Let's open our Bibles again to
the book of Romans. This morning we'll begin a study
through this Paul's epistle to the church at Rome. The theme
of this letter to the believers there at Rome is that justification
is by faith in Christ alone. Our works, our human heritage
don't have anything to do with it. And you know, that must have
been good news to the church there at Rome, because they were
all Gentiles. They could never hope to claim
justification because they were related to Abraham. They weren't. They couldn't hope to have justification
by keeping the law. They never had the law all the
time they were growing up and come to adulthood. So it was
good news to them that justification before God is by faith in Christ. Now Paul's letter to the church
at Rome is considered to be a literary masterpiece. You just begin to
read about it and even people in the world, unbelievers will
tell you, this is a literary masterpiece. I was a senior in
high school, our English teachers, Dr. Westerfield. And I thought,
oh no, this year's gonna be bad. Number one, she was known to
be a tough teacher. She was a tough teacher, a good teacher. But
she let it be known that our textbook, the first nine weeks
of the year, was gonna be the Bible. Everybody had to get a
King James version of the Bible, bring it to school. That's gonna
be our textbook for the first nine weeks. And we studied two
books. We studied the book of Ruth,
and we studied the book of Romans. And I thought, this is gonna
be an unmitigated disaster. I didn't know the Lord, but I've
been taught what that means, what this book means, and I thought,
Ms. Westerfield took the book of
Romans and she went through it. She told us that the book of
Romans is one of the best pieces of literature known to man. She
said she was teaching us how to write a paper. She said, if
you want to know how to write a paper, you study the book of Romans.
Paul does a masterful job of it. And she told us the theme
of the book is justification by faith. And she went through,
can you imagine doing this today? She went through verse by verse
through the book of Romans. And you know what? She gave an
accurate meaning of it. She surely didn't. And she said
she didn't believe a word of it, but she gave the accurate
meaning of it. Because simply by reading it,
this is so well written. You have to understand what Paul's
saying. Justification is by faith in
Christ alone. Now, I would agree that the book
of Romans is a literary masterpiece. But everything the Holy Spirit
inspires is, isn't it? It's a masterpiece. And I pray
that in our study in the coming months through this book, that
we see a whole lot more than how to write a well-written paper.
I pray the same Holy Spirit that inspired Paul to write this book
would open our eyes Give us eyes to see and a heart to believe
Christ that's revealed in Him. Now the title of the message
this morning is the gospel of God. The gospel of God. There's just one gospel. And
we here have taken a stand for that gospel. We've taken a stand
to preach that gospel. The gospel of God here in our
area. You who believe. You have staked
your eternal soul on this gospel. on the truth of this gospel,
the savior that this gospel preaches. Well, then aren't you glad this
is not a gospel that men have made up? This is not a gospel
of man. This is the gospel of God. Now
you can stake your soul on the gospel of God, can't you? In the opening verses of this
letter, Paul gives us six marks of the gospel of God. And the
first one is this, the gospel of God is God's gospel. It's all about God, verse one.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
under the gospel of God. Now, we would correct a lot of
errors in modern day religion if we get this understanding. The gospel is all about God. It's not about you and me. It's
about God. The gospel is all about telling
us what God has and what God has done for sinners. It's all
about God. The gospel tells us how God chose
to save sinners. The gospel of God tells us how
Christ came and he redeemed those sinners by his perfect life,
by his substitutionary death for them. It tells us how the
Holy Spirit comes to sinners and calls them to Christ. He
gives them life. He calls them to Christ. The
gospel of God tells us how God keeps those sinners that he saved.
He keeps them by his power, by the power of his grace. And the
gospel of God tells us how in his time, God will ultimately
glorify everyone he chose, everyone Christ died for. They will ultimately
be glorified and brought to glory because of who Christ is, because
of what Christ accomplished for them. The gospel of God declares
that salvation is of the Lord. It's all about God. Salvation
is by the will and the purpose of God. It's not by our will
or our decision. It's by the will and purpose
of God. So if we're going to preach the
gospel of God, we've got to begin and end with God, don't we? Because
this gospel is the gospel of God. It's all about Him. And
God takes the gospel, his gospel, the gospel that's all about him,
and he applies it to the hearts of his people through preaching. God raises up men to preach the
gospel of God. We preach God's gospel to God's
people. Isn't that a sobering thought? To preach God's gospel to God's
people. That's what Paul says. He was
separated to this gospel. You know why Paul was separated
from his mother's womb? God separated him from his mother's
womb for this purpose, so that when God called him, Paul's life
would be given, completely given over to the gospel of God, to
the preaching of the gospel. And God's pastors today are just
the same. We're not apostles. The Lord hasn't face-to-face
taught us the gospel, but we're separated to the gospel. were
to be given over to prayer and to study and preparation and
preaching of the gospel of God. God's servant has one function
in life. It's to preach the gospel of
God. It tells us who God is. It's all about God. Second, the
gospel of God is a sure gospel. It's sure because God who cannot
lie promised it. Look at verse two. which he had
promised to form by his prophets and the holy scriptures. Now,
before God ever created the world, God promised to save a people
in his son. He entered into a covenant, a
promise, that he chose a people and he put them in his son to
save. God promised he would save those people. Well, if God promised
to do it, Eric, salvation of those people, sure. God promised. God promised. It is a sobering
thought to think of preaching God's gospel to God's people.
But what a joy. I bring to you a promise of God
to his people. The salvation of God's elect
is sure, because nothing can be more sure than the promise
of God. The promise of God is just as
sure as the past acts of God that we've already seen come
to pass, because God's promises cannot fail to happen. That makes
God's gospel a sure gospel. This is not a maybe gospel. You
know, it's not, well, God will save you if you do this, or if
you do that, or if you don't do something else. That's a mighty
big if, isn't it? If this frail, fickle, ever-changing,
decaying creature of clay will do something or not do something
else? That's not a maybe salvation. That's a no salvation. Salvation
that depends on me. any way is not a maybe salvation. It's a definite no salvation. There's no hope there. But the
gospel of God that we preach is a sure gospel because it all
depends upon God, upon his promise, upon his character, upon his
ability to do for his people what he promised to do. We're
told that very plainly at the birth of our Lord. The angel
said, you call his name Jesus. He's going to come and he might
save a people. Oh, you call his name Jesus for
he shall save his people. That's a sure salvation. Salvation
by works, that's no salvation because we can't ever do enough
to earn salvation, but salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Now that's a sure salvation.
Look over a few pages of Romans chapter 4. This thing is sure. What a sure gospel to preach.
Romans 4 verse 16. Therefore, it is a faith that
it might be by grace to the end that the promise might be sure
to all the seed. Not to that only which is of
the law, not just to the Jews. but to that also which is of
the faith of Abraham, who's the father of us all." This gospel
is a sure gospel, proclaims a sure salvation to everyone who's been
given the same faith of Abraham, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's a sure gospel. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy
2, verse 19, that the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal. God knoweth them that are his.
He knows his people. and He will save them. Look at
Hebrews chapter six. God's not gonna fail to save
His people. Hebrews 6 verse 16. For men barely swear by the greater,
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise
the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it
by an oath, that by two immutable things in which it was impossible
for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. and which entereth into that
within the veil, whether the forerunner for us is entered. He's already entered there. Even
Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
This salvation that the gospel of God declares is sure. Christ already accomplished it.
He's already sat down on the throne of heaven because the
transaction He cried, it is finished. He wasn't just whistling Dixie.
Transaction was done. It's finished. The gospel of
God is a sure gospel. Thirdly, the gospel of God is
an eternal gospel. He says in verse two, which he
had promised to for by his prophets in the holy scriptures. Now the
gospel of God is just like himself. It's eternal. And God showed
us that his gospel is eternal by promising it to his people
all throughout the Old Testament scriptures. God's gospel is eternal,
and it was revealed to the ancient man in the scriptures. So if
we're going to preach the gospel of God, the gospel we preach
must agree with all of the Old Testament scriptures. The Old
Testament is not one way of salvation. And God said that didn't work
in the New Testament's a new way. No. The gospel of God is
declared in the Old Testament scripture. So if we're going
to preach the gospel of God, our doctrine, our preaching must
agree with the Old Testament scriptures. The gospel we preach
today must entirely agree with the gospel Moses, the prophet
Moses preached. What did Moses write of? He wrote
the first five books of the Bible. What did he write of there? Moses
wrote of Abel's land. which is a picture of Christ,
the Lamb of God, telling us that the only way a sinner can be
accepted is in the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God who
came to take away the sin of the world. Moses wrote of the
seed of woman who would crush the serpent's head. That's how
we're delivered from the power of Satan, because Christ crushed
his head at Calvary. Moses wrote of salvation and
the ark. He wrote of Christ delivering
his people from bondage in a picture of how Christ delivered Israel
from bondage in Egypt. Moses wrote of the Passover lamb,
how that Passover lamb is a picture of Christ, our Passover, sacrificed
for us. How is it that God and his wrath
against sin can pass over the likes of you and me? Only in
the blood of Christ, our Passover, sacrificed for us. The gospel
we preach must agree with the gospel that Moses preached, because
Moses wrote of Christ. Our gospel must agree with all
the Old Testament scriptures, the prophets, the law, the Psalms. Our gospel must agree with David's
gospel that he preached in the Psalms. David wrote of a savior,
a victorious savior, a king, ruling and reigning because he
conquered every enemy. He rules over his people because
he saved them from their sin, brings them into his kingdom.
David wrote of the Lord, saying unto my Lord, sit thou on my
right hand. God make your enemies your foes. He wrote of the victorious
Savior. It was David who wrote, if thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who can stand? David said, there's
forgiveness within. Thou mightest be feared." There's
forgiveness of sin in the Lord Jesus Christ. David wrote of
the Lord who remembered us in our lowest days. For his mercy
endureth forever and hath redeemed us from our enemies. For his
mercy endureth forever. David wrote there's mercy for
sinners in Christ. It's eternal, it endures forever.
David wrote of God's electing love. He said, blessed is the
man whom thou choosest and causes to approach him. It's David who
wrote, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord will not impute iniquity. How can that be? If we're going
to preach the gospel, our gospel must agree with the gospel David
preached. Our gospel must tell. How is
it possible for God to not impute iniquity to you and me who drink
iniquity like water? How is that possible? Only in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of God declares that.
And that brings me to my fourth point. The gospel of God is a
person. Oh, we correct so many doctrinal
errors if we get this through our head. The gospel of God is
not a set of doctrines. The gospel of God is a person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you'll take verse two,
that's a parenthetical phrase. Lift that out for a second. Go
back and read verse one. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, concerning
his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. The gospel of God is all about,
it all concerns Jesus Christ, our Lord. Everything that God
has done or ever will do for His people is all because of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is a person. It's
all for Christ's sake. Everything that God does for
His people is because of who Christ is, because of His person,
because of His character, and because of what He accomplished
for His people in His death. The Father accepts sinners, not
in a doctrine, in a person. Our Lord said, no man can come
under the father, but by me in a person. The father does not
see the sin of his elect. All I see about myself is sin. But when the father looks at
me, he doesn't see sin because he sees me in person, not in
my person, in the person of Christ. He sees my sin blotted out under
the sacrifice of Christ. So in every point of doctrine
in every spiritual question, in every verse of God's word
that you wonder, what does that verse mean? I can tell you that
I might not be able to tell you what it means, but I can tell
you what the issue is. I might not have the answer to every
question. I might not have the answer to every doctrinal question,
but in all things, I can tell you exactly what the issue is.
The issue is always Christ. Always. This is the question. What makes me a Christian? I
typically avoid them at all costs, but there have been times I've
looked at these blogs and things people get on the internet and
put all these crazy, wild questions, and then they spend years arguing
about them, you know, writing these big, long things. And I
always want to ask them, what does that matter? Here's a question. What think ye of Christ? Your
soul hangs upon the answer. What think ye of Christ? It's
not what you think about the law. Not what you think about
the imputation of sin. It's not what you think about
the imputation of righteousness. It's not what you think of the
millennium. Here's the question. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? Huh? Whose son is he? I'll tell you
a whole lot. He's the son of God. I believe I can put all my hope
of salvation on the Son of God, can't you? Depending on who He
is. Look at Luke chapter 24. Our Lord did not leave this for
us to wonder about this or stumble upon this answer for our own
selves. He told us this. All of the Scriptures
are written to show us Christ, to reveal to us that salvation
is in Christ. Our Lord himself taught us this.
Look here at Luke 24 verse 25. Then he said unto them, O fools,
it is low of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered
into his glory? And what he's telling him here
is all the Old Testament scriptures told you that was going to happen.
Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. The gospel
is a person. And they drew nigh into the village,
where they went, and he made as though he would have gone
further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for
it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went
in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat
at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and break, and
gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And he vanished out of their
sight. And then they said one to another, did not our hearts
burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while
he opened us the scriptures? Why did their hearts burn within
them when the Lord opened to them the scriptures? He didn't
have a scroll. He didn't have a Bible and open
it up. He opened their understanding of the scriptures by teaching
them that it's all concerning him. It was all written to reveal
Christ. Look here at verse 44, this is
our Lord appears to his disciples. These men who have been with
him, hearing him teach every lesson, preach every message
for three and a half years, look at this. And he said unto them,
these are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with
you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in
the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures, they didn't understand
the meaning of those scriptures until Christ opened them and
revealed to them that the meaning of all those scriptures is Christ.
It's all written to reveal to us Christ's salvations in Christ. Now, you and I can never understand
the Old Testament scripture. We can't understand the prophets
until we understand that the meaning of all those Old Testament
pictures is Christ. Abraham and Isaac. Remember,
they were going up to the mountain. Abraham said, you boys, you stay
here at the mules. I'm the latter to go yonder and
worship. We'll come again to you. And they started up the
mountain. Isaac's a full grown man at this
time. And he said, Father, Isaac, maybe he was looking forward
to the worship service. He said, Father, I see the fire. See the wood. Where's the leg of him? Where's
the lamb? Abraham, I wish somebody would
ask that question. Oh, where's the lamb? Oh, if you find him,
you find salvation. Abraham said, my son, don't you
worry about that. God will provide himself a lamb
for the sacrifice. God will provide himself as the
lamb for the sacrifice, as the lamb that will put away the sin
of his people. God will provide for himself a lamb that will
satisfy all of God's requirements so that he can save his people
from their sin. See, salvation is not just some
doctoral theory. It's a person, a person who suffered
and died as a substitute for the sin of his people. Scripture
tells us if God's going to accept you and me, we've got to be made
righteous. We've got to be made something
we're not. We've got to be made righteous. Do you know it's the
Old Testament scriptures that tell us how that can happen?
It's only possible in a person, in Christ our Savior. Jeremiah
the prophet told us that. This is the name wherewith she
shall be called. Jehovah, our righteousness. The righteousness of a believer
is not a thing. The righteousness of a believer
is a person. the Lord Jesus Christ. That changes
your whole view on righteousness, doesn't it? If we ever see Christ
as our righteousness. There is not a single scripture
in this book whose purpose is to tell you how to live. Did
you know that? There's not a single scripture
in all of God's word whose purpose is to tell you how to live. You
know how to live. You already know. You know to
be honest. You know to be kind. You know to be forgiving. You
know how to live. The purpose of every scripture
is to point us to Christ and tell us that salvation's in Christ. You look to Him. You follow Him. That's the purpose of every scripture. Now, without a doubt, The scriptures
do have instruction on the believer's conduct. And don't you mistake
me, I'm not saying the believer's conduct is unimportant. Far from
it, it's important. But the main purpose of those
scriptures that talk to us about the believer's walk, the main
purpose of those scriptures is to reveal Christ to our hearts.
Let me see if I can't show you that. You know that the scriptures
tell us to be forgiving, don't you? You know you ought to forgive
one another. Why is that scripture written
to tell us to forgive one another? Why is it written? It's written
to show us that forgiveness of sin is impossible. You forgive
others as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Now, you see,
if we get the point that the point is Christ, we'll be forgiven. See, you've got to see Christ
first. The same thing's true about loving
one another. You know the scriptures command us, love one another.
Our Lord said, this is my commandment that you love one another. As
I've loved you, you love one another. Now, why is that written? It's written to show us the love
of Christ for his people. By nature, we are not lovable.
That commandment is written to point us to Christ, to see his
sacrificial, unconditional love for his people. If God ever shows
us that the issue is Christ, we'll love one another. We'll
be a loving person. Same thing's true about being
a good husband or a good wife. In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul
gives us wonderful instruction. I read it often. I love it. I love that because I see Christ
in it. I read that often. I love what wonderful instruction
to tell us how to be a good husband and be a good wife. But now,
why is Ephesians 5 written? Is it written for marriage counselors
to have a basis to counsel in marriage? No, sir. How did the
apostle under inspiration of the Holy Spirit sum that up?
All this is a great mystery. I speak concerning Christ in
the church. Paul told us this is the message
of this passage of scripture. It's Christ and his bride, Christ
in the church. And if God ever shows us what
Christ is the issue, We'll have no problem being a good husband
and good wife, no problem whatsoever, because we'll follow him. And
I could go on and on and on. Every example you think of or
scripture talks about the believer's conduct, I assure you, it's always
Christ is the issue. And I'll sum it up by asking
you this. Who really cares if you learn to act better and miss
Christ? Did our Lord say that? What does
it matter if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? What
does it matter if you gain the whole thing and miss Christ? That's why we preach the gospel
of God. We always preach Christ. He's
the issue. You go back to the Old Testament
scriptures and look at the law. The law, the Ten Commandments.
That was not given to show us how we could earn our righteousness
or how we ought to act or what we ought to do and what not to
do. It wasn't. The law was given to show us
that salvation is in Christ. Christ is the issue. Number one,
when you read the law, you say, well, the only person who can
keep that is Christ. So it's written to point us to Christ,
isn't it? But you know, even the law told us, point blank,
that salvation is in Christ, the law of the Sabbath. The law
gives you all these things you got to do. And then it says on
the Sabbath day, you rest. Don't do anything, just rest.
The law of the Sabbath told us salvation is not by our works. It's in Christ, that you rest
in him. That's what the law of the Sabbath
is written. It's written to show us Christ. Look in Psalm 118. David in the Psalms made this
perfectly clear. That the gospel is all about
Christ. It all concerns Him. Salvation
is a person. Psalm 118, verse 14. The Lord is my strength and song
and is become my salvation. David made that so plain. Salvation
is not a thing God gives. The Lord is become my salvation. Salvation is a person. Look at
verse 21. I will praise thee for thou hast
heard me and art become my salvation. The gospel is a person. And if
anybody here wants to understand the gospel, you seek Christ. If you find him, you'll understand
all of the gospel. Salvation is a person. Does anybody
here want to be saved? Does anybody here need to be
saved? Do you? Then you seek Christ. If you find Him, you've got salvation,
because He is salvation. All right, here's the fifth thing.
The gospel of God identifies the only Savior. Verse 3, back
in our text. This gospel of God is concerning
His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of
God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. Paul tells us that in order to
be saved, in order to have a savior for his people, the son of God
had to be made what he was not. And he had to be declared to
be who he is. The son of God was made what
he was not. He was made flesh. The father
prepared for Him a body, a human body of flesh and bones and blood. He was made what He was not.
He was made a man. And that man, Jesus of Nazareth,
was declared to be who He is. He was declared to be the Son
of God. The Son of God had to be made
a man so that as a man He could obey the law for His people who
were sinful men and women. He had to be their representative
that he had to become what we are. He had to become a man.
In order to pay the sin debt of his people, who are men and
women, Christ had to become a man so he could pay their sin debt
as a man. But if he's going to pay their
sin debt, he's got to be declared to be who he is. He's got to
be God so that he can be holy, so that he's righteous, so that
he cannot sin, so that he can be the sinless sacrifice to put
away the sin of his people. and have a perfect obedience
that he can impute to the end. The Savior must be both God and
man. He's got to have both the nature
of God and the nature of man. And he was declared to be the
Son of God, Paul says, with power, power. You think about when the
Savior was born. He was declared to be the Son
of God with power. God sent a host of angels. to sing the birth of His Son,
to herald the birth of His Son. You and me put an announcement
in the newspaper. God sent a host of angels to announce the birth
of His Son. That's power. And throughout His earthly ministry,
the man Jesus of Nazareth was declared to be the Son of God
with power by the miracles that He did. Everybody knew it. No
man could do these things you do except God be with you. You've
got the power of God. This man created matter. The
same one who spoke the world into existence took a boy's lunch
and started breaking up pieces of bread and created matter.
So that after everybody was filled, they had more than they started
with. He did the same thing with the fish. He started breaking
it and he created matter. He's the creator. This man has
the power to raise the dead. He made the lame walk. He made
the deaf hear. He made the blind to see. Those
were the things that were prophesied in the Old Testament. This is
the this is what the Messiah is going to do. He's declared
to be the son of God with power. And the gospel of God tells us
how God saved sinners through this one that God made. Christ
was made what he was not so that his people could be made what
they're not. Not only was Christ. Made a man. The Son of God was made what
He was not, but Father made Him sin for His people. See, God's
holy. God demands perfection. He can't
even accept one sin. So God sent His Son to put away
the sin of His people. He did it as a man, obeying the
law perfectly for His people, imputing that obedience to them
so that they're righteous. But then, He had to make His
sinful people He had to make them righteous. And here's how
he did it. The father made him sin for his
people. An injustice. The father. It wasn't man. You don't have
to argue about whether it was the Jews or the Romans that killed
the Lord. No, it was the father. The father put his son to death.
He killed him in justice as a sacrifice for sin. And now God's people
are saved in justice through the God-man. the one who could
be their representative as a man and be perfect as God, to put
their sin away. And the proof of it, the proof
that Christ paid the sin debt of his people is God raised him
from the dead. You know why he raised him from
the dead? Because the sin laid on him was
gone, put away under his blood. He raised him in power, declaring
him to be who he is, the mighty, successful, conquering, reigning
savior. The father has declared his son
to be who he is. He's king. After he raised him
from the dead, he sent him back to glory. And the father said,
you sit right here in my right hand. You sit on the throne of
heaven. And you just wait till I make
your enemies your footstool. When I accomplish my purpose
for my people, I'll make all your enemies your footstool.
Christ is king. He sits on the throne of heaven.
And my friend, you be sure you get this. You can't make Jesus
your savior. You can't make him king in your
heart. You can't let him be king in your heart. God's already
made him king. He's declared him to be who he
is. But I tell you what, you can't make him king. You can't
let him be your savior. But you can seek him. You can
beg him for mercy. You can ask him to be your savior.
You can't make him your savior. Thank God he can make you his.
He can make you what you're not because the Lord Jesus Christ
has all the power. We are in his hand to do with
as he pleases. Then I pray God give us a little
bit of wisdom and bow at the feet of the king and ask him
to have mercy on us. He got the power to do it. And
then lastly, the gospel of God identifies the people who Christ
saved. Look here at verse five. by whom
we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among
all nations for his name. Everyone God saves is called. They're called to Christ through
the preaching of the gospel of God. And when they, I'm sorry,
I skipped ahead. Mike, you're not the only one
lost your place. I completely lost my place. Number one, the
people that Christ saved, they've received grace. grace. He says here, you've received
grace in apostleship. They're not saved because they
earned it. They're saved because they received it as a gift of
God's grace. Second, the people that Christ
saved have obedience. They're obedient people. They
have the obedience of faith. God's given them faith in Christ.
They've not been obedient to the law themselves, but yet they
have a perfect obedience to God's law and obedience to theirs. because Christ gave it to him.
It's his obedience that he gave to him, and it's ours through
faith in Christ. Salvation is by grace through
faith in Christ. Justification is by faith, not
by words. Then thirdly, the people that
Christ saved are called people. Verse six, among whom also you're
the called of Jesus Christ. Everyone that God chose, everyone
Christ died for is called. They're called to God. They're
called to Christ through the preaching of the gospel of God.
And when God the Holy Spirit calls, they come. They come willingly. They leave everything they've
ever done behind. They don't need it to help in
their salvation. They leave it behind and they come to Christ
as an empty, naked sinner. They come to Christ so that he
will be everything they need. Fourthly, the people that Christ
saved are all loved of God. all that be in Rome, beloved
of God. Now, remember, the gospel of
God's eternal. So God's love for his people
is eternal. And there's such comfort in that
truth. God loved the people before he
ever created anything. And God cannot change. So if
God ever loved you, if he loves you right now, he always has
and he always will love you. Nothing that ever happens will
make him quit loving you. Your love is eternal. Really,
nothing will ever happen to give God a reason to quit loving you.
Not if Christ died for you. If Christ died as a sacrifice
for your sin, your sin's gone. There's no reason for God to
be angry at you anymore. The only thing left for him is
to love you because Christ has put your sin away. The people that Christ saves
are saints. They're made holy. They're called
to be saints. The people that Christ saves,
they're made holy by Christ. They're made holy in the obedience
of Christ. They're made holy because they're
washed in the blood of Christ. And not someday, not someday,
right now, called to be saints. Saint Tony. He'll call you what
you are, what He's made you in Christ. Six, the people that
Christ saved are people who are saved by grace. To all that be
in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you. God's elect are not saved because
they deserve it. They're objects of God's sovereign
grace. Salvation from beginning to end
is of God's sovereign grace, electing grace. regenerating
grace, calling grace, keeping grace, adopting grace, sanctifying
grace. Salvation is all of grace. And
last, the people that Christ saved have peace with God. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone God saves has
peace with God. The carnal mind is at war with
God. The carnal mind is enmity with God, but God's people have
peace with God. because Christ made peace for
us through the blood of his cross. That's God's gospel. Isn't that
God's gospel? It's all about God, isn't it?
It's all about what he's purposed and what he's done for his people. I pray that God, in his mercy,
would give every one of us, every one of us here right now, the
faith to believe that gospel, to believe the Christ of that
gospel. Our Father, how we thank you
for the gospel of God. What unsearchable riches of your
character, the character of God, the mercy and grace and love
of God, the justice and power and sovereignty of God is declared
in the gospel of God. Father, how we thank you. In unspeakable mercy, with love
for your people, you've given us here the gospel of God. You've
given it to us to preach. Father, make us faithful to preach
it. Make us faithful to support it. Make us faithful to seek
out every opportunity to hear your gospel preached. Father,
give us faith, I pray. Give us faith to believe this
gospel of God. Let us leave here this morning
believing resting and trusting in the subject of the gospel
of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. What a Savior. Father, bless
us, I pray. It's in the precious name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, we give thanks and we ask these great
blessings.