Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Sermon transcript

word as we open our Bibles to the book of Romans and there we’re going to begin with chapter 1 verse 1 Romans chapter 1 read verses 1 through 17 give your attention for this is the inspired Word of God Paul a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as 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 born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of his Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last, by the will of God, I may succeed in coming to you.

For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established. That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you and have been prevented so far, so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, but the righteous man shall live. by faith. Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word.

Let’s pray together briefly, shall we? Father, we do ask that this particular portion of scripture, the Romans, would be a blessing to us tonight and in the days and weeks to come. Our Father, we do ask that you would bless the one who stands before the congregation, having read and now is about to preach the word of God. We pray that you would grant the power and grace of the Holy Spirit as that word would go forth with power, converting the hearts and the minds of your people here assembled, building us up in true and saving faith, and that your name would be exalted as the good news of your salvation revealed in Christ Jesus would be pronounced and accepted by the people of God. Our Father, guide us in all that we do and say here tonight. Prepare us for service in your kingdom. that we might obey the good news, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we pray together, giving thanks in his holy name. Amen. We embark this evening on what we propose, Lord willing, will be a series of sermons on Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

Having just concluded our work, which has taken us through 1st and 2nd Corinthians, we recall there Paul’s determination revealed in 2nd Corinthians in particular, his determination to make a third visit to Corinth. This must have been an intense period in Paul’s spiritual life. In 2 Corinthians, as he wrote that epistle, he had been constrained to deal forthrightly with intense opposition from pseudo apostles who had appeared in Corinth and who had called into question Paul’s very status as an apostle. In time, Paul did make his way to Corinth. Indeed, it was from there, the city of Corinth, that Paul wrote to the Christians gathered in Rome, the epistle of Romans, which is before us.

From Corinth does this letter go out, a letter in which he expresses his intent to embark upon a new area of ministry. His work in the Eastern Mediterranean was almost finished, and he greatly desired to visit the Roman church. At this time, however, he could not go to Rome, so he sent a letter there instead, intending to visit Rome while en route on a mission to Spain. This letter serves as a theological introduction to that hoped-for personal ministry among this people.

As Paul makes clear from the opening of the letter, his message to the church at Rome is nothing more than a proclamation of the scriptures, scriptures that have been fulfilled in the incarnate, crucified, and risen Christ. The roughly 60 citations of the Old Testament that we find in Romans said to be more numerous and concentrated here than in perhaps in any of Paul’s other letters. Such 60 references are only a portion of the biblical witness upon which this letter rests. Much of the apostles appeal to scripture here in this letter appears in the form of allusions. The incarnate, crucified, and risen Christ is indeed the center and the end of Scripture. Paul’s interpretation of Scripture arises from that very confession that Christ is the center and end of Holy Scripture.

Paul begins this epistle with a salutation, as he often does in writing a letter. But notice that the salutation of this epistle is longer and more detailed than that of any other of Paul’s letters. In fact, his salutation leaves us almost breathless. It can be read as one run-on sentence, those first six or seven verses. And I’m going to offer that to you, his salutation.

He begins identifying himself as Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as 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 born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh, who was declared the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness.

Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. According to the salutation, this is he who wrote this letter, identifying himself as he does. And he wrote this letter to whom? To all who are beloved of God in Rome, he says, called as saints, to which he addresses grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What did the Roman Christians have to expect from Paul? namely this, Paul belongs to Jesus, and as Jesus’ bondservant, Paul does what Jesus has ordered him to do. As Christ’s bondservant, charged with representing Christ, the work Paul was commanded to do was to speak the message of God.

The authority to speak and act in the name of Jesus was given him through his very calling as an apostle. Because Jesus brought himself brought the message of God that proclaims salvation. It is the task of his servant and messenger, the apostle Paul, to communicate God’s message to humanity. This is the task for which Paul is set apart, rendering him distinct from all others and in which he engages with all his might. This is who Paul is, and this is what Paul does. God’s story, God’s redemptive work in Christ Jesus in history, is Paul’s story, so he says.

Called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. That is, set apart for the ministry of the gospel, the good news. We think of all of the rich and diversified gifts of Paul’s heritage in which he could claim descendancy from Israel while also maintaining Roman citizenship, you remember, and yet he could refer to himself in some ways as a Greek also. And all of those aspects of his heritage and upbringing were foreordained by God with a view to his apostolic service. particularly fit for the work which is at hand.

Consider Jesus’ own words in Acts chapter 9 verses 15 and 16 addressed to Ananias concerning Paul being set apart for ministry. For he, that is Saul, Paul, is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.

The gospel of God spoken here by Paul is nothing less than God’s own joyful proclamation of the victory and the exaltation of his son, whom he has seated upon the throne of heavenly Mount Zion, far above all rule and authority, and to whom has been given a name, a name that is above every other name, as all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, Christ Jesus.

The good news of the gospel is the salvation which men may now enjoy through faith in Christ, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Paul’s life, in other words, is completely dedicated to declaring the good news. Paul elaborates on the meaning and the content of the gospel in verses 2 through 4 of our text, saying that the gospel is that 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. Here Paul indicates first that the gospel was something promised in the Old Testament.

It was not something completely unrelated to what had gone on before. He makes plain that the gospel concerns Jesus Christ. This Jesus was descended from David and is indeed the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ. He was declared to be the Son of God in power.

What Paul is claiming is that the pre-existent Son of God, who entered into human history and experience as the promised Messiah, was appointed on the basis of the resurrection to a new and more powerful position in relation to the world. Paul is referring here to Christ’s exaltation, His exaltation to the right hand of God.

Following Paul’s salutation and reading, Paul expresses thanksgiving for the church at Rome and his desire to visit them. He declares here that he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome, and then explains why. For he says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, but the righteous man shall live by faith. The gospel, the good news concerning Jesus Christ, which to the world appears weak and foolish, is the manifestation indeed of the power of God directed towards the salvation of mankind. This gospel reveals the righteousness of God.

Paul’s salutation in Romans may be detailed, it may indeed be very intense. But let us by no means miss the point. Just as Paul’s life is defined by the gospel of God revealed in Jesus Christ, this inspired word which Paul has written would have the Christians in Rome, indeed would have Christians everywhere, and that includes you and me. This inspired word we read tonight would have you understand and have you understand very clearly that your life too is defined by the gospel of God.

The prophetic message of salvation has now been accomplished in and through the Messianic Son of David, Jesus Christ our Lord. Just as Paul was called, we remember he was called as an apostle, look at verse 1, So now He, as Christ’s Apostle and Messenger, writes to you all who are beloved of God, look at verse 7, called, as Paul was called, so you are called as saints, by divine vocation, by divine calling, summoned by God to be His holy people, to be set apart for Himself, Paul insists upon designating Gentile believers along with their Jewish brothers as God’s holy people, saints by calling. So as your pastor, I greet you who believe week by week in our salutation and worship. I address you as God’s holy people, called to be saints, and extend to you God’s holy blessing, His grace, and His peace. I ask you to look with me at verse 7 of our text. Addressing God’s Holy One, Paul writes those wonderfully familiar words that we are so familiar with, where he writes, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These are not empty words, beloved.

The grace of God is his free love and unmerited favor to men such as you and me. Favor shown us and imparted through the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. The peace of God is the well-being which God’s people enjoy through His grace. These things are yours through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Indeed, this is the gospel. This is the good news of God.

The term which Paul uses to address the church in Rome and address us as those beloved of God points, does it not, to the intimacy, the tenderness of the love, the love of God the Father, the embrace of his people in the bosom of his own affection. It is the consciousness of this bond of love that binds the apostle to the saints at Rome, Jews and Gentiles alike, children of God, loved of God, beloved of God. It is the consciousness of this bond of the love of the Father that binds you too to God and which binds you also to one another as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the body of Christ. Be sure you are saints, God’s holy people, only by God’s grace and His effectual call through the gospel and the power of the Spirit of holiness, that is, by the power of the Holy Spirit Himself, by whom you too have been raised from death to life in Christ Jesus.

Praise be to God. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, and to you also, beloved of God. And so I remind you, God’s story is your story. This is who you are. This is what you do. Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, and now living in you, to will and to do His good pleasure.

Beloved of God, called to be saints. Amen. Let’s pray together. Father, we pray thanking you for the good news, the good news of the gospel. And we would not be ashamed of the gospel. Indeed, we would be identified by it as those who have been born again and joined to Jesus Christ, the very son of God, the son of David, revealed as Messiah and King for the redemption of his people. And we would be counted among that people, O Father, as we have been called to be holy ones, saints set apart for Jesus glory. We ask, dear God, that you would fill us with your spirit, fill us with the knowledge of the gospel. For indeed, we would live and move and have our being in that one who so loved us and gave himself for us.

Help us to hear the word rightly here tonight imprinted deeply upon our hearts and minds as we seek more and more to glorify the God of our salvation, as we rejoice together in the gospel, the good news of God. the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray together, giving thanks for those things we have read and heard read here tonight. For your glory, we pray it, giving thanks. Amen. I would ask you to join with me then in singing hymn number 133, for a thousand tongues to sing. you

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