Now, we're looking at Romans
chapter 1, and I'm taking the title for the message from verse
16. Verse 16 of Romans chapter 1. Now, I know this is a very, very
familiar verse with many of you, and I often, probably every time
I preach here, I quote this verse. The apostle says, I'm not ashamed.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. the gospel of Christ, talking
about the good news of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
For the gospel, it is, that is the gospel of Christ is the power
of God unto salvation to those, to everyone that believes the
gospel. Therein in that gospel is the
righteousness of God made known and revealed. Now in this chapter,
the apostle Paul calls the gospel that he just mentioned there
in verse 16, he calls it over in verse 1, 2, and 3, the gospel
of God. You see, look back over at verse
1, Romans 1, 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Now,
the gospel of God is the same as the gospel of Christ. It's
the gospel that He promised to for by His prophets in the Holy
Scriptures. All the prophets, Old Testament
prophets, told us about the Lord Jesus Christ, One who is coming.
And the gospel of God, that's the power of God into salvation,
verse 3, is concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. which was made of the seed of
David according to the flesh, but declared to be the Son of
God with power, with power. How much power does God the Son
have? All power in heaven and in earth. According to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead He was delivered from our
offenses and raised again because He justified us by His grace. The gospel, so then the gospel
of God and the gospel of Christ is the same thing. Same thing,
and it's concerning and all about the Lord Jesus Christ. The very
word gospel means good news, glad tidings. I tell you who
it's good news to. It's good news to the guilty.
There is grace for the guilty. It's good news to the miserable.
For therein in the gospel is God pleased to show mercy to
sinners who are miserable. The good news in the gospel is
all about concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
he is. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He's God Almighty, the eternal Son of God. And in the fullness
of time, this same one was made of the seed of David according
to the flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ and none
other than God manifest in the flesh. So the gospel is all about
His person and it's all about His blessed, successful, redeeming
work. The Lord Jesus is not a failure. He did exactly what He came to
do. To establish righteousness for
us, to freely give that unto us, and to put away our sin by
the sacrifice of Himself. The Apostle Paul said, I'm determined
to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This gospel that the Apostle
Paul says that he's not ashamed of. He said he's ready and willing
to preach the gospel to all that will hear and receive that message. Paul declares in verse 14, 15
and 16, three things about his ministry and about his message.
First of all, in verse 14 of Romans 1, he says, I'm a debtor. I am debtor, a debtor. A debtor is one who is obligated. Paul felt obligated. He had been
so blessed of God to receive the mercy of God, the revelation
of Christ, he felt obligated to tell other men about this
gospel of God. He said, I'm a debtor, both to
the Greeks, to the Gentiles, to the barbarians, To those who
are educated, the wise, and to those who are uneducated, the
unwise. Paul says, I'm a debtor. I'm
obligated to declare this gospel without exception. To everyone
that we run into, we should be a witness of the gospel of God's
grace. We are told to go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. Turn to Ephesians
chapter 3 for just a moment. Go and preach the gospel. The
Apostle Paul was determined to do that, to preach Christ and
Him crucified. Ephesians chapter 3, look at
verse 7. Wherefore I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God, given to me by
the effectual working of His power, unto me, whom less than
the least of all the saints is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable, unsearchable riches
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the unsearchable richness of His
love, of His mercy, of His grace, and of His power. Paul desperately
wanted others to know the gospel. We sang a moment ago, O to grace
how great a debtor I am daily constrained to be. You see, believers,
and every believer is a debtor, I am a debtor to His mercy. for
his mercy has saved me and made me a new creature. We are as
believers indebted to his love, wherein he loved us, having loved
his own, he loved them to the end, he loved us unto death. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us, and he sent his Son to be the sacrifice
for our sin. You see, every believer is a
debtor. We're a debt in debt to the Lord's
love, to His mercy. And how about His grace? How
about His grace? I am what I am by the grace of
God. We're a debtor to the Father
who chose us in that eternal covenant of grace. We're a debtor
to God the Son who redeemed us. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are indebted to God the
Holy Spirit that quickens us by His power and by His grace. You see, we are beggars before
God. We are debtors and we are mercy
beggars before God. You know what witnessing and
preaching is? It's one beggar telling another
beggar where he found bread. And my friend, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is the bread of life. And I'm a beggar, and I'm telling
you, if you're a beggar, look to Christ. Salvation's in Him. In Him. So Paul says, I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor. All of us who believe
are indebted to God for His grace and His mercy, His love unto
us. And then in verse 15 of Romans 1, Paul says, for as much as
in me is, as much as in me is, I'm ready. I'm ready to tell
this message. I'm ready to preach Preach. Preach is to declare the gospel
to you who are at Rome. Paul was a willing, able servant
of the Lord. You remember back in verse 1
of Romans 1? Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. Every believer is made a willing
servant of the Lord. We serve Him not out of fear
or punishment. We serve Him out of love and
gratitude. to preach the gospel. Paul was ready always to preach
the gospel. In prison, when he was beaten
and put in prison, what was he doing down there in Philippi?
Preaching the gospel. or whether he had opportunity
when the Lord opened the door in Antioch and other cities where
he traveled, he was ready to preach the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ and him crucified. He said, for as much as in me
is, I am ready, ready to preach Christ from the word of truth. Now turn over here to 2 Timothy
chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. When Paul writes back and instructs
the young minister Timothy, in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 1,
he says, I charge thee, therefore before God and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at the appearing
of his kingdom, preach the word, preach the word, be instant,
in season, out of season, be ready. to preach Christ, reprove,
rebuke, ignore it with all long-suffering and doctrine. Be ready to give
every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear. Paul was an able preacher and
a ready preacher. He was ready to die for what
he preached. And in the end of his ministry, you know what happened? He was put in prison for the
gospel's sake, wasn't he? And he said, now the time of
my departure is at hand. There in Rome, he finally came
to Rome, but not He came to Rome but not on his own terms, he
came to Rome as a prisoner in chains on God's term. God's term. And there he preached the gospel
until he was executed for the gospel. And then he says in verse
16, something else we know about the ministry of the Apostle Paul,
he said, I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
Now, I'm ashamed of myself, and I'm ashamed of all that I am
by nature, a sinner, wretched, miserable. I can say with the
Apostle, oh, wretched man that I am. I'm ashamed of myself,
but I can say by the grace of God, I'm not ashamed of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of him." Those
justified and made righteous to the gospel of Christ certainly
own it. It's my gospel. Paul later called
the gospel of God concerning Christ, he said, it's my gospel.
It's my only hope. Believers justified and made
righteous in Christ certainly own it as their gospel. They believe it as such and boldly
confess it as all their hope before God and man. You see, we have a good hope,
a good hope through Christ. Therefore, we can say, we're
not ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the
power of God. unto salvation. Now to many who
are unbelievers, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is offensive
to them. There is an offense in the gospel. Many who are unbelievers, they're
ashamed of the gospel of Christ. To them, as we read in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, to them it's not good news. Remember the preaching
of the cross? Christ crucified to those who
are perishing? He said it's foolishness. but
unto us who were saved, saved by his blood, saved by his grace.
The gospel of Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God
unto salvation. But to many who are unbelievers,
the gospel is offensive. It's a stumbling block. It's
a rock of offense. The message of God's sovereign
grace in Christ, the message of the successful Savior who's
victorious and who cannot fail is offensive to the natural man.
Did you know that? It is now. You just get real
playing with the gospel to someone who's an unbeliever now. They'll
get angry with you. They'll get mad. They'll say
something like, well that's not right, that's not fair, that's
not what I thought. Well, salvation is not what you
think. Salvation is what it is as it's revealed in the Word
of God, the Word of Truth. Now, why is the Gospel offensive
to some? The Gospel of Christ is the power
of God. Why is it offensive to some?
The message of the Gospel of Christ declares all men are guilty
sinners. That's why it's offensive. Does
that offend you when I call you a sinner? Does that offend you
when I say you're guilty before God? You know, it says right
over here in Romans chapter 3 that there's none righteous, no, not
one. And then it said, let every mouth be stopped and all the
world become guilty before God. It says in that same chapter,
Romans 3, we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The message of the gospel declares
that men by nature are sinners, and this offends their dignity
and love of self. When you tell someone, well,
you're a sinner, well, you know, I may be not as good as I should
be, but I'm certainly not like that man over there. You see,
you justify yourself. No, my friend, let's just shut
right down to the cob. We're all guilty sinners before
God. Now if that's not offensive to
you, it's because you believe his word. The second reason why
this gospel is offensive to some, the message of the gospel declares
that it is a mystery and the natural man and the carnal mind
cannot understand it apart from the revelation of God. Look what
it says in verse 17 of Romans 1, for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. Salvation is not, and the Gospel
does not understand by natural logic. It says over in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2 verse 14, the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God. The carnal mind is yet enmity
against God. The message of the Gospel declares
that it's a mystery, the mystery of God that the natural man cannot
comprehend, cannot understand apart from the revelation of
God in your heart. And this offends man's puny wisdom,
doesn't it? Offends your wisdom. Well, I
can figure this out. No, you can't. The gospel is
a mystery that has to be revealed by God the Holy Spirit to your
heart. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. The third reason
why the gospel is offensive to some who are not believers. The message of the gospel declares
that salvation is all of God's grace alone by the substitutionary
sacrifice of Christ. No human works or righteousness
or human merit make any contribution whatsoever to salvation. Salvation is all of God, all
of grace. Let me show you that in the scripture.
Turn one page to Romans chapter 3. Verse 23 says, we've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by
His grace. We're justified by His grace. It says in the verse just above
that we're not justified by the deeds of the law. We're not justified
before God by anything we do, anything we contribute. were
justified freely by His grace through the redeeming work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Who put away our sin? Christ
Himself put away our sin. So salvation is all in Christ,
of Christ, no human merit, righteousness, make any contribution. And this
offends man's carnal thoughts of ambitions. He wants to contribute
something. He wants to bring something.
My friend, that would be salvation by works, wouldn't it? You tell
a sinner and shut him up to grace alone, Christ alone, faith alone,
and that will offend him. Not a believer. He knows in his
heart. He's been taught of God. If I'm
saved, it has to be God who does it. If I'm justified, it has
to be God who does it. The fourth reason The message
of the gospel is offensive to some. The message of the gospel
declares that God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. He'll
save whom he will. And this offends man's idea of
his preconceived notion that salvation is by his doing, his
will. But what does the Word of God
teach? The Word of God teaches it's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. You mean salvation is not by
my will? Oh no! Man's will is always self-ward
and downward, never God-ward and upward. Man's will is like
free-running water. It's all downhill. You see, God
has to will our salvation or we'll never be saved. Not of
him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows
mercy." And this offends man's idea. He thinks salvation is
by something he does, by his will. What does the book teach? The book teaches salvation is
by God's will. That offends a natural man. But the believer can say, those
things are not offensive to me because they're true. They're
true. We can say with the apostle,
I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That sovereign, saving, powerful,
almighty, effectual, electing grace of God. I'm not ashamed
of it. Now, in verse 16, let's look
at three or four things here that this verse declares unto
us. And here we see several reasons why believers are not ashamed
of the gospel. Now you can identify with this
if you're a believer. Several reasons are given here
in verse 16 and 17 why believers are not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. First of all, He says, it's the gospel of Christ. We're not ashamed of the gospel
definite article. There is not another gospel.
There's only one gospel, and that's the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ, that the power of God unto salvation. Turn over here to Galatians chapter
1. You remember the Apostle Paul
says over there, though we are an angel, in Galatians chapter
1, verse 8, though we are an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached, Let him be accursed. What did Paul preach? In verse 3 and 4 and 5 of this
same chapter, the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins
that he might deliver us from this present evil world according
to the will of God. You see that? To whom be glory,
to whom be glory forever and ever. So he says, though we who
are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, verse
8, Let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we preach, let him be accursed. You see, there's just one gospel.
There's just one way. There's just one Redeemer. There's
just one Savior. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the gospel of Christ
is not that God has done His part and you must now do your
part. That's not the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ is that salvation is of the Lord. It's
His doing. You see, the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, now listen to me carefully. The Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ is not about you. Most ministries revolve around,
well, it's about you. This ministry here is not about
you. This ministry here is about Him. It's about the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. We preach Christ. I point you
to Christ. Look to Him. The gospel is all
about Him. His person. The gospel is about
who He is and what He did for us. Christ once suffered for
our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. The Gospel declares how that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. How He died
according to the Scripture. As our substitute wounded and
bruised for us, it pleased God to bruise him in our stead. You
see, it's all about how he died, how he was buried, how he was
raised again by the power of God, and how he completely, successfully
completed all of salvation for his covenant people. You see,
the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He died for the
ungodly. He came to save sinners. He didn't
come to help them save themselves. You know, I don't need just a
little bit of help. I'm dead in sin. I must be quickened by
the Spirit of God. He came to save sinners, not
to make salvation a possibility. He came to save them by His blood
and to justify them by His grace. And that's what He did. You remember
the messenger from heaven, anticipating the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, said, Call His
name Jesus, He shall save His people from their sin. So there's just one gospel, no
other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be
saved. There's one Savior who actually saves. There's one Redeemer
who actually redeemed His people. You see, we're not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ. Here's the second point, the
reason we're not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power
of God. Do you see that? It's the power
of God. Now, that word power in the original
is where we get the word dynamite. The English word dynamite comes
from this word in the Greek. It's the dynamite of God. The
gospel of Christ is the explosion of God. The power of God unto
salvation. The gospel not only speaks of
mercy, but by His power it brings mercy to us. That takes power. The gospel not only speaks of
pardon, but brings pardon to us, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches
of His grace. The gospel not only declares
justification in Christ, but actually that Christ actually
and already justified us when He died. You see, that's power. That's the power of God unto
salvation. The Gospel not only speaks of
salvation, but it brings that salvation to us. He makes application
to our heart. Look over here at Ephesians chapter
1. Let's try Ephesians chapter 2. Turn there for just a minute.
in Ephesians chapter 2, look at verse 1, and you hath he quickened,
Ephesians 2 verse 1, and you hath he quickened who were dead
in trespasses and in sin. Now, what does it take to raise
a dead man from the grave? Now, you know the answer to that
question, don't you? When the Lord Jesus Christ walked
in front of the tomb of Lazarus, who'd been dead four days, and
said, Lazarus, come forth, that wasn't an invitation, was it?
Lazarus was helpless. That was the word of power from
the God of all power. Lazarus come forth, and he that
was dead came forth. That's what kind of power it
takes to raise a dead sinner. That's what he's saying right
here. And you had the quickened who were dead and trespassed
as they had sinned. Wherein time passed, you walked
according to the course of this world. according to the prince
of the power of the air, that spirit that now worketh in children
of disobedience, among whom also we all had a conversation in
time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath, even as others. But God, that's His power. But
God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved
us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together
with Christ. By grace are you saved, and raised
us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's power. That's power. You see, the gospel of Christ
is the power of God unto salvation. It is the gospel itself that's
the power of God unto salvation. It's the gospel itself. The word that I speak, someone
might say, well, he brought a powerful message. Well, That's really
not a good statement. The gospel itself is the power
of God. Whether I speak it with weak
and a feeble method or whether I speak it with eloquence, my
word that I speak is not the power of God. It's the gospel
itself that's the power of God unto salvation. Now, let's look
at another scripture. I can show you that over here
in 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 1, And
I, brethren, When I came to you, 2 Corinthians
1, 1, came not with the excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. Now this again is the gospel
of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and
in fear and in much trembling. Paul wasn't a powerful speaker.
He was a weak and feeble man. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. And he spoke the truth, that's
the power of God, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God. The power of God. Now look right
back in 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 22, 1 Corinthians 1, 22. The Jews require a sign, the
Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified unto
the Jews, a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God. And Christ, the wisdom of God. You see, it's the gospel that's
the power of God unto salvation. Now look back at Romans chapter
1 again. Here's the third reason that
believers are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It fits
my need. It fits my need. It's the power
of God in the salvation to everyone, to everyone whosoever believeth. To everyone that believeth this
gospel. This gospel. Those who believe
the gospel are not ashamed of it. Not ashamed to confess the
Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of God concerning
Christ is the power of God in salvation. is a distinctive,
discerning message to everyone that hears His Word and believes
it. Turn to John chapter 10. Let
me show you this. Remember He said, My sheep, they
hear My voice. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believe the gospel, we believe according to the working of His
mighty power. Look at John chapter 10. The
Jews, verse 24, came round about him, said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Verse 25, the Lord said, I told
you, and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep. As I say unto you, My sheep,
they hear my voice. My sheep, they hear my voice,
I know them, and they follow me. This gospel is the power
of God to everyone that believe us. Turn back to John chapter
5. John chapter 5. Look at verse 24. John chapter 5, verse 24. everyone that believeth we believe
according to the working of his mighty power the just shall live
by faith John 5 24 you see faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of truth the word of God look at John 5 24 barely
barely I send you he that heareth my word and believeth on him
that sent me got it hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." To everyone
that hears the Word of God and believes the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, this Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. And those who believe are not
ashamed. Not ashamed to own Him and confess
Him. Here's the last reason found
in verse 17. Believers are not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ. Because in the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith as it is written, the just shall live by Christ, by faith
in Him. Believers are not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ because in the gospel of Christ the righteousness
of God Now this is not talking about the essential character
of God. This is talking about the righteousness
of God that's revealed in the gospel and given in the gospel. Righteousness that's imputed
and given in the gospel. Let me show you a couple of verses
on this. If you turn over here to Romans
chapter 4. The righteousness of God revealed. In Romans chapter 4, look at
verse 3. For what sayeth the scripture,
Abraham believed God, that's faith, and it was counted to
him for righteousness. Now how righteous must this sinner
be to stand before a thrice holy God? I have to be as righteous
as God himself. It's not just the best I can
do. I have to be as righteous as God Himself. How can that
be? Only in Christ. He is the Lord,
our righteousness. Abraham believed God, it was
counted to him for righteousness. You see, in the gospel, the righteousness
of God is revealed, and that's the provided righteousness through
Christ and Him crucified. Look at verse 5. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. I have before God a blessed,
justifying righteousness in Christ. Read on, look what it says. Even
as David also described it, the blessedness of the man unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works. Now I'm interested in
that. God freely gives righteousness, and this is Christ our righteousness,
without work, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
will not impute sin. Well, that's a blessed man, isn't
it? That's the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel. In the Gospel. Look back at another
verse here. Look back at Romans 3. Let's
read a few verses here. Romans 3, verse 20. Romans 3, 20. Therefore by the
deeds of Elosh there shall no flesh be justified, for by the
law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the laws manifest, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by, watch it,
the faith of Christ. You see, it's His life, it's
His death that's charged to us as righteousness. God made Him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. By the faith of Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe, there's no difference. for all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Look, verse
24, Romans 3, "...being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth
to be the propitiation, the sacrifice for our sin, through faith in
His blood, to declare His righteousness." The remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. "...to declare," I say
at this time, "...His righteousness." You see that? that he might be
just, and the justifier of them which believe in Christ. Whereas boasting then is excluded
by what law of works, nay, by the law of faith. Therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. Turn to one other scripture,
Romans 5.19. Romans 5.19. You get a hold of this verse
and look at it real close. Romans 5.19. For as by one man's
disobedience, Many were made sinners. Now that's Adam in the
garden. That's what happened in the garden.
Adam's disobedience was charged to your account, guilty before
God. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
There's two representative men. In Adam, all died. In Christ,
all are made alive. In Christ were made righteous.
Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but
where sin abounded, Grace does much more abound, that as sin
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Look
back at Romans 1 again. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Why? It's the only gospel. The power of God unto salvation
is to everyone that hears the word and believes it. Therein
the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed. The one of the
apostles said, I count everything else lost, dung, and ruined,
that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is called
in Scripture the Lord, our righteousness.