20240519 Romans 1:1-2 - What is the Gospel?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Good morning, we’ve been having some internet issues and so, if the stream is choppy or drops, we will be uploading a recording of the service later today.
Our call to worship this morning is from Psalm 2
Call to Worship: Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage And the peoples meditate on a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against Yahweh and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord mocks them. 5 Then He speaks to them in His anger And terrifies them in His fury, saying, 6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like a potter’s vessel.’” 10 So now, O kings, show insight; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Serve Yahweh with fear And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, 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.
Introduction:
R.C. Sproul taught Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological seminary for many years.
When asked, what is the gospel by pastor Steve Lawson, pastor RC Sproul stated:
“There is probably no term used more loosely in the church than the term “gospel.” You hear preachers say all the time that they are “ministers of the gospel” or that they “preach the gospel,” but many times they have no idea what the gospel actually is!
During my years teaching seminary, one of the D.Min. classes I taught was on justification. What I would characteristically do is put the word “gospel” on the blackboard and ask the ministers who were present to give me a definition of the gospel. They would say things like, “getting peace in your life,” “being reconciled with God,” “gaining purpose and self-esteem.” All of those things were true to a degree, but none of them qualified as a definition for the gospel. “
What is the gospel? What an important question to answer correctly. In the words of Steve Lawson, “You cannot be wrong about the gospel and be right with God. To be right about the gospel is to be right about everything that truly matters. Getting the gospel right is that important.”
The theme of Romans is the gospel. The Book of Romans shows us our need for the gospel, it tells us how we may receive salvation through the Gospel, it shows us how we are transformed by the Gospel. Most important, it tells us about who makes the gospel possible, the Father who sovereignly justifies, the Son who is our sovereign substitute, and the Holy Spirit who is the sovereign giver of eternal life.
Romans 1:1-7 is part of the first section of Romans, which is Romans 1:1-17, which we will call The Letter Opening.
The first 7 verses constitute what is called the Prescript. In ancient official letters, the prescript is the first part of a letter. The prescript indicates the name of the writer, who the letter is being written to, and includes the salutation.
The 21 New Testament letters are often call Epistles. Epistle comes from the Old English epistola, via Latin from Greek epistolē, from epistellein ‘send news’.
The prescript of Romans is the longest of his letters. Paul uses the first 6 verses just to introduce himself .
This morning we will look at the first two verses:
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
(1) Paul the writer
Until his conversion, Paul was Saul of Tarsus a devout Jewish pharisee who was intent on destroying a sect of Judaism known as The Way. In Acts 9 the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus and Saul was converted, called and commissioned. Once an enemy, he now became
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
(2) Paul the slave of Jesus
While a bond servant was hired by his master and paid wages, a doulos or slave was owned by the master. The bond servant was hired, the slave was purchased.
The bond servant retained some personal rights and privileges, a slave had few rights and freedoms and was considered property.
In exchange for complete obedience, the slave’s needs were met by the master.
The phrase connotes total devotion, in other words, Paul was completely at the disposal of his Lord.
Paul saw himself as purchased by Jesus, and he is conveying to the readers that he now lives a life of unwavering obedience to the one who promises to meet all of his needs. He is now committed to obeying the will and commands of Christ.
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
(3) Paul the called apostle
The word called has significant meaning in Romans and in the New Testament.
It begins with Matthew 4:19
19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Paul did not volunteer - he was called
15 But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
And Paul was set apart to be an apostle
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Apostle comes from the Greek word meaning “one who is sent”
An apostle was one who spoke only the words and commands and edicts of the ruler who commissioned him. He did not speak his words of authority but the words of the one who sent him to a group of people.
Paul was called by God and spoke to people only the words of Jesus Christ and with the authority of Jesus Christ.
And was he set apart for?
(4) Paul, set apart for the gospel
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
And so we see three parallel designations for Paul. These three designations
identify his master, identify his office, and identify his purpose
Paul’s purpose: having been set apart for the gospel
“having been set apart” is one word in the original Greek New Testament and it points to the divine work of God who “severs” a person from the world, separates them from the flock of humanity and gives them a divine purpose.
While we are not apostles, we are called to come out from the world and be separate, to not be unequally yoked with Christ on one side of the yoke and the world on the other. We are to be singularly devoted to Christ and to serve him only with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
In his mother’s womb Paul was set apart and called to be an apostle but the words “set apart” point to the exact ministry that Paul was called to:
set apart for the Gospel
(5) What is the Gospel?
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
The greek word for gospel is euangelion, glad tidings, the good news.
While the good news is that Jesus will deliver us from our sin, free us from our burden of guilt, and give us and an eternal and abundant life, we have to be careful that we do not create a gospel that is about us.
The gospel is the gospel ofGod, the gospel of Jesus Christ
The gospel is not, God has a wonderful plan for your life. The gospel is not your testimony of conversion, even though both are true and wonderful.
To answer the question “What is the gospel?” is rather simple.
The gospel is Jesus,
The gospel is the person and work of Christ—who Jesus is and what He did.
The gospel also describes how the benefits of His ministry are subjectively appropriated.
The gospel the person and work of Jesus in the Old and the New Testaments - that’s why Paul says, “which he promised beforehand through his prophets
The pressing question that the gospel answers is, “How can an unjust person become just in the sight of God?”
This why Paul says this in 1 Cor 15:1-8
1 Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I proclaimed as good news to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I proclaimed to you as good news, unless you believed for nothing. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that, He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Unless we tell people about the person and work of Jesus, who he is and what he did and how they must believe this by faith, we have not shared the Christ centered gospel, we have simply created self centered worship that revolves around the music or the pageantry or the self centered story of what we have done.
Now may the Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep restore your soul, lead you in right paths, walk beside you in the dark valley, and bring you safely home to the home of the Lord forever more. Amen.