2020-10-21 Romans 1:1-7

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.

I. The summation of history and Scripture is the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1–4 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,

A. Every world of scripture points to Jesus Christ.

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,

Illus: There is a reason I preach the way I do. The governing question that I ask as I come to any passage I preach is where is Jesus.

With out Jesus the Bible is the story of a bunch of men who failed in life. Without Jesus the Bible is full of moral standards we could never live up to. Without Jesus scripture does not make sense.

This is why when I preach I am honest, as scripture is about the failings of men.

When I preach about the moral imperatives, I am truthful in that you can’t fix yourself. There is no try harder and be a better person.

Scripture is the story of how God worked through the history of the world to redeem broken men.

It show how God weaved redemption through the lives of its characters.

It gives us the law to expose our inability to follow God.

It leads us to Jesus who both fulfilled the law and transforms us today.

When you read the Bible look for Jesus. Every verse should be written in red because every verse is apart of His story.

John 5:39–40 ESV

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

B. The gospel, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, is the focal point of history.

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,

Illus: One of my favorite poems I read every Christmas is called one solitary life. It goes:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.

In the same way that God worked through Israel’s history, and biblical history, he has been weaving every nation across the history of this world for His purpose.

Understanding the sovereign hand of God over all nations working out His redemptive plan should affect the way we view everything.

When you see the God working our salvation history through the redemptive plan of Christ as the center of all of history you understand that God is working in our days for that same purpose.

It also changes our purpose. We no longer live for the moment. We no longer live for temporal victories. We see God’s eternal plan of the gospel as ours.

We see the hope of our nation as Christ and not a politician.

We understand that genuine transformation only happens when people turn their hearts back to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 1:1–5 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:9–14 ESV

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

II. The focus of our lives the is the obedience of faith.

Romans 1:5–6 ESV

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,

 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,

A. We are called to faith.

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,

Illus: Paul builds an important paradox in the book of romans in regards to faith.

The greatest way one can obey God is to believe. To have faith. When you do believe, have faith, it should lead you to obedience.

Obedience to God leads you to faith and faith in God leads you to obedience.

Let’s deal first half... Genuine obedience to God is faith.

Faith is incredibly difficult. It is the surrender of yourself whole heartedly to God. It is removing the will and authority of your life and placeing it in God.

When we are called to the obedience of faith in the Gospel we are saying that God’s gospel plan directs our life.

Jesus Christ the crucified and resurrected savior becomes our identity.

That means that the global eternal plan of God becomes the mission we live for.

We do that because we have experienced the life found only through faith in Christ.

This is the challenging question I want you to wrestle with today: do you really have faith in God?

I’m not talking about walking an aisle, praying a prayer, but real faith in the sovereign power of God?

Have you been genuinely transformed by the gospel? When you look at the world around you do you live in the confidence knowing that the Word has become flesh and that Jesus rules the nations?

If you have been genuinely transformed by the gospel then the answer both for you personally, our nation practically, and this world is faith in Christ.

John 6:28–29 ESV

28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

(ESV): 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

B. Faith should lead to empowered obedience.

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,

The obedience of faith is both faith as the ultimate way to obey God, as well as faith serving as the catalyst in your life to obey God.

In other words, if you genuily trust God you will want to live for him.

The natural result of genuine faith in Christ is a life lived for him.

Let’s define what that obedience, the life for him looks like.

Many will say that obedience to God is obedience to the moral law of God.

That is partially true. God is a holy God who has called us to the same holiness. The word of God says it simple, be holy as I the Lord am holy.

The obedience of faith is far more than simply being a better more moral person.

The obedience of faith is faith in Jesus and his eternal plan resulting into obedience in Jesus’ eternal plan.

That means our obedience is joining Jesus in his plan.

Yes, moral imperatives, but far far more. It is about living for the kingdom of God sealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The book of Romans is directly tied to the global mission of God. Romans goes into immense detail dissecting sin, faith, and even what it means to be a part of the people of God. Paul is doing it purposely. The book of romans shows how Christianity is not a personal religion or a faith that belongs to one nation. The book of Romans is the explanation of how God’s intent from the beginning has been world wide faith.

Romans 1:16–17 NASB95

16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

(ESV): 16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

III. The obedience of faith does not end the moment we trust Christ.

Romans 1:5–7 ESV

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.

A. If faith ends at your personal experience and not the nations, it is not faith.

Illus: I have a grand goal as I preach through Romans for the next year/years.

Yes, I want to build your understanding of faith which Romans articulates masterfully.

Yes, I want you to understand dome of the grand doctrines of our faith. Romans accomplishes that.

More than that though, I want this book to transform our church. I want it to transform you.

I want us as a people to so embrace faith that we embrace the the grand calling of God both for our city and our world.

Can you imagine the power of our church if we embraced the passion of Jesus for our city? Can you imagine the power of our church if we embraced the passion of Jesus for this world?

The end of faith is a resolute and passionate calling to reach the world for with the gospel of Christ.

Apathy to that call shows that Christ does not direct the passions of your heart.

Romans 15:17–21 ESV

17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”