Sermon Tone Analysis
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What is the Gospel?
Literally the word means “good news.”
It is the story of how we are brought into a right relationship with God.
And it is God’s story.
One each person can play a part in as God calls them.
Yet, for so much good news, in the day and time we live in, many of us struggle to share it.
We sometimes seem to almost have a block when it comes to the moment where we could bring up the story of Jesus with someone else.
And folks, that is a problem.
This morning I want to look at 2 verses in Romans- part of Paul’s intro to the letter to the church there- to give all of us a picture of what is happening when we talk about Jesus.
(Read Romans 1:16-17)
The first thing Paul says is he is not ashamed of the Gospel.
I think for some in our day and time that may be a problem.
there are definitely segments of our world- especially here in the States- where it seems almost silly to believe in Jesus.
I mean we have computers and smart phones.
We fly space ships and drill for oil.
Human achievement has gone beyond any need for any god or religion.
And yet, the Gospel persists.
And it not only persists, it advances.
We see people who go from denying God exists to becoming His followers.
That may even be your story.
Why should he feel it necessary to utter this disclaimer?
He gloried in the gospel (5:2, 11; 2 Cor.
10:17; Gal.
6:14; Phil.
3:7).
But it may be that there were people in Rome who despised the simplicity of the message (there were certainly some elsewhere, Acts 17:32; 1 Cor.
1:18, 23).
Such people would look down on the Christians and their unusual gospel.
But I think beyond “ashamed” what fits many of us better is hesitant.
We don’t want to offend or break a relationship.
We know that everyone has different beliefs and they are entitled to them, so that pushes us into silence.
And more, if we were to bring it up, what if they asked a question we could not answer?
That’s where the next part of verse 16 is so crucial.
“it is the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes.”
In the proclamation of the gospel God is actively at work in reaching out to the hearts of people.
The gospel is God telling of his love to wayward people.
It is not a lifeless message but a vibrant encounter for everyone who responds in faith
So 2 things here.
First, it is God’s power not yours that brings someone to salvation.
You are not capable of talking someone into or out of the Kingdom.
God calls them.
God makes Himself known.
and God saves them.
The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that they lift themselves.
It is power.
It lifts them up.
Paul does not say that the gospel brings power but that it is power, and God’s power at that.
When the gospel is preached, this is not simply so many words being uttered.
The power of God is at work
You are just the mouthpiece.
The vessel.
The conduit.
God’s power working thru you.
To really hear the gospel is to experience the presence of God
That means that when you are talking about the Gospel, God is guiding what you say.
He is bringing the words, the ideas, the scriptures, everything.
You are just being obedient.
Takes the pressure off a little doesn’t it?
Thinking someone’s soul is riding on your ability to recall perfectly under pressure.
No. God’s got this.
You be obedient to speak and He can handle the rest.
Paul is not saying that people achieve power by their own believing effort.
He is saying that the power of God is at work in the gospel.
And secondly, the outcome is not on you either.
It says “to everyone who believes.”
The person you are talking to has to act in faith.
You cannot manufacture that or argue that or coerce that.
You either have faith or you don’t.
And let me make a comment here in regards to that last statement.
Not only is the pressure not on you, there is no need for this to be a staged, forced conversation.
There are definitely times where I have shared the Gospel spontaneously with strangers, because God told me to, but much more often Gospel conversations happen in the context of my relationships with people.
Which means a couple of things, 1- you should have lost friends, and 2- you should be paying attention when spiritually seeking people are talking.
And the result is nothing short of miraculous.
The Gospel, literally changes everything, when a person believes it!
The gospel is not simply a display of power but the effective operation of God’s power leading to salvation.
It has purpose and direction.
The salvation Paul spoke of is more than forgiveness of sin.
It includes the full scope of deliverance from the results of Adam’s sin.
It involves justification (being set right with God), sanctification (growth in holiness), and glorification (the ultimate transformation into the likeness of Christ; cf. 1 John 3:2).
The gospel serves the eternal purposes of God, who before the creation of the world chose to create for himself a people who would respond to his love.
Becoming a child of God requires deliverance from what we are as children of Adam.
It is not something we can do for ourselves.
It requires the power of God himself working through the gospel
Now look at verse 17.
This is the other issue we need to discuss.
Some of us would use the excuse of our own imperfections.
We would say we are quiet about the Gospel because we feel as if we are not a good representative of a Christian.
And we tell ourselves, when we are _______ we will share our faith.
Virtue has, since the beginning of time, been thought of as an achievement by human endeavor.
But God’s righteousness is a right standing he freely gives to those who trust in him.
The lack of an article before “righteousness” (in the Greek text) emphasizes the qualitative aspect of the noun.
That is, the kind of righteousness God provides and is revealed in the gospel is available by faith alone and leads on to greater faith
That’s a lie.
The good news of the Gospel is that our righteousness comes from God, not our own actions.
Jesus makes us righteous.
He is the source of righteousness.
No one is good or righteous apart from Him- and it is His righteousness that enables Him to save us.
His perfection covers over our imperfections!
Here Paul is saying that in the gospel God has acted decisively for our salvation and in a way that is right.
The “rightness” of the way of salvation will be further brought out in this epistle as Paul develops the concept of justification.
We should further notice that the righteousness of God is here said to be “revealed” in the gospel.
And we enter into His righteousness, not by cleaning up or changing our actions, but by faith!
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