We pray the word, we recite the word, sing the word, we see the word in the ordinances, and we preach the word.
Paul, in his final letter, wrote to his prodigy Timothy, in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, you're probably familiar.
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
That the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work.
It has its very source as God. It is sufficient for the task of making us holy in Christ.
And then I think, in this case, the chapter break doesn't serve us well because Paul goes on to say to Timothy,
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom.
Right? So there's a weighty thing that needs to be talked about.
Verse 2, he says, preach the word.
Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.
And then he tells Timothy why.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to soothe their own passions,
and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
So his response to this coming reality, the time is coming and is now here, I'm sure that Timothy experienced in his day as well, is to preach.
To continue to open up the word and to proclaim it.
The spirit of God wields the word of God to bring about transformation in his people for the praise of his name.
And we don't see this most regularly in big and astounding ways, but in little, patient, steadfast ways.
This happens prominently as we study God's word together.
Secondly, I am grateful to be in fellowship with believers who want the word preached and not necessarily preached by me.
The following are five reasons that I don't preach every single Sunday.
It's by design. It's a strategy.
And here they are in ascending order.
That means that this gets more important as I go along.
So least important to more important.
Minor to major.
First, it's simply good for me.
I've been on sabbatical for the past five weeks, and it was good that I could take a time away and to do that.
It's good for my family.
It's good for me to sit with them and sing with them and lead my boys in what it looks like to be churchmen.
For them not to resent the church as the thing that always took daddy away.
Secondly, it's good for me just to have some time to catch up on other things.
I've told you all before that usually the weeks that I don't preach are the busiest weeks because I feel like I have infinite time available to me, and I pack it very full to be in prayer and study, to counsel, to develop leaders, etc.
Third, it is good for us as a church to develop future leaders by giving other men the opportunity to preach.
Men have varying teaching gifts which are improved by practice.
Public gospel preachers are both born and they are made.
So it's good for us to give men opportunity to stretch their legs and to give it a try and to get helpful feedback.
And it's much different to preach a sermon in front of a congregation than in a preaching class.
Number four, it is good for you to hear the gospel preached in other voices and from unique perspectives.
Things said differently.
I'm going to get into a repetition of phrasing, and it's good for you to hear stuff afresh from someone else.
You and I need to witness the manifold grace of God in the life of his people.
How is the gospel at work in us, not just in me?
And fifth and finally, it is good for you to value the word of God preached, proclaimed, not necessarily a particular person doing so.
And this is so very countercultural.
Many churches have become cults of personality.
Praise God that I can go away for five weeks.
Y'all kept coming.
That's amazing.
Maybe you came to hear Zach preach, and maybe you'll leave now that I'm back.
I don't know.
I hope not.
But it's helpful for us to see Jesus Christ as the head of the church.
Pastors are only ever under-shepherds of the great shepherd.
And it's good for us all, including myself.
It's good for me to be away and see the Lord hold it together using the many efforts of y'all.
So it's really good that I don't preach every Sunday.
In fact, I have a constraining quota.
I'm only supposed to preach half the Sundays that we're together.
And it's kept track of.
Your elders ask me, it seems like it's been a little bit.
How many weeks have you been preaching now?
It's good for us to be okay with this.
And I hope you will join me this morning in enjoying God's manifold grace to our congregation
as his word is preached every Sunday, not necessarily by me.
Now, that said, we are going to try something new, a little bit different.
But, although not a dramatic departure, we think as a general habit, the church is best served by verse-by-verse exposition.
So I mentioned we're starting the book of Romans this morning.
But for the sake of continuity, typically what we would do is we would split it up amongst different guys that are preaching.
But it has been suggested as a thing to try that when I'm preaching, I'll be preaching the book of Romans.
And it was asked to me at that time, like, what would you want to preach?
And I said, okay, Romans, that's what we want to preach.
If I get to preach the whole book, I definitely want to preach the book of Romans.
But we will still take some breaks from Romans.
And we'll have some verse-by-verse expositions of text in between my preaching in Romans.
So that's where we're headed.
I wanted you to be both aware of what we'll be doing and why we'll be doing it.
Now to Romans, which I argue is the greatest lever ever written.
It is placed in our canon at the beginning of Paul's epistles.
Some say because it's the longest, but I strongly disagree.
I think because it is the most important.
Martin Luther wrote of the book of Romans,
This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and is truly the purest gospel.
It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word by heart,
but also that he should occupy himself with it every day as the daily bread of the soul.
We can never read it or ponder over it too much,
for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.
How phenomenal, right?
Martin Luther said,
At the very center of our practice together,
we ought to be memorizing and meditating on this letter.
I will add that we will have keener minds to understand the rest of Scripture
if we can get Romans right.
So we have both a significant and a delightful work ahead of us.
Paul most probably wrote Romans from Corinth in A.D. 57.
There's a little bit of dispute over this, but most have settled in on this,
and that he intended it to precede a visit to the church located in Rome.
It is his most fully formed theological work,
but it should not be thought to be a complete summary of Paul's theological mind.
It is not Paul's systematic theology.
He does not, for example, address in detail the doctrine of Christ,
like he does in Colossians,
or the church like he does in Ephesians,
or the last days like he does in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
The thrust of the entirety of Paul's letter to the Romans is this.
If you can get your mind into this,
this is the thrust of it.
This is where he's going.
Salvation by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
And I am looking forward to unpacking this with you in the coming months,
which will likely turn into years.
So all that said,
let's begin with the first four verses of Romans chapter 1.
Before I read them, let me remind you, beloved,
this is God's word to us,
written for his glory and our good.
We would all do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and to obey its commands.
Romans 1, verses 1 through 4.
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.
In the beginning of the salutation
of Paul's letter to Roman believers,
he establishes the authority
by which he writes.
And it is theologically rich.
We'll skip a stone off of it this morning.
This morning's outline will follow three points,
which are available to you on your bulletin,
should you like to take notes.
Number one, the authority of Paul.
Number two, the authority of the Bible.
And number three, the authority of Jesus Christ.
Firstly, the authority of Paul we see in verse one.
In Paul's introduction of himself
as the writer of this letter,
he gives to his readers three titles for himself.
First, he calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus.
The word servant could also be translated bond servant.
Mosaic law provided for an indentured servant
to permanently become a bondservant of a master
that he loved and respected.
A voluntary servanthood.
The term signifies total ownership
and total obedience.
That is to say that Paul viewed himself
as belonging completely to Christ Jesus
and called to a complete obedience to Christ Jesus.
Not a pick and choose kind of faith.
Paul is saying, I belong to him
and therefore I serve at his whim.
And note here that Paul,
as he introduces himself in this letter,
begins, he starts with humility.
Even as he is establishing his authority,
he recognizes that it is a granted authority.
Paul could have begun with his apostleship.
Rather significant position that he held.
He is authoring this letter
toward the end of his third missionary journey.
He could have began with his mission credentials.
Credentials.
Was no greater missionary than Paul in his day.
He had traveled further and accomplished more.
But he doesn't do either of these things.
He begins with his servant status.
He begins with humility
that all praise might belong to Christ.
He says, I am Paul.
I am a servant of Christ Jesus.
He goes on to say that he was called to be an apostle.
The word translated apostle simply means sent one.
So in a sense,
everyone who belongs to Christ is sent into the world,
light in a dark place,
city on a hill.
That's not what Paul is referring to here.
He's specifically referring to his calling
that's only shared with 12 other men.
The calling of apostle as a formal title.
Think capital A, apostle.
And I will say without reservation,
there was nobody else beyond Paul
called to be an apostle in this way.
Paul did not volunteer for the role,
but he was divinely appointed.
And he founds the authority of his ministry
on this calling.
Listen to what he says in Galatians chapter one.
There in verse one,
he introduces himself,
Paul, an apostle,
not from men nor through man,
but through Jesus Christ
and God the Father
who raised him from the dead.
And then he says on in chapter one of Galatians
verse 11 and 12,
for I would have you know, brothers,
that the gospel that was preached by me
is not man's gospel.
For I did not receive it from any man,
nor was I taught it,
but I received it through a revelation
of Jesus Christ.
This calling was not a feeling
that Paul experienced,
but it was an encounter
with the risen Christ.
This is unique and it is significant.
We see a record of this
in Acts chapter nine.
We know that Paul has been commissioned
to go and take captive
those who are claiming the name of Christ
to imprison them.
And in verse three of Acts nine says,
now as he went on his way,
he approached Damascus
and suddenly a light from heaven
shone around him
and falling to the ground,
he heard a voice saying to him,
Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?
And he said,
who are you, Lord?
And he said,
I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting.
He encountered the risen Christ.
Not only that,
but Paul was also schooled
by the risen Christ.
I just read to you Galatians chapter one,
verse 11 and 12.
The gospel didn't come to him by man.
He received it through a revelation of Christ.
And then in Galatians 1, 15 and following,
Paul says,
but when he would set me apart
before I was born
and called me by his grace,
was pleased to reveal his son to me
in order that I might preach him
among the Gentiles,
I did not immediately consult with anyone.
Now that's the ESV.
That's the end of verse 16.
I did not consult with anyone,
but I prefer the translation
of the New American Standard Bible
in this case.
It says,
I did not immediately consult
with flesh and blood.
Verse 17,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem
to those who were apostles before me,
but I went away into Arabia
and returned again to Damascus.
Then after three years,
I went up to Jerusalem
to visit Cephas.
It's the Greek name for Peter
and remained with him 15 days.
And so it's understood
that Paul is led away
into a school with Christ.
That Jesus spends these three years
teaching him
and he comes back
to confirm the things
that he has been taught.
He comes and he spends time
with Peter a little over two weeks,
being sure that he's clear
and he understands
before he goes on this ministry.
to the Gentiles.
So he is an apostle,
called to be an apostle.
And thirdly,
he says of himself
that he is set apart
for the gospel of God.
Paul was a servant
and a sent one
with a particular purpose.
And it is very easy
to be distracted
with lots of purposes.
But Paul was clear
that he was to be
a proclaimer
of the good news
of Jesus Christ.
The good news,
he will spend
the rest of this book
extolling.
So on these three titles,
Paul establishes
his authority to speak
and he ought to be
listened to.
Significant.
Don't miss
what Paul is saying
about who he is,
who he has been
made in Christ.
This kind of writing
is precious
and we so often
take it for granted.
And I want to read
to you at this point
a short excerpt
from the Pilgrim's Progress.
I commend this to you
all the time
and then I also joke
if you stick around long enough
I'll read the entirety
of it to you
in bits and pieces
but I think you'll
appreciate it
read linearly.
And there's a character
in it
named Christian.
And in the middle
of his conversion experience
he's led to a house
that is the interpreter's house.
And there are lessons
there
taught to him.
So I want to pick up
just a couple paragraphs here
when Christian arrives
at the house
and he says,
Sir,
I am a man
who has come
from the city
of destruction
and I am going
to Mount Zion.
I was told
by the man
who stands
at the entrance gate
to this way
that if I called here
the house of the interpreter
!
You would show me
excellent things
that would help me
on my journey.
Then said the interpreter
come in
I will show you
those things
that will be profitable
to you.
So he commanded
his servant
to light the candle
and then asked Christian
to follow him
to a private room
that when the man's
servant opened the door
revealed a picture
of a very grave person
hanging on the wall.
It was an empty room
with a photo
a painting perhaps
on the wall
of a serious person.
This is what the man
in the picture
looked like.
He had eyes
lifted up to heaven
the best of books
in his hand
the law of truth
written upon his lips
the world
behind his back.
He stood as if
pleading with men
and a crown of gold
hung over his head.
Then said Christian
what does this mean?
The man in this picture
represents one of a thousand.
He can conceive children
travail in birth
with children
and nurse them himself
when they are born.
And Bunyan was not
gender confused
just to be clear.
You see him
with his eyes
lifted up to heaven
the best of books
in his hand
and the law of truth
written on his lips.
All this is to show you
that his work
is to know
and unfold
dark things
to sinners.
You see him
pleading with men
the world cast behind him
and a crown
hanging over his head
to show you
that by rejecting
and despising
the things
of this present world
for the love
that he has
for his master's service
he is sure
to have glory
as his reward
in the world to come.
I have shown you
this picture first
because the man
whom it represents
is the only man
authorized by the Lord
of the place
where you are going
to be your guide
in all the difficult places
you will encounter
on the way.
So pay attention
to what I have shown you
and keep this picture
foremost in your mind
so that if you meet
with someone
who doesn't resemble
this picture's likeness
but who pretends
to lead you
in the right way
you will not
follow him down
to destruction.
And I say to you
we know that we
hold in our hands
the inspired word
of God
but I just
on that point
want to commend
Paul to you
as that kind
of man.
A man with his eyes
fixed toward heaven
the world behind
looking to
plead with us
that we might believe
the gospel.
we should listen
to him.
Second,
let's talk a bit
about the authority
of the Bible.
What did Paul
think
of the scriptures?
He had a very
high
view
of the scriptures
of his day
which is what we have
as our Old
Testament.
Paul had been
to the seminary
of his time.
He was trained
as a Pharisee
under the tutelage
of a highly
esteemed teacher
of the law
a man named
Gamaliel.
He knew
what the prophets
of his Bible
predicted about
the Christ
and he knew
that the promises
of the Old Testament
had now been
kept in the person
and work
of Jesus.
Shortly
in this letter
he will proclaim
in verse 16
I am not ashamed
of the gospel
for it is the power
of God
for salvation
to everyone
who believes.
Paul is going
to root
the assertions
of this letter
that we are saved
by grace alone
through faith alone
in the person
and work
of Jesus Christ alone.
He's going to root
that in
God's
word.
We will see him
time and time
again
quote the Old Testament
as an appeal
to see
and savor.
the gospel.
It is astounding
to me
that Paul
as an apostle
carried along
by the Spirit
in the writing
of these letters
still so values
the word of God
already spoken
that it gets
brought into the text
again
and again
This is the
very purpose
that he has been
set apart for
the proclamation
of the gospel
and he has
great confidence
to do so
because of his
belief in the
authority of God
and therefore
the authority
of his word.
So
he will
proclaim it.
He will speak
boldly of the
judgment of God
and he will speak
boldly
of the grace
of God.
He will plumb
the depths
of God's
sovereign purpose
in salvation
and he will
call us
to obedient
faith
all because
he believes
in the authority
of a God
who has given
to us
this gospel.
Paul was a man
uniquely used
of God
in the history
of the world.
He was a man
that by God's grace
turned the world
upside down
as he was accused
of.
He was a man
of conviction
conviction
and we can see
at least in part
where that conviction
came from
his understanding
his illuminated
understanding
of the scripture.
He knew
that the
gospel
the word
of God
was powerful
and it totally
changed the
trajectory of his
life.
He lived for it
he died for it.
the power
of the gospel.
Charles Spurgeon
once said
this is on your
bulletin
if you'd like
to follow along
quote
see what vitality
the gospel
has
plunge her
under the wave
and she rises
the pure
for her washing
thrust her
in the fire
and she comes
out the more
bright for her
burning
cut her in
thunder
and each piece
shall make
another church
behead her
and like the
hydra of old
she shall have
a hundred heads
for every one
you cut away
she cannot die
she must live
for she has
the power
of God
within her
and beloved
we have all
the more
reason to be
confident
in this text
because of
the faithfulness
of men
like Paul
carried along
by the spirit
help us
to understand
we have all
the more reason
to be bold
in the gospel
and bold
in the entirety
of God's
word
so we see
Paul express
his authority
we see his
expression of
the authority
of the scripture
and also
and most
importantly
the authority
of Jesus
Christ
see the last
two verses
this gospel
message
the scripture
declared
was concerning
God's
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
Paul begins
speaking of
Christ
as the
son of
God
which is a
great statement
of Jesus
divinity
he is
himself
God
and this
is an
example
on Paul's
part
of a
fulfillment
of the
prophetic
word
you could
see
Psalm
chapter 2
in verse
7
and it is
very difficult
for my mind
not to draw
a straight line
from Romans
chapter 1
verse 2
and 3
to Hebrews
chapter 1
verse 1
and 2
where the
author of
Hebrews
who many
say was
Paul
I think
it was
Apollos
but
that's
neither here
nor there
writes
long ago
at many
times
and in
many ways
God
spoke to
our
fathers
by
the
prophets
but in
these
last days
he has
spoken to
us
by his
son
whom he
appointed
the heir
of all
things
through
whom
also
he
created
the
world
so
for
Paul
to
begin
speaking
of
Christ
as
the
son
of
God
has
a
massive
significance
packed
into
it
which
we
don't
have
all
the
time
we
would
like
for
this
morning
but
we
will
spend
the rest
of
this
life
and
in
the
life
to
come
for
eternity
figuring out
all
that that
means
Paul
goes on
to give
an example
of another
fulfillment
of the
prophetic
word
concerning
Jesus'
humanity
so his
divinity
and now
his
humanity
an
example
Jeremiah
23
in
verse
5
behold
the
days
are
coming
declares
the
Lord
when I
will
raise
up
for
David
a
righteous
branch
and he
shall
reign
as
king
and deal
wisely
and shall
execute
justice
and
righteousness
in the
land
so he
is
God's
son
and he
is
in
the
flesh
descended
from
David
he's
hearkening
back
to
these
types
of
predictions
of
who
the
Christ
would
be
Paul
then
says
in
verse
4
that
his
confidence
in
the
authority
of
Jesus
Christ
his
confidence
that
he
is
in
fact
the
Messiah
comes
in
power
from
the
spirit
of
holiness
through
Jesus'
resurrection
just
think
about
it
Paul
was
a
success
in
terms
of
the
religion
of
his
day
he
had
prominence
and
he
had
esteem
he
was
a
high
achiever
top
of
his
class
kind
of
guy
he
had
been
educated
in
the
best
school
he
was
being
given
important
assignments
he
had
a
platform
and
he
had
a
following
what
would
cause
a
man
like
that
to
give
up
all
of
it
everything
Paul
encountered
the
living
Christ
he
knew
that
all
he
had
believed
was
realized
in
Jesus
he
knew
that
Jesus
was
the
fulfillment
of
the
promises
of
God
because
he
was
crucified
and
buried
but
rose
from
that
grave
three
days
later
Paul
encountered
him
spent
time
with
him
this
risen
Christ
and
it
radically
transformed
him
by
the
spirit
here's
Paul's
words
from
Philippians
chapter
three
he
is
making
the
case
to
the
Philippian
believers
that
we
can't
have
confidence
in
our
flesh
in
our
works
and
he
says
beginning
in
verse
three
and
following
for
we
are
the
circumcision
who
worship
by
the
spirit
of
God
and
glory
in
Christ
Jesus
and
put
no
confidence
in
the
flesh
he
says
then
though
I
myself
have
reason
for
confidence
in
the
flesh
also
if
anyone
else
thinks
he
has
reason
for
confidence
in
the
flesh
I
have
more
circumcised
on the
eighth
day
of
the
people
of
Israel
of
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
a
Hebrew
of
Hebrews
as
to
the
law
a
Pharisee
as
to
zeal
a
persecutor
of
the
church
as
to
righteousness
under
law
blameless
top
of
his
game
then
he
says
in
verse
seven
but
whatever
gain
I
had
I
counted
as
loss
for
the
sake
of
Christ
indeed
I
counted
everything
as
loss
because
of
the
surpassing
worth
of
knowing
Christ
Jesus
my
Lord
for
his
sake
I
have
suffered
the
loss
of
all
things
and
count
them
as
rubbish
garbage
in
order
that
I
may
gain
Christ
radically
encountered
the power
of the
risen
Christ
Paul
through the
intervening
work of
God
came to
believe
that all
his effort
to be made
right before
God
was worthless
apart from
faith
in Jesus
Christ
again
we are
saved
justified
made right
before God
by grace
alone
through
faith
alone
in the
person
and work
of
Jesus
Christ
alone
this is
the good
news
of the
gospel
every
world
religion
invites
its
adherents
to
climb
a
mountain
that
they
might
know
the
God
or
gods
of
that
particular
religion
lays
forth
the
philosophy
and the
rules
by which
adherents
must
obey
our
God
because of
his great
loving kindness
and mercy
in the
accomplished
work of
his son
and by
the power
of his
spirit
comes down
the mountain
to us
and offers
to carry
us to the
top
to abide
with him
forever
this
is good
news
it is because
of this
accomplished
work of
Christ
that he
is called
Lord
that he
reigns
now
and
forever
more
this is
such good
news
it is
news
worth
living
for
as
Paul
did
it is
news
worth
dying
for
as
Paul
did
it is
a news
that he
would have
you hear
and believe
and give
your whole
self
to
beloved
I am
eager
to talk
with you
each
Lord's
day
given
the
opportunity
Lord
willing
about
this
good
news
let's
pray
together