The Unifying Gospel - Romans - Week 6

The Righteousness Revealed: A Faith That Saves

Bible Passage: Romans 1:16–18

Summary: In Romans 1:16-18, Paul emphasizes the power of the gospel in bringing salvation to everyone who believes, revealing God's righteousness and exposing human wickedness and the consequences of sin.

Application: This sermon encourages believers to recognize their need for righteousness and the transformative power of faith in Jesus Christ, helping them understand the importance of clinging to the gospel for assurance of salvation and forgiveness of sins.

Teaching: This passage teaches that God's righteousness is made available through faith in Jesus Christ and that acknowledging our sinfulness is essential for receiving this righteousness and escaping divine wrath.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of Scripture, Christ embodies the righteousness of God and fulfills the requirements of the Law; through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, believers are credited with His righteousness, demonstrating the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation.

Big Idea: True righteousness is found through faith in Jesus Christ, which offers salvation from sin and delivers us from God’s wrath, making the gospel a source of power and hope for all who believe.

Recommended Study: In preparing your sermon, consider utilizing your Logos library to explore the theological implications of righteousness in Romans, particularly focusing on the relationship between faith and justification. You might want to examine key commentaries on Romans 1 and related texts that address the nature of God's wrath and its significance in the New Testament. Additionally, looking at various interpretations of 'the righteousness of God' in early church writings could enhance your understanding of its implications for both faith and conduct.

Intro

Stand for the reading

Romans 1:16-18

We’ve moved on from Paul saying hello, offering background, and giving some foundation and now we’re starting where he’s not only giving us theology, but he’s explaining and defending it.

This is his theological argument.

We’re going to talk about how true righteousness is found in our faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith in Jesus is what offers us salvation, saving us from the wrath of God. This means that the Word of God, is a source of power and hope for all who believe.

1. Power of the Gospel

Romans 1:16

You might be someone who is not ashamed to share their passions and that everything that they do and talk about goes back to it and they make it know.

If you aren’t like that, think of someone who is. And if you can’t, then clearly you’ve never meet a Disney adult.

Think about Disney adults.

Personally, I don’t know why you’d be an adult and want to go to Disney, but there are plenty of people who do. And they talk about it. And they involve it with every aspect of their lives.

I’ve done several weddings that were Disney themed.

I’m a LOTR fan and I’m unashamed about how I incorporate that into my life.

So when we think of people not being ashamed of things, we might think of them as outgoing or brave, or maybe even strange.

Paul’s not saying, “I don’t care if I’m embarrassed,” its that he’s not afraid of being persecuted for it.

He’s not afraid to suffer for the Gospel.

Do you have anything that if you stood for it, you’d suffer for it?

Imagine if they started throwing people in jail for being Disney adults. You’d drop that right away.

Here, Paul is standing up despite what might happen to him.

He’s not afraid to suffer because he’s experienced the power of God for salvation and God’s power is greater!

This power isn’t just for Paul. It isn’t an exclusive power. Its for EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES.

It says first for the Jew and then also to the Greek.

Remember that there was no intention of starting a new religion. Jesus was Jewish and He fulfilled The Law.

The Law was given to the Jews. And Jesus is the fulfillment of The Law.

The Jews were given the instructions on righteous living first. They were offered salvation first but only for the reason of sharing it with everyone who would believe.

Why? Because God gave the Jews the covenants and promises that we read about that are fulfilled in the Gospel.

The Greeks, the gentiles didn’t know about these promises and covenants. You can’t say, “hey world… Jesus has fulfilled the promises, because they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about.”

Today, as we continue to read, we’ll see a scripture from Habakkuk in the OT, given to the Jews about righteousness.

That doesn’t mean, the Gentiles were 2nd best. We are now adopted into these promises and covenants without having originally been under them.

Its like promising something to your biological children for their future, then you adopt kids and now you give them the same promises.

Jews were given the law, therefore knowing righteousness - right from wrong, where everyone else, is being brought in without the foreknowledge of the law. Without knowing righteousness.

Paul is not ashamed to bring the Gospel to the Jews and the gentiles because as a Jew, he has knowledge FIRST. Now, he must bring it to the gentiles.

He knows the power of Jesus’ salvation because he experienced it himself.

So he’ll show us next how God’s righteousness is revealed and how we walk in righteousness.

But you can’t walk in it without ever seeing it or experiencing it right? It comes from God first.

2. Revealed Righteousness

Romans 1:17

Righteousness has to be revealed because no one was able to live perfectly righteous.

The law was given and laid out for instructions on perfect righteousness.

Then Jesus came and lived a perfectly righteous life in the flesh to show us what it looks like.

But it wasn’t until Jesus that we could experience righteousness in the way that holds back God’s wrath against our sin.

Show picture of righteousness thru Jesus

Righteousness is talking about what we do and how we are seen by God. Its based on our position in Christ.

So only by standing in alignment with Christ can we produce righteousness because it comes from God.

We can’t produce righteousness to be in alignment with Christ. We can’t work for it. We can’t earn this.

It goes back to our faith. Not a practice of faith, but a living faith that we talked about last week.

To live by faith is to stand right here.

Faith is not a one time event.

Faith to faith is how our faith continues to go on.

Its a continual stance where we are at the foot of the cross, looking to Jesus and only thru Him, do we see the Father.

Habakkuk 2:2–4 NASB 2020

Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the vision And inscribe it clearly on tablets, So that one who reads it may run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay long. “Behold, as for the impudent one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous one will live by his faith.

Johnny’s Translation - Wait for the Perfect One because your soul is not perfect so we cannot live by it. But we can live by faith in the Perfect One.

Get the cross set up

Only in this position/stance, can we see the righteousness of God.

Righteousness is both a gift from God and a call to faithful living to God. A reflection.

To do so, we need a reliance on Christ. When we’re in alignment, we can take our faith and produce righteousness. The things that we do that please God.

Because all in all, God is looking at Jesus and He sees us.

Move out of that alignment and we step outside of faith and righteousness.

So when we stand in alignment with Jesus, God sees us as righteous and sees us thru the Cross.

3. Revealed Wrath

Romans 1:18

Show picture of God’s wrath without Jesus

If we move outside of that alignment, we’re no longer able to produce righteousness, because we can’t see righteousness.

God’s wrath is poured out on all unrighteousness and sin. Anything that suppresses the Gospel.

Heres the thing: you can’t be in this position if you’re living in the faith.

You can’t share the true gospel and suppress it.

You can’t be unrighteous and full of faith living.

Righteousness is a natural outcome of our living faith.

When we’re standing here, we receive the righteousness of God and produce it.

The only way to stay here is by faith. Faith gives us the Holy Spirit which leads us to repentance and then righteousness.

Heres our sobering reminder today: that we need the gospel and we need to repent if we want to stay out of God’s wrath.

We need a healthy fear of God’s wrath by acknowledging His righteous justice, keeping us grounded in it.

Step outside of that fear, then we’re outside of justice.

Stand outside of Cross.

Anyone want to throw stuff at me?

We can stand in the refuge that Jesus provides. Why is He our refuge? Because He stood in the way. He took on God’s wrath by taking on our sin.

We can stand in refuge and be grateful for His sacrifice.

To stand outside of it, His wrath is revealed.

To stand inside of it, His righteousness is revealed.

God’s righteousness is perfection. Its the highest possible standard that makes His divine justice meaningful.

God’s wrath is justice. Him pouring out His wrath on anything that falls below righteousness. Its justice.

Christ was the only one to live a life where He was perfectly just. Perfectly righteous.

So how could His death be justice?

Because Christ stepped in the way of God’s wrath and took on the punishment for you and me on the cross. So we can have forgiveness of sins.

People throwing stuff at the cross

We could take refuge behind the cross.

But its not just simply claiming we believe in Jesus, but its believing in Him to be the Son of God.

That belief brings about faith. That faith brings about repentance. And the repentance brings about righteousness.

Thats how God sees us through the cross.

Closing

Church, take refuge behind the cross.

Thats the only way to look at the Father - thru Jesus.

The only way to experience God’s righteousness is through Jesus.

To see God, you must see Jesus.

You must see Jesus and have faith and repent to escape God’s wrath.

True righteousness is found through faith in Jesus Christ, which offers salvation from sin and delivers us from God’s wrath, making the gospel a source of power and hope for all who believe.

Do you believe? Enough to unashamedly share the Good News?

Enough to live by faith, grounded in the refuge of the cross?

Enough to look for the righteousness of God thru Jesus instead of trying to simply “do the right things?”

He gives us the strength to stand.

When you need more strength because you feel like you can’t stand, cling to the Gospel.

Its His Word and you’ll find assurance of salvation and forgiveness of sins in it.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of Scripture, Christ embodies the righteousness of God and fulfills the requirements of the Law; through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, believers are credited with His righteousness, demonstrating the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation.