WEBVTT 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:06.240 We are memorizing the Word of God together, one 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.460 verse per week. If you do not have a copy of 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:11.800 our memory verses, the first four that we're 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.699 memorizing, you can get a three -by -five card 00:00:13.699 --> 00:00:17.420 out in the bookstore. Those are free. And you 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:20.399 can find out the verses we're memorizing and 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:22.980 have before you, conveniently, the translation 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:26.679 that we're memorizing from. It is the New International 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:28.579 Version, and it's a little different than... 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:31.219 the translations maybe that you've memorized 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:35.280 from in the past. I want to tell you that if 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:37.399 you have a hard time making that change, just 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:39.679 don't worry about it. The important thing is 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.740 to hide God's Word in your heart, not necessarily 00:00:41.740 --> 00:00:44.759 the translation that you're using. So if you 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:47.119 find it hard to make the transition into the 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:50.420 NIV, particularly with a verse that you've memorized 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:52.579 out of the King James or some other version, 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.020 then just say the verse out of the King James 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.679 Version when we say it together. If you see it 00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.380 a little differently than we do, we're not going 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:01.820 to mind a bit. The important thing is to hide 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:05.599 God's word in your heart. Today's verse is Romans 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:11.000 1 .17, so let's say it together. Romans 1 .17. 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.920 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:19.939 revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:24.420 first to last, just as it is written, the righteous 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.420 will live by faith. Now, there was a misprint 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:29.680 on the card this week. I apologize. Someone didn't 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:31.819 proofread that carefully enough. It says, the 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:34.239 righteous will live by faith. That's the way 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.680 that last quote from Habakkuk should read, even 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.019 in the NIV. Last part of our text for today, 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:41.700 I'm going to ask you to turn in your New Testament 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:47.560 to Romans chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, and get 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.000 the outline out of your worship folder so that 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:58.739 you can follow along with us. Romans chapter 00:01:58.739 --> 00:02:06.719 1, verses 16 and 17. I am not ashamed of the 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:11.300 gospel, because it is the power of God for the 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.979 salvation of everyone who believes, first for 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:18.599 the Jew and then for the Gentile. For in the 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:21.120 gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:24.860 a righteousness that is by faith from first to 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:28.469 last, just as it is written, The righteous will 00:02:28.469 --> 00:02:32.750 live by faith. In verse 16, we have the third 00:02:32.750 --> 00:02:38.370 of three I am's spoken by the Apostle Paul. He 00:02:38.370 --> 00:02:42.430 says in verse 14, I am obligated both to Greeks 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:44.710 and non -Greeks, to the wise and the foolish. 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:47.930 Considered himself a debtor to all men because 00:02:47.930 --> 00:02:50.289 of the gospel that he possessed and the need 00:02:50.289 --> 00:02:54.409 that all men have for that saving message. In 00:02:54.409 --> 00:02:57.620 verse 15, the second I am. He says, that's why 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:01.919 I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.039 who are at Rome. Some of them may have wondered 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.219 why Paul had delayed in coming. After all, he 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:10.120 had been an apostle now for a number of years. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.000 He had covered thousands of miles in his missionary 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.379 journeys and had never visited them in Rome. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:22.099 He did not found the church there. They were 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.580 in existence as a church for about 20 years by 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:27.199 this time. Apparently, some of the people had 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:31.060 been saved at Pentecost, went back to Rome, and 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:33.860 began to share their new faith with others, and 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:36.520 the church was founded that way. But Paul had 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:38.719 never visited them, so he assures them, I'm eager 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.520 to come to you. But as he explained in our text 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:44.439 last week, he had been hindered from coming to 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:47.460 them thus far. Some of them may have wondered, 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:52.539 though, if Paul was a little embarrassed or timid 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:58.069 about the gospel. After all, Rome was a showplace 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:02.210 of human achievement, of human glory and power. 00:04:03.370 --> 00:04:06.409 It was the seat of the greatest political and 00:04:06.409 --> 00:04:10.569 military might in the world. Its leading citizen, 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:15.849 Caesar, was proclaimed deity. So there may have 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:17.930 been some who wondered if Paul was a bit ashamed 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:21.209 of the gospel that he preached. Did his message 00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:24.439 have no prestige to it? After all, he could point 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:27.720 to no beautiful, magnificent temple and suggest 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:31.579 that that was the place to worship. In his book 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:34.920 on Romans, Warren Wiersbe has this good paragraph. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.500 By the way, we have several of his books on Romans 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:40.680 out there in the bookstore, and I recommend them 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:44.079 to you. It says, Rome was a proud city, and the 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.620 gospel came from Jerusalem, the capital city 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.220 of one of the little nations that Rome had conquered. 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:52.410 The Christians in that day were not among the 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:55.769 elite of society. They were common people, even 00:04:55.769 --> 00:04:59.750 slaves. Rome had known many great philosophers 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:03.089 and philosophies. I pay attention to a fable 00:05:03.089 --> 00:05:06.410 about a Jew who rose from the dead. Christians 00:05:06.410 --> 00:05:08.730 looked upon each other as brothers and sisters, 00:05:08.790 --> 00:05:12.290 all one in Christ, which went against the grain 00:05:12.290 --> 00:05:16.110 of Roman pride and dignity. To think of a little 00:05:16.110 --> 00:05:18.629 Jewish tentmaker going to Rome to preach us a 00:05:18.629 --> 00:05:22.620 message. is almost humorous. Well, maybe that's 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:25.300 what was in the mind of these people. And yet 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:28.000 Paul writes to tell them, I am not ashamed of 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.399 the gospel. Lenski suggests that that is probably 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:36.220 a Latodes here. He is saying, actually, I am 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.220 proud of the gospel when he says, I am not ashamed. 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:42.500 It was his boast, in fact, it was the only boast 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:46.199 that he had. You know, we are warned by our Lord 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:51.610 Jesus. of being ashamed of him. Turn back with 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:55.889 me to the Gospel of Luke, to chapter 9, and notice 00:05:55.889 --> 00:06:00.430 this warning by our Lord in verse 26. These are 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.810 thought -provoking words, and I frankly am not 00:06:02.810 --> 00:06:05.110 sure that I understand the full import of them 00:06:05.110 --> 00:06:10.410 after having studied them. But he says, if anyone 00:06:10.410 --> 00:06:15.949 is ashamed of me and my words, The Son of Man 00:06:15.949 --> 00:06:19.449 will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory 00:06:19.449 --> 00:06:22.709 and in the glory of the Father and of the holy 00:06:22.709 --> 00:06:27.329 angels. Our Lord warns us about having an attitude 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:33.649 of shame regarding him or his words. That is 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:38.069 why the Apostle warns Timothy in his second letter 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:42.589 to that young preacher, chapter 1 and verse 8. 00:06:43.230 --> 00:06:47.209 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, 00:06:47.350 --> 00:06:51.689 or ashamed of me, his prisoner. And he testifies 00:06:51.689 --> 00:06:55.829 regarding himself, I am not ashamed because I 00:06:55.829 --> 00:06:59.610 know whom I have believed, and am convinced that 00:06:59.610 --> 00:07:01.750 he is able to guard what I have entrusted to 00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:06.810 him for that day. Apparently Timothy, because 00:07:06.810 --> 00:07:11.589 of his timid nature, tended to be reticent to 00:07:11.589 --> 00:07:15.100 share his faith. to proclaim it boldly. And so 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:19.500 Paul exhorts him not to be ashamed of the Lord 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:23.560 or of the gospel, even as he, Paul, was not ashamed. 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:29.699 We should never be ashamed of the gospel. The 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:32.019 Apostle Paul gives us the reasons for that in 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:34.980 these verses that we've read this morning. Why 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:37.420 we should never be ashamed of the gospel. Reason 00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:42.399 number one, because of its origin. You know, 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:44.579 when you have a message that originates with 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:46.500 a high authority, you don't have to be ashamed 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:49.860 of it. Can you imagine a football player coming 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:52.040 into the huddle after talking with the coach 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:55.600 in the sidelines and sheepishly keeping quiet, 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:59.420 even though the coach had given him a play to 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:02.060 give to the team? The players would say, what 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:04.620 did he say? What did he say? And the player would 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:07.980 say, well, it's too embarrassing to tell. Now, 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:09.939 can you imagine a player being on a team very 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:13.959 long? who had that kind of an attitude? For that 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.540 matter, can you imagine an ambassador from a 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:20.740 country getting a message from headquarters and 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:23.800 then failing to deliver it to the embassy in 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:26.980 the country where he was assigned? Such a thing 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:30.800 is unthinkable. An ambassador has a high office. 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:34.019 When he receives a message from his country, 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:37.279 he has full authority to declare that message, 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:42.080 and he does so confidently. And boldly. Right 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:44.600 now we have ambassadors from both Argentina and 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.419 Britain in Washington. And even though the two 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:49.960 of them are in conflict, they are not afraid 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:53.120 to speak boldly their point of view before our 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.860 embassy, before our State Department. Why? Because 00:08:56.860 --> 00:08:59.019 they have a message with authority from their 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:03.440 own country. They are not ashamed. Moses was 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:06.179 not ashamed either. when he went into the court 00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:08.159 of Pharaoh and delivered the message of the Lord 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.360 to let the Jews go from their captivity. Nor 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:15.639 was Nathan ashamed when God sent him into the 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:21.759 courtroom of David the king and told him to lay 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:26.139 before David the charge of David's sin. Nathan 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:30.539 did that boldly. Daniel wasn't ashamed either. 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:33.919 As he stood before Belshazzar and delivered to 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.220 him the final message from God, which said, You 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:39.519 are weighed in the balance and found wanting. 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.720 The kingdom is taken away from you tonight. Can 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:46.620 you imagine a man even who had an office, as 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:50.100 Daniel did, saying that to such a despot, such 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:54.779 a sovereign as Belshazzar? And yet he did that. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.269 When you have a message that originates... With 00:09:59.269 --> 00:10:01.190 a high authority, you don't have to be ashamed 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:04.210 of it. And you see, the gospel that we possess 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:07.590 has the highest authority possible because its 00:10:07.590 --> 00:10:12.450 authority is God. Its origin is God. Caesar worship 00:10:12.450 --> 00:10:15.330 was prominent in the day when Paul wrote this 00:10:15.330 --> 00:10:18.450 message. And his messengers were not ashamed 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:21.389 to represent him throughout the empire. After 00:10:21.389 --> 00:10:25.149 all, they were the messengers of Caesar, the 00:10:25.149 --> 00:10:30.620 deity, they thought. And so, Paul is saying to 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:33.580 the people who believe in the true God, I am 00:10:33.580 --> 00:10:36.600 not ashamed, and by implication, nor should you 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:41.139 be. The gospel was not a hybrid message which 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:44.139 originated with him. Rather, it was the good 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:49.019 news of God. It was the good news of his provision, 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:53.399 his only provision for man's sin. And that's 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.440 why the apostle makes that statement, I am not 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:58.340 ashamed. because of the origin of the message. 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.259 There's a second reason, I think, that he says, 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.360 I am not ashamed, and that is because of the 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:07.480 character of the message that he preached. He 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:09.720 says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:14.759 is the power of God. Now, power was an important 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:19.720 concept in Rome. The Greek had their philosophies, 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:25.580 but Rome had her military might. She had legions 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:28.860 of soldiers stationed around the empire to keep 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:32.500 in check any possible rebellion against Rome's 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:36.580 rule. And beyond that, Rome had tremendous political 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:41.960 power. I suppose the city of Rome was like any 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.500 capital city of an empire. It was filled with 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:49.039 intrigue and political maneuvering. This is somewhat 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.450 revealed in the... work by Shakespeare entitled 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:56.710 Julius Caesar, which many of us have read, and 00:11:56.710 --> 00:11:59.389 we see the power struggle behind the scenes and 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:02.490 how that was played out. It's inevitably that 00:12:02.490 --> 00:12:06.850 way in a capital city. Power is important. I 00:12:06.850 --> 00:12:11.029 spoke with one of our church members who was 00:12:11.029 --> 00:12:13.850 in a meeting Friday at the Pentagon, a breakfast, 00:12:14.169 --> 00:12:17.110 and he said that he was absolutely amazed at 00:12:17.110 --> 00:12:19.850 all the brass that was there from the Pentagon. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:23.799 most of whom claimed a personal faith in Jesus 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:27.019 Christ. What a tremendous encouragement that 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:31.779 is. He had dinner with a senator the night before 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:35.759 and was with these people of great power. Power 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:37.899 is important in Washington, and thank God there 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:40.360 are Christians who are there representing the 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:44.639 Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Paul is writing to people 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:46.440 who are in the capital city where this is the 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.899 mentality. Paul did not shrink to deliver his 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:53.600 message there because this message has no greater 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:58.039 power than it itself. The good news which he 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.580 proclaimed was not just another message or philosophy. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:08.179 It was no less than the power of God by which 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:12.620 he saves. It's the declaration of the only good 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:15.940 news that there is for the sinner. The good news 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:18.440 that God has made provision for his sin through 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:24.019 Christ. The gospel is not an ethic. It is not 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:27.600 an ideal, as some people seem to think. But the 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:32.059 gospel is power. That is its essence. And that's 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:35.139 why Paul was unashamed of it. Griffith Thomas 00:13:35.139 --> 00:13:40.220 said, Christianity is the great moral and spiritual 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:44.669 dynamic. and this, as contrasted with other religions, 00:13:44.950 --> 00:13:48.950 is one of its unique characteristics. It is not 00:13:48.950 --> 00:13:52.350 merely an ideal or an ethic, though it possesses 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:56.210 both, but in addition and primarily it is a dynamic 00:13:56.210 --> 00:14:00.009 which enables us to realize the ideal and reproduce 00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:03.809 the ethic. Nothing short of the power of God 00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:09.139 can suffice to make even one Christian. That's 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:11.200 what the gospel is. It's the power of God. Now 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:16.860 what does that mean? Is this the omnipotence 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:21.460 of God? That word means his all -powerfulness, 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:25.679 his all -mightiness. Is that the power spoken 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:30.519 of here? Really, I don't think so. Because you 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.139 see, God's omnipotence could not save one person. 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:38.240 I believe that the power that is spoken of here 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:43.080 is the power of God's grace. Because it is grace 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:48.179 which provides the means whereby the sinner can 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:52.039 be brought to God. That means being the death, 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:54.360 burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.580 The power of the gospel is not in its logic, 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.960 but rather in its dynamic. Its ability to change 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:08.659 people. Its ability to change relationships. 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:13.899 Ask the wife who knew what it was to be abused 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:18.580 and mistreated by a drunkard husband to then 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:21.919 seize her husband gloriously saved and the change 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.440 that it makes in his life and consequently the 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.620 change that is made in that relationship between 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:31.000 the two of them. The gospel is the power of God. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:35.820 It is God's dynamic. It changes the way people 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:41.220 think. Before a person is converted, he dislikes 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:47.240 God. He has small ideas of God. He loves himself 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:51.179 and thinks himself a pretty good guy. When a 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:53.519 person comes to understand he's a sinner, that 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.360 he needs Christ and trusts Christ, his whole 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.159 way of thinking has changed. Instead of a small 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:02.370 God, he suddenly realizes that God is big. Instead 00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:04.590 of seeing himself as big, he sees himself as 00:16:04.590 --> 00:16:08.409 small and unworthy, and sees God as glorious 00:16:08.409 --> 00:16:12.610 and great and holy. The gospel changes the way 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:16.070 a person thinks. There are people who have denied 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:18.990 the resurrection of Christ, but who then, upon 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:22.529 studying it and trying to refute it, have found 00:16:22.529 --> 00:16:26.429 their minds changed. The gospel is the power 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:28.529 of God to change thinking. It is the power of 00:16:28.529 --> 00:16:33.019 God to change desires. I well remember the young 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:35.299 man that I had the privilege of baptizing about 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:41.080 ten years ago who had been saved out of a drug 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:44.340 culture. He had tried every kind of drug there 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:47.399 was. His mind at that time was only beginning 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.399 to be healed. It was like scrambled eggs, frankly, 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.080 up to that point. He was not able to think very 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.820 clearly at all. I remember when we were in the 00:16:56.820 --> 00:17:01.129 baptistry and I said, Tucker, have you trusted 00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:04.670 Jesus Christ as your Savior? He said, Amen, I 00:17:04.670 --> 00:17:07.190 sure have. Only time I've ever had that response 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:11.329 in all the years. And it was amazing to see how 00:17:11.329 --> 00:17:14.589 God changed his desires. He no longer wanted 00:17:14.589 --> 00:17:17.789 to live the wild, profligate kind of life that 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:21.730 he had known. He wanted to serve God. And his 00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:25.890 goal was still to serve God full time in medicine. 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:31.039 The gospel is the power of God. It is not demonstrated 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:34.319 by arguments, but by what it does in changing 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.380 the life. That's why Paul says what he does in 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:40.859 the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. I remind 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:44.579 you of verses 17 and 18 of that chapter, where 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:47.059 he says, For Christ did not send me to baptize, 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:51.559 but to preach the gospel, not with words of human 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:55.380 wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:59.539 its power. Chapter 2, now verse 1. When I came 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:02.200 to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:06.140 or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:10.180 testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:14.140 while I was with you except Jesus Christ and 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:17.839 him crucified. I came to you in weakness and 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.000 fear and with much trembling. My message and 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.099 my preaching were not with wise and persuasive 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:27.799 words. but with demonstration of the Spirit's 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:32.339 power, so that your faith might not rest on men's 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:37.779 wisdom, but on God's power. You see, that's why 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:41.779 the gospel made Paul unashamed, because there 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:44.700 was power with it. He could go to the most power 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:49.180 -filled city in the world in that day and proudly 00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:52.539 proclaim a gospel because it was the power, not 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:56.880 of men or of military might, but the gospel of 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.420 the power of God. There's a third reason why 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.299 Paul was unashamed of the gospel, and that is 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:09.099 found in the word salvation, its purpose. He 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:11.160 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel because 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.480 it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:20.539 who believes. Salvation is a big word. It's a 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:24.859 broad word. It encompasses a lot. It embraces 00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:29.519 all aspects of God's work in and for the repentant 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:35.559 sinner. It is both an act and a process. By that 00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:39.680 I mean we are saved at one point of time, but 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.559 after that the saving work of God continues to 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:47.660 deliver us from the power of sin. So it's both 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:49.920 an act that's instantaneous, but then it's a 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.720 process that grows after that and continues on 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.250 in the life. It is proper to speak of salvation 00:19:56.250 --> 00:20:01.150 as being in three tenses. One can say, I have 00:20:01.150 --> 00:20:05.829 been saved, and be right. He can say, I am being 00:20:05.829 --> 00:20:09.950 saved, and he's right. And he can say, I will 00:20:09.950 --> 00:20:13.950 be saved, and he's right. Because you see, we 00:20:13.950 --> 00:20:17.950 have been saved from the penalty of sin at that 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:20.230 moment that we believed on Christ and trusted 00:20:20.230 --> 00:20:24.170 him. Our arrival in heaven is guaranteed from 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:28.349 that moment on. We have been saved. And right 00:20:28.349 --> 00:20:33.650 now I am being saved from the power of sin in 00:20:33.650 --> 00:20:37.470 me, in my mortal body. I am being saved by the 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:41.609 resurrection life of Christ. I am being saved 00:20:41.609 --> 00:20:45.630 now from sin's power. And I will be saved someday 00:20:45.630 --> 00:20:49.049 from the very presence of sin. to be in the presence 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:52.910 of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That's the 00:20:52.910 --> 00:20:56.210 whole purpose of the gospel, that men and women, 00:20:56.349 --> 00:21:01.049 boys and girls, might be saved. When you talk 00:21:01.049 --> 00:21:05.329 about someone being saved, there is a connotation 00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:08.490 with that. It means that there is something to 00:21:08.490 --> 00:21:13.589 be saved from. It connotes a present danger of 00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:17.460 some sort. One does not talk about being saved 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:22.119 unless he is in trouble. And of course, the sinner 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:26.759 is in trouble. He is dominated by the power of 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:31.759 sin. He is helpless in sin. And he is moving 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:36.440 toward a Christless eternity. His destiny is 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:40.640 eternal misery and separation from God. The sinner 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.779 is in the deepest kind of trouble that one can 00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:46.480 be in. And that's why the word salvation, or 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.980 the verb save, is such a wonderful word. Because 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:57.180 it means rescue. It's a word for a lost person. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:03.759 It's a word for a helpless person. It is a word 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.299 that means I have no power in myself to save 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:12.539 myself. It means no effort of my own can rescue 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:16.700 me. It means I have no merit to give me standing 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:22.599 before God. No merit in myself, that is. There's 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.000 a word that puts me in the right place and puts 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.059 God in his right place. This word salvation. 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:35.099 That's the purpose of the gospel. And that's 00:22:35.099 --> 00:22:37.380 one reason that Paul was not ashamed to declare 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:40.019 that message. Because there were people in Rome 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:43.329 who needed this message. Just as there are people 00:22:43.329 --> 00:22:46.430 in that office where you work or in that dorm 00:22:46.430 --> 00:22:50.089 where you live. Or that gas station where you 00:22:50.089 --> 00:22:55.509 fill up with gas. There are people all around 00:22:55.509 --> 00:22:59.410 us, folks, who need to be saved. And many of 00:22:59.410 --> 00:23:01.890 them do not even realize the danger they're in. 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:06.049 They may understand the emptiness and the frustration 00:23:06.049 --> 00:23:11.349 of life. They may sense the purposelessness. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:15.980 of their living at the present time, but they 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:19.740 may not fully understand the immortal, the eternal, 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:23.000 rather, danger that they are in and their need 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:28.140 to be saved. Paul understood that. I hope that 00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:31.180 you and I understand that and that it will make 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:34.559 us bold proclaimers of the gospel so that we 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:40.900 are not ashamed of the gospel. The apostle then 00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:43.460 shares a fourth reason as to why he was not ashamed 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:48.019 of the gospel. It's because of the scope of the 00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:52.380 gospel. He says it is the power of God for the 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:56.880 salvation of everyone who believes. And then 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:00.440 he says first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:05.440 The scope of the gospel is at the same time individual 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:11.099 and universal. It is an individual message so 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:15.559 that every person must respond, and yet it is 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.759 a universal message that is for everyone. There 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:22.680 is no one who is beyond the limit of being savable. 00:24:24.579 --> 00:24:28.059 Anyone can hear the good news, and all who will 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:32.220 may respond in faith and believe on the Lord 00:24:32.220 --> 00:24:36.410 Jesus Christ and the saving of their soul. Paul 00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:38.349 was unashamed of this message because it was 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:40.210 for everybody. It wasn't for a certain class. 00:24:42.109 --> 00:24:45.029 The gospel that we preach is not just for Americans. 00:24:46.049 --> 00:24:49.930 It's not just for the white race. It is not just 00:24:49.930 --> 00:24:53.529 for the English -speaking world. This gospel 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:56.910 that we preach is for all men everywhere. There 00:24:56.910 --> 00:24:59.089 is no reason for us to be reticent or embarrassed 00:24:59.089 --> 00:25:02.210 or timid to share it because it is for all men. 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.980 It is for the student at the university, but 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:09.420 it is as well for the professor at the university. 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:14.160 It is for that person who's under you in the 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.579 office, but it's as well for the president of 00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:22.680 your corporation. Regardless of position at work 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:26.220 or in society or in race or intellect, the gospel 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:30.339 is for all men. All men need it. And because 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:33.059 of that broad scope, it's for everybody, we need 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:37.799 not be ashamed to declare it. The apostle says 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.640 it is first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.460 I do not think that Paul is saying here that 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:50.700 that is now to be our preference, that is, that 00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:52.960 we are to preach to the Jews in a community and 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:55.920 then go to the Gentiles in a community. I think 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:59.109 what he's reflecting here is... The simple fact 00:25:59.109 --> 00:26:02.750 that chronologically this was true. This message 00:26:02.750 --> 00:26:04.910 of the gospel was first declared to the Jews. 00:26:05.490 --> 00:26:08.250 The Lord Jesus Christ was a Jew. He lived in 00:26:08.250 --> 00:26:11.970 Palestine among his people. He died and rose 00:26:11.970 --> 00:26:17.130 again in Jerusalem. He showed himself to his 00:26:17.130 --> 00:26:23.890 believers there in Israel. It was there in Jerusalem 00:26:23.890 --> 00:26:28.859 that he told his disciples to tarry. until the 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:33.740 Holy Spirit would come. It was there that he 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:37.779 said to them that they were to be his witnesses 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:42.240 both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:45.000 and to the uttermost parts of the earth. But 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.579 he made it clear they were to start where they 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:52.240 were in Jerusalem and then move out. And so the 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:54.700 gospel was for the Jew first in that sense. And 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:58.240 then it is somewhat true also... in Paul's ministry. 00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:02.640 Historically, Paul went, in his early ministry 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:05.180 at least, to the Jews first in the towns where 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:08.759 he visited. That was a logical, natural thing 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:11.900 for him to do as a completed Jew. He would simply 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:15.079 find the nearest synagogue and begin to share 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:17.420 his faith and to reason with the Jews there. 00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:20.799 And then if the Jews received his message fine, 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:22.900 but if they did not, he would turn to the Gentiles 00:27:22.900 --> 00:27:26.680 in the city. The thing that we need to gather 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:28.859 from this is the fact that now there is no difference 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:32.660 in God's sight between Jew and Gentile. There 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:35.380 was a time when the Jew was close to God and 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:40.619 the Gentile was far off. But now both Jew and 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:43.220 Gentile are brought near through the blood of 00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:47.599 Christ. They are both on equal footing before 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:51.059 God. There is no difference. In fact, that very 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:52.839 statement is used at least a couple of times 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:56.180 in this book. Draw your attention to chapter 00:27:56.180 --> 00:28:00.500 3, verse 22, where the apostle says, This righteousness 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:05.119 from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:10.720 to all who believe. There is no difference, for 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:13.720 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:17.420 God and are justified freely by his grace through 00:28:17.420 --> 00:28:20.559 the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. There's 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:24.259 no difference now between Jew and Greek or Gentile. 00:28:24.730 --> 00:28:28.509 Then again in chapter 10, in verse 12, he says 00:28:28.509 --> 00:28:31.990 the same thing. For there is no difference between 00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:36.250 Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, 00:28:36.349 --> 00:28:40.349 and richly blesses all who call upon him. For 00:28:40.349 --> 00:28:43.250 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will 00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:47.450 be saved. And so again he emphasizes the scope 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:51.630 of the gospel. It's for all men. Are you burdened 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:57.250 about that? Are you willing to go down to the 00:28:57.250 --> 00:29:02.089 sections of our Twin Cities that are poverty 00:29:02.089 --> 00:29:06.230 -stricken and to share the gospel there? To go 00:29:06.230 --> 00:29:08.849 to those minority areas where it may even be 00:29:08.849 --> 00:29:13.269 a little bit dangerous and there to share your 00:29:13.269 --> 00:29:16.670 faith? The gospel is for them, too. It is for 00:29:16.670 --> 00:29:19.210 the Indian and the black and the white alike. 00:29:20.289 --> 00:29:23.680 There is no difference. And we need not be reticent 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:27.839 or ashamed to share the gospel with anyone. There 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.119 is a fifth reason that Paul gives in our text 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:33.380 for not being ashamed of the gospel. It's because 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:39.220 of its condition. He says it's the power of God 00:29:39.220 --> 00:29:44.440 for the salvation of everyone who believes. And 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:46.799 then in verse 17, in the gospel, a righteousness 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:50.039 from God is revealed, a righteousness that is 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:54.940 by faith. From first to last. That is, it begins 00:29:54.940 --> 00:29:57.619 by faith, and that faith grows and carries one 00:29:57.619 --> 00:30:00.480 through the Christian life until he stands before 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:04.460 God. From first to last, the condition of our 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:09.119 relationship to God is faith. It is the power 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:12.759 of God to everyone who believes this message. 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:16.960 Hearing the message is not enough. One must believe 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:21.220 on it. Faith is the only condition. in the bible 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:25.140 for receiving salvation baptism is not added 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:29.299 to faith as a means whereby one is saved in fact 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:32.460 you may have noticed in first corinthians 1 that 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:34.720 we read a few moments ago paul said i thank god 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:38.200 i baptized none of you for god did not send me 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:41.160 to baptize but to preach the gospel and he makes 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:43.000 it very clear that the baptism and the gospel 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:47.880 are two different things all together One does 00:30:47.880 --> 00:30:50.140 not have to believe on Christ and join the church 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:54.640 to be saved. One does not have to believe on 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:57.119 Christ and then live a good life to keep saved. 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:01.079 You see, our relationship to God is based on 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:05.500 one thing and one alone, and that is faith. There 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:10.180 is not any efficacy or merit in the act of believing. 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:16.609 Faith itself is not a work. Faith is a reliance 00:31:16.609 --> 00:31:19.210 upon God's promise and his provision for sin. 00:31:20.750 --> 00:31:24.269 Faith is not a mystical feeling that we get. 00:31:24.910 --> 00:31:29.650 It's an act of the will. It is a choice to trust 00:31:29.650 --> 00:31:35.529 God. Someone has said, it's the hand of the heart. 00:31:37.450 --> 00:31:39.809 It's the heart, in other words, reaching out 00:31:39.809 --> 00:31:44.400 to receive from God. Godet has written these 00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:48.259 words in his commentary on Romans. Faith, in 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:50.980 Paul's sense, is something extremely simple, 00:31:51.079 --> 00:31:54.519 such that it does not in the least impair the 00:31:54.519 --> 00:31:59.400 freeness of salvation. God says, I give thee. 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:06.380 The heart answers, I accept. Such is faith. That's 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:10.299 all there is to it. Faith is simply receiving 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:14.609 what God offers. It is not working to merit it. 00:32:15.410 --> 00:32:18.210 It is not doing something to impress God. It 00:32:18.210 --> 00:32:23.269 is simply saying, Lord, I receive the gift. That's 00:32:23.269 --> 00:32:26.490 it. It's that simple. And I'm glad that it is, 00:32:26.670 --> 00:32:29.950 because that means that even a child can receive 00:32:29.950 --> 00:32:33.670 it. Or someone has said, God has put the cookies 00:32:33.670 --> 00:32:37.069 down on this lower shelf so that even a child 00:32:37.069 --> 00:32:40.480 can get into the can and get some. You see, God 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:44.700 has made salvation very, very simple. Oh, in 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:48.900 what Christ did for us, there is complex and 00:32:48.900 --> 00:32:52.440 deep truth. But receiving the gift of salvation 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:57.619 is extremely simple. It is but to receive what 00:32:57.619 --> 00:33:00.819 God offers. That's the only condition. You see, 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:03.059 and Paul was proud to proclaim that kind of a 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:07.059 gospel. The pagan religions taught that you had 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:09.740 to go through certain rituals and offer up sacrifices 00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:12.680 and worship Caesar and do this and that and the 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.700 other thing. And even when you died, you did 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:19.519 not know whether or not you were in right relationship 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:23.759 to their gods. Paul is saying, look, I have a 00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:26.519 message to declare to you that even a child can 00:33:26.519 --> 00:33:30.259 understand and believe. It's simple. All you 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:33.819 have to do is believe it and trust. God's provision 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:37.319 for your sins, and you can know that you're saved. 00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:41.819 Paul was not ashamed to declare that kind of 00:33:41.819 --> 00:33:45.460 a message. And then there is a sixth reason why 00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:47.720 he was unashamed, and that's because of the outcome 00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:52.740 of the gospel. The outcome is found in the fact 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:56.619 that man is made right with God. He says in the 00:33:56.619 --> 00:34:00.380 gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed. 00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:05.460 He does not really say the righteousness of God, 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:08.559 which would be God's attribute of righteousness, 00:34:08.699 --> 00:34:10.719 but what he has in mind here is that righteousness 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:17.599 that God gives to men. Verse 17 is the logical 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:20.880 explanation of the reason why Christ's death, 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:23.119 burial, and resurrection is the power of God 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:26.840 and the salvation. It is the means by which God 00:34:26.840 --> 00:34:29.900 is able to effect the new birth in a person. 00:34:30.889 --> 00:34:33.989 A person hears the gospel, that seed is planted 00:34:33.989 --> 00:34:37.070 in his heart, and the Spirit of God gives it 00:34:37.070 --> 00:34:42.929 life. So he is born again into God's family. 00:34:43.750 --> 00:34:46.530 Because of the outcome of the gospel, Paul is 00:34:46.530 --> 00:34:51.030 not ashamed of it. He says, a righteousness that 00:34:51.030 --> 00:34:54.469 is by faith from first to last, just as it is 00:34:54.469 --> 00:34:58.789 written, the righteous will live by faith. I 00:34:58.789 --> 00:35:03.320 think there's a better... of that last quotation 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:08.000 from Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 4. This is a 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:09.980 more literal Greek translation when he says, 00:35:10.179 --> 00:35:16.980 The righteous by faith shall live. The righteous 00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:21.480 by faith shall live. You see, there are two kinds 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:25.719 of righteousness in the world. There is faith 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:32.860 righteousness, and then there is works, It is 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:35.760 only faith righteousness that will get us to 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:40.179 heaven. Works righteousness refers to the righteousness 00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:46.960 that I try to produce out of myself. It's the 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:49.940 good deeds that I do to try to impress God that 00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:52.099 I'm a pretty good guy and worthy to be led into 00:35:52.099 --> 00:35:54.880 heaven. I'm worthy somehow to receive eternal 00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:59.139 life. That's works righteousness. It is righteousness 00:35:59.139 --> 00:36:05.239 based on my works and what I do because I am 00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:09.139 moral or I am kind or I am sharing or whatever. 00:36:09.699 --> 00:36:13.219 That's works righteousness. What does God think 00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:19.500 about that? He tells us. In Isaiah 64, 6, he 00:36:19.500 --> 00:36:23.119 says that all our righteousnesses, our righteousnesses 00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:26.840 are like filthy rags. That's God's evaluation. 00:36:27.789 --> 00:36:31.170 Why is that? Because all of the good things I 00:36:31.170 --> 00:36:34.610 can do can never measure up to the perfect righteousness 00:36:34.610 --> 00:36:37.650 that God demands for me to enter into heaven. 00:36:39.750 --> 00:36:45.969 God demands perfect righteousness or perfect 00:36:45.969 --> 00:36:49.570 conformity to him to enter into heaven, and I 00:36:49.570 --> 00:36:52.869 can't do that in myself. I'm a sinner, and so 00:36:52.869 --> 00:36:57.219 are you. And so God has very graciously provided 00:36:57.219 --> 00:37:02.800 for me righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:06.539 Christ. And when I, by faith, receive Christ, 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:09.280 he gives me this righteousness, faith righteousness. 00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:13.019 God knows that I can never work to get to heaven. 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:17.239 And so he sees me believe in Christ, and he counts 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:22.710 my faith as righteousness. He sees me repent 00:37:22.710 --> 00:37:25.849 of my sin, so he pardons my sin, but he does 00:37:25.849 --> 00:37:30.750 more than that. He gives to me the perfect righteousness 00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:35.329 of Christ, so that when God sees me, he sees 00:37:35.329 --> 00:37:40.030 me in Christ. He sees me in Christ's righteousness, 00:37:40.230 --> 00:37:45.769 and I am perfectly acceptable to him. That's 00:37:45.769 --> 00:37:47.630 how a person is saved, and I want to ask you 00:37:47.630 --> 00:37:50.239 the question, if you're trusting... in that kind 00:37:50.239 --> 00:37:52.239 of righteousness to get your soul to heaven? 00:37:54.519 --> 00:37:57.119 Or are you trusting works righteousness still? 00:37:58.940 --> 00:38:02.579 This is to no avail. Works righteousness will 00:38:02.579 --> 00:38:06.179 never accomplish it. The only way to heaven is 00:38:06.179 --> 00:38:08.579 through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:11.940 that gift of righteousness that God has provided 00:38:11.940 --> 00:38:15.380 for you through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. 00:38:17.739 --> 00:38:20.280 I'm unashamed to tell you that today because 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:23.059 the outcome of this message may be the salvation 00:38:23.059 --> 00:38:30.039 of somebody who's sitting right here today. I 00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:33.400 was talking to a friend yesterday who recently 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:38.659 was flying back from Europe. He sat down on the 00:38:38.659 --> 00:38:41.500 airplane and prayed that God would put somebody 00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:44.480 beside him to whom he could speak about the Lord. 00:38:45.400 --> 00:38:48.179 And there was a... young lady that sat down. 00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:51.980 He struck up a conversation with her and asked 00:38:51.980 --> 00:38:53.760 her what she believed, and she said, I don't 00:38:53.760 --> 00:38:57.179 know what to believe. He said, would you like 00:38:57.179 --> 00:39:00.199 to know what to believe? She said, I sure would. 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:02.400 He said, no one's ever told me what to believe. 00:39:03.099 --> 00:39:05.280 And he got out his Bible, and for the next two 00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:08.239 hours, they were flying across the Atlantic Ocean. 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:10.980 He had the opportunity to share with her what 00:39:10.980 --> 00:39:13.380 I just shared with you about God providing salvation 00:39:13.380 --> 00:39:16.619 for us through Christ. We can never make it on 00:39:16.619 --> 00:39:20.239 our own, but that we can be saved by simply trusting 00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:23.920 Christ. It came down to the end of their discussion. 00:39:24.019 --> 00:39:27.579 He said, do you understand now what to believe? 00:39:28.059 --> 00:39:32.099 She said, yes, I think I understand it now. He 00:39:32.099 --> 00:39:33.920 said, well, then would you like to become a Christian? 00:39:35.619 --> 00:39:38.980 She said, I don't know what to do. He said, well, 00:39:39.019 --> 00:39:41.519 you could just pray a very simple prayer and 00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:45.590 receive Christ. He said, I'll show you. And so 00:39:45.590 --> 00:39:48.309 he led her then in praying a very simple prayer, 00:39:48.510 --> 00:39:53.309 and she received Christ and eternal life. In 00:39:53.309 --> 00:39:55.989 the midst of all that bustle of lunch being served, 00:39:56.150 --> 00:39:59.969 she received Christ. Well, the plane went on 00:39:59.969 --> 00:40:03.190 to New York, and they landed. And they were separated 00:40:03.190 --> 00:40:06.829 then, customs. And this friend of mine who had 00:40:06.829 --> 00:40:11.429 learned of Christ is in his 80s. He was way at 00:40:11.429 --> 00:40:13.369 the end of the line. His luggage was almost the 00:40:13.369 --> 00:40:15.730 last coming off the plane. He's like most of 00:40:15.730 --> 00:40:20.210 us, I suppose. It seems that way at least. And 00:40:20.210 --> 00:40:22.010 this young lady was clear at the front of the 00:40:22.010 --> 00:40:24.909 line. And she looked back almost a half a block 00:40:24.909 --> 00:40:30.130 and saw him. She came back and said, Cal, I'd 00:40:30.130 --> 00:40:31.889 like you to come up and take my place in line. 00:40:31.989 --> 00:40:34.650 I'll come back here and take your place. He said, 00:40:34.710 --> 00:40:36.230 oh, no, I couldn't do that. All these people 00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:38.550 have been waiting in line. He said, they wouldn't 00:40:38.550 --> 00:40:43.869 like that. So she went up the line with Cal by 00:40:43.869 --> 00:40:49.170 the hand, and she said, this guy told me how 00:40:49.170 --> 00:40:51.269 to become a Christian on the airplane coming 00:40:51.269 --> 00:40:55.190 over here. And I got saved. And now I'm a Christian 00:40:55.190 --> 00:40:56.929 because of what he said to me. Do you mind if 00:40:56.929 --> 00:40:58.869 he goes up here and takes my place and I go back 00:40:58.869 --> 00:41:04.409 and take his place? What happened? Well, she 00:41:04.409 --> 00:41:06.690 was converted, and she was not ashamed of the 00:41:06.690 --> 00:41:09.989 gospel of Christ. Wouldn't it be wonderful if 00:41:09.989 --> 00:41:12.110 we could all have that kind of boldness and confidence? 00:41:13.650 --> 00:41:16.869 That's what we ought to have. And yet so often 00:41:16.869 --> 00:41:19.170 don't we find ourselves looking for excuses as 00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:21.150 to why we shouldn't have to say something in 00:41:21.150 --> 00:41:23.989 this situation, or why it would be inappropriate 00:41:23.989 --> 00:41:28.349 now to speak for Christ, or why it would be embarrassing 00:41:28.349 --> 00:41:30.789 and might even disgrace the Lord if we should 00:41:30.789 --> 00:41:34.650 say something in that situation. And all the 00:41:34.650 --> 00:41:38.719 time our Lord is saying, If anybody's ashamed 00:41:38.719 --> 00:41:41.679 of me, I'll be ashamed of him when I come in 00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:45.199 my glory. So Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the 00:41:45.199 --> 00:41:48.639 gospel of Christ. Let's not be ashamed of it 00:41:48.639 --> 00:41:53.179 either. It is the power of God under the salvation 00:41:53.179 --> 00:42:01.840 of everyone who believes. Let's pray. With our 00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:06.940 heads bowed and with the spirit of God. bringing 00:42:06.940 --> 00:42:11.460 this message to a point in our lives. I wonder 00:42:11.460 --> 00:42:13.320 today if there's some friend here who would say, 00:42:13.380 --> 00:42:19.000 Pastor Call, I have been trusting my own work 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:23.739 righteousness. I have labored hard. I've been 00:42:23.739 --> 00:42:27.619 sincere. I've tried my best. But I understand 00:42:27.619 --> 00:42:30.719 now that that kind of trying and effort and work 00:42:30.719 --> 00:42:35.239 is not good enough to get me to heaven. And I'm 00:42:35.239 --> 00:42:39.710 a sinner. and lost and i need to be saved and 00:42:39.710 --> 00:42:41.789 i understand that god has provided righteousness 00:42:41.789 --> 00:42:47.969 for me through christ would you say to me pastor 00:42:47.969 --> 00:42:51.909 call i'd like you to pray for me in closing i'm 00:42:51.909 --> 00:42:54.170 not going to point you out or come back to you 00:42:54.170 --> 00:42:57.349 and ask you to come forward in no way would i 00:42:57.349 --> 00:43:01.550 embarrass you but i would ask you to be honest 00:43:01.550 --> 00:43:06.820 enough with god and me To say, Pastor Call, you 00:43:06.820 --> 00:43:09.380 need to pray for me because I am not really saved. 00:43:10.619 --> 00:43:12.400 Would you lift your hand and then put it down? 00:43:13.900 --> 00:43:16.699 Pray for me today that I'll make the right decision 00:43:16.699 --> 00:43:20.059 to trust Christ under the salvation of my soul. 00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:27.179 You put your hand up and then slip it down. God 00:43:27.179 --> 00:43:35.559 bless you. Anyone else? Yes. I'll wait just a 00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:41.500 moment more. Apparently many of us are saved 00:43:41.500 --> 00:43:45.300 today. I would assume that to be so. But I wonder 00:43:45.300 --> 00:43:51.519 if we find ourselves sadly ashamed of the gospel 00:43:51.519 --> 00:43:55.780 and of Jesus Christ. And today the Spirit of 00:43:55.780 --> 00:43:58.440 God has pricked us with conviction about that. 00:43:59.300 --> 00:44:01.760 And by the uplifted hand, we would say to God, 00:44:02.960 --> 00:44:08.039 I understand my shame. I understand my guilt. 00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:12.900 And I confess that to you. And today my uplifted 00:44:12.900 --> 00:44:15.960 hand, God, means that I am no longer going to 00:44:15.960 --> 00:44:19.019 be ashamed of the saving message of the gospel. 00:44:20.699 --> 00:44:23.719 I'm going to share it and declare it every opportunity 00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:27.639 that I have. Indeed, I will make opportunities 00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:35.119 boldly. Will you lift your hand to that? Many 00:44:35.119 --> 00:44:47.260 hands. Yes. Lord God, forgive us for our cowardly 00:44:47.260 --> 00:44:53.860 and shameful silence. You have delivered to us 00:44:53.860 --> 00:44:58.320 the most marvelous message in the world, in the 00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:03.900 universe. And so often our tongues fail to respond 00:45:03.900 --> 00:45:07.179 when we have opportunities to share. Forgive 00:45:07.179 --> 00:45:11.360 us. We do give ourselves today afresh and anew 00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:16.300 to be faithful sharers of the gospel in a tactful 00:45:16.300 --> 00:45:22.719 and kind but courageous way. Make us that. And 00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:25.199 even today, I pray that you will give us each 00:45:25.199 --> 00:45:30.150 one an opportunity to share our faith. With Paul, 00:45:30.289 --> 00:45:32.989 may we truly be able to say, I am not ashamed 00:45:32.989 --> 00:45:37.309 of the gospel. And I pray for those friends who 00:45:37.309 --> 00:45:39.610 have indicated today a need for salvation, that 00:45:39.610 --> 00:45:42.590 before they leave this service, they might open 00:45:42.590 --> 00:45:45.829 their heart and receive your free gift of salvation 00:45:45.829 --> 00:45:50.690 in Christ. In Jesus' name, amen.