05 | Romans | Romans 12-16 | An Appeal in Light of the Power of God

INTRODUCTION

The Gospel in Romans | the power of God for salvation

Our prayer for this series is that over the coming years the Lord would build for us a foundation for our faith in the power of God for salvation.

Four-part mini-series through the whole book.

Romans 1-4 — Coming Under Grace | Grace Alone Through Faith Alone

Romans 5-8 — Living Under Grace | From Death to Life

Romans 9-11 — The Overflow of Grace | God's One Message of Salvation

Romans 12-16 — A Church Shaped by Grace | An Appeal in Light of the Power of God

PRAY

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Before we begin …

We will spend most of our time in chapters 12-14 (and some of 15).

And we will move quicker and quicker as we go through each section.

This is intentionally an overview.

It is not a systematic theology of each subject that is covered in these scriptures.

We need to first hear this scripture in the context of Romans before we can hear it in the context of the rest of scripture.

It is for future sermons, as we work our way carefully through each passage of Romans …

… that we will consider all the nuances and “what abouts”

… but for now, let us simply sit in each teaching and receive it with the force with which it was first given.

AN APPEAL IN LIGHT OF THE POWER OF GOD

Let us go all the way back to the beginning.

Romans 1:16 (ESV) 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.

The gospel is the revelation that God’s power has been leveraged for salvation!

It is the announcement of the good news that the Father has sent the Son, Jesus Christ …

… to make atonement for sin

… and to secure righteousness for a redeemed people.

Paul spends eight chapters laying out the glory of this good news …

… and chapters 9-11 he traces how this good news has been proclaimed in redemption history

… and its implications for a church made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

This Holy Spirit inspired letter now turns so masterfully to the life of the church that God has made.

Hear that again.

Paul has established the ground of the gospel.

Now he turns to describe the fruit of the gospel.

This is a fundamental distinction that undergirds the whole of the existence of CrossPointe Coast.

Romans 1-11 put on glorious display the beauty of the gospel declaratives …

… so that we may now, in these last chapters

… walk in these gospel imperatives to which we have been now made free in Christ.

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What are the last words of our service, following the benediction?

Go and be the church.

But, as with many of our words, this is shorthand.

What we mean by this exhortation is this.

In view of our benediction …

… in view of his promise to bless us

… and keep us in his grace and peace.

Go and be the church … that Christ has made us.

Don’t miss that last part.

God has made us his church.

We are the church by his blessing and his keeping.

Our business is to now walk in the light of his grace by faith.

We don’t go to become the church.

We go as the church.

We don’t earn the right to be the church …

… or go with all the right instructions and inspirations to make ourselves the church.

Christ has made us the church.

And now we are sent out with his blessing …

… to walk as the church church he has made us.

Or, how about this teaching on community.

At CPCoast we talk a lot about community.

We gather in gospel celebration and we scatter into gospel communities.

But we don’t outline a list of behaviors …

… that if we maintain them …

… if we love well enough

… if we are patient or kind enough

… if we are welcoming and hospitable enough

… then and only then will we achieve the rank of community

… or will we maintain the status of community.

No. We believe that God has already made us a community together in Christ.

We believe he has made us a family, a body, a fellowship …

… one people together in Christ.

The only question that remains for us is …

… will we learn to walk in the community Christ has already purchased for us.

I want you to see this.

Christ has secured not only the gospel declarative, but also the gospel imperative.

Both the ground of the gospel and the fruit of the gospel …

… are by him and through him and to him.

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Now, look our passage in Romans 12:1 (Read).

The appeal is both …

… therefore, and it is

… by the mercies of God

The therefore tells us that the instructions into which he will now launch …

… stand on all that comes before.

And how does he summarize all that comes before?

the mercies of God

What mercies?

Romans 5:6 (ESV) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:10 (ESV) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

While we were helpless and guilty.

By this grace which we have received by faith.

APPLY

What follows are clear and compelling instructions for the life of a church of diverse backgrounds and maturities and understandings.

The main thing I want you to see is that the motivation or the grounding reason for each of the instructions in chapters 12, 13, 14 and 15 is love.

Love is the most repeated, grounding principle.

We should not be surprised by this …

… as the sacrificial and steadfast love of God (Romans 5) stands beneath all of grace.

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Now, what we will do is walk section by section through a set of gospel imperatives …

… so that we can see the flow of Spirit’s instruction for the church.

Romans 12:3-8 — HUMILITY IN LIGHT OF GRACE

Read Romans 12:3

There is a ground upon which every redeemed soul stands.

And that ground is the ground at the foot of the cross.

This is our sober judgement.

That we were weak.

And we were sinners.

It is these poor in spirit to which God gifts the kingdom of heaven.

This is the sort of humility that leverages every good gift for the glory of God and the good of the church.

APPLY

We, as a people of faith …

… are one body

… with many members.

This is an important point that cannot be reversed.

We are not many members that then get together to function as one body.

That’s actually gross.

Think of a bunch of disembodied, body parts coalescing to into some new thing, like a Frankenstein creature.

No, what God has done in redeeming each one of us is …

… he has transformed you and granted you life as a member of a body.

This is essential to what it means to be redeemed—to be saved.

It is, then, as this new body that each of us function for the good of the whole …

… and for the glory of the One who has made us one in him.

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It is now, out of this “one body” reality that Paul moves to the love we are to share with with one another.

Romans 12:9-21 — LET LOVE BE GENUINE

What is this genuine love?

v9 - It is to love the way of the Lord in such a way that one hates what is opposed to it.

v10 - It is to love and honor one another.

v11 - It is to serve the Lord with zeal and fervency.

v12 - It is to rejoice in hope, be patient in trial and always in prayer

v13 - It is to provide for and open ones life to the saints.

This is such an interesting collection of attributes of genuine love.

One might be tempted to think it is a new table of commandments.

Paul is not describing a new law.

There are two ways this is not a new law.

1) It is not NEW

What Paul describes here is what stands underneath the whole law.

It is not new because it has always been the way of the Lord for his people …

… because it has always been the way of the Lord himself.

The way of the Father is to be the way of his children.

2) It is not LAW

This is not law, this is culture.

The law can point to and tutor toward what is good.

The law can warn against and even punish what is evil.

But no policy or legislation can fully embody what is meant by genuine love.

If you want to know what love looks like, do not look for a new law, but for an ancient steadfast love.

This is what we see described here.

This is the way of the Lord throughout the whole of the Old Testament …

… that we see embodied in the life of Jesus

… now embodied in his church of which he is the head.

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In v9-13 we see the personal genuineness of love.

What we see in the next verses is love at work in relationship.

Romans 12:14-21 — Interpersonal Love

We see nine circumstances for the outworking of genuine love in interpersonal relationships.

1) In persecution — bless them

2) Circumstantial highs and lows — rejoice and weep

3) One another (in the fellowship of the church) — harmony

4) The lowly — don’t be haughty

5) Self — humility

6) When wronged — be honorable

7) In every circumstance — peace

8) Vengeance — This is the Lords

Rather, give food and drink to your enemy

9) (bless and do not curse) see v14

There is a simple reality that defines each of these interpersonal relationships.

The abiding reality that transforms our interaction in each relationship is the presence of God.

If the Lord, whose power is leveraged for the salvation of his people, is present when his people are persecuted …

… we are free to bless and not curse.

We do not need to defend ourselves or fit or rage or seek vengeance.

Romans 8:35 (ESV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

test

Romans 8:37–39 (ESV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hymn Writer — Frederick William Faber For right is right, since God is God, And right the day must win.

Again, what do all these have in common?

They all have the sense that the Lord is near.

If the Lord is present with his people …

… who will not seek the harmony, the unity and peace into which the Lord has brought us.

If the Lord is present among us …

… we are both buoyed with joy

… and comforted in trial.

And who will puff himself up in pride …

… when the Lord who has redeemed us …

… even while we were failing in our weakness and dead in our sin

… dwells in our midst.

Hymn Writer — Frederick William Faber Thrice blest is he to whom is given The instinct that can tell That God is on the field when he Is most invisible.

APPLY

It turns out that the “marks of the true Christian”, as the ESV titles this section …

… that the genuine love that marks the church

… is nothing less than the mark of the power of God at work in the midst of his church.

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Where chapter 12 outlined our response of love given the presence of God in the church …

… chapter 13 outlines our response of submission and sobriety given the presence of God in the city.

Romans 13 — LIFE IN THE CITY

Romans 13:1-7 — Submission to Authority

Surely this is one of the most clearly evident implications for a church in Rome …

… where the authority and power of Rome looms with ever arch, statue and pillar.

What of the power of God for salvation in the face of such flexing of worldly power?

Let us remember that Jesus himself was crucified on that Roman symbol of public shame.

The cross that was raised on many a Roman hill as a symbol of Rome’s power to subjugate …

… looms large before us today as a symbol of the power of God to save.

The clear instruction regarding obedience to governing authorities is in light of that fact that …

… the authorities and powers in this world are under God’s authority not ours.

It is worth noting that the United States has an odd governing arrangement.

The elected officials do actually have authority while they are in their duly elected office.

And yet, according to our constitutional order, it is functionally true that these officials are raised to this position by the consent of the governed.

But, this arrangement does not negate a single word of the wisdom of Romans 13.

First, this very existence of our constitutional arrangement …

… is under the sovereign authority of the Lord who establishes all authority on earth.

Second, the heartbeat of Romans 13 is not about power and politics

… but faith and peace.

If we will take off our political hats and our love to argue and dispute over government and legislation …

… we will see the most clear message the Lord has for us here in Romans 13.

Our interactions with those in authority must not be marked by pride or agitation or contentiousness.

The purpose of this teaching’s placement in Romans is that …

… the members of the church would seek to avoid just such agitation

… so that other members of the church would not be troubled by governing authorities because of the prideful agitation of others.

In light of the genuine love in the previous scripture …

… if one part of the church begins to curse instead of bless

… or become haughty rather than lowly

… or thinks himself wise

… or repays evil for evil

… or takes vengeance into his own hands

… will not the whole church suffer in the city?

The church in the city is to seek to be known not for agitation, but for peace.

Oh, Lord, we need wisdom and humility.

This is a hard teaching.

But surely, we would find it far easier to understand and believe …

… if we would have a greater faith, a genuine living sense

… that the Lord …

… whose power is leveraged for our salvation

… is presently present

… that he is actively sovereign in authority at this very moment.

What submission and humility and peace is afforded to us …

… who know the presence of God

… not only in the church for our salvation

… but also in the city according to his own divine, sovereign providence.

31:00

Briefly look at the remaining two sections of Romans 13.

Romans 13:8-10 — Love in the community

This seems to be a description of life in the community of faith (v8 - “love each other”)

It is the second table of the law being worked out in the community of faith.

The authority of human government is there to enforce this most human law …

… that is evident to all who are willing to submit to God’s natural design for humanity.

Every civilization in history has had a sense for the evils of adultery and murder and theft and covetousness.

Even in those civilizations who celebrate such evil …

… as we saw in Romans 2:1 (ESV) Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

But what the church knows about this law is that it is not mere legislation against which we strain.

The summary at the front end and back end of this passage is love.

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Romans 13:11-14 — Living in the night in light of the day

Read v12

This is a description of life as the darkness presses in all around.

orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, quarreling and jealousy

v12 - put on the armor of light

v14 - put on the Lord Jesus Christ

APPLY

How do we survive this age of darkness?

We have been transformed and set free …

… to love, and so walk in, the way of light.

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Romans 14-15:13 — MATURITY AND UNITY IN THE CHURCH

Paul is far more restrained in Romans 14 than when he addresses the ceremonies and “day keeping” in Galatians and Colossians.

Paul does not seem to think in Rome …

… that there is the danger of legalistic Judaizing

… nor of gnostic abandonment of the faith.

Paul is dealing with something that is more a matter of conscience, like that in 1 Corinthians 8.

Romans seems to be dealing with the reality of a diversity of maturities.

Some are strong or mature at one point and yet weak at another.

The central instruction of this passage is to welcome one another.

Read Romans 14:3.

The person is to be welcomed with all the love and hospitality and care and membership as others whom one would deem more mature.

Read v10 - If you think you are mature, take care how you treat the immature, as you will be measured by the thrice holy Lord of all.

However one would desire to be treated by the final judge, so judge with the same patience and mercy.

Or, again, would you improve on the judgement of the Lord.

v13ff - Not only do we not judge, but we also do not lay out a new law as a stumbling block or hindrance.

We, who have stumbled over the law of God …

… and fallen short of the glory of God revealed thre

… would we now establish a new law as a hindrance for our brothers and sisters in Christ?

If a person thought that he would defile himself or become an idolator by participation in some food or drink …

… why cause him to sin by giving him a sense that he ought to eat or drink if he was really mature like you think yourself to be.

A thing may be clean in and of itself, but that does not make that thing something one must partake, or even that it would be good to partake in.

v20 is the heart of this chapter.

This brother belongs to the Lord and his his workmanship.

v22 - Mature appropriation of Christian liberty is good. But the destruction of the conscience of a brother or sister in Christ is to oppose the work of God.

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APPLY

Why do we bear with the weak and build up our neighbor (Romans 15:3)?

Because Christ has borne our reproach.

Again, Romans 14:20 is particularly important.

It isn’t merely that we are following the example of Jesus by bearing with one another and building one another up.

It is that by failure to do we we are actually working against the most precious work of God himself.

We are saying essentially that God made a mistake by bearing with our brother or our sister …

… and we will correct that mistake by being harsh and demanding immediate maturity and agreement.

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The focus of this summary is chapters 12-14.

CONCLUDING SUMMARY

Romans 15:14-33 — Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles and Plans for Rome

Romans 16:1-24 — Greetings to the Church

These are not passages to be neglected.

We will give them their two when we come to them.

But I want to move quickly to the final paragraph of this beloved letter.

Romans 16:25-27 — To God be Glory!

Now to him … — We know him.

my gospel and the the preaching of Jesus Christ — We know what he has done.

to bring about the obedience of faith — We know Christ and his gospel by faith

glory — ...

According to scripture salvation is in Christ by grace through faith to the glory of God.

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LIFE IN LIGHT OF MERCY

Why not think of oneself more highly than one ought?

The Lord has made us one body in Christ.

Why not avenge yourselves (Romans 12:19)?

Vengeance belongs to the Lord.

Why subject oneself to governing authorities (Romans 13:1)?

The Lord is the authority over every authority.

Why love one another (Romans 13:8)?

Love fulfills God’s law.

Why not judge those we think are immature (Romans 14:3)?

We must not judge the one the Lord has welcomed.

How can one fellowship with someone who does not share his convictions about what is clean and unclean (Romans 14:17)?

The fellowship we have in Christ is of greater value and to be preserved over and above arguments about food and what is clean (Romans 14:20).

Why do we bear with the weak and build up our neighbor (Romans 15:3)?

Because Christ has borne our reproach.

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APPLY

We who have been saved by the power of God …

… by grace through faith

… have been brought from death to life.

We have been rescued from slavery to sin …

… and granted the righteousness of Christ.

We have been transferred from a kingdom of darkness to a kingdom of life.

So, now we may walk in it together as the church God has made us.

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