All right, go with me if you
would now to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. As I mentioned
this morning, it is reported that the book of Romans is not
the first letter that Paul wrote to the churches. But it was placed
first in the chronological order of the New Testament. And I'm
so glad that it was. I am so glad that God put it
there. Man did not put it here. Man
did not just decide what books go into this canon of the scripture. God did this. God placed every
book where he wanted it to go. And I'm so thankful that it's
here because Acts chapter 28 and Romans chapter one go together
so beautifully. They just go together so beautifully. All of the scripture goes together. The more that we enter into the
word, the more we're going to realize it all perfectly goes
together. There was only one writer. We say Paul wrote this and Isaiah
wrote that. There was only one writer, the
Spirit of God. He wrote every single word. Everything in this book is seamless. There are no contradictions. There are none, not one. But I believe you'll see what
I mean with these two particular chapters in just a moment. All
right, let's read what will be our text for tonight. And then
I'd like for us to just look at a few facts concerning Romans
chapter one in this letter. Okay. Our text is going to be
verse seven. We're going to begin reading
in verse seven. It says to all that be in Rome, be loved up. God called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is writing to God's
particularly loved and chosen people. I feel like I'm saying
that every time we read something anymore. And every time I say
it, I think this needs to be said again. Who is he writing
to? Who is the scripture written
to? What's written to everybody?
No. No, if I write a letter to my wife, it's to my wife, it's
not to every woman in the world. And he wrote a letter to his
bride, it's to his people. And he said in verse 7, to all
that be in Rome, beloved of God, those who are called to be saints,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. All who have received the free
gift of Christ the Son, those who have peace with God through
his blood. That's who I'm writing to. He
said in verse eight, first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel
of his son. That without ceasing, I make
mention of you always in my prayers, making requests, if by any means
now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to
come unto you. For I long to see you that I
may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end you may be established. That is, that I may be comforted
together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now,
I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed
to come unto you, but was let hitherto that I might have some
fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am 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. Now let me give a few facts that
I found to be interesting. Sometimes I like to know the
background story of how things came about. It causes me to enter
into it just a little bit more. And if you'll turn with me to
Romans 16, Romans chapter 16, the last chapter in the book, there is a footnote after verse
27. And it says that it was written
to the Romans from Corinth. Paul was in Corinth when he wrote
it. And it was sent by a young lady
named Phoebe. And Paul said she was a servant. There's that humility again. That's what everybody knew her
to be. And that's what she considered herself to be a servant of God,
a servant of Christ, a servant of his church at Sincrea. She was going to be traveling
from Corinth to Rome. And Paul asked her, would you
mind bringing a letter to the brethren there for me? And she
was happy to do it. So he wrote a commendation for
her so that they would know who she was and they would know that
she was bringing a letter from Paul. In chapter 16, verse 1,
he said, I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant
of the church which is at Synchria, that you receive her in the Lord
as becometh saints, and that you assist her in whatsoever
business she hath need of you, for she hath been a succorer
of many, and of myself also. I only show you that to say,
I thank God for Phoebe. I truly do. I thank God for Phoebe. We don't realize how every little
detail in our lives is for the furtherance of the ministry of
the gospel. Every little detail. I'm sure she was already going
to Rome anyway. And she didn't think a thing
in the world about it. But how that little service right
there, all she did was hand a letter off. How that little service
right there has blessed the church of God and furthered the message
of the gospel. I'd just like to say, I thank
God for Phoebe. I'm very fond of Phoebe. This Phoebe and that one too. Been thinking about her for a
while. I am. I'm thankful for the Lord's people.
I thank God for the Lord's people. I thank God for what He has called
them to do and the service of Christ. Oh, I pray God would
make us servants of Jesus Christ. I do. Go with me back to chapter
one. Paul was a Jew. But he was an
apostle that God sent specifically to the Gentiles. And that ought to be glorious
news to us because that's what we are. Gentiles are everybody
who is not a Jew. That's who Gentiles are. Gentiles
are outcasts. Gentiles are heathens. You know,
we here in America, well, a lot of people, the mindset of America
is we're God's people. We're Gentiles. Gentiles are
heathens. Gentiles are outcasts. Gentiles
are strangers from the covenants of promise. Gentiles by nature
have no hope and are without God in the world. But the gospel
of God is Christ in His goodness and in His mercy and in His grace
has come for the Gentiles too. That's what Paul is saying right
here. His salvation has been extended to the uttermost parts
of the earth. And now in Christ Jesus, you
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Jesus
Christ. For He is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in
Himself of twain one new man, so making peace. And that he
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having
slain the enmity. What that means is all of us
Gentiles had our fist in his face like that. And he put a
stop to that. And now we, oh, we say, thank
you, Lord. He reconciled both unto God in
one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and
He came and preached peace to you that were afar off and to
them that were nigh, both Jews and Gentiles. For through Him
we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore,
you are no more strangers, and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the household of God." What glorious news that
is for Gentile sinners like us. I just read Ephesians 2. That
is glorious news for Gentile sinners like us. And that's who
Paul was writing to in Rome, both Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles were being included
in God's declaration. He came crying, this good news
is to you too. It includes you also. Verse 16,
Romans 1 verse 16, he said, for I'm 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. He said, I have wonderful news
for heathens. And I can't wait to tell it to
you. I just can't wait to tell it to you. I cannot wait to come
there and meet you and preach this gospel to you. Now according to the commentary
writers, it appears that Paul had never been to and had never
met the church at Rome. never been to that congregation,
and he'd never met them before. He had only heard of their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse seven says, to all that
be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your
faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my
witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son,
that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
making request if by any means now at length I might have a
prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For
I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual
gift to the end you may be established, That is, that I may be comforted
together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. Now,
I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed
to come unto you, but was let hitherto, I was hindered. But
he said, I purpose to come unto you that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles. He said, I would
love to come and have some fellowship with you like I have with other
Gentiles in other locations. Verse 14, I'm 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'm ready
to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. So what he
told him was, I've heard of your faith in Christ, that news has
gotten out that you truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You've cast your all on Christ.
And he said, I'm praying for you. And I would love to come
and meet you and be with you and, and fellowship around the
gospel with you. We have the same experience.
We have the exact same experience. There are churches that we have
heard of right now that either at times there have been groups
of people who have not had pastors and word will pop up and men
start going to them. I remember the first time I heard
about Kingsport. I was so excited. There's a group meeting in Kingsport. or places that do have pastors
that we've just never been to yet. But it's commonly reported
that they love and they declare and they confess this one true
gospel of God. Only found in the person and
the work and the blood of Christ, they confess Christ alone. And we've never met him yet,
we've only heard of him. But we love them, we think about
them, we pray for them. And it's all because of, verse
12 said, the mutual faith that has been given to us in Christ. Paul told them, I've been trying
to get to you, but I've been providentially hindered. I've
been trying to make my way to you, but providentially I haven't
been able to. He said, if God had not provided
the barbarians for me and the Greeks for me, I wouldn't have
even been able to send a letter to you. Let me show you what
he means by that in Acts 28. Look back at Acts chapter 28.
In Acts 27, Paul was on a ship that went
down. He was shipwrecked. The ship struck land and the waves beat
the ship to pieces. And actually if you look at Acts
27 verse 44, it says, the rest, some on boards and some on broken
pieces of the ship, and so it came to pass that they escaped
all safe to land. And then in Acts chapter 28 verse
1 says, when they were escaped, then they knew that the island
was called Melita or Malta. And the barbarous people showed
us no little kindness. That means they showed us a lot
of kindness. It wasn't a little bit of kindness,
it was a lot. For they kindled a fire and received us, every
one, because of the present rain and because of the cold, And
when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the
fire, there came a viper out of the heat and fastened on his
hand. And when the barbarian saw the
venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, no
doubt this man is a murderer. And he was a murderer. They pegged
him right. Paul had murdered men. But his
sins were covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. And that was his message of good
news that he was running to tell everybody about. How great things
the Lord had done for him in spite of what he was. Verse 4,
When the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they
said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer. whom
though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to
live. and he shook off the beast into
the fire and felt no harm, howbeit they looked when he should have
swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but after they had looked a great
while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds
and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions
of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius, who received
us and lodged us three days courteously, And it came to pass that the
father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux,
to whom Paul entered in and prayed and laid his hands on him and
healed him. So when this was done, others
also which had diseases in the island came and were healed.
who also honored us with many honors, and when we departed,
they laded us with such things as were necessary. And after
three months, we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had
wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. So Paul, after that, continued
on his way. He was in a ship and the ship
went down and the barbarians showed kindness to them and fed
them and all those things and sent them on their way and Paul
was headed toward Rome. God had told him he was going
to go to Rome. And if you look, hold your place
right here in Acts 28 and look at Acts 19. Acts 19 verse 21, it says, After
these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when
he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem,
saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. He had
a desire to go there. But he kept getting thrown in
prison. for preaching the gospel. He preached the truth of His
Word, and people didn't like it, and they kept throwing him
in prison. Alright, now look at Acts 23. Acts chapter 23,
verse 10 says, And when there arose a great
dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have
been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go
down and to take him by force from among them and to bring
him into the castle. He was about to be ripped apart
for preaching the gospel. And they said, rescue him, go
get him and put him in prison. Verse 11, and the night following,
the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul. For as thou hast testified of
me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. Be of good cheer, you are going
to preach me to the people of Rome. Now he told them in that
letter, I long to preach the gospel to you. I can't wait,
I'm ready, I'm trying to get to you. And the Lord told him, you're
going to do it. You're gonna get there and you are going to
preach to them in Rome. And the Lord did finally cause
that to come to pass. If you'll go back to Acts 28, it says in verse 12, and landing at Syracuse, we tarried
there three days, and from thence we fetched a compass and came
to Regium. And after one day, the south
wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli, where we found
brethren, and we desired to tarry with them seven days, and so
we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren
heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appiaphorum, and
the three taverns, whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and
took courage." He'd been trying to get to them, and here he's
coming into Rome, and some of the brethren came and met him.
And as soon as he saw them, he'd heard of them and been trying
to get to them. He was so encouraged. This poor man kept getting shipwrecked
and shipwrecked and beaten and thrown in prison. And the Lord
did what He told him He'd do. And verse 16 says, When we came
to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain
of the guard, but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier
that kept him. And it came to pass that after
three days, Paul called the chief of the Jews together. According
to the commandment of the Lord, he went to the Jews first and
then to the Greeks. So he called the chief of the
Jews together, And when they were come together, he said unto
them, men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against
the people or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered
prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who
when they had examined me would have let me go because there
was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against
it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar, not that I had ought
to accuse my nation, For this cause, therefore, I have called
for you to see you and to speak with you, because that for the
hope of Israel, I'm bound with this chain. And they said unto
him, we neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee,
neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm
of thee, but we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest, for
as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken
against. We've heard that what you're
preaching is not being received. And we'd like to hear about it.
Verse 23, and when they had appointed him a day, there came many to
him into his lodging to whom he expounded and testified the
kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of
the law of Moses and out of the prophets from morning till evening,
and some believed. and the things which were spoken,
and some believed not. And when they agreed not among
themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word.
Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our father,
saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing you shall hear,
and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and not
perceive. For the heart of this people
is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their
eyes have they closed. lest they should see with their
eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts
and should be converted and I should heal them. Be it known therefore
unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles
and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words,
the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves. And
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence,
no man forbidding him. Religion rejected this wonderful
news. Thank God, not all of them. Not
all of them. Some of the Jews believed, but
Paul told all who rejected it, he said, I know who will gladly
receive this. I know who will love this. I
know who God is sending this to. All of those outcast, heathen
sinners, they're gonna love this. For two whole years, God graciously,
providentially kept him in prison there so he could preach to Rome. He preached in his own hired
house, and he preached this good news to every soul that came
to him. Every single soul. He did it
with absolute confidence. He preached the kingdom of God,
the sovereign high and holy God who does what he will with whom
he will. And his sovereign salvation in
his son. everything that he's done for
sinners through his son. He taught those things which
concern the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw in Romans 1 this morning,
he was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, declared
to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness
by the resurrection from the dead. And thanks be to God for
giving us this letter. I was thinking about the fact
that I'm so thankful he was so hindered Because we would not
have had this letter. Had he just gone to them, we
would have never had this letter. But through God's providence,
he gave this letter to Rome. And by his grace, we say the
same thing he said in verse 16. I'm 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. Thank God this gospel is to us,
you and me. All right, let's all stand together.