         |
|
The Saving Power of the Gospel Romans 1:16-17 |
February 15, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
As a self-professed "recreational eater" I'm sure that you are not surprised to learn that I took full advantage of the vast array of dining opportunities that are legendary on these amazing ships. I always know that I have hit my cruising stride when the waiter at our table stops asking me what I'd like for dinner and just brings me one of everything the chef is serving that night. It's a beautiful thing.
One of my very favorite cruise experiences is something I've never heard any one else talk about. I'm not sure why it affects me so, but I absolutely love being in what I call the "open seas." I find it thoroughly exhilarating to walk out onto the deck of the ship and be able to look out in every direction and see nothing but water. No hint of land anywhere. 360 degrees, as far as the eye can see, nothing but ocean. I absolutely love that experience.
Well, this morning, we are reaching that moment in our cruise through the book of Romans. I told you 5 weeks ago that we would be moving into some very deep waters in this study and, today as we come to verses 16-17, we reach the "open seas." These are deep waters, indeed.
No less a theological giant than Martin Luther found himself engaged in an arduous battle to rightly comprehend the meaning of these two verses. In fact, he confessed that there were times when he "hated" these verses. But when at last he finally came to understand them he wrote, "I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of scripture took on new meaning. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to heaven." Those are powerful words from a powerful man. So, what exactly do we have in these 2 verses?
Well, what we have is the conclusion of Paul's introduction to the book of Romans. In these 2 verses Paul succinctly summarizes what he is then going to discuss in full with the remaining 15 ½ chapters of the book. Verses 16-17 are, quite simply, what the book of Romans is all about. So, let's see what they say.
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17
Now, let's work our way back through Paul's thesis statement and take a closer look at each of its parts. Verse 16 begins like this, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel…"
What a seemingly strange thing for Paul to say. Strange in the sense that it's hard to imagine that anyone would have thought for an instant that this passionate man of God was "ashamed of the gospel." At the time of this writing Paul has been faithfully, tirelessly and unceasingly spreading the Gospel far and wide for some 30 years, hardly the behavior a man in any way "ashamed" of the Gospel. In fact, this seemingly strange statement is actually the perfect way for Paul to show ordinary Christians like you and me, why we also need never to be ashamed of the Gospel.
Here is a man who was well acquainted with virtually every form of shaming behavior that the non-believing world can heap upon those who dare to speak openly about the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul describes some of the shame he has endured as a result of his faithful proclamation of the gospel. He writes:
"I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Paul has endured an array of shaming assaults that most of us can hardly imagine. Consequently, when he says to us, "Even so, I am not the least bit ashamed of the Gospel," it ought to get our attention. Why? Because we…and, yes, I must confess that also includes me…are often times so timid about sharing our faith out of fear that we might be shamed in some way. Well, folks, given our general timidity about our faith, when we hear of someone who continues to be bold in his faith, in spite of all of the shame that Paul has endured, we should be chomping at the bit to ask him, "What's your secret? Why are you so unconcerned about being shamed and how can you endure all of that without becoming ashamed of the message that is causing of this personal hardship?"
Thankfully, Paul anticipates our question and gives us his answer in his next statement. He says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, BECAUSE it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…"
Paul says to us, "Folks, do you want to know why I'm not ashamed of the gospel? I'll tell you: how can I possibly be ashamed of a message that gets people saved? If it didn't work, then, yes, I would be ashamed of it. But it does work.
And here's something else to think about: All of those people who are shaming me and putting me down right now, well, guess what? One day they're going to discover that everything I've been telling them about the gospel is true. I hope that they discover it in time to be saved, but one way or another, everyone is going to find out that Gospel is true.
Ashamed? No. I could never be ashamed of a gospel that is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
Folks, during those moments when we find ourselves tempted to be ashamed of this Gospel…tempted to be timid about sharing our faith in it…we need to remember that this gospel is nothing less than "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
Now, let's focus for a moment on that phrase, "the power of God." When Paul says that the gospel, "IS the power of God for the salvation of everyone," he's saying that every time we proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus, God is actively at work in that proclamation. Every time we share the gospel the power of God is unleashed. God never fails to show up in power when the truth of the gospel is being proclaimed. And that means that right now, in the preaching of this message, God is actively working in our midst. And He is working in power.
And that leads us to ask this question: How exactly does the power of God show itself in the Gospel? And here in verse 16, Paul offers a 3-part answer to our question:
First, God's power is seen in the fact that the Gospel brings about our "salvation." And that word, "salvation" is a comprehensive word that speaks of the restoration of all that was lost because of our sin. Salvation describes the sense of wholeness in our lives that is finally possible because, at last, we can live in the relationship with God for which we were created. A relationship decimated by sin, but wholly restored by our salvation. And that is the power of God.
Second, God's power is also seen in the fact that the salvation that comes through this gospel is for "everyone who believes." No one is excluded. That's Paul's point when he says, "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." While acknowledging the unique position of the Jews in God's unfolding plan of salvation, Paul makes it clear that the salvation available in this Gospel is available to everyone who believes. And that is the power of God.
And, finally, God's power is also seen in the fact that this Gospel is 100% effective in accomplishing salvation every time it's believed. It never fails. Every individual who has ever believed in this gospel has been saved. And that, my friends, is the power of God.
Key Question: How does the Gospel save us?
And with that, we move on to verse 17, to answer a critically important question, namely, How exactly does the gospel save us? How is it that this gospel brings about our salvation?
Romans 6:23 says that the penalty for sin is death, which means being permanently and eternally cast out of God's presence. And Romans 3:23 says that everyone has sinned. When you put those two realities together you are led to one very clear conclusion: because of our sin every last one of us deserves God's wrath and judgment.
Yet, the promise of the gospel is that salvation is available to everyone who believes. So, how exactly does this gospel save us sinners from the wrath and judgment of God that we deserve? How is it possible for sinful people ever to be made right with God? Verse 17 is Paul's answer to that question. "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"
As verse 17 begins, Paul is telling us that the gospel's ability to save us is somehow related to the fact that it reveals God's righteousness. He writes, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed…" And this is the notion that caused Martin Luther such trouble. For the longest time, Luther could not understand how the revelation of God's righteousness could possibly be considered "good news" when God's righteousness only serves to magnify the scope of our sinfulness.
You see, I might be able to downplay the sin in my own life when I compare myself to other people. Suddenly I don't look so bad when I compare myself to someone who's an even bigger sinner than me. But, folks, when I hold my life up alongside the righteousness of God, my sin becomes glaringly apparent and horribly humiliating. How then, Luther wondered, can the revelation of God's righteousness be good news? And the answer is, you've got to read the rest of the verse.
"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last…"
Key words: "by faith."
But, I thought "righteousness" was something I had to achieve by my own effort? I thought "righteousness" was all about a level of perfection that I had to reach through my own hard work? This gospel reveals a "righteousness" that can be ours "by faith?" A "righteousness" that is not based upon me doing the best I can or me trying really, really hard? Suddenly, this is starting to sound like good news, after all.
Does the gospel reveal God's righteousness? Absolutely. And what it reveals is that the righteousness that God demands from us, He also gives to us. Those who put their faith in Jesus and trust Him for their salvation will not only receive the gift of forgiveness for their sins, they will also receive the gift of God's righteousness. God will wrap them in His righteousness.
Do you want to know why this revelation of God's righteousness is good news?
--Folks, it's good news because it assures us, day in and day out, that our standing before God is not based upon our righteousness but upon His righteousness.
--It's good news because it assures us that the righteousness that we could never have attained by any amount of effort or hard work is available to all of us by faith. It is righteousness from God, for us…and we receive it by faith.
Paul says that it is, "by faith from first to last." That literally reads, "from faith to faith." It means that this process that makes it possible for sinful people like us to be wrapped in the righteousness of God is initiated with God's faithfulness to His promise and then activated through our faith in God's faithfulness.
And then Paul concludes by saying, "…as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" So, when you put all of the parts of verse 17 together what you see is that this gift of righteousness that comes from God to us…
…is initiated by faith;
…and activated by faith;
…and also sustained by faith.
It is truly "by faith from first to last."
All we have to do to be declared righteous by God is to believe that the Gospel…the good news of salvation through Jesus…is true. All of the work that had to be done to bring God's righteousness to us was done by God. And since God did all of the work, God also gets all of the glory. And as we've seen in previous weeks, giving glory to God is ultimately what this life is all about.
I don't know that Charles Wesley was thinking about these 2 great verses when he wrote one of my favorite hymns, but he could have been. And I think his hymn serves as a wonderful conclusion to our reflections on this gospel about which we are not ashamed because we know it to be the power of for the salvation of everyone who believes.
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.
My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad the honors of Thy name.
Father, may all the glory and all the honor for our salvation always be yours. Amen.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum