The Gospel of God - Romans 1:2-7 LAST WEEK we looked at one verse: Romans 1:1. It is Paul’s definition of himself. There is nothing mentioned of his physical appearance or education or occupation. Paul just simply describes himself as a: Man who knew his MASTER – Bondservant/Marketplace observation Man who knew his MISSION – His calling was an apostle to the gentiles among whom were those in Rome Man who knew his MESSAGE – ‘the gospel’. God’s message to this world regarding our sin and His Son as the only solution. Paul understood this solution. 25 years before the Book of Romans was written by Paul a man named Saul was walking along a road to Damascus. A bright light shone and he was stopped. ‘Who art Thou Lord that I might serve Thee’. Here 25 years later Paul introduces himself as a ‘bond-servant of Christ Jesus’. No longer Saul (term of derision in Greek) but Paul ‘small one’. Resting under Jesus as his supreme Master in life. This morning I want to talk to you about the gospel. We all have our ideas about what the gospel means but I want us to look at how Paul introduced it to those in Rome. Remember: Paul has never been there and neither have any other of the disciples. Paul is trying to lay a foundation for this church that has now grown up in the greatest city in the world at that time in history. A church without a right understanding of the gospel can be dangerous. That is the issue we are facing in our time in history. We have become so desperate that this new generation just be in a church that we forgotten to be concerned about the church they are in. What does the church teach? Does it even know the gospel? New church leaders are now trained in how to draw a crowd but not necessarily how to draw people to Jesus. They promote a Jesus that might not be the Jesus. When we are asked to share the gospel we might think about talking about the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ or the “Roman Road’ or Evangelism Explosion or Faith training. It is interesting that Paul focuses on three specific areas to communicate the gospel. …the Gospel of God (2) which he promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures. (3) concerning His Son, Who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, (4) Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. (5) Through Whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His Name’s sake. (6) Among Whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. (7) 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 Two Hippies were standing beside the ocean when one of them commented on how big the ocean truly was. The other agreed and then said, ‘And most of it you can’t even see’. We can only see the surface while its depths are miles deep. There is so much involved in truly knowing Jesus. Much more depth than, ‘Jesus loves me this I know’ or the stories of Christmas and Easter. This morning’s service is like glancing over the surface of Christianity. For many it is the most visible aspect of their faith and for some it is all they do. You can play on the surface of an ocean such as surf, or sail of kick around in the shallows but life comes from below the surface. Many churches are playing this morning along the surface and that is as deep as they ever go. Paul challenges that the gospel is much deeper than most understand. Three Distinctions of the Gospel of God: Prophecy - Person - Purpose PROPHECY the Gospel of God (2) which he promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures. We often describe the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as the FOUR GOSPELS but the gospel is something that runs throughout the entire Bible. We often think of the Bible as one book but it isn’t one but actually 66 different book. Those 66 books were written by 40 authors over a period of 1500 years. These individuals wrote in three different languages from different continents and over thousands of different subjects and yet each work fits perfectly in place with the unique purpose of God to communicate one message to the world. The gospel was not a new thing. Promised before. Jesus Christ is the subject of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Promised after first sin was committed (seed of the woman) The two walking to Emmaus ‘are the only one who doesn’t know what has happened in these last few days?’ Jesus explained how all they had seen had been foretold. Pharisees ‘you search the Scriptures because in them you think you will find life but they speak of Me’. In Acts 17 it says that ‘as was his custom Paul reasoned from Scripture that Jesus was the Christ’(our OT) Redemptive heart of God is seen throughout all Scripture: establishment of sacrificial system looking forward to the perfect sacrifice: Abraham’s ram in the thicket for Isaac One of the books I am presently reading is called ‘The Amazing Claims of Bible Prophecy’. The Bible alone has the element of predictive prophecy as a way of showing the genuine authenticity of God in confirming it as His revelation. No other ‘Holy Book’ such as the Quran or the Book of Mormon have that amazing element in it. 330 prophecies fulfilled by Christ’s just His first coming. Isaiah 53/Psalms 22/Genesis 49/Zechariah/Micah 5:2 The book of Daniel has such precise and specific prophecies that liberal ‘scholars’ have fought to try and redate the book to a time 400 years later because of the amazing miraculous aspects of the predictions in it. Chapter 11 really bothers them because it lays out the kingdoms to come from the Persians to the Romans with unbelievable specifics regarding Alexander the Great. And Daniel 9 provides an exact timetable from a predicted historic decree for the Jews to return to Jerusalem to the time that the Messiah would be rejected. From that decree to the time Jesus entered Jerusalem to be crucified was exact to the prediction. Paul shows how one of the most powerful arguments we have about the truth of the gospel is an ability to defend the Bible by demonstrating it prophetic accuracy. One of my favorite prophecies is where Ezekiel spoke about the ancient city of Tyre which was divided into two parts: a mainland city and an island stronghold half a mile of the coast. Tyre was surrounded by a double wall 150 high with 25 feet of earth between the walls. Ezekiel 26-28 written in 587 B.C. told of the city’s future destruction. The citizens of Tyre loved it when they heard that the Babylonians were defeating their enemy the Jews in 586 B.C. Ezekiel predicted that the walls of Tyre would be destroyed and that the debris of the city would be scrapped away leaving only bare rock. Ezekiel 26:7 predicted that it would be Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian king who would destroy the city. After defeating Jerusalem the Babylonians headed to Tyre and it took them 13 years to defeat the city and the island. Ezekiel then gives reference to Alexander the Great whom 250 years later would finish the job. Alexander came to defeat Tyre which was now just an island city that thought they were safe. What took Nebuchadnezzar 13 years took Alexander only 7 months. Alexander took the debris of the old mainland city and threw it into the ocean building a 200 foot wide causeway to the island to attack it. When he did this he left only ‘bare rock’ behind where the original city had been. The citizens of Tyre mocked Alexander’s efforts to reach them until he eventually did and killed 7,000 people in Tyre while only 400 Greeks were killed. DO YOU KNOW THIS HISTORIC ACCOUNT AND HOW THE BIBLE PREDICTED IT? Do you know enough of what God has done that He said He would do in order to use it to defend your faith and the authenticity of the gospel message? Paul said these truths were ‘promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures DISTINCT IN A PERSON (3) concerning His Son, Who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, (4) Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. CONCERNING HIS SON – Peri – periscope, perimeter, that which surrounds, revolves around, encircles, that which boundaries a person. The Gospel revolves around the person of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about going to heaven or having an easier life or becoming a more moral person in the community. The gospel is about knowing Jesus Christ. In Matthew 7 Jesus says there will be some who come to Him in eternity saying, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not….prophecy in your name…cast out demons…perform miracles…in your name? He will say to them ‘depart from Me workers of iniquity, I NEVER KNEW you’. You can do Christian things all your life and never know Christ. I could send you to Tony and he could give you dozens of things to do to help First Baptist on an ongoing level. You could help in classes, maybe study and teach one? You could help clean or work in ministries like AWANA or the NURSERY. You could give when the offering is taken, sing when Les leads the singing and even take pretty good notes of the sermon. None of that makes you a Christian although you might look like a Christian while doing those things. Jesus didn’t say ‘go and do’ but ‘come and follow’ Many today try to treat the gospel like a person giving a pedicure to a powerful lion. We trim its nails and put a bow in its mane. We do everything we can to make it look anything but dangerous. But the gospel is the world most dangerous message. It warns us to get right or get left. The good news is meant to rescue us from a bad truth of our condition without Christ’s rescue. Paul wants us to know the absolute truth about Who Jesus is and how deep those truths really are. He reminds us of two great truths. THE INCARNATION: Fully God yet fully man. Born of a descendant of David according to the flesh Descendant of David. Both Matthew and Luke establish this fact. One thru Joseph and the other thru Mary which Y’s at David. Genesis 49:10 ‘scepter not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes…’ Prince of Peace who would from the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe. Studies of David God declared: Satan targeted David’s descendants ISAIAH 7:14 – Ahaz’s danger of being wiped out as the last of that tribe. THE RESURRECTION: (4) Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. BAPTISM/Transfiguration: ‘This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased’. MT 16: ‘Whom do people say that I am?....Whom do you say that I am?...The Christ, the Son of the Living God…flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but My Father Who is in heaven(declared it to you)’ Declared(made evident) God’s Son. Proven by two proofs The Resurrection: the POWER of the resurrection of the dead. There is no greater power that can been seen other than bringing life back when a person is dead. You can heal someone of any disease known to mankind but dead is the worst disease of all. When you are dead you are done except by the power that only God possesses. His Sinless Life: Hebrews 7 describes this as the ‘power of an indestructible life’. The resurrection was possible not because of the death He died but because of the life He lived. Hebrews 4 says, ‘He was tempted in all things as we are but without sin’. This same power is to be working in our lives as well. It is there because of the life of Christ in us. That same resurrection power is there to give us victory over sin and temptation and eventually death. We can stand before God, not because of our sinless life but because of His. That is what knowing Who He is really is what the difference it makes. Two things that declare or make evident God’s presence in our lives: Resurrection power of New life and our attitude toward the old life of sin. That is the third truth about the Gospel: Changed lives. DISTINCT IN its PURPOSE (5) Through Whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His Name’s sake. (6) Among Whom you alo are the called of Jesus Christ. (7) 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 What difference does this all make in our personal lives? Many people’s Christian faith is like the stickers that are often found on the hymnals in some church sanctuaries. ‘Please do not remove this from the building’. 99% of their Christian walk happens inside these walls where the opposite should be true. we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith GRACE: unmerited favor, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense APOSTLESHIP: Like Paul we too have a calling to share the gospel with a lost world. Regardless of our limitations we all have a purpose. Too often we are living for our own agendas and just fit Jesus in when and where we can. Kyle Idleman(God’s at War): Seven Questions to identify your IDOLS What Disappoints You? What Do You Complain About The Most? Where Do You Make Financial Sacrifices? What Worries You? Where Is Your Sanctuary? What Infuriates You? What Are Your Dreams? to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His Name’s sake. We are equipped by Grace and given a specific task for a reason and purpose. That purpose is to reach others to live out an ‘obedient faith’. Many today try to replace where it says ‘holy’ in the Bible with the word ‘Happy’. The Christian faith is not about being ‘happy, happy happy’ but it is about being ‘holy, holy, holy’. The real truth is that happiness never leads to holiness but holiness does lead to true happiness. (7) 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 CALLED: you also are the called. They were not to be spectators of Paul’s life and ministry but to find their own place of service. BELOVED OF GOD – God loves the world but His own, the church, the body of Christ are called ‘the beloved’. SAINTS: Called Saints. All about our position even though we don’t often act like one. D.L. Moody was approached by a man who had attended his crusade and actually counted every grammatical mistake Moody had made in his sermon. He strutted up afterward to let him know about 11 mistakes. ‘I am sorry for that for you see my early education was quite limited but I am using all my abilities to share with people about Jesus? How about you? Another man came to tell him that he didn’t like the way his invitations were handled. I have never been satisfied with the way I do it, what is your method, how do you invite people to know Jesus? I don’t have any method….I like mine better’ God took a man like Moody and effected two continents How do you share the gospel? I like how Paul communicated the Gospel. It is not about us but about showing a lost world God’s power though what He said, Who Jesus was and the difference it has made in our lives.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 19:43:56 +0000
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