Unashamed

Good morning, it’s an honor to stand before you again this morning. Whenever Bro. Matt told me and Bro. Bob that he would be gone these 2 weeks and that we would be preaching back to back, we gave ourselves the names “The 1 2 punches”. Last week Bro Bob was the 1st punch and this morning you get the 2nd punch.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Romans chapter 1 verses 8 through 17.

Romans 1:8–17“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you, always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you. that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Now I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”

Prayer and Concern for the Church

In verses 8-10, the first word that Paul uses is “first”. He is expressing a priority rather than a list of things. His first priority is to give thanks to God for the church. Paul is using the phrase, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ” to emphasis the point that Christ is the one and only mediator between us and God. Through Christ, God sends His love and forgiveness to us. Through Christ, we send our thanks to God. We should also see that Paul uses “my God” to give thanks. This is showing us that the Christian faith is personal, not distant. It’s not cold and detached.

Paul then gives us the reason why he is thanking God for the church at the end of verse 8. He says “Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world.” Paul is excited here because Rome is becoming faithful witnesses for Christ. All over the Christian world, the church in Rome is being talked about for their faith. Now you might think, what’s the big deal about that? Norwood Heights has faith but the people in England or Spain don’t know about Norwood Heights. Maybe they do, but the point is that in Rome , the capital city of the pagan world, a community of believers are being talked about for their Christian faith. So now we can understand the excitement and thanksgiving Paul expresses in verse 8. He has a heart set on taking the Gospel into pagan cities where no one has been before, he is eager to come and meet and fellowship with these believers that know how to thrive spiritually in the heart of the Roman Empire.

Paul wants to go to Rome, but he knows if he can’t be there, he can still pray for the church as we see in verse 10. He doesn’t say “ well I can’t get to Rome, but maybe I can do something for you when I do get there.” We see that even today, that our prayer for other believers around the world matter. At the end of verse 10, Paul references “God’s will”. It shows that Paul trusts God’s sovereign plan. Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome arrived about 3 years before he did. Paul would eventually make it to Rome but it was after he was mobbed, arrested, imprisoned, and surviving a shipwreck. But Paul still trusted God’s sovereign plan. Do you have that much trust in His plan?

In verses 11-13, Paul tells us why he wants to make it to Rome. He wants to bless the church through his gifts of leadership and teaching but he also recognizes his own need for encouragement. Paul, like all Christians, needed encouragement. An example we should all learn from is, You need other believers and other believers need you. Sometimes people ask, “why do I need the church?” You hear lots of people say, “the woods are my church” or “the coffee shop is my church”. The questions and these answers comes out of pride and self-absorption. Here are 2 reasons you need the church: you need to be built up by others, and you need to build others up. We need to remember that our spiritual gifts are not for us, but for building up other believers.

Debt to the Gospel

Romans 1:14 “I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish.” Paul says he is obligated to preach to all people. Tim Keller illustrates the Gospel obligation we all have like this: “You can be in debt 2 ways, first you can lend me $100 and now I am in debt to you that $100 but also someone else can give me $100 to pass onto you and now I am in debt to you until I give the $100. It is in that sense that Paul is obligated to everyone, everywhere. God has shared the gospel with him. But God also commissioned him to declare the gospel to other. So Paul owes people the Gospel. He is in debt to the people until he shares the gospel with them. The same thing applies to us. We have also been commissioned with sharing the gospel so we are also in debt to the people around us.

We owe people the Gospel! We must tell others about Jesus. From professors or teachers at school to refugees trying to learn English, and everyone in between, from the children to the elderly, from your neighborhood to the nations around the world. WE OWE PEOPLE THE GOSPEL! Paul is obligated because he is in debt to Jesus Christ for a price he can never repay. It is a humbling realization when the world’s greatest theologian and apologist, an amazingly gifted man, never got over the fact that God loved him so much that the Son of God died to pay the price for his sins. Paul’s attitude was “If I am the only one who senses this indebtedness, then it changes nothing. I’m still indebted. And as long as there is one person left on Earth to whom the invitation to eternal life hasn’t been issued, then I am not a free man. I will remain a bondservant of Christ until the last lost sheep has been brought to The Shepherd. Shouldn’t we have the same attitude? As long as there are lost people in the world, we are a servant to the Gospel.

In verse 14 and 15, when Paul says Greek and non-Greek and wise and foolish, and he is eager to preach to those in Rome, he is expressing his longing to preach to the believer and unbeliever. There is no beginning and ending points on the scale of who Paul felt obligated to reach. The gospel is for both evangelism of unbelievers and the edification of believers. Obviously unbelievers need the gospel, they are guilty before a holy God, and only through Jesus can they be saved. But believers also need the Gospel. We need a better understanding of the doctrine of Christ, we need to apply it to our lives, and be reminded of our fundamental identity as the hope that is ours in Christ.

Unashamed of the Gospel

Verses 16-17 will be where we will spend the rest of our time. Paul arrives at his thesis statement for the book of Romans. “The gospel is the saving power of God in which the righteousness of God is revealed”. This is the central claim that Paul will explain and defend. Throughout Romans, Paul tells unrighteous people how to be positionally righteous and then how to live out practical righteousness. It comes through faith in Jesus, the righteous One.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.” So he’s saying this message, the gospel, is foolish to some people. What is so foolish about the gospel? Everything! If you don’t have eyes to see!

Truths that people find foolish:

There is one Triune God — not many gods — and this God created the universe

Humans have wicked hearts and are radically sinful

The single most important weekend in the history of the world is not memorial or labor day weekend, it is that of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Jesus atoned for our sins on the cross; He did not merely give an example of sacrifice to follow

God raised Lazarus physically and bodily, not spiritually

Jesus is Lord over all things

Jesus is the only way to salvation; there is no other ways

Being born again is a real experience, and the Holy Spirit really dwells inside of you

At the return of Jesus, everyone will bow and confess that He alone is Lord — every Jew, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, Scientologist, Baptist, EVERYBODY WILL BOW

There will be a final judgement, and Jesus will separate the “sheep” from the “goats”. One group will perish, and the other will have glorious inheritance,

Many mock these affirmations. They say “you should be embarrassed by these beliefs” Perhaps most Romans said something like what we hear today, “I believe what I want to believe,” “We’re too sophisticated for that stuff” But Paul says “I’M NOT ASHAMED”

We really only have 2 options: you either abandon the gospel out of embarrassment or you embrace it and boldly proclaim and share it. Jesus warned his disciples not to be ashamed of Him and His words. We must follow this same warning. Scottish Theologian James Stewart said “ There’s no sense in declaring that you’re unashamed of something unless you’ve been tempted to feel ashamed of it.”

Paul tells us important truths about the gospel. First, the Gospel is God’s power for salvation. The very message that people consider foolish actually contains the power of God for salvation. Without the Gospel, and without the power that the gospel is, there can be no salvation, no deliverance, no life. Everything God wants for us is to be found in the Gospel. You can’t form or model the Gospel into what you want it to be. If you try and clean the gospel up, you lose it.

Jesus didn’t just die for you

He literally sweated blood in agony FOR YOU

He was abandoned by His disciple FOR YOU

He was beaten beyond recognition, spit on, hair ripped out of his face and head FOR YOU

He had a crown of thorns that wasn’t really a crown but a helmet of thorns jammed on his head FOR YOU

He was mocked FOR YOU

He carried a cross FOR YOU

He was nailed to the cross for OUR sins; NOT HIS by 3 nails, one in each hand and one in the feet FOR YOU

He pushed Himself up on the rugged, splintered cross to catch a breath FOR YOU

He was then abandoned by God as HE took on the sins of the world FOR YOU

All of humanity’s sin of His shoulders FOR YOU

He yelled out “Tetelestai” “It is finished” He willingly paid the debt in full FOR YOU

BUT on Sunday, He walked out of the tomb FOR YOU

HE ROSE FROM THE GRAVE FOR YOU

The gospel is a message about a selfless, bloody Savior on Friday and an empty tomb on Sunday!

The Gospel is not simply about the power of God (though it is), but it contains the power of God. Michael Bird puts it this way, “ The gospel is a speech act, in that it not only announces the way of salvation, but actualizes the salvation in those who hear it with faith. The Gospel manifests God’s death-defeating, curse-reversing, evil-vanquishing, devil-crushing, sin-cleansing, live-giving, love-forming, people-uniting, power that results in salvation.

In verse 16, Paul also mentions “salvation”. Salvation has both an “already” and a “not yet” dimension to it. We have true salvation through Christ now, but we await the glorious fulfillment of eternal life with Him. Regarding the people that are in need of the gospel, Paul says the gospel is for everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Greek. The priority of the Jews here reflects a historical reality. God chose Israel. But that doesn’t mean the gospel is just for Israel. A transformed Israel would help transform the world. Both Jew and non-Jew have the same need: salvation through Jesus Christ.

In verse 17, Paul says that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness. I think John Stott summarizes this the best when he says, “The righteousness of God is God’s righteous initiative in putting sinners right with himself, by bestowing on them a righteousness which is not their own, but His.” If you remember a couple months ago, I preached on the parable of the wedding feast, and we talked about the wedding clothes ; scripture says clothed in righteousness but by God’s righteousness given to us by Christ.

Paul adds onto verse 17 by saying the gospel is recieved by faith and its revealed from faith to faith. Usually Paul uses the term faith to talk about the instrument by which we receive the saving benefits of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. If that is the case here, Paul is saying that salvation is by faith from beginning to end or start to finish. Real faith results in obedience, but the whole Christian life is a life of faith from start to finish.

Paul concludes this section by quoting Habakkuk 2:4 “Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.” He uses this to put an emphasis on faith is consistent with the rest of Scripture. Some of you might be thinking, “where or what in the world is Habakkuk?” If you’re not looking for it in your Bible, you will go right past it. In my Bible it is 2 and a half pages, so unless you are purposefully looking for it, you’ll fly by it. But let me give you a run down of what’s going on in Habakkuk and why Paul uses it in Romans. God made this statement to Habakkuk, who had about had it with God. First, wickedness was ruling over Israel and Habakkuk, a profit sent by God, thought that God was oblivious to this wickedness. Habakkuk proceeds to give God a piece of his mind and give Him a list of complaints. Secondly, when God said that He was going to use, the Babylonians, a more wicked nation than Israel to punish them, this resulted in Habakkuk making cries and complaints of injustice. So God then tells Habakkuk, “Dude, calm down, do you think I don’t know what I’m doing?” He says “I am about to reveal something to you and I want you to pay attention so you can go and proclaim it.” “ It is a revelation of my righteousness and will put rest to your fears of inaction and injustice.” “You need to trust me and live by faith” How many of us can relate to Habakkuk’s frustration and impatience?

Jump back to Romans, Paul is writing to the Roman church and they are kind of going through the same thing. Emperor Claudius’ reign has just ended but before that, Claudius had driven and kicked all the Jews out of Rome for causing disturbances instigated by Christ. Once Claudius reign ended, the Jews came back into Roman but obviously there was still an unsettling effect on the believers. These believers could have very well been in the same boat as Habakkuk, wondering where God was or why wasn’t He doing something while they were getting kicked out of Rome. So Paul writes them verses 16 and 17. The Gospel is the good news they been looking for and Paul is the messenger who is not ashamed of the circumstances or God. Why? Because God’s righteousness is revealed in the Gospel. The pagan power of Rome (like the Babylonians) is no match for the power of God which is the gospel. Paul says Don’t think that God’s power is absent because here it is! In the Gospel! God’s righteousness will be revealed against all sin everywhere. In the meantime, we must live by faith. Rather than thinking you are powerless to change the world, the gospel gives you the power to change lives. All of that applies to us today! You may be going through something this morning that makes you wonder “God where are you?” “Do you not see what’s going on here?” “Are you listening to me God?” “Where are you in this situation?” God KNOWS every detail of our lives and every detail of what it going on around us. HE KNOWS what He’s doing............all in HIS timing and in HIS will. We must LIVE BY FAITH.

As Paul will soon explain, every person you pass throughout the day, is in need of the good news of the gospel. According to current statistics, there are nearly 29 million people in Texas; 19 million, or 65% of the population, do not profess faith in Jesus Christ. Whether an unbeliever oppressed by sin who is trying to create their own salvation, or a believer who is oppressed by the world, who feels powerless living amongst the unrighteousness. Everyone needs the Gospel. The bottom line is that God will judge all human affairs: the Babylonians, Habakkuk, the Romans, Paul, the church, you, me ,and everyone will be judged. So where do you stand this morning?

As we close, I have 3 questions for you

Are living unashamed of the Gospel? Are you going through life with a burning desire to share the Good News of Christ with somebody? If not, this morning is the morning to light your fire again. I’ve told my students this before and maybe you too but I’ll tell you again. You’re 30 seconds of embarrassment, fear, worried about being rejected, or whatever it is that makes you afraid of sharing the Gospel, could cost someone their eternity. Your 30 seconds of discomfort could mean an eternity in hell for someone else. SAY ROGER AND MR HANOVER ILLUSTRATION HERE!!! Be like Roger, and be unashamed of the life changing power of the Gospel.

Are you like Habakkuk, wondering where God is or why He’s not doing what you think He ought to do. Maybe this morning it’s time to give Him the controls. Even though you think you have the controls, God has always had them. He’s just waiting for you to turn them over. It’s time for you to turn back to living by faith and not by sight. Trust Him this morning

Lastly, are you somebody that needed to hear the Gospel this morning? Today might have been the first time you’ve heard that Jesus loves you, He died for you and He rose again for you.

If you fall into any of these 3 categories this morning, today is the day to change that! Light for fire back for the Gospel, go back to living by faith and trusting God in everything you do, or surrender your life to God and the Gospel today! Now is the time to make the decision. Will you live unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Don’t wait!

Let’s pray