Romans chapter 1. Let's look
at verse 14 where we were last week as we close out our time.
And it says, Paul speaking, I am under obligation both to Greeks
and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I
am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Then he goes in verse 16 and
he says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. Now let's think
about that for a second. We saw last week as I lumped
in a lot of text, verses 8 through 15, as more of an ecclesiastical
expression of Paul's affection for the church. And we saw that
there is something that God has done in Paul that purposed him
to lay down everything that he was for the sake of reaching
the Gentiles with the gospel. And he said that because God
had called him to be an apostle and set him apart before the
foundations of the world, and because this gospel was God's
gospel, God's purpose that was set apart before the foundations
of the world, it alludes to the realization that the church then
was also set apart by God before the foundations of the world.
Therefore, that very first commandment that we have given to us through
Moses to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul and with all your mind is to love that which God loves,
to love that which God does, to love that which God shows
and reveals, not just in his mercy, but also in his judgment,
in his hatred or justice of the reprobate. And in verse 16, it's
sort of the apex of this introduction. It gives us the understanding
of how Paul could be the man that he is. Remember our very
first teaching six weeks ago, I made the comment that we are
not called by God to be apostles. And as Paul was an apostle and
a slave to Christ, as we all are slaves to Christ and slaves
to righteousness, we are not trying to measure ourselves against
the standard in the ministry of Paul, but rather we measure
ourselves by the standard and the ministry of Jesus. And no
matter how awesome our life might be, no matter how transformed
our morals and ethics may be, no matter how incredible our
worship may appear, we still fall short of the glory of God
in all of those things. So therefore, even in our righteous works,
quote, quote, we are worthy of condemnation because it is the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is his obedience. It is his
passive obedience, submitting himself to the very ones who
put him on the cross. When I say passive, it doesn't
mean he wasn't actively involved. That is a government term or
a judicial term for someone who subjects themselves to an authority
that is not over them passively. He handed himself over to be
crucified. We know the power of God is how
Paul sustained such a ministry. We know that everywhere we see
Paul write throughout the entire New Testament, Paul never takes
credit for what he is. He never takes credit for his
own faith. He never takes credit for the
work of God in his life. He doesn't even esteem himself
to any degree as one who has taken hold of what God has even
given him, but rather that it is by the mercy of God alone
that he is what he is, an apostle, a slave for the sake of the salvation
of the Gentiles. And so we get here to verse 16,
which is probably a very famous verse in Romans chapter 1, where
it says in totality, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to
the Jew first, then to the Greek. For in it, verse 17, the righteousness
of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written,
the righteous shall live by faith. Now, this fall goes together,
but it's not a new pattern for Paul. It's not a new section. I really do despise headings
in text of Scripture. I cannot stand the fact that
I have greeting, longing to go to Rome, the righteous shall
live by faith, and God's wrath on unrighteousness in the very
front matter of this letter. It does not fit with the theme.
It does not help me understand the text. As a matter of fact,
it actually dilutes what Paul is arguing and what he is teaching
because it gives us this idea that this is what he's talking
about. No? I wish that they didn't put those. I should complain
to the publishers and tell them not to put these stupid headings
in the Bible. But they're there, so as a pastor-shepherd,
I instruct you to not look at them. Just ignore them. Pretend
like they're not there. And if you're so bold to get
a Sharpie, that's fine. Just make sure you're not Sharpie-ing
where there's words on the other side, because it does bleed through.
So maybe the whiteout that's the little plastic strip. But
here, I want to just take this one little piece at a time, and
I want you to get the picture of what Paul now is revealing
when he says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. I mean, we all
wear bracelets about that. I have a sticker on one of my
computers that says unashamed. I was sitting in the sandwich
shop some months ago when someone said, what are you not ashamed
of, son? I said, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank God.
Good. I mean, that was about the extent
of the exchange. There's no gospel presentation, there's no spiritualization,
there's no intimacy with Christ. But people love, just like John
3, 16, Philippians 4, 13, Jeremiah 29, 11, and all these other little
key verses that are so prevalent in our culture, everybody knows
them and they're really glad to spout it across a room. But
friends, the question then is, what does it mean to be not ashamed
for the gospel? What does it mean to be not ashamed?
Who is Paul speaking to? Paul is speaking, let's just
put it out there the way it really is, to the most impressive, the
most academically viable, the most economically profitable,
the most powerful kingdom in the entire world. Paul is speaking
to people who esteem the very fact that they're Roman. as the
epitome of their existence. I mean, I've traveled the country. I've done ministry in a lot of
different places, a lot of different states, a lot of different towns.
And it's interesting because when I went to the West Coast,
people were confused about my dialect. And most of them would
say either one of two things. Are you British? Or are you Texan? That's it. And there was an esteem for both
of that. Wow, you're from Europe. Wow, that's awesome. I'm like,
you've got a good ear, but not that good. I'm close. I'm closer
to Europe than I am Texas. But I'm from Georgia. And when
I'd say I was from Georgia, one of several things would come
out of their mouth. Usually, why did you come to California?
And I would say because everybody's saved in Georgia. If you don't
believe me, ask them. Or they'd say something a lot.
Don't y'all marry one another down there? Is this your sister? Looking at my wife, I'd say,
actually, she is in the Lord. Or they would look at me and
go, oh, Georgia, great. And then the discussion later
in the community or in a particular pod of people, it would always
be about how they were so surprised I was educated because Georgians
are so stupid. Really? I mean, come on, be honest. When you see the South Carolina
and the Georgia and the Tennessee and the Alabama people on TV,
the senators, well, I'm just ready to get this White House
in order. I mean, don't you think, oh gosh, I'm sorry to be from
that area. Because they sound stupid. Why? Because that's a
stereotype, a broad brush idea that everybody that is from Georgia
and the South is just ignorant moose. The smart ones leave. If I'd said Atlanta, oh yeah,
you're one of those smart Georgians. Why'd you move there? No, I was
born there. Really? Oh, wow. I wasn't. I was born in Savannah.
I lived here in Hicktown, where everything closes at 6
o'clock. What's the point? Very few people walk around and
have pride because of where they come from. when they're from
little places like this. I'm from the fruitcake capital
of the world. And then I would say, and they
also sell fruitcake there. Paul was also a Roman citizen. To be a Roman citizen, even if
you were a nothing, was an absolute point of prestige. It was the
academic center, the economic center, the shipping center.
The phrase that all roads lead to Rome is not something that's
just a passing euphemism. It is literal that everything
was connected to Rome. So when Paul says he's not ashamed
of the gospel speaking to Roman people, let's put into perspective
what Paul has said to other people, like the people of Corinth. When
he says, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block
to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. I mean, everybody likes to look
at the way Paul handled the Athenians or the Greeks there, the Areopagus.
And they like to say, see how eloquent Paul was, but what does
Paul tell the people of Corinth? I did not come there with eloquence,
but barely able to stand with stuttered speech or with wordless
or weak speech. Weakness I came, preaching the
cross and Christ crucified, lest the cross lose its power. See,
the cross is foolishness. To be a believer in Jesus Christ
in most of the world is stupid. It's one of those things that
the consensus of all of academia, even seminaries of the liberal
bent, actually comes to the table and says, people that believe
in the literal Bible, in the literal creation, in the literal
incarnation, in the literal virgin birth, and so on and so on, are
just ignorant people that don't know any better. So they have
to follow after fairy tales myths, and child's stories. That's what
people think. And if you didn't know that,
I'm sorry. But it is true. But yet, in this area of the
world, even when you're an unbeliever, you can profess to be a believer
and everybody believes you. Because it's almost cultural
taboo not to be, in some sense, a Christian in this area. What
are you, a devil worshipper? Could you imagine someone coming
out in public and writing an article in the paper of these
small communities, saying that they were a Satanist? They would
move. I can promise you they would
move. But Paul, saying that he was a Christ follower, after
not only being a Roman citizen and having a lot of prestige,
but also being part of the Sanhedrin, the highest level of the ruling
class. That's what his life work was.
That's what he was born unto. That's what he was raised to
do. That's what he was reared to establish himself in being. A Pharisee. To which the gospel
spat upon. The gospel mocked the rule and
the authority of Rome and the rule and the authority of the
Pharisees and the Sanhedrin and mocked the rule and the authority
of humanity. and the wisdom of men. Who among
you are wise? Where's the soothsayer, Paul
would ask. Are you all of noble birth? I think not. God does
not use the great things, the wise things, the talented things. See, we've got a really twisted
idea of churchmanship. We're looking for the talent.
We're looking for the professional pastor. We're looking for the
ambiance and the focus and the feel and the mood that actually
establishes what the culture wants. But Jesus Christ hates
the culture of humanity. Why? Because He's God and He
deserves all honor and glory and worth and fame and worship.
And when we love our culture, we worship an idol. So here, when Paul says, I'm
not ashamed of the gospel, he's really saying something here.
He's really saying something. He's saying, I don't care what
you think of me. I don't care what ideal you think I'm coming
with, with this gospel. I'm not going to stand and lay
a track on a toilet and run out of the restaurant real quick
before somebody knows that I've done it. I'm not going to hide
behind an academic platform. I'm not going to work my way
into relationship evangelism. I'm going to stand on the corner
where it is against the law and I'm going to say that Jesus Christ
is the God of heaven and created all men. And you must worship
Him and believe in Him and be holy like Him, but you cannot
be. Therefore, God's judgment is
coming down from heaven on all unrighteousness. Who men, though
they know that there is a God, and so on and so on and so on,
but Jesus Christ, The God of heaven became man in human form
and he lived holy and righteous and obeyed the law and he took
the cross that he did not deserve and he was raised from the dead
in the open market, door to door, in the synagogues of Jews. Paul had pride. Paul's pride
was in the gospel of stupidity. the foolishness of the good news
of Jesus. Paul's pride was in the gospel
of Christ. He was proud to preach the gospel. He's not just giving lip service
here. He says, no, I'm not ashamed of Jesus. I'll proclaim Jesus.
Remember what he tells young Timothy. He says, if people deny
Him before men, He will deny them before the Father. It's an interesting reality.
Because, beloved, we don't deny Christ, because denying Christ
is unbelief. But even when we are faithless,
what does Paul tell Timothy? He remains faithful, for he cannot
deny himself. See, all of Paul's wisdom and
all of his knowledge was nothing compared to what he would say,
the priceless gain of knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord. He
would say, I am not ashamed. And he would do so in such a
way that his heart was exalting in the person of Jesus Christ.
And because he exulted, he rejoiced, he found pleasure and joy in
Jesus Christ alone, he was able to endure all the suffering that
came along with it. All the suffering that though
he was not ashamed of the gospel, it brought him worldly shame.
It brought him economic shame. It brought him relational shame.
It brought him political shame. Paul then was the pariah of society,
the one who was the highest on the pinnacle of all things, became
the nothingness of the world, which people were saddened and
appalled to be in his presence. But yet his message proved powerful. His message proved effectual,
his message did something, even though it was a sorry, weak,
silly, shameful message according to the world's way. It is the
power of God, as we'll see in a minute. I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. He was glad to preach Christ.
It was his joy. Let me ask this question of us,
Church. Are we known as the people who exalt in the Lord Jesus?
I mean, think about this for a moment. In my own mind, in
my own attitude, how often do we rejoice over Jesus in our
spirit, in our mind, with our mouths? What's wrong when we
cannot rejoice over Christ? I don't know. But I know that
even when we are not finding joy, if we are Christ's, we are
secure. Why do we crumble under pressure? Why do we complain about our
problems? Why do we worry about the unknown?
Why do we accuse and tower behind circumstances rather than exult? Because you know why? Because
sometimes we are ashamed of the gospel. We're ashamed of the
gospel because even though we may be justified through Jesus
Christ, even though we may have eternal life and we're secure,
We still have a flesh. And we still have a mind that
is fleshly. And it fights against the Spirit
of God. And our hope is not in what we
can do to overcome, but it's in the power of the Gospel of
Christ for which we should not be ashamed. You see how simple
this is? That's why it's so silly. That's
why so many people consider it child's stories. People would
rather see children in Sunday school and have a life's lesson
be taught them on the Lord's Day rather than hear the simplicity
of the gospel of Jesus and the power of God to save sinners
who are powerless to save themselves. We should praise the Lord Jesus
because He took our shame. Jesus took our shame. And He
didn't deserve it. Jesus took our punishment. And
He didn't deserve it. Jesus took our place. so that
we then might be bold in our proclamation of what He has done,
that we could boldly and joyfully proclaim the gospel, the good
news. And that's what Paul is saying.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Now, ask yourself this question
as we're going through this entire letter over the next some odd
months. Do you know the gospel? Do you
know what the gospel really is? Let me give you some ideas of
what some people tell me when that conversation arises when
we're speaking. Well, yeah, I live a good life.
So God will save me because I live a good life. They think that's
the gospel. To which they're lying. They don't live a good
life. All you have to do is just start with the first commandment.
You love the Lord God with everything? With all you are? You mean you
never love anything more than you love God at any moment? No,
I guess so. You ever lied? You ever stolen?
You ever coveted? You ever lusted? You know, you see that sometimes
in an evangelistic appeal. Show them the law, show them
they're guilty, and then teach them the gospel, if it's the
true gospel. Some people say the gospel is that they live
a pretty good life. Some people think the gospel is that they've
joined a church or been baptized. I know Jesse and I talk about
this a lot. For 20 years, I've been hearing
people tell me that their security in eternal life, the good news
of Jesus Christ is that they were baptized. And so they know
that they have eternal life. Well, good. Because when you
get to hell, all that moisture in your baptism will just wick
right up. Now that's not what we say to them, but that's what
I'm thinking. You really think you're wet enough to escape the
flames of torment? You really think you're damp
enough with the baptism of your pastor or your priest or your
whatever it is? You think the water was so holy
that it stays absorbed into your cells? That when you stand before
the mighty judgment of God, that all of the fury of His wrath,
that all that water of baptism can Put out the flames of hell. No, that's not the gospel. Some people think the gospel
is just what they've done, that they've heard that God has saved
them or worse, that they think God has offered them salvation
and that they have grasped that which God has offered. Some people
think that the gospel is this opportunity to come to Christ. Where is that? Oh, you know,
in Revelation 3, behold, I stand at the door and knock. Jesus
is beating on my door, let me let him in and I'll have eternal
life. No, he's talking to his church about their intimacy,
that they love their doctrine more than they love him. Context is king, folks. Don't
misunderstand it. Some people think the gospel
is the prayer they pray or the aisle they walk. This is what
gets me the knives-in-the-face look. When I say, if you believe
that you have eternal life because you pray to receive Jesus as
your Lord and Savior, you might not be a Christian. And you know what's crazy about true
believers? If you were to question us about our salvation, we are
glad to share the truth. And you say, I just don't think
you're a Christian. How do you know you're saved? I'm not offended
by that. I'm rejoicing in that. Hallelujah! Somebody just asked me to share
the gospel. They're not calling the cops.
Yet. What is the gospel? What does
all this mean? Well, the gospel, the word evangel
in the Greek, it literally means the good news. The good news. Evangel translates to good news. I'll give you a little history
just through the language there. It used to be God speak what
God has said, God spell, gospel, good news. That's the history
of that word in our own language. It's the proclamation of what
God has done. It's not just news that is nice.
It's not just news that is good. It is the preaching and the heralding
of the greatest thing you will ever hear. It is not some good
news. It is the good news. You never
see Paul say, I'm teaching, you know, a gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'm teaching some gospel of Jesus Christ. He says it's the gospel.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the only good
news that this world will ever hear. I'm going to proclaim it. Do you know the gospel? The ultimate
good proclamation of what God has done? See, in our lost state,
we hate the gospel. We hate the power of God. We
hate the commandment. Be holy. And we hate God for
it. Because we can't be holy. And
then even in our lost state, when God says, I have provided
Redemption. We hate him even more. Oh, now
you say I'm guilty. Now you say you're saving me.
Now, you know what? I'll tell you, God, when I'm
going to be saved. See, that's what humanity in
its law sense and depravity things. That's why free will is such
a demonic expression of of of man's desire to be God. So that
again, free will is a demonic expression of man's desire to
be God. I will receive Jesus when I'm
ready. Well, you won't either. You'll
be saved when God comes down and sends His Spirit to you and
wakes you up and gives you faith and you respond and suffer and
live and die for the glory of God by His command and His decree. Then you will rejoice in His
glorious grace, beloved, forever. See, people hate that. People hate that kind of stuff.
Why? See, this is the one-two punch
in the gut that Paul is preparing these Christians in Rome to receive. And if you think this is tough
in verse 16 and 17, oh, woe be unto us who are weak at heart
when we get to verse 18. In all of chapter 2, Paul prescribes
that every person that has ever walked the earth except the Christ
is guilty and charged accordingly and is deserving of the wrath
of God. In chapter 3, Paul shows us how
to escape it. And that's the good news. How
do we escape deserved judgment? I mean, there are some people
who become incarcerated because of stupid mistakes. And there
are some people who end up in prison because of poor company.
And there are some people who end up in a horrible life because
of just laziness. And there are some people who
end up in all those things just because they did everything correctly.
And there are some people who end up in those things because
they're pure out wicked and they break the law and they go to
jail and they deserve it. And when we sit on this side
of the barge, we go, man, serves them right. Hey, we deserve more
than that. For the mass murderer and the covetor are equally guilty
before God. So when we go, man, I wish I
could afford a new car like my neighbor. I love that car. Hey, you think we could buy a
car like the neighbor? I deserve hell for that. Because I covet
that. And if I go stab them and take
it, I deserve hell anyway? The difference in our culture
is that God has not established a penal system for coveting under
the government, but He surely has for murder. What is the good
news? That the gospel is not an offer.
The glory be to God for His everlasting promises to save His people through
Jesus Christ. He hasn't offered to save us.
He has saved us. I want you to hear this, Church.
The gospel is not an offer. You will hear in the months to
come, throughout the beginning of next year, you will begin
to hear a lot of discussion. If you follow any online forums
or you look at Baptist or religious or evangelical news, you will
start to hear people in this buzzword of whosoever, traditional soteriology, you
will hear the words like free offer, or well-meant offer of
the gospel. And friends, I'm going to be
bold and dogmatic in my language here because we're a fellowship
of believers and we all know each other. That's of Satan. It's of Satan. The gospel's not an offer. The
gospel is the proclamation of God's perfect and certain plan
of redemption. God's not saying, will you take
it? God's saying, here it is. This is what I've done. This
is what I've done. Here's the gospel. Here's salvation. I mean, look at the language.
What language offers proof for the first thought? What language
in Scripture? That Jesus turned on the light
in the corner of the darkness and said, please come? that Jesus
provided a cup of water down at the end of the table and said,
uh, take a sip, please. Jesus says that the eternal water
that he gives wells up to eternal life. Jesus says that he's the bread
that came down from heaven. Let's not confuse the fact that
the gospel is not dependent upon the power of man, who has no
power to do anything to affect his salvation. Salvation, the
gospel, is fully enabled by God and it is effectual to the fullest
of all ounces of hope. How do you know all this? Man,
you've got a lot of commentary the last ten minutes, some people
might say. Where are you getting all this?
The very next phrase. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
For it is the power of God. Hallelujah! He didn't say it's
the offer of God. He didn't say it's the possibility
of God. He didn't say the gospel is the message that we give to
you in hopes that you come to God. He said the gospel is the
power of God. So the proclamation of Jesus
Christ substituting Himself on the cross for sinners and effectually
paying the sin debt to the Father of righteousness for us, and
there is no more debt to pay, beloved. It's paid. It's the
power of God. Now some people argue, well,
it doesn't really say that. It does say that. Let's go back
to fourth grade grammar for a moment. I'm not ashamed of what? The
gospel. Why? Because it is the power
of God. And what power is shown in this
gospel? What power does God show? For
salvation. You see, it's the power of God
for salvation. For salvation to everyone who
is believing. That's what that says. Those
who believe have salvation by the power of God. I mean, Paul
does it very clearly in Ephesians. For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this, what? Faith is not of your own doing,
but is the gift of God so that no one can boast. For you are
God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works
which He prepared beforehand for you to walk in. So there
is no misunderstanding the power of God is salvation. Do you see that? Now, ask yourself
about the power of God for a moment. God spoke. Me and Abigail had
this conversation on the way home or on the way to Stillmore
earlier today. How did God make the Son, Daddy?
They didn't burn him. It was really hot. What did he
do? I said, there was no sun. And he said, let there be light.
And there was a sun. Now imagine that for a second. She couldn't grasp it. As smart
as she is. I said, it'd be like, sort of,
if I didn't have a milkshake. And I had my hand out and I said,
milkshake! And a milkshake just popped in
there. She's going, The power of God spoke, and the
power of God created the infinite universe. The power of God saves
perfectly. Perfectly. That's why it is good
news, y'all. It's not dependent. Salvation
is not contingent upon man's ability, or freedom, or decisiveness,
or anything. Salvation is contingent upon
the power of God unto salvation. God perfectly, with all of His
might and all of His power, secured salvation for His people. In
this then we rejoice. Peter would say that in his first
epistle. That though you may endure a lot of trials and suffering
and this and that and the other, he says, you rejoice. You rejoice! With a joy, what did he say,
that makes you kick your heels up and run like the Toyota commercials?
No. He says, with a joy that is inexpressible
at times. What does that mean? That means
that sometimes our body language and our attitudes and our mind
cannot overcome the burden that we can exude some visible joy,
but we still have joy, beloved. Even if it's just a little bit. Even when we feel like everything
about this life is about to crush us, there's the joy of the Lord
and it's a small, microscopic place that we find it in the
darkness, but ultimately it's greater than the darkness because
God said that His light will not be overcome by darkness. It's not the power of man, or
the power of Rome, or the power of a king, but the power of the
Lord Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus says, for the Son of Man
came to seek and save the lost, and He has done so. The power
of God for salvation. Now what does that mean for salvation? What is salvation anyway? Have
you ever thought about that? Ask anybody, what do we save
from? We save from our sin. But why do we need saving from
our sin to begin with? Well, because we are guilty of sin.
Therefore, we are polluted, we are enslaved by wickedness and
depravity. And because of that, we are alienated
of God and we deserve punishment. We will receive the wrath of
God and that is everlasting death. Salvation is the exact opposite
of all of those things. Salvation is the righteousness
of God. credited to our account. Salvation
is the holiness of God called ours. Salvation is freedom from
the slavery of sin, is blessedness and affection and intimacy with
God and fellowship with Him and the love of God in the heart and everlasting life. In Ephesians
1.7, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of our sins according to the riches of His grace. In whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, Colossians 1.14. Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, Romans 5.1, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul would cry
out in Romans 7, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me
from this body of death? And he says, It is Christ. It
is Christ. It is Christ. As he talks to
the region of Galatia, those Christians there, he teaches
them that freedom for the sake of freedom, Christ has set us
free. So therefore, stand firm, he says. He commands them. You're
not submitting into a yoke of slavery. And that's obvious. He's talking about circumcision
because that's the context of that writing. But what does circumcision
have to do as an antithetical of the gospel? Because it is
the law. It is obeying the law. And the people of Galatia had
been tricked into believing that if they obeyed the law, they
were more secure. That's not good news, y'all.
Christ secured salvation and power to everyone who believes. Both the Jew and the Gentile.
And that's where we close this evening. Of course, keep in mind,
we could preach several, probably five sermons just on this text.
But for what we're doing as midweeks, we're just going to move through
them at a reading pace. To everyone who believes. In
Isaiah 45, verse 22, we hear God say, turn to me, turn to
me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and
there is no other. Here is a call way before the
New Testament, way before the ministry of Christ for people
to believe in God. to believe in Him as Savior,
to believe in His power. What is it that they were to
do? What is it that they were to do in order to establish salvation? Was it they were supposed to
do a certain thing or walk a certain way or speak a certain poem?
Dance? No. Turn to Me. What does that mean? Look at Me. Jesus shows Nicodemus
in John 3 very clearly what this looks like. He understood this
picture of Moses lifting the serpent up. And what did Moses
command the people to do? If you want to live, look upon
the snake and live. God told me to put this up here,
and if you look up here, you live. What in the world saved
those people's lives? Faith in God. And the work of
God. Many people looked at that snake
and thought, I'm looking at it, I'm not being healed. They put
their faith in the snake. Many people put their faith in
their gaze. I'm looking and they die. They
must put their faith in the One who is powerful to save, who
is God. What was the snake? A type of
Christ. Because Jesus says, as Moses
lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. Turn to Me and be saved. The
testimony of the gospel, the power of God through the gospel.
It is the hearing of the words of Christ and the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the proclamation of God's salvation through the Son that
brings people to life. It is not convincing people to
believe. It is proclaiming the goodness
and the good news of Jesus through which people believe. And the
woman of Sychar in the latter part of John chapter 4, after
she goes and she said, I met a man that told me everything
that I've ever done. Could this be Messiah? And later
they said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you
said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and
we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. In 1 Timothy
1.15, Paul writes, this saying is trustworthy and deserving
of all acceptance, of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came to save
sinners, of which I am the foremost. O love, I don't ever fall prey
to the mindset that Jesus failed His mission. I guess the question is, is your
hope bound up in your ability to be saved, or is your hope
securely in Jesus Christ who does so? And for those of us
who can say the latter is surely our strength, what about every
day? What about every obstacle? What
about every opportunity? Friends, we in our flesh, as
long as we keep it alive for every hurdle, will always fail. We will never find the joy Even
though we might be born again, we can be miserable when we are
working our bones or our hearts to death to try to overcome the
circumstances of life. Isaiah 60 says, Arise, shine,
for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon
you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness
the peoples, but the Lord will arise upon you. The Lord will
arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you, and nations
shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your
rising." What is that prophecy? Jesus Christ, the seed of David,
and all the nations, every tongue and every tribe, when they hear
the gospel, they believe on Christ, and God's glory is exalted. But how is that so? Why does
he say the Jew and the Greek? Because many people would think
that it was a dispensation where God only had Israel in mind,
which is a farce stated out of ignorance and cultural teaching
that has gone on way too long without opposition. It's time
to start not being anti-Semitic, but it's time to start speaking
the gospel clearly. And Jewish people in lineage
have no more favor from God than you and I do. Did God speak to Isaiah and say,
the nations shall come to your light? Hebrews 11 says, Now faith is
the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen. See, all who believe are saved.
of any peoples. Anyone who believes is saved.
Salvation is of the Lord by His grace through faith. And faith
is believing on what God has done through Jesus Christ to
secure our salvation. Our trust in that. God says,
I have sent My Son to die for you, to live for you, and He
was born again. I mean, He was raised from the
dead. Believe in Me, you will live. In the Spirit of God, when
we see supernaturally through revert, we believe. And until
that comes off, we can't believe. See, that's not the evangelistic
appeal that we're used to. And quite honestly, I don't tell
lost people that. I just follow the rules. What's the rules of engagement?
That's what I'm trying to say. I follow the prescription of the New Testament.
Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of which you are. He lived a
life, He died on the cross, and He rose from the dead that you
might have eternal life. And when they believe, God is
glorified in them. And as they grow, they begin
to learn just what an amazing God has saved them. And what
an amazing power yields that salvation to perfection. Believing
in what God has done. Believing in Jesus Christ who
finished the work of redemption. trusting in Christ, which is
the good news, which is the power of God. You see, the gospel is
the power of God, not the offer of God. Therefore, God is the
one saving. He is the one who does it. He
is the one who secures His church. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful
to be able to rejoice in these things. to be able to come and
gather together with burdens on our hearts, burdens
in our bodies, broken, disheveled, tired. But Father, there's power
in Your Word and there's grace and mercy every moment. We thank You for the grace that
drew us in. We thank You for the power that
took a hold of us and seized us and snatched us out of the
domain of darkness into the light of Your Son. We praise You for
Your grace, for it is so glorious. May we be a beacon in the world
of darkness as we share the faith, as we share Your power by sharing
the truth of what Jesus has done. And Father, out of our mouths,
we pray that you would bring many to salvation. Until all
your church is in, Father, equip us and grow us. In Jesus' name
we pray. Amen.