Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Romans chapter 16 and reading
for our text verse 26. 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. And it is specifically the last
part of this verse, made known to all nations for the obedience
of faith. Our text is part of the doxology
closing this epistle It begins in verse 25, 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. The Apostle Paul was writing
this epistle to the Romans from Corinth. We read in verse 21
of this chapter that it was Timotheus, my fellow worker, or verse 23,
he says, Gaius, mine host, And so he's staying with Gaius, and
if you look then at his letter to the Corinthians, you find
that Gaius is a member of that church. And though this epistle
is mostly doctrinal, very, very methodic in going through all
of the doctrines of grace, the doctrines of the Gospel, we might
say the doctrines of the mystery that was hid from all ages. He comes to this chapter and
suddenly we have names, we have people, and we are reminded that
however much we might have doctrine set before us, it all centres
in people, how they receive it, how they understand it, how they
obey it, how they walk according to that doctrine. It relates
to men and to women, the whole household of God. And I want to look then this
evening, with the Lord's help, firstly at what has been made
known. And this is revealed to us in
verse 25, before our text, of the gospel, according to my gospel,
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. So what has been made known,
this mystery, Really, in summary, it is the
Gospel in all its parts. Then secondly, the means used
to make the Gospel known. And our text has these words,
that now is made manifest and by the Scriptures of the prophets. It is not just the Old Testament
to us, but also the New Testament, including this letter that Paul
wrote to the Romans. It is by the Scriptures. But
thirdly, the end to which the Gospel is preached or made known. And it is made known to all nations
for the obedience of faith. That is the the aim, the end
that is in view. So I want to look firstly then
at what has been made known, and it is contrasted with what
was not known. It is hard for us in this Gospel
day to put ourselves in the shoes, say, of Abraham, of Moses, or
even those that coming much nearer, those returning from Babylon,
or even those in the day when our Lord was born. And even when
he was coming up to be crucified, the light was gradually shining
brighter and brighter and clearer and clearer. And we can tell
this from how the Disciples responded on the Emmaus Road. They trusted it should have been
He that should have redeemed Israel. But how it was to be
done, the Lord then goes right back through those Old Testament
scriptures and reveals Himself. And then later, He opened their
understanding that they might understand the scriptures. And
what our Lord Jesus Christ did from his birth, his death, his
ascension, and sending his spirit, is all foretold, all prefigured,
and now that mystery, the types, the shadows, they're all done
away, and there is the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps we might say,
so summarized on that Mount of Transfiguration, When the disciples,
chosen by God to see it, they saw no man but Jesus only. First there was Elias and Moses,
the law and the prophets, but now they see Jesus only. And so in this doxology, it is
according to my gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ, He is the central,
even in this doxology, to God only wise be glory through Jesus
Christ forever. When our Lord was born, he was
given the name of Jesus, but in the pre-incarnation appearances
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, each time
when he was asked his name, Why askest thou after my name, seeing
it is secret? Appearances there were, but a
name was not given until he was born." Until he was to be born. And we can think of, perhaps
as an overview, you think how those Old Testament saints could
look how he was just confined to the Jews apart from a few
like Ruth and Rahab and others and then we look today and we
have in every nation kindred and tongue and the book that
is distributed sold more than any other book is the Bible even
if you put the bestsellers of every other book together, they
would not amount to the number of Bibles that are sent out through
the world. The things of God are being made
known. But how could the Jews, how could
those Old Testament saints picture the churches as they were established
in Acts and as they continue to this day? each with its order,
each with the ordinances of the Lord's house, each with the structure
of pastor, deacon, elder and the members of the church and
the gathering together, entrance through baptism, gathering round
the Lord's table, fellowship one with another. This is a mystery
that is opened up to us and that It belongs to this day. When our Lord was telling the
parables, the disciples asked Him, how was it that they were
to understand these things but not others? And the Lord said,
because to you it is given, to them it is not given to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of God. So even now, even when
the Gospel is clearly known and shown, there are still many aspects
to it that are mysteries. They're mysteries to us. They're
hard for us to grasp and to fathom, but we are given those teachings
and those truths in the Word of God. The Trinity itself is
a great mystery to us. God manifests in the flesh. How Solomon said, will God in
very deed dwell upon the earth? Yes, he has, in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, Jesus Christ. If you have seen me, you have
seen my Father, I and my Father are one. And all of those that
worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ, they worshipped Him as God. He
is God. And yet this is, the great is
the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh. And that is a summary that Paul,
when he writes to Timothy, He gives this summary, and the closing
verse in chapter 3 of his first epistle to Timothy, he says,
that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in
the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the
pillar and ground of the truth, and without controversy great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. And there is a definition of
this mystery, but in itself it is still a mystery, but so much
clearer. than ever was before or pointed
to before. When Paul writes to the Colossians
and he says to them in the first chapter in their Bibles, he says
that he was made a minister, in verse 25, according to the
dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil
the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. The same thing what he says to
the Romans, He is saying it is now made manifest, not to all
the world, but to his saints. Revealed to them, the secret
of godliness. It is a mark of the children
of God. When Paul writes to the Ephesians,
there's no small surprise that he's writing very similar things
in each of these letters, And to the churches, he says in his
first chapter of Ephesians, and verse 9, he says, Having made
known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that, in the dispensation
of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on
earth, even in him. And he sets forth that it is
in Christ we have attained an inheritance, predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will and so then he follows this up later in the
third chapter to the Ephesians and verse three he says now that
by revelation or how that by revelation he made known unto
me the mystery as i wrote unto you in few words whereby when
you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ,
which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as
it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit." It is the Spirit of God that reveals these things. And especially this, that the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel. This is one of the great
mysteries that it is to all of the world. And yet, for us, looking
back, we look at the promise given to Abraham, in thee and
in thy seed shall just the Jews be blessed? No, all nations be
blessed. If we know the prophecy of Isaiah,
we find references to the Gentiles again and again. And yet it seemed
to be a thing even that the apostles need to have clearly revealed
to them that the blessing was to the Gentiles. It was a mystery
and yet it is revealed and blessed be God for those of us that are
Gentiles. And so then when you come to
the Last chapter, or second to last chapter of Ephesians, we
have another illustration and type of what is opened up and
revealed in the type of marriage, where we read, for the husband
is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church, and he is the saviour of the body. And he sets forth
how the Lord loved the church, gave himself for it, that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by
the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish." And he says at the close of that
portion, this is a great mystery. but I speak concerning Christ
and the Church." Another great mystery, and yet it is revealed. The Church is the Bride. The
Lord is the Bridegroom. A great mystery, and yet that
relationship between Christ and the Church is set forth as being
opened up and revealed. And so the Gospel in all of its
parts, our Lord's relationship with His people, the fact that
they are chosen in Him, that they are found in Him, that His
Word is to dwell richly in them, the mystery of that union between
Christ and the Church. It all centres in the Lord Jesus
Christ. how we view Him, how we trust
Him. And really we may say if we took
Hebrews 11, we find all those Old Testament saints, they died
in faith with the promise of Christ, but they did not see
Him, except by faith, they did not live to see Him coming. And so he says that they without
us should not be made perfect. They look forward to Christ.
We look back to Him, but we look back in that clear light of what
has been made known. And I think sometimes it does
us good to try and put ourselves in the position of Old Testament
saints, and then think of how much, how much has been revealed
and opened up that we know now. We can easily just take it for
granted, just accept it, and yet these things have all been
made known from the time that our Lord Jesus Christ came and
especially began his ministry and especially when the Holy
Spirit was given. So what has been made known,
made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. Well, how? What is the means
used? This is our second point. The means used to make the gospel
known. Now it is through the scriptures. It's noted, of course, at this
time of writing, Scriptures are not completed, but the sufficiency
of the Old Testament in pointing to Christ and those things that
are then opened up and preached and set forth by the apostles
concerning Jesus of Nazareth, fulfilling all of those Old Testament
types and shadows, It is through these scriptures, the Jews, they
felt that our Lord came to destroy the law or to go against the
scriptures. Those that, and Paul saw the
task as he was, was present at the stoning of Stephen. And the
Jews stoned him because they felt that in him lifting up the
Lord Jesus, he was destroying all that had gone before. But
he wasn't. He was clearly setting forth
that the coming of our Lord fulfilled those scriptures. It revealed
and opened up that mystery. But still it is a mystery to
all who are not taught by the Spirit, who are not called, who
do not have eternal life, whose eyes are not opened, who cannot
see. But the Scriptures are sufficient. When Paul preached to those at
Berea, we read that he preached only on the first day of the
week, but they searched the Scriptures daily to see whether these things
were so. Therefore, many of them believed. So the apostle was preaching
from the Old Testament showing how Christ fulfilled the Old
Testament and who he was and who was set forth right through
the Scriptures. And so it is a blessed thing
for us to view the Word of God and to view it as the means that
the Lord has used to reveal to us the mysteries of God. You
think of the psalmist, open thou mine eyes, that I might behold
wondrous things out of thy law. And as we mentioned, those two
in the way to Emmaus, it was the Old Testament scriptures
concerning himself. The eunuch, the Old Testament
scriptures, Isaiah 53, setting forth the Lord Jesus Christ and
his sufferings. And of course, we then have all
these letters, the Romans, the Ephesians, Corinthians, Colossians,
and we have these mysteries opened up, opened up by our Lord in
his teaching and the parables, all of which we have a record,
the inspired word of God. And it's good for us to remember
this as well. It is emphasized, it is by the
Spirit revealing these things, but He reveals it through the
Word. There's no new revelation. The Scripture, the inspired Word
of God is closed, and the Spirit's work is to reveal and open up
what already then is written. We're not to add to it or subtract
from it, It's a blessed thing to realize that we have such
a book. You know, if we were going to
learn something about engineering or electronics, you could probably
go out into the world and get hundreds and hundreds of books
on the subject. You think, well, does this person
know a bit more than that person? And does he cover this aspect
or that aspect? But as regard the things of God,
the regarding the things concerning eternity and our souls, heaven
and hell, our eternal destiny, we only need one book. And you
say, yes, but aren't there lots of commentaries and lots and
lots of religious books? There are. But blessed be the
man that knows the word of God. And the word of God dwells richly
in us. A reminder, don't seek just to
be reading all sorts of books and trying to get a quick understanding
of the things of God. When Alan Cairns was asked, late
Alan Cairns, Q&As were on our website, and he was asked, how
should we study the word of God? And he said, well, this answer
may seem a strange answer. He said, read it. Read it. There are so many that do not
read the Word of God. Do not read it consecutively.
Do not read it thoroughly, prayerfully. They do not read it in context. They do not read it to find out
these mysteries. And really, in some ways, in
some things that are read, it brings a cloud over the Word
of God. May we esteem the words of the
Lord's mouth, more than our necessary food. Labour not for the bread
that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto eternal life. If you think about this, if you
read some man's work commenting on the word of God, and you finish
reading it, you've read man's word. But if you read one chapter
of the word of God, you've read the word of God. You've read
that which is inspired and coming from God. How much better and
more blessed is that? So the means used, may we not
neglect them. But it's not just the Word of
God, is it? Because the commission is to
us in the ministry to preach the Word. And a minister is only
effectual and only good as he does preach the word, preach
the experience of the truth, not just any old experience,
but experience of the truth as a sinner, walking out and walking
in obedience and following the gospel, obeying the gospel and
walking in it, that is what is preached and set forth. And like
the apostles, our preaching should be able to be searched after
we have finished our sermon. That which we have said should
be able to be searched through the scriptures. So I want to look thirdly at
the end to which the gospel is preached or the mystery is made
known. Our text says, made known to
all nations for the obedience of faith. Now this is by the
commandment of the everlasting God. Our Lord says, go ye into
all the world, preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. There is an end then that is
in view. If we go back to the previous
chapter, Romans 15 and verse 18, the apostle says, For I will
not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not
wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through
mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ." And there we have again, reaffirming
this mystery is the gospel of Christ and also the aim in view
to make the Gentiles and of course the Jews as well but especially
the Gentiles because as Paul says to those on Mars Hill that
the God that they ignorantly worshipped, him declared they
He unto them. And when we look at this word
here, he says, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and doctrine. Two things, word and deed. Word and deed. The Gentiles that were following
after idols, that were looking to them and serving them, They,
in word, are to testify and to know that there is none other
name given among men whereby we must be saved but in the Lord
Jesus Christ. There is only one true God, one
Saviour, one Redeemer, one way of salvation, a way with all
of these idols to the living God in whom we live and move
and have our being. And this repentance is to be
commanded throughout the world. that the Gentiles turn from such
foolishness, from such idols, from base things that can never
save, and be looking for salvation alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are to be attest to
me, Paul writes in the 10th chapter of Romans, that with the heart
man believeth, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. There's not only just what we
say, but it's what we do as well, how we actually walk, obedient
by word and by deed. We read in the Acts of the Apostles
and Chapter 6 of the priests that were a great number, a great
company of priests that were obedient to the faith. In verse 7, the word of God increased,
and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly,
and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And then we have introduced Anne
Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles
among the people. And it is the faith of Jesus
Christ. It is setting forth the Lord
Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, as the true Son of God. That's the main theme of John,
the Gospel according to John, that Jesus is the Son of God. And in his epistles, if any come
and bring not this doctrine, receive them not. into your houses,
neither bid them Godspeed." It's to be obedient as to who the
Lord Jesus Christ is. Whom say ye that I am? The Lord had asked the disciples,
what do other men say? But who knew ye say? And the
answer was that he was the Son of God. And it is vital for us
to view him as the eternal son of God. When he stood up in the
boat, he stilled the waves and the wind. They said, what manner
of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey him? So, obedience, to turn to Christ,
away from idols, to trust in him, to lean our whole Salvation
upon him, not on our works, but upon Christ alone. To be obedient
to Christ, to his precepts, his teaching on holiness, on love,
of continuing in the word that he said to the believers in John
8, if ye continue in my word, then shall ye be my disciples. Indeed, ye shall know the truth.
the truth shall make you free. And it is the gathering together
as well, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the
manner of some is. It's the gathering together,
walking according to the scriptures and behaving rightly in the church
of God that we read in Paul's epistle to Timothy, that they
know how to behave in the church of God. We think of how Paul
writes to Titus, and he gives direction there as to how he
should, and how believers should obey and how they should walk. He says, the grace, and this
is verse 11 on chapter two, Titus, for the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, that is, Jew and Gentile,
and teaching us that. And this, remember, is the aim
of our text, isn't it? Made known to all nations for
the obedience of faith. This is the obedience of faith,
teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." He charges Titus,
he says, These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority,
let no man despise thee." And no doubt, Paul had in mind this,
what he says in our text, that the aim of the mystery of godliness,
the mystery that has been here, that is now revealed, is made
known to all nations for the obedience of faith. And we may
ask ourselves here, how much has this mystery been made known
to us? How much of the Scriptures can
we say, that passage was precious, that verse was precious, that
sermon in preaching the Word of God was precious, that was
used to open my eyes, to show me the mystery, to show me things
I had not seen or known before, And then, what effect has it
had on us? Has it changed our lives? Has
it made us stop doing some things and start doing others? Has it
taught us how to live? How to speak? What words are
acceptable? What are not? Has it taught us
doctrine? Has it taught us the precepts
of practical godliness? What has been the effect of it?
If there's been repentance, repentance is turning, turning from and
turning to. The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted
to give repentance and remission of sins unto Israel. The two
are joined together. Where there's an obedience of
faith, where there's a receiving the word, and walking, or desiring
to walk in accordance with it, and asking of the Lord grace
and help to obey and to put into practice the Word of God, there's
a real evidence of being a child of God. Where the Lord has given
us a hearing ear, where He's made it known, like our Lord
said regarding His parables, to them it is not given, to you
it is given. If that meaning, if the word,
the scriptures have been opened up to us, bless God, where He's
opened our eyes, opened our ears, and that we have seen things
that this world, for the most part, don't even want to see,
and others cannot see, but to see those things that magnify
the Lord Jesus Christ. I especially want to finish with
this thought, because with the Holy Spirit, His whole work is
not to speak of Himself, but to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ,
to speak well of Him. And so, the closing of this doctology
is, to God only wise, be glory, this glory to the Father through
Jesus Christ forever. where we worship Him, where we
trust Him, where we follow Him, obey Him. This is well-pleasing
to God the Father. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well-pleased. Hear thou Him, and may we be
disciples, followers of Him. No, they said to the man that
had been born blind, that thou art his disciple, we are Moses'
disciple. Well, what a blessed thing that
he had his eyes not only literally but spiritually opened and to
be a disciple, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
the great secret. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world and brought forth and shown to the world and preached
in the Gospel, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We think of how Paul summarises
it in his letter to the Corinthians in first letter, chapter 15. He says, Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which
also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye
have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures,
and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, after that
he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the
greater part remain unto this present, as some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me
also as one born out of due time." A beautiful summary of the Gospel
and notice how many times through that it is said according to
the Scriptures. It is not something new, it is
a revelation of what was a mystery before, but was clearly set forth
through the Scriptures of truth, made known to all nations for
the obedience of faith. May the Lord then make us obedient. We think of the two ordinances
of the Lord's house, and it is for believers to obey, that they
be baptised in the name of the Lord by believers' baptism on
profession of their faith, and that they partake of the Lord's
supper, showing forth his death till he come. The Lord has bid
those of his followers and his children to follow him and obey
him in those ordinances for the obedience of faith. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.