Before we start, I'd just like
to thank everyone here for the warmth of your welcome again,
the fellowship that we've enjoyed with the Brethren here. The hospitality
shown to us has been tremendous as ever. We love coming. We love you. We love your pastor
because you love the gospel. You love the Christ that we know. we love and we preach. Should
you wish to come to the UK, to England, you will be very welcome. Let us know should you be passing
and we will try to do our best to return the favour. Do come one day. Now would you
turn in your Bibles please to the book of Romans, Romans chapter
1, Romans chapter 1, reading from verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle separated unto the gospel of God, which
he had promised afore by the prophets in the holy scriptures,
concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the
son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead. Paul was a man who came to know
God's salvation. He knew the saviour. But until the day that that saviour
made himself known to Paul, he was lost. Lost in religion. Swept away By his own wisdom,
his own knowledge, his own pride, his own arrogance, his own foolishness,
he was lost until the day that the Lord called his name from
heaven. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? Yes, he came to know a saviour.
And how you and I need a saviour, how much we need the salvation
that Paul knew. Two days ago, a young girl, 14, was swept away by the tides at Belmar
Beach. eventually found brought to shore
but died. The same day just hours before
we were there swimming in the same sea at the same spot. My 14 year old son Joseph was
in the same waves in which that girl perished. One was spared And one was taken. One was taken. One was spared. The same day, later that evening,
I heard from friends that they had been travelling home that
night from work, possibly around the same hour that this girl
perished. And they drew up to a junction
and waited at the lights to turn. And the car opposite them, ahead
of them, that was turning the opposite way, waited. And out of the passenger side,
a man got out and started firing his gun. He then got back in
the car and continued to fire. Our friend ducked. And mercifully,
no bullets hit. They could have been killed that
day. But the Lord spared them. We do not know what a day will
bring. We really don't. And how merciful
God is, if he preserves us one more day. One more day to hear
his gospel. Perhaps one more day to hear
the voice of the Son of God. Oh we need a saviour and we need
to hear Christ. Well Paul knew him and in the
book of Romans, the letter of Romans, he sets forth the gospel. He sets forth Christ in a way
that is unlike any other writings of man, because as the Lord God
led him, God caused him to set forth this gospel in its fullness,
in power, that we might hear what Paul heard, that we might
know whom Paul knew. He writes to those that are at
Rome. He says, I am a debtor both to
the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am
ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. For it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just
shall live by faith. It's this gospel he'd heard from
heaven. This gospel he'd heard from the
voice of the Son of God on the Damascus road was such a power,
such a transformation to Paul that he could do nothing but
preach it. As much as in me is, I am ready
to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, to preach the
gospel, the good news, the good news of Christ and his salvation,
the word of God, the word of faith, the power of God unto
salvation. He says, I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth. He's not ashamed of the gospel.
Are you? Are you ashamed of the gospel? Or has it so transformed you? that you cannot but speak of
Christ and his grace and his mercy to you a sinner. Paul could not contain it, he
must declare him, he must preach him. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. There is much that Paul was ashamed
of. If he looked at himself and looked
at his past, he was ashamed of himself. He was ashamed of his
sin. He was ashamed of his rebellion
against God. He was ashamed of his religion. Because until the day that Christ
met him, He hated this gospel. And he hated this saviour. He rejected him. He went everywhere
persecuting the church. He resisted Christ. He resisted this message. And all the time he thought he
did God's service. He was so wrapped up in his religion
he thought he was serving God by putting to death followers
of Christ. He was ashamed of that. When
he came to know Christ he looked back and he could see, what did
I do? What did I do in the name of
religion that I thought was my gain? I used it to persecute
Christ and his children, his people. He says in Philippians chapter
three, that he rejoiced in Christ Jesus
and had no confidence in the flesh, though I might also have
confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more circumcise
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee,
concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Touch into righteousness
which is in the law? Blameless! But what things were
gained to me, those I counted, lost for Christ? Yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done that I may win Christ
and be found in him. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. All that he was, all his religion,
all his knowledge, led him to persecute Christ and the church. He didn't know God. And all that
he counted as loss has done. It was shameful. What have I
done? What have you done? What have we got? What is our
knowledge of God? Is it that which he has revealed
unto us? Or that which we have gleaned
by our own wisdom and our own understanding? Paul was ashamed of it. Ashamed
of it. But he was not ashamed of the
gospel. Christ why not for it is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe if to the
Jew first and also to the Greek It's the power of God unto salvation. This gospel came unto him when
he was at his worst, when he was raging against the church,
when he was on the road to Damascus to persecute and put into jail
believers. When he was raging against Christ,
Christ met him. and by the gospel destroyed all
Paul's vain hope. All his self-confidence in the
flesh was brought to nothing. He was overwhelmed, he was broken. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. For it is the power, the dunamis
in the Greek, the power of God under salvation, the dynamite
of God. Such is its explosive power. It can take the hardest heart
and shatter it to pieces and melt it. It can take the vilest
sinner, the hardest sinner and bring him to his feet and bring
him to the feet of Christ to cry out, Lord have mercy upon
me, the sinner. Yes, this gospel blew Saul, as
he was then called, blew Paul away. It destroyed all his pride,
all his arrogance, all his false hope in religion. It was like
a bomb dropped upon him that detonated and destroyed all that
he was. So he had nothing before God. Nothing but guilt, nothing but
shame. And he could plead. Nothing but mercy. He knew he deserved God's condemnation,
God's fury. And yet God loved him. Christ
loved him and gave himself for him. And Paul discovered this Christ
whom he persecuted. whose followers he pursued to
the grave. This Christ knew him and had
given himself for him. It broke him. I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God under
salvation. Men speak of free will. Of making a decision for Jesus. Paul used up his free will. He'd
made up his mind. He'd made his decision. And that
was to persecute every follower of Christ until there were none
left. and to get rid of this heresy
from the churches. He knew what his mind was. He'd
made his mind up. And one day, he was headed for
Damascus. He says in Acts 26, to King Agrippa,
verse nine, I verily fought with myself that I ought to do many
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing
I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I
shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests.
And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. and I punished them oft in every
synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly
mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus
with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday,
O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven. above the brightness
of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with
me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice
speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, soul, soul,
why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And I said, who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom
thou persecutest, but rise and stand upon thy feet. For I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a
witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those
things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from
the people and from the Gentiles under whom now I send thee, to
open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I
was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. but showed first
unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all
the coast of Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should
repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance. What a transformation. What a change. What a power. But that power destroyed Paul's
free will. He was going one way, he'd made
his decision and Christ met him in that way and said, no Paul,
no Saul, you're turning around and going another way. Saul,
Saul, why persecutes thou me? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. Rise, stand upon thy feet, for
I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister
and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those
things in the which I will appear unto thee. Delivering thee from
the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to
open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me." Oh, no wonder Paul could then write,
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Christ met him in
the way. Christ declared his person, his
work, his gospel unto this man. And it changed him forever. And it turned Saul around and
sent him forth to preach this gospel at Damascus, at Jerusalem. even at Rome, and to you here
today. For this gospel went forth by
Paul throughout all the earth and all the generations, and
the same Christ that sent him to preach it continues to preach
it today, to turn people from darkness unto light. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Why? Because it is the power
of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. Why is it the power of God unto
salvation? For therein in the gospel is
the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is
written, the just shall live by faith. Why does the gospel
gain its power? Because Christ is revealed in
the gospel as the righteousness of God. And we need righteousness. The gospel deals with man's great
need. We're lost in our sin. We're
drowning at sea in the depths of our sin and we need a saviour
to pull us out. And to wash us from our sins. To cleanse us. and to make us
be the righteousness of God. The gospel deals with the heart
of the matter, the very trouble that men have, that mankind has,
that we need to be righteous before a holy God and we have
no righteousness. We're sinners through and through. From the womb we've gone forth
speaking lies. We are sin. We don't just commit
sins. We are sin. We have a wretched
sinful heart. We can't help ourselves. And even if, like Saul, we turn
ourselves to religion, and rise up to the highest heights in
religion and learn the scriptures from cover to cover, all that
we have before God is sin. Our righteousnesses by nature
are sin, they're filthy rags. Our religion is sin before a
holy God if it is not that wrought of God in Christ made known unto
us by his revelation, if it is not that God-given faith. the faith of Christ made known
by his gospel. If the righteousness we have
is anything short of the righteousness of God revealed in this gospel,
then we are lost, lost in religion, blind to the truth, in darkness. But Christ came unto Paul saw
and made himself known. Therein in the gospel is the
righteousness of God. The righteousness of God in Jesus
Christ. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just shall live by faith. When Christ from heaven on high
spake unto Paul out of that light, that brightness, brighter than
the sun on the Damascus road, the righteousness of God was
revealed from the faith of Christ unto the faith of Paul. God gave Paul faith. to see his Saviour, Jesus Christ,
to see the righteousness of God in Christ, to see the faith of
Christ in how Christ brought in that righteousness for a sinner
such as Saul. As it is written, the just shall
live by faith. Who is the just? There's only
one just truly, Jesus Christ, who came into this world, made
a man, born in a manger, who grew as a child, who as a man
went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom. who all his lifetime
had his face set towards Jerusalem and to that cross upon which
he would be nailed. He lived for a day, an hour,
when he would be crucified, nailed to a tree. and every step of
the way from the womb to the grave and in the hours of darkness
upon the cross this just one the Lord Jesus Christ lived by
faith. He looked unto God his Father. He trusted his Father. He trusted the Lord every step
of the way. He knew that God would bring
about all that they had purposed from eternity. That when he laid
down his life, everyone for whom he died would have their sins
blotted out. every sin would be taken away
everyone that God gave him as an elected people as chosen people
from the foundation of the earth every single one for whom he
died would be saved and he knew as he was plummeted into the
darkness the abyss at the cross that he would rise again he trusted
God he believed and by his faith he wrought salvation. He washed
Saul, Paul in his blood and made him live. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. Has God revealed that
righteousness in Christ unto you? from his faith and to your
faith. We don't have faith by nature,
but when he makes us see, when he brings us to life by the gospel
and quickens us and causes us to see and to hear as Saul on
the Damascus road heard the voice of Christ above, then faith is
put in the heart and then the righteousness of God is revealed. From verse 18 in chapter 1 of
Romans, Paul goes on to open up what this gospel is. He begins there, verse 18, for
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. He begins, not with the love
of Christ, Not with the cross, but he begins with us, where
we are by nature, the state of man by nature. He begins at the
beginning, the wrath of God. is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in
unrighteousness, who hold back the truth, who resist the truth
in their unrighteousness. You see, that's where you and
I are by nature. Every time we hear the truth,
every time we're perhaps brought to hear the gospel, every time
somebody picks up a Bible, We resist it. We hold it back. We don't want to know. Even if
we're religious. Saul's religion, Paul's religion,
when he was a Pharisee, was a resisting of the truth. He thought he knew
God, he thought he knew the truth. He thought he was serving God,
and yet when Christ came into the world, when the truth was
manifested, when the righteousness of God was revealed, he hated
it, he despised it, and he resisted it. Such are you and I. Why? Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them. For God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. We should know. And yet we resist. The heavens declare the glory
of God. The invisible things of him declare
his power. And yet we resist. We will not
turn unto God. We will not believe. Because
that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their
foolish heart was darkened. professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools. and changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man
and the birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who
changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served
the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever, amen. We've turned the truth of God
into a lie. Now as you read on in this chapter,
you read of some of the worst sins on the face of the earth. But some of the worst sins on
the face of the earth are what man has done in religion. in
taking the truth of God, in taking the truth of the gospel, in taking
the truth of Jesus and creating churches and meetings and another
gospel where they preach a Jesus that's a lie. They preach a Jesus
that wants all men to be saved if they but will. Christ stands
ready to save you if you will but make the decision, if you
will but receive him into your hearts. and they've changed the
truth of God into a lie. And they worship and serve the
creature more than the creator. They serve and worship man, man
in the church, the preacher, the people. All the attention
is on man and what man does and what we should do to serve God. There's no Christ in the gospel
that you hear in these places. Do you have a gospel in word
only? Or do you know the creator, Jesus
Christ? Has he come unto you as he came
unto Saul on the Damascus road and called your name? Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me? Through chapter two, Rest of
chapter 1, chapter 2 into chapter 3. Paul goes on to prove us all
to be sinners. Religious or irreligious, Jew
or Gentile. How wicked our sin is. And so much of it is religious. back biters, haters of God, despiteful,
proud boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do
the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Therefore
thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another,
thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judgest doest the
same things. But we are sure that the judgment
of God is according to truth. against them which commit such
things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which
do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape
the judgment of God." How wicked we are in our self-righteousness. We look at others, and we wag
the finger, and we say, you can't be a believer. Look what you
do. and we reveal our own judgmental,
wicked hearts. Chapter 3, Paul goes on, we have
before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under As it
is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There's none that
understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no not one. The way of peace have they not
known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. We're all lost by nature. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. What a state we're in! Even if we come to the scriptures,
even if we try to keep the law of God as Saul did, there's no hope. We cannot do
it. We cannot live a right. That
law condemns every one of us and exposes the fact that we
have no righteousness. and we have no faith, and we
hate God. But in verse 21 there's a turning
point. And thank God there's a turning
point. For having set man in the dust,
Paul moves on to the wonder and the glory of God in Christ in
the gospel. But now, But now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. But now, but now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested. Saul sought to come unto God
by the way of law. All his understanding of religion
was outward. If I do this and don't do that,
then I am right before a holy God. His whole thinking was legal. and most of mankind, most religion,
all religion, all false religion, whether it's Christian, Islam,
Judaism, Hinduism, doesn't matter what name it comes under, doesn't
matter what form of, what denomination of Christendom it might come
under, it's all legal. It's all about what you do and
don't do and what you think and don't think in your will. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested. God sent his son into this world
and in Christ God manifested his righteousness. The light of God shone in the
darkness of this world. and Christ manifested God's righteousness,
a righteousness which was unlike anything that had entered into
the heart or understanding of man. Man knew righteousness in
terms of the law, but this righteousness in Christ fulfilled the Lord's
every command and went above it and beyond it. It transcended
the law in every manner. It is the righteousness of God
without the law, not just on our part, but on Christ's part. He didn't come to manifest the
legal righteousness. He manifested the very righteousness
of God. And it was seen in his life of
faith, the righteousness of faith. You may say but in his lifetime
we read that he was made under the law and he fulfilled the
law. Yes he did. That law tried to measure him
and could find no fault in him. He didn't try to be righteous. He didn't look to the law to
find out what he should do and what he shouldn't do. He just
is righteousness and the law measured him and could find no
fault in him. It is a righteousness that transcends
anything that man can comprehend. It's the very righteousness of
God. In fact, throughout the scriptures,
you will never read the phrase commonly used in religion, the
righteousness of Christ. which would bring your focus
purely down to God in Christ as a man. It is always described
as the righteousness of God so that we understand that this
is the very righteousness of God. That if we have this righteousness
we can stand in the presence of holy God in free persons and
be no less righteous than God is. It's divine righteousness. But it's divine righteousness
brought unto us through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are
made to be the righteousness of God in Christ. It is a righteousness that Christ
manifested throughout his lifetime as he lived and walked by faith. But it is a righteousness that
he manifested fully in its glory. when he laid down his life upon
the cross. At the cross we see the revelation,
the manifestation of the righteousness of God in a way that it was never
seen. Because here Christ took the
sin, the sins of his people, he bore them, he gave himself
for them. He went to die, he gave his life. The law never commanded a man
to die, it commanded us to live continuously keeping its demands. But Christ had not only kept
every demand of the law, he was willing to suffer the penalty
of the law that was not due to him but due to his people. And
he became their substitute. He said, how shall man be just
with God? How can God be just and the justifier
of men? If God, in the place of men,
in the person of a man, the man Christ Jesus, stands in their
place and takes their sin in substitution and bears their
sins in his own body on the tree and God judges those sins in
him, And God judges that sin in him. And God blots it out
and slays his own son. Because the soul that sinneth
it must die. He never sinned. He was without
sin. But God took the sins of his
people and judged them in him. He who knew no sin was made sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. This death that he died was an act of his faith. He laid
down his life trusting the Father. or writes that we are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus whom God have set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare
I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. He laid down his life. Where is boasting then? It is
excluded by what law of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. Justified by our faith? No. Justified by the faith of
Christ when he laid down his life in our place. to then later
preach this gospel to us, and quicken us unto life, and give
us faith to believe on him, and know that we have already been
justified by Christ at the cross. In chapter four, Paul shows how
Abraham was justified by faith, not by works. Chapter 5, he says,
therefore be unjustified. By faith we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation work if patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope make
if not ashamed. Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto
us. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good
man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. When we were yet sinners, if
we are his, he died for us. If when we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled,
we shall also be saved by his life. And not only so but we
also join God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have
now received the atonement. Then Paul goes on to contrast
Adam's disobedience with what Christ did upon the cross. Wherefore
as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and
so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. He
then has a parenthesis. In verse 18 he goes on, therefore
as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon
all men unto justification of life. Now if in your Bible you
have a margin, you will see on verse 18 that this phrase the
translators weren't sure which way to jump because it can be
taken and understood in both ways. But when they speak of
the offense of one, i.e. Adam, and they speak of the righteousness
of one, Christ, that could also have been rendered. Therefore,
by one offense, judgment came upon all men to condemnation.
Even so, by one righteousness or one act of righteousness,
the free gift came upon all men under justification of life.
And really this is the sense of this contrast. Adam did one
thing to disobey God and plunge us all into depravity and from
then on he sinned the rest of his lifetime. He disobeyed God
and he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil against
God's command. To take that sin away and to
justify us, Christ did one particular righteous act, an act of faith,
in going to the cross, in bearing the sins of his people, in being
made sin, in taking the judgment of God against that sin, in being
slain, in dying in the place of sinners. He died trusting
God that God would save all that God had given unto him. Every
name written upon his heart, he loved them and gave himself
for them. And he knew with certain faith
that his life given for them would justify them. That his
blood shed for Saul would wash Saul from all his sins. He knew
that he would rise again. He knew that Saul would be saved. Has God led you where he led
Saul? Has he led you to hear Christ
from heaven above? Has he by the gospel, the word
of faith, preached Christ unto you? Has he dealt with your want
of faith, the absence of it, your unbelief? Has faith entered into your heart
by Christ as he's revealed the righteousness of God from faith
to faith? If he has, then you will understand
everything else that Paul writes in this wonderful book. From
chapter six to chapter eight, he, as it were, deals with the
fight of faith, a believer whose sin is taken away, still has
the flesh, and he wars, it wars within him, and he struggles,
but he sees in Christ that he's been delivered from sin. He sees
himself in Christ as crucified upon the cross. He knows that
he's no longer married to the law, but married to Christ. And
though he sees the sin that the law would provoke in him, though
he looks at himself and says, the evil that I would not, that
I do, and the good that I would, that I do not, although he may
look at himself as Paul did and cry out a wretched man that I
am who shall deliver me from the body of this death time and
time again by the power of the gospel Christ brings him back
to this I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk
not after the flesh but after the spirit He finds himself in
Christ justified, washed clean, perfect. He can ask the questions
of anyone. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
No, nothing. I'm persuaded neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Are you one of the us there? You've heard of what God did
in Christ for Paul. You've heard that Christ died
for us while we were yet sinners. You've heard that none can separate
us from the love of God. Are you amongst that we and that
us? From chapters 9 to 11, Paul deals
with that question. Who are the us? Is it all men
without exception? No. Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. Is there unrighteousness regarding
this? No. Except to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Paul loved his people, the Jews. He had a desire that the Jews
should be saved, but he knew in the gospel that God would
save Gentiles. He had a people called out of
the Jews and the Gentiles, all of whom together are his Israel,
the Israel of God. And every one Jew or Gentile
for whom Christ died shall be saved such that all Israel shall
be saved. From chapters 12 to 14, Paul
deals with the life of faith. He speaks of this all Israel,
one body, one body chosen in Christ. He speaks of faith which
works by love. And what is not a faith is sin.
And then finally in chapters 15 and 16, he comes back to this
gospel, the preaching of this gospel. He was called on that
Damascus road to minister this message, this gospel. And he says in chapter 15 that
he will minister. He's been called to minister.
But at the end of chapter 16, as the book concludes, he makes
it plain that unless God speaks from heaven above to us as he
spake unto Paul, we will know nothing. There must be a revelation
of the mystery. There must be a revelation from
God's lips, from the lips of Christ. We must hear him calling
unto us. Where are you today? On which
road are you running? Oh that Christ would meet you
in the way. Are you perhaps being swept away
in the seas of your sin? Oh that Christ would call out
and deliver you. Oh yes, Paul could say with a
certainty, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for he
knew it is the power of God under salvation. He concludes his letter,
now to him that is of power, to establish you according to
my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the
revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world
began but now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the
prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith To God only wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.