As a youth, I lived a hedonistic lifestyle.
My friends and I would get together
and we would boast of our sexual exploits with women.
I was into philosophy
and was actively involved in a sect for nine years.
I began an affair with a young woman
and she was my lover for 13 years
and she gave birth to our son.
I came to Christ, I ditched my lover
and I am famous for my prayer,
grant me chastity and continence but not yet.
Who am I?
There was a certain ambiguity, that's right.
But let me tell you that sects and philosophy did not do it for me
and one day I threw myself down under a fig tree
and I cried my eyes out and I repeatedly said to the Lord,
how long, O Lord, how long, Lord, will you be angry to the uttermost?
Do not be mindful of my old sins
for I felt my past have a grip on me
and it uttered wretched cries,
how long, how long is it to be?
Tomorrow, tomorrow, why not now?
Why not put an end to my impure life in this very hour?
Who am I?
And as I was saying this
and weeping in the bitter agony of my heart,
suddenly I heard a voice from a nearby house
chanting as if it might be a boy or a girl
saying and repeating over and over again,
pick up and read, pick up and read.
And I hurried to the place where I'd put down the book
and I seized it and I opened it
and in silence I read the first passage on which my eyes lit
and it said,
not in riots and drunken parties,
not in eroticism and indecencies,
not in strife and rivalry,
but put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts.
Romans 13.
And I neither wished nor heeded to read further at once
with the last words of this sentence,
it was as if a light of relief
from all anxiety flooded into my heart
and all the shadows of doubt were dispelled.
Who am I?
And if you are here this morning,
you can help us with the answer.
Augustine.
Look at that, they're trying to be very quiet down the front.
You did a great job.
Augustine.
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa
which is in the country of Algeria these days
and it was written,
God spoke a life-changing message,
a life-changing word to Augustine
in 387 AD
out of Paul's letter to the Romans.
And so as we come to Romans,
we are coming to a book
where God has given us a message
with the power to transform people.
Now we're going to spend a few weeks sampling Romans,
we're not trying to cover the lot,
we're just dipping our toe in,
we're spending a fair bit of time in chapter one
and then we're going to bounce to three other chapters on the way.
In places it is a really difficult book,
it's a wonderful book,
it's the most complete explanation
of the Christian faith in the Bible,
it deals with sin and justification and righteousness
and God's sovereign purposes for his,
God's sovereign choices,
his justice,
God's eternal purposes for his people,
the place of the Jews and the nations
and how they should relate,
how they might live with one another in Christ.
If you go back across church history,
you actually see that there's a whole series
of really famous Christians
that have been converted
by encountering the words of this book.
So people like Augustine
and Martin Luther in the Reformation
and George Whitefield
in some of the revivals
that happened in England
and the United States
and John Wesley who wrote hymns
and was a great preacher,
they all credit the letter to the Romans
with their conversion
and their establishment in Christ.
I can tell you
that when I came to Christ in 1977,
I joined a Bible study group
which I'd never been part of before,
never knew what they were
and our leader took us
through Luke's Gospel that first year
and I think in a way
grounded me in the faith
but the place where he went the second year,
he took us verse by verse,
passage by passage
through the book of Romans
and it was just a life-changing
eye-opening place to come to
in terms of being established in Christ
and established in the Scriptures.
I'd really like you to have it open,
so if you've got Bibles with you tonight,
have it open at Romans chapter 1.
And it begins,
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God
and then in verse 7,
to all those in Rome
who are loved by God
and called to be saints,
grace to you
and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
So you see that Paul is a letter
and its author is the apostle Paul.
If you jump to the very end of Romans
to chapter 16 verse 22
and don't go there,
it says,
I, Tertius,
who wrote this letter,
greet you in the Lord.
And so the words of the letter
are the apostle Paul's,
but they are written down
by a scribe by the name of Tertius.
It's a letter which is written
to believers in Rome
and he describes them
as everybody who is loved by God
and who is called to be holy.
It's a grand letter.
It's about God's really big picture purposes
in Christ.
And it begins again.
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.
So God's message is a person,
Jesus Christ.
And Paul is not politically correct.
He just comes straight out
and unashamedly says,
I am a slave of Jesus Christ.
I think every one of your English translations
says a servant of Jesus Christ,
but it actually says,
I'm a slave of Jesus Christ.
I'm not ashamed to be a slave of Jesus Christ.
I have been called into his servants.
I have been given a mission.
My life has become one
of total obligation to Christ.
I was transformed in a moment
on the Damascus road
when the Lord Jesus confronted me
about my hatred of the Lord
and my hatred of his people.
And I have come to know
and to treasure the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he tells the story about his coming,
not here,
but in numbers of places
in the New Testament.
And in Acts 26,
he says it in a very short way.
He says,
he tells the story again,
he says,
I said when I heard the voice,
who are you, Lord?
And the Lord said,
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand upon your feet
for I have appeared to you
for this very purpose,
to appoint you as a servant
and witness to the things
in which you have seen me
and to those things
in which I will appear to you,
delivering you from your people
and from the Gentiles
to whom I am sending you,
the nations to whom I am sending you.
He has been brought
from darkness to light.
The Lord Jesus has saved him
for a purpose.
He has commissioned him
for a task.
He's an apostle.
It means a sent one.
He's been sent by Jesus
and God has sent him
to the nations
with his momentous announcement
about the Lord Jesus Christ,
God's great news.
And in verse 2,
it says about this message,
it says,
this is a message
which God 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.
Now it's a mouthful
and it's earful
and this is harder work
than some of the passages
we come to sometimes.
But it's a much anticipated message.
He's saying to us,
this is a message
about God's king
which was promised
in the Old Testament.
The prophets were looking forward
to the day
when God's king
would be revealed.
And this king was born
into a human family.
He was born
into Joseph and Mary's family.
And his human ancestry
goes back
to King David.
But he says more than that,
he's not just got human ancestry,
he's got divine ancestry.
It was proved
when the spirit of God
raised him from the dead.
And so you hear
and you read in this passage
that Father,
Son and Holy Spirit
are all working together.
God's gospel
is about the Father's Son
who became flesh
and died
and was raised from the dead
by the power of God's Spirit.
So,
this is not
impersonal theology.
This is not
dry and dusty stuff.
It's not an academic exercise.
It's not like
bringing Jesus down
and putting him in the slab
and the morgue
and pulling him into bits
and saying,
oh, that's interesting.
He's got vessels
and a heart
and kidneys
and a brain
and
this is very personal.
Paul refers
very personally
to Jesus Christ
our Lord.
He's somebody
that he knew
and he writes
to people
who know him
personally as well.
I think it's
one of the great evidences
of true Christian faith
in somebody's life.
You know,
to be able to call Jesus
my Lord
was a huge change
for me
when I came to Christ
because for the first time
my prayers changed
from being
dear God
to dear
Lord Jesus.
I knew him
and I began
to understand
how important
he is
and I saw
that Christian faith
is personal
and it's relationship
it's not religion
and Jesus
is not somebody
that we know about
and we recite
facts about
he is somebody
that we know
he is not just
God who is out there
he's God
in here.
So Romans
is a letter
which is written
to Christians
who know a person
their Lord
Jesus Christ
but there are also
clues here
to the big picture
purpose of this letter
and it's verse 5
it says
through whom
we have received
grace and apostleship
to bring about
the obedience
of faith
for the sake
of his name
among all the nations
including you
who are called
to belong
to Jesus Christ.
So Paul's been given
this apostolic mission
for a purpose
it's God's purpose
it's not his purpose
and the purpose
expressed here
is to bring about
the obedience
of faith
for the sake
of his name
God's name
among all the nations.
It's an interesting
expression
it's a strange expression
it's only used
in one other place
in the New Testament
and that's in Romans
chapter 16
verse 26
and right at the end
of Romans
it says
but this has now
been disclosed
and through the prophetic
writings
has been made known
to all nations
according to the command
of the eternal God
to bring about
the obedience
of faith.
So the letter
begins with the expression
it ends with the expression
and you could say
in marketing terms
and I think it's a pretty
crass way to speak
about the scriptures
but in marketing terms
God's gospel
is results orientated.
God has a purpose
and his purpose
is to bring men
and women
and boys
and girls
to himself
we are brought
to the obedience
of faith.
To come to Christ
is to be brought
to the obedience
of faith.
I don't know
if you've ever
talked about
you coming to Christ
in those terms before
but that's a scriptural way
of saying
you have been brought
to the obedience
of faith.
Very strange expression.
He could have said
something like
well you've been brought
to the obedience
of good works
but he doesn't.
He says
to the obedience
of faith
and he's highlighting
for us
that God
wants us
to obey him
by putting
our faith
and trust
in him.
To believe
in him.
So if you ask
the question
would you want
to be obedient
to God
and I think
everybody here
probably wants
to be obedient
to God
well what does
that mean?
You can't live
a good enough
life
believe
the gospel.
Be obedient
to the gospel
believe
what God
has said.
So God
has purposes
he has strategy
and his strategy
is to tell
who Christ
is and what
he has done
as far
and wide
as you possibly
can
into all
the world.
God
but obedience
of faith
is not
about doing
a whole lot
of good
works
to achieve
our salvation
it is doing
the one
thing that
God asks
us to do
in response
to what
Christ has
done
and that
is to
believe him.
I love
this story
there's a story
in a biography
of a bloke
called John
Chapman
and most of
you won't
know who
he was
but he
was a
pretty famous
preacher
around Sydney
for a number
of years
he's an
older man
now
and he
tells a
story in
his biography
about preaching
at Sydney
University
one day
and I'm
going to
read you
verbatim
what he
says
you may
have heard
me use
it before
but I
was talking
to a young
bloke
after a
uni meeting
and he
said to me
that what
he was going
to do
was live
it up
until the
end of
his life
have a
really great
time
and then
just before
he died
he would
become a
Christian
and I
said to
him
well how
do you
know
that you'll
be able
to become
one at
the end
and he
said I
could become
a Christian
whenever I
like
and I
said you
can only
become one
when God
says
and he
insisted
that he
could do
it so I
said well
if it's
easy as
that why
don't you
give us
a demo
why don't
you show
me how
you'll pull
it off
how you'll
do it by
becoming a
Christian
right now
if it's
that easy
you'll be able
to pull it
off anytime
wouldn't
you
yeah
but right
now I
don't want
to
come on
you aren't
trying very
hard
if you can
really do
it do it
now should
be a piece
of cake
and he
started to
get a bit
touchy
I don't
want to
try a bit
harder
want to
I don't
want to
well
I said
that's the
problem isn't
it
what makes
you think
you'll want
to at
the end
young man
was having
himself on
he had
seen and
heard the
truth about
the Lord
Jesus Christ
he knew it
was true
he knew it
had consequences
into eternity
but for the
present he
refused to
believe his
heart was in
fact very
hard to
God
he was
outside the
kingdom
he had not
been brought
to the
obedience of
faith
he refused
to exercise
faith
it was an
act of the
will to
say I
don't want
God
big question
for me with
Romans 1
and it's
probably not
even occurring
to you at
the moment
but I want
to take you
there and
it is why
does Paul
want to
minister in
Rome
the gospel
was already
there
the church
had begun
it was
established
without his
influence
in chapter 1
verse 14
he said I
am obligated
both to
Greeks and
non-Greeks
both to the
wise and the
foolish and
that is why
I am so eager
to preach the
gospel also to
you who are
at Rome
who is he
obligated to
it's there in
the verse
Greeks and
non-Greeks
who isn't he
obligated to
people here
this morning
got to keep
quiet
who isn't
he obligated
to
I'm not
under
obligation
to
the Jews
well done
Tashi
he doesn't
say the Jews
I'm not
under obligation
to the Jews
but I am
under obligation
to the Greeks
and the non-Greeks
the barbarians
the babblers
in other words
he describes
the whole of
the world
outside Judaism
and why is he
saying that
because he's
the apostle
to the nations
they're the
ones that I
have been
sent to
even though
I always
preach to
the Jews
when I
first come
to a city
they are
the ones
I've been
sent to
I've been
sent to
the nations
and I
am under
obligation
to them
but at the
end of Romans
in chapter 15
he says
it's always
been my
ambition to
preach the
gospel where
Christ was
not known
so that I
would not be
building on
someone else's
foundation
and you read
that and you
think well he
seems to
contradict himself
on the one
hand he's
saying I
am eager to
preach the
gospel to
you and on
the other my
ambition is to
preach the
gospel where
Christ is not
known but he
knows it's
known there
and I think he
gives some
reasons in
verse 11
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 nations
now I want to
explain something
quickly to you
that that is
quite tricky
so I need you
to listen it's a
little bit
different I want
to give some
history in the
year 49 AD
so this is and
the letter to
Romans is written
in 58 AD
nine years before
Romans was
written the
emperor Claudius
kicked all the
Jews out of
Rome and
there's a Roman
historian called
Suetonius who
is no friend of
Christians and he
wrote a note that
the emperor did
this because the
Jews were fighting
over a
Christos
now you need to
know that in
Greek the name
Christ is
Christos
in Acts chapter
18 this event is
confirmed if you
ever want to think
about you know the
the New Testament
is thoroughly
historical
in Acts chapter
18 this event is
confirmed because in
verse 1 it says
Paul left Athens
and went to
Corinth and there
he met a Jew
named Aquila a
native of Pontus
who had recently
come from Italy
with his wife
Priscilla because
Claudius had
ordered all the
Jews to leave
Rome Paul went
to see them and
because he was a
tent maker as they
were he stayed and
worked with them
and every
Sabbath he
reasoned in the
synagogue trying to
persuade Jews and
Greeks
so what we're
reading is that
the emperor in
Rome
the king of the
world
was fed up with
the behaviour of
Jews and so fed
up with the
behaviour of Jews
in Rome
that he kicked
them out of the
city by imperial
decree
now when he did
that he did not
make a distinction
between Jews who
believed in Jesus
and Jews who
didn't believe in
Jesus
they're all Jews
and so they're all
out
and he effectively
says I'm sick of
your bickering get
out of here
and what that would
have meant at that
moment was that
that all that was
left of the church
were believers who
were not Jewish to
start with
and so Jewish
customs like food
laws and special
days would no
longer have been a
big deal for Gentile
or international
Christians in Rome
the church in Rome
has suddenly become
an international
church
and they didn't
have to
have to worry
about fitting in
with the believers
of Jewish heritage
now this is not
the same
but think about
this
if
imagine the
Australian government
decided to kick
everybody out of
Chatswood
with Anglo
heritage
get on the
boats
stop the boats
get on the boats
and send them
back to Europe
now I'm looking
around and I
think there's an
awful lot of us
who would be out of
here we'd be gone
and there's a few
of us who would be
left which is
really good
and if only
mainland Chinese
were left
Brian how many
Asians in
Chatswood at the
moment last
census
46%
Asian
percentage
there's more
isn't there
Brian's done all
the statistics out
of the census for
us so we're just
looking at that the
other day I think
it's a really big
percentage in
Chatswood which is
pretty obvious if
you go down the
street on Sunday
but if only mainland
Chinese were left
they may have very
little idea about
our traditions and
our history
they may not even
realise that we
had a book of
common prayer I
would imagine that
many of you tonight
wouldn't even think
twice about what a
book of common
prayer is
and guess what
they would have to
build and run this
church as best they
could with the
Bible in their
hand and with
believers around
them
do you think
they could do
that
of course they
could
if all this was
stripped away
could a church
happen and be run
here in Chatswood
without all the
external stuff that
we've got
of course it
could
and so we
would suddenly
or the people who
were left would
be free from
defending an
institution
and they
would have a
fresh start in
pursuing Christ
it'd be a
blessing to us
sometimes to take
all this stuff
from us this
stuff's a blessing
in one way but
it's a distraction
in others
and so it's a bit
like that in Rome
you don't have any
Jews left or very
few Jews left
confusing things with
issues like
circumcision or
eating prawns or
food offered to
idols
the Roman
Christians could
pursue and
worship Christ
without being
encumbered by the
baggage from a
different culture
and a different
people
and we're not
slandering the
Jews because we
know what the
book of Hebrews
says the book of
Hebrews says that
the temple and
the system of
worship in
Jerusalem was
only ever a
shadow of what
God would achieve
in Christ
Christ
they didn't
need
so the
international
Christians did
not need the
same mindset
change that the
Jewish believers
did
and so I think
that Paul writes
this gospel to
Rome to strengthen
the Christian
church there
they are an
international church
he wants to make
sure that they
know the true
gospel
they've been
established at
the centre of
the empire
God has given
them a strategic
ministry to
believers who
know nothing of
Judaism
and Paul wants
them to be clear
about the freedom
that they have in
Christ
and I think he
helps them
pastorally
some of the
believers of
Jewish heritage
it's nine years
later they're
beginning to come
back into Rome
Priscilla and
Aquila are
mentioned in
Romans chapter
16 they're no
longer in
Corinth they're
now back in
Rome
and so Paul
spends a lot
of time in
this letter
explaining the
place and the
significance of
the Jews in
God's purposes
which you see
in chapters
9 to 11
and he
explains how
the church
is to get on
with one another
with different
beliefs and
backgrounds and
that's what goes
on in chapters
13 and 14
when it speaks
about the
weak and the
strong you
know you
who are
strong ought
to bear with
the failings
of those who
are weak and
I think it's
very clearly
that he sees
the Jewish
believers as
the weak ones
in that
circumstance
so brothers
and sisters
Romans is a
glorious description
of God's big
picture purposes
and what they
mean it's
about God
it's God's
gospel not
our gospel
and it's
about what
God wants
from his
people
and you
see very
clearly in
this letter
that God
is strategic
he is
purposeful
he's not
muddling
along wondering
what he will
do next
it's been
his strategy
since before
he called
Abraham
and his
purpose is
to bring
all the
nations under
his blessing
and he's
not someone
who looks
at different
nations and
discriminates
like we
do and
we think
why would
God want
them or
how could
he possibly
tap into
them
he said
to Abraham
all peoples
on earth
will be
blessed
through you
Jews
had narrowly
kept the
promises to
themselves
as a
generalisation
and God
seized
one Jew
a Jew
who hated
him
and hated
his people
the apostle
Paul
and he
made him
his own
and he
sent him
on an
international
mission
telling people
what God
had done
in Christ
and so
God's purpose
is to bring
men and
women to
himself
and he
does it
with a
message
and the
message is
the precious
gospel
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ
that's what
Romans is
about
strategy is
not a
dirty word
all of us
think strategically
I think in
our church
we are a
church
we've been
an older
church
which is
probably
in the
process
of renewing
and
when a
church
of 300
people
which might
be our
church
supports
9 or
10
people
doing
ministry
in other
places
that's
actually
a
strategy
for
bringing
God's
message
to the
world
and so
Tim
who was
here last
week
from the
Middle East
and spoke
to us
and Kylie
quietly
teaching
people
in the
Middle East
they are
working
strategically
to strengthen
the church
in a place
where it is
really dangerous
to be a
believer
it's a
great thing
when we
support
strategic
ministry
to other
places
300
people
providing
resources
to many
ministries
beyond here
that's just
terrific
and we
ought to
continue
to do
it
but it's
really important
for us
to be
strategic
in
Chatswood
or in
our
workplace
or in
our school
or in
our
university
community
and I
don't know
if you
go off
to uni
and you
see the
great
mass of
people
who don't
know
Christ
you can
sometimes
throw your
hands in
the air
and say
where do I
start
what do I
do
and I
want to
say
under God
to take
personal
responsibility
for what
God has
given
you
don't
look around
at everybody
else
think about
where God
has placed
you
the family
that you're
in
the sporting
team that
you play
in
the workplace
you find
yourself in
the school
or the
university
he's
taking
you to
I said
to mums
and bubs
the other
day
don't ask
me why
I was at
mums
and bubs
I'm not
really a
mum
and I'm
not a
bub
or I
was a
bub
but it
was a
long time
ago
but I
said to
them I
don't think
that God
is trying
to add
to our
load
and asking
us to
do more
and more
so that we
end up being
burdened
Christians
falling down
all over
the place
with too
much to do
because he's
a hard
taskmaster
he's not
like an
Olympic
God
saying you
he's not
doing that
he calls
us to be
faithful
with what
he has
given us
in the
place
in which
he has
put us
he's a
strategic
God
he's able
to use
all his
people
to his
glory
and so
if every
one of
us
was
nurturing
just one
relationship
where we
were bold
to speak
to our
friend
about
Christ
and I
don't
mean
going
having
coffee
tomorrow
and say
I've
really
got to
tell you
about
Christ
because
the
preacher
told me
to
last
night
I
mean
nurturing
friendship
being a
real
friend
being in
relationship
but in
the
context
of the
relationship
being
unashamed
about your
faith in
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
and praying
for the
opportunities
to speak
about him
because if
we all
did that
then 300
people from
here are
going out
into the
year and
into the
week or
wherever
we're going
and we
are having
an impact
all over
the place
with more
than 300
people
it's a
big
gospel
it's a
big task
but not
too big
I took
great
encouragement
another
we war
story
tonight
how's
that
two in
a row
sorry
Joyce
but I
worked for
a while
with a
man called
Gary Stewart
who works out
in Walgett
these days
and we were
chewing the fat
down at the river
for one of our
staff meetings
one day
I think we were
catching carp out
of the river
and talking
ministry
that's my
justification
and I
think he
was feeling
overwhelmed
at the
task
because he
could see
the needs
of people
and a number
who didn't
know Jesus
and he
just said
it's such
a big
job
what do
we do
at church
how do
we minister
and I
think the
grace of
God spoke
to me
and said
one at a
time
we work
one person
at a time
in the
relationships
that we
have
and we
take the
opportunities
that God
has given
us
so don't
be
overwhelmed
be faithful
to Christ
with what
God has
given you
because the
big picture
is accomplished
by doing the
little things
by being
faithful
and taking
the opportunities
that God
has given
you
Amen
I'm going
to pray
we do pray
Lord Jesus
that you
would help
us
to see
the wonderful
task that you
have set
before us
to wonder
at the
gospel
to see
the powerful
transformation
that you
have given
us in this
extraordinary
message
about the
Lord Jesus
Christ
and we
pray tonight
for each
of us
that we
wouldn't
walk from
here
discouraged
and overwhelmed
by the
size of the
task
but that each
of us might
be encouraged
in the power
of your
spirit to
build genuine
friendships
with people
where we
are not
ashamed of
Christ
and where we
bring a word
to bear in
season as you
give the
opportunity
but we do
pray Lord
Jesus
that you
would give
us the
opportunity
that you
would open
doors
and that we
would find
grace and
empowerment
to be faithful
to you
to enjoy
and delight
in your good
gospel and to
see its impact
in the lives
of many people
around us
and we pray
this in Jesus
precious name
Amen
movement
back
and hear
what you
want to
see
if you
find
quelque chose
to be
확
to me
to be
the
niet
Teeth