what makes it good news.

It's not about what you can do to get it,

but it's what has been done for you

by Jesus on the cross,

on our behalf.

So this gospel is good news.

And it's not just good news,

it's powerful good news.

Look at verse 16.

He says,

For I am not ashamed of this gospel,

because it is the power of God.

Now let's ask this question,

what does God's power look like?

If God's power were to show up

right now in this room,

what would you expect to see?

Maybe the room would start shaking.

That would be pretty powerful, wouldn't it?

It would be scary too

as things started falling off the wall.

Maybe you would expect

if God's power came,

there would be something miraculous.

Maybe there would be some healings going on.

That would be powerful.

Or maybe it might be something

very personal to you,

and there would be a change

in your circumstances.

You'd be given a brand new job,

or things that were really difficult

have all gone away.

That would be powerful.

But look what the verse says.

It says,

The gospel is the power of God.

God's power is contained

contained in the gospel.

The gospel isn't just

a demonstration of God's power.

If the room started shaking,

that would be a demonstration

of his power.

But it's saying that

the gospel is God's power.

So when this good news

is being announced

and being preached

that Jesus Christ

has come to rescue us

and set us free,

that's where

God's power

is seen to be active.

That means right now,

as we talk about this gospel,

as we begin to open it up,

God's power

is actually present

and is at work

right now

in my life

and in your life.

It's dynamite.

That's what that word means,

power.

That's where we get

the word dynamite from.

It's explosive.

It has an effect.

It can't not have an effect

in people.

It changes us

and it transforms us

and it brings us

the salvation

that we all desperately need.

So it's good news,

but it is powerful

good news.

So what does this message contain?

What's in it?

Well,

it's all about

Jesus Christ.

Look back at verse 2.

He says,

the gospel

that he promised

beforehand

through his prophets

in the Holy Scriptures

regarding

his son.

The gospel

is primarily

all about

Jesus Christ,

God's son.

it's not about

me

and it's not about

you

and it's not about

denominations

and it's not about

traditions.

It's not about

a list of things

we can't do

or what we can do.

It's all about

a person.

It's all about

Jesus Christ.

But who is he?

Well,

look at verse 3.

It says there,

who as to

his human nature.

nature.

It's reminding us

that he does have

another nature

as well.

There was never

a time

when Jesus

was not.

Jesus is eternal.

He's divine.

He was from

the beginning.

But as to

his human nature,

he was a

descendant

of David.

David.

He became

like one of us.

The great God

who created

the universe,

who's in control

of all things,

became like one of us.

A human being

with legs and arms,

just like you and I,

and entered into

this world.

A descendant

of David.

He could trace

his family line

all the way

right back

to that great

king,

David.

Jesus was in

the line

of royalty.

Verse 4,

and who through

the spirit

of holiness

was declared

with power

to be the

son of God

by his

resurrection

from the dead,

Jesus Christ

our Lord.

Now we could

read that

and get a little

confused and think

that suddenly

somehow Jesus

became the

son of God,

but Jesus

always has

been the

son of God.

But his

coming to earth,

and I think

what this verse

is saying to us

is that when

he came to

earth,

he took on

a new role.

And his

resurrection

from the dead

proves that

he has the

power to

fulfil this

role.

And his

role is summed

up in that

very last phrase

of verse 4,

Jesus Christ

our Lord.

These are both

titles telling

us about

Jesus.

Christ and

Lord tell us

who he is

and what he

will do.

Christ is

the Messiah,

this long

awaited

saving king.

Lord is

the eternal

ruling and

sovereign king.

So this

Jesus has

come both

to save

and to

judge and

he has the

power to do

it because

it has been

proved by

his resurrection

from the

dead.

So Jesus

is our

saving king

and he's

our sovereign

king,

not just

of us

or just

the religious

people.

He's king

of everyone.

And that's

why it is

essential that

we deal

with this

Jesus because

he has the

power both

to save us

and to

judge us.

we've got

to make

up our

minds and

think,

is what's

written here

absolute

hogwash and

a nonsense

and just

silly talk?

Or is it

actually true?

And if it

is true and

he is king,

what are we

going to do

with him?

Because he

demands that

he rules over

our lives.

He demands

that he is the

one who can

save us

and to

ignore him

as we'll

discover in

the coming

weeks is

really

disastrous.

So it's

all about

the person

of Jesus

Christ.

But the

second thing

I think at

the heart

of the

gospel is

that it's

all about

Jesus who

saves.

As verse

16 tells

us, have a

look at

verse 16

again.

He says,

I'm not

ashamed of

this gospel

because it

is the

power of

God for

the salvation

of everyone.

The gospel

is not

just advice

to people.

It's not a

good living

guide.

Sometimes

people treat

it and

they think

of it,

well it's

advice about

how to

live, what

to do in

this situation.

Kind of

flick open

your Bible

and, well,

I don't

know what

to do

about my

exams.

Flick it

open and

see what

it has to

do.

It's got

some kind

of advice

to help

you.

Or if

you're in

a difficult

situation.

Or maybe

people see

it as a

helpful system

for those

who are

weak and

vulnerable,

but if

you're

strong you

don't

need it.

It's

not just

advice.

And it's

not just

for the

enthusiastic

religious

people who

like reading

their Bibles.

No, it

tells us

that it

is God's

power to

save

everyone.

And how

does it

save?

Well, look

at verse

17.

It tells

us that

in the

gospel,

a

righteousness

from God

is revealed.

That's

what's in

the gospel.

You open

it up and

it's got

a righteousness

from God.

What's

all that

about?

Well, let

me try and

explain.

I don't

think there's

any of us

here who

have ever

treated

Jesus the

way he

ought to

be treated.

We don't

treat him

as if he

is the

true king.

Rather than

serve him,

we serve

ourselves.

We're always

on the

lookout for

ourselves and

what's good

for me.

And instead

of seeking

his fame,

we promote

ourselves.

We live as

if we are

God and

king, and

that this is

my world

to do

whatever I

want to

do with

my money

and my

time and

my possessions.

it never

occurs to

us that

we're not

at the

centre of

the

universe.

Now the

Bible's

word for

this kind

of living

is

unrighteousness.

It's saying

that we're in

opposition to

God, that

we don't have

right standing

with God.

And to face

God as we

are, like

that, would

be horrific.

We would be

left open to

his judgment

and that would

be terrible.

We wouldn't

be able to

stand.

But look

what it says

in verse 17.

It says,

but in the

gospel, a

righteousness

from God

is revealed.

It's telling

us that Jesus

can deal with

the problem

of rebellion.

He can deal

with our

deserved judgment.

He gives

us, literally,

he gives us

his own

righteousness.

There's a

great exchange

that takes

place.

He takes

our

unrighteousness

on himself

and he

places his

righteousness

on us.

So he

gives us

right standing

and favour

with God.

It brings

us salvation.

It radically

changes us

from the

inside out.

It makes

us brand

new people

to live a

completely

different way.

And all

of this will

happen as we

will see

through the

death of

Jesus on

the cross.

So it's

all about

a person,

Jesus Christ,

it's all

about his

salvation.

But how

do we

actually get

it?

How do

people actually

take this

in for

themselves?

Well, look

back at

verse 16

again.

He says,

I'm not ashamed

of the gospel

because it is

the power of

God for the

salvation of

everyone

who believes.

God for

God for

mankind.

He says,

it's true.

Plenty of

people can

believe something

it's true.

But the

word believe

here means to

trust or to

have faith in

something.

It's to

entrust your

whole life to

it.

If you were

sick and I

gave you a

little bottle

of medicine

and I said,

if you take

this it's going to help you it's going to cure you you could look at it and say yes i believe it

i believe that it says it's going to do what it says it's going to heal me it's going to make me

better but lots of people can believe it but never take it if you were to take the medicine you were

to entrust yourself to it and this is the kind of idea that we have here in belief belief means to

have trust or faith to give your life to it as verse 17 says the second part a righteousness

that is by faith from first to last from the very beginning to the very end it's all about faith

just as it's written the righteous will live by faith now there's something profoundly simple

about that but yet it's so difficult to grasp and here's why it's so simple there's nothing we can

do to get this salvation because it's already been done for us by jesus on the cross it's all been done

for you that's the message of the gospel it's a gift that you receive by faith that you take in for

yourself complete trust not in your own performance but the perfect performance of jesus it's so easy

it's so simple you've just got to take it but here's why it's so difficult to grasp every system

every religious belief every culture that we come from teaches that if you want something

you've got to do something to earn it and that's what makes christianity and the gospel so unique

there's absolutely nothing we can do it shatters the whole notion that if we want something we must earn it

but with the gospel this righteousness from god it comes by faith

and that troubles people because they all want to do something they all want to say well look at me and look at what i've done

but no it's all by faith

now if we begin to take this gospel on board into our lives

it's going to have a radical impact

it's going to turn us upside down no longer is it just words on a page and no longer is it just kind of

talk

but it's actually going to begin to change us and transform us

and i think there's two things here that are brought out that it's going to do to us

first of all the impact of the gospel in our lives is it's going to lead

to a global mission

we've already said that the gospel is universal it's for everyone there is no one on this planet to whom this does not apply

and it's god's desire to see that this gospel the good news about jesus is passed on that it's spread

and that's what we have in verse one paul who's been set apart

for the gospel of god he's been called he was converted he was changed he was given the gospel

and verse nine says he that he wants to be the servant of the gospel he wants to preach it in verse 15

he's so eager to preach it

but it seems now that he wants to go to other people

who have not heard this good news

have a flick over keep your finger in chapter one and go to romans chapter 15

Romans 15 · chapter mention

and verse 20

this really these couple of verses here really help us to understand why

he actually wrote the book

of romans wrote the letter

so in chapter 15 verse 20

this is paul he says

it has always been my ambition

to preach the gospel

where christ was not known

now down to verse 23

but now that there is no more place for me to work

guess that work is the same thing as preaching the gospel

there's no more places for me to do that in these regions

they've all been done

and since i have been longing for many years to see you

i plan to do so when i go to spain

because the people there haven't heard the gospel

at that stage they hadn't

and so i hope to visit you while passing through

and to have you assist me on my journey there

after i've enjoyed your company for a while

so he's wanting to take this gospel to new places to new lands

and once the gospel begins to impact us it changes our lives

so that we are incorporated into this global mission of god

if you have the gospel

you've got to have a global vision

once we've experienced this salvation

we will want to pass it on

and what's so amazing is that when we begin to pass on this good news

remember we said it's god's power at work

when we begin to announce this gospel

when we begin to speak it

begin to live it out

and begin to explain it to other people

then god's power begins to be demonstrated

god's power is at work

and people's lives begin to be changed

not because of who we are

not because we're perfect

we're messed up

we're sinful

not because of clever arguments

because half the time we never know what to say

but because of god's power

the power is contained in the message

and as the message go out

people are changed

and so we have a responsibility

just as paul did

to make sure that this gospel goes global

it's our job

to go and make jesus famous

so that people start talking about him

and for us that may mean there'll be some people here

going to different countries and different places

it may mean that we're having to look at our bank accounts

and our finances

and thinking well i could actually cut back here

and give a little bit more to support this other person

who's doing that

it's going to mean praying

it's going to mean starting where we are

right now with the people that god has given us

with our neighbours

or where we work

and beginning

to place the power of god

the gospel

in people's lives

and if we place the gospel in people's lives

it's dynamic

it'll begin to have an effect

but whatever we're going to do

we've got a responsibility

to make this

a global mission

and the other impact

that i think the gospel has

is that it will lead to

a united

community

paul knows that if this gospel

is going to go global

he's not going to be able to do it on his own

he needs the support of other people

he needs a community

he needs the church behind him

and the church that paul was writing to

as we'll see over the weeks

was very culturally

and religiously diverse

you had the jews on the one side

they were the religious elite

and they were very proud of their religious background

and they saw themselves as far superior

to those pagan gentiles

they hadn't a religious bone in their body

we're much better than them

and then the two of them are together in the church

and not only that

you had these uneducated Greeks

who didn't do very well in their leaving church

and they didn't manage to get to university

and they saw themselves as very inferior

to those other Greeks

who were very well educated

and very well spoken

and did terribly well in life

and so you have this right mishmash of people

and this diversity has potential for division

in fact it was causing problems

and how does he tackle it all?

well as we see in verse 14

he says I am bound both to Greeks

and to the non-Greeks

both to the wise and the foolish

I don't care who you are

that is why I'm so eager

to preach the gospel to you

he deals with this division

by preaching the gospel

because the gospel is a great leveller

it brings us all back onto the same playing field

because we all need the gospel

because Jesus has done it all

because it can only be received by faith

it makes us all equal

no one can think of themselves as superior

and nobody needs to feel inferior

as he reminds them in chapter 15 verse 7

after a long long section about unity

and trying to bring them together

he says this in verse 7

he says accept one another then

just as Christ accepted you

in order to bring praise to God

don't be falling out with each other

accept each other

be joined together in partnership in the gospel

come on board with me

I'm coming to visit you

and then you can help me as I go off to Spain

be united in one purpose

or as he reminds them in chapter 1 verse 7

to all in Rome

who are loved by God

and called to be saints

he doesn't refer to them as

to the Jews loved by God

or to the Gentiles

they're all saints

educated or uneducated

whether they passed their exams

or whether they didn't pass their exams

they're all saints

now look at us

we're a pretty mixed bunch of people

aren't we

there's different nationalities

represented here

we've got different cultures

we've all got different family experiences

some of us have more money than others

some of us have jobs

some of us don't

some of us do well in university

some of us struggle

and there's great potential for division

great potential for superiority

and inferiority

but when we begin to apply the gospel

we're suddenly all reminded that

we're all equal

we all need the gospel

nobody is above anybody else

we're united as one

we have one common goal and purpose

and what unites us together

is to see this gospel

this good news

spread to our friends

and our family

and all the different contacts

that we have

you see

once the gospel

begins to impact

our lives

it doesn't just leave us

as isolated people

enjoying my nice little relationship

with God over in the corner

we're incorporated

into the community of God

into the family of God

where all other differences

are all taken away

and we are united together

as one people

with one purpose

and one goal

the gospel is powerful

it can't not

impact our lives

the gospel

is good news

it is powerful good news

and it's a gospel

for everyone

let's pray together

our father God

we thank you

that there have been people

who have bothered

to pass on the gospel

the good news to us

we thank you

for the power of God

at work in our lives

to save us

and to change us

we thank you

that it is not about

what I

or we can do

but all about

what Jesus

has done

thank you for the

wonderful fact

that we can be

united together

as one people

with one purpose

to reach

the world

our local community

our friends

with the gospel

help us

help us to have

courage

not in

ourselves

but confidence

in the power

of your message

that when it is

spoken

it begins to

change

father

keep changing us

to be the people

you want us to be

we ask this in

Jesus name

amen

amen

you