The Unashamed Breakthrough

The Unashamed Breakthrough

Main Point: The Gospel is not just a set of ideas to live by; it is the power of God with whom we live.

Need

The Gospel has been widely abused and often redefined. But when we know its power we are able to experience a true breakthrough.

Interrogative Question?

If someone where to ask you, how do I get in? how do get a little of that life your living, and the hope you have?

How do you break through and experience change in my life?

What would you tell them?

Paul is going to answer that very question in our text this morning

Stand with me please

Romans 1:1–7 HCSB

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news — which He promised long ago through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures— concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh and who has been declared to be the powerful Son of God by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness. We have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name, including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling: To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:14–17 HCSB

I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the good news to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Prayer

Genesis 1-4

This text teaches us about God's desire for us and exposes how little we desire God. Upon entering the world, we are all drawn away by our sin of self-interest, craving to be rulers of our own worlds, and laboring under the false belief that our works will secure our entrance past judgment, all the while hoping for an escape.

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Romans chapters 1- 7 explain what God did to address our greatest problem found in Genesis.

In Rom 1:16-17, Paul gives a brief thesis statement, emphasizing that those who truly understand what God has done to resolve their greatest problem can be described in one word Martin Luther used: breakthrough.

Martin Luther “Tower Experience”

Martin Luther was the founder of The Protestant Reformation movement.

Most call this recalling his conversion experience based on Rom 1:16-17. He wrote of a great longing to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans but nothing stood more in the way than that one expression “the righteousness of God because of faith. I took it to mean that that Justice Whereby God is just and deals justly and punishing the unjust, my situation was that while I was an impeccable monk, I stood every day before God feeling like a sinner troubled in my conscience and I had no confidence that my merit would persuade him. Therefore I did not love a just God, rather I hated and murmured against him.

Therefore night and day, I pondered the passage and then I saw the statement “the righteous will live because of faith” And then I grasped that by cheer mercy of God who justifies us by faith thereupon I found myself reborn and have found myself going to open doors of paradise. When I discovered the distinction between the law being one thing in the gospel another, I broke through

Three factors you must grasp if you want to break through.

The Design of the Gospel

The Details of the Gospel

The Power of the Gospel

The Design of the Gospel (Rom 1:17b)

Explaination

The word Gospel a shows up more here than any place in the book and also more often here by word count than anywhere else in the Bible.

The Greek word is Yoo-ungulee- on (Yo Uncle Leon!)

In the middle of that word is the root word for Angel

What do you think of when you think of an angel? Wings, but no!

God utilized angels as messengers or Harold's.

How was news spread in Bible times?

Illustration

Harold's in Bible times were not advice givers. They were Truth tellers.

Argumentation

If the essences of the Gospel is centered on good news told by truth tellers, than it is different from every other philosophy of religion.

The Gospel is not good advice about what you Do it's primarily good news about what's already been done for you.

Other religions stress if you want to meet God then you need to do these things pray, be kind, work hard, be honest

And that's good advice, but Christianity is not about good advice it's about good news of what's already been done for you so here's your first test.

The first breakthroughs is the incredible difference between seeing the gospel not as good advice but it's good news.

If I were to ask somebody around town what is the essence of Christianity what does it mean to be a Christian they would say live like Jesus love your neighbor follow the golden rule.

Those are great ideas and if everyone did that we would have a much better place to live.

It doesn't say anything about what has been done for you no news in that.

It doesn't say anything about what has been done for you.

The Unashamed Breakthrough happens when something crucial outside of you happens for you, so that the change now in you, can bring about an outward change through you.

If go and tell others about this message you will hear three responses,

1. “Sure I knew that” shrug (indifference)

2. Like Luther who said that news left him crushed (discouraged)

3. The Pharisee who says “I do that all the time”

When Luther finally experienced that shift in Romans, he said this is a real break through.

Test #1

Is what you believe about the Gospel mainly about what you and what you must do, or is it mainly about Him and what He has done for you?

Which Is it?

Transition: The Design of the Gospel is based on what God has done for you.

The Details of the Gospel

Explanation

The details of the gospel are what Luther meditated on. He said, "In the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness by God through faith." Just as it is written: "The one who is righteous through faith, that's the person who lives.".

As he pondered this, he suddenly realized that the righteousness of God comes to him through faith, which opened up everything for him.

Illustration

The concept revolves around the idea of justification.

We're not discussing a change in the object, but rather a change in the relationship to the object.

For example, if I'm speaking to you and I say, "Please justify that statement. I'm not sure I understand what you mean.”‌

You wouldn't change the position of your statement; you’d do something to change my relationship with the statement. You’d offer me a different perspective because I'm not convinced.

In other words…

I will reject your statement unless you can present it in a new light that convinces me.

That is what justified means

Romans 5:2 HCSB

We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

To “stand” means to stand in front of a great judge, or King.

That's what Jesus has done for us. Jesus stood before the King to change His regard for us.

“Foul Ball”

Nothing has changed about me. I still hit foul balls and strike out a lot. but this man has recieved justice and he views me differently because more than enough was given for him to see me differently.

But God didn’t just stop there.

To use the backyard illustration a bit more.

What if my neighbor was the high school baseball coach and after his new perspective of me offers to teach me how to hit the ball.

An outside influence makes me better because his relationship with me went from bad to good. He sees me in a new light.

Jesus did just that He changed our relationship with God by doing something for us so that when God sees us he does not see a sinner He sees Jesus’s righteousness.

Argumentation

What brings the breakthrough in the gospel is when you realize that the gospel is more than just forgiveness.

I am not saying that forgiveness is not important or necessary but that is not the sum of what God has done.

A lot of people think when I do something wrong I look to the work of Jesus on the cross and I ask him to forgive me and I think “that's good enough” and that's what the gospel is in a nutshell.

Forgiveness is wonderful however it is not enough.

Forgiveness is way less than what's being promised here.

If it's true that salvation is only acknowledging that Jesus died on the cross and so when I ask for forgiveness I'm forgiven do you realize what that means?

That means that even though he's forgiving me for what I just did wrong, my relationship is still up to me to now get it right.

If we are only forgiven than we must take it from here to not sin anymore. That is where the sales of justice factor in to people’s faith.

Illustration

If a man who is serving a death row sentence is suddenly pardoned by the governor and he has given a new life right? No.

He has a fresh start but not a new life.

He's has a lot to navigate. He needs a job (felon)

He's gonna have to try and find housing

He's gonna have to change his old patterns of living,

There's a lot of things that still remain undone

There's a lot of questions surrounding his new life.

SO What more do you want then just to be pardoned?

The Details of the gospel is not just about getting a pardon, at the same time we confess we are sinners in need of saving we receive forgiveness and salvation which is like a soldier getting the congressional medal of honor on top of it.

Salvation is an exchange eternal life for certain death.

In 1983 Trading Places came out starring Dan Akroid and Eddie Murphy

The premise was two billionaire brothers own a brokerage firm they are so arrogant that they bet they could pick a homeless man to do the job of one of their stock brokers. Dan Akroid is stripped of all of his titles and prestige and his accounts all frozen while under investigation and the homeless man (Eddie Murphy) is given Dan’s life.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God made Him sin

Does this mean that God made Him sinful?

Did God put sin in His heart so that Jesus became an angry, selfish, drunk?

No!

He was forgiving his enemy and loving His Father even when His Father is placing the wrath on him.

It doesn't mean he became sin only that He was treated as our sin deserves.

he was given the TREATMENT that our sins deserve.

So what does it mean to become the righteousness of God?

It doesn't mean that we automatically become righteous anymore than Jesus became sinful.

It means that we are covered with his glory. Every shining accomplishment He recieved on earth was laid over us and our shame removed.

And that is exactly why God delights in us.

We have become the righteousness of God IN HIM

Test # 1 The detaisl not advice but news the second test is

Test #2 Its not just forgiveness its being clothed in the Righteousness of Christ.

It is from God as a gift. No wonder Luthier was relieved!

If you leave here and ask someone Hey are you a Christian, Chances are they will say well, I am trying. Which is still in the camp of its good advice to try and live by.

Or they will say I don’t see how I can be good enough. You are not good enough, no one is.

But the Good News (from uncle Leon), Is that, in Christ I am mad good by His doing. Not my own.

That news is special Because if you can't earn your salvation and it's gifted to you by God then you can't lose that salvation. All you can do is live in the truth of that message I am a sinner saved by Grace.

Transition: This is the Gospel!! But it doesn't stop there. It needs to be more than just a design and details, there needs to be power to provide the breakthrough.

The Power of the Gospel

Romans 1:16 HCSB

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible because when the Gospel was shared with me, my life was a waste. I was a drug addict drummer with no future, no hope, and no joy.

I was not given suggestions on how to live better

I was not handed a self help book to improve my habits

I wasn’t encouraged to serve at church or build up my righteousness.

The Gospel is not the means to help yourself so that you can find God

It says the Gospel is God. The Gospel is His power to save you

not some inner power you unlock or to save yourself.

The Unashamed Breakthrough in my life was when I discovered the Gospel was not about me finding some path of enlightenment within that would work its way out of me as righteousness,

My Unashamed Breakthrough came when I realized I was powerless to change my own life,

but when I understood the Gospel (The Good News) the propositions, the words themselves and I believed those truths

the power of God began to rush through me and He began to change me from inside out.

So instead of it being a set of ideas you begin to see it as a power.

How is that so?

The first way the Gospel shows its power is in its offensiveness.

Paul declares he is not ashamed of the it. Why would He lead with that, unless there are a whole lot of people who embarrassed of it or for you having accepted it.

Illustration

The Browns in Texas.

Everyone had pity on me!

I began to shrink away from NFL talks.

Argumentation

For conservative well to do people, they think the gospel is to easy, They get offended that an addict can in the blink of an eye be given the power and righteousness of God and have the same inheritance that they have tried to earn for years in their own works.

If you look down on others for never being able to achieve what you have been given the power of God is powerless will become powerless in you life.

People like that are trusting in their own works for righteousness.

In a traditional conservative society, the Gospel is to easy.

But in liberal, secular societies the gospel is to simplistic.

The clarity of the Gospel is offensive to them

Unless you have wrestled with the claims of the gospel you have never really recieved it.

But if you are wrestling with where the Gospel fits in your life and how you could accept the new life it offers,

listen, God is working on you! That is a good thing!

“Let Him cook.”

Let God continue to teach your soul these truths.

Ok, but what if it changes me? It will!

When I heard the testimonies from all of you on the video I was humbled!

I kept praising the Lord because you’d never have said any of those things about me if God’s power had not made me who I am.

[Invite the Team up]

My hope is that the power of the gospel is working on you even now.

Do you sense a power at work on your heart and mind when you read the word?

Do you find the Gospel at times upsetting you?

Is it “dealing with you” and you are wrestling with it?

That is God dealing with your own self righteousness

Test #2 How does the power of God’s gospel bring about instant and long term change?

Romans 1:7 ESV

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says those who have recieved the Gospel are loved by God and that love compels you, His love empowers you to live differently.

John Piper

“You are never loved by God despite your bad character where that doesn't begin to change your character.”

“The righteousness of God will never be placed upon you without it being developed within you and if it isn’t being developed within you it hasn’t been developed upon you.”

If you are called, you become attracted to holiness. you long for it you want it, because you want to look and please the one who did this for me.

If you don’t care to look like or live like God then your journey is not yet personal with God.

I’ll close with this quote from John Stout

“Faith is not simply assent to a proposition but a life with God, then it can only live by increasing and decreasing in experiences that either strengthen or endanger it.”