Totally Committed to the Gospel
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Today’s message will study the heart and mind of a man who was totally committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul.
Many esteem Paul as the greatest Christian who ever lived.
The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans.
14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Paul made three “I am” statements in these verses.
(1) “I am debtor.”
(2) “I am ready.”
(3) “I am not ashamed.”
When we put these three statements together, we understand what motivated the Apostle Paul.
When Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus and asked the Lord two questions:
i) “Who are You, Lord?”
ii) “What would You have me to do?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
If we will ask these same two questions of the Lord, get the answers from Him, and then follow Him correctly, we will then understand what life is all about.
Know who Jesus is and what He would have you to do.
Paul quickly learned that he was a Debtor.
I AM A DEBTOR
I AM A DEBTOR
(ROMANS 1:14)
14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
“I am debtor.”
Paul saw himself as a debtor.
Paul saw himself as a debtor.
First to Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
Paul saw himself as a bond slave.
Paul saw himself as a bond slave.
A bond slave was someone who had been purchased and then wanted to serve his master willingly and voluntarily.
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We are bondslaves to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation is free to us because Jesus paid it all.
We are debtors to the one who hung in agony and bleed on the cross for us.
We cannot pay for our salvation. We owed a debt we could not pay and He paid a debt that He did not owe.
Not only was Paul a debtor to Christ but he said he was a debtors to those around him.
Paul was a debtor to other.
Paul was a debtor to other.
14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
When he refers to the Greeks and the barbarians, Paul is talking about the cultured and the non-cultured.
He is talking about the free and the slaved.
He is talking about the educated and the not so educated.
He is talking about the rich and the poor.
Paul is saying that everyone needs to know Jesus.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Freely we have received; we are to freely give.
We have been saved by the grace of God.
Jesus paid it all, and all to Him we owe.
We need a compassion for lost people.
We have a responsibility to tell others about Jesus.
So, do you see yourself as a debtor to Christ and to others?
Paul did and with that he made himself ready.
I AM READY
I AM READY
(ROMANS 1:15)
15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
We must understand that we are debtors, and as a result, we must be ready.
“I am ready.”
Obviously, Paul was ready to live for Christ.
We must be ready to live.
We must be ready to live.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul didn’t just say that he lived for Christ, he said that life is Christ. That a big difference.
To see life, your life in this way changes everything.
Is there anything different about your life?
Does your neighbor see a quality in your life that would cause him to question what’s different about you?
We are not ready to live for Christ until we are ready to die for Christ.
We must be ready to die.
We must be ready to die.
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
This does not mean that we want to die for Him; that would be a martyr complex.
The Apostle Paul loved life, and yet he was not afraid to die.
The Apostle Paul was ready to die.
We must be ready to go.
We must be ready to go.
15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
Are you ready to go? We are all a going bunch, we like to go here and there. But most of our goings has to do with our own self interest.
If the Lord were to speak to you today, would you say, “Yes, Lord, yes?”
Are you ready to live, ready to die if necessary, or ready to go?
And not half-hearted, but with all that is within you?
I AM NOT ASHAMED
I AM NOT ASHAMED
There was so much opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but Paul wasn’t fearful about the Gospel.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
“I am not ashamed.”
Paul was not ashamed of the person of the Gospel.
Paul was not ashamed of the person of the Gospel.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ was identified with a poor, Jewish carpenter who was crucified.
Paul went to Rome, the Imperial city with all of its might, power, and armies, to talk with them about a Jew.
The Romans had no appreciation for the Jews, especially one who was not a philosopher but a crucified carpenter.
Rome was a proud city. (much like America is today)
The Gospel came out of Jerusalem, not Rome.
Even for the Jew, “Could anything good come out of Nazareth.”
Why should Rome listen to anything that came out of a conquered place?
The Christians were not considered the “big shots” of that day. As hard as evangelism is today I could imagine it was even harder in Paul's day.
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
Early Christians didn’t have a lot a philosophers, generals, or wealthy people among their ranks.
They were considered the scum of the Earth of that day.
When Paul went to Rome, he went as a prisoner. Yet, he did not hang his head in shame.
Paul was bold for the Lord Jesus.
(1) Are you ashamed of the Gospel?
(2) Are you ashamed to invite people to Jesus Christ?
We ought to be open and bold for the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
(1) His name is above every name.
Paul was not ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel.
Paul was not ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
The purpose: unto salvation.
There is nothing else that can save a damned soul.
The Gospel is not intended to save civilization from wreckage, but to save people from the wreckage of civilization. ~Adrian Rogers
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
What does lost mean - If the don't have a personal faith relationship with Jesus Christ you are lost.
There are all kinds of losses, but how tragic it would be to lose your soul.
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
How can we be ashamed of the Gospel when the power of the Gospel is the only thing that can help this world today?
The Gospel is the only thing that can make alcoholics sober.
It is the only thing that can make adulterers pure.
It is the only thing that can give a hope to the hopeless. Without the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no hope.
Paul wasn’t ashamed of the power of the Gospel.
Paul wasn’t ashamed of the power of the Gospel.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
The word used for “power” in this passage is the Greek word from which we get our word “dynamite.”
There is only one power that can wash us and make us whiter than snow, and that is the power of the Gospel.
It is by grace through faith.
Paul wasn’t ashamed of the plan of the Gospel
Paul wasn’t ashamed of the plan of the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
(1) “To everyone that believeth.”
(2) The plan of salvation is gloriously simple and simply glorious.
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
There are some who want to tell others, “You have to believe and…”
The moment we add anything to the plan of salvation, we take the “whosoever” out of it.
For instance, if we say that we have to believe and be baptized:
Then that would mean that nobody in the desert could be saved.
That would mean that nobody on an airplane could be saved.
God’s simple, glorious plan is that anybody, anywhere and anytime can say, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart and save me.”
And He will.
a) This sin-cursed world looks to science to save us.
i) Science can tell us how far it is from the Earth to the sun, but it can’t save us.
b) This world looks to culture to save us.
i) But all culture can do is glitterfy the world around us but that just makes the place look good before going to hell.
c) This world looks to finance and business to save us.
i) All finance can do is to tell us how to gather money to leave it all behind.
d) The world looks to philosophy to save us.
i) All philosophy can do is tell us more and more about less and less until we know everything about nothing, but it can’t save us.
e) The world looks to politics to save us.
But all politics is mans way to control and have power over people.
e) There is only one who can save.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Jesus saves.
Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Him to come into your life.
Call upon Jesus today. Repent (turn) from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.