What does it truly mean to be a Christian?

Romans 1:14–17 ESV

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So 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 for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Statement of Doctrine Or Application:

“What does it truly mean to be a Christian”

Intro

Statement of Proposition: As believers (true believers) we are called to have a servants mentality, we are called to preach, evangelize, Disciple, but here is the kicker God’s counsel consists of EVERYONE.

Texts that support

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the [a]afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And [b]freedom to prisoners, 2  To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all who mourn,

Matthew 12:18-21

18  “Behold, My [a]Servant whom I [b]have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul [c]is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim [d]justice to the [e]Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20  A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He [f]leads [g]justice to victory. 21 And in His name the [h]Gentiles will hope.”

Why does this matter?

We aren’t called to preach or teach some and not others. The bible doesn’t teach us that. It teaches us that EVERYONE needs GOD. As Paul puts it “Greek and Barbarians”, the “Wise and unwise” and how can we possibly do this? Through a servants’ mentality. We were all at one time unwise, unsaved, still unworthy, but through God’s sovereign grace we were called to him.

3 Main Points:

1. We are all debtors

2. Do Not be ashamed

3. Justification is powered by Christ

Main Point #1: We Are All Debtors

Statement:

All of us are under an obligation to be servants to the Word of God

Prove:

14 I am [a]under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 In this way, for my part, I am eager to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

We are not called to be Apostles and we are not all called to preach the way that Paul preached, but in a way we are to preach the word of God.

The word I want to focus on for a second is:“Debtor”:

If we owe a debt to somebody we owe them a certain amount of money

Debtor can also mean: “to be under obligation”

To be bound by duty or necessity to do something

Paul says that he is under an obligation, he is under a necessity.

Paul is telling us that: “This is who he is, This is his work, This is his life.”

He preaches the Gospel to the world because of these reasons.

Paul has this knowledge of Christ, He understands the importance of the Gospel.

The knowledge is that man can be right with God here and now; he does not have to wait and start living a better life to do so.

As believers we all have this knowledge, correct? Yes

But our knowledge can’t just be theoretical, we have to have experience.

As true believers We have all had to rely on our faith at times in our life, correct? Yes, that is what I call experience.

These are the only prerequisites that we need

We all have that transition from darkness to light.

The next fact that Paul brings up is that he is a debtor to “both the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.”

I.e. everyone

Here Paul begins to introduce faith by justification. All have sinned, there is none righteous, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is needed by everybody.

You are not a Christian because your parents are Christians or that you go to a church that teaches proper theology. That doesn’t save.

Face to face with God everybody is depraved.

Paul was a man that could preach on Mars’ Hill and then preach in Galatia where there was a more primitive culture and lacked the type of knowledge of philosophy that some Greeks had.

Whenever you come across anything in life that is exciting, something that gives you great satisfaction, you feel the emotion of wanting to tell people about it and you do. If you read a book, watch a movie, whatever it is we want to tell people about it, we don’t keep it to ourselves. This is Paul when talking about Christ and God. Paul is like a man in a vice, and this vice is being screwed up and tightened up, until life is almost pressed out of him.

What is pressing him? The Love of Christ, This love of God that sends His only son, and even makes him to be sin for us. Paul has seen it and now he wants to tell everybody about it.

Flowers in text:

1 Peter 3

15 but [i]sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make [j]a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear,

We are called to always be ready to give account of the Gospel. To anybody at any time.

1 Corinthians 9:16

16 For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim the gospel.

Why would we not want to share the word of God with somebody?

1 Corinthians 9:19

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.

Talk about a humble statement

Romans 1:11

11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you

What knowledge and experience does Paul have that he is writing to the Romans? What do they need to hear from him? They are “babes in Christ” They need to be strengthened.

Illustrations:

How would it look if a pastor would only preach to a certain congregation? Or only to a certain number of people? What would God think of that?

Apply or Confront:

Main Point #2:We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel

Statement

As believers we are to boast and glorify in the word of God even in a world that hates it.

Prove

16 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.

Why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? Because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

He glories in the gospel, he boasts in it

Paul is so unashamed of it he is willing to travel to Rome (the center of the world, great, military, socially, politically). It is a pagan city and yet he would preach at the Imperial Palace where Caesar lives. He is unashamed of the Gospel

What tends to make a Christian be ashamed of the Gospel? The fact that the world ridicules it and regards it as fallacy and fallible.

People try to look at the Gospel as philosophy, but in reality it's a statement of a number of facts. You can dispute philosophy, but you can’t dispute facts. Philosophy just plays with ideas. It doesn’t save or deliver.

And People hate when their “feelings” differ from facts

Here we are saying that the most illiterate person in the world today can listen to the same gospel as the smartest person in the world and by grace receive salvation.

The Gospel itself is something that produces the reaction of offense in people.

The offense of the cross is this: I am so condemned, So lost and hopeless, that if Jesus had not died for me, I would neve know God and I could never be forgiven.

Flowers in text

2 Timothy 1:8

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of either the witness about our Lord or me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

Even though people are Christians there may be a little shame at times

2 Timothy 2:15-16

15 You are aware of this: that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my [j]chains,

Many people were ashamed, They knew that Paul was there, but they acted like they did not know. They did not want to be associated with them. They were ashamed of what he represented; the Gospel.

Illustrations

Apply or Confront

The World we live in today is going to tell us that it is okay to not stand with the gospel 100%. You can pick and choose. Think of some hot topic items in today’s world. (Illustration of what being ashamed might look like in today's world)

Main Point #3:Justification is powered by Christ

Statement

There is only one way to salvation and is through faith in Christ. Christ is the only door.

Prove

16b for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed [b]from faith to faith; as it is written, “[c]But the righteous will live by faith.”

What is salvation?

1. Man is delivered from the guilt sin

2. Man is delivered from the power of sin

3. Man is delivered from the pollution of sin

2 Peter 1:4

4 [a]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

It is only through the power of Christ and the work of Christ that we are saved and called to the Lord.

We are so condemned, lost, hopeless that only Christ could save us

People hate that, it annoys them in a world where they are told they can do anything and everything they want, but eternity and salvation they can’t do. It annoys them and because of that they lash out at it and what it stands for.

Salvation also restores our communion with God

Before we were saved we were under God’s wrath

“To the Jew first and also the Greek”: Referring to the order chronologically. Salvation is of the Jews. The savior came from the seed of David after the flesh. It started with the Jews.

Here we have the thought that only the Gentiles needed the Gospel. That the Jew did not need it because they were Jewish inside the fold of God.

The Jewish people need the Gospel just as much as the Gentile or Greek.

The Jewish people had the law, but still needed to be saved.

Flowers in text

John 10:1

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

John 10:11

11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 10:16-17

16 And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.

Illustrations

Apply or Confront

“I am not ashamed of the gospel?” The question is, what is the reason?

It is: the only way to salvation, it is righteousness from God himself, it is God’s power, it is God’s dynamic.

Confront Culture or False Teaching

We live in a work based society:

Study Hard = Good Grades

Work Hard = Promotion at work

Train Hard = Success in sports

Salvation is the only thing in the world where it is completely out of our hands. We can’t grind our way to salvation.

But as sinful people we want to think we have a choice and people are going to take advantage of that and we see a lot of different denominations and “preachers” that teach a works based or arminian perspective to salvation

Application:

Have a debtors mentality

Focus on what it means to be a believer and follower of Christ

Humble yourself