All right, let's open our Bibles
now to the book of Romans, chapter 1. I believe if a person was terribly interested in learning
the gospel of God's grace, very interested in coming to
a good understanding of how God saves sinners. I would suggest
that that person diligently study the Book of Romans. Back many years ago, in 1948,
49, 50, I tried to pastor a Southern
Baptist church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And I went there in
December of 1947 and was there until April 1950
when I came here. And it was the book of Romans
that really gave me the greatest problems. I just didn't understand
the book of Romans. And the reason I didn't is because
I didn't know the gospel. I didn't know the gospel. I was
a preacher, pastor of a church, and attending a Bible college, but I didn't know
the gospel. And when I learned the gospel,
when I came here in April 1950 and heard the gospel for the
first time, it opened the book of Romans to me. The book of
Romans was the book I first studied that April, 1950, when I heard
the gospel. And it just opened up like a
flower opens up, the gospel of God's grace. John Calvin wrote
about the book of Romans and said this, when anyone gains
a knowledge of Paul's epistle to the Romans, he has an entrance
open to him. to all of the most hidden treasures
and beauties of scripture, the book of Romans. Now, this was
not Paul's first epistle. Several epistles were written
before he wrote the epistle to the Roman church. But the translators,
and I believe they were taught and inspired of God when they
put together the King James translation of the Bible. And I would strongly,
strongly, strongly urge you never, never to lay this translation
aside and pick up another in this church. Never. It's the best, the best scholars
and Bible teachers and preachers of the 17th century translated
it on order of King James. It was the Bible's best translation
in the English language up to that time and since. But the translators, when they
put together this English translation, they didn't put Paul's epistles
in the order in which he wrote them, but they put Romans first.
Romans comes first, after the book of Acts. And I believe they
did that because of the subject of this epistle. The chief design
of Paul in Romans is to set forth in a clear light justification
by faith, free and sovereign justification by the blood of
Christ. That's his whole, that's his
subject in Romans. That's what he said in Rome.
We conclude, this is my conclusion, that a man is justified by faith
without the works of the law. Justification is not by works,
it's not by law, it's not by circumcision, it's not by ceremony. Justification is by the righteousness
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the blood of the Son of God,
which by the grace of God. is given to us and received through
faith. All right, let's look at it.
And I may, in the next few weeks, be preaching a while on the book
of Romans. He says Paul, chapter 1, verse
1. Yes, Paul. You know, the true
servants of Christ, they're honored and respected. I appreciate Brother
Chuck and other men praying for this pastor, and they do, and
they honor and respect ministers of the gospel. This church loves
missionaries and pastors and preachers and elders who preach
the gospel. And you honor them because they
minister to you the things of God. But true ministers never
take unto themselves titles of honor and self-glory. Paul doesn't call himself Bishop
Paul, he doesn't call himself Reverend Paul or Doctor, he just
says Paul. Paul. They're honorable men, but they
don't seek honor and glory. In fact, our Lord said over here
in Matthew 23, I think it would be worth our while to turn over
there and see what he says about taking to ourselves titles. over
here in Matthew 23, verse 6. He's talking about these Pharisees,
religious Pharisees in Matthew 23, verse 6, and he says, they
love the uppermost rooms at the feast. They love the chief seats
in the synagogues. They love greetings in the markets.
They love to be called of men, teacher, teacher, master, master,
rabbi. But be ye not called rabbi, master,
for one is your master, even Christ. O ye brethren, call no
man father upon the earth, one is your father which is in heaven.
Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even
Christ. He that is greatest among you, he shall be your servant."
And that's the next thing Paul says about himself. He says,
I'm Paul. In Romans 1, verse 1, I'm Paul.
I'm a servant, a servant of Jesus Christ, that's what I am. And
that's recognition enough, isn't it, to be a servant of Christ? That's the way the Lord identified
Job, when he said to Satan, this is awesome times, when the sons
of God came before the Father, and Satan came among them, and
the Heavenly Father dressed our adversary, and he said, Have
you considered my servant, Joseph? Boy, that's a great title, isn't
it? My servant. And unlike him, he said, He's
my servant. John the Baptist said, I'm just
a voice. They said, Well, who are you?
Well, Christ said he was the greatest man born of woman. But
he said, I'm just a voice in the wilderness. Cry, prepare
ye the way of the Lord. Then Paul said, But I do have
an office. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle. I do have a special office, I
do have a ministry, I do have a stewardship, given to me by
my Lord. He put me, Paul said, in the
ministry. I am called to be an apostle. I think it would do well for
us to turn to Ephesians and see this special designation by our
Lord of certain men to be teachers and pastors and evangelists and
apostles. In Ephesians 4, verse 10, he
that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the
heavens, that he might fulfill all things. And he gave some
apostles, there were twelve of them, and some prophets, there
were many of those, and some missionaries, evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. So Paul said, I do have a stewardship,
I do have a special office given me by the Lord And I've called. And no man takes this upon himself,
but he that's called of God. And then he says, I'm separated
unto the gospel of God. I'm separate, I'm set apart.
I'm dedicated to. I'm literally obsessed with the
gospel of God. That's the title of this message. I'm separated unto the gospel
of God. My friends, there is but one
gospel. That's all. Never has been but
one gospel. Never has been, is not, and never
will be but one gospel. Just one. That's what Paul said
in Galatians. If you care to turn to Galatians
1, or I'll just read it to you, you're familiar with this. Just
one gospel. I know that some very prominent
preachers of this day declare that there'll be people in heaven
who never heard the gospel, never heard of Jesus Christ. Muslims,
Islams, Buddhists, Confucius, whatever. But they were good
people seeking the light and they would be in heaven, but
not according to the scriptures. It was one gospel, not several. Paul says in Galatians 1, 6,
I marvel talking to this church at Galatia and what they had
They had turned to this situation. They believed Christ, but they
believed something needed to be added to Christ. They weren't
denying that Christ died and Christ was a perfect, obedient
Son, or even the Son of God. But they were trying to add to
Christ blood and righteousness, their righteousness and works,
circumcision, Sabbath day, keeping certain diets. They were saying
it's Christ and works. Paul said, that's to leave the
gospel. It's all of grace and not of
works, or it's all of works and not of grace, that's what he
said. He said, I marvel that you are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel,
which is not another gospel at all, but there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. He said on one occasion,
if righteousness comes by the law, Christ died in vain. He said, I do not confuse, confound
the gospel. If righteousness comes by works,
Christ died in vain. So he says, this is not another
gospel, it's a perversion of the gospel of Christ. But though,
listen to verse 8, but though we are an angel from heaven,
now listen, The Apostle Paul is plain on it, whether it's
me or an angel from heaven. He didn't say if it's the leading
pastor at the first church in town or the second church. He
didn't say if it's a bishop or if it's an Anglican or a Catholic
or a Methodist. He said if it's an angel from
heaven who comes down here and preaches another gospel. Let him be accursed. That's serious,
isn't it? There is no other gospel. He
said, I don't care if it's an angel from heaven or if it's
me, he said. If it's we or an angel from heaven
who preaches to you any other gospel than the gospel of God,
of God's grace, of Christ Jesus, of his precious blood and perfect
life, and death on the cross, and burial and resurrection,
and intercession as our prophet, priest, and king. If they put
anything with it, let them be accursed." Now, I'm going to
say that again, verse 9, in case anybody misunderstood, or anybody
thought I got carried away. I say it again, if any man preach
any other than the gospel you have received. Let him be anathema. Let him be cursed. Paul said they'll preach another
gospel by another spirit and another Jesus. That's what he
said in 2 Corinthians. He says, I'm separated from the
gospel of God. And I'll give you five marks
of the gospel of God. It's called the gospel of God
because it's his gospel. It's God's gospel. It's not Paul's
gospel or the Baptist gospel or the Catholic gospel. It's
God's gospel. And it's God's gospel, number
one, because he purposed it. And he purposed it from all eternity. He said he made an everlasting
covenant. That's what David called it.
That's what Paul called it in Hebrews. I loved you with an
everlasting love. And it has an everlasting Savior,
who is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
And it has an everlasting people. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. This gospel is the gospel of
God because when there wasn't anybody, there was no earth,
there was no foundation of the earth even laid. There was none
but God. And in that everlasting, everlasting,
he made a covenant with his son and gave to him a people whom
he loved everlastingly. And said, it's God's gospel.
It's God's gospel secondly because in the fullness of time he accomplished
it. He brought it to pass. When the
fullness of time was come, God said, here's son. the one he
chose, the one he anointed, the one he designated as the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. When the fulness of
time, when the fulness of purpose had been accomplished, and all
these prophecies and promises had been made and patterns had
been established, he sent him into the world, made of a woman,
made under the law, for the sole purpose of redeeming them that
were under the law. God executed him. It pleased
God to bruise him. God put him to grief. God sent
him to the cross. And it's of God, thirdly, because
he applied it to each individual. Each one of those whom he chose,
whom he loved, whom he gave to Christ, by whom Christ suffered,
God crossed their path in a perfect, kind purpose. Paul wrote about
it. He said, When it pleased God,
who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by He revealed
his son in me. He stopped him on the road to
Damascus. That's far enough. Saw Saul, talked to him from
heaven. My, my, my. He said, Peter, you
didn't learn that in school. My father revealed that to you.
It's God's gospel, he purposed it, he executed it, he applied
it. And I'll tell you this, fourthly,
and each son and daughter, he keeps them, he sustains them,
he said, to an inheritance reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of God through faith. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, each step he takes. He never takes a step that God
didn't purpose in all eternity. Each step. Jude said, unto him
who's able to keep us from falling. He's able to save us, he's able
to keep us. And fifthly, it's God's gospel
because one day, one of these days, the Lord Jesus said, all
that my Father giveth me will come to me. And him that cometh
I'll in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven, not
to do my will, I came to do the will of him that sent me. And
this is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he
hath given me, I won't lose a one. I'll lose none, nothing, but
I'll raise him up at the last day. This is the will of him
that sent me, that he that seeth the sun and believeth on him
hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up. That's God's gospel. That's the
only gospel. And if an angel comes down here
and preaches anything else, I'm going to tell him to skedaddle.
He can't preach here. And if I preach anything else,
you tell me to skedaddle. All right? That's what Paul says. And he says this gospel, now
watch this second verse. It's no new gospel. It's the
gospel which he had promised of four by his prophets in the
Holy Scriptures. This gospel is the very same
gospel and message and proclamation he gave to Adam in the Garden
of Eden, after he fell. He said, Adam, the seed of woman,
will bruise the serpent's head. That's the first gospel sermon,
just a short time after Adam fell. The seed of woman. It's the gospel
he spoke to Abraham before a word of the Bible was ever written.
He said, Abraham, look at the stars. Can you count them? No. The sands of the seashore, can
you count them? No. That's how many seeds you'll
have. Children of faith in every nation
through your seed. Isaac, who's Christ. That's the
gospel he preached to Moses. when he told him to take that
Passover lamb and slay it, what you talked about the other night,
slay that Passover lamb. Gospel was preached to those
people in the wilderness. Same gospel I'm preaching tonight,
Christ the substitute. In Genesis, he's the woman's
seed. He's the seed of Isaac. He's Melchizedek the priest,
offering the bread and wine. In Exodus, he's the lamb, the
Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he's the atonement.
God said, it's the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
I've given it to you upon the altar. It's the blood that makes
atonement for the soul. No atonement without blood. In
Numbers, he's the cross, the brazen serpent. I read that again
today. God said, you take a brazen serpent,
made in the likeness of those serpents that have bitten the
people. As Christ was made in the likeness of our flesh, he
took on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. And you put
that serpent up on a pole, you put Christ up on a cross. As
Moses lifted up the serpent on the pole, even so shall the Son
of Man be lifted up on a cross, that whosoever believeth may
have everlasting life. That's the gospel he promised
before. It's the gospel he promised in Deuteronomy when he said that
prophet whom I'll raise up, he'll tell you everything you need
to know, and blessed is the man who'll hear him." And somebody
said, well, how are we going to know it's your prophet? I tell you,
God said, how do you know? What he says will come to pass.
That's how you know. Which he promised a flower. He
said in Isaiah, you pray to a God that can't hear and can't say.
I'm a God who declares the end from the beginning. And everything
that I foretell and prophesy comes to pass, which he promised
to fore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Look at verse
3. It's concerning his son. That's
what this gospel is all about. It's concerning his son. The
best definition of the gospel is found right here in the first
three verses. of Romans, chapter 1. Paul, a
servant of Jesus Christ, called him an apostle, separated to
the gospel of God, the old ancient gospel, the everlasting gospel,
which he promised before way back yonder by his prophets in
the Holy Scripture concerning his son, his only begotten, well-beloved
son of his love, Christ Jesus. His son, listen, Jesus. Call
his name Jesus. He'll save his people from their
sins. His son, Jesus Christ. If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. And you didn't believe
me. But you didn't believe me because
you're not on my sheep. My sheep will believe me. I give them
eternal life, and they'll follow me. He's Jesus Christ. He's our Lord. He's our Lord. He's Lord by creation. In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God, and all things were made by Him. He's Lord of the
whole world because He made it. The earth is the Lord's, and
the fullness thereof because He founded it upon the seas. He established it. It's His,
and everything in it. He's Lord by creation. He's Lord
by decree. Peter said on Pentecost, God
hath made that same Jesus whom you crucified Lord and Christ. He is Lord by death. He died,
the scripture says, that he might be Lord of the dead and the living. He is Lord by exaltation. God
hath given him a name above every name, that is the name of Jesus.
Every knee will bow in heaven and earth and under the earth,
and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. to the glory of God. You think
there's any other gospel? Is there going to be somebody
in heaven that doesn't know him? Is there going to be somebody in
heaven that never heard of him? Is there going to be a voice
in heaven that's silent when we're all giving him the glory?
Come on now. God will say, how did you come
in here? How did you slip past the gate having no wedding garment,
having no palm of victory? having no blood washed robe.
How did you get in here? You don't belong here. Cast him
out! Weeping and gnashing of teeth.
He's Jesus Christ our Lord. Watch this now. And he was made. He was made what he wasn't. He
was made a man. He was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh. That's right. He was made flesh
and dwelt among us. He was made sin for us. He made
his soul an offering. He was made. But verse 4, but
he was declared to be what he is. He wasn't made the Son of
God. He was declared to be the Son
of God. He was already the Son of God. He was made flesh. He was made in the seed of David
according to the flesh. But he was declared to be the
Son of God by two proofs. What are they? He was declared
to be the Son of God with power according to his spirit of holiness. His perfect life. His perfect
life declares who he is. Never may a man ever walk this
earth in perfection but him. God-man. Spirit of holiness. And secondly, resurrection from
the dead. See, no man takes my life. I
lay it down and I take it up. I have that promise of my Father.
That's right. He's declared to be who he is
by his perfect life and his resurrection. He's made to be what he was on
this earth, the Son of Man in human flesh. The Bible tells
us that. Isaiah 7.14. Listen. Behold,
a virgin shall conceive and bear a child, the Son of Man. Call
his name Immanuel, the Son of God. Isaiah 9.6, unto us a child
is born, son of man. A son is given, the beloved son,
son of God. John 1.14, the Word, son of God,
was made flesh, son of man, and dwelt among us. Here is the mystery
of godliness. God, son of God, was manifest
in the flesh, son of man. Son of God, son of man. Made
to be the seed of David, the son of man, declared to be the
son of God. Question, why the God man? Why is all this necessary? Why
incarnation? Why should God come to earth?
Why should God come down here in such a miraculous, unusual,
awesome, supernatural way and walk this earth, born of a woman,
and walk this earth in human flesh and be tried and tested
and tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin, and
then be harassed and hated and persecuted and nails are crossed,
put in a tomb. Why? Well, turn to 1 Corinthians
15. I want everybody in here to turn
to 1 Corinthians 15. Here's the answer. Why? 1 Corinthians
15. This is essential. This is why the incarnation,
this is why the Son of Man, the Son of God became the Son of
Man, why the representative suffered and died. 1 Corinthians 15, verse
21, here's the answer. For since by man came death,
by man came the resurrection. That's your answer. All right,
look at the next verse, verse 22. For as in Adam all die, everybody
that's kin to him, everybody that came from his loins, So
in Christ the man shall all be made alive, all that are in him,
all that are akin to him. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15.47. Listen. The first man, 1 Corinthians
15.47, the first man is the earthy, he's dust. From the dust he was
taken, to the dust he went back. Hey, there's been a lot of men.
No, just two. Just two. Two representatives. Two federal
heads. By a man came death. By a second
man came life. By a man came sin. By a man came
restoration. By the first man, he's the earth
earthly. The second man is the Lord God
from heaven, everlasting life. He lives. He's life. That first
man is dust, death, and darkness. The second man is life, love,
and peace. Let's look at verse 48. As is
the earthy, Adam, such are they that are earthy. And as is the
heavenly, such are they that are heavenly. Oh, boy. Then he
says down here, verse 49, As we have borne the image of the
dust, thank God by his grace and substitutionary sacrifice
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. life everlasting. I want to tell you one more scripture,
Romans 5. Why the incarnation? Why the holy life? Why the awful
cross? Why the suffering Son of Man
and Son of God? Yes, everybody read Romans 5,
18 and 19. Romans 5, 18 and 19. Adam, judgment, came upon all
men to condemnation, all men, all men of the dust. Even so,
by the righteousness of one, Christ Jesus, the free gift,
came upon all men to justification of life. For as by one man's
disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of shall the many be made righteous." Can you find any way for anybody
to be made righteous other than by Christ? I can't find it. Can you find any possibility
of anybody ever entering into God's kingdom, God's covenant,
God's glory, God's heaven, who doesn't know Christ? The second
Adam, the second man, the man from heaven, substitution, Representation,
federal headship, sin came through Adam, life through Christ, death
came through Adam, restoration came through Christ. That's it! I am the Word, the Truth, and
the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. This is a record. God has given
us eternal life. This life is in his Son, who
enabled God to be just and justified. You can enable the law to be
satisfied, and justice to be honored, and our sins to be put
away. We sang it a while ago, though
your sins be as scarlet, I'll make them white as snow. And
if they're not white as snow, you can't be where snow is the
requirement. It just can't be. And I'm saying
we've got to see his eternal deity, who he is, his incarnation,
what he His holy life, what he perfected, his substitutionary
debt, what he suffered, his resurrection, his victory, his exaltation,
intercession, one advocate, one mediator, Christ Jesus, his return
when he raises us and we may like him. What part of that can
you leave out? A man doesn't believe those things,
he's a lost man. I don't care what his name is,
I don't care how big he is in religion. Back to my text, and
I'll close. Romans 1. Verse 5 says, By him
we have received grace. By him. There is no other fountain
of grace, fountain of life, no other. Let me give you some
things. Listen to me just a few moments.
Today's gospel is not this gospel. Today's gospel calls on proud
men to stand up and be counted. God's gospel commands us to bow
down and worship. Every knee bow, every tongue
confess his love. Today's gospel gives men a title
to heaven who do not love Christ. And the gospel of God declares,
If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema,
marianatha, cursed when Jesus comes. He doesn't love Christ. If any man love not our Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, marianatha, when Christ comes. Today's gospel makes salvation
an offer extended for man's acceptance. The word of God, the gospel of
God says eternal life is the gift of God, not of works, lest
any man should boast. The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Gift of God. Today's gospel makes
salvation to rest on the will of man. The gospel of God says
it's not of him that witheth, it's not of him that runneth.
It's of God that showeth mercy. For we are born, not of blood,
not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man. We are
born of God. That's what the gospel says.
Today's gospel identifies a Christian by what he doesn't do. I'm a
Christian. I don't drink, I don't smoke,
I don't curse, I don't swear. The word of God, the gospel of
God defines a Christian by what he is. He's a new creature in
Christ Jesus. And the gospel of today is change
a man's heart by changing his ways. The gospel of God is change
his heart and his ways will be changed. You can't change a man's
ways and affect his heart. But if God changes his heart,
he's got a new way of life. This is what the Pharisees, our
Lord condemned them, he said, you may clean the outside of
the cup, but within you are full of dead man's bones. First cleanse
the inside. Let me read you what he says
over here in Ezekiel. This is God's gospel, listen
to this. Ezekiel 11, I'll just read to you, verse 19. I'll give
them a new heart, I'll put a new spirit within you. I'll take
the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh,
and then you'll walk in my statutes. Then you'll keep my ordinances,
and then you'll be my people, and I'll be your God. It starts
with an operation. The gospel of God changes a man's
ways by changing his heart. And the last verse in Romans
1, verse 5, By whom we have received
grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations. among all nations for his name,
among whom are ye also the called of Christ Jesus." Paul says,
by our Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, God's unmerited
favor, and we have been taught the gospel of God, and we have
been given a ministry to preach Christ to all nations, that they
might be brought to the obedience of faith. And among them are
you. Among them, verse 6, are you
also the call of Christ Jesus. And whom he called, he justified,
and whom he justified, he glorified. Isaac Watts wrote a hymn about
using this verse, Among whom are ye also the call of Jesus
Christ. He entitled it, The Call of Jesus
Christ. Let me read you a few verses
of it. Not all the outward forms on
earth, nor plans that men have given, nor will of man, nor blood,
nor birth, can raise a soul to heaven. The sovereign will of
God alone creates us heirs of grace. Born in the image of his
Son, we are a new and chosen race, God's Spirit, a strong
effectual wind, blows on these sons of flesh, gives them new
love, new heart, new mind, and forms a new man afresh. That's redemption, regeneration,
the work of God. And you'll never be the same,
never be the same. salvations of the Lord. I'm so
glad it is, because if it were otherwise, I'd have no hope and
you wouldn't either. Of all men, most miserable.