Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 114

"Far Kingdom" by the Gray Havens

Another great acoustic version video from the Radfords.
I love the yearning in "Far Kingdom."
Can't wait for the full "Fire and Stone" album to come out on January 6th!




There is a far kingdom
A ways from here
Beyond the storm and the sea
There will be no need of darkness
And none for tears
When that far kingdom I see

There’s a river we will know
Ever clear and ever full
From the fount that overflows
In the light of the King
And when we drink it we will find
That this joy, ever full, will ever rise
And it’ll rise on, in the kingdom
In the kingdom

There is a far kingdom
On the other side of the glass
And by a faint light we see
Still there is more gladness
Longing for the sight
Than to behold or be filled, by anything

There’s a river we will know
Ever clear and ever full
From the fount that overflows
In the light of the King
And when we drink it we will find
That this joy, ever full, will ever rise
And it’ll rise on, in the kingdom
In the kingdom

There is a far, far kingdom
There at the end of the sea
Where they know my name
And until that far, far kingdom
Calls me home
Oh, my soul, I will wait

For the river we will know
Ever clear and ever full
From the fount that overflows
In the light of the King
And when we drink it we will find
That this joy, ever full, will ever rise
And it’ll rise on, in the kingdom
In the kingdom
And it’ll rise on, in the kingdom
In the kingdom

Official Cover of the Resisting Gossip Teaching Series DVD Set

Exciting news!
CLC Publications will soon be releasing the videos we've been working on all year. There are 10 of them, they'll be online for free , and they correspond with the chapters in both  Resisting Gossip  and the lessons in the soon-to-be-released Resisting Gossip Together: A Participant Guide and Bible Study.
Here is the official cover for the DVD version which will also be available for sale in early October.

[Matt's Messages] "I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel"

“I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel”
All Roads Lead to Romans
September 7, 2014 :: Romans 1:8-17 

Last week, we started our new sermon series which I’m calling, “All Roads Lead to Romans” because Romans is a nexus, a crossroads, a touchstone for understanding so much of our Bibles.

As we saw last week, Romans is about the gospel about God’s Son. And in some ways, it is the fullest explanation of that gospel in the whole New Testament.

It’s not all there is to say about the gospel, but it sure says a lot!

And yet Romans is not just a theological treatise. We stressed last week that Romans was a LETTER written by a real man, Paul, to a real set of Christians in a real city, Rome–the capital of the world[!] at that time.

And though we don’t know all of the details, we understand that there was friction in the Roman church between the Jews and the Gentiles.  The Gentiles had apparently come to outnumber the Jews, though the church had probably been started by Jewish Christians. And there was friction between them. Potential conflict.

And we saw last week, in verse 7 that Paul wrote to ALL in Rome who were believers. Not just to some but to all and to bring them all together and keep them there together in the gospel.

He said (v.7), “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.” All. Not just some, but all.

But we also noticed what was true of all of them. They were all called to be holy (saints, not super Christians but holy people). And they were all loved by God.

Did you talk into your mirror this week?

“I Am Loved by God.”

Did you do it?

Did you think that I was joking that that was your homework?

If you didn’t do it, then it’s your homework again this week.

And if you did, you might want to do it again anyway...

Because it’s true. Because, if you are in Christ, then it’s true. And it makes all of the difference.

Now, the title of this message comes from the incredibly powerful and familiar and beloved verse 16 which together with verse 17 lays out the theme of the book, which is the gospel.

Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

We’re going to make that our new Hide the Word verse for September and October.

And if we can’t say it yet truthfully with confidence, we can make it our prayer.

“Lord, help me to not be ashamed of your gospel.”

But that’s not where our text begins. We begin in verse 8 where Paul is telling the Roman Christians how thankful he is for them and how much he longs to be with them.

These are verses that we often jump over in our zeal to get to the good stuff. But we won’t jump over them today.

In fact, I was tempted to preach a whole message on just verse 8!  But I didn’t want to scare you into thinking that we were on the 10 year plan for making it through Romans.

Remember, this is a letter. Don’t get lost in the theology and miss the people. Let’s read verse 8.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”

The first thing that Paul wants to say to them is that he is thankful for them.

He’s not met them, at least most of them, but he’s heard about them. He has heard that these Roman Christians truly BELIEVE.

And as the apostle to the Gentiles, that really encourages him.

Their faith is being reported all over the world.

As your pastor, I’d love for that to be true of Lanse Free Church, as well. Not that you would be famous, necessarily, for your classic cars, your wild game dishes, or your pastor’s books. But that word would spread that there is this bunch of Christians in Central Pennsylvania who really trust God. They really believe the gospel.

I’d love for you to be famous for that.

It filled Paul with gratitude, and he responded with prayer for them. V.9

“God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son [notice, again, how important that gospel is!], is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times [and what’s he pray?] and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”

What’s he saying?

Paul wants very badly to come visit these folks.

He prays for it over and over again.

Why? What does he want out of this visit? V.11

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong–that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.”

Paul is so relational. We think of him as theological (which he is, we’ll see that again and again this year), but he’s very social, very relational. He cares about these people.

And he wants to give them, in person, a spiritual gift.

Now, that’s probably not what we tend to mean by spiritual gift or even what Paul means by it in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12-14.

He says here that this gift will make them strong and that they will be encouraged in their faith.

He’s probably talking about his own explanation and application of the gospel, in person, with them.

“I want to be with you to encourage your faith in the gospel. So that you are strong, established, strengthened.”

It’s a longing for gospel fellowship.

A longing for spiritual encouragement.

And this verse leads to our first application question for today.

I’ve got three for you this morning, and they are all three diagnostic.

#1. ARE YOU ENCOURAGING OTHERS?

Are you encouraging others in their faith?

Are you in relationships with other believers where you are the one encouraging the others in their faith?

Do you see where I get that? From verses 11 and 12?

Paul longs to be with them to encourage them with a spiritual gift to make them strong. V.12

“...that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.”

Paul doesn’t expect to just go one direction.

Yes, he’s an apostle. Yes, he wants to preach to them. We’ll see that in a second.

But he fully expects to be encouraged back.

He’s already been encouraged by their faith from afar, just from hearing about it.

But he wants to get up close and get encouraged by them.

Paul want them to encourage him!

Are you encouraging others in their faith?

Or is it just flowing one way?

Here’s one of the reasons why we have these things called Link Groups. Tonight is the first night for ours to form, 6:30 at our place.

I don’t teach there like I do here for 45 minutes. No, instead we encourage each other in our faith for two hours. I lead it, but it’s mutual.

Being a part of a Link Group is one of the things I love best about Lanse Free Church.

It’s mutual encouragement.

I almost worded this question as “Are you mutually encouraging?”  But that didn’t make sense.

But that’s the question. Are you encouraging others in their faith and allowing others into your life to encourage your faith?  Are you living in biblical community?

It doesn’t just happen in Link Groups. There are tons of ways of getting into mutual encouragement.  Our Prayer Meeting is like that.  Our current set-up in Sunday School is like that.

And it happens here over the back of the pew and in that great big beautiful foyer with the new carpet. And lots of other places.

The question is, are you committed to it? Are you encouraging others? Are you in their lives.

Notice that Paul couldn’t do this just by letter.  If he could, he’d just send more letters. You can’t do this just by social media. You’ve got to get more personal and be with people.

Are you encouraging others?

Hey, kids. This isn’t just for grown-ups. If you believe in Jesus, then you can encourage other believers in Jesus, too. Don’t wait to grow up to do mutual encouragement.

Now, it wasn’t just for the believers in Rome that Paul wanted to visit Rome. He also wanted to reap a gospel harvest. V.13

“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.”

Whom does he want to preach to?

Just about everybody, right?

He’s wanted to come many times but circumstances (which God controls) have kept him back so far.

But he knows that Rome is full of people who need the gospel. Both those who already believe it and those who don’t yet.

I think it’s interesting that he says that he wants to preach the gospel to the believers. Because believers never stop needing the gospel!

The gospel is bigger than just starting the Christian life. It’s not just the ABC’s of Christianity, it’s the A to Z’s of Christianity. [Tim Keller, Paul's Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel]

And Paul knows that if they really grasp the gospel, it will solve the problems that they are experiencing–including the ones between Jews and Gentiles.

But Paul also wants to preach the gospel to those who have not heard it yet. He’s a missionary at heart, as well. He is called to it. That’s why he says in verse 14, “I am obligated” [he’s got a obligation to God] both to Greek speakers and to non-Greek speakers (literally, barbarians), both to the sophisticated and to the simple. [Ray Ortlund, A Passion for God]

He’s called to Gentiles whether or not they’re smart and cultured or stupid and uncouth.

And he’s got the same message for all of them.  It’s called “the gospel.” V.15 again.

“That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.”

Diagnostic Application Question #2.

#2. ARE YOU EAGER TO SHARE THE GOSPEL?

Paul was eager. In fact, he couldn’t have said it stronger. V.16

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Are you eager to share the gospel or ashamed?

Why might Paul have been ashamed?

Is there anything shameful about the gospel?

Well, there is this crucifixion in it.

And there is weakness in it. Jesus died. Bloody, messy, painfully.

It’s a gospel that the world wouldn’t come up with. It starts with such bad news.

The gospel about God’s Son emphasizes Jesus and not us.

It’s not about earning favor with God. It’s not about good works.

For some of the Jews, the gospel of Jesus was probably not enough about the Torah, the Law.

For some of the Gentiles, it was probably not sophisticated enough.

For others it was probably not exclusive enough. The gospel gets offered to everyone, not just a special group over here.

And for others, it’s too exclusive. Yes, all are invited, but what if I don’t believe? Your “gospel” says that I must believe in Jesus to be saved. I think that’s shameful.

Did you hear this week that the student ministry InterVarsity has been de-recognized in all state schools in California?  It’s because they require their leaders (leaders!) to believe in Christian teachings.

So they can’t be recognized as official student groups on campus with the opportunities that come with that.

In an environment like that, it could be easy to slip into being ashamed of the gospel.

When the gospel is popular, like it is in this room, then it’s easy to say verse 16.

But what if you go out there, where it is increasingly unpopular?

Are you eager to share or ashamed of the gospel?

It’s a lot easier for me to preach the gospel in this pulpit than it is for me to share the gospel with my unbelieving friends, neighbors, and loved ones.

How about you?

Paul was not ashamed. And he gives one big reason. V.16

“I am not ashamed of the gospel [the good news], because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...”

The good news is power, the power of God.

The power of salvation.

That’s not just talk, that’s everything.

Saved from sin, from Satan, and most importantly, from the very righteous wrath of God!

What can save us?

The gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.

Why would we be ashamed of that?

Notice the everyone again. The “all?”

It’s a gospel that has power for everyone who believes.

So, don’t write people off so easily.

Be eager to share the gospel with haters.

Be eager to share the gospel with sinners. That’s who needs it!

Sometimes, I think we invite people to things like the Durocher’s Family Concert or the Good News Cruise, and we just invite Christians because we think they’d like it.

Or we invite nice people. Moral people. Good people.

But the gospel powerful for everyone who believes.

... Including our enemies.

Including people who are different from us.

Paul says to“first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Now, that doesn’t mean that God loves the Jews best. It means that the gospel came to the Jews first, and Paul still evangelized like that when he hit a new town. Jews first as beachhead, then on to the Gentiles.

But it’s for everyone.

And even Jews and Gentiles are now ONE in that gospel.

All of us in this room are ONE in that gospel if we believe. We are saved and then we are connected into one another.

And the gospel does that.

Are you and I eager to share the gospel like Paul was or are we ashamed?

What does our lives say?

If you can look into the mirror and say, “I am loved by God,” then you can look into the face of a lost person and say, “Let me tell you about the love of God. Let me tell you about the gospel.”

Last diagnostic question for today.

#3. ARE YOU BELIEVING THE GOSPEL?

Because you won’t share it unless you believe it.

And...you won’t be saved unless you believe it.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...”

Are you believing the gospel? Are you trusting in the good news about Jesus?

Or are you trusting in your own righteousness?

Paul explains how that power of salvation comes to believers in verse 17 and he’s going to spend at least 5 chapters explaining it, and then 6 chapters defending it and then 5 more chapter teasing out its implications for life. V.17

“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Now a more literal translation of verse 17 would say, “For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed by faith for faith.” Or “out of faith into faith.”

But the NIV has tried to smooth that into English that is easier to grasp.

Paul is saying that we have a righteousness problem and we need a righteousness solution. [See Martin Luther's testimony here.]

We’ll see next week just how bad our righteousness problem is.

But verse 17 says that God provides the righteousness solution.

Notice that verse 17 doesn’t say that in the gospel “the love of God is revealed.”

Is it?  Of course it is. And in the gospel you know the love of God. He’s going to get back to that by chapter 8.

But Paul says that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.

What’s that?

You know it’s hard to define.

I spent most of yesterday reading about it and trying to nail it down.

And I didn’t, really.

It’s definitely moral. It’s about being right, as opposed to wrong.

It’s the rightness of God. The moral perfection of God.

But it’s more than that.

It’s rooted in God’s unswerving commitment to His own glory.

It’s God’s faithfulness to His covenant, His promises.

And it’s more than that, too, I think.

It’s about God’s rightness in making sinners right with Him.

It’s His justice, yes, but His justness in justifying sinners.

We’re going to get into that in the next few weeks and months.

And the original NIV was onto something when it translated it “a righteousness from God.”

Because we aren’t going to be righteous on our own. We’re going to need some help.

The righteousness of God is our problem!

God’s justice, God’s righteousness? That could be our damnation.

Because we are unrighteous as we will see in the next verse next week.

But Paul says that the gospel of God’s Son reveals a righteousness that saves us!

And here’s the point. It’s righteousness that comes to those who BELIEVE.

Faith.

From first to last. From beginning to end. On our part, it’s all about faith.

Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous will live by faith.”

Do you have faith?

Are you believing the gospel?

Or are you trusting in your own righteousness?

Those are really the only two options in life.

Worship at the Lord’s Table

The Lord’s Supper is all about believing the gospel.

A gospel that begins with bad news about unrighteous sinners who deserve the wrath of God.

But also a gospel about God’s Son. Who came in the flesh to die for those unrighteous sinners to get them right with God.

So that everyone who believes this gospel experiences the power of God for salvation.

Are you believing this gospel?

If you are, then you are invited to eat and drink this commemorative meal with us.

If you are not yet believing this gospel or you’re not sure or your life screams that you don’t believe it, then please don’t eat and drink with us, you would be drink condemnation on your head.

Instead, use this time to get right with God. Repent of your sins and put your FAITH in God’s gospel.  No matter who you are.

You need God’s righteousness. You need what Christ did for you.

You need to believe.

Christians, ask yourself those first two questions as you receive the bread and the cup today.

Am I encouraging others?  Is there mutual encouragement in my life? Who am I encouraging in their faith? Who have I opened up my life to to encourage me?

And am I eager to share the gospel or am I ashamed?

If eager, then thank God and pray for opportunities.

If ashamed, then repent and ask God for boldness.

Because the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all everyone who believes.


***

Messages in this Series

01. All Roads Lead to Romans02. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Grape Hyacinths and Rip Van Winkle Daffodils

"Resistiendo el chisme" Is Now Available

Rejoice with me!

Resistiendo el chisme, the Spanish translation of Resisting Gossip is now available in Latin America from CLC Colombia.

I'm told that we'll also have them here in the US by the end of this month!

A Year of "Resisting Gossip"

"Happy 'Resisting Gossip' Day!"

That's how my publisher, Dave Almack, greeted me on the phone one year ago today as Resisting Gossip  was officially made available to the public.
What an exciting year it has been!
Yesterday, I went through all of the posts on this blog marked Resisting Gossip and praised God for the many many blessings He has poured out on us in this process.
It's been so fun to talk about the book in radio interviews and live seminars, to find positive reviews online, and to see it at the top of book lists from people I respect. But the thing I've enjoyed the most is hearing back from readers who have been helped by reading it. How encouraging! It makes it worth all of the effort.
What's Next?

You may have noticed that this blog has been pretty quiet for the last month or so. That's because we've been busy getting ready for the launch of Resisting Gossip Together  a new participant's guide and Bible study that takes individuals and groups deeper into the biblical teaching about gossip. Resisting Gossip Together is set to release October 7th.
We've also been putting the finishing touches on the 10 videos of the Resisting Gossip Teaching Series that we filmed in the Spring. Spencer Folmar has been editing up a storm, and I look forward to their release.  These 10 short videos (10-12 minutes each) correspond to the chapters in both Resisting Gossip and the lessons in Resisting Gossip Together and will be a gift to the world from CLC Publications--completely free, downloadable and sharable. They will also be available for sale on DVD. I'll let you know as soon as they are out.
Translations On the Way
I expect to hear any day now that the Spanish version, Resistiendo el Chisme, is available in both Latin America and in the United States. 
And some day soon there will be translations into both Korean and French, as well. I'm constantly surprised and pleased to see how God is using this teaching in people's lives--including in places I'll probably never go.
So, that's a lot--we've been incredibly blessed and it really hasn't slowed down yet. If you want to know what all is happening, continue to follow this blog and/or sign-up to receive the Resisting Gossip Update Newsletter.
Thanks for your prayers for me and for the ministry of this book!

[Matt's Messages] "All Roads Lead to Romans"

“All Roads Lead to Romans”
August 31, 2014 :: Romans 1:1-7

I’ve been putting off this sermon series for about 16 and half years now.

Romans is a glorious book, but it is not an easy book.

Romans has 16 tightly argued chapters from the brilliant Apostle Paul.  Some law schools have used Romans as a textbook to teach lawyers how to make a logical and persuasive argument.

It’s an amazing book, but it’s been compared to Mount Everest. You don’t just decide one day to climb Mount Everest. You work up to it.

And I’ve been working up to preaching Romans for 16 and a half years.

Some pastors get almost lost in Romans. One of my pastor heroes is John Piper. He took 8 years of sermons to preach all the way through the book.

Don’t worry!  We won’t spend 8 years here, though it would be good for us.

I think we might spend this whole school year in Romans, though. Maybe a whole twelve months. We’ll see. It might go faster. There will be places where we take great big chunks at once and then at other times, we’ll just take one verse at a time.  Today, we’re not going to get past the “Hello” at the beginning.

But we’re going to marinate in this book, that’s for sure.

So, if I’ve been working up to this now for 16 and half years, why NOW?

Why tackle Romans together now?

Well, for one reason, I realized this Summer that I will never feel adequately prepared to preach Romans. I have a stack of books, almost as large as my wingspan in my office just on the book of Romans, and I’ll never read everything there is to read there, much less everything that has been written.

And I’ll never master all of the arguments.

And I’ll never settle all of the controversial interpretative questions there are.

I’ll never master Romans, so why wait?

But the bigger reason is that Romans speaks God’s truth to so much in our lives today.

Romans helps us to understand so much about what is going on in our world.

Romans is such a robust explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ that it touches just about everything!

You’ve heard the old expression, “All Roads Lead to Rome?”

Well, I’m saying “All Roads Lead to Romans.”

All roads lead into and out of the Letter to the Romans.

Now, I’m not saying that Romans is the best book in the Bible. There isn’t such a thing. You’re not supposed to pit one book against another. Each one is God’s Word.

However, there is a priority to them. Romans serves in the Bible as a nexus, a crossroads, a critical juncture where phenomenally humongous doctrines meet and connect with life.

It’s very important.

While I’ve never preached all the way through it, I’ve quoted Romans almost weekly for the last 16 and half years.

Romans is imminently quotable.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is...”

“The wages of sin is...”

“All have sinned and fallen...”

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners...”

“Therefore there is no no...”

“If God is for us...”

“Who shall separate us...”

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead...”

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as ...”

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome...”

You love Romans!

You love the truth of Romans.

But Romans isn’t just a string of beautiful but random verses. It’s a letter. And we need to take in the whole thing.

All roads lead to Romans.

Do you want to understand homosexuality?

That’s hot-button issue today. And it’s only going to get hotter.

After we came back from Challenge, a number of you asked me to teach here what I taught there on same sex attraction.

Romans addresses it.

Do you want to know what’s wrong with the world?

Romans addresses it.  It explains to us how broken our world is and why.  And what God is doing about it.

Do you want to know what’s wrong with people?

Romans addresses that. Romans explains what is wrong with us and what God is doing about it.

Do you want to know how to get along with others?

Romans addresses that. It was written for Christians who were having trouble working out their relationships, especially between two cultures: Jew and Gentile.  Jews having been the historical recipients of God’s gifts and Gentiles who had apparently become the majority here in Rome.

They are very different. More different than the Republicans and the Democrats.

How will they do church together?

Romans addresses that.

Do you want to know how to be a new person?

Romans speaks to that.  It’s all about change from the old you to the new you. That picture of baptism. Down, down, down in death to the old and up, up, up to new life.

And then really living that new life.

Do you want to know what the Holy Spirit is up to in this day and age?

Romans tells us.

Do you want to know how to relate to government? Whether or not you have to pay your taxes. Whether or not you have to obey the speed limit.

Romans addresses that.

Do you want to know how important missions is?

We’ve just had a great month of missions here with McGills, Magills, O’Briens, and Ileases.  How important is what they are doing? How important is it that we support them?

Romans addresses that.

All roads lead to Romans.

Do you want to know how to be right with God? How to be saved? How to be justified?

Romans gives us the gospel.

I could go on. The reason why we are tackling Romans now is because we need it.

Earlier this Summer, I felt that the Lord was forcibly moving me from avoiding this book (always studying it but never preaching it) to embracing it and preaching it for you.

The bottom line reason why we’re beginning Romans in the Fall of 2014 is that I love you and I want the gospel truth of Romans for your lives.  And much deeper than that, God loves us and wants the gospel truth of Romans for our lives.

Now, one of the most important things that I want you to get this week in Romans is that Romans is a letter.

I know that’s obvious, but we don’t tend to treat Romans that way.

Romans is a letter.

We tend to think about Romans being a theology book.

And there’s good reason for that. It’s full of theology!

But that theology doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It got written into a letter.

It was a letter from someone to someone(s) and about something.

Romans is a letter.

It’s not a string of powerful verses chained together.

It’s a letter.

And today, I want to show you 3 things about this letter from the greeting in the first seven verses.

#1. It’s a Letter from Paul.
#2. It’s a Letter About the Gospel About God’s Son.
#3. It’s a Letter to the Romans Christians.

Let’s take those in order.

#1. ROMANS IS A LETTER FROM PAUL.

Now, I know that’s not a very life-changing sentence, but bear with me.

Look at verse 1. People back then started their letter by telling you whom they were from. A lot like emails are today.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.”

Do you remember a few years ago when we studied the book of Acts together?

We met Paul back then. I have preached a few but not most of Paul’s letters of the last 16 years.

Paul was a changed man. He was a devout Jew and a staunch enemy of Christians.

And then God knocked him off of his horse and changed his life.

Now, he describes himself as a servant of Christ Jesus. That’s taking a low place but also an apostle of Christ Jesus–that’s an authorized representative.

He may be a slave, but he’s a slave of Jesus. And he’s bringing an authoritative word from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most scholars believe that Paul wrote Romans between the years 55 to 58 AD. And it’s likely that he wrote it from Corinth, possibly around the time recounted in Acts chapter 20.

Paul has never yet been to Rome, and so he writes the longest greeting of any of his letters because he’s introducing himself and his understanding of the gospel to the Roman Christians.

Paul says that he is (v.1) “set apart for the gospel of God.”

Now, we need to get this. Romans is not a stodgy book. Paul is an incredibly passionate man. He writes with logic, and reason, and arguments. But they are not dispassionate logic, reason, and arguments. They are logic, reason, and arguments ON FIRE!

When Paul says that he is sret apart of the gospel of God. He couldn’t be any more excited about it. And he couldn’t think of a greater subject to be excited about.

Anyone excited that football has begun?

Anyone set apart for the good news of football?

Paul was set apart for the gospel (the good news) of GOD!

And that’s what this letter is all about.

#2. ROMANS IS A LETTER ABOUT THE GOSPEL ABOUT GOD’S SON.

Paul goes on to describe it. V.2

“...the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures...”

This is not a new thing. This gospel didn’t come out of nowhere.

There are new aspects to it. There are surprises. There were mysteries.

But it’s been promised before in the Bible. And (v.3), it’s a gospel “regarding his [God’s] Son.”

This is good news about Someone. A Someone with a capital “S.”

And Paul divides the life of this Son of God into two phases. V.3

“[the gospel]...regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,”

Anybody read first or second Samuel recently?

Remember how we said that when we saw David at his best, he was pointing us to his greater Son who was to come?

Remember those promises that God made to David in 2 Samuel 7?

They are fulfilled in this gospel about this Son. Who “as to his human nature was a descendant of David...” (V.4)

“....and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Do you feel how excited Paul is about this Person?

He is not saying that Jesus became the Son of God by being resurrected.

He’s already the Son who took on flesh.

He’s saying that the resurrection catapulted Jesus into a new phase of life, resurrection life.  “The Son of God in Power.”

Jesus is declared, appointed, recognized, enthroned as the Powerful Son of God resurrected from the dead!

He is “Jesus Christ Our Lord.”

Jesus = humanity.
Christ = annointed savior.
Our = belonging
Lord = king over all.

That’s whom this gospel is about. Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Are you excited about Him?

Is He the most important person in your life?

Is He what your gospel is all about?

You know, we all have a gospel. Even those who don’t believe the real gospel have a gospel they believe.

What they think is wrong with the world and what they think will fix it.

What’s your gospel about?

Some people think that if we could just get rid of one set of politicians and put in another set, then everything would be good.  Whichever party you want. Politics is all gospels.

Some people think that education is the Savior.

Some people think that guns are the gospel.

Some people think that music is the answer.

Some people believe that love makes the world go around.

But Paul’s gospel was centered on the person of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

And it was from Him and for Him that Paul did his ministry. V.5

“Through him [Jesus] and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”

It was from Jesus and for Jesus that Paul did his ministry.

Jesus gave Paul the grace (the gift) and the apostleship (the commissioning) to go out to the Gentiles (that’s important, by the way) to call them to trust and obey Jesus.

Paul was a Jew.

But God had gifted and called Paul to share the gospel about God’s Son with the non-Jews. The Gentiles.

And to call them, specifically, to believe in Jesus.

And out of that belief, that faith, to obey to Jesus.

The NIV translates it, “the obedience that comes from faith.”

I think that’s right. It could be just “the obedience of faith” which could be taken many ways, but I think that’s right. We obey because we believe.

Faith and obedience go together. We trust God and that changes the way we live.

We trust in God’s gospel, and we are saved.

We trust in God’s gospel, and we are changed.

And here’s where Paul gets personal. V.6

“And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

#3. ROMANS IS A LETTER TO ALL THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS.

Paul says that these folks in Rome (which is the center of their geo-political world, by the way) are called (effectually, God called and it happened) called to Jesus Christ.

And not just some of them, but all of those in Rome who are Christians.

Jew and Gentile.

If they had a more Jewish church on one end of town and more Gentile church on another, it was both of them.

If they had a church that was led by Gentiles but had some Jews that were a part of it, it was to all of them.

A few years before this, all of the Jews had been kicked out of Rome. About a decade before this.

It was probably Jews that started this church. Most of the first Christians were Jews.

But then they had to go and the churches were then led by the Gentiles who had converted.

Now the Jews are allowed back but maybe they aren’t in charge any more.

In fact, maybe the Gentiles are wondering if they really need all that Jewish stuff any more.

And the Jews who had it first and who still loved their traditions, their law, the promises, their Jewishnes–maybe they weren’t too sure about those Gentiles.

But this letter is for ALL.

This gospel is for ALL.

The people in this room are very different from one another.

We have different skin colors.
We have different languages that we speak.
We have different political parties represented here.
Some of you are sure that President Obama is a closet Muslim.
Some of you voted for President Obama, and love him, and would love to get to vote for him again.
Some of you love football.
Some of you love hunting.
Some of you hate hunting.
Some of you love Country Music and some of you love Rap and Hip Hop.
And some of you love Opera.

I could go on. All you need is to do is listen for a while to see how different we can be.

The people in this room are very different from one another.

But this letter, this gospel is for ALL Christians.

We who believe this are ONE in Christ.

The gospel brings us together by bringing us all to the same Savior.

And here’s where I want this to get really personal and applicational.

Do you see how Paul describes those Roman Christians?  V.7

Those “who are loved by God and called to be saints.”

Loved by God and called to be saints.

Christian, you are loved by God.

My wish for you over the next however-many-months-it-takes-to-study-Romans is that after every sermon you walk out of here saying, “I am loved by God.”

“I am loved by God.”

Paul is saying that the Christians (all of them!) in Rome are beloved of God.

Do you know that about yourself?

Do you know how good the gospel is?

How good the good news is?

That Jesus Christ died for you?

That Jesus Christ–Who was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection–did that for you?

And that you, because of what He did, are saved from God’s wrath and given Jesus’ righteousness, Jesus’ status?

So that God loves you like He loves His Son?

Every day this week. I want you to look in the mirror and say, “I am loved by God.”

Not because of how good you are or because of what you have done, but because of what Jesus has done.

“I am loved by God.”

Now, remember this–that’s true of all Christians. All those who believe the true gospel and being changed into the image of Christ.

All the ones that you and I might not like or want to be around.

They are loved by God, too.

And that should affect how we treat them, shouldn’t it?

And every day this week, I want you to look in the mirror and say, “I am loved by God.”

On the authority of God’s word. Because that’s where the Romans road leads.

But it doesn’t stop there, does it?  V.7 again.

“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.”

Now, some of you were taught in your religious upbringing that saints were super-Christians.

But there aren’t any super-Christians. There are just Christians.

A saint is a holy-one. A set-apart person.

Someone that Jesus has set apart for Himself and wants them to live holy.

Called to live a holy life. That’s what a saint is, and it’s for ALL who were in Rome.

And it’s for all of us.

If you are beloved of God, then you will become like God.

You will want to be like God. You will want to be holy.

And you’re called to it.

The gospel meets us we are and then changes us.

Are you living a holy life?

You and I are called to live holy.

We are called to say, “No” to sin and “Yes” to righteousness.

That’s what it means to live as a Christian.

Loved and holy.

Loved and holy.

And this is Paul’s message to them as he starts this amazing letter, perhaps the most amazing letter ever written, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Grace, God’s unmerited favor and blessing.

And Peace, God’s wholeness and health and serenity and restored fellowship with Him.

Grace and peace, from the God whose gospel is about His Son.


***

Messages in this Series

01. All Roads Lead to Romans

Opening Minnow Daffodils

"The Stone" (Live Acoustic Version) by The Gray Havens

Can't wait for the full album to come out on January 6th!

But this is a great teaser--a new version of "The Stone," and it's live so you get to wonder if Dave's glasses are going to fall off before the end of the song!

Paphiopedilum Orchid