Romans: The Gospel of God's Grace

Overview of Romans

First, I want to thank you for inviting me to come and preach at your church, it is an honor to be here, and I hope we all gain a better understanding of the gospel message and its implications on our lives. Today I want to take a walk through the book of Romans. I have heard it described as the gospel of God’s grace. I can think of no other book in the Bible that explains the gospel message so in-depth.

Would you please turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans?

Understanding the gospel message and its implications on our thinking and actions is essential for the Christian life and for sharing our faith with those who do not yet know the truth of the Bible and their need of the Savior. The gospel is called the “good news” but before we can truly understand and appreciate the good news, we must understand the bad news so we can appreciate just how good the news is.

Romans 1:1-3 “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,”

Here Paul is introducing himself to the believers in Rome, he establishes his credentials as an Apostle, a servant of Christ Jesus and tells us the role he has been given by the Lord. He has been set apart for the gospel of God, here he gives us a glimpse of what the letter is going to address, the gospel message.

Paul now goes on to show us that the gospel he has been set apart for was promised to us by God through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Through the prophets God warned the people of Israel to turn from their sin and idolatry and return to him. When they failed to do so He pronounced judgement upon them which led to their exile from the promised land. However, the prophets also spoke of the restoration that God would bring through the coming Messiah. He reminds us that the Messiah was promised to come through the line of David. Here Paul is showing the readers that God has accomplished this promised restoration which is the gospel message he is about to explain.

Romans:1:4 “who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

Now that Paul has reminded the Roman believers of God’s promised Messiah, he emphasizes that he was declared to be the son of God in the power of the Holy Spirit by his resurrection from the dead, and states that the promised Messiah is Jesus Christ our Lord. It is through him that The Apostles, and us as well, have received grace to bring about faith in his name among all the nations. He addresses the letter to those who are loved by God and called to be saints.

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 to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.””

In Verses 16 and 17 Paul gives us a glimpse of the theme of what he’s about to tell us and the implications of the gospel message, the gospel is the power of salvation for all who believe, that it is for Jews and Gentiles alike. He shows us that the righteousness of God is revealed to us from faith. And that the righteous, or those with right standing before God live by faith in the son of God. So the first thing he must do is show us that the righteousness of God is needed, he lays out his case against humanity in order to show us our need of the gospel.

Romans 1:18-19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

Paul begins his indictment of man by explaining to us that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul shows us that God has revealed himself to all of us that, it is plainly known that God exists but there are those who suppress the truth about God and his ways.

Romans 1:20-23 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.”

Paul continues to make his case here that we are without excuse because God has shown us his eternal power and divine nature. They knew God, particularly the Jews, however they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him for all he had done for them. They had become futile in their thinking and professing to be wise they became utter fools, we see this going on today in the way people are rebelling in every way against the created order that God established.

Romans 1:24-26 “Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature,”

We not only suppress the truth of God but turned to the worship of idols which represented creation rather than the creator. We can see the result of this in that God gave them over to their impurity and lusts. Again, we see this today, many people have no sense of goodness, purity or even a knowledge of their own evils.

Romans 1:28- 32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.”

Since mankind had stopped acknowledging God and his decrees, he left them to their depravity which degenerated further and further from the righteousness that they needed in order to come back to God. Paul here lays out his case in more specific ways showing us the depth of our guilt before God.

Romans 2:1-3 “Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

In Chapter 2 Paul continues his indictment of man showing how we all have no excuse before God, first he shows how those of us who judge others, thinking we are righteous, because we practice the same things that we judge others for. He brings a charge against the Jews because they received the Law but did not keep their covenant with God. He indicts the Gentile because God has revealed himself to them through creation, but they have denied him and have followed after false gods and worshipped created things. So what is God to do? Can he break his end of the covenant because the Jews have not kept theirs, indeed not, In Chapter 3 verse 3 shows us that God is faithful to his promises even when we are not because he cannot go against his very nature which is truthful, and faithful to the covenant that he made with the Jews. So, then Paul goes on to show that all are guilty before God.

Romans 3:11-12 “There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; they have All turned aside, together they have become Corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.””

Romans 3:18 ““There is no fear of God before their eyes.””

Paul quotes from Psalms 14 and 36 here showing that we are all guilty, without excuse.

Too many people today however do not want to acknowledge that they will be held accountable to God. The sad part is that in their desire to deny God and hide their guilt from him they actually bring judgement upon themselves.

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.”

In verses 19 and 20 we see that by our good deeds, or following the ten commandments no one is justified before God, that through knowledge of the law we become aware of sin. And that because we have become aware of sin, we are all held accountable to God. Paul makes it clear that no one can be justified, that is declared innocent, before God by works of the law, or good deeds. This would have been particularly shocking to Jewish believers who had centered their whole lives around the law and the belief that adherence to the Law was the way to salvation. they believed they were justified before God by being good enough. but no one could ever meet the standard of perfection.

So now Paul has made his indictment to all men, showing why we all stand guilty before God and that we have no excuse. We are all rightly under condemnation.

If you have not put your faith in Jesus as your savior this is where you stand with God. Guilty before him, separated from God by your sin, with only the fearful expectation of judgement for your deeds.

Imagine going before a judge, charged with embezzlement, it’s clear that your guilty, you really have no defence. The judge gives you a chance to make a statement. You step up and proclaim that your a good person, you donate to charity, you volunteer at the orphanage, you often help little old ladies across the street.

The judge smiles and commends you for all the good that you’ve done. those are all wonderful things, he says, however you are still guilty of embezzlement.

No amount of good things can erase the bad that we’ve done.

But as he mentioned previously, God is Faithful even when we are not, and that he has promised through the prophets that he would redeem his people. So now that we understand the severity of our situation we can get to the good news of the gospel.

Slide 12: BUT NOW

BUT NOW, it can be easy to just skim right by these two little words, so I want to take a moment to think about what Paul is saying here. He’s shown that we are all hopelessly guilty before God and that no one is justified by the law or by their good deeds. God’s righteousness is needed in order to justify men, remember when Jesus said:

Matt 5:20 ““For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The Pharisees were the religious leaders when Jesus walked the earth, they prided themselves on being righteous by following all the rules they had decided made them right with God. They appeared on the outside to be so much better than everyone else. but like our defendant they were guilty and nothing they could do could make up for that.

So how can our righteousness exceed that of the pharisees?

Romans 3:21-23 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Here in verse 21 Paul begins to give us the answer to that very question. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested, notice it’s the righteousness of God not of ourselves, and this righteousness is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ for ALL who believe. For we have all sinned and fallen short of the perfect standard of God. Paul has made it clear that no one can be justified by the works of the law, So, how can one be justified, or declared innocent before God?

Romans 3: 24-26 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Verse 24 gives us the answer, we are justified, declared innocent, by his grace, not by works, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, notice where our redemption comes from, not of ourselves but by the blood of Jesus who God put forth as "a propitiation”, meaning he appeased God’s wrath against sin, the same wrath Paul spoke of in chapter 2 because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he covered our guilt by the vicarious punishment which he endured. This atonement is received by faith, this shows God’s divine forbearance, his patience, for our former sins, not of ours only but those who lived before us. And since God’s wrath has been appeased against all sin we can be forgiven of those sins we have yet to commit as well. So because Jesus stood in our place and God can be both just and also be the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

upon realizing that he is still guilty before the judge regardless of all the good he has done our defendant is appointed a defence attorney by the judge.

Romans 3: 27-28 “Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Now back to our example, instead of our defendant listing all the good things he’s done, boasting of his own good deeds, which can never wipe away his crimes he calls in his defence to plead his case.

Verse 27 shows us that no one may boast because this righteousness from God is not by our good deeds but by the law of faith. So that one is Justified by faith apart from their deeds. This is expressed by Paul in Ephesians.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

When we place our faith in Jesus we receive the gift of his righteousness based on His grace. Paul goes on to explain this further in the life of Abraham.

Romans 4: 2-5 “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

Paul then goes on to show how Abraham was justified not by his works but by faith in God. So it is with us, our faith is counted as righteousness, not as what is due to us, but as a gift from God.

Romans 4: 7-8 ““Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.””

Through this gift we can see that our sins are forgiven, they are covered, and God will not count our sin against those who have faith in Jesus.

So as we get to the trial of our embezzler his defence attorney motions for the court to have the evidence against him hidden from the jury. He didn’t rely on his good deeds to save him because the evidence against him was too great but he placed his faith in his attorney. To have the evidence against him thrown out.

Romans 5: 1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.”

So, since we have been justified by God we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith we are granted his grace. Now That is the best news anyone could ever have isn’t it?

So when we place our faith in Jesus, God, the judge, does not look at the evidence stacked against us, that has been thrown out, when he opens our file all he sees is Jesus.

Romans 5:9-11 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

So if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus you should rejoice at what God has done for us through Jesus Christ!

If you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus then you are considered an enemy of God, and you have not been saved from the wrath of God that will come when you face him.

Will you place your faith in Jesus today?

Conclusion

The book of Romans is a beautiful explanation of the gospel and its implications in our lives, since Jesus the Messiah was put forth as the propitiation for our sins we have been made righteous in the sight of God, not through our own good works or actions, but we are seen with the righteousness brought about by Jesus on our behalf. There is nothing that can keep us from sharing in his glory, nothing that can separate us from the love of God. We should all rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus has set us free from our sinful nature and brought us to life.

If you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus then you stand before God, guilty as charged, there is nothing you can do or say to exonerate yourself, there are really only two options when we come to the end of our lives. We can stand before God guilty for all the bad we have done, regardless of how good we think we are, and we can face the eternal consequences or we can rely on faith in Jesus to pay for the bad that we have done. He paid the price we could not pay because he loves us and wants us to be with him for eternity.

If you want to be sure that you will go to heaven when you die I ask you to say this prayer with me.

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against you, I know that I am guilty, but I know that you sent your son Jesus to die in my place so that I could be forgiven. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and savior. I place my faith in you thank you for loving me enough to save me from my sins. Amen

If you said that prayer I ask that you come and speak to one of the people waiting here in front so that we may set you on a new path. A path that will change your eternity. Thank you.

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