If you take your Bibles and turn
with me to Romans. Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, and tonight
we'll be looking at verse 14 through verse 16. The title of the message is,
The Preacher's Debt and God's Power. The Preacher's Debt and
God's power. In this chapter, the first chapter
of Romans, the Apostle Paul first has established his authority
for this epistle, and he has established the premise of this
epistle. He says that he is the servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the
gospel of God. This is the Introduction of the
Apostle Paul in this epistle to the church at Rome. He establishes
his authority and his mission. So as we go through this book
of Romans, we have no doubt as to what the purpose of this book
is. The purpose of this book is to
preach the gospel that is of God. It is God's gospel. And second of all, he declares
that salvation Salvation is by the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 3, concerning His Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. He declares that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God according to the Scriptures. This is not a
whim. This is not something that He
has made up. This is something that is established. It is firm and settled before
by the Holy Scriptures. He addresses this church of Rome,
and He gives them His salutation of grace and peace in verse 7,
and then His prayer that He might come to them. He says this in
verse 11, He says, For I long to see you. I long to see you. The Apostle had a great love
and affection for these believers at Rome, and it was his desire
His purpose, that He had purposed in His heart to see these believers
at Rome. Now, we know that this didn't
happen the way that Paul wanted it to. He said that God would
give me a prosperous journey. Well, He did give him a journey,
and it was prosperous, but I'm sure it's not exactly how the
apostle pictured it to be. He went through many difficulties
and trials, and he came to Rome not As a free man, he came as
a bound servant, a slave. He came in chains for the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Now, being a servant of Jesus
Christ, Paul was not able to come because the gospel must
have been furthered in other places. If you see this in verse
13, he says, Now, I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
that I oftentimes purpose to come unto you, but was hindered,
let hitherto." He was hindered by the Holy Spirit because God
had other places for the apostle to visit. There were other places
where God had his sheep and his churches must have been established. I think of the Lord Jesus Christ
when the Scripture says he must needs go through Samaria. Why? Because there was a woman
there at that well that he was to meet at the appointed time.
And this woman, she was to go back to that village in Samaria. And those men were to come and
to believe on him. He had known this. He must needs
go through Samaria. So Paul was hindered because
of the Gospel. He was a preacher of the gospel
and he must have fruit as he was led by the Holy Spirit. Now,
we come to our text here in verse 14. Paul being led hitherto so
that he would have fruit among other Gentiles, he says this.
He says, I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians,
both to the wise and to the unwise. preachers of the gospel are debtors. And this word debtors, it means
servants. It means that we are called men
of God and sent into the world to preach the gospel to every
creature. We have a duty to preach the
gospel to all men. The Apostle Paul pronounces his
obligation when he says that he is a debtor. He didn't owe
these men money. He didn't owe these men anything
as far as this world was concerned. But he was a debtor because he
was made one by Jesus Christ. He was called to preach the gospel. He was called to preach the gospel. And he said, I am a debtor. I'm
obligated. to both Greeks and barbarians,
wise and unwise. And so then, all who are called
to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ are called of God to be
servants in this matter of preaching. When the Apostle Paul uses the
word servant, it's usually the word galley slave. It's the person
at the very bottom of the boat, rowing the boat. It is the most
menial labor in the vessel. Preachers are under rowers. We are servants and we are indebted
by God to preach the gospel to all that God gives us to preach
to. Go over to 1 Corinthians chapter
9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and look
at verse 16. Paul said, for though I preach
the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me,
yea, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. The Apostle Paul
says that I am not here for the glory of men. I am not here. to be paid of men or to be respected
of men. I'm not here for the money of
men. Paul says that necessity is laid on me. We preach the
gospel because we are sent of God. We preach the gospel because
we are sent of God. We are sent of God for His church. Ephesians chapter 4 tells us
that God Christ, being led captivity captive, He gave gifts unto men.
He gave some apostles, some evangelists, some pastor teachers. And this is for the edification
of the church. This is for the growth of the
church, the unity of the church. Pastors are given to the church
for the specific purpose of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is the gospel of Christ
that binds our hearts together. We are called to edify one another. You have no idea how much you
edify me just seeing you. Just seeing you edifies me. Provokes
me, the scripture says, to love. It provokes me to love when I
see you. It provokes me to good works. And by God's grace, I hope that
the faithfulness, if God gives me faithfulness to preach the
gospel to you, I hope it provokes you to love and the good works
as it should. This is what we are here for,
to edify, to build up, So that you are not tossed to and fro
by every wind of doctrine that comes down the pike. I got a magazine again this month
that I threw in the trash again this month. I'm not tossed by that stuff.
That doesn't even affect me. It affects me so little that
it just goes from right there at the door to right in there
in the trash. It's garbage. I know it is. We're here to preach one message. And this one message does all
this. This one message saves sinners.
This one message edifies the church. This one message, the
message of Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior. Paul said, Woe is me if I preach
not the gospel. He didn't say, Woe is me if I
preach not. He said, woe is me if I preach
not the gospel. Now, there are many, there are
many men under this woe of God's justice who call themselves preachers. There are many under this woe.
There are many who study and take great care. There are many
men who prepare long for their messages. They take great care
in their preparation. They have large followings. They
preach a message using good and wholesome instruction. There's
a lot of preachers who use good and wholesome instruction. Gil,
you should be faithful to your wife. That's good instruction.
Now, who disagrees with that? Who disagrees with that? Nobody
disagrees with that. There's nothing wrong with that. They preach moral obligation,
moral duties. Religious rites and ceremonies
and practices that make men feel holy. But God pronounces a woe on such
men because they preach not the gospel. You can preach good things
without preaching the gospel. God calls preachers. to be debtors,
servants of men, not because we owe you, but because we owe
Him. Because we are servants and ambassadors
of Jesus Christ. We are not obliged to take liberty
with this message. This is the message. Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. This is the message. There are
sinners. This is the message for believers. It is the same
message that edifies, that calls us, that saves us. It is the
same message that we are indebted to preach to everyone who hears. Whether you're educated or not,
whether you're wise or you're foolish, it is still the same
message we preach. We don't change the message to
fit the people. I went up to Todd Nybert's church
in Lexington last Saturday, and as I was driving by, I saw a
church. And they had a divorce group. They were going to preach to
divorced people. Another group had a singles ministry. They
were going to preach to single people. Another group, they had
another group, they were going to preach to this group and to
that group and to this group. No, I don't preach to certain
individual groups. I cast the message at a venture. I preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ and God directs where it lands. It's not my business. My business is to declare the
gospel to all men. We must preach Jesus Christ and
Him crucified to all sorts of men. All sorts of men. Paul said we must preach to the
Greeks. He said, I'm a debtor to the Greeks. What does that
mean? Most of us are not Greeks. You're
not a Greek. I don't know what I am, really.
You ask me, I'm a mutt. I probably have all kinds of
background lineages. He means learned man. To preach
to the learned man. He said, I'm a debtor to preach
to the educated. to those who are knowledgeable
in philosophy and education. But I'm also indebted to the
barbarians, to those who are superstitious, to those who are
unlearned, to those who don't understand things that are common
to people who have been in church all their life. I must be able
to preach to all men. You see, I'm indebted to preach
to all men because there's no difference. It does not matter if you are
educated or you are uneducated. Because both the educated and
the uneducated have the same need. Life. My wife and my son need the same
message, my daughter Your son, you, need the same message. It is the message of Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. This is the message of life.
This is the message that they need to hear. This is the message
I need to hear. There's no difference between
the educated and the uneducated. All men are sinners. And all
men, if they are to be saved, they must be saved by the preaching,
through the preaching of the gospel. Paul said, necessity
is laid upon me. You remember when Jeremiah said,
I quit? And it said his bones burned within him. He couldn't
forbear. He had to preach. He must preach. Both the educated and uneducated,
they are dead. Both need to be given life by
the same sovereign, holy spirit. Believer in Christ, you have
been believers for a long time. You need the same sovereign spirit
as the youngest babe in Christ needs the sovereign spirit of
God. I need the Spirit of God just as much as the dead sinner
needs the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit of God, we
cannot understand these things. We cannot enter into the glories
of heaven. The Scripture says, as the wind
bloweth, you don't know where it's coming from. You don't know
where the wind's going. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is like the
wind. He comes where He wills. He blows into the hearts of men
as He wills. He saves whom He wills. And He
goes, and you don't know where He's going next. The Spirit of God. It was not
for Paul to determine who was lost, who was God's elect and
who weren't, and neither is it for me to determine such things.
I'm not here pointing out God's elect and who's not. I've done that before, and I've
been wrong. I've seen men on fire as though
they were like Elijah. I envied them. And yet, where
are they now? They're gone. They had no faith. Their faith was a sham. So I'm
not here for pointing out God's elect people. I remember one
man approached Spurgeon and asked him, he said, Sir, if God has
already chosen His people, then why do you preach? He said, Sir,
if you would kindly go and point out the elect, I will preach
to them. I don't know who they are. It's not for us to know. And
neither is it in the power of the preacher nor in the power
of the hearer to be saved. Now, is that not something? It's
not in the power of me. It's not in the unction of my
voice. I have passion for these things. I have zeal for these
things. But it doesn't matter if I speak like this or if I
speak in a small, still voice. It doesn't matter. That's not
power. There is no power in my voice. There is no power in your will. The power belongs to God. The power to save belongs to
God. The Scriptures tell us in John
chapter 1, In verse 12 it says, "...but
as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the
sons of God, even them that believe on His name, which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God." I will for you to be saved, but my will
doesn't matter. You may will to be saved, but
your will has no power. God must give it. God must give
life. He must save. Salvation rests
solely in the will of God. Paul says in Romans 9, he saith
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,
he said, here is the conclusion of this. It is not of him that
willeth, nor him that runneth. but God that showeth mercy. Friends, if that don't make you
feel helpless, I don't know what will. But that's exactly how we are
helpless. Without God, we can do nothing. Nothing. We preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ because we are sent for this purpose to testify that
it is only by the grace of God sinners come to faith in Christ. We testify of this. We preach with hearts of necessity
to preach the gospel in love and we desire that everyone be
saved. I desire that every one of you
be saved. My heart's desire every time
I preach is that God by His gracious hand would reach down and give
life to everyone. I preach as a dying man to dying
men. I'm just a man. But I'm a man with a message.
A man with the only message that can save your soul. It is the
message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We preach, and we
preach, to everyone. And the Apostle Paul says that
he is a debtor to preach, but not only is he a debtor, but
he is ready to preach. Look at this in verse 15. So
as much as in me is, as much as ability as I have, as much
as God has given me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you. Ready. If we are called to preach
the gospel, We must be ready to preach. This takes preparation. It takes
thought, prayer, and study. But in all my preparation, in
all my prayer, in all my study, My goal is to preach to you with
as plainness of speech as I possibly can. I want the message that I preach
to you to be so simple that everyone can understand. So there's no
mistaking what I have to say. If we preach to theologians and
to pagans, to the academic and the child, how should we do that? With great plainness of speech. We preach the gospel message
not using the wisdom of this world. Paul says, but plainness
of speech with simplicity of speech, the power of the Spirit
is demonstrated. If I use Great swelling words
that nobody can understand. That only gives me glory. I don't want it. It's not mine
to have. If I preach with such simplicity
that you say, well, what do we need him for? Then I've done
my job. Then I've done it right. Well,
I knew that. Well, I'm not going to tell you
anything you don't know. I preach to you Christ. I preach
with simplicity. And the power of the Spirit then
is demonstrated. My wife keeps telling me the
best messages that I preach are when the ones that I'm out of
the way. I don't want to be in the way.
When you leave here, I don't want you to remember me. I want
you to remember Him. Somebody broke my heart today.
I gave a man a message He said, I like the way you talk about
yourself, about your faults. You mean my wickedness, my sinfulness? I don't want men to remember
that. I want them to remember my Savior. That's what I want
them to remember. I want you to remember Christ,
because that's the only message I have. It's the only message
you need. And it should be plain. The Lord
Jesus Christ spoke plainly, didn't He? Think of the prodigal son. Very simple story. You think
about the woman that lost the coin and found it. You can understand
that. This Good Samaritan. You can
understand that. It's a plain speech. And yet
they're so profound. I've got hundreds of books on
those things. They're so profound they can
cover the greatest minds of theology. And yet a little child can understand.
That's how we're to preach with simplicity. This is how we're
to prepare the message that Jesus Christ is the sum, the substance,
the object of our message. One preacher said this, if I
can preach and the 12 year old can understand it, then I got
the greatest of the minds. I got the greatest theologians
can understand. This gospel message we preach.
We must be ready to preach with such plainness and this gospel
message we preach. It is the power of God. Look
at verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. For it is the power of God and
the salvation to everyone that believeth. The gospel we are
called to preach is the power of God. And I'm not ashamed of
it. I am not ashamed to preach the
same thing to you over and over and over And over again, because
that is the power of God unto salvation. No preacher who is called of
God is ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I am not ashamed to
tell you that all men are spiritually dead from birth. I'm not ashamed
to say that. You start talking about someone's
little baby. And you're going to start stepping
on mama's toes. It's just so. I'm not ashamed
of it. My son is born dead. My daughter
is born dead. Because I was born dead and so
were you. We were born of the same father, Adam. We were all
represented by him. We were all spiritually dead.
There's nothing good in men. I'm not ashamed to say that.
The Scripture tells me that. There's none righteous, no, not
one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They all together become unprofitable. There's none that
doeth good, no, not one. I'm not ashamed to say that to
any man. I'm not ashamed of it. That's to declare the gospel.
The gospel says that no man can come unto me except the Father
which hath sent me drawing. I'm not ashamed to say that.
What do you mean I can't come to God? What he said. I'm not
ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed to tell you that. No man can come unless by the
sovereign grace of God draw him. I'm not ashamed of the sovereign
election of God that's under salvation. I remember a phone
call I received And a man just asked me, he said, well, I just,
he was being smart. He's being facetious. He wasn't
really meaning he was going to believe. He said, I'll believe
election if you just show me where it says it's to salvation,
I'll believe it. Well, 2 Thessalonians chapter
2, verse 13, we are bound always to give thanks to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has chosen you from
the beginning to salvation. He hung up. I'm not ashamed of that. I'm
not ashamed of the election of God, I declare to you that God
is from eternity chosen some of Adam's fallen race. And he
chose them, elected them by free and sovereign grace without any
goodness or work in the one that was chosen. For Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. I'm not ashamed of that gospel.
I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ
and him crucified. I preach to you that salvation
from the wrath of God, forgiveness of sins, peace and reconciliation
with God is all been accomplished. Accomplished by Jesus Christ. Not salvation made possible. I do not preach salvation made
possible. I preach salvation finished. Salvation accomplished by the
work and person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus, giving up His last
breath, He said, it is almost done. It's almost done. I'm just waiting
on men to do the rest. No, it's finished, friends, it's
done. Salvation's been accomplished.
The elect have already been redeemed. They've already been redeemed. They were chosen of the Father,
given to the Son, and He, in Him, they were accepted before
the world began in Christ. I was accepted, not because I
was great, not because I deserved it, but because God would. God
would. I preach that Jesus Christ is
the surety, the guarantee, and not one of those that he represented
will ever be lost. Jesus became a man like Adam. Adam was a representative man. He represented all of us. And
when he died, we all died in him. Christ, too, is a representative
man, and all that the Father chose and gave to him, the Son
has secured by his death and by his righteousness. This is
the gospel. This is the gospel. Jesus Christ. has by His obedience obtained
righteousness. Why will men continue to try
to be righteous and please God by their works? Why will men
try to continue to be saved by what they do? Why would you continue
to do that when Christ has already finished it? He has already done
the work. Righteousness accomplished. He's finished it. Jesus Christ
obeyed the law to the fullest degree, and we've not obeyed
one, not one law. Not any time in our life have
we done anything righteous. But Jesus Christ, he said, I
came into the world not to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. And he has. Why men continue to offer up
sacrifices for sin that God doesn't want, I don't know. Why do men
offer lint? You know, God doesn't ask you
to do that. God doesn't ask you to give up
meat on Friday. One day of the year or something
like that, they've got to give up something. God doesn't want
that! He doesn't ask for it. Find it!
I don't know where you're getting that! God doesn't want that!
What does justice demand? It demands death. That's what
God wants. If you're a sinner and you want
to pay for your own sin, death is what God wants from you. Eternal
death. I can't pay it. Praise God, Jesus Christ has
already paid it in my stead. This is the gospel. This is the
message. Justice demanded death, and Jesus
Christ, my Lord, as my substitute, bore my sins in his own body
on the tree and died for me. Isaiah 53 says, The Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all. The scripture says, He shall
see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. I'm not ashamed
of that gospel. I'm not ashamed to preach the
gospel of Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead. I'm not
ashamed of that. I'm not ashamed to tell you that
all things move after the counsel of his will. I'm glad you came, but I know
this, we all are here because of his will. I'm so thankful
for that. And I'm not ashamed of the Holy
Spirit either. Every gospel message that is
preached must be applied by the Spirit of God. It must be. It must be. It is by the sovereign power
and work of the Holy Spirit that sinners are given life and faith
and repentance. What is repentance? Repentance is not turning from
one sin or the other. Which one of us has ever repented
of one sin? Anybody successful? Anybody turn
from one sin never to go back? No. Repentance is turning from
yourself. That's what repentance is. Turning
from our faults, from our ways, from our doings. Turning to God. Turning to Christ, that's repentance. Let the wicked forsake his ways
and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him repent, turn unto
the Lord and he will abundantly pardon. That's repentance. Repentance from all of our wrong
thoughts. and faith to believe on Christ.
The Spirit must give us faith. Faith is the evidence. Have you
been saved by the power of the Holy Spirit? Well, how do we
know? Do you believe on the Son of
God? Because that's the evidence. This is the evidence that something's
happened to us. This is the evidence that we've
been saved. And I'm not ashamed to say that
all who are quickened by the Holy Spirit and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ will continue to believe until he calls us home to be
with him. The preaching of the gospel,
it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. There is no other means of salvation.
Very carefully listen. This is the means that God is
pleased to use. There are no other means by which
sinners are saved. I remember J.D. telling me how
he thought I was arrogant when I said that. No, not arrogant. Just the truth. Go to Romans
10. Romans 10, verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's good. I like that verse. Don't stop. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved, how then shall they call on him
whom they have not believed? Well, that just makes sense,
doesn't it? And how shall they believe on him in whom they have
not heard? Well, that makes sense. And how
shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report,
so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Listen to me very carefully.
No man is saved under a false preacher. even because he preaches a false
Christ. How can you believe on him that
they're not preaching? Anyone who has believed on Christ
of freewill works religion has not believed on the only Lord
Jesus They are preaching a different
Christ, a different gospel. And the Apostle Paul says, if
any man or angel preaches unto you any other gospel than that
which I have preached unto you, let them go to hell. The Lord Jesus tells us they
will persecute us for this. In John 15, he said that they
will hate you and persecute you, listen to this, for my name's
sake. They were killing believers in
the name of Jesus Christ. Have they not been doing that
for centuries? Yeah, and this world will hate
you when you say it. You make that distinction as
Christ makes the distinction as the gospel itself is declared
that Christ has accomplished salvation. I know of no Christ
who made salvation possible. I don't know who that is. Different
Christ. My Lord Jesus finished salvation. He's done it all. Christ is all. Have you believed on the only
begotten Son of God? You don't believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ is not a request. It's a command. It's a command. And praise God,
He's given me life and faith to believe it. I've heard it. I believe it. I'm not ashamed
of it. It's the power of God and salvation,
and I'm a debtor to everyone that I come in contact with to
preach the gospel, not just by my mouth, by my life. May God be gracious and bless
us with this. This stand will be dismissed
in prayer.