Unashamed Faith

Introduction

Ashamed stapler salesman.

This morning we are continuing in the book of Romans and we are coming to the end of Paul’s greeting to the church in Rome.

Turn with me to Romans 1:16-17 “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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

This is Paul’s thesis statement for the whole letter.

The main themes of Romans are:

Man’s lack of righteousness.

How we are made righteous in Christ.

God’s righteousness.

And How we live out this righteousness in the world.

Our text today introduces all of these topics. And then Paul spends the rest of the letter fleshing them out in great detail.

The Main Goal: Unashamed Faith is gospel rooted faith.

I. Unashamed Faith (16a)

Romans 1:16 “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.”

Paul had immense pressure to be ashamed of the gospel

From the Jews

The gospel was a betrayal

Jesus as messiah was offensive to them: His life and his death.

Paul, a rising star, was a waste to them

From the Gentiles

The gospel was a stumbling block to them

A weak god who was killed by humans?

A god who sacrifices himself for the creature? Redicilous!

From the culture

The idea of needing to be saved is outrageously offensive

From suffering

2 Corinthians 11:24-27 “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”

Q. Have you ever felt the pressure to be ashamed of your faith in God?

A. I know you have—If you are living for Jesus at all you’ve felt the pressure from the world to be quiet about your faith.

Paul says, “Despite all of this—I. Am. Not. Ashamed!

Paul’s declaration needs to be our imitation! Are you gettin’ it?

I’m not ashamed:

Of the gospel

to belong to God

to be a new creation

to share my faith

to have godly values

to stand on the Bible as authoratative

No matter what happens in the culture—what happens in this world—what happens in my life…I AM NOT ASHAMED!

Transition: Paul says the gospel is nothing to be ashamed of. And in the rest of our passage he gives us 3 reasons why.

II. The Gospel is the Power of God (16b)

Romans 1:16 “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.”

We don’t trust in a weak promise—the gospel is the power of God.

Dunamis—dynamite

We see some mighty displays of God’s power in the Bible:

God splits the sea for his people.

The average 32-gallon bathtub will hold 267 pounds of water. God with no effort splits and holds a sea back.

Elijah calls down fire from heaven.

He breaks physics and makes the Sun stand still.

Man, do you really believe these things?! I had a pastor ask me that once! And I was shocked!

Buddy you better believe I do—and I’m not the fool here you are!

There’s nothing too hard for my God! If your God has trouble with the world he created then you aren’t worshipping the God of the Bible.

How can you believe that God can save you—if he can’t manage the world he created?

Q. Do you know what is the most immovable force in the world? —>The Human Heart!

Transition: These things are amazing, but by far the greatest display of God’s power is the salvation of people.

Romans 1:16 “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.”

God displays his power in some amazing ways—but nothing is more surprising or a greater display of God’s power than when a person is changed!

Before I was saved do you know what I wanted to do? What my life’s aspiration was? Do drugs, have sex, make money!

Friends, we should not be ashamed of the gospel—it is not weak—it is the most amazing display of Almighty God’s Power.

It has changed the world! It continues to change the world!

Transition: As we continue in the Bible our passage tells us who this amazing gospel is for...

Romans 1:16 “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.”

The gospel is not for the deserving!

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

We all sin—we all want to sin—(in our natural unsaved state) we enjoy sin—we are rebels who hate the rule of the king!

God doesn’t save the deserving.

If you think you deserve salvation—the gospel—you don’t understand the wickednes of the human heart or the gospel.

The gospel doesn’t give us what we deserve but graces us w/ undeserved mercy and lavish reward!

Who is this for?

All who believe!

Jews and Gentiles (Through the Jews to the Gentiles)

We would expect such an gift would come at great cost to us.

You are gonna have to work for it! You’re gonna pay for it!

But it’s priceless! Q. How much is the blood of God’s Son worth? You can’t put a price on it!

If it did have a price we couldn’t afford it!

The only thing required is belief and God gives you that as well!

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”

From beginning to end God pays the price and does the work!

The gospel is powerful and the greatest example of that power is when people are saved!

Application: Don’t be an ashamed salesman! Go about your work with pride and boldness!

Transition: We are not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God. The power to save. And...

III. The Gospel Reveals God’s Righteousness (17a)

Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

God is the same yesterday—today—tomorrow. He has always been righteous.

His righteousness is not fleeting. God is the standard of righteousness.

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Because the cross seems foolish to the world—sometimes the question is posed: Why is death required at all?! The gospel reveals the evil of God.

Couldn’t God simply forgive everybody’s sin? If I can think about this as a solution why can’t God?!

Friends, God would never do that because to do so would be to sin—it require God to cease being good which is not something He can do.

Q. What do I mean? How could saving everyone—instant forgiveness—be evil? —>This is the problem with you Christians!

I’ll tell you the problem.

When a judge lets evil go unpunished He is a morally corupt and evil judge.

When a judge knows evil has taken place and looks the other way—that is grace that compromises the morality of the judge—and it is a stolen grace.

Grace that doesn’t punish sin, but looks the other way is a grace bought with injustice and is evil.

The Bible is clear that God is a good judge:

Psalm 75:7 “but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.”

Isaiah 33:22 “For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.”

Hebrews 4:13 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Deuteronomy 32:4 ““The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Q. Well God doesn’t have to be a judge! —> That’s more nonsense!

If it is evil for good men to do nothing in the face of evil—then far be it from God who is hindered by nothing to ensure justice—to leave sin un-judged.

God is a judge because He is good!

What does this have to do with the gospel? How does this reveal God’s righteousness?

Jesus death wasn’t just an example of God’s love for us—it was absolutely necessary in order for God to cast his powerful, saving love on us.

God a good judge—cannot leave our sin unanswered.

But hte penalty of sin is eternal separation from God! And God desires to restore relationship with His people.

“I will be your God and you will be my people!

So a substitute was given!

Jesus loved God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and his neighbor as himself.

Jesus is our sinless substitute.

He deserves the love of God the Father.

But instead he received the judgment that we deserve—the cross, God’s wrath against our sin, Hell was the punishment that we deserve.

God’s righteousness is revealed in that the believers sin is punished by a righteous judge with Jesus standing in their place.

It’s not ignored or pardoned leaving behind injustice. It is paid for as it should be!

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

God’s love is revealed as the believer is made new in Christ!

Isaiah 53:5 is reversed!

By his perfection we are made whole.

By his sinlessness we are made perfect.

God saves the guilty while maintaining his righteousness!

This is why Romans 3:26 says, “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Q. Now here’s the million dollar question: Have you received the gift of God’s gospel?

Do you believe:

That you are in need of saving?

That Jesus took your place?

That your sin was paid for by Jesus?

That Jesus’ righteous standing before God covers you?

If you believe these things—it is only by the power of God!

John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

If you believe these things it is because God is drawing you to Jesus—you now, exactly as you are!

Come and be saved!

Transition: In the salvation of every person we see the power of God to save you. We see the righteousness of God revealed. And as we finish reading our text we see...

IV. The Gospel is for Living Life (17b)

Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

The gospel is not a moment at the beginning of our walk with Christ. It is our all defining—everything.

The gospel empowers us to live out our lives in righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

So when you got saved—you never got tempted by sin again right?

You never doubted that God loved you?

You never questionsed your salvation?

Why are you looking at me like I’m crazy?

Because these things happen, but the gospel reminds us of the truth.

The gospel reminds us that we are no longer slaves to sin.

It is the gopsel that reminds us that God loves us.

It is the gospel that reminds us that God is holding onto us—and he never lets go. You can’t lose a salvation that isn’t dependent on you!

We don’t move on from the gospel no more than we move on from breathing air to live.

The rightoues shall live by faith.

Are you living righteously by faith in your life?

Are you tracking with me?

The Bottom Line

Unashamed faith is rooted in gospel truth.

When it comes to the gospel there is no shame in our game! The gospel is God’s power! The gopsel is God’s Power that saves. The gospel powerfully reveals the righteousness of God. The gospel is God’s power in our lives as we live to carry out the mission that he has called us to.

Let us not be ashamed of the most amazing good news that has ever come to man, but let us walk boldly with confidence carrying forth unashamed faith! Amen?

Pray

Discussion Question: What tempts you to be ashamed of the gospel?