Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 1 as we continue our study through this epistle. We have seen so far in our study of Romans chapter 1, Paul’s opening salutation to the church of Rome in Romans 1:1-7. Then, in Romans 1:8-17 we have Paul’s introduction to his letter. Last week we looked at Romans 1:8-15, which dealt with the heart of a servant as Paul gave his life as an example of what a servant of God is all about.
This morning we will finish up Paul’s introduction by looking at Romans 1:16-17. This is really the heart of the letter because everything else flows from this point – THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! Now I have called this study: ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL? The reason for that is that many today have moved away from the Gospel message, they are watering it down, or they just don’t know what the Gospel message is all about.
Let me share with you some of the things people are saying about the Gospel and then we will get into our text because, as you will see, apart from the Gospel we have nothing!
First of all I want you to listen to some quotes from Robert Schuller because he has influenced thousands of pastors and millions of people with his false doctrine and then I will show you where we are today, who is proclaiming his empty message. And when you listen to these quotes see if they match up with Scripture or the philosophies of men. Robert Schuller tells us:
“What is that basic flaw? I believe it is the failure to proclaim the Gospel in a way that can satisfy every person's deepest need - one's spiritual hunger for glory. Rather than glorify God's highest creation - the human being - Christian liturgies, hymns, prayers, and Scriptural interpretations have often insensitively and destructively offended the dignity of the person...By self-denial Christ does not mean the rejection of that positive emotion we call self-esteem - the joy of experiencing my self-worth...The death of Christ on the cross is God's price tag on a human soul...[it means we really are somebody's!]” (Self-Esteem, p. 31).
Once again listen to these words from Robert Schuller, who, according to Christianity Today “ . . . is reaching more non-Christians than any other religious leader in America.” Listen carefully to how he feels about what Paul said of Christ being our Savior and what He came to do, – “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” He came to save you and me. But Robert Schuller says:
“I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.”
Now in that feel good Gospel that he is promoting, why do you need Jesus if you are not a sinner? Why do you need a Savior if you don’t sin? Why would we read in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” What are they, we to repent from? Well, listen to what sin is according to Robert Schuller:
“What do I mean by sin? Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of his children of their right to divine dignity - Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem." (Self Esteem, p. 14)
What does he mean by our right to “divine dignity?” In his book, Peace of Mind Through Possibility Thinking, pages 131-132, he wrote:
“The most effective mantras employ the "M" sound. You can get the feel of it by repeating the words, "I am, I am," many times over.... Transcendental Meditation or TM... is not a religion nor is it necessarily anti-Christian.”
You see, he is going along with many others who say that we are divine, that we are God. We are not God!
Thus, if we are not sinners in need of salvation, we must not need to be born again, right? Not according to Schuller. Listen to what he has to say regarding what it means to be born again. He wrote:
“To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image-from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust.
How can this happen? It happens through a meeting with the Ideal One. From my perspective I would expect such an Ideal One to ignore or reject me because of my own shortcomings. But if in fact the Ideal One receives me as his peer and treats me as an equal even though he knows who and what I am-the ill I've done, and the good I've failed to do-then something profoundly deep will happen at the core of my personality. I will be born again." (Self Esteem, p. 68)
When you listen to what he is saying it's doubtful that Schuller even knows what the gospel is. Schuller says:
"Is there any possibility of a person being, quote -- saved -- unquote, without accepting Jesus Christ in a way evangelicals preach it today? My answer is, I don't know. That's the honest to God truth. But I believe in the sovereignty of God and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. I hope so. Is it possible to be saved without making public repentance? I think so. On the cross, Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' He didn't say, 'Father, forgive them because they repented.' Jesus has a different theology of salvation than most preachers.” (Reported in O Timothy.)
Robert Schuller is so against preaching the Gospel Message, from letting people know that they are sinners separated from God that he tells us what we are like because we have that kind of theology. He wrote:
"Christians abound who are walking cases of uptight, defensive, angry, fearful, neurotic meanies. Why is this? What else can we expect if the call to conversion is a blatant appeal to a person's ‘depraved, unworthy, totally sinful nature’? If the seeds of evangelism are dropped in the smelly swamps of self-shame, we can expect the emerging convert, who has been 'born again' in a womb of shame, to be saturated with a negative self-image." (Self Esteem p. 152).
Salvation according to Schuller's theology is not God rescuing us from sin, death, and hell (Eph.2:1,5,6; Jn. 3:14-21); but instead is a "rescue from shame to glory … guilt to pride … fear to love … distrust to faith … hypocrisy to honesty" (p. 151). This means many can have salvation apart from Christ's death on the cross and what Christ did, dying for sin was wrong! What it is can be described as a discovery of self, with all its trappings of pride.
It all boils down to this in Schuller’s theology:
“What does it mean to be saved? It means to be permanently lifted from sin (psychological self-abuse with all of its consequences as seen above) and shame to self-esteem and its God glorifying human need-meeting, constructive, and creative consequences.”
“Salvation is defined as rescue from shame to glory.”
“To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image -- from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love. From doubt to trust.”
And what is the real effect of being saved? “Glory restored is the real fruit of salvation.”
I know, some of you are saying, “That is Robert Schuller and what do you expect from him?” True, but keep in mind he has influenced many, many pastors including Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church, which is a seeker friendly church. And he has also taught Rick Warren from Purpose Driven fame. And listen to how he has taken what Robert Schuller has said and implemented into his teaching and what you will see is that the Gospel message is not being proclaimed.
This article that I am quoting from here is from InPlainSite.org.
In the video that accompanies the “40 Days of Purpose,” Warren leads his listeners in prayer at the end of the first session. The prayer goes like this:
"Dear God, I want to know your purpose for my life. I don't want to base the rest of my life on wrong things. I want to take the first step in preparing for eternity by getting to know you. Jesus Christ, I don't understand how but as much as I know how I want to open up my life to you. Make yourself real to me. And use this series in my life to help me know what you made me for." Warren goes on to say: "Now if you've just prayed that prayer for the very first time I want to congratulate you. You've just become a part of the family of God."
Warren would be hard-pressed to find biblical backing for this presentation of the gospel. We find nothing here about sin, grace, repentance, the person of Christ, Calvary, faith, judgment, or the resurrection. This is the ultimate in a mutilated, seeker-sensitive gospel: the seeker comes to Christ in order to find his purpose in life, not to receive forgiveness from sin and the righteousness of God. Then, to pronounce someone a full-fledged member of the family of God because he has prayed such a prayer (based on minimal, if any, understanding of the person and work of Christ), is beyond tragic.
On page 58 Warren gives perhaps his most complete gospel presentation found in The Purpose-Driven Life. There he tells his readers that they must first believe God loves them and has chosen them to have a relationship with his Son who died on the cross for them. Warren writes, “Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ.” I would not argue with that, but how are we to commit ourselves to Christ? Warren states, “Right now, God is inviting you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made you for… all you need to do is receive and believe…. Will you accept God’s offer?” Then he again offers a sample prayer,
“I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity, ‘Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.’” He then promises, “If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God!”
You are now ready to discover and start living God’s purpose for your life.”
It is worth noting that this gospel presentation is found on Day 7 (of the 40-day journey). We are to assume that the content of Days 1-6 have led up to this invitation to receive Christ. What Warren believes a sinner needs to know to become part of the family of God has presumably been presented in the first week of the journey. But Warren has said nothing about who Jesus is, why He died on the cross, in what manner He is their Savior, the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, repentance or confession of sin, the consequences of sin, or again, the resurrection of Christ. In a biblically illiterate, post-Christian era, it cannot be assumed that the unbeliever has any concept of any of these things.
This is especially disturbing in light of Warren’s central message: find God and you will find yourself (purpose). When this is undeniably the thesis of The Purpose-Driven Life, and the “Forty Days of Purpose” campaign, the unbeliever would naturally conclude that he is praying a prayer that will enable him to solve the problem of lack of purpose in his life. Where in the Scriptures is the gospel ever presented as Warren presents it? We are hopeful that Warren does not personally deny any of the essential elements of the gospel, but he certainly does not give them proper weight and he leaves much to the imagination of his readers.
Warren’s popularity with the masses has risen to such levels that he has now been asked to write a monthly column for the Ladies Home Journal. While some may question why a secular magazine would be interested in what an evangelical pastor has to say, certainly we can rejoice that Warren has been handed a worldwide forum (readership estimated at 14.5 million) in which to proclaim God’s truth, including the gospel, to a largely unbelieving audience. What a privilege. He has been given a platform from which he can herald the excellencies of Christ. But, unfortunately, Warren has not done that. Rather than preach Christ, Warren’s message, as reflected in the title of his article is, “Learn to Love Yourself.” In his March, 2005 article the man who opened his book with the words, “It’s not about you,” shows that he really thinks it is. He tells his readership, “To truly love yourself, you need to know the five truths that form the basis of a healthy self-image.” What are they? (All the following are direct quotes from Warren’s article)
What a disappointment! Not only does Warren not share the gospel, the glory of Christ or any theological truth, he muddies the waters by offering anemic pop-psychology none of which is supportable from Scripture. Briefly, remember that Warren is not writing to believers but to the general populace, which he would have to assume is largely unsaved. With that in mind consider:
· To this audience he tells them that God accepts them unconditionally. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are unacceptable to God in our natural state. It would take the death of the Son of God to provide the means whereby we could be accepted by God and only those who are in Christ are acceptable to the Father (Ephesians 1:3-14).
· Nowhere in Scripture are we ever told to love ourselves. We are told to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind. We are also told to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Some jump on this phrase, “as yourself,” as proof that God commands us to love ourselves. That is not true. The Scriptures tell us we already love ourselves (Ephesians 5:28-29); we do not need to be encouraged to an inordinate self-love that amounts to self-centeredness. As a matter of fact, the only passage in the New Testament that actually speaks of self-love considers it a sinful sign of the last days (2 Timothy 3:2). Christ calls us to deny self (Luke 9:23) not love self.
· To tell the unbeliever to accept and be true to himself is to condemn him eternally. Should one who is dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) be told to be content with his weaknesses? Warren may be attempting to soothe the troubled hearts of his readers, but he is not pointing them to the Savior.
· Not a word can be found in Scripture about forgiving ourselves. This is a modern psychological invention, not a biblical principle. God calls us to confess our sins to Him and He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). We lack the ability and authority to forgive ourselves; that is God’s prerogative.
· Rather than believe in self we are told to “believe on the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31). Rather than believe in self, Paul confirmed that we are inadequate in ourselves (2 Corinthians 3:5), being mere earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7). Rather than believe in self we are told that anything we accomplish is through God’s strength (Philippians 4:13). Rather than believe in self Paul said that he “boasted in his weaknesses, that the power of God may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
How can this evangelical pastor, who has emerged as the most recognized Protestant leader in the world, one who is looked to for spiritual insight and guidance by millions, miss the mark so widely? Perhaps the key is in his view of doctrine. In The Purpose Driven Life Warren wants us to have no doubt that, when we stand before the Lord, “God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him” (p. 34)? On the contrary, what we believe is of utmost importance. Did the Holy Spirit inspire the Bible for us to ignore what it teaches? Are the words of Jesus insignificant? Are the doctrinal truths of the New Testament epistles nothing more than filler?
Joseph Farah tells us about Rick Warren:
That's
why I was shocked and appalled to learn what Rick Warren said
on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" program
Dec. 3.
Alan Colmes, the lovable antagonist to Sean Hannity, asked the Southern California mega-church pastor and the man who will deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20, about the fate of those who do not follow Jesus.
Here's what Rick Warren said: "I'm saying that this is the perfect time to open their life, to give it a chance. I'd say give him a 60-day trial."
To
which Colmes responded: "Like the Book-of-the-Month Club."
Warren: "Give him a trial. See if he'll change your life. I dare you to try trusting Jesus for 60 days. Or your money back guaranteed."
I have to tell you, folks, this is not sharing the Gospel.
Sharing the Gospel means explaining that we all are in need of forgiveness, because we have all fallen short of the perfection God requires. That's what Jesus came to offer the whole world.
There is no eternal life with God if we don't accept that offer.
- Joseph Farah, ‘Try Jesus for 60 days’, January 03, 2009
Concerning salvation, it does matter what you believe about Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, sin, judgment, the gospel and so forth. Warren is doing a great disservice to the church of God. As he minimizes the content of the gospel, trivializes Scripture, belittles doctrine and replaces them with psychology, mysticism and worldly wisdom we are reminded of Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
I do realize that was a long introduction, but I wanted to lay down a solid foundation to show you what is going on out there in the promotion of this false gospel as compared to the true Gospel, the one they are trying to replace! This isn’t new folks, Paul dealt with this back in his day as he wrote to the Galatians, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9.
And today it is high time we took a stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not allow other’s to go on proclaiming their false gospels without being challenged, especially when they say they are Christians! With that said, let’s begin reading in Romans chapter 1, starting in verse 16 and see what the Lord has for us this morning.
Keep in mind that Paul was writing to the church in Rome and he longed to go to Rome and share the Gospel with the people in Rome But Rome was wicked, it was immoral and it was, in a sense, the center of the known world! And Rome had a lot going for her, military strength, arts and-so-on but it all added up to nothing apart from Christ. Listen to what Sir H. Haggard wrote regarding Rome:
How pitiless she was! . . . Amid all the ruins of her cities we find none of a hospital, none . . . of an orphan school in an age that made many orphans. The pious aspirations and efforts of individuals never seem to have touched the conscience of the people. Rome had no conscience; she was a lustful, devouring beast, made more bestial by her intelligence and splendor.
- Sir H. Haggard, Pearl Maiden (1901), p. 15
Folks, apart from Christ we are no different today and the only thing that will change this nation is not the next president, but people receiving Jesus Christ as they hear the Gospel message and the only way that they will hear it is if we tell them. Thus, let’s look at these two verses and see what we can glean from them so we can bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people!
VERSE 16
Look at the passion of Paul for people, for the lost. Back in Romans 1:14 he said, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.” He felt he owed his fellow man what he had, Jesus. In Romans 1:15 Paul said, “So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” Paul not only was a debtor to all men, but he was also ready, he was eager to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Rome. And now, here in Romans 1:16 Paul says that, “ . . . I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”
But why would Paul be tempted to be ashamed of the Gospel? Keep in mind that Christianity was not mainstream. And this faith was based upon, at least in the minds of the Romans, a Jew who was crucified for a crime and thus, why in the world would they want to put their faith in Him? That is what he faced and not only in Rome!
Now the word “Gospel” comes from the Greek word EUAGGELION, (yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on) and it speaks of good news. It was a word that was often used by a messenger of Caesar to announce the birth of his son. Thus, Paul is announcing, in a sense, the birth of the Son of God!
Now, what does the Gospel mean? Many have different ideas, but what does the Word of God have to say? Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:3-4, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” That is the Gospel message in a nutshell!
First of all, obviously, God became flesh and dwelt among us, that is what the Scriptures teach us. He then died for our sins; He was buried in a tomb and on the third day rose from the dead just as the Scriptures tell us, the Old Testament Scriptures! That is the Gospel folk’s. It is not very difficult for us to understand. That is the good news we are to give to people!
Some of you may remember L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer and he and another man got together and decided to make up a religion, called it Scientology and he was right, people are gullible for many today follow this religion that was born out of the heart of man not from God! Especially those in Hollywood! But Paul tells us that this Gospel did not originate from his own heart, his own mind, but from the Lord Himself.
Paul, in Galatians 1:11-12 tells us, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Now here’s the thing. Paul tells us that he is not ashamed of the Gospel because it has the power or literally dynamite, explosive power, DUNAMIS in the Greek, to save people! You see, the world is lost in sin and they may reject that fact but it is manifested in what we see happening every day around us.
Paul put it like this in Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” That is the bad news and thus, God has given to us the good news, the Gospel message, which can save us!
Morris says this regarding the Gospel: “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.” The problem today, like back then, is the Gospel is not very attractive to people. In it man’s sin is exposed and their hopelessness to do anything about it on their own.
Thus, to make the Gospel more appealing we change the message as Geoffrey Wilson wrote: “The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel. Thus Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends.” Let us not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
Listen to this story and you will see what I mean. We are told:
The strongest argument for the Gospel of Christ is the personal testimony of someone whose life has been changed by it. Charles Bradlaugh, an avowed infidel, once challenged the Rev. H. P. Hughes to a debate. The preacher, who was head of a rescue mission in London, England, accepted the challenge with the condition that he could bring with him 100 men and women who would tell what had happened in their lives since trusting Christ as their Savior. They would be people who once lived in deep sin, some having come from poverty-stricken homes caused by the vices of their parents. Hughes said they would not only tell of their conversion, but would submit to cross-examination by any who doubted their stories. Furthermore, the minister invited his opponent to bring a group of non-believers who could tell how they were helped by their lack of faith. When the appointed day arrived, the preacher came, accompanied by 100 transformed persons. But Bradlaugh never showed up. The result? The meeting turned into a testimony time and many sinners who had gathered to hear the scheduled debate were converted.
- Source unknown
That is the power of God unto salvation, it is not the words of men, the programs of men, the ideas of men, but a work of God in peoples lives. It is God who translates us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light!
Now, why is it to the Jew first and then to the Greeks or the Gentiles? Simply, the Jews were God’s chosen people, Romans 11:1. They were the custodians of God’s revelation, Romans 3:2. They are the people through whom Christ came, Romans 9:5. The Jews have a preference of privilege expressed to us historically in the Scriptures. In fact, Jesus said that, “Salvation is of the Jews” John 4:22. And in Paul’s ministry, he sought out the Jews first in every new city he went to, Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:2, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8.
Thus, the Gospel is for everyone, Jew and Gentile, the entire human race. It does not matter what racial or religious background you come from because the door is open for all to come. You see, the Gospel is universal in scope but it is limited to “everyone who believes.” Thus, the only way to obtain salvation, as we will see, is by personal faith in Jesus Christ!
VERSE 17
The word “righteousness” comes from the Greek word DIKAIOSUNE, (dik-ahyos-oo’-nay) and this word is used some 92 times in the New Testament and 36 times in Romans alone! And the phrase, “righteousness of God” occurs 5 times in this epistle. Its root word is DIKE simply means “right.”
The idea here is that this is the righteousness of God and not from man. Now this does go contrary to every religion I know of because all religions have the idea of man reaching up to God, working his way up to God or whatever their concept is. It truly is a man-centered salvation.
But Christianity is far different. Here we see God reaching down to sinful man to pull him out of the mire of sin that he is in, something that he could never do on his own. We can’t reach up to God but He can reach down to us and He does! In fact, if it were based on our righteousness we would be in trouble for the Scriptures tell us, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6. Thus, our righteousness can’t save us!
Let’s look at this for a minute. First of all the Scriptures tell us that God’s righteousness demands that sins be punished, and that penalty is eternal death, eternal separation from God! And, since our righteousness is like filthy rags, since there are none good, since all fall far short of what God demands, we deserve death! That is the bad news!
The good news, the Gospel tells us that God’s love provided what His righteousness demanded. Thus, He sent His Son to die as a substitute for sinners, paying in full the penalty. And so it is not our righteousness, which are like filthy rags before a holy and righteous God that saves us, but His righteousness that has been imputed to us by faith. If you doubt that, listen to what Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
You see, He became sin for us, and our sin was poured into Him on the cross of Calvary and the only reason we can stand before a holy and righteous God is that His righteousness was poured into us! That is not just good news but it is great news!
Now, how do we procure, how do we obtain this righteousness into our life? Not by works, by doing this or doing that. It is only by faith! In fact, Paul tells us that this is from faith to faith. In other words, we are saved by faith, we are sustained by faith and we will be taken into glory one day by our faith in Jesus Christ! This is not a salvation by works, it is not us reaching up to heaven and trying to attain God, as I have said, but God reaching down for us and we must believe by faith!
You see, it is not human righteousness but “the righteousness of God.” Anders Nygren says, “ . . . ‘the righteousness of God’ is a righteousness originating in God, prepared by God, revealed in the gospel and therein offered to us.” It is an alien righteousness – it is a righteousness that is from heaven!
And Paul concludes this section by quoting out of Habakkuk 2:4, that, “The just shall live by faith.” Thus, it is from faith to faith and we are to live by faith! “What are you saying Joe, that we are not to work our way into heaven?” Hello! In this one verse Paul uses the word “faith” three times, three times in 23 words! It is by faith as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9, and not by works, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Also, in Philippians 3:9 Paul tells us, “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”
Here is the bottom line, what people need to know to be saved, the Gospel message. Sin has separated every single one of us from God – that is the bad news as I have said. But, here comes the good news. The Gospel has the power to save you. Notice, it is not psychology, it is not this self-help group or that one, it is not this drug or this drink, it is not this book or that seminar, it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone that has the dynamic, the explosive power to save us!
All you must do is admit that you are a sinner and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to be Lord and Savior of your life and in doing that you must believe that God became flesh, dwelt among us, died on the cross of Calvary for our sins and rose from the grave on the third day according to the Scriptures, not only paying the penalty in full for our sins but conquering death! That is what is missing today folks, and without the power to save there is no salvation!
As I close this morning, let me share with you this story from the Gospel Herald. We are told:
Dr. Baldwin, who was pastor of a church for forty-one years, says, “With another, I testify that at thirty, after examining as best I could the philosophies and religions of the world, I said, ‘Nothing is better than the Gospel of Christ.’ At forty, when burdens began to press heavily, and years seemed to hasten, I said, ‘Nothing is as good as the Gospel.’
At fifty, when there were empty chairs in the home, and the mound builders had done me service, I said, ‘There is nothing to be compared with the Gospel.’ At sixty, when my second sight saw through the delusions and vanities of earthly things, I said, ‘There is nothing but the Gospel.’ At seventy, amid many limitations and deprivations, I sing:
‘Should all the forms that men devise
Attack my faith with treacherous art,
I’d call them vanities and lies,
And bind the Gospel to my heart.’”
- Gospel Herald
Why are there so many attacks against the Gospel? Because if you can take away the Gospel, water it down, make it ineffective, you then have taken away the power to save people for apart from the Gospel, there is no salvation. I pray we understand this and we leave here saying as Paul has said, “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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. [Hab 2:4.]” May we believe it and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IT IS THE POWER OF GOD TO SALVATION!