The Gospel of Jesus
The Gospel of Jesus
The Gospel Is Useful Even to Hearers Who Forget
Ephesians 5:26
Preaching Themes: Church: Leadership, Education, Gospel
The gospel may be useful even to hearers who forget what they have heard. A woman is called on by her minister on Monday, and he finds her washing wool in a sieve, holding it under the pump. He asks her, “How did you enjoy last Sabbath’s discourses?” and she says that they did her much good. “Well, what was the text?” She does not remember. “What was the subject?”
“Sir, it is quite gone from me,” says the poor woman. Does she remember any of the remarks that were made? No, they are all gone.
“Well then, Mary,” says the minister, “it could not have done you much good.”
But it had done her a great deal of good, and she explained it to him by saying, “I will tell you, sir, how it is. I put this wool in the sieve under the pump, I pump on it, and all the water runs through the sieve, but then it washes the wool. So it is with your sermon. It comes into my heart, and then it runs right through my poor memory, which is like a sieve, but it washes me clean, sir.”
You might talk for a long while about the cleansing and sanctifying power of the word, and it would not make such an impression on your hearers as that simple story would.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
The Just Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
1 The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Romans 1:1–17
The gospel is the good news of salvation. It is first mentioned in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus went about—preaching the gospel.” It is last mentioned in Revelation 14:6. Power in the gospel to save, keep, heal and satisfy is ours for simply believing.
A. The People and the Gospel—vv. 1–7
1. The Servant—v. 1. Paul was called to be an apostle for the preaching of the gospel—Acts 9:1–6.
2. The Scriptures—v. 2. God promised the gospel through the prophets—Luke 24:44; Heb. 1:1.
3. The Son—vv. 3–6
a) Incarnation—v. 3 The Word became flesh—John 1:14; Phil. 2:5–8.
b) Infallible—v. 4. The perfect Son of God—Col. 2:9. In Him dwells the power of God.
c) Impact—vv. 5–6. When converted, we are commanded to share the good news—Mark 15:16.
4. The saints—v. 7. To all the saints at Rome, grace and peace. Note: “called to be saints.” See 1 Peter 5:10, the call of God.
B. The Preaching of the Gospel—vv. 8–15
1. Pleasure—v. 8. Paul was pleased with the renowned faith of the Roman Christians. This dedication spreads to others—Rom. 16:19.
2. Prayer—vv. 9–10. Paul prayed for their needs and for an opportunity to visit them. Note Jesus’ prayer for the church—John 17:20.
3. Plea—vv. 11–12. He wanted to impart spiritual blessings, to establish and encourage them in the Lord. Cf. Matt. 5:48.
4. Preaching—v. 15. Paul was ready to preach the gospel. Cf. Jer. 20:9.
C. The Power of the Gospel—vv. 16–17
1. Gospel of power—v. 16. It is the basis for salvation and transformation—Heb. 4:12; for all who believe—Rom. 10:13; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Whosoever!).
2. Gospel of pardon—v. 17. (See also Hab. 2:4.) “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God”—LB. We are saved by faith—Eph. 2:8–9.
After we experience the power of the gospel, we should share it. We are commanded as Christians to go into all the world and preach the gospel—Mark 16:15. If we are ashamed of our gospel, we will hide it from those who are lost—2 Cor. 4:3. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ—v. 16. Note the results of being ashamed of Jesus—Mark 8:38.
ceremonial act. Central to both uses is the notion of power. The hand, particularly the right hand, was often a symbol for power in Bible times (see ; ; ; ).2
Faith is the gift of God. So is the air, but you have to breathe it. So is bread, but you have to eat it. So is water, but you have to drink it.
So how do we accept this gift? Not by a feeling, for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It is not for me to sit down and wait for faith to come upon me with a strong feeling of some kind. Rather, faith comes when we take God at his word