Living by Faith

Unashamed: The Power of Living by Faith

FAITH - Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Things hoped for ————————————conviction of things not seen

It is like the scene in the Indiana Jones movie —— search for the Holy Grail. Need to take those steps

a man of God —- a man that God spoke to was called by God once day.

was called by God one day and told to go and sacrifice his son.

this man obeyed and gathered his son and the sticks needed.

They travel to a place and the man lays his son on the altar

and just has he is to plunge the knife… angels call out for him to STOP.

This man demonstrated FAITH and obedience.

They go hand in hand

we need FAITH TO OBEY —-

this man was obviously Abraham of the OLD TESTAMENT

Abraham is the example to the Jews that IT IS NOT THE LAW THAT MAKES YOU RIGHTEOUS BUT FAITH

and that is the Point of our message today.

Paul makes a BOLD statement —- I AM NOT ASHAMED!!!

not BOLD like in BRASH

But RATHER BOLD HIGHLIGHT

MARK YOUR BIBLE —- These Two verses have shaped Christian History

Romans 1 ————verses 16-17

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Paul declares the gospel as the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

WE BELIEVE THAT TODAY —— BUT there are Denominations TODAY that do not PREACH THIS.

THEY PREACH the Gospel —— PLUS

Saving Grace that you get by doing

YET WE KNOW that it is already DONE… nothing that we can do

This statement is cutting to the TRUTH

THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO EARN SALVATION.

IT IS A GIFT

emphasizing that righteousness is revealed through faith,

Even Abraham —- walked by Faith —

Declared RIGHTEOUS because of HIS FAITH

Paul uses this to impact the JEWISH BELIEVERS

which mirrors the Old Testament declaration that the righteous shall live by faith.

The argument for centuries has always been WORKS vs. FAITH

It is like the scenes that you watch when they are advertising a FIGHT

They weigh in and then face each other

they posture and show aggressive stances.

YET. GOD already KNOWS the WINNER

We in the audience —- seek to decide WHO will WIN.

BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW

here is ROMANS —— Paul is WRITING SO THAT YOU KNOW

you can sit in the audience and wonder WHO WINS

or you can EMBRACE CHRIST and KNOW.

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THESE ARE POWERFUL VERSES

I will be sharing a story on Martin Luther in a bit.

i told you last week that CALVIN, AUGUSTINE

Simply amazing

BUT let me get real with you a minute

When i first became a Christian —- I was afraid BUT i was also EXCITED

I wanted to SHARE —- until I hit opposition

I bought a cool looking BIBLE

i even put a sticker on my CAR

and started to identify with other CHRISTIANS at CHURCH

Listen to me

I identified at CHURCH...

BUT outside

i either avoided conversations, kept my new life a secret

I was scared.

it had stop —- my mission is TO GO —- to share

Listen to Paul here in Romans

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Habakkuk 2:4 ESV

4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

WORK vs FAITH

I know the reality of being ashamed...

I like some of you didn’t call it that.. I avoided sharing

Today i am embarrassed by those LACK OF ACTIONS

Frankly, there are times today that i am afraid to share

If i want to get a REACTION in a new meeting

I say… I am a PASTOR

WHAT?????

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You see I remember the FIRST time i shared the Gospel

I was in Trinidad on a mission trip.

They say that character is who you are when NO ONE IS WATCHING

But my struggle was being something else when PEOPLE are watching.

I had to LEARN

Paul says “ I am not ashamed...”

Friends… most of us here have know the OPPOSITE

What i love about Paul is the reality of his WALK.

2 Corinthians 11:24–31 “24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers,

danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.”

Let me ask you a question

if that was a job description

WOULD YOU APPLY?

so much for the PROSPERITY GOSPEL

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the Reality is that being a CHRISTIAN takes DEEP FAITH

it takes FAITH OVER FEAR

FAITH OVER FEAR

Friends —- Satan wants us to FORGET—————— OR DOUBT the POWER OF GOD

We must be BOLD ——

IF STORY OF YOUR LIFE was WRITTEN DONE

STANDING FOR JESUS —- IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED

your works are NOTED

BUT YOUR FAITH is YOUR IDENTITY

Bad people can do GOOD THINGS

not about Good Things

BECAUSE

CHRISTIANS do CHRIST THINGS

We need to obey… BE NOT ASHAMED

FRIENDS —- GOD IS WITH YOU ——- GOD

Let me tell you a story about a man named Martin Luther.....

Martin Luther

Martin Luther:

Born 1483

As an Augustinian monk (age 21),

he first assumed “righteousness of God” described God’s perfect moral character,

rendering salvation unattainable and fueling despair and depression (German Anfechtung).

Bible Degree in 1509

Pilgrimage to Rome about 1510: climbing the Scala Sancta (sacred stairs) for indulgences, found no inner change;

later admitted he “hated” God’s perfect righteousness because he could not attain it.

Teaching Psalms and Romans, he observed the emphasis on “believes” (v.16) and “faith” (three times in v.17).

Luther posts 95 theses on the Door of Wittenberg Church in 1517

Martin Luther's act of nailing his 95 Theses to the church door was a bold response to the laws that bound the church.

Luther emphasized salvation through faith, not by the works prescribed by the law.

His defiance led to the Protestant Reformation, unveiling how faith liberates us from legalistic constraints that suffocate grace.

His life is a testament to the transformative power of faith over the law.

HIS LIFE get to Mirror PAULS

Arrested, excommunicated, declared HERETIC

The CHURCH was amazingly POWERFUL

owing more land and having more wealth than the KINGS

For 1000 years or more the WORLD is LEAD by what is called CHRISTDOM

you see this if you watch movies today —- the knights with the crosses, the kings visiting the POPE, Bishops controlling Policy

and MARTIN Luther discovers the TRUTH

He DECIDED TO BE BOLD

Martin Luther from spending hours in CONFESSION DAILY

Luther’s confessional struggle: since forgiveness requires confession, he labored to remember every sin daily,

confessing up to six hours;

his confessor Johann von Staupitz rebuked the scrupulosity, urging him to teach at Wittenberg.

I believe this PRIEST Finally SAID STAUPITZ to Martin —-LOL

imagine sitting with someone for SIX HOURS

- listening to someone confessing SIN

BUT MARTIN

discovered that it is FAITH

The history says that after years of sitting with a PRIEST and confessing Daily

Martin is encouraged to TEACH at UNIVERSITY

and in Studying ROMANS and PSALMS — His teaching subjects

Luther’s words: initially he saw it as God’s righteousness in punishing;

then grasped that “through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith,”

feeling reborn and as if entering paradise.

This insight ignited the Reformation.

Martin moved the WORLD to seek TRUTH

It is faith in Christ’s work—not the believer’s faithfulness—that saves

Faith not WORKS

Those FIGHTERs are CLEARLY IDENTIFIED —— the WINNER IS FAITH

ROME

Remember Paul is Writing this into a Church planted in the PINNACLE OF POWER

Romans is exciting, deep and made for us to GROW with UNITY and FOUNDATIONAL

Wrath of God: 1:18–3:20—God’s righteous wrath against sin in the world.

Grace of God: 3:21–8:39—God’s gracious answer to wrath, providing salvation.

Plan of God: Chapters 9–11—God’s sovereign plan regarding Israel and the nations.

Will of God: Chapters 12–16—Practical outworking of righteousness in life.

Roman was the PININCLE OF POWER

Rome’s military might (Pax Romana, legions, empire-wide census under Caesar Augustus) could enforce external order

but could not effect internal moral change.

Roman writers acknowledged moral decay: Seneca called Rome “a cesspool of iniquity,” Juvenal “a filthy sewer.”

The World quaked when Caesar was upset.

The Empire had power beyond anything we know today.

There is TRUTH that ROME was WORSE than anything TODAY

TOTAL WORLD POWER

PAUL writes this LETTER to ROMAN CHRISTIAN

STAND FIRM ON TRUTH

I am coming to Strengthen You through the SPIRIT

The GOSPEL is the POWER OF GOD

it is DYAMITE to the Walls of Man’s Way

it is the Creator of the ROAD to ETERNITY

no more walls of MAN

but rather the GATE to HEAVEN.

CONCLUSION:

So Paul writes Romans

History is a GOOD TEACHER

a famous event in Christian History in about 48 -50 AD

Peter, Paul and James are part of the JERUSALEM COUNCIL

the mission to seek THE TRUTH

and Paul writes this letter INTO the CHURCH

in the most powerful and perverse CITY in the WORLD at the TIME.

I shared that i BELIEVE

PAUL was there at the TRIALS of CHRIST

PAUL spent years after Damascus Studying with the SPIRIT and The WORD

PAUL history — His resume —- Shaped by JEWS and REMODELED BY CHRIST

Then Paul goes on MISSION —— PAUL LIVES THE GREAT COMMISSION

and PAUL is at the COUNCIL to DEFINE and CLARIFY GOD’s WORD

here is my conclusion today —-

Romans is POWERFUL

and NECESSARY to KNOW the TRUE FAITH

The KEYS verses in this LETTER are RIGHT HERE TODAY

Romans 1:16–17 “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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

We need to become like CHRIST

CHRISTIANS do CHRIST THINGS

We do it with no SHAME, no APOLOGIES

we CRAVE the REAL POWER—— THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

the REAL TRUTH in this WORLD

Romans 1:17 “17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

SAY It with me this morning

SAY IT TO CHRIST RIGHT NOW

I AM NOT ASHAMED

I WILL LIVE BY FAITH

Lets Pray