Letter to the Romans

The Letter to the Romans

Intro: Charles Spurgeon known as the “Prince of Preachers” did not start out that way. Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s grandfather, who preached for more than fifty years, and his father, for sixteen, were both Dissenting “Congregationalist” ministers of Puritan heritage in Essex, England. Little Charles grew up in both manses, hearing the Gospel many times and loving to read books of spiritual benefit. He easily memorized the catechism and all of Isaac Watts’ hymns. His mother taught him the Bible and prayed with and for him daily. Although taught by two Anglican rectors at the age of fourteen — both of whom pressed him with the Gospel — he still denied “owning” Christ as his Savior. Spurgeon describes himself at that time as “careless,” and “mischievous,” but not truly born again. He said he hoped that God would save him some day; he knew the Gospel well but his “heart was cold” toward the Lord. He did not associate with evil peers or participate in wayward activities, but still would not repent of his sins.

Spurgeon was not yet convinced of the Gospel and its impact on his life. The Church at Rome, which was made up of Jews and gentiles, may have had similar misgivings about exactly how or why the Gospel of Jesus Christ works the way it does.

Paul wrote to the Roman church ahead of his pending visit, which was supposed to be just a stop on the way to Spain where Paul was planning to take the Gospel to.

Pastors have taken up to five years to go through the book of Romans but we can do it in one day

“This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, and is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.” ~Martin Luther

Read Verses: Romans 1:16-25

Romans 1:16–25 CSB

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. For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

MP: Paul’s Letter to the Romans Instructs us as to the need and work of Jesus Christ and how Jesus changes your life

I. Why Do We Need the Gospel? (Ch 1-4)

Paul most likely wrote the letter from Corinth around 56-57 AD. So after he writes his letters to Corinth and then arrives for his visit. He wants to go to the Roman Church for some time now and probably did not know that Peter founded the church. He wants to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that we might be mutually encouraged but each other’s faith, both yours and Mine.

“The Letter to the Romans itself is actually the earliest document that attests the existence of the Roman Christian community, which Paul knows to have been in existence “for many years” (15:23).”

One of the key verses is Romans 1:16: 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 the Greek

Paul explains that God is Holy and righteous and man is unrighteous and full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. (1:29-32)

Man has willfully suppressed the truth about God. Mankind has forsaken God and is disobeying him. Even without explicit knowledge of the Jewish or Mosaic law, all of mankind knows or understands what is right or wrong. Chapter 2 Verse 15 says, They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. While their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts a use or even excuse them.”

In chapter 2:2 Paul says We know the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. And Paul emphatically says, for God shows no partiality

So if we are all so bad, how do we or can we get out of the hole we dug ourselves into?

Paul says in 3:20, for by works of the law no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Paul goes on to say, The scriptures bear witness to the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Those who believe are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption of Jesus Christ. We must recognize that we need God’s grace no matter the nature of our sin.

On January 6, 1850 young Spurgeon was supposed to join his father at church on a Sunday morning, nine miles from his home. Because of a severe snowstorm he ducked into a Primitive Methodist Chapel in Artillery Street close to his home. Likely few people in England possessed as much knowledge of the Scripture or had heard the Gospel more times than Charles Spurgeon. He stated in his autobiography that “I had heard the plan of salvation by the sacrifice of Jesus from my youth up; but I did not know any more about it in my innermost soul than if I had been born and bred a Hottentot.” He had heard that Primitives “sang so loud it made your head ache,” but he did not care, “I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me, it didn’t matter if my head ached.”

The pastor was a no show from the big snow, but a layman got up and read “LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.” For ten minutes, “in broad Essex,” the man invited the hearers to look to Jesus and “I saw at once the way of salvation . . . and the Holy Spirit, who enabled me to believe, gave me peace through believing.” Following his re-baptism and joining a church, Spurgeon was called to preach. In less than a year of his conversion, Charles Haddon Spurgeon became the pastor of a small Baptist Church in Cambridgeshire. All those years of learning, prayer, memorization, and loving family instruction had prepared him for God’s unique calling as the greatest and most effective preacher of the Victorian era.

II. What Does the Gospel Do For Us? (Ch 5-11)

What does the Gospel do for us?

5:1 Paul tells us We are justified by faith we have peace with God

Here is where understanding the Bible in original languages is important. Because the Catholic church was using the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. the Latin word for justification that was used at this time in church history was—and it’s the word from which we get the English word justification—the Latin word justificare. And it came from the Roman judicial system. And the term justificare is made up of the word justus, which is justice or righteousness, and the verb, the infinitive facare, which means to make. And so, the Latin fathers understood the doctrine of justification is what happens when God, through the sacraments of the church and elsewhere, make unrighteous people righteous.

But Luther was looking now at the Greek word that was in the New Testament, not the Latin word. The word dikaios, dikaiosune, which didn’t mean to make righteous, but rather to regard as righteous, to count as righteous, to declare as righteous. And this was the moment of awakening for Luther. He said, “You mean, here Paul is not talking about the righteousness by which God Himself is righteous, but a righteousness that God gives freely by His grace to people who don’t have righteousness of their own.”

And so Luther said, “Woa, you mean the righteousness by which I will be saved, is not mine?” It’s what he called a justitia alienum, an alien righteousness; a righteousness that belongs properly to somebody else. It’s a righteousness that is extra nos, outside of us. Namely, the righteousness of Christ. And Luther said, “When I discovered that, I was born again of the Holy Ghost. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I walked through.”

Paul says in 5:18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Chapter 5 is the one chapter that explains the Gospel message the best out of the one book that explains the entire Bible.

We are made righteous by Jesus’ Sacrifice and now we are at peace with God

And so we do not want to keep fighting God. The peace treaty has been signed.

And so that is pretty much what Chapters 6-9 are about. The flesh struggles with the Spirit but we look at suffering and trials differently than non-Christians.

Romans 8:28 says “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

So we know we are justified,

we have peace with God and

we no longer need to fight against him or ourselves.

So what do we do now?

III. What Do We Do With the Gospel? (Ch 12-16)

First and foremost, we tell others the good news. It is is not something to be hidden. Chapter 10 Paul encourages us to Preach the gospel so others can hear it and be saved because salvation comes from hearing about the Word.

But our lives should be changed because of our new eternal life and freedom. We are not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

But Paul wants the Roman church to get along and live their lives with this. Some of the same situations were going on in Rome and all over the churches that were started. Jews and pages came together and they brought their own rituals and practices so Paul has to help them live together.

Chapter 12 is a bit like proverbs. Present your bodies as a living sacrifices, and do not think of yourselves too highly.

We are to obey the government as long as they don't cause us to sin

And so not cause others to sin by our behavior. So this is where we get to exercise our freedom and restraint.

Application

1. Remember what you were like but Realize what you are Now

You are justified, being sanctified. You are forgiven. You are free

2. Have Hope, Give Hope

The Gospel message gives us hope

Paul says in Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

3. Preach so all can hear

Why does your car have headlights? So we can see in the dark. We use a flashlight to illuminate the darkness. So is the word of God beaming in the dark.

John 8:12

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father[a] who sent me.

Jesus’ mission was to preach repentance and have people repent and come to Him.

4. Live like Christ

Christ's death was to bring others into the family and under the covenant of His blood. Christ died for others and so we can take care of our fellow man and take care of them as well. We an do that two ways; tell others about him and help lead them on the path of righteousness.

Put others above yourself

Conclusion:

Our faith is not the ground of God’s love. God’s love—eternal love—is the ground of our faith. ~Dr Derek W H Thomas

Everyone needs to know they are sinners and acknowledge that. You cant fix the problem until you know what the problem is.

Spurgeon was Raised in a Congregationalist home, taught by Anglican instructors, saved in a Primitive Methodist Chapel, he became the prince of preachers in a Baptist pulpit. In the course of his ministry he regularly preached the Gospel to congregations of 5-10,000 people at a time, once more than 26,600 people in the Crystal Palace, in the days before electronic amplification. Stenographers recorded his sermons which have been compiled into multi-volume sets. His published devotionals, articles, and sermons are all still in print 120 years after his death.

The providence of God ordained a snowstorm to be the occasion of drawing fifteen-year-old Charles Haddon Spurgeon to Christ and then guide him to present the Gospel to millions of people from every country in the world; his preparation had begun at his birth. By the time he was seventeen, a pulpit was ready for a man uniquely called to change his generation and those to come. We are called to present the Gospel of Christ to our own children, even to pray for them before they arrive, and anticipate the great things God may have in store for them in His kingdom.

God is doing the same thing for your lives.