Alright, Romans chapter 1. And we'll read our text again,
it's verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. For it is the power of God unto
salvation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and
also to the Greek. By the Lord God's work and goodness
to me. I'm not ashamed to believe and
tell people that salvation is by free and sovereign grace. That God will be gracious to
whom He will be gracious, and He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardeneth. By the Lord God's work in goodness
to me, I'm not ashamed to believe and tell people that mercy to
a guilty sinner can only come through the blood of Jesus Christ.
That's it. No other way. There's no other
fount I know. By the Lord God's work in me
and His goodness to me, I'm not ashamed to believe and tell people
that the only reason I am what I am is because of the Lord Jesus
Christ choosing to be my substitute. That's the only reason. That's
it. By God's grace to me, I'm not
ashamed of that. Even though I know that every
person who has not received the Lord's free and sovereign grace. Every person whom the Lord has
not shed his blood for every person who does not have the
Lord Jesus Christ for their substitute will think I'm crazy. They'll think I'm crazy. They will not want to hear what
I have to say. And they will actually hate the
gospel I preach. We're waiting for some response
on the radio. I'm quite confident it'll be
negative. Negative response. I hope it's
positive. I really do. I would love for
the Lord to use that and call out a sheep and break a heart
and get a wonderful response. By God's mercy and grace to me,
I'm not ashamed to believe and tell people that saving faith
comes only through hearing the preaching of this gospel. That's the only way saving faith
comes. Even though they'll think that's
foolishness, foolishness. Turn with me over to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, look at verse
18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For
after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not
God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require
a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called. Both Jews and Greeks, Christ
is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The Lord said, Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall
be damned. Now, I have nothing to glory
in. Nothing to glory in. I have nothing
to be proud of, because if it were not for God working in me,
causing me to believe and causing me to preach, I would be ashamed. I would be ashamed. I'd be ashamed
to bear the reproach of this gospel. I'd be ashamed to bear
the reproach of this gospel. Their gospel does not come with
reproach. Their gospel is widely received.
Their gospel is universally loved. And if it were not for God, I
would not preach this gospel. I'd be ashamed to bear the reproach. If the Lord Jesus Christ were
not, as David said in Psalm 27, the strength of my life, I would
be ashamed. I know I would. I know me. I
might believe it in private, but I would never preach it in
public. Never. If the love of Christ did not
constrain me, I would cover the offense of the cross with soft
words and with intellectual words, just trying to please men. That's
exactly what I would do. If the Lord Jesus Christ did
not stop me in my error and teach me and call me to preach this
gospel and put in me His message, I would try to add my own works
to His grace. That's what I would do. By God's mercy to me, I'm not
ashamed to say I'm nothing. I'm nothing. I'm not ashamed
to tell you that in me dwelleth no good thing. Nothing. I'm not ashamed to admit that
I can of myself do nothing, and the Lord Jesus Christ is everything. He's everything. Now, our text,
Romans 1 verse 15 says, So as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel. I'm ready to preach the gospel. As much as in me is, as much
as the Lord has done for me and in me and to me, I'm ready to
preach the gospel. Why? Look at verse 7. For therein
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is
written, the just shall live by faith. The righteousness of
God is revealed in the preaching of this gospel. Why? Look at verse 18. For the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Why am I ready? Verse 19 says, Because that which
may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed
it unto them through the preaching of this gospel. That's how it's
made manifest. That's how we learn. That's how
we know. Now, what is the gospel? What is the gospel? I'm ready
to preach it. Here's the question. What is
the gospel? Y'all preach the gospel down
there? Yep. Well, what is the gospel? Verse 16 says, it's the gospel
of Christ. It's the good news about Christ. All right, what is the good news?
He was crucified. He was crucified. That is wonderful
news. Here's what the Word of God says
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, now just listen to this. John 1 says, He was in the beginning. He was before all things. He
was with His Father. And He was with His Spirit, the
three of them. And they needed nothing, and
they needed no one. Self-sufficient, totally content. And the Lord Jesus Christ, this
Man, this God-Man, created every single thing that there is. All
the stars, all the planets, all the galaxies, Can you imagine
what that must have looked like? I love to get on the Weather
Channel and look at close-up photographs of stars and galaxies. Hannah thinks that's the most
boring thing she's ever seen. But I think it's amazing. I think
it's beautiful. And I just would have loved to
have seen the Lord create those. The Lord Jesus Christ And God
the Father and God the Spirit said this, let us make man. We've made everything else, let
us make man. So Jesus Christ with his own
two hands, Genesis 2.7 says, formed man of the dust of the
ground. and he breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Then the Lord Jesus Christ, the
greatest physician ever, performed surgery on that man. He cut him
open, he took out a rib, he closed him up, And He made him a companion,
a woman, bone of His bone. And He provided for them, and
He cared for them, and He left His home in glory and came to
this earth and walked with them, and talked with them, and loved
them, and they both sinned against Him. And as they multiplied, the more
they multiplied, sin multiplied. Rebellion multiplied. And now
there's none that doeth good, no, not one. And any person who
thinks they are good or they do good is lying to themselves
and they're lying on the God that created them. But God, the Father, the Son
and the Spirit. Those three who are by nature
rich in mercy. That's who they are. That's what
they're like. They delight to show mercy. They
are good. even while man and woman hated
them, and spit in their face, and became openly vile and filthy
in front of them. The goodness and love of God
said, They all must die, but I will die for some of them. And God the Son said, I will
shed my blood in their place. And God the Spirit said, I will
take that blood and apply it to their account. And God the
Father said, I will adopt all of the ones whom you apply that
blood to, to be my very own children in my very own family. And right
there, the three of them signed a covenant. Made a promise between
the three of them. Had nothing to do with man and
woman. So the Almighty Creator, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humbled Himself and was
born of a virgin. He walked a life of perfection
as a man for 33 years. Then He fulfilled His promise and He laid down His life for
every sinner in that covenant that He made with His Father
and with His Spirit. He took all their sin with Him
to the grave and paid in full the debt of
every offense committed against Him. And when He was finished,
He rose from the ground, He rose from the dust, and He ascended
right back to His throne on high. And He said, Father, they're
sanctified. And the Father said, Son, they're
justified. And the Spirit said, Now it's
time they become notified. Now, let me ask you this question.
Do you believe that declaration? Do you believe the good news
of Christ? If you do, that's the power of
God. That's the power of God. I want to show you why. Go to
2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4, look at verse
3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,
in whom the God of this world, that's Satan, hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not. Lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Man and woman by nature is held
captive to Satan. He has blinded their minds. They cannot see, they cannot
know, they cannot hear. And it takes the power of God
to open an eye, open an ear, and cause a sinner to believe.
It's the power of God. The preaching of the gospel is
what gives life to dead sinners. Preach the gospel. All who believe
and are baptized shall be saved. The preaching of the gospel is
what opens the eyes and the ears. It's what reveals to us who Jesus
Christ is and what He did. The gospel of Christ. It is the
power of God unto salvation. That is the Word of our text.
That's the Word of God. The preaching of the Gospel of
Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. It is the means God uses to accomplish
salvation, to reveal salvation. Let me say it that way. Our text says in Romans 1, I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believe believeth believes. What must I do to be saved? Believe. On the name of the Lord,
believe the gospel of Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now,
we just said it's the power of God. God must cause us to. But look at this. This is enjoyable.
This is very enjoyable. Do you want to see the work and
the power of God in us? Here's four stages of belief.
Turn to John chapter 11. John 11, look at verse 26. The Lord Jesus Christ said, And
whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this? He said, Whosoever liveth and
believeth in Me shall never die. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that? That's what the Lord says to
the heart of His people. Do you? Do you? Do you believe that? Now turn
to John 5. Look at verse 46. The Lord says, For had ye believed
Moses, you would have believed me. For he wrote of me. Had ye, you would have. Do you? Had ye, you would have. Now go to Mark 11. Mark chapter 11. And look at verse 23. For verily I say unto you, that
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and
be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart,
but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come
to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Whosoever shall. Do you? Had ye? Whosoever shall. All right, now
one more. Watch this. Acts chapter 27. Acts 27 verse 25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer,
for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. I believe God. I believe God. That's the work of God. That's
the goodness of God. That's the power of God. Here's the good news of Christ.
He did not say whosoever obeys the law perfectly. He did not say whosoever lives
exactly like I have lived. He did not say whosoever is worthy
shall be saved. He said, whosoever believes,
whosoever believes, believes what? The gospel of Christ. Every word this book has to say
about the Lord Jesus Christ, whosoever believes that. And
there's more good news. It's to our text says in Romans
chapter one, every one, Everyone, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone. No exclusions. Might has nothing
to do with it. Power has nothing to do with
it. Race has nothing to do with it. Intellect has nothing to do with
it. It's to everyone that believeth,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The Greek covers all
Gentiles, all Jews, all Greek, whosoever believeth. Ephesians
2.8 says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that's
not of yourself, it's the gift of God. Believing is the grace,
the gift of God. So because of his grace, because
of his gift to us and only because of and by his grace, I'm not
ashamed to preach it. And because of His grace and
goodness, you're not ashamed to believe it. That's the only
reason you're not ashamed to believe it. I'm going to close
with 1 Corinthians 15. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
15 and I'll close. Boy, what a wonderful portion.
1 Corinthians 15, look at verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have
received and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved if
you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you 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, but 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 of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called
an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the
grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which was bestowed
upon me, was not in vain. but I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and
so you believe." Isn't that wonderful? The wonderful Gospel of Christ. By His grace and mercy, that's
what we preach and that's what we believe. Let's stand together.