As Mark said, as he read those
first 17 verses there in Romans, the title of the message is,
What is the Gospel? And you know most of professed
Christianity today, they will talk a lot about the gospel,
believe in the gospel. And scripture says, all those
that believe this gospel shall be saved, those that don't shall
be damned. So it's a very important subject
that we need to understand what is the gospel. At 10 o'clock,
at 10 o'clock hour, we saw prerequisites for salvation, and Bill talked
about God's electing grace, where God elected a people in eternity
before the foundation of this earth, and he gave them to Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, his son, for safekeeping, for security,
He made Christ our substitute and our surety, that he would
come in time and do all those things required by God the Father
to save his people from their sins. And then the second prerequisite
talked about God's redeeming grace, how Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law. He came here and he established
righteousness. that's required by God to stand
before him without blame. And that's what we're gonna mainly
major on this morning, those last few verses there, 15 through
17. The Apostle Paul says, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ. The gospel is the preaching of
the glorious person and finished work of Christ and his death
to satisfy justice, the justice of God for his people. and redeemed
them by his blood and secure for them all of eternal salvation. It is this gospel of God that
sets forth the glory and the power of Christ to save sinners
by his blood and righteousness that's imputed, that's accounted
to his sheep, his elect. The words, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel expresses that Paul was not ashamed of it. That is,
he wasn't ashamed to preach it. He did it faithfully, plainly,
consistently. He did it openly and publicly,
and he did it boldly in the face of all opposition. Not being
ashamed of the gospel of Christ also expresses that he had the
utmost value for it and thought it his highest honor to be able
to preach it. Paul's reasons for this was because
it was the gospel of Christ, which Christ himself preached,
and of which Paul had learned by revelation from God as he
was stopped in his tracks on the road to Damascus, and of
which Christ was the subject. Still speaking of not being ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, we're going to look at how this same
gospel that Paul wasn't ashamed of, this same gospel of God's
grace, is an offense to the natural man. and of which is found without
Christ at judgment will be ashamed. Scripture tells us that. They
will be ashamed as they stand before God without a righteousness
that they must have. This gospel is an offense to
the natural man, and by nature all men hate the true gospel. Christ says in John 3, beginning
at verse 19, And this is the condemnation that light is coming
to the world, this gospel that's preached out. And men love darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone
that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. Sinners by nature will not bow
to God's gospel, which is this light that John's speaking of
here. God must make his elect willing in the day of his power. Here in John 15 beginning verse
18, Christ speaks, it says, if the world hates you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love his own, but because you're not of the
world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hated you. to hate this light, this gospel
light. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant
is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they'll
also persecute you. And if they have kept my saying,
they will keep yours also. This gospel that God's elect
believe and have all their hope and trust in will bond God's
elect together under one truth. One gospel truth. And then we're
faithful in telling people the truth about this gospel and how
God is just to justify an ungodly sinner. This same gospel that
we love so dear, God's elect after regeneration and conversion,
will divide us from those that do not believe the gospel that
we preach. This gospel is the light or the
gospel that all men by nature hate. even God's elect until
God does a work of grace in our heart. Here in John 16, 3, Christ
tells us just how far the natural man will go due to their hatred
for the gospel. A good example of that is Cain
and Abel. Abel sided with God against his
brother. Y'all familiar with that story?
And Cain slew him. He slew him. John 16, one through
three, says, these things have I spoken to you that you should
not be offended. They shall put you out of the
synagogues, their places of worship. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God's service, and these
things will they do unto you because they have not known the
Father nor me. And the way you know the Father
and Christ is through this gospel, through this gospel that identifies
how God saves sinners. Unless and until God regenerates
and gives life to a sinner, he'll not admit of his self-righteousness
and religious pride. He will flee from this true gospel,
this light, and hate this truth that God's elect after regeneration
and conversion, so dearly loved. God must make us willing in a
day of his power. As we've seen in the previous
verses how that the gospel is an offense to the natural man,
now we'll see that it is the wisdom and power of God to believers,
those that God has done a work in. In Romans 16, It says, for
it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel applied by the Holy
Spirit in the new birth has power. James 1.18 says, of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind
of first fruits of his creatures. Here we see how faith in Christ
is required in salvation. not as a cause and not as a ground
or condition sinners must meet to attain or maintain salvation,
but as the instrument whereby we view, receive, and love Christ,
who is our salvation. It is the power of God instrumentally,
as it is a means made use of by God in quickening dead sinners,
enlightening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, softening hard hearts,
and making friends out of enemies. We must be reconciled to God. In Philippians 3 beginning verse
7, it is the power of the Holy Spirit who gives spiritual life
from Christ and convinces sinners of sin in order to drive them
to Christ for righteousness and eternal life. It is experienced
and known as sinners are brought to faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works and idolatry. Now, this is what the Apostle
Paul experienced after he was converted. In Philippians 3 beginning
verse 7, Paul says, but what things were gained to me, those
I count at loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but done that I may win Christ. That's all those
things that he thought so highly of in his former religion as
a Pharisee. It says, and be found in him
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith. that I may know him in the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sovereign, being made
conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. Once God's word, his gospel,
in the hands of God the Holy Spirit is heard and believed
from the heart, the desired results will be as we just read concerning
the Apostle Paul. and every one of God's elect
who were saved by God's grace in Christ. The fruit and effect
of this conversion is stated clear in these verses that we
just heard. And all believers can look back
at what Paul is talking about here and they can relate to that. I know I can in my former religion. Now, the extent of this power
of God is that we're talking about having to do with the gospel
is unto salvation. The gospel is a declaration and
a revelation of salvation by Christ and is a means of directing
and encouraging souls to lay hold upon it. The persons to
whom this applies are in general everyone that believeth. This
does not suppose that faith gives the gospel its virtue or its
efficacy. But the phrase to everyone that
believeth is only the descriptive of the persons to whom the gospel,
attended with the power and the grace of God, produces the desired
results. In other words, the desired results
of the gospel that's preached out is that God's elect come
to faith and repentance when they hear it. Sometimes it takes
a while. Sometimes it might come pretty
quick, but most of the time, we have to be taught. We have
to see it in God's word, has to be preached out. And we've
seen that sometimes it takes a while for God's elect to come
to faith and repentance, even sitting under the gospel. This power of God and the salvation
is to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The gospel is not
for one particular group of people. It is for God's elect out of
every nation. It is for the Jew and the Gentile.
It is to the Jew first only in that the gospel was first preached
in Israel. This was God's plan and his way
of bringing the gospel of salvation to all his people throughout
the world. To the Jew first as they had an advantage over the
Gentiles to begin with, This advantage that the Jews had was
through all those peculiar privileges which were conferred on the Jewish
nation. So the gospel was first preached
to them by Christ and his disciples. And even when it was ordered
to be carried into the Gentile world, it was to begin with them
and became effectual for the salvation of many of them. Concerning
the word Greek used in this verse, it does not mean a native of
Greece, but all Gentiles, all nationalities other than Jews,
who were under the influence of Greek culture within the Roman
Empire at the time. To begin with, the Apostle Paul
states, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He then states,
for it's the power of God and the salvation to everyone that
believeth. Now, Paul says in Romans 117, what is revealed
within this gospel message. He says, for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. By righteousness of God is not
meant the essential righteousness of God, which is God's perfection
of character and nature. And him being a just God in his
essential nature, even though God's essential nature is revealed
in this gospel, It is not the righteousness of God spoken of
here in verse 17, nor is this righteousness of God the righteousness
by which Christ himself is righteous, either as God or as mediator.
As we just got through saying that this righteousness of God
is not the essential righteousness of God, but the righteousness
spoken of here in Romans 117 is the righteousness which Christ
wrought out He worked it out by his obedience to God, God's
law, or Christ satisfying the precepts of the law, and also
Christ bearing the penalty of the broken law, which is death,
and he did this in the room and place of his people, his elect,
his sheep, and by which they are justified in the sight of
God, and this is called the righteousness of God. This righteousness, which
was worked out by Christ and is revealed in the gospel, was
determined by God from old eternity, as one old preacher says. The
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the culmination of Christ's
work of righteousness and is the focal point of everything,
everything in time and everything in eternity. Even before time,
God was looking to the cross and what Christ, his son, would
accomplish there by his obedience to death. When God chose a people,
he chose them in Christ, based on what Christ would do for them
at the cross. When God justified them, he was
seeing the righteousness Christ would bring in and accomplish
at the cross. And even in eternity, future,
The song of the redeemed will be, according to Revelation 5.12,
worthy as the lamb that was slain. So the cross of Christ was not
only the focal point in the beginning. It'll always be throughout all
eternity. Always look to the cross of Christ. Now this righteousness of God
that Christ worked out and his obedience unto death is in total
opposition to the righteousness of men. This righteousness justifies
man in the sight of God, God's elect. This righteousness of
which Jehovah the Father sent his son to work it out, and being
worked out, God the Father approves of it and he accepts it. This
is the righteousness that's imputed to God's elect, reckoned, accounted. God the Son is the author of
it by his obedience unto death, and God the Spirit reveals it
to the sinners, works faith in them to lay hold upon it, and
pronounces and declares the sentence of justification to them by it
in their minds and their affections and their will. Now this is said
to be revealed in the gospel. That is, it's taught in the gospel. That is the word of righteousness,
the ministration of it. It is manifested in and by the
gospel. Now, this righteousness of God
spoken of here in verse 17 is God's perfect and just way of
redeeming sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ. God must always
be true to himself. He is a loving, merciful, and
gracious God, but he's also a righteous, just, and truthful God. He cannot
ignore sin. And all sin demands and deserves
eternal death, according to God's law. As we will see in some of
the following verses, God's clear concerning his justice in punishing
sin. If you're a sinner, and we all
are by nature and practice, then either we must die an eternal
death, or a suitable substitute must take our place, and that's
Christ. Genesis 2.17, Speaking of what sin brings in,
and that's death, it says, God said, but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the
day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Ezekiel
18.4 says, behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the
father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Romans 5.21 says, that as sin
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans
6.23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hebrews 9.22, and almost
all things are by the law purged with blood. and without shedding
of blood is no remission of sin. Now, the question then comes,
how can God be both a righteous judge and a loving father? How can a sinner be just with
God? Job 9, 2 said, then Job answered and said, I know it
is so of a truth, but how should man be just with or before God? Job 25, beginning of verse 4,
says, how then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean
that is born of a woman? Behold, even the moon and it
shineth not, yea, the stars and they're not pure in its sight.
How much less man that is a worm, and the son of man, which is
a worm. Now, it's easy to see that Job was convinced that God
was a just God in all of his action. So the question then
comes, since this God that we all are going to have to deal
with is just in all his ways, then how should man be just with
God? If not angels, and if not man
in his best estate, in which he is vanity, when compared with
God, then much less frail, feeble, mortal, sinful man, even the
best of men, considered in themselves and with respect to their own
righteousness, which is filthy rags, for to be just is not to
be so through an infusion of righteousness or an impartation
of a righteousness, but to be just with God is based entirely
on a righteousness that's imputed. But to be just is a legal term
and it stands opposed to condemnation when you're just before God.
For a man to be pronounced righteous in a judiciary way, he cannot
be reckoned or accounted by God by any works of righteousness
done by the man, by the individual, by the sinner. since his best
works are imperfect, not answerable to the law by way of fulfillment. For our works are very defective
and therefore not able to justify us before this holy God. It is a certain thing that a
man can never be just or justified with God in such a way or through
any righteousness wrought out by man. For scripture says that
man at his best state, is altogether vanity when it compared to this
holy God. If God should mark our iniquities
or enter into judgment with us, we could not stand. We couldn't
stand before him without blame. God must not charge us with sin. And that's where Christ come
in the play. He charged him to his dear son.
All of God's elect, their sins charged to Christ. A man can
only be just with this holy God through the imputation of righteousness,
this righteousness of Christ, as God accounts it to us, putting
it upon us and clothing us with it, and so reckoning and pronouncing
us righteous through it. This act of God wherein he reckons
his elect is righteous, and is entirely consistent with the
justice of God, since by this righteousness the law is fulfilled,
magnified, and made honorable, and justice is satisfied by the
blood of Christ, so that God is just while he is the justifier
of him that believes in Jesus Christ. Here in Isaiah, here
Isaiah begins to tell us that not only is God just, but that
he also saves. Isaiah 45, beginning of verse
21. He says, tell ye and bring them
near, yea, let them take counsel who have declared this from ancient
time, who have told it from that time, have not I the Lord, and
there is no God else beside me, a just God, and a Savior. There is none beside me. Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I
am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word
is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto
me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall
one say unto the Lord, have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall
men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. And of course, that's talking
about all of God's elect, spiritual Israel. These are the issues
of salvation if God is to be glorified. And that's our main
goal, is to glorify God, exalt Christ, and exclude any boasting
in ourself. Man by nature, in his self-righteousness,
devises his way of works, which denies God's glory. Man cannot
be justified before God by his own works. Romans 3, 19 said,
now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds
of law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight,
for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Ephesians 2, beginning
at verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. Man's righteousness always falls
short of the requirements of perfection that God requires. Romans 3.23, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. The righteousness of God
revealed in this gospel always opposes and counsels out man's
attempts at righteousness. Let's look at some scriptures
that show us that salvation must be by grace and not by works. Matthew 5.20, for I say unto
you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and the Pharisees, the most religious men of his
day. You shall in no case enter the
kingdom of heaven. This scripture points out that
the most obedient men, the scribes and the Pharisees, that ever
lived on this earth and were born of Adam did not possess
a righteousness whereby they could stand before this holy
God. Christ tells us that unless we possess a righteousness that
exceeds theirs, we shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.
We see here in these verses here that we're about to read, Romans
9, that the majority of the nation Israel did not attain the righteousness
because they sought it by the works of law, which most people
today do the same thing. Romans 9, beginning at verse
31. Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, had not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore, or why? Because they
sought it not by faith, but as it were by works of law. For
they stumble at that stumbling stone, which is Christ. As it
is written, behold, I lay inside a stumbling stone and a rock
of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10, 4 says, for Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Titus
3, beginning at verse 4. But after that, the kindness
and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost. Sinful man's attempt to make
himself righteous by his own works are the fruit of unbelief
and a denial of the gospel of God's grace in Christ. How then
can God be just and justify sinners? It's only by a righteousness
God has provided through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Isaiah 46, verse
12. Hearken to me, ye stout-hearted
that are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry.
And I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel, my glory."
Over in Jeremiah, God talks about this righteousness and calls
it a righteous branch. Jeremiah 23. Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth, In his days, Judah shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is his name, whereby
he shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. This righteousness,
which Christ wrought out to the satisfaction of law and justice,
becomes ours. This righteousness was wrought
out for us. Christ didn't come and die on
a cross for his own sins that that somehow or another he was
a sinner, he came and died for sins that were imputed, reckoned
and charged to his account, all of God's elect. This righteousness
was wrought out for us and is a free gift to us. It is ours
through imputation of it by the Father. And in virtue of our
union in Christ and our interest in him, The Spirit of God is
the person of God, of the Godhead that reveals it to us and enables
us to lay hold upon it and claim interest in it. Look at Romans 3, 21. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe. There
is no difference, for all sin comes short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. whom God has sent forth to be
a propitiation, a satisfaction, or appeasement through faith
in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that
are past, speaking of the Old Testament saints, through the
forbearance of God. The righteousness of God revealed
in the gospel that is mentioned here in Romans 321 as well as in our message text in Romans
117, this righteousness is the merit and the value of the work
of one person, Jesus Christ, who obeyed the law perfectly
and died on the cross to satisfy the justice of God against the
sins of his people, his elect, his sheep. This is the righteousness
of Christ that he himself worked out and established by His obedience
unto death, God glorified in all His attributes in this salvation
of sinners based on the righteousness of His Son. This righteousness
of God, this everlasting righteousness, is accounted to all God's elect
by imputation alone. Imputation simply means the legal
act by which God charges or credits the merit of Christ's obedience
unto death to the account of his people. Now, this last verse
here, Romans 117, says, reveal from faith to faith. Spoken of in the latter part
of verse 17 is meant from faith, from the faith, or the content
of the gospel. That's where that first faith,
from faith. Romans 17, So then faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The words to faith
here would be the work of the Holy Spirit in giving us faith
to believe and to love what we're hearing in the gospel. Therefore,
we who have righteousness imputed to us will in time be given faith
to believe it. We will submit to Christ and
his righteousness as our only hope and entitlement to all of
salvation. The last part of verse 17 says,
as it is written, the just shall live by faith. This is quoted
from Habakkuk 2.4, the justified person shall live by his faith,
which means that the person who is justified before God, that
is declared not guilty, righteous by God's grace in Christ, shall
live by looking to and resting in Christ continually. He knows
his only righteousness before God is Christ and him crucified. We must never confuse the ground
of our salvation, which is the imputed righteousness of Christ,
with the fruit of our salvation, which is the powerful work of
the Holy Spirit in the new birth, which brings about faith and
repentance. Well, the title of the sermon
was What is the Gospel? I hope that in some small way
this morning that I've been able to communicate what this gospel
is and what it's not. As I close this study this morning,
I pray that God will use the message in some way to save his
elect, call them out, bring them into the fold, and stop them
in their tracks, stop them from trying to establish a righteousness
of their own and cause them to look to Christ alone for all
salvation. And what is the gospel?