The Power of the Gospel

Introduction

Last week we looked at the introduction to the book of Romans where Paul laid some groundwork and gave us a glimpse of what his letter would be about.

We talked about how every Pauline letter begins with Paul identifying himself as the author, then identifying the audience to which he is writing, and finally some sort of greeting. The book of Romans has the most lengthy opening of any of Paul’s letters.

There were a couple reasons for his length:

Paul had not yet been to Rome so he needed to explain who he was and why he was writing to them.

Paul needed to lay some groundwork for the rest of his letter.

Later, Paul would reveal fully, but he intended to strengthen the church in Rome in order to launch a missionary journey to Spain.

Main Idea

As we enter into our next passage, Paul is going to reveal the theme of the entire book of Romans, and that is the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wanted his readers to understand, and the Holy Spirit through the Word of God is communicating to us tonight that God wants us to BELIEVE the Gospel!

3 Effects of Believing the Gospel

Romans 1:8–17 ESV

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to 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, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:8–15 ESV

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Gospel Unifies ()

Paul continues where he left off in his greeting. He lets the people at the church of Rome know that he is thankful for them, he prays for them frequently, he really wants to come to Rome.

He expresses that the reason he wishes to come is so he can share his spiritual gifts with them and be encouraged by their faith as well. He had tried to make it to Rome many other times, but it was never the Lord’s will until this writing for him to make his way to Rome. Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles and he sees Rome as a part of the world that he needs to reach with the gospel.

Paul does express the unifying power of the gospel in this text as well. He talks about the gospel being preached to the gentiles, the barbarians, the foolish, and the wise.

QUESTION: Why would Paul mention all of the people he wants to share the gospel with in Rome to the church?

Paul knew about the unity issues that were facing the church in Rome and he wanted to make some things clear early in his letter that the Gospel that he was about to unpack was not reserved for one ethnicity. The gospel was available to slaves, masters, men, women, Jews, Greeks, and every other people group in the nation.

The Gospel has no borders. It has the power to reach all people and bring them together!

QUESTION: Have you decided that there are certain people God cannot save?

We cannot write people off when it comes to the saving power of the Gospel. God can change anyone and bring them into the body of Christ, so we need to be ready to share and ready to welcome new brothers and sisters into the church.

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

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

Romans 1:16 ESV

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.

Rom. 1:16-17

The Gospel Saves ()

The second effect of believing the gospel is found in verse 16. These next two verses are the theme that Paul is going to spend the rest of his letter unpacking for the believers in Rome.

Paul explains here that he is not ashamed of the gospel. He gives two reasons. The first one is found in verse 16. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. As we have talked about many times before, salvation can be broken into three aspects.

Justification - A one-time act in which we are saved from the penalty of sin.

Sanctification - The every-day progress in which we are being saved from the power of sin.

Glorification - The final aspect of salvation in which we see Jesus and become like Him, perfect. In this final aspect of salvation, we will become separated from the presence of sin forever.

In this verse, Paul is referring to all aspects of salvation. The Gospel has the power to save us completely, from beginning to end.

QUESTION: Have you believed the Gospel?

Romans 1:17 ESV

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

The Gospel Empowers Righteous Living ()

To wrap up this section, Paul describes the next reason for why he is unashamed of the Gospel, and that is because the righteousness of God is revealed by it.

There is not one human being who can measure up to the standard of true righteousness that God requires, but God has already met that requirement through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the righteous life that we never could. Jesus is the righteousness of God.

This righteousness is only attained by faith. Salvation comes through faith alone. When someone decides to trust Jesus as Savior, it is an act of faith in His righteousness and not ours.

The phrase faith for faith or faith to faith means that salvation is something that starts with faith and every other aspect of it happens by faith as well. If we want to live a righteous life empowered by the Gospel, it will take faith. This is a daily battle where we must take up the shield of faith as we battle sin and temptation.

QUESTION: Do you believe the Gospel daily?

QUESTION: What sin struggles do you have that cause you to doubt the Gospel?

Closing

Paul makes it clear that he is writing to these believers in Rome because of an amazing Gospel that has the power to change lives. He wants the people of Rome to see that the Gospel has the power to unify their church that is segregated at come level. He wants them to know that this Gospel has the power to save, and he wants them to see that this Gospel can empower them to live righteous lives on a daily basis.