Not Ashamed
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Prayer
I wanted to share with you before we get into the passage tonight that there is a jar in the back on the book shelf for questions. Feel free to ask any questions you might have or want to be anonymous in there.
The past week, I’ve been convicted. And God has been using this passage in my life to grow me. So let’s get into it.
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.”
I. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, sharing the general truths of it (1:16-17)
A. The gospel is something that one should not be ashamed of (1:16a)
B. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (1:16b)
The power of God for salvation first to the Jew (1:16b1)
The power of God for salvation then to the Greek (1:16b2)
C. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. (1:17a)
D. The righteous shall live by faith (1:17b)
Paul, to give you some context, in the previous passage, talked about how he has been called to preach the gospel to all, Jew, Greek, Barbarian, Wise, Foolish. He wants to travel to Rome to share the good news. And right here he boldly says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” He is not ashamed.
Why? Why do you think Paul is not ashamed?
The good news is the saving power of God, for everyone who believes: to the Jew first and the Greek. Both Jew and Gentile!
And what’s in this good news? The righteousness of God that has been revealed from faith for faith.
What does that mean?
The righteousness of God revealed?
From faith for faith?
These questions, seem basic. But they have been convicting me.
Recently, a student gave me a book titled, God has a wonderful plan for your life, the myth of the modern message. It hit me.
I was convicted about how I was sharing the good news.
Let me give you an illustration:
There is two men.
Both are handed a parachute.
The first one is told that the parachute is going to give him a wonderful experience on the plane and will be better then he had ever imagined before getting on the plane.
So he is excited and he puts the parachute on and gets on the plane. Now when he sits down his seat is uncomfortable, tries fidgeting around to find a good sitting position, and nothing.
The plane takes off and a few hours in people are looking at him and chuckling. Laughing that he has a parachute on.
The laughter is really bothering this guy so he takes the parachute off, angrily. He was told the flight was going to be a great experience.
The second man is told that on the flight the plane engine is going to stall and he will have to make a jump, so the parachute will bring him to safety.
When this man gets on the plane, the seat is uncomfortable, but he shrugs it off. People eventually start mocking him and laughing at him but he shrugs it off. Because he knows that there will be a jump, and he is thankful for the parachute.
The engine eventually stalls and he jumps and makes it to safety.
Guys, so often I have shared the good news in a manner of the first way. Telling people that they have a whole in their heart and need Jesus to fill it so he can bring them joy and peace. Yes, Jesus can bring both joy and peace, happiness, but that is not the primary reason for the Gospel.
As we see here in verse 17, the gospel reveals the righteousness of God. It’s about righteousness, that is the primary focus, not happiness.
And so, I have been ashamed. Unlike Paul I have been ashamed to share the good news, by focusing less on the bad news and more on the peace/joy.
Let me give you another example.
Let’s say someone comes up to you and says,
“Hey, I’ve got great news! Someone has paid off a $25,000 speeding fine that you owed! Isn’t that awesome!”
You, like me, would probably be confused. You might be like, I don’t remember getting a $25,000 speeding fine? If I got an email of this I probably would think it’s spam. We would think the person is insinuating something about us.
Now what if you heard this instead, “You were caught going 70mph in a blind children’s school zone and you have a $25,000 speeding fine.” That’s bad news, so when you hear that someone paid it off, the good news makes sense.
Often, so often, I have shared with others the good news without going into depth of the bad news. Have you as well?
So what is the bad news? Really.
In the Old Testament we learn about God, He is good, just, perfect, and Holy?
What does Holy mean?
Set apart.
Man rebelled against God in the garden of eden, man chose sin over God.
So God gives the 10 Commandments, basic question, raise your hand if you’ve heard of this before?
What are some of them?
1. Worship only God: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
2. No idols: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Exodus 20:4)
3. No taking God’s name in vain: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7)
4. Remember the Sabbath: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)
5. Honor your parents: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
6. Do not murder: “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13)
7. Do not commit adultery: “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:17)
8. Do not steal: “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)
9. Do not give false testimony: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)
10. Do not covet: You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
The rest of the law breaks down these 10, we see that in Exodus-Deuteronomy.
So let’s see how we do against the 10 commandments.
Who here has told a lie before?
What do you call someone who lies? A liar
So we’ve all lied, we are liars
Who here has stolen before, maybe something as small as a candy, something bigger?
What do you call someone who steals?
Thief, robber
So a lot of us have broken one or two of these.
You don’t have to raise up your hand anymore, I could ask if you have said God’s name in vain before, have disrespected your parents, and others.
So right there, we all have at least broken one of these, definitely more.
Guess what James says
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
If you break one of these laws you are guilty of them all!
And we haven’t even talked about hating other people or lust.
Jesus says hating others is the same as murdering them in your heart. He says looking at others lustfully is the same as committing adultery.
God sees and knows what we think about too! We can even break the law in our minds!
So if we are standing before God in a court of law, judged by the 10 commandments are we innocent or guilty?
Guilty, and the Bible says the price for sin/breaking the law is death. And in the Bible that death is being sent to a place of torment, weeping, gnashing of teeth called hell.
So this is really really bad news.
Some say, well God is good and He is love so He’ll overlook my sins, He will be nice to me, and won’t punish me.
Imagine a murderer before a judge here, and he says, “You are a good judge, I’ve gotten better, I’ve helped old ladies cross the street, I’m really sorry!”
The judge would look at him and say, “You are right, I am a good judge, because I’m a good judge I will uphold what is right and punish lawbreakers.”
So God says the same thing, it would be very unloving if God were to let evil get away unpunished.
So we are in trouble.
But the story doesn’t end.
God, in His love, sent Jesus, who lived the perfect life, the perfect and spotless lamb, who kept all 10 commandments perfectly. And He died in our place. He paid the fine.
It would be the same as the judge walking down to take the place of the convict and paying the price.
Jesus took on our sin.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
What did this accomplish? Because He took our place and paid our fine, experiencing our punishment. We can be set free.
God the Father accepted Jesus’s sacrifice and brought Him back to life, Jesus was buried but He rose again. Now Jesus has the power of life and death.
In His grace He gave us the gift of salvation, the rescue through Jesus from sin and death.
So how can we receive this gift of salvation?
This part is important, Jesus says in Mark 1:15
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
to Repent and Believe. Paul says the same the power of God for salvation for all who believe.
Repent means to turn away from Sin and look to God - An understanding of the weight of sin, hating it and instead loving what God loves. Do you hate your sin?
It is a heart attitude, hating your sins and loving God.
Believe, believing and relying on what Christ has done for you on the cross by taking your sins and dying in your place, and believing He rose again. To believe and rely on Him and what He says. Grace alone through faith alone.
God promises to give us His Holy Spirit when we repent and believe, and God transforms us on the inside. He makes us born again.
I shared this with the middle Schoolers on Wednesday and I want to share it with you as well here tonight, the most concerning verses in the Bible.
You might be wondering if you truly are born again?
Let’s read this passage. Then we will tie it back into Romans 1:16-17.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Individuals who have truly been born again will bear fruit. Individuals who have truly repented and have believed in Jesus are born again.
Do you see the fruit of the Spirit in your own life? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
This last part is so concerning. Many will say Lord Lord did we not do these things in your name?
There will be people, who think that they are okay, but have never known Jesus. People in church, people who have outwardly looked like “Good Christians”. People who are regular attenders, or VBS workers, youth leaders, college aged leaders, family leaders.
People who have done these things who don’t truly know Jesus. Who never truly repented or believed in Him.
I am concerned about something in the american church that others have brought up.
I have heard it said before when asked if someone is saved, individuals saying that they have prayed a prayer and were baptized. Guys this is something I need to share with you.
Simply praying a prayer and relying on that for salvation is not what saves you! Praying a prayer when you were younger is not what saves you! Even someone like a parent, sibling, pastor, youth leader, whoever else telling you that you are saved does not mean that you are saved!
In the Bible when Jesus shares the good news He doesn’t say,
The kingdom of God is at hand, the time is fulfilled, now let me pray this prayer with you so you can accept me into your heart. That is not in the Bible! We see Him say repent and believe!!
Is your faith in a prayer or is your faith in Jesus Christ alone and what He has done for you?
Guys, in the New Testament we see people come to salvation without praying a prayer?
You might remember the crippled man being let down through the roof or the lady who wiped Jesus feet with her hair. Jesus tells them both that they are forgiven.
And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Guys, it’s always been this way. The gospel is the power of salvation for all who, believe. Have you truly believed in Jesus? Have you turned away from your sins and have hated them?
Please take some time to think about this. God wants to help you if you have any questions, if you want someone to talk to I’d encourage you pray about it, talk to one of the leaders about it. God loved us so much He gave His son for us.
For that, we should never be ashamed to share.
Let’s close in prayer.
