And take out, at least for some time, for us on Sunday morning, for the last time, and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 16, beginning in verse 25.
And while you're doing that, the stab this morning about my contact was from last week. If you weren't here, I couldn't see, so I had somebody preach for me.
And my glasses were broken. They're fixed, and I can see this morning. And it's such a wonderful thing to be able to look out and see you together as we gather.
Let me also say, as you're turning there, and as I'm getting situated here, that I really, really, really appreciate the way Wes is committed to bringing to us songs that have true content in them.
He referred to the song we sang by Rich Mullins as, the words of it are the Apostles' Creed, and we don't actually affirm every part of the Apostles' Creed.
That may come as a shock to you, but we don't believe that Jesus, when he was buried, descended to hell and preached the gospel.
I'm not going to get into why we don't believe that. I think there's a very clear biblical explanation for it.
But the Apostles' Creed affirms that, and so Wes wisely changed the wording, so we're not singing something that we don't affirm together as a church.
Secondly, the song we just sang, you may know the words a little bit different.
The second verse says, it was my sin that held him there, was the original writing of that.
And Wes didn't appreciate the way it seemed that our sin had power over Christ.
So he changed the words to, it was his love that held him there.
It was his desire to love us, to make the sacrifice for our sins that kept him on the cross,
as he did it sacrificially as a volunteer in our place.
And so, I just want to point that out. I know some of you are looking for a home church right now.
Some of you are settled here, but may not be here forever.
And I just would encourage you that as you go places and you see what they have to offer,
make sure that what they do is true in every way.
So let's learn to Romans chapter 16. I hope that you're there already.
And before we get into this, I want to point out one potential discrepancy that you may notice in the text.
If you look carefully at your Bible, you will probably notice that you do not have a verse 24.
Is that the case for everybody? Probably so.
You do not have a verse 24.
And if you carefully look at your footnotes, it will show you that this didn't exist.
Verse 24 didn't exist in some of the early manuscripts.
I just want to deal with that before we move on.
And then verse 24 in some of the later manuscripts says,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
And simply because it's not in some of the early manuscripts, they've excluded it here.
At least in the ESV, they've excluded it by giving us a footnote.
So, as you're looking around in the text, I know my eyes tend to wander a bit as I'm listening to sermons.
Don't panic.
There's not a typo in your copy of God's Word.
If it's excluded, that was for that very reason.
And I take no issue with that.
I also take no issue with it being included because it's very consistent.
There's no untruth there in the potential of verse 24.
Well, we come to the end of Romans.
I did a little bit of research just looking back at our recorded sermons.
The first sermon that we preached on the book of Romans was on March 20th of 2011.
I realized that at the time, Cademan, our three-year-old now, was not even one.
Sam, I believe, if I'm doing my math correctly, was pregnant with Judah, but we had no idea when that was the case.
And we so now have a one-year-old as well.
Life was a little bit different.
It seemed like a long, long time ago that we began looking at this book together.
We have 72 sermons on record.
Today would make 73.
There were a few Sundays that were not recorded for various technological reasons.
For example, the Sunday that I unmuted the mic but had never turned it on, so there was just no power to it at all.
So I would say we've done 75 to 76 sermons or so through the book of Romans.
And I say braggadociously with boasting that we have just barely scratched the surface of the book of Romans.
Not to boast on me by any minute.
If you are paying attention to my words, I'm actually deflecting that for myself.
To say we have spent roughly two years with some breaks in there, 76 times together looking at this book.
And there is so much more to be wrung out of it.
There's so much more depth to be found in it.
I hope in this time together, though, that it's been beneficial to you.
I hope that the pages in your Bible, if we were to look at it, are looking a little more worn in this particular section.
I hope also that you're not done with it.
As we go from this and move on, we're going to be looking at the book of Nehemiah together beginning next week, Lord willing.
That you come back to Romans and you soak in it and you let it work in you and through you.
It is certainly a precious, precious book.
Martin Luther called it the greatest letter ever penned.
I look back, just of interest, just to look back at the very first sermon that I preached.
And be aware, too, I didn't preach all of those sermons.
I had lots of help throughout that.
But I did preach the very first sermon that we did in the book of Romans.
And I want to read to you something that I wrote and spoke at that time as a reminder to what we had hoped to accomplish as we studied the book of Romans together.
I know many of you weren't here on March 20, 2011.
God has used Paul's letter to the Romans in mighty ways before.
In AD 386, a man took up a scroll of the book of Romans and read from it.
Chapter 13, verses 13 and 14.
He later wrote of the occasion.
No further would I read, nor did I need.
For instantly, as the sentence ended, by a light, as it were, or security infused into my heart, all the gloom of doubt vanished away.
That man was Aurelius Augustine, Augustine of Hippo.
A thousand years later, an Augustinian monk was teaching the book of Romans to his students and struggled with the expression, the righteousness of God.
When he came to understand it, he wrote,
This man was Martin Luther.
Several centuries later, another man would record the account of his salvation in these words,
I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the epistle to the Romans.
About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ,
I felt my heart strangely warmed.
I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation.
And an assurance was given me that had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
This man's name was John Wesley.
I long to see, I wrote this here, I long to see us join this great lineage.
Let it be said one day, when Christ's family church studied Romans together,
there ignited a flame amongst them that spread throughout North Georgia and beyond.
And we have yet to see that flame extinguished.
Has that been accomplished in our hearts?
Are the truths contained in Paul's letter to the Romans working on us in this way?
It's my prayer that it is.
It's with some sorrow I come to the end of Romans.
And as I looked over the past two weeks,
I had an extra week due to the contact issue to revisit what it was I was going to say this morning.
I struggled with how do I conclude this book?
Because honestly, what I really want to do is go back to the beginning and start all over,
just to be sure that you've got it.
Just to be sure that the truth really worked into you.
Because we're not going to come back to the book of Romans together for quite some time.
Praise God that I'm young enough that at least statistically,
I'll still be preaching the gospel.
I may get hit by a bus,
but statistically I'll be preaching the gospel,
and we'll have another chance to preach through the book of Romans.
I hope in ten years or so at Christ Family Church we go back through Romans together.
But I struggled.
How do I close this up?
How is it that I reintroduce and drive these truths?
And then I realized that Paul had the same struggle,
but he does so beautifully in these last three verses.
These last three verses are a doxology,
a glory saying if you translate that literally,
or an ascribing of glory.
They happen occasionally throughout the scriptures.
We see people just burst into praise of God
in light of the truths that they've been proclaiming.
And here we see Paul burst into,
as a closing to this grand letter, a doxology.
Read with me.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you,
according to my gospel,
and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mysteries
that was kept secret for long ages,
but 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,
to the only wise God,
be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Let's pray together.
Father God, I praise you this morning
for Paul's letter to the Romans.
We know that by your Spirit,
you moved in him to pen these words.
And as such, they are your very words.
And they were delivered to the churches in Rome
for their benefit.
And they have been immortalized for ours.
We can see, Father,
that these are your words for us this day.
And I pray, Father, that you will find us,
and if you don't find us this way,
you will work in us,
and desire to meet with you,
and to hear from you this morning.
I pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
So even as we come to the closing here,
as Sinclair Ferguson put it,
even in the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Romans,
we must apply a great deal of gray matter.
He doesn't sum it up for us quite simply, does he?
It's rather complex.
I'm kind of looking forward to Nehemiah being a narrative mix.
It'll exercise a different part of my brain.
I know most of you won't be able to see this,
but this is the sentence diagrammed Greek
from these last three verses.
I've been doing this kind of stuff
for the last couple of years.
I'm really tired.
This is what I'm spending my time doing
if you want to take a look at that later.
Feel free to do that.
A great deal of gray matter
still must be applied to this.
So let me see if I can break it down for you simply.
Beginning in verse 25,
he says,
Now to him who is able,
and he elaborates upon that,
but if you will,
allow me to extract the middle
and note that what he's saying is,
Now to him who is able,
to the only wise God,
skip to verse 27,
Now to him who is able,
to the only wise God,
be glory forevermore,
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
So the overarching thing he's trying to accomplish here,
the main point of the text,
is that Paul is giving to God
the glory that's due him.
Right?
For two things.
For his power,
and for his wisdom.
Verse 25, the very beginning,
says,
Now to him who is able to strengthen you,
and I think our English text kind of loses the veracity of the word able.
The word able here,
I think would be better translated power.
So now to him who has the power,
or to him who has the strength to strengthen.
The word here, able, in the Greek,
in the original language,
is dynamai.
Bring any other words in the English language to your mind?
It's the root word of the word dynamite.
Dynamite sets out to accomplish the very thing it was meant to accomplish.
A person who knows the power of dynamite puts dynamite in place,
and it accomplishes the thing that it was set to.
And here we have God who has infinite power
to accomplish whatever it is that he wants to accomplish.
And it's consistent,
and it's appropriate that Paul ends praising God for his power.
Because if you'll turn back to the beginning of Romans,
to chapter 1,
verse 16,
the thesis statement, if you'll allow,
of the book of Romans.
Paul says,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes.
It's the same word.
It is the ability of God.
In it is the veracity of the gospel.
The very substance.
This gospel is the power of God.
And recall as well,
in chapter 1,
verse 11,
he says,
For I long to see you,
that I may impart to you some spiritual gift
to strengthen you.
As he longs to come to them,
he writes them a letter
that accomplishes this very thing.
And he has the confidence
that God has the ability,
the power,
the strength,
to strengthen them.
To strengthen them according to the gospel
and to the preaching of Jesus Christ,
which he elaborates on here to say,
according to my gospel,
this thing that is precious to me,
these very words that I have penned for you,
my gospel,
and the very words of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
That's why he uses these two phrases in this way.
So,
God is able,
by the power of the gospel,
to strengthen us,
to make us firm,
to make us stable,
to help us to stand fast
in Christian living.
Beloved,
it is foolish
for us to look
to any other source
for strength
for Christian living
than to the gospel.
The gospel is the source
of all strength
for proper living
in God's kingdom.
It's foolish to look to pop psychology.
It makes no sense.
The gospel is the power of God
for righteousness.
Notice what he goes on
to praise him for
in verse 26.
To bring about what?
He's going to strengthen us
according to the gospel
and the preaching of Jesus Christ
to bring about
the obedience
of faith.
That's what all this crazy diagramming
helps you see.
This is the connection
that he's making for us.
That he strengthens us
by the gospel
to bring about
obedience
of faith.
That we might
walk in his ways.
Be not just
hearers
but doers
of the word of God.
And this
is the power of God
at work
in us.
He praises us
also
for his
wisdom.
Recall at the end
of chapter 11
verse 33
that he bursts forth
into one of these doxologies.
We turn back
just a bit.
Verse 33
he says,
Oh,
the depth
of the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge
of God.
How unsearchable
are his judgments
and how inscrutable
his ways.
So as Paul
comes to close
out this book,
just as I feel
the desire
to go back
through it again
to make sure
that you get
these important
gospel truths
that they have worked
down into your heart
in such a way
that they've taken root
and they're now causing
Christian living
to come out
of who you are.
You've changed
your very being.
As Paul,
I'm sure,
experiences the same emotion,
he comforts himself
by praising God
for his strength
and his wisdom.
As Paul concludes
his letter,
he's able to say,
I've done my part.
He hands it,
we suppose,
more than likely
to Phoebe
to deliver it
to the church in Rome.
And he knows
that God's sovereign purpose
will be carried out
for his people.
That brought comfort
to me
this past two weeks.
It's good.
We've finished
the book of Romans.
And I can have confidence
in the fact
that it is
God's power,
his strength,
his ability,
which will accomplish
in you
his good pleasure.
But this gospel
we should talk
more about, right?
It's the strength
of God
to us.
Charles Spurgeon wrote,
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 sunder
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.
We should talk
about that gospel.
Here,
Paul calls it
the mystery
that was kept secret
for long ages,
that was hidden,
that was veiled
from those readers
of the scriptures,
from God's people.
They didn't see
that Jesus
was the puzzle piece
that made it all
make sense.
I think most of us
in this room
have probably done
a jigsaw puzzle
at one point
in your life.
Maybe you went through
a jigsaw puzzle phase
and you always had
the picture on the box.
If you really wanted
to challenge yourself
you threw the box away.
You had the picture
on the box to look at
and you got the edge pieces,
you did all those
types of things.
And if you were missing
one piece
at the very end
of putting all the puzzle
together,
the puzzle still looked
like the picture,
did it not?
It was just one piece
in a much larger picture.
Like you got the corner
of the barn was there.
You could imagine it
being there.
The wagon wheel
still exists in your mind
because it was just
a little piece.
In the same way
the scriptures
have painted for us
a puzzle
of how it was
that God was going
to redeem his people.
But in this case
Jesus was the missing piece
but he was so key to it
that everything else
was blurry.
It was put together
for them
but they couldn't
quite see
the whole picture.
And then Jesus comes
and plugs in that perfectly
and everything
becomes abundantly clear.
We can see that
Jesus is the offspring
of Eve
that crushes the head
of Satan
spoken of in Genesis 3.
In Genesis 22
Abraham was told
that the nations
would be blessed in him.
Jesus is that blessing.
Jesus is the spotless lamb
foreshadowed in Exodus 12.
Jesus is the ruling king
of Psalm 2.
Jesus is the suffering servant
of Isaiah 53.
All of it comes
into perfect clarity
when Jesus
came on to the scene.
And this mystery
like this puzzle
even the apostles
didn't fully realize
what it all meant
until Jesus
expounded it
for them.
Until he met them
on the road
and taught himself
from the scriptures.
Until he
said in
John 10
14 and 16
I am the good shepherd.
I know my own
and my own know me.
Just as the father
knows me
and I know the father
and I lay down my life
for the sheep
and I have other sheep
that are not of this fold.
I must bring them also
and they will listen
to my voice
so it will be one flock
one shepherd.
And in Matthew 28
19
he sends the disciples
to go
and make disciples
of all the nations.
And suddenly
these promises
these realities
are coming into clear focus
for even the disciples.
They are seeing
how it is
that the promises
to Abraham
are to be fulfilled.
It is all coming
into clear focus.
And this book
is a magnificent
presentation
of the gospel of Christ.
A mind-blowingly
brilliant presentation
of the gospel of Christ.
And on a number
of occasions
I have summed it up
for you
but I feel like
I just haven't done it
quite the justice
it deserves.
And so in my studying
last week
I came across
a prayer
that John Piper wrote.
I want to read it to you
and I'm going to
insert the reference
for you
as he's quoting
scripture throughout this.
And so I just ask you
if you need to close
your eyes to pay attention
just try to listen
carefully to this
as he praises God
for the things
he's accomplished
in Christ.
With all of our hearts
now we thank you
for what you accomplished
for us
when you came.
No one else
could do it.
It had to be you
or there would be
no salvation
from our sin
and from our own wrath
the wrath
of the Lamb.
Only you could do it.
That's what your servant
means in Romans 8.3
God has done
what the law
weakened by the flesh
could not do
by sending his own son
in the likeness
of sinful flesh
and for sin.
Only you
Lord Jesus
only God made flesh
could accomplish
what had to be done
if we were to be saved.
No ordinary man
would do.
You were a faithful servant
to the circumcised
to show God's truthfulness
in order to confirm
the promises
given to the patriarchs.
Chapter 15
verse 3
You secured
every promise
God ever made.
You were sinlessly
chapter 8
verse 3
obedient to your Father
your whole life
and fulfilled
all righteousness
at every point
where we have failed.
And that obedience
reaches the most glorious climax
when you became
obedient unto death
even death
on a cross.
For as by one man's
disobedience
the many were made sinners
so by the one man's
obedience
the many will be made
righteous.
Chapter 5
verse 19
Oh how you suffered
and bore reproach
on our behalf
for you did not
please yourself
but as it is written
the reproaches of those
who reproached you
fell on me.
Chapter 15
verse 3
And then you died.
And this is the most
important moment
in the history of the world.
Once for all
sins were paid for.
Nothing before
and nothing since
has contributed anything
to the payment you made
for sins
when you died.
For while we were still weak
at the right time
you died for the ungodly.
For one will scarcely die
for a righteous person
though perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die.
But God shows his love for us
and that while we were still sinners
you Christ
died for us.
Chapter 5
verses 6 through 8
And then you rose from the dead
three days later
never to die again.
We know that you Christ
being raised from the dead
will never die again.
Death no longer has dominion
over you.
Chapter 6
verse 9
You were declared to be
the Son of God in power
by your resurrection
from the dead.
Chapter 1
verse 4
And you did not die
without us
but you took us
all of your elect
the ones who trust in you
you took us into death
with you
so that the curse of your death
might be behind us
and not in front of us.
For if we have been united
with you in a death
like yours
we shall certainly be united
with you
in a resurrection
like yours.
Chapter 6
verse 5
I hope your hearts are warming.
And when you died
our sin was condemned
in your flesh
by sending his own Son
by sending you
in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin
God condemned sin
in the flesh.
Chapter 8
verse 3
Were clear words
ever spoken
Lord Jesus
concerning the glory
of penal substitution.
this glorious doctrine
that today
to our shame in the church
is so embattled
and denied
that God
in your flesh
condemned sin
not yours
ours
our sin
you
the substitute sacrifice
you were wounded
for our transgressions
you were crushed
for our iniquities
upon you
was the chastisement
that brought us peace
and with your stripes
we are healed.
O Lord
rescue this great truth
from the mangling hands
of foolish men
and may it be the foundation
of all our faith
and joy
and worship
and obedience
and because you bore
God's condemnation
in your flesh
for our sins
there is redemption
chapter 3
verse 24
the forgiveness of sins
countless sins
was purchased once for all
nothing we do
can add
to your payment
every debt
that we ever has had
was paid up in full
by your blood
O Lamb of God
and all your obedience
and all your righteousness
was consummated
when you died
so there would be
for us
a perfect righteousness
by which we could
stand acceptable to God
justified by grace alone
through faith alone
on the basis of
your imputed righteousness alone
to the glory of God alone
chapter 5
verse 19
and 4
verse 25
and by all this
and as the goal
of all this
the greatest good
of the gospel
was achieved for us
reconciliation
with God
not just forgiveness
of sins
not just imputed righteousness
but being at home
in the presence
of your Father
and our God
while we were enemies
we were reconciled to God
by the death
of his Son
chapter 5
verse 10
your death
Lord Jesus
restored us
to what we were created for
seeing
and enjoying
and reflecting God
and what is all this
but eternal life
to know
and enjoy God
forever
all because of you
for the wages of sin
is death
but the free gift of God
is eternal life
in you
Christ Jesus
our Lord
chapter 6
verse 23
oh how much more
we could say
about your work for us
your sending work
chapter 1 verse 5
your faith awakening work
chapter 10 verse 17
your welcoming work
chapter 15 verse 7
your church building
church uniting work
chapter 12 verse 5
your signs and wonders
and sanctifying work
chapter 15
verse 18
and 19
what a glorious
glorious
gospel
we have
received
and this book
is such
a precious
treatise
to that end
not that we just
know these things
that is not why
Paul wrote the letter
he didn't write
a systematic theology
that we might
debate with others
that we might boast
in our knowledge
that our wisdom
somehow becomes
valuable to us
but to produce
in us
righteousness
in chapter 11
he concludes his
doctrine
in chapter 12
he goes on to talk
about how these
things ought to work
in and through
our lives
and he so
beautifully
sums this up
as he begins to talk
about how this power
of God works in us
to bring about
the obedience of faith
to say
to the only
wise God
be glory
forevermore
through Jesus Christ
Amen
that is the
desired work
of this book
this is why
Paul penned it
this is why
the spirit moved
through him
this is why
I believe
we are moved
to preach
through the book
of Romans
that these doctrines
might work down in us
so that they will
work back
out of us
to the glory of God
to the nations
is that the desire
of your heart
does the gospel
does even my reading
I know sometimes
somebody reads
something to you
it's hard to
click your brain
into what's going on
but I hope
that as you hear
these things
this great gospel
proclamation
that it
that it awakens
your soul
that it causes you
to spring to life
to the praise
of our God
and that you can't
wait to stand up
and sing praises
to a name
to partake
in the Lord's
supper
that you can't
wait to get out
of here
that you might
go and share
his glorious
goodness
with the world
do you desire
to see God's
glory spread
it belongs to him
it's his
it's our work
to ascribe it to him
to let our lives
be a doxology
that is my desire
as we complete this book
that you see
that that is what
the gospel should be
doing in your life
let's pray together
thank you
Thank you.