Romans 1:16-17 "The Shameless Gospel"

Introduction

The Apostle Paul is writing to the Christians at Rome. Rome was the Capital of the empire and it was the citadel of the Greco-Roman religion.

There was a god for nearly every occasion and sinful indulgence was often incorporated into the worship of those gods.

The gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon were very accommodating to the sinful appetites of man. Because they were nothing more than superhuman beings that exhibited supernatural feats of strength and power yet they also depicted the indulgence of their own fleshly appetites too.

We are talking about gods who also practiced human types of immorality. But know that the Roman mindset found this very beneficial and relational to themselves. Gods who were just supernatural but reflective of human appetites was very appealing.

This was the cultural and religious context that Paul is making his declaration of being shameless when it comes to the gospel.

And the reason Paul is shameless is that the gospel is the basis and the means of God working salvation among the nations. Look back to verse 16:

I. The Scope of the Gospel (16).

In the previous verse Paul tells the Christians at Rome that he is eager to preach the gospel to them. And Paul was shameless of the gospel even in a pluralistic culture like Rome.

Remember the false gods that were woven into the cultural and religious context of Rome.

But the Apostle Paul knew that there was no power for salvation in false gods. It didn’t even matter how devout people were in their religious practice to false gods like Zeus or Apollo or Diana, they didn’t have the power to save.

These so called gods were derived out of human invented mythology. And their attributes reflected those of human beings and they were limited in their nature.

But Paul desired a harvest in Rome because the Great Commission was global in scope to the Jew and to the Greek.

And he knew that the gospel was the only thing that could confront man’s fallen condition and his infatuation with false gods.

Christian you can love people and show them the love of God in practical ways but eventually you are going to have to communicate the message of God’s love for them expressed in the gospel.

This is why Paul is shameless of the gospel. Because he knows that true salvation can only be found in the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the Cross is the good news.

We think that it is so offensive in our day that we attempt to derive other means by which to reach people.

There is no other means to reach people that in the end works the power of salvation in them besides the gospel.

It is common today to pursue religion but so often concepts of god are derived from human imagination. They are not concepts that are informed by Scripture.

My favorite question to ask people who do this is, “What is it that you base your belief system on?” For the Romans in Paul’s day it would have been the works of Hesiod (700 BC) or Homer (500 BC) and other stories and embellishments made by others along the way.

we can see it in the different people groups of the ancient times. But even in our day, people still create their own ideas of who God is or what God is and how human beings can be secure in light of His identity.

We live in a society that is not too different than ancient Rome and it is still the gospel that is the exclusive power of God for salvation.

How in the world can the Apostle Paul make such a declarative statement of absolute certainty to a people in such a pluralistic context? We see the answer to this question in verse 17:

II. The Revelation of the Gospel (17).

It is because of what the gospel reveals. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.

The Jewish concept of God was different than the Greeks. The Jews believed the God was a Holy God of justice and righteousness and He interacted with them and revealed His character and nature through the Law and the prophets.

He had no beginning and no end. For them there was no possibility of mixture between the human and the divine. God was distinct from His creation.

Revelation moved from God and projects on man.

Greeks had no problem with mixing the human with the divine because the gods were just mythological supernatural extensions of themselves.

Zeus had parents (Cronus and Rhea). He also had brothers and sisters. Zeus had his own issues and problems that he had to manage in much the same way as humans do.

In mythology content moves from man and projects on god. This is the opposite of what we see in God’s revelation of Himself in nature and Scripture.

It is the character and nature of God that demonstrates the need for “righteousness”. His righteousness is what has been violated by the sins of man.

This was not an issue for the Greeks because Zeus was not Holy nor was he righteousness. The only thing one needed to do was to stay on his good side and everything would be fine.

Why is this same idea so prevalent in our day? Because when God is redefined to be less than He is, the pursuit of human virtue is substituted for the absolute need of the righteousness of God.

Story of vacation package sells. (Eli)

If God’s righteousness is the standard by which we are held accountable, then we need God’s righteousness imputed to us from God.

And It only comes by faith. This is a work done by God through Jesus Christ on your behalf. We are clothed by the righteousness of God in Christ. This is God’s provision to us in His grace.

And this is the means by which we live in this life. We are absolutely certain of the finished work of Christ paying our bankrupt account in full and imputing to us the righteousness of God.

“The righteous shall live by faith” is a quote is from Habakkuk 2:4 in the O.T. The gospel doesn’t just prepare you for heaven it goes with you through life.

Why do you think Paul wanted to preach the gospel to the Christians at Rome? He knew the tendencies of fallen man and the deceitful lies of human pride. That is the prophetic context of Habakkuk 2:4.

No aspect of the power of God at work in your life is separate from the gospel of Jesus Christ working in you.

Christian if the righteous shall live by faith shouldn’t we have faith in God to demonstrate His power through the gospel in our evangelism?

Or should we derive some alternative in order to appeal to the appetites and desires of the modern man?

Perhaps it would do us good to resolve it now in our hearts that for us here at Crete Church it will always be the gospel that is the exclusive power of God for salvation.

Conclusion

Unbeliever you need a savior. One that can reveal the righteousness of God. Fully God and fully man and yet He knew no sin. This is nothing like the Greco-Roman pantheon. We will see this in the weeks to come.

You need Jesus Christ alone by faith as your savior. Believe the gospel.

Christian this table declares this same gospel through the elements. It puts Christ and His work front and center.

Scripture tells us to examine our hearts in preparation. Let’s Pray!