God's Good News Concerning His Son

God’s Good News Concerning His Son

Last week, we began a series of messages, journeying through the book of Romans. We could have titled the message (or the series, for that matter), “53 Years - Then Romans” - because that would be an accurate way to describe this series. As I said last week - I have come to this letter over and over throughout the 24 years I’ve been preaching here - and always shrunk away with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. The book of Romans has impacted this world more than any other book – from Augustine, to Luther to Wesley and on and on ….

.... and who am I to do this book justice? Now is the time. We are into a new decade, the years are flying by, there’s a feast here – and the Lord has spoken His Word through a donkey before, so I don’t think He is held prisoner by my inadequacies.

We are in the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Romans. We will deal more with the situation he is writing from and the situation he is writing to, in coming weeks. But for right now, let me just remind you that this is a real letter to real people, written in the typical format of letters in Paul’s day. Paul introduces himself and the first 15 verses of chapter 1 are his INTRODUCTION to the Letter.

This morning, we are going to unpack verses 1-4 of

... And if you are like me at all, there’s a sense right now, that you’re feeling, “COME ON! LET’S GET ON WITH IT! Let’s skip past the introduction and get right into the MEAT of the letter.”

Unwrapping Christmas presents - if you’re the type who gets the present handed to you and slowly and carefully, looks for the tape and the folds … you gently peel back the tape and try to unfold the paper - so it’s good enough to be used again - then you don’t have a problem with us taking our time and savoring the introduction to the letter.

But - if you’re the type who gets the package - and you don’t think you’re going to be surprised by what’s inside, because you’ve already peeked under the tree - when nobody was looking, you shook the box and you made a mental note of size, weight and sound of rattling inside - and you think you’ve figured it out. And now that it’s in your hand, you’re going to waste no time - you tear open the paper as if there’s someone trapped inside the box and you need to rescue them. You want to get to the present. If that’s how you unwrap your gifts, then you probably want us to speed through the beginning of Romans as quickly as possible to get the ‘the good stuff’ later on.

If that is you, then let me just encourage you: Be patient. There is a feast for us at the beginning - and it sets the stage for the rest of the letter. If we rush through this - skip the introduction … we’re going to miss out.

Last week, we dealt with chapter 1, verse 1 and ended with ‘the gospel of God’. This morning, we’re going to unpack the “Gospel of God” - as Paul deals with it in vv. 2-4.

1 GOD’S GOOD NEWS

The first thing I want to look at is something we tend to take for granted. Paul introduces himself in v. 1 to the church in Rome - a church he didn’t start, in a city he’s never been to (we’ll talk more about that in coming weeks) and he says, at the end of verse 1, “… set apart for the gospel of God.” Let’s focus on the end of that verse. “The Gospel of God”.

Leon Morris is exactly right when he says, in his commentary: “God is the most important word in this epistle. Romans is a book about God. No topic is treated with anything like the frequency of God. Everything Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness, justification and the like we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God. There is nothing like it elsewhere”

God chose Paul to be an apostle - before he was born. God purchased his freedom and called this HATER to be an apostle. Then God gave him a gospel. This letter is from God and through God and to God.

Now, what about this ‘Gospel of God’? What does that mean? I sometimes get concerned that the word ‘Gospel’ is thrown around by Christians in a thoughtless way. If I asked you, “What does the word mean?” … what would you say?

Some people would say, “Well, We know what it means.” What? “Why, the Gospel - that’s our message. It’s the Christian message.” “The Gospel is what we share with other people - we share the Gospel. We preach the Gospel. We tell others about the Gospel.”

And my question is – but do you know what it is? Do the people you are talking to, have any idea what you mean when you talk about ‘the Gospel’? We need to be very careful of the Christianese - ‘words’ that we know, that others may not have a clue about. We need to explain our language. So, what is the GOSPEL?

Gospel means ‘Good News’. That’s literally what the Greek word ‘euanggelion’ means: “Good News”. What Paul is reminding us, right at the very beginning of the letter, is that God has “GOOD NEWS” .... and that’s important. There is an idea around that religions are all the same … doesn’t matter which one you follow,

Aside from Christianity, the religions of the world are NOT good news. Not at all. In fact, they are bad news - they lay burden after burden on the shoulders of the people who follow them.

Makes sense - because apart from Christianity, all of the religions of the world are self-help - ‘do it by yourself’ religions. That isn’t a criticism of them - I’m just stating reality. They see the world differently. They see the human predicament differently: ISLAM – Man isn’t born a sinner/ corrupt – we’re just forgetful … need reminding of how to live. BUDDHISM – Humans don’t need a Savior – just need to know how live in tune with the universe – here’s the noble 8fold path.

Every other religion tells you how to find God - or peace, or happiness … by your own efforts ...

In our day, there are many who recognize that religion so often just adds a burden to your back … and their response is, “I reject them all. My religion is ‘NO RELIGION’. “Religion is a tool used by the powerful to control the powerless - and every enlightened society would be better off to throw it all away.”

And at first, that sounds like good news. If there’s no God … I’m free to do whatever I please. There no accountability to a God up there; there’s no threat of punishment. Nobody is looking over my shoulder.

But stop. Let’s think about the consequences, let’s follow the logic: If there’s no God - If there is nobody to be accountable to … then there’s nobody ‘up there’ watching. Heaven is empty - Nobody cares. And what you do with your precious ‘freedom’ … is meaningless.

And if what you do is meaningless … then you are meaningless too. You must be. We are all accidental bubbles on the great cosmic ocean, and our destiny is only to burst and be forgotten. Where’s the good news there? Your life is futile.

The Christian message is that there IS A GOD – AND HE HAS GOOD NEWS … BECAUSE HE CARES ENOUGH TO RESCUE. HE HAS DONE IT.

Has it ever struck you - every worship service - we do so much singing? … the fact that we can sing as Christians, in worship? There’s music in other religions … there’s singing in other faiths … but usually it’s not singing so much as chanting … which in itself is a religious work … you chant the words to bring yourself closer to the deity or make yourself more ‘holy’.

Christian singing isn’t like that - our singing isn’t a work … it’s a celebration. We sing here, not because we’re trying to find God … We sing because He has found us and now - we celebrate!

Can you sing truly, from the bottom of your heart, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow?!” Is it the cry of your heart? No matter what is going in my life today … no matter the discouragement I’m battling … no matter the heartache I am feeling at the core … no matter how hopeless this life seems, right now … the regrets of my past and all the hurts I’ve caused to others and myself .... I can face tomorrow, because Jesus Christ Lives. Or, “I’m thankful for the scars”.

“I’m thankful for the scars … without them I wouldn’t know your heart (of love for me)”. Can you sing that, truly?! I’m thankful for Your scars, Lord, without them I wouldn’t know Your heart?

Romans is a letter about God’s Good News.

2 GOD’S PLAN UNFOLDED (NO ‘PLAN B’)

The second thing to notice in our passage is that God’s Good News is not a ‘Plan B’. Look at the end of verse 1 again and into verse 2, “… the gospel of God, (2) which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures ...”.

This Good News from God isn’t God’s ‘Plan B’ after we made a mess and none of His other ideas worked out. God is jealous to show that the Gospel was planned from the beginning. Christianity is not a new religion - - - It is the fulfillment of God’s promises in the past. That’s why we have a thick Bible - the God of the Old Testament IS the God of the New Testament.

The first promise comes in , right after Adam and Eve bring sin and destruction into God’s good creation …

, God, pronouncing judgment on the serpent, says: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

-, “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” - The psalmist is pointing to Christ. Over and over in the OT -

- and the Son of Man;

- and the Suffering Servant … over and over in the OT, from book to book, century to century … there is a crimson thread running through every page of the OT - pointing to the coming fulfillment in the Gospel.

Paul says, “The Gospel means that God Keeps His promises.” So if you are, right now wondering, “Can I trust God? I’m in a situation right now that I see no way out of. How do I know God is working out my good in this? Remember his promises! He has kept His word by sending His Son – He isn’t going to fail you now.

Verse 2 says something very important about how we should view the Bible. We start with the good news of God. Then verse 2, ‘Which he promised beforehand THROUGH his prophets IN the Holy Scriptures ...”. So God makes promises … but how do we know what they are? Because He shares them with us THROUGH (Not ‘BY” - God is speaking) … through His prophets. But how do we know what the promises of God are, that he spoke through His prophets? We know because they are recorded in writings - not just any writings … but in the ‘Holy Scriptures’. God is speaking, He speaks THROUGH prophets, that speech is deposited IN the Scriptures. Have you ever wondered why our Bibles say, ‘Holy Bible’ on the front cover?

The answer to that question comes in - “Holy Scriptures”. They are Holy - they are unique, set apart, unlike all other writings. They are ‘precious’ - one of a kind, nothing like them … because … they are FROM GOD. God promised Through prophets … IN WRITINGS.

Now, Paul wasn’t a prophet, but he recognizes that he was set apart as an apostle of Christ Jesus. And as we looked at last week, an apostle is an authoritative spokesman - a foundation stone on which the Church is being built. …

, “… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief Cornerstone.”

, “We (apostles) impart this speak in words, not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit ...”

That’s not just Paul’s idea. Peter adds his agreement -

, says that some people, “twist Paul’s writings to their own destruction … as they do the OTHER Scriptures.”

Peter puts Paul’s writings in the same category of Holy Scriptures in .

This is GOD’S WORD. This book is INSPIRED.

I cannot stress the importance of this enough. As we go through this letter to the Romans - we are going to come across teachings that go directly against some of the social ‘orthodoxies’ of our day. Paul is going to say some things in this letter … and you may think to yourself, “I don’t like that!” “That’s not politically correct. That’s not what our society believes anymore!” And that’s okay. You don’t have to like everything Paul says. But you have to decide for yourself - if you won’t accept the Bible as your authority … “WHERE do you find your authority? – what is the foundation on which you build your life?”

The implications are huge.

Do you believe that human life matters – not just the powerful, not just the wealthy, not just men … but every life has inherent dignity and should be treated with respect and compassion? Where do you get that idea from?

Whether you realize it or not – you get it from the Bible. It’s the Bible that makes clear, from the very beginning, from Creation itself, that every human being is created - not an accident, but created … in the image of God. It’s the Bible that declares, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb ...”.

So you can say, “I don’t find my authority in that old book. I listen to the smart people in the world today. The educated elite, who are up on the latest philosophies and scientific discoveries … parroted in the media … those are the words I’ll trust.”

But can I give you just some declarations of the ‘educated’ - the leading thinkers of their day?

1858, Virginia Supreme Court: “In the eyes of the law … the slave is not a person.”

1881, American Law Review: “An Indian is not a person within the meaning of the Constitution.”

1928, Supreme Court of Canada: “The meaning of ‘qualified persons’ does not include women.”

1936, German Supreme Court: “The Reichgericht itself refused to recognize Jews … as ‘persons’ in the legal sense.”

1997, Supreme Court of Canada: ‘The law of Canada does not recognize the unborn child as a legal person possessing rights.”

These are just a few ‘snapshots’ from history … not from some uneducated, illiterate tribes, living in dark jungles, hidden from civilized society .... Every one of these examples come from the cultured, post-Enlightenment 1st world. So, you can say, “I don’t believe that the Bible is God’s inspired word - you can say that - but then don’t hide from the consequences. Don’t pretend that you can reject the Bible that is the source of belief in the Western world that each individual human being (from the womb to the hospice) is created in the image of God … and then expect compassion and the view of human life as sacred will just automatically continue.

As old fashioned as it may sound - THIS BOOK IS HOLY. Unlike anything else ever written.

That’s why preaching is so serious in our worship. We are a church, built on a book - we believe that this letter of Romans and every other book in the Bible is not just the record of human opinions - but is the very Word of God who loves us enough to communicate with us. the Apostles and Prophets, whose writings have come to us faithfully in a book … And there is absolutely nothing more relevant than God’s living, active word.

WA CRISWELL - was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, for 40 years. He came to the church when he was 34. When he had been there a few years, he announced that he was going to preach through the whole Bible .... straight through.

Here’s their response: “Soon after coming to the pastorate of the first baptist church, I announced my intention to preach through the whole Bible. It was my first intention to go through the book much faster than i eventually did. In fact, at first I did preach rapidly through the books of the OT. However, as the days multiplied, I found myself going slower and slower and slower. Finally, I came to the place where I preached for several years in some of the sections of the NT. In all, from Genesis to Revelation, I spent 17 years and 8 months going through the book. Where I left off Sunday morning, I began Sunday night.”

We don’t have a Sunday night service, so that’s 34 years it took him to get through the book.

“When I made the announcement that I was proposing to preach through the Bible, an obvious foreboding fell on part of the congregation. They were afraid that the church would be ruined. What actually happened, however, was as if heaven came down to attend church with us. As I continued to preach through the word of God, the congregation continued to grow (The church had 22,000 members when he retired). Finally, throngs and throngs came to wait upon the word of the Lord. Many times (humorous), I have heard our members talking to each other, facetiously say, “You know, I joined the church in Isaiah”. Another would add, “I joined in 2 Timothy”. And to this present hour, our people hunger and thirst for the living word of the living God.

We are a church built on a book - the apostles and prophets, whose teaching come down in these sacred writings.

And as long as we are worshiping together and I am your pastor, we will not depart from journeying through this book, listening to God’s voice.

John Wesley expressed his yearning for the Word in his introduction to his sermons:

I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God, just hovering over the great gulf, till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity. I want to know one thing—the way to heaven, how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end he came from heaven. He ha[s] written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it. Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri (“a man of one book”). Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone. Only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his book—for this end, to find the way to heaven.

3 THE CENTRE OF THE GOOD NEWS

So the Good news of God is the Good News that all of history has been moving towards, under the sovereign, guiding hand of God Himself … It is the Good News that He promised in this book - the Holy Scriptures.

The third thing Paul says about the Good News of God is that it concerns his Son. Verse 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 ...”.

See what Paul says about the Gospel of God here: It is concerning HIS SON. The center of the Gospel is a person - God’s Son.

As Luther put it in his gloss on this verse: ‘Here the door is thrown open wide for the understanding of Holy Scripture, that is, that everything must be understood in relation to Christ.’ Calvin writes similarly that ‘the whole gospel is contained in Christ’. Therefore, ‘to move even a step from Christ means to withdraw oneself from the gospel’

Now before we go any further, we need to be clear about what Paul means when he points to God’s Son here, or we will get the whole rest of the letter wrong.

FIRST - The Son was existent BEFORE HE BECAME A MAN. He didn’t become God’s Son after His death and resurrection - need to be clear on that, because if you aren’t, verse 4 might confuse you. Verse 4, “… was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead ...”.

Now, before He came to earth - through all eternity … This IS the Son. We know that from the rest of the Bible. Places like

, “For God so loved the world that He gave His ONE AND ONLY SON ...”. See what John is saying? He was the Son BEFORE God sent him.

We see the same thing right here in Romans.

, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could NOT do. By sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin ...”.

The Son existed to be sent. God didn’t scour the earth to find a human being who was good enough - worthy enough to be used as His Messiah .... He sent His eternal Son. Be clear on that friend. Do you see how massively that reflects on the incredible love of the Holy God of heaven?!

When we talk about the Son - we are talking about the SECOND PERSON of the ONE, TRIUNE God.

, Paul is pointing to the benefits that Israel has, and he says: “To them belong the Patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who IS GOD OVER ALL, blessed forever. Amen.”

And, in , “In (Christ) the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”

OH, see the mysterious majesty - when you look at Jesus Christ - you see GOD. TRULY.

When you wonder “What’s God like?” “How can I know the Infinite God?” .... LOOK AT CHRIST. There, in that One person, is all the fullness of God, in human flesh. That’s what INCARNATION means - that God, TOOK ON human flesh.

That’s the Christian good News - that God didn’t just send down some pointers on how you can get your life right; didn’t send a list of ‘principles to live by’ ..... That WOULDN’T BE GOOD NEWS FOR ME … I need more than good advice. I need more than a list of rules to follow. I know far better than I live.

The Good News is that God knows that too - and He penetrated our human experience. He sent His Son.

So, v. 3 makes it clear that the Son is fully human - - Verse 3: “He was descended from David, according to the flesh ...”. But that’s only half of what Paul is saying about Christ.

That’s where verse 4 comes in: “… 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.”

What’s Paul saying here? Obviously he’s saying that something changed in Jesus’ existence by His resurrection from the dead. But what? Not His God-hood - that doesn’t change. Not His power over the universe - that doesn’t change.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, John calls him the Word - says that all things were created by Him. So, the same Son who spoke the universe into being at the beginning of time … takes on human flesh, comes to earth - and during his ministry, He shows that He still has power over the forces of nature.

Remember out on the boat with his disciples - a storm blows over the hills around the Sea of Galilee and turns the lake into a raging torrent. The disciples are terrified - panicky - “Jesus, Jesus - don’t you care?!! We’re about to drown and you’re sleeping!!”

Jesus rubs his eyes, speaks the word, “Peace, be still!” .... and instantly there is calm … the wind and the waves obey his voice. This is still the sovereign God.

But He is also fully human. When he takes on our humanity, He doesn’t come as the Son of God in power … that’s not primarily how He lived.

He comes as a helpless baby. He is still the Son of God, but He’s weak … needs to be nursed. Had to be burped.

He isn’t seen as the Son of God in power, when Mary is rocking him to sleep at night and laying him in his crib. He is the Son of God - - but he isn’t seen as the Son of God in Power.

“Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He wasn’t seen as the Son of God in power - when his back is taking the lashes from the Roman whips, when they are spitting in his face … when He hangs on the cruel cross and says, “I thirst”, needing a drink of water.

And that was a problem - because that’s not the kind of Messiah/ Savior the Jews were looking for - and it certainly wasn’t the kind of God the Greeks or Romans would ever be attracted to. A crucified Messiah?!! … A stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.

What kind of God is this?!! As Charles Wesley put in the great Christmas Carol: “Veiled in flesh, the God-head see.”

But that all changes at the resurrection.

In Jesus’ resurrrection from the dead - According to the Spirit of holiness, as Paul puts it .... He enters into a new sphere of existence.

Now, what was veiled, is revealed.

Now, the One who was being mocked on the cross - - “He Saved others, let Him save Himself! Ha. Ha”

.... If only they knew that He could have saved himself, but coming down from the cross would have meant hell for us …

Now The Son of God, from all eternity, suffered and mocked, according to the flesh … at the resurrection, becomes the Son of God in power … able to save to the uttermost, all who draw near to God through Him (). Because the Spirit of holiness – the Holy Spirit who raised Him from the dead … is His promised gift to all who trust in His finished work.

So the transition from v. 3 to v. 4 isn’t a change from human Messiah to Son of God … it’s a transition from Son as Messiah, to Son as BOTH Messiah and LIFE-GIVING Lord. He is reigning RIGHT now, from His throne in heaven – must reign, until he has put every enemy under His feet.

JESUS – locates him in History

CHRIST – He is the promised Savior Sent from God.

OUR LORD …We recognize that He IS God – He’s our Master … and The day is coming when every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ IS LORD.

Last week, we began a series of messages, journeying through the book of Romans. We could have titled the message (or the series, for that matter), “53 Years - Then Romans” - because that would be an accurate way to describe this series. As I said last week - I have come to this letter over and over throughout the 24 years I’ve been preaching here - and always shrunk away with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. The book of Romans has impacted this world more than any other book - from

.... and who am I to do this book justice?

We are in the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Romans. We will deal more with the situation he is writing from and the situation he is writing to, in coming weeks. But for right now, let me just remind you that this is a real letter to real people, written in the typical format of letters in Paul’s day. Paul introduces himself and the first 15 verses of chapter 1 are his INTRODUCTION to the Letter.

This morning, we are going to unpack verses 1-4 of . And if you are like me at all, there’s a sense right now, that you’re feeling, “COME ON! LET’S GET ON WITH IT! Let’s skip past the introduction and get right into the MEAT of the letter.”

Unwrapping Christmas presents - if you’re the type who gets the present handed to you and slowly and carefully, looks for the tape and the folds … you gently peel back the tape and try to unfold the paper - so it’s good enough to be used again - then you don’t have a problem with taking our time and savoring the introduction to the letter.

But - if you’re the type who gets the package - and you already know what’s inside, because you’ve already peeked under the tree - and when nobody was looking, you shook the box and you made a mental note of size, weight and sound of rattling inside - and you think you’ve figured it out. And now that it’s in your hand, you’re going to waste no time - you tear open the paper as if there was a fire inside the box and you needed to get to it as quickly as possible. You want to get to the present. If that’s how you unwrap your gifts, then you probably want us to speed through the beginning of Romans as quickly as possible to get the ‘the good stuff’ later on.

If that’s you, then let me just encourage you: Be patient. There is a feast for at the beginning - and it sets the stage for the rest of the letter. If we rush through this - skip the introduction … we’re going to miss out.

Last week, we dealt with chapter 1, verse 1 and ended with ‘the gospel of God’. This morning, we’re going to unpack the “Gospel of God” - as Paul deals with it in vv. 2-4.

_________________________________________________

1 GOD’S GOOD NEWS

The first thing I want to look at is something we tend to take for granted. Paul introduces himself in v. 1 to the church in Rome - a church he didn’t start, in a city he’s never been to (we’ll talk more about that in coming weeks) and he says, at the end of verse 1, “… set apart for the gospel of God.” Let’s focus on the end of that verse. “The Gospel of God”.

Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999) The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Leon Morris is exactly right when he says, “God is the most important word in this epistle. Romans is a book about God. No topic is treated with anything like the frequency of God. Everything Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness, justification and the like we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God. There is nothing like it elsewhere”

God chose Paul to be an apostle - before he was born. God purchased his freedom and called this HATER to be an apostle. Then God gave him a gospel. This letter is from God and through God and to God.

Now, what about this ‘Gospel of God’? What does that mean? I sometimes get concerned that the word ‘Gospel’ is thrown around by Christians in a thoughtless way. If I asked you, “What does the word mean?” … what would you say?

Some people would say, “Well, We know what it means.” What? “Why, the Gospel - that’s our message. It’s the Christian message.” “The Gospel is what we share with other people - we share the Gospel. We preach the Gospel. We tell others about the Gospel.”

And my question is - do you know what it is? Do the people you are talking to, have any idea what you mean when you talk about ‘the Gospel’? We need to be very careful of the Christianese - ‘words’ that we know, that others may not have a clue about. We need to explain our language. Do we even know what the Gospel is.

Gospel means ‘Good News’. That’s literally what the Greek word ‘euanggelion’ means: “Good News”. What Paul is reminding us, right at the very beginning of the letter, is that God has “GOOD NEWS” .... and that’s important. There is an idea around that religion … all the same … doesn’t matter which one you follow,

Aside from Christianity, the religions of the world are NOT good news. Not at all. In fact, they are bad news - they lay burden after burden on the shoulders of the people who follow them.

EXAMPLE -

Makes sense - because apart from Christianity, all of the religions of the world are self-help - ‘do it by yourself’ religions. That isn’t a criticism of them - I’m just stating reality. They see the world differently. They see the

tell you how to find God - or peace, or happiness … by your own efforts ...

In our day, there are many who recognize that religion so often just adds a burden to your back … so they say, “I reject them all. My religion is ‘NO RELIGION’. “Religion is a tool used by the powerful to control the powerless - and every enlightened society would be better off to throw it all away.”

And at first, that sounds like good news. If there’s no God … I’m free to do whatever I please. There no accountability to a God up there; there’s no threat of punishment. nobody is looking over my shoulder.

But stop. Let’s think about the consequences: If there’s no God - If there is nobody to be accountable to … then there’s nobody ‘up there’ watching. Heaven is empty - Nobody cares. And what I do with my precious ‘freedom’ … is meaningless.

And if what I do is meaningless … then I am must be meaningless too. I must be. I am an accidental bubble on the great cosmic deep, and my destiny is only to burst and be forgotten. Where’s the good news there? Your life is futile.

Has it ever struck you - every worship service - we do so much singing? fact that we can sing as Christians, in worship? There’s music in other religions … there’s singing in other faiths … but usually it’s not singing so much as chanting … which in itself is a religious work … chant the words to bring yourself closer to the deity or make yourself more ‘holy’.

Christians don’t sing like that - our singing isn’t a work … it’s a celebration. We sing here, not because we’re trying to find God … We sing because He has found us and we’re celebrating!

Can you sing truly, from the bottom of your heart, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow?!” Is it the cry of your heart? No matter what is going in my life today … no matter the discouragement I’m battling … no matter the heartache I am feeling at the core … no matter how hopeless this life seems, right now … the regrets of my past and all the hurts I’ve caused to others and myself .... I’m thankful for the scars .

“I’m thankful for the scars … without them I wouldn’t know your heart (of love for me)”. Can you sing that, truly?! I’m thankful for Your scars, Lord, without them I wouldn’t know Your heart?

Romans is a letter about God’s Good News.

________________________

2 GOD’S PLAN UNFOLDED (NO ‘PLAN B’)

The second thing to notice in our passage is that God’s Good News is not a ‘Plan B’. Look at the end of verse 1 again and into verse 2, “… the gospel of God, (2) which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures ...”.

This Good News from God isn’t God’s ‘Plan B’ after we made a mess and none of His other ideas worked out. God is jealous to show that the Gospel was planned from the beginning. Christianity is not a new religion - - - It is the fulfillment of God’s promises in the past. That’s why we have a thick Bible - the God of the Old Testament IS the God of the New Testament.

The first promise comes in , right after Adam and Eve bring sin and destruction into God’s good creation … , pronouncing judgment on the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

, “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” - The psalmist is pointing to Christ. Over and over in the OT - and the Son of Man; and the Suffering Servant … over and over in the OT, from book to book, century to century … there is a crimson thread running through every page of the OT - pointing to the coming fulfillment in the Gospel.

Paul says, “The Gospel means that God Keeps His promises.” So if you are, right now wondering, “Can I trust God? I’m in a situation right now that I see no way out of. How do I know

Verse 2 says something very important about how we should view the Bible. We start with the good news of God. Then verse 2, ‘Which he promised beforehand THROUGH his prophets IN the Holy Scriptures ...”. So God makes promises … but how do we know what they are? Because He shares them with us THROUGH (Not ‘BY” - God is speaking) … through His prophets. But how do we know what the promises of God are, that he spoke through His prophets? We know because they are recorded in writings - not just any writings … but in the ‘Holy Scriptures’. God is speaking, He speaks THROUGH prophets, that speech is deposited IN the Scriptures. Have you ever wondered why our Bibles say, ‘Holy Bible’ on the front cover?

The answer to that question comes in - “Holy Scriptures”. They are Holy - they are unique, set apart, unlike all other writings. They are ‘precious’ - one of a kind, nothing like them … because … they are FROM GOD. God promised Through prophets … IN WRITINGS.

Now, Paul wasn’t a prophet, but he recognizes that he was set apart as an apostle of Christ Jesus. And as we looked at last week, an apostle is an authoritative spokesman - a foundation stone on which the Church is being built. … , “… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief Cornerstone.”

, “We (apostles) impart this speak in words, not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit ...”

That’s not just Paul’s idea. Peter adds his agreement - ,

Peter puts Paul’s writings in the same category of Holy Scriptures in Romans 1:2.

This is GOD’S WORD. This book is INSPIRED.

I cannot stress the importance of this enough. As we go through this letter to the Romans - we are going to come across teachings that go directly against some of the social ‘orthodoxy’ of our day. Paul is going to say some things in this letter … and you may think to yourself, “I don’t like that!” “That’s not what our society believes anymore!” And that’s okay. You don’t have to like everything he says. But you have to decide for yourself - if you won’t accept the Bible as your authority … “WHERE do I find my authority? - the foundation on which to build my life?”

The implications are huge.

It’s the Bible that makes clear, from the very beginning, from Creation itself, that every human being is created - not an accident, but created … in the image of God. It’s the Bible that declares, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb ...”.