Paul said in this first chapter,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For that gospel of
Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth,
Jew, Gentile, male, female, old, young, rich, poor. I'm not ashamed
of the gospel. And then the apostle said again, Necessity is laid upon me. I
must preach the gospel. The gospel. I must preach the
gospel. Woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel. And then he warned those who
departed from the gospel. He said, if any man preach any
other gospel, it doesn't matter who it is, even if it's an angel
from heaven. Let him be accursed. Let the
wrath of God be upon him. And our Lord, when he assembled
his apostles together before he ascended to the Father, said
to them, All authority is given to me. All power in heaven and
earth is given to me. As my Father sent me, I send
you. You go into all the world and
preach the gospel. And lo, I'm with you always,
even to the end of the world. But you go preach the gospel.
What is the gospel? What is this gospel? A lot of
people today talk about the gospel, but they don't preach the gospel. They don't define it. They don't
proclaim it. They don't preach it. And most
of this world's population, religious though it be, is ignorant of
the gospel. What is the gospel? A lot of
people talk about Jesus. They call him Jesus. But a lot of people preach the
name of Jesus. But they don't preach Christ.
They don't declare who He is. They preach about Him. But they
don't declare who He is, what He did, why He did it, where
He is now. Who is He? Well, Paul makes four
statements in this Romans 1. Four statements that I believe
are most vital in defining the gospel. Four statements. he makes in defining the gospel. I'll have you underscore them.
I'll have you look at them with me very carefully, prayerfully,
because I want to preach the gospel. I want you to know the
gospel. In verse 1, he identifies himself,
his office, his calling. He said, I'm a servant of Jesus
Christ. I'm an ambassador. a bond slave,
I'm called to be an apostle, and I'm separated to the gospel
of God. Now that's the first thing that
I would declare about this gospel. It's the gospel of God. And notice
the definite article is THE gospel of God. It's the only gospel
of God. There is no other gospel of God. Never has been, never will be.
It's THE gospel of God. You see, the gospel is not a
new message. The gospel is not 2,000 years
old, since the birth of Christ. The gospel goes back to the beginning. Paul writing to the church at
Thessalonica, he said, Brethren, beloved of God, I thank God for
you. Because God has, from the beginning,
chosen you to salvation, to a knowledge of the gospel, to know the gospel,
to partake of the gospel, to be redeemed by the gospel. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth, and in the beginning, God established
the gospel. The gospel is no new message.
The gospel is not confined to the New Testament. The gospel is not a new way of
salvation. God has never ever saved any
creature, human being, except by the gospel of God. It's His
gospel. It was born in His heart, originated
from Him. He's the cause of it. He's the
giver of it. It's His covenant. Paul wrote
to the church at Ephesus. He said, He said, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who have blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in the heaven according as He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world." Christ was Christ before
the foundation of the world. He was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. We were the elect of God before
the foundation of the world. We were blood-washed people,
a holy people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation before the foundation
of the world. God has chosen you in Christ
before the foundation of the world that you should be holy
and without blame before Him in love. It's called the everlasting
gospel. See what I'm saying? This gospel
is the gospel of God. From God, of God, to God. Brings men to God. Look at Revelation
14, 6. This is the very first thing
that needs to be established in defining and preaching the
gospel. Whose gospel is it? In Revelation chapter 14, verse
6, And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel. Everlasting gospel. No new gospel. No new message. The everlasting
gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, to every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Let's go back to some other scriptures.
Go to 2 Timothy 1.9. 2 Timothy 1.9. It says, He saved
us. He called us. with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus. When? Before
the world began, when there was no one but God. This gospel,
before the morning stars sang together, before the foundations
of the earth were laid, before God said, let there be
light, before God said, let us make man, Christ Jesus was the
Lamb slain. The Lamb's book of life was written.
The covenant of grace was established. The gospel of redeeming grace
was established. That's right. Go back to Titus. Titus. Back from 2 Timothy to
Titus chapter 1 verse 1. Listen. a servant of God, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and
the acknowledging of the truth, the truth which is after godliness,
in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised
before the world began. And Ephesians 3, look at this,
I want to make this so clear, like this It's my last message
to you and your last message to him. What is the gospel? Ephesians 3, 9. Ephesians 3, 9. And to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things
but Christ Jesus. Not only the gospel, but the
world. to the intent that now, under the principalities and
powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church. The church
knows this. The church might know this. The
manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose of an
everlasting gospel, of an everlasting covenant, which he purchased
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Before there was a sinner, there
was a Savior. That's what I'm saying. Salvations of the Lord,
in His planning, He said, have I not purposed it, shall I not
bring it to pass? Whom He foreknew, foreordained,
foreappointed, whom He foreknew, He predestinated to be conformed
to the image of His Son, that Christ might be the firstborn
in glory, in heaven, in a kingdom among many brethren, and whom
he predestinated, he called, and whom he called, he justified,
whom he justified, he glorified." Now what shall we say to this? Well, if God be for me, if it's
God's gospel and God's purpose and God's elect and God's kingdom,
who can be against me? That's the comfort, it's God's
gospel. It's of the Lord in its purpose,
it's of the Lord in its execution. It pleased God that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. When did it please God? Before
the world began. But I want you to look at Isaiah
53. You know, when Peter was preaching
on Pentecost, talking to those fellows that crucified Christ,
he said, you did what God determined before to be done. He was preaching to that crowd
that hands were still stained with the blood of the Son of
God, who cried, crucify Him, we will not have this man reign
over us. Peter said, that's all right. What you did you wanted
to do, you will to do, with wicked hands you nailed Him to that
cross. But you did what God determined before the foundation of the
world to be done. Oh, he said, I know Herod and
Pontius Pilate and you Jews and Gentiles. Got together. But you got together to do what
His hand purposed to do. What He prophesied you would
do. And verse 10 of Isaiah 53 says this, It pleased, yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise him. He put him to grief, but thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin. Who made his soul an
offering for sin? He willingly did, and the Father
subjected him to this. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his days. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hands. That's what I'm saying. It pleased
God. It's God's gospel. It's of the
Lord in its purpose. It's of the Lord in its execution.
It's of the Lord in its application. It's the goodness of God that
led us to repentance. It's the Spirit of God that awakened
us and called us out of darkness into the kingdom of his Son.
It's the Spirit of God that gave us faith in Christ. It's the
Spirit of God that shed abroad His love in our hearts. It's
the Spirit of God who keeps us. Paul said that. He said, God
separated me from my mother's womb, but He called me by His
grace. And he was pleased to reveal
His Son in me. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
of the Lord in its ultimate glory. All that my Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me out
of no wise cast out." I came down from heaven, not to do my
will, but the will of him that sent me, the eternal will of
God. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me from before the
world, before the foundations of the earth, those whom he gave
to me, I'll lose nothing. Not a one, not a hair, nor a
hoof was left behind in Egypt, and not a One of God's elect
will be left behind when Christ comes. I'll raise him up at the
last day. Salvations of the Lord. He that
hath begun a good work in you will complete it in the day of
Jesus Christ. This is God's gospel. This is the everlasting gospel.
This is the gospel of His glory. It glorified Him in the beginning
and it will glorify Him in His consummation. Every voice in
heaven will say unto Him, unto Him. Nobody is going to praise
a soul winner. Nobody is going to praise a preacher.
Nobody is going to praise an evangelist. Nobody is going to
praise a missionary. Nobody is going to praise mother,
dad, brother, sister. We are going to praise Him. Unto
Him who loved me, chose me, called me, justified me, redeemed me,
kept me, glorified me, raised me. Unto Him. who loved me and
gave himself up, to him be all the glory, both now and forever."
It's God's gospel. Gospel of His glory. It's the
gospel of His grace. Pure, free grace. Unmerited grace. Undeserved grace. Grace for every
moment, every day. Grace for all the journey. Grace
to keep me. Grace, grace, grace. It's the
gospel of His kingdom. Here's the second statement.
It's the gospel of God, and verse 2 says it's the gospel which
God promised before by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. It's
the gospel which God promised in advance. It's the gospel which
God promised and prophesied and pictured in the Old Testament
long before Christ came. God, who at sundry times and
in different manners spake to our fathers with the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son. And the same
message the Son speaks, the prophets spoke. If you look at Acts chapter 10,
let's look at Acts chapter 3 first. Acts chapter 3. Verse 18. I'm saying that on every page
of the Old Testament, it's Christ. Christ crucified, Christ risen,
Christ exalted, Christ suffering, Christ obedient. In verse 18
of Acts 3, those things which God before had shown by the mouth
of all his prophets, from the first one to the last one, what
did he show us? That Christ should suffer. He
has so fulfilled. In other words, Peter is speaking
to those who are responsible for his death. He says, what
you've done and what he has done and what was fulfilled is that
which God spoke by every prophet that's ever opened his mouth.
Christ fulfilled. Acts 10. Listen to this, Acts
chapter 10, verse 20 and 21. Of Acts 10, verse 43. Acts 10, 43. To him, to Christ,
give all the prophets witness. This is Abraham rejoiced to see
my day, Christ said. He saw it and was glad. He said
to his son Isaac, the Lord shall provide himself a lamb. Moses,
he said, wrote of me. To him give all the prophets
witness, every one of them, that through his name Christ, whosoever
believes in him, shall receive remission of sins. And then we
must turn to Luke 24. Our Lord was walking beside two
of his disciples here on the road to Emmaus. And I'll just
show you what he said to them in Luke 24, verse 25. Their hearts were filled with
doubts concerning his death. And he said in verse 25 of Luke
24, then he said to them, O fools, slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ The Christ to
have suffered these things and to enter into His glory and beginning
at Moses, Genesis 1. That's Moses, Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Beginning at Genesis 1 and all
the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning Himself. See that? Now look at verse 44.
And he said to them, these are the words which I have spoken
to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
that are written in the law of Moses, in the prophets, in the
Psalms concerning me." You know, when I read that from Psalm 19
a while ago about the universe being a tabernacle for display
of the sun, that's the type of Christ. This whole universe and
everything that God has made in his spiritual kingdom is to
reveal Christ. Christ, like the sun, is the
center of the universe, without which there's no light, no life,
no hope. Christ is the center of God's
kingdom, spiritual kingdom, covenant. Christ is the heart and life
and center of it. Without him, there is no kingdom
and no covenant. Everything, and that's what he's
saying, that's what he taught them beginning at Moses. Then
opened he their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures. You write right there in your
Bible, the Old Testament. When Christ spoke these words,
there was no New Testament. He opened their understanding
that they might understand the Old Testament. And said unto
them, thus it is written throughout Genesis to Malachi, And thus
it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the
third day that repentance, remission of sin, should be preached in
his name among all nations." But brethren, didn't those people
back there, weren't they saved by the ceremonies and the Sabbath
day and the blood sacrifices? No, sir. No, sir. The blood on Jewish altars cannot
put away sin, cannot remove sin. They were saved by looking to
the Christ whom that blood represented. Whom that sacrifice represented.
Look at Romans 3. Romans 3. Look at verse 25. Let's go back to verse 24 of
Romans 3. Romans 3, 24. Listen. Being justified
freely. By His grace, through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth. What does
that mean? God set Christ forth. God, in
a conspicuous and public manner and place, God has set forth
His Savior, His Christ, His High Priest. He set Him forth. He
set Him forth in promise when He said, The seed of woman will
bruise the serpent's heel. He set him forth in promise when
he said, Behold, the Lord himself will give you a sign, a virgin
shall be with child. He set him forth in promise when
he said unto us, A child is born, a son is given, his name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor. He set him forth in promise when
he said, He was wounded for our transgressions. He set him forth
in picture when they slew the Passover lamb and put the blood
on the door. He set him forth in picture when
they lifted up the brazen serpent and the people looked to it and
were healed. He set him forth in picture when he established
the cities of refuge. He set him forth in promise,
in prophecy, in picture, and then at Bethlehem in person. The angel said to the shepherds
on the hillside, unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, the one whose God has been promising and prophesying
and picturing through all these 4,000 years. He's here. And that's when John the Baptist
pointed at him one day and said, Behold the Lamb of God. There's
the Lamb. There's the Passover Lamb. There's
Abel's Lamb. There's Abraham's Lamb. There's
all of them. There he is. And God sent him
forth. Verse 25, listen. Romans 3, to
be a propitiation, to be a covering, to be a mercy seat. To cover
the broken love. Through faith in His blood. To
declare God's righteousness. For the remission of sins that
have passed. Christ died 2,000 years ago. But God through His
blood forgave Abraham of his sins. And Moses. Sins that have
passed. Sins that back up before Christ
came. The sins of all the Old Testament believers who look
to Christ. We look back and see how His
blood covers our sins, but His blood also covered theirs. God
put them away through the forbearance of God, the long-suffering of
God. Verse 26, "...to declare, I say at this time, God's righteousness,
that He might be just and justify them that believe in Jesus."
Alright, back to Romans 1. I'm defining this gospel with
four statements. Here's the third one. Romans 1 verse 1 says, I'm separated
to the gospel of God. It's God's gospel. Secondly,
it's the same gospel. There's no new gospel. It's the
gospel He declared by Abraham and Abel and Moses, David, Zechariah. He promised the four vice-prophets.
Verse 3, underscore this, it's concerning His Son. Jesus Christ
our Lord. That's what the gospel is all
about. It's about who He is. What He did. Why He did it. Where He is now. It's the gospel
of God. Listen to me. That eternal gospel. The gospel of the Holy Scriptures
is all concerning His Son. His only begotten Son. His well-beloved
Son. The Son of His right hand. The
Son of His love. Suppose a man stands this morning
and says, now I exhort all of you to believe in God. Believe
God created the world. Believe God reigns on the throne.
Believe God is sovereign. Believe God has a purpose. He
hasn't preached any gospel. The gospel is not concerning
God's sovereignty. The gospel is not concerning
God's creation. It's concerning God's Son, I'm
trying to tell you. A man stands this morning and
says, believe in Jesus, and when you die you'll go to heaven.
He hasn't preached a word of gospel. I don't care how long
he exhorts you to believe in Jesus, I don't care how many
songs they sing, how many folks run around the auditorium, how
happy the people get, that is not the gospel. The gospel is
concerning his son, not concerning what you do with him. I hear them say, boy, we dedicated
our pruning to the preaching of the gospel, and to strain
my very insides, I can't hear any gospel. Not a word of it. For God so loved the world, he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might
not perish, but have everlasting life. No gospel. That's not the
gospel. That's the reason for the gospel,
God loved us. That's the result of the gospel,
God saved us. But the gospel is, as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
crucified. That's the gospel. It's concerning
His blood, His righteousness, His death, His sacrifice. That's
what it's concerning. What He did. Why He did it. You see what I'm saying? So everybody's
preaching, not preaching, they're preaching about the gospel. They're
using the word gospel. But this gospel is the gospel
of God. It's His gospel. It's an eternal
gospel, and it's a gospel concerning His Son. What does that mean,
concerning His Son? Concerning His deity. Tell me
who He is. I can't trust Him unless He's
who He's supposed to be. I can't believe on Him unless
He's the Son of God. Not just the Son of Man, but
the Son of God and the Son of Man. Eternal God in human flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. This is the God-Man. This is
not a good man. This is the God-Man. See what I'm saying? God was manifested in the flesh.
Justified in the Spirit. Seen of the angels. Believed
on in the world. Received up in the glory. In
the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And
the Word was God. And by Him all things were made.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. And that
Word, that God who made all things, was made flesh. and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." The gospel is concerning
His deity. What He did is only made effectual
by who He is. An ordinary man dying on any
kind of cross cannot save a flea. Who is He that condemned it?
It is Christ that died. It's the Christ that died, yea
rather is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
equal with the Father, who maketh intercession for us, his elect. Now that's some gospel. Secondly,
it's concerning his perfect life. Why did he become a man? In the
fullness of time. God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law. There's your clue right there.
In Adam, a man, we died. In Christ, a man, we're made
alive. In Adam, a man, we were made
sinners. In Christ, a man, we were made righteous. In Adam,
a man, we lost our souls. In Christ, a man, our souls were
restored. In Adam, the man, we lost righteousness. In Christ, the man, Adam didn't
obey God, and we lost our righteousness. Christ obeyed God, and in Him
we gained a righteousness. He obeyed God perfectly. Adam
the man was a representative man. The first man, the only
man created. Everybody else came out of his
loins. In Christ, the only Savior, the second Adam, the Lord from
heaven, everybody in his loins is made righteous and holy. concerning
his perfect life, tipped in all points as we are yet without
sin. You can't preach the gospel unless you preach his deity,
his covenant, his purpose, and his perfect life, his righteousness. And it's concerning his substitutionary
death. We not only had to have a righteousness,
but we had to have our sins paid for. We not only had to have
a perfect standing before God, but we had to have a perfect
standing before justice. And Christ suffered the just
for the unjust to bring us to God. And He shall present you
not only righteous, but justified. Not only sanctified, but reconciled. Oh, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, thy stripes were
healed. It's concerning, this is the
gospel, it's concerning his son, his deity, his incarnation, his
perfect life, his sacrificial death, hold it, his resurrection. If he be not raised, ye are yet
in your sins. But God hath given the whole
world this sign. He's going to judge this world
in righteousness by that man whom we crucify, but whom He
raised from the dead. Let's read 1 Corinthians 15 a
moment. Oh, how vital, how important.
This was the message of the apostles. This was the message for which
they suffered the greatest. Verse 16, 1 Corinthians 15. If the dead rise not, then is
Christ not raised. If Christ be not raised, your
faith is vain. You're yet in your sins. And
then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ, our friends
who have believed and died, they're perished. If in this life only
we have hope in Christ, we're of all men most miserable. But
now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits
of them that slept. For since by man Adam came death,
by man, Christ, came to resurrection. As in Adam we died, in Christ
we're made alive. That's what it's concerning him.
And then next, it's concerning his exaltation. God hath given
him a name above every name, that name of Jesus, ever and
ill bound. And let me tell you, this thing of being saved is
not just What to say except Jesus is your personal Savior. It's
to bow to Him as Lord. That's right, He's Lord. It's
to bow to who He is. He's Lord. If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart God
raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Barnard used
to say, I know who your Savior is. I know who everybody's Savior
is. But who's your Lord? If Christ is not the Lord of
my life, He's not the Savior of my soul, because my soul is
my life. It's concerning His exaltation.
And then, it's concerning His return. He said to His disciples,
I go to prepare a place for you. He's not talking about a mansion, Like we know palaces
and homes and streets and that's all whatever. But that place
is that person. In Him, I have a place. Bob preached on this recently.
In Him, I have a place. Without Him, I don't have a place.
That's what people talk about. Everybody's in heaven, you know.
Everybody's in heaven. But wait a minute. Without Him, I don't
have a place. I don't have a reservation. I go to prepare. place and I'll
come again receive you to myself and where I am there you are
that's my place. Paul said I have a desire to
depart be with Christ he said to the thief on the cross this
day you'll be with me and where he is that's heaven he's heaven
concerning is something And the angel said, this same Jesus which
is taken up from you in like manner shall come again in like manner
as you have seen Him go. And when we see Him, we will
be like Him concerning His Son. And then the last statement,
verse 16 and 17. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God. unto salvation,
to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. This gospel is God's gospel.
This gospel is the gospel of the Old Testament. This gospel
is the gospel concerning His Son. And the fourth statement,
therein, therein, in that gospel is the righteousness of God revealed
and nowhere else. If our gospel doesn't declare
His righteousness, His essential righteousness, His righteousness
provided, His righteousness required, His righteousness demanded, and
how He can be righteous and justify us, it's no gospel. No gospel. It's the gospel of God. It's
the gospel of the scriptures. The most important point is concerning
his son. And when you hear men talk about
the gospel and preach what they say is the gospel, listen. Listen
for his son. Listen for the note that exhausts
him, magnifies him, tells you who he is, what he did, why he
did it, where he is now, his deity, his incarnation, his righteousness,
his blood, His exaltation, His intercession, His second coming. Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word
concerning His Son. And that gospel, that gospel
will declare the righteousness of God and give you hope of a
righteousness provided.