Set Apart for the Gospel - Part 2 (Romans 1:1-7)
Two old men are standing on top of the wall of the city. They are squinting their failing eyes against the glare of the sun, desperately scanning the fields surrounding the city. Suddenly, they hear a cry, “There! Over there!” Sure enough, they can just make out movement: someone coming over the farthest hill, running toward the city. As the runner draws closer, one of the men says, “That looks like the gait of a good man who brings good news.” The other man responds, “No. That is the running of one who has witnessed a horrible defeat. We must prepare ourselves for the worst.” As the two bicker back and forth, the runner draws ever nearer. After awhile, they see that the runner has his hands up to his mouth to amplify his shouts. The two men ask the woman next to them what he is shouting. The woman, with relief on her face, announces, “He is saying, ‘Gospel. Gospel. Good news. Good news.”
Friends, we have the privilege of making this same announcement. “Gospel. Gospel. Good news. Good news.” We have been entrusted with the best news: the news of the forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through this news, God saves all who call on His name. He sets free the prisoners of sin and death. He gives total victory, because He has overcome. Good news. There is freedom from wrath. There has been a ransom paid. If you cling to Jesus Christ, you will not be condemned. But you will have eternal life in His Kingdom. Good news. All who believe this news are adopted as children of God and made heirs in His kingdom. Good news. You are loved. You are secure. You have been declared righteous. The best news. Wonderful news.
Now, we get to herald this news to all people. That is our assignment. This is our mission: to make the Gospel known. We get to share this good news at our dinner tables. In the line at the grocery store. Over coffee.
I know what you’re thinking. “I’m not an evangelist. That’s not my gifting. That’s someone else’s job.” I hear you. I get it. I’ve struggled with the same things. I’ve often said, “I’m an introvert. I’m not good at just striking up a gospel conversation.” Or I’ve said, “I don’t know how to approach this.” I’ve watched my friends over the years who so easily hand someone a tract and have a profitable gospel conversation right there at the cash register. Or who go out day after day and stand on the street corners with signs and Bibles. Or who invite everyone they meet to coffee over the course of several weeks to read and discuss the Gospel of Mark. Next to them, I feel weak and fruitless. But I want that to change. I want to be sold out for the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Not just in the pulpit. But everywhere I go. I’m saying that here, so that you will hold me accountable to it. And I hope through these messages in Acts and Romans to take you by the hand and propel you to action along with me. Let’s be a church full of evangelists. Let’s be purposeful. Let’s shine the light of Christ brightly. Let’s be obedient to our Lord.
As I said last time, my hope in preaching Romans is that we will all gain a proficiency in the deep things of the Gospel, so that we will be more confident and more effective in our witness.
That was Paul’s hope in writing to the Romans. That they would be established in the gospel and be unashamed witnesses of Christ alongside him. He hoped that they would take up the cry, “Gospel. Gospel. Good news. Good news.”
So he introduces himself to them, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
MAIN POINT - Right away, he opens his heart to us by sharing 4 truths about the gospel of God.
THE GOSPEL CONTAINS GOD’S PROMISE
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
We spent a long time on this point last week. I would encourage you to find the message on our website.
In short, God swore that He would give the descendants of Abraham a Kingdom that they would enter into by the forgiveness of sins through faith, by the atoning blood of Christ, the everlasting King. The covenants of the Old Testament become the backbone of the Bible. They provide the skeleton on which everything is hung.
These covenants show that this everlasting King and His Kingdom are the theme of Scripture. Submission to the King and entrance into His Kingdom are the theme of the gospel.
That’s what Paul emphasizes next.
THE GOSPEL CONCERNS GOD’S SON
Everywhere you look in the Bible, its message is always 3 concerning [God’s] Son, Jesus, who was descended from David according to the flesh. Even though the word “covenant” only occurs twice in the book of Romans (and only 9X in all of Paul’s writings [assuming Paul did not write Hebrews]), Paul’s thoughts are shaped by the covenants. So also with the New Testament. Once you start looking, covenantal language appears everywhere. Here, Paul refers back to the Davidic Covenant. God had sworn to David in 2 Samuel 7 that He would give David a Son who would rule on the throne of David forever. Now, the good news of the Gospel is that the King from the line of David has come! But, just as the Scriptures predicted, the King is also divine: 4 He was declared to be the Son of God in power. Jesus was the son of David, but He was also the Son of God. This again comes straight out of the Davidic Covenant. 1 Chronicles 17:13 - I will be his father and he shall be My son. Again, He says in Psalm 2:7 - He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ Over and over, Jesus referred to Himself as God’s Son. The Jews got the message. John 5:18 - For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Not only did Jesus declare Himself to be the Son of God. The Holy Spirit also did. 4 He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness. How did the Holy Spirit declare this? By his resurrection from the dead. Finally, the sentence reaches its crescendo as Paul reveals who this son of David and Son of God is: Jesus Christ our Lord.
You have no good news without Jesus Christ. You have no fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant promises without Jesus Christ. You have no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. You have no forgiveness of sins apart from Jesus Christ. If Jesus was not the son of David, then you are still in your sins. If Jesus was not the Son of God, then you have no eternal life. If Jesus did not raise from the dead, then we have no reason to sing and rejoice. But the good news is that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, born of a virgin descended from David. Jesus died and was raised to life again. And we have life in His name.
And not just us, but all who call on Him. Therefore…
THE GOSPEL CIRCULATED BY GOD’S APOSTLES
5 through whom [JESUS!] we [The 12 apostles + Paul and his team] have received grace [unmerited favor] and apostleship. Remember that an apostle is one sent out with the same authority of Jesus. In verse 1, Paul had called himself nothing more than a slave. He goes where Jesus tells him to go. He does what Jesus said to do. He says what Jesus says to say. And when he opens his mouth–or puts pen to paper–he is speaking with the same authority of Jesus. When he put Hymenaus and Alexander out of the church in 1 Timothy 1:20, he did so with the authority of Jesus. When he healed the sick, it was by the authority of Jesus. He was able to do all of this, because he had received apostleship AND grace. According to His grace, Jesus provided the power to Paul to accomplish all that he was assigned to do. It was NOT an easy road. Christ gave Paul grace and empowerment to endure stonings and shipwrecks and whippings and beatings. To keep Paul from exalting himself in the surpassing greatness of his position, Christ gave him a thorn in the flesh to torment him and keep him from exalting himself. The Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Why did Jesus call Paul to be an apostle? 5 to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations. We know Paul was primarily called to minister to the Gentiles. The Lord empowered him to boldly confront Pagans and tell them that “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). Jesus had sent him to preach the gospel message and to call all peoples to believe in Jesus. Why did Jesus send Paul? 5 For the sake of His name. I love that. Why were the apostles and the early church tasked with preaching the gospel everywhere? For the sake of Jesus’ name. Why are we tasked with preaching the gospel wherever we go? For the sake of Jesus’ name. It should be our greatest prayer: Your name be hallowed. It’s not hallowed here! There are not enough tongues praising the name of the Lord. We need more! Oh that it would be our life’s purpose to make Him known, because His name should be on every lip. His honor and majesty need to be acknowledged by all. All knees need to bow to Him. Have you ever thought about it like that? If it’s not enough motivation that we preach the message to save our friends and relatives from Hell, then see how deserving the Father and Son are of more worship, glory, and honor. If our children do even the slightest things, don’t we tell the story over and over to everyone who will listen? Dont we show pictures and laugh and describe it over and over? How much more should we be like that concerning Christ who died for us. Listen to what God’s Son DID for ME!!! Let me tell you, I was lost in darkness, but Jesus set me free from sin and death!
Paul also knew that his ministry was to those in Rome. Though he had never met them, he said that he wanted to bring about the obedience of faith among them: 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. That sounds kind of odd, because those in the Roman church were in the faith. They had already answered the call. They had believed. They were fellowshiping with the church. Paul uses that language of election: they were called by God effectively and irrevocably to belong to Jesus Christ. They were Christ’s special possession. His people. So why is he writing about his burden for those in the Roman church to faithfully obey the gospel message? This is where we have to remember that discipleship doesn’t stop when someone comes to faith. You don’t stop urging people to believe in Christ and submit to Him. In fact, you double down: you have believed. Keep believing! Keep moving forward. Put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Abide in Him. Don’t stop. Trust Him, despite the hardest circumstances. Hold on to Him, even when you’re suffering. Confess His name, even when it might mean you are shunned or put to death for it. And grow in the knowledge of Him. And gain understanding. Walk in His ways. Confess your sins. Don’t give up. Don’t turn away. Hold forth this message.
Now, we have the baton passed to us. Now we go forth in the power of the Spirit to call all people to the obedience of faith. We must be faithful to go and to announce the good news. But we must also remember that it is…
THE GOSPEL CALLS GOD’S SAINTS
Having finally finished his long introduction of himself and his gospel, Paul now identifies the recipients of the letter by name. 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. When we read and study, we must study with this in mind. This letter was first written to the church at Rome. We must remember that we are, in a sense, reading it over their shoulder. We get to listen in. We get to benefit from it just as much as them. Just as they were loved by God, so also are we. Just as they were called to be holy (saints), so also are we. This is the universal fruit of the gospel. Wherever it goes, it produces the same thing: saints who are loved by God.
Though he had never met the Romans, he can call them beloved of God and saints who are the called of Jesus Christ. Like any church, there were certainly unbelievers. I’m sure there are unbelievers here. The purpose of my preaching this letter to you is that you might come to believe in Jesus. That is my utmost desire for you. But we, beloved, who are in Christ, we also are beloved of God and called to be holy ones. Saints. That's what you are. Don’t ever forget that you are loved by God. Preach that to yourself daily. Remind yourself. You are holy. Chosen. Beloved.
What will the results of the Spirit’s ministry to us through this preaching series in Romans? Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We will experience a fuller measure of grace being poured out upon us, compelling and empowering us to go and herald the gospel. We will experience a fuller measure of peace, assured of the power of the Gospel, assured of God’s will, fully at peace when the majority of people reject the good news and say awful things about us. May we be empowered by His grace to know, live, and preach the gospel. May we know the surpassing peace of God as we do so.
I HOPE YOU SEE the wonders of the gospel. We have astonishing news. The greatest of news. God sent His Son to be born of a virgin from the line of David in order to fulfill His covenant oaths. All who believe in Jesus have eternal life and entrance into His Kingdom through His death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit has testified as to Christ’s identity. Let’s go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit to make Christ known in all of this area. Let’s make it our purpose to make disciples of rich and poor, black and white, male and female, adult and child. May God give us wisdom and courage beyond anything we’ve ever known before.
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