Sermon Tone Analysis

I Am Not Ashamed: The Power of God

Text: Romans 1:16-17

Theme: The Christian's righteousness is a result of the power of God to transform a life and not the result of our own effort.

Date: 01/17/16 File name: Romans_2016_02.wpd

ID Number: 175

My life was forever changed by the grace, and the mercy of God that I experienced on a Tuesday in June of 1973 when the supernatural Power of God regenerated my soul by the coming of His Holy Spirit into my life according to the promise of His Word.

In that moment God justified me and declared me righteous in His sight.

Hallelujah!

The Gospel is about a righteousness which comes from God “by faith from first to last.”

In the opening paragraph of his letter to the Christians at Rome, the Apostle reminds his readers that the Gospel is all about Jesus.

He writes: “the gospel he [God the Father — Yahweh of the Jewish Scriptures] promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

(Romans 1:2–4, NIV).

The righteousness that comes by faith comes by hearing and accepting a Gospel — it is not about performing religious rituals or keeping moral regulations.

It is about entering into a relationship with God’s Christ who revealed himself in the person of Jesus.

Why is the Apostle Paul so desirous to preach the Gospel in Rome?

And he is eager to come ... “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—” (Romans 1:11, NIV).

He is eager to come and preach the gospel because, salvation is desperately needed by a race which rightly lies under divine wrath (v.

18).

For humanity has rebelled against God, rejecting the knowledge all men have of Him (vv.

19–20), preferring to create their own gods and follow a pathway which leads inexorably to ever greater depravities (vv.

21–32).

Cast against the dark background of lost man’s corrupt society, what “good news” the Gospel is! Humanity has not chosen to know God.

But God has chosen to reveal His love and grace to man anew.

In this passage, the Apostle makes three I am statements in connection with the Gospel: 1) I am indebted to the gospel, 2) I am eager to preach the gospel, and 3) I am not ashamed of the gospel.

I.

I AM INDEBTED ... To the Gospel

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.”

(Romans 1:14, KJV 1900)

1. virtually every modern translation says, I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish (Romans 1:14, NIV84)

a. I’ve chosen to quote the KJV because I like the emphasis the word debtor implies rather then merely obligated

1) there is a sense that we may feel obligated to do something, but then never really get around to it for one reason or another

2) but the sense of being a debtor goes further than merely feeling an obligation

3) obligation implies I should and I might, while debtor implies I must and I will

b.

the word as used in this passage means to bind legally and morally

2. in vs. 14 the Apostle writes that he has a moral debt to preach the Gospel

a. the Apostle feels indebted to preach to the Greek and to the Barbarian

1) Greeks were considered the most cultured, and sophisticated of all the cultures of that day ... The Greek language was thought to be the language of the gods, and Greek philosophy was thought to be little less than divine

2) barbarians, on the other hand, referred to the uncultured, uncouth, and uneducated masses on the boarder of the Roman Empire, but in its wider sense it was used of anyone who was non-Greek (the people in fly-over country)

a) Paul declares that the Gospel is for both

b. the Apostle also feels indebted to preach the to the wise and the not so wise

1) there are the highly educated of society and there are those who cannot read or right (the intelligentsia vs. those who cling to their guns and religions)

a) again, the Gospel is for both and everyone in between

c. why?

A. THE APOSTLE IS INDEBTED TO CHRIST FOR HIS SALVATION

1. why does the Apostle feel indebted, or obligated to preach the Gospel to those in Rome?

2. because he has received mercy and grace even though he has concluded that he is the chief of sinners

3 the great debt that Saul of Tarsus owed God — indeed the debt that all sinners owe God — is the debt of absolute and perfect righteousness

a. God is a perfect righteous deity, and that righteousness is expressed in His absolute holiness

1) there is simply nothing about God that is “un-right”

2) there is simply nothing about God’s actions that are “un-right”

b.

God’s righteousness, therefore, refers to His uprightness

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.”

(Psalm 145:17, NIV84)

c. God is righteous, and all the righteousness in the entire universe has its origin in Him

1) the psalmist exclaims, "Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens … Who can compare with you, O God?" (Psalm 71:19)

2) and yet, God demands that all who approach His throne of grace are to be holy as He is holy

d. no one can compare to God, though multitudes keep trying

4. from the dawn of history people have struggled in many different ways to somehow merit acceptance by God; to measure up

a. people have always tried to gain favor with their gods by doing what they believed would please them

1) that’s why Hindus have prayer wheels

2) that’s why Muslims bow down 5 times daily toward Mecca, and

3) that’s why some professing Christians do penance

b. according to the vast majority of people living on earth, righteousness is something they must earn

1) but what does the Bible say?

• “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

(Isaiah 64:6, NIV84)

• “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NIV84)

5. there is a ledger that God keeps — a record of the debt the unconverted man owes Him — and every sin committed puts the sinner deeper and deeper in debt

a. it is a debt we cannot pay on our own

1) this is why the Cross of Christ is such an offense to the sensibilities of men

b. the offense of the cross is this: That I am so damned, and so lost, and so hopeless that if Christ had not died for me, I’d never know God and I’d never be forgiven

c. the cross is a stark reminder revealing that the best men among men are still vile in the sight of God if they don’t have Christ in them

6. but Paul put his faith in the risen Christ, and like Abraham, by his faith, God accredited him as righteous!

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

... “ (1 Cor.

15:10a, NIV)

ILLUS.

It was the hymn writer, A.M. Toplady, who wrote “Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.”

a. the Apostle Is Indebted to Christ for His Salvation

B. THE APOSTLE IS INDEBTED TO OTHERS TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF THEIR SALVATION

1. when the Lord called him to salvation and to apostleship, Paul was doing anything but promoting the gospel, but was rather bent on destroying it at all costs

a. here in vs. 14, he seems to be saying to the Romans, in effect, “Don’t thank me for wanting to minister to you.

Although I love you and sincerely want to visit you, I was sovereignly appointed to this ministry long before I had a personal desire for it”

ILLUS.

Every sincere pastor and Christian worker knows there are times when ministry is its own reward, when study, preparation, teaching, and shepherding are exhilarating in themselves.

There are other times, however, when the work does not seem very attractive, and yet you still study, prepare, teach, and shepherd because you are under obligation to God and to those you are serving.

Christ is our Lord and we are His servants; and it is a poor servant who serves only when he feels like it

2. Paul was under obligation in at least two ways

a. 1st, he was under obligation to God on behalf of the Gentiles and non-Gentiles alike

1) because God had appointed him as a unique apostle to the Gentiles (Rom.

1:5; Acts 9:15), he was under divine obligation to minister the gospel to them

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!

This man [i.e.

Paul] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”

(Acts 9:15, NIV84)

2) this spiritual debtor to the grace of God is now indebted to go to other spiritual debtors to preach a Gospel that will free them from their sin so that they also become spiritual debtors to the grace of God and who will, in turn, now be indebted to go preach the Gospel to other spiritual debtors

b. 2nd, he had an obligation, or debt, to the Roman believers directly, because of their spiritual need

1) when someone is in great danger and we are in a position to help, we are automatically and immediately under obligation to do what we can to save him

2) this is how the Apostle understands his indebtedness — unbelieving Gentiles, like unbelieving Jews, face spiritual death, and Paul was obligated to help rescue them through the gospel

3) this gospel of grace is to be preached to believer and unbeliever alike because faith in free grace saves and faith in free grace sanctifies