(Romans 1:1-7) Who is Jesus? And Why Should I Care?

INTRODUCTION:

One of the great questions that has challenged the world is - who is Jesus?

Interestingly,

this was a question that Jesus cared about.

In the Gospel’s,

Jesus was concerned about who people thought he was.

Jesus asked his disciples who the people thought Jesus was

and

who did the disciples think Jesus was.

Matthew 16:13–16 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:13-

and though we live 2,000 years later - much of human history has centered around this question - who is Jesus?

We could ask this in terms of religious movements.

and though we live 2,000 years later- that

a. Who is Jesus to the Buddhist?

Many Buddhists view Jesus as a great spiritual man.

For the Dalai Lama, Jesus is the model of a "spiritually mature, good, and warm hearted person."

For the Dalai Lama, Jesus is the model of a "spiritually mature, good, and warm hearted person." To emulate him, we should practice meditation. ( The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus)

( The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus)

He is a model of a Good spiritual man.

Now we would not disagree with the fact that Jesus was a good man worth following.

But Buddhism would see the Dalai Lama as also a good man.

We must consider,

Is Jesus a good man or THE goodman?

b. Who is Jesus to the Muslim?

For the Muslim's,

Jesus is another great prophet who prepared the way for Mohammed.

We heard from our missionary -

Islam does not deny that Jesus was a great prophet.

- They deny he was more than just a great prophet.

- They deny he was also the Son of God.

We must consider,

Is Jesus simply a prophet of God or is he also the Son of God?

Is Jesus

c. Who is Jesus according to Atheists (those who do not believe there is a God at all)

d. Who is Jesus according to Atheists?

To Atheist,

Jesus may have been a good man.

Jesus may have been even a spiritual man.

But for many,

they also would say have been a raving lunatic.

And in fact,

C.S. Lewis noted this deli ma.

QUOTE:

C.S. Lewis said it this way in his book,

Mere Christianity.

QUOTE:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.

He did not intend to.”

So an informed atheist claims,

Jesus was a lunatic?

One final area of thought,

consider what we relie on in

d. Who is Jesus to the Believer of the Gospel of Christ?

He is our Lord and Savior.

Our Redeemer.

Our God.

The One who Gives us purpose and joy.

The one who rightfully should change and transform our lives from sin into God’s holiness.

To say it this way,

the believer both submits to the Lord and places his entire eternal life in his hands.

One of the core studies all people must do,

whether Buddhists, Muslim, Atheist, or Gospel-Believing Christian is to examine exactly who Jesus is.

Fortunately,

because

Islam

Just a prophet?

Just us a great man?

our text this morning addresses exactly that question.

Believer,

Our text this morning,

you are trusting in Jesus to save you from God’s judgement over sin.

tells it was written by the Apostle Paul.

Paul was an

You are saying,

an eye witness of the resurrected Christ

Jesus is my lord and master.

Jesus should change your life?

an Apostle sent to proclaim who Jesus Christ was

and the founder of many NT churches.

But on what basis can we say this?

This is who Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, said who Jesus is?

Romans 1:1–7 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Question:

So,

Who is Jesus?

According to Paul,

PROPOSITION: Jesus must be our Lord

TRANSITION: and this text gives 4 descriptions of Jesus that demonstrate why.

Jesus is:

1) A Fulfilled Promise from God.

One of the greatest truths about God -

is that God is not like us.

ILLUSTRATION:

Just consider,

how many of you had Dad’s that didn’t keep their promise?

And there is a lot of reason’s why?

- Dad promised to be at that basketball game,

but when Dad made that promise he didn’t know the basement was going to flood.

- Dad promised the 8 year old that he would take them to see every baseball park in the country when they turned 18

but 11 years later the trip was long forgotten.

Dad promised the 8 year old that he would take them to see every baseball park in the country when they turned 18 - but 11 years later the trip was long forgotten.

And those are the promised breakings under the best of circumstances.

By Fathers who do love and care for their kids.

Never-mind the many fathers who entirely abandon, neglect, or Wiesel out of their financial and relationship responsibilities.

Now I know some of you are not married, but you had parents. I mean just consid

For many,

we can name fathers, mothers, friends, spouses ....who have failed to keep their promises.

Praise God that God is not like people.

God is a promise keeper.

is that God is a promise keeper.

Scriptures are filled with promises to His people and even promises to unbelieving wicked enemies of God. And we see God masterfully keep every promise.

His power shall reign forever and ever - song

His power shall reign forever and ever - song

When you sing about God’s power, what are you also singing about - How God demonstrated his power by keeping his promises.

And may I say,

Jesus is God keeping his promise.

Romans 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

Romans 1:2 ESV

2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

Now where do we find Jesus being promised?

There is many ways the whole is pointing to the need for a promised savior.

Jesus fulfilled the promise

a. The first promise in the Bible -

Promises of a savior who will crush the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve into sin.

It was a promise of hope to an Adam and Even who had just brought sin, disease, and death upon all their children. Sin, Disease, and Death upon us as the children of Adam and Eve.

And after that -

b. There are many promises of a Savior that can be found from literally cover to cover in the Old Testament.

For example, Isaiah is often cited as the 5th Gospel - because it makes so many promises about the coming savior.

To mention one,

Isaiah 25:8–9 ESV

8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

- describe Jesus as being that savior. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus conquered death.

- This is one example of many,

This is one example of many,

of where the prophets promised of the Gospel beforehand.

So,

Who is Jesus?

The is the promised deliver, redeemer, and savior of the Old Testament.

And along with that idea, our text declares

Jesus is:

2) An Ancestor of David.

Romans 1:3 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

If you are not a Christian familiar with the Old Testament,

then this might not seem like that big of deal.

But the fact that Jesus is the descendent of David is not a trivial fancy.

ILLUSTRATION:

Many people are very excited when they realize they are the great, great, great, great grand child of someone famous!

Many people are very excited when they realize they are the great, great, great, great grand child of someone famous!

Perhaps Washington, or General Patton, or Theodore Roosevelt.

Perhaps Washington, or General Patton, or Theodore Roosevelt.

But what real value is it to be able to trace your lineage back to these people. >>>> It’s a Trivial fancy.

However, the coming descendant of David was actually a hope and promise to Israel - and therefore this is not a trivial fact.

But what real value is it to be able to trace your lineage back to these people.

However, the coming descendant of David was actually a hope and promise to Israel - and therefore this is not a trivial fact.

Psalm 89:1–4 ESV

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah

For the Israelite - Jesus was the promised ancestor of David.

- He is the one who will carry the children of David into immortality.

- He is the one who will reestablish the throne and Kingdom of David forever.

Being a descendent of David,

was not trivial matter.

It was instead the greatest love promise a Jew could find in the Old Testament.

It meant steadfast love, because God was going to keep his promise even though they were sinners - who could have rightfully could have been judged and cut off.

ILLUSTRATION:

Perhaps think about this way.

If money was no object,

what would be your dream vacation?

There are perhaps many that we could come up with -

But one I always thought would be awesome to take -

But one I always thought would be awesome to take -

is to spend year and visit every national park and national monument in the country.

Everything from Gettysburg to the Channel Islands and in between.

What if I promised my daughter that on her 18th birthday,

we would do that.

Now she is 7 now, but how is she going to be at 1159 the day before she turns 18 -

she is going to be pumped.

One of the most exciting adventures of her life - is about to happen.

- That gives you perhaps a glimpse at just how wonderful it would be for a Jew to hear that the Jesus is an ancestor of David.

- They would recognize immediately that they were on the door steps of an incredible promise being fulfilled.

To say it this way,

They would recognize immediately that they were on the door steps of

they were on the doorsteps of immortality - Salvation found over sin, disease and death >>>>through the promised Savior Jesus Christ.

And we all get enjoy this blessing of having known through Scripture the ancestor of David - the Savior of the World.

So,

Who is Jesus?

Praise God he is an ancestor of David.

Now,

Probably one of the great objections that a Buddhist, Muslim, or Atheists would have is that; Jesus is not merely a man who is an ancestor of David,

They would agree he was a great man, who was descendent of the Israelite king David

They would agree he was a spiritual man.

For Buddhism and Atheism, they may even agree that his teachings were incredibly wise.

But, they would object that Jesus is the the Son of God.

Further,

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is:

According to our text,

Jesus is:

3) The Son of God

Notice the double emphasis of this point in .

Romans 1:3–4 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Rom 1:3-4

“concerning his son” and then with bold declaration state that Jesus was declared the son of God by the power of the resurrection.

Note: Technically Word is “appointed” and not declared. This deals with the demonstration of how we know he is the Son of God as opposed to whether he actually was the Son of God. The Power of the Resurrection Designated or Appointed him as being what he already was - the Son of God. In this sense, the appointment, was a designation or determination by the Divine Authority. Not an appointment to a new position.

Now we have talked this morning about the reality that there many who deny that Jesus is the Son of God.

How do we truly know he is the son of God?

Understand the intentional parallel with a word we translate - “According to”

So let’s go back to verse 3 for a second.

How do we truly know that Jesus was of the offspring of David?

(v 3) Because according to his flesh - in other words we trace his genealogy.

That is what and demonstrate for us.

According to the flesh - Jesus is a descendant of David.

Now, v. 4.

How do we truly know that Jesus was the Son of God?

(v. 4) Because of the Power of the resurrection designated him as the Son of God.

We often fail to understand the astonishing power of a resurrection.

ILLUSTRATION:

In our world,

we get the power of destruction.

When consider the amazing military technology the last 100 years has produced - we get the power of destruction.

I was just talking to Vince about the amazing power of the USS Missouri -

16 Inch guns firing an expanding armor piercing round - 25 miles weight between 1900 and 2700 lbs.

The end result:

The Armor Piercing (AP) shell fired by these guns is capable of penetrating nearly 30 feet (9 m) of concrete

The High Capacity (HC) shell can create a crater 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep (15 x 6 m).

Have that land on top of you, and it will literally disintegrate you.

But which is more powerful?

The ability to disintegrate your enemy - or the ability to raise that person from the dead?

Humanity has done well to destroy people,

but has never even came close to bringing people back from the dead.

Which is why the resurrection is such a definitive proof.

Resurrection is a power in which neither people nor demonic forces have - it is power only available to God.

So is Jesus the Son of God?

Let me submit resume bullet point #1 - God rose the crucified, buried, and decaying Jesus from the dead.

And finally,

Our text declares

4) A Resurrected Savior

Jesus is:

4) Our Lord

Romans 1:4 ESV

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Now as we consider this text -

On one hand it would be accurate to say this is another description of Jesus that tells us who he is.

- But also this phrase is a culmination of what the Gospel is and who Jesus is.

What is the Gospel -

Well it is about a person who is the promised savior, descendent of David, the Son of God - who ultimately is our Lord.

Well it is about the promised savior, who is descendent of David, the Son of God - who ultimately is our Lord.

Further, Because Jesus is the Promised Savior, the Promised Descendant of David, and the Verified Son of God -

he ought to be our Lord.

The implication of the 3 previous descriptions is that Jesus ought to be our Lord.

What does it mean Jesus is our Lord?

First, this is personal.

Jesus is not simply your Lord,

but he ought to be my Lord.

And when you get enough people together who call Jesus my Lord - then we can say as church he is our Lord.

It is not good enough to acknowledge Jesus as Lord over others, but this text teaches us that each of us must also accept him as our personal Lord.

But before you confess Jesus as your Lord,

we must understand what this term means in our Bibles.

But to call

I think often we confuse this with King.

Lord in English can mean king, master, or nobleman.

But the original language this had more the idea of a master.

This is a better term for us to understand what Paul is telling us.

Jesus ought to be my master.

Certainly in other places it may mean King because Jesus is the Masters of Masters, or the Lord of Lords, but here it simply the emphasis that he is our Master.

A master is someone you take orders from.

Most employment these days would have been self-employed, slavery, or appointed service such as duty in the Army.

What is a master to a slave or a soldier -

Someone you ought to submit to.

Someone you ought to obey.

Someone who is entirely in charge of you. (Welfare, Posses your time)

ILLUSTRATION:

They say how high to jump, you jump that high.

So Jesus ought to be our master.

This means - we ought to be listening and obeying the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels

and the writings of his Apostle, found in the NT.

Jesus is our master,

We ought to

which means - if God’s Word says it - I ought believe it and at times that means I ought to do it.

I think of world who calls Jesus a great man, a great spiritual leader, someone who

CONCLUSION:

CONCLUSION:

So From this text,

Paul answers our Question.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is:

1) A Fulfilled Promise from God.

a. The first promise in the Bible -

b. There are many promises of a Savior that can be found from literally cover to cover in the Old Testament.

2) An Ancestor of David.

3) The Son of God

At the fitting conclusion, he ought to be:

4) Our Lord

From this text,

PROPOSITION: Jesus must be our Lord.

Some outright reject Jesus in wicked hatred of God.

But many others struggle with the question - Who is Jesus?

Many people believe that Jesus was a great teacher.

Many poe

Many people believe that Jesus was a wonderful Spiritual Leader.

You know many religions

Many people believe that Jesus was a marvelously wise man.

Many Buddhists, Muslims, and Atheists acknowledge these observations.

, with some type of faith and those who have no faith

However, they reject him as the Son of God and their Master.

But as C.S. Lewis made a great point -

You need to decide if Jesus was a lunatic, or a demon, >>> or exactly who he claimed to be?

You can’t accept his wisdom and greatness - and deny that he is

the promised savior and Davidic king of the World,

the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead

which demonstrates his rightful demand to be our Lord.

and was raised from the dead

Now, Church, This ought to effect our evangelism.

It is not good enough that someone believes in Jesus.

demonstrating he is our Lord and Savior.

Great - most religions believe in Jesus.

We must challenge unbelievers that a Gospel-Believing Christian must also believe Jesus is the Son of God and their Personal Master.

If you are sitting here,

understand - you need to decide who Jesus is?

Is he a lunatic >>>>> or he the Lord and Savior?

I am confident that an honest examination of the NT will reveal that Jesus is the Lord and Savior you need for Salvation from sin - and your only hope from the judgement of sin.

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Unbelievers - study out who Jesus is as though eternal life rests in the balance.

If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, your Master,

then I challenge you live like it!

Does your life reflect that Jesus is your master?

If we were to look at how you use your tongue and what your heart finds good and proper - would we find out that Jesus is your master?

Or would we find someone whose heart and tongue is master to something else.

May we treasure who Jesus is, worship is name, and surrender to our Master.