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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
you