He is our ransom price, isn't
He? That's what we have here in Romans,
the book of Romans. I'm turning, and you can turn
with me to Romans chapter 1, and we'll begin reading at verse
14. Romans chapter 1 at verse 14.
I remember who The Apostle Paul. He calls himself
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. You see that in verse 1? Remember
the history of this man? This man was known as Saul of
Tarsus. He was a very strict moralist. He was a very strict Pharisee. He was very careful to go about
to establish the righteousness of his own. But when he met the
Lord Jesus Christ, do you know what he said of all of his religious
works? You can read it in Philippians
chapter 3. He said, I count them all but
dumb. That's what we need to do with
all of our religious so-called goodness, is pile it all up and
look at it as dumb. You know what that is, don't
you? That's what you flush down the commode. That's what we shoveled
out in the cow barn after we milked the cows. Can it all dung
that we may win Christ and be found in him? That's the key,
to win Christ. So when he says here, I'm a debtor,
you see that? I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor, both
to the Greeks and to the barbarians. The Apostle Paul, now, because
God had taught him the gospel, he says, woe is unto me if I
preach not the gospel. He said, I'm a debtor to preach
it. I'm obligated to preach it. Both to the Romans, the Greeks,
who were sophisticated, educated. He said, I feel compelled to
preach the gospel to the Greeks, to the Gentiles, but also to
the barbarians. He didn't go around and pick
his audience. He would preach to anybody who
would listen to him, whether it be an intellectual Greek,
or educated Roman, or a self-righteous Jew, or a barbarian. And then
he says, vote to the wise and to the unwise. Those who are fools and those
who are educated fools, but they're all fools. So verse 15, as much
as in me is, as much as in me is, I'm ready
to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. I remember Saul
of Tarsus, when he was a Pharisee, he received letters from the
Jewish Sanhedrin to go into the next neighboring country, Syria,
to Damascus. He sought for special permission
to persecute those who were calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was ready to persecute believers. Now he's ready to preach to believers. Now how do you account for such
a radical change? It says over there in the book
of Acts that he's preaching the faith that he wants persecuted. Now how do you make an account
of drastic change from a persecutor to a preacher? the grace of God,
the grace of God. So as much as in me is, I'm ready
to preach the gospel. If I preach, I must preach the
gospel. Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel, the gospel to
you at Rome. And he says, verse 16, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of Christ, for it
is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it. to the Jew and also to the Greek,
for therein is the righteousness of God revealed." Righteousness
revealed. The righteousness of God revealed.
From faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live
by faith. So the obvious title to the message
is, I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. As it says there in
verse 16, but did you notice back in verse 1, Romans 1, 1,
where we read that Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle,
one sin of God, separated unto the gospel of God. So it is the
gospel of Christ that Paul's not ashamed of. And then he calls
it the gospel of God. The gospel of God, what's it
all about? Look at verse three. Concerning his son, Jesus Christ,
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David. He is the greater
David. You can trace his lineage all
the way back to the house of David, tribe of Judah. But he
declared to be the son of God with power according to the Spirit
of holiness or the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the
dead. Now, the gospel of Christ is called the gospel of God.
But I looked that term up in several places we read about
the gospel. In Acts 20, it's called the gospel
of the grace of God. And then in 2 Corinthians 4,
verse 4, it's called the glorious gospel of Christ. And then in
Ephesians chapter 6 verse 5 it's called the Gospel of Peace. And
then in 1 Timothy 1.11 it's called the Blessed Gospel of the Glory
of God. So all these different terms
describe the Gospel. The Gospel of God, the Gospel
of Peace, and the Blessed Gospel of the Glory of God. And then
in the Revelation it's called the Everlasting Gospel. The Everlasting
Gospel. And then in Ephesians chapter
1, it's called the gospel of your salvation. Paul often referred
to this same gospel of Christ. He said, it's my gospel. It's
my gospel. That's the gospel that saved
me. And then when he writes to the church of Galatia, who were
listening to those who were not preaching the gospel, and he
said they were preaching, they came preaching another gospel,
which is not another. And he said, though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached, let him be damned. That's how serious
this is. So we have this gospel of Christ
that Paul says that he's not ashamed of. If we can get a hold
of what's being said here in this first chapter of the book
of Romans, we'll have some clear understanding of how God saves
sinners by his grace, by his grace alone. One of my favorite
verses in Romans, the book of Romans, look at chapter 3, verse
24. Romans 3, 24. It says in verse 23 of Romans
3, For all have sinned to come short of the glory of God, being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're justified freely by
His grace. Now who needs to be justified?
Sinners. We know we're not justified by
the works of the law, right? We know that. But by the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul was not only able to
preach the gospel, willing to do so, but he was ready. When
he writes back to Timothy over there where we read 2 Timothy
chapter 1, but if you read over in chapter 4, he charges young
Timothy, he said, I charge thee before God, preach the word,
be ready, instant, in season, out of season, preach the word,
preach Christ, be always ready, to preach the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was blessed and able
to do so. God made him ready. Paul was
compelled and obligated, constrained to preach the gospel to every
creature. He considered himself a debtor,
a debtor to all men, to preach the gospel of God's grace unto
them. That was a great commission the
Lord gave unto His church. We've studied that in Matthew
28, where He says, go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature. Every creature. Don't have respect,
whether he be Greek, or Jew, or Barbarian, or Scythian. It
doesn't matter. Preach the gospel to every creature.
What did the sinful people in Rome need most of all? They didn't need a better job.
They didn't need more money. What did they need most of all?
Christ. He said, I'm ready to preach
the gospel to you who are at Rome. And that's what every sinner
needs. Every sinner needs to hear the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is that so important to hear,
to hear the gospel? Why is that so important that
we insist on preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? Faith
comes by hearing. Hearing comes by the Word of
God. Faith comes by hearing. Hearing
by the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm a debtor to preach
the Gospel to whoever I'm ready. to preach Christ and Him crucified
as all our hope of salvation. And then he says in verse 16,
I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. Every believer stands with Paul.
Every believer now stands with Paul ready to support the gospel,
ready to defend the gospel, for we have no reason to be ashamed
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We earnestly contend
for the faith once delivered unto the saints. We say with
Paul that we are committed unto the gospel. He said, I'm not
ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that
he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day. So believers have no reason to
be ashamed of his person as God or his work. Successful, effectual. Our Lord writes this and says
this in Mark chapter 8. Whosoever therefore shall be
ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when
he cometh in the glory of his Father with his holy angels with
him. The Lord Jesus Christ says that
he's not ashamed to call us brethren, And this hope we have in the
Lord Jesus Christ, make us not ashamed. Now I told you we're
gonna turn a little bit here, turn to Romans chapter five.
Romans chapter five. So believers are not ashamed
of the sovereign God who will have mercy upon whom he will
have mercy. Now Romans five, look at verse
five. One, therefore being justified 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 tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patient,
and patient hope, and experience hope, and hope, verse five, make
it not a shame. This hope we have in Christ,
it's a good hope, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And hope make
us not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us. For when we
were yet without strength in due time, according to the time,
Christ died for the ungodly. I'm not ashamed. of the gospel
of the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now turn to Romans
chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. He says this
again over here and he quotes from Isaiah 28. Romans chapter
9 verse 33. Romans 9 verse 33, the last verse
in Romans 9. As it is written, Behold I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. Ashamed of Jesus, can it be?
A mortal man ashamed of thee? He sang a moment ago. So believers
are not ashamed to own him as all of our salvation. Let's see
if we can find one more. Can you turn to the book of Philippians?
Philippians. Chapter one, Philippians chapter
one, verse 20. Philippians 1 verse 20, according
to my earnest expectation, my hope, that in nothing I shall
be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ
shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death,
for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Not ashamed, not
ashamed of the gospels of our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Romans 1 verse 16. So I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And then he
says, for, and that word can be rendered because it is the
power of God unto salvation. The gospel of Christ, the gospel
of God, is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel of Christ
is the power of God to forgive sins only through the Lord Jesus
Christ, only through him crucified, his shedding of his blood during
the first Corinthians chapter one. The power of God, the gospel
of Christ, is the power of God to forgive sins only through
Christ in Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse
22, where the Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block
unto the Greeks' foolishness, but unto them which are called
Jews and Greek, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. In the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, we see the power of God to forgive sins
through Christ shedding His blood. Secondly, it is the power of
God through the gospel that gives us spiritual life. It's the power
of God through the gospel that gives us spiritual life. You
hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sin. Now, how much power did it take
to raise the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ? Took the power
of God, doesn't it? How much power does it take to
resurrect a spiritually dead sinner? You hath he quickened
who were dead. It takes that same power of God
that's revealed in the gospel. Thirdly, it's the power of God
through the gospel that keeps us and will not let us go. He
saves his people with an everlasting gospel. It's the power of God
unto salvation. First Peter says we're kept by
the power of God through faith. It is the power of God through
the gospel that presents us faultless before the presence of God exceeding
joy. Now let's turn to Romans 8. I mentioned that in our Bible
study this morning. In Romans chapter 8, let's see
if I can read it. Romans 8, 32. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall not he with him also
freely give us all things? Romans 8, 32. 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 makes intercession for us. He presents us before
the Father, holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight. This gospel is the power of God
unto salvation. Look back at the verse, Romans
1, verse 16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is a power of God to everyone that does
what? Believes it. Believes it. To the Jew or to the Gentile,
doesn't matter. It's a power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believes it. Believes it. This gospel is a
power of God made so unto believers. Believing the gospel of Christ
is a miracle of grace no man naturally believes. By nature
we love darkness, not light. Faith, believing is faith, right? To everyone that believes, that's
faith. Where does that faith come from?
We know that faith is a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God. over in, don't turn, let me just
read this to you. I was looking at this earlier
this morning. Faith is called the precious gift of God. And
you know why it's called the precious gift of God? Simon Peter,
a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God our
Savior, Jesus Christ. So faith is the gift of God.
For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves,
it is a gift of God. And as I said earlier, faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord. Men
don't naturally believe the gospel of Christ. God has to quicken
by the Spirit and give us life to enable us to believe. It's
the power of God that gives us faith in Christ Jesus. We believe,
let's see if we can find this one. If you need to turn with
me, let's read this together. Find the book of Ephesians. We believe only according to
the working of His mighty power. Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 17, Paul said, We pray
for you that God, our Lord Jesus Christ, May the Father of glory may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge
of him. He's in 118. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his
calling, what is the riches of glory of his inheritance in the
saints, what is exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe,
comma, according to the working of his mighty power, comma, which
he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and
set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above
all principality and power, might, dominion, every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also which is to come, hath
put all things under his feet, gave him to be head over all
things to the church, which is his body, the fullest of him,
that filleth all in all, period. So we believe only according
to the working of His mighty power. Faith is the precious,
precious gift of God. Whosoever believes that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Now listen to me carefully. Faith
does not empower the gospel. The gospel empowers faith. Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. As many as were
ordained to eternal life believe the gospel. Now turn to the book
of Acts. Back this way. The book of Acts
chapter 13. Acts 13, 38. I warned you. Get your fingers ready. We're
going to turn some more. Acts 13, 38. Be it known unto you, men and
brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sin. So, where's forgiveness of sin
found? Through this man. Who is this
man? The God-man mediator. He's preached to you the forgiveness
of sins. By him all that believe are justified
from all things, but you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. So, how was salvation received? My friend in Lexington, Todd
Nybert, used to say all the time, salvation is not received by
doing. Lay your deadly doing down. Salvation
is received by faith. Faith doesn't accomplish salvation.
It receives the Lord Jesus Christ who did accomplish salvation. So salvation is by believing,
receiving, not doing. Lay your deadly doing down. Now
back to Romans 1. Romans 1 verse 16. Again, I want
you to take this verse and look at it. Look at it today and tomorrow
and the rest of the week. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God. unto salvation, to everyone
that believeth, you are Gentile, doesn't matter who you are, God's
no respecter of person. For therein, verse 17, therein
is the righteousness of God revealed. Now don't look over that statement. The righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live
by faith. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. Now, I believe this is one of
the keys to understanding the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How righteous must a sinner be to stand before God accepted
and justified? Now, when you think about being
righteous before God, the first thing you need to realize is
that everything you do is unrighteousness. The best you have, as far as
morality goes, is filthy rags in God's sight. So how righteous
does a sinner need to be to stand before God justified? As righteous
as God. Oh, wait a minute. I can't be
as righteous as God. In yourself you cannot. But in
the Gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that's
what's revealed. How God can be just and justify
the ungodly. How can this sinner be justified,
accepted, and righteous before God? Not by my works, but by
his grace. The Lord Jesus Christ honored
the law of God for us. As I've often said in his life,
he honored the law of God. He said, I magnified the law
of God. In his life, he worked out a perfect righteousness for
his people. And in his death, he satisfied
the penalty of that law. Now God can be just and justify
the ungodly because the Lord Jesus Christ has satisfied his
own law for us. Turn to Romans 3 one more time.
Romans 3. Not by the deeds of the law.
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. Romans chapter
3 again, look at verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, that saith to them that 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, not the removal of it. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, now watch this, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. and all upon all them that believe
there is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set
forth to be the propitiation through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of past, of past,
through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time,
His righteousness, that He might be just, and the justifier of
them which believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." So we're not justified
by the deeds of the law. We're justified by the faith
of Christ, who is our righteousness before God. Look down here at
Romans 5. Staying on this word, righteousness
revealed. Romans chapter 4. Did I say Romans
5? I meant Romans 4. Verse 3. For what says the Scripture,
Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is reward,
not reckoning of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Even David also describes the
blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness without
work, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
whose sins are covered." Covered, covered, covered. Look at Romans
5, verse 19. Romans 5, 19. Therein in the gospel is the
righteousness of God revealed in Christ, who is our righteousness.
Romans 5, look at verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners. Romans 5, 19. That's Adam, that's
his sin, that's the fall of the garden, rebellion against God. So by one man's disobedience
we were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous. That's Christ our righteousness.
Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Look at Romans 8. Romans
8. Verse 1. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh but after the spirit. For the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law
of sin and death. For what the law could not do
and is weak through the flesh, God tending his own son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, or by sacrifice for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us. who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. Righteousness of God revealed.
The righteousness of God. Turn to Romans 10 now. Romans
10. So I must not only have redemption
through His blood, I must have righteousness imputed. And we
find that only in Christ, the gospel of Christ that we're not
ashamed of. Romans 10 verse 1. Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. For I bear them record, they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness, his holy character, and going
about to establish their own righteousness by the deeds of
the law, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. That's the gospel righteousness.
for Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. So in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we have redemption from our sin, and we have righteousness given
to us, and it's Christ himself who has made unto us our righteousness,
our righteousness alone. Now back to Romans 1. Romans
chapter 1, verse 16, one more time. Romans
1, 16, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it's
the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it,
to the Jew and also to the Greek. For therein is that righteousness
of God revealed, made known in the gospel from faith to faith,
as it is written, the just shall live by faith. The just shall
live by faith. Now that statement is made four
times in the Scripture. From faith to faith. The just shall live by faith. Now I want you to turn to the
book of Galatians. Am I wearing you out? Galatians
chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Look at verse 10. I'm about to
wind this up, be patient. Galatians 3 verse 10, For as
many are the works of the law under the curse, or as written,
Cursed is everyone that continueth on in all things which are written
in the book of law to do them, but that no man is justified
by the law and the sight of God, and it is evident that just shall
live by faith. The law is not of faith. Man
that doeth them shall live in them, Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. So, saving
faith looks to the Lord Jesus Christ alone who honored the
law of God for us. And the just shall live by faith. Faith has a foundation. The foundation
of faith is what we're reading right here. The object of faith
is the Lord Jesus Christ, looking unto Jesus, who's the author
and finisher of our faith. The just shall live by faith. We can read it this way. The
just shall live by Christ looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. The
just shall live by faith. How important is faith? Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. The man who's without faith is
without Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. For therein in the gospel
is the righteousness of God revealed, back to Romans 1, 17. From faith
to faith, from one degree of faith to another, saving faith
grows. As it is written, those who are
justified by Christ, they live always continuing, coming to
Him, looking to Him, believing on Him, bowing to Him, submitting
to Him, who is the Lord, our righteousness, alone, alone,
alone. Let's close with this scripture.
Turn to Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter 3, and Paul
here writes about himself as Saul of Tarsus. Philippians 3
verse 5, he said, I was circumcised the eighth day, a tribe of Benjamin,
Hebrew of Hebrew, touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal,
persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is the
law. He said, I was blameless. This is Saul speaking of the
self-righteous Pharisee. But what things were gained to
me? those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless I count
all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things and count
them but dumb, rubbish, garbage, that I may win Christ and be
found in him. Now watch it, not having my own
righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. The just shall live by faith.
It's the faith of Christ. The faith of Christ. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, not by
the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified. Galatians 2 verse 16. The point I'm making here is
the faithfulness of Christ. He worked out perfect righteousness
for us that's freely imputed unto us, received by God-given
faith.