Our text for the morning message
will be found in the first chapter of Romans. I'll be reading one
verse of scripture, but I would like you just to keep your Bibles
open, and we'll deal with the first three or four verses of
Romans, chapter 1. Now, in this first chapter of
Romans, verse 1, the Apostle Paul makes this statement. He
says, Paul, a servant or bond slave of Jesus Christ, called
to be an apostle, separated or set apart unto the gospel of
God. That's my subject today, set
apart unto the gospel of God. Many years ago, I was given the
notes of an old preacher who had passed away. And in his notes,
I found these words. This man died in 1969, but he
ministered in the first part of this century. 35 or 40 years. And these were words that he
had written in his notebook. Now I want you to listen to them.
He says the most humbling and challenging thing that I face,
the great concern of my heart, is that my generation experience
a recovery of the gospel. We have just about lost the gospel. My heart's desire is that my
generation experience a return to the gospel of God's free grace. My generation, he said, is plagued
with a gospel of works. My generation does not know what
the gospel of redemption is. I want to return to that message,
that great old message of God's word which was used of God in
other days. to awaken men to the guilt of
sin and to reveal to them the glory and beauty of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He continued, the two-fold message
of God's grace is this. Number one, all flesh is grass
and the glory of man as the flower of the field. The grass withereth
and the flower fadeth because the Spirit of God bloweth upon
it. And secondly, Two-fold message, he said, of evangelism, the two-fold
message of God's Word. All flesh is grace. And secondly,
behold your God. That's the message. That's the
message that God has used in days gone by. All men are sinners,
and sinners are called upon to behold their God. And that message
takes the glory away from men. That message proclaims the redemptive
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that message, that message,
the result of it will be a sense of the awesome, fearful presence
of the living God, breaking the hearts of sinners and bringing
them to the feet of Jesus Christ in true repentance and in true
saving faith. And if we return, he wrote, to
the preaching of that message, the message of God's redemptive
glory, the message of man's sinful condition, gone will be the voice
of the proud sinner who inwardly debates whether or not he'll
accept Jesus. Gone will be the proud heart
and the proud voice of the sinner who debates whether or not he'll
let God save him. No longer will they say, Christ
is at my heart's door knocking, begging to be admitted. Shall
I bid him enter or shall I turn him away? Instead of such small
thoughts of God, we will again hear sinners cry, depths of mercy,
can there be mercy still reserved for me? Can my God his wrath
forbear and me, the chief of sinners, spare? If we would serve
our generation, if we would honor our Lord, If we would be true
to the souls of our heroes, we must, I repeat, he said, we must
return to the preaching of God's free grace. That's what Paul
is talking about here. He calls himself Paul. Now, none
of the true servants of God were ever fond of titles. They never
did court titles of honor and titles of respect. They just
called themselves Paul and Peter and James and John. And Paul
said, I'm a bondservant, a willing, loving slave of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I've been called of God to be
an apostle, and I am separated. I am set apart to preach the
gospel of God Almighty. There was a time when Paul was
separated to tradition. There was a time when he was
separated to ceremonialism. There was a time when he was
separated to the law. He said, I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews.
My mother was a Hebrew. My father was a Hebrew. He said,
I was born of the tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised when I was
eight days old. I have exceeded and passed by
many my equals. Concerning the law, I was blameless.
But he said, when I met Christ, I counted all these things but
rubbish, but dumb, that I may win Christ and be found in him.
Now, he who was separated to the law is set apart to the gospel. Now, he who was separated or
set apart to tradition and ceremonialism cries out, I am determined, I
am determined, even in the great city of Corinth, among its philosophers
and learned and educated men, I am determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He said again
to that church, God didn't send me to baptize, God sent me to
preach the gospel. And again he said to the church
at Galatia, God forbid, God forbid, that I should glory save in the
cross of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." And again he said,
I do not frustrate, I do not confuse, I do not distort the
gospel, if righteousness before God comes by the law and by the
works of men, then Jesus Christ died in vain. He wrote to that
church in Galatia, and I think the same thing can be written
to the majority of churches of this day. He wrote our marvel. I'm amazed that you are so soon
removed from him that called you into the gospel of Christ
unto another gospel. And my friends, I'm saying in
1981, like the church at Galatia, you and I are victims of another
gospel. It's not another. It's a perversion
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'll give you some examples if
you'll listen for a few moments, and you know these things to
be true. I'm not bringing charges with which I'm not acquainted.
I'm not talking about things with which I'm not familiar,
and I'm talking about things that you yourself know are true.
We have been victimized from the pulpit. The fault is not
in the pew today, it's in the pulpit. It's not that people
won't go to church, it's people go and don't hear anything, and
therefore they quit going. Today's gospel, I want you to
listen to seven or eight things that I'm going to present to
you. Today's gospel, like that other gospel Paul talked about
in Galatians 1. Today's gospel calls on proud
men to stand up and be counted for Jesus. You say, what's wrong
with that? The gospel of the Bible calls
on men to bow down and worship. The gospel of the Bible says
that the sacrifices of God are a broken heart, a contrite spirit,
and God saved it such as be of a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. and the proud God rejects. And that which God hates the
most is a proud look. And he will exalt the humble
and he will abase the proud. And then secondly, today's gospel
gives men and women a title to heaven who have no sincere love
for Christ. You know it's true, and I know
it's true. You know that people belong to churches all over this
nation, hundreds of thousands of them, who have no love for
the gospel, who have no love for Christ, who have no love
for the fellowship of the saints, who have no concern that their
lives be counted for the glory of Jesus Christ. And yet they
have a sure title to heaven. And then thirdly, today's gospel
emphasizes what men should do for God rather than what God,
through Christ, must do for the sinner. And then today's gospel
makes salvation an offer. Will you take Jesus? Will you
have Jesus? Salvation in the scriptures is
a gift. The scripture says the gift of God's eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son. Almighty God gives salvation. Salvation is not an offer. Salvation
is a gift. The gospel is a command. God
commands men to repent. He commands men to believe. When
a man repents and believes on Christ, he's doing what he ought
to do. He's doing what God commanded
him to do. He's not to be congratulated
for calling God a truthful God. Rather, he's to be blamed if
he gives God the life. Watch this. Fourthly, today's
gospel presents a salvation that rests on the will of men rather
than on the will of God. Is salvation an act of the human
will or is it an act of the divine will? In John chapter 1, our
Lord said, to as many as received him, to them gave he the privilege
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,
which were born, not of blood, that is, not of fleshly inheritance,
not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but born
of God. It is not of him that willeth,
Paul said in Romans 9, but of God that showeth mercy. So salvation
is an act of the divine will. It rests on the divine will.
The leper fell at the feet of Christ and he said, Lord, if
you will, you can make me clean. If you will. But we turn to the
sinner and we say God's willing and God wants to do this. Will
you let him? Is it a matter of letting God
save us or submitting to the saving power of God? Think about
it. Today's gospel substitutes human reason for Holy Spirit
conviction. Today's gospel identifies a Christian
by what he does not do, rather than by what he is. What is a
Christian? Somebody says, well, a Christian
is a fellow that doesn't do this and doesn't do that and doesn't
do something else. I thought a Christian was a person who
was in a living, vital union with the Son of God. I thought
a Christian was a person in whom the Spirit of God dwelt. That
a Christian was judged and identified and characterized, not by what
he didn't do, but by what he is. And then last of all, today's
gospel tries to change men's ways without changing men's hearts. I think if Paul were living today
and writing to the average church in 1981 that this is what he'd
write, I marvel, I marvel that you're removed from him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which
is not another. but there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But I say unto you,
though we or an angel from heaven preach unto you any other gospel
than that which we have declared, let him be accursed." I say it
again, he said. I repeat it. If we or an angel
from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached, let him be accursed. What is this gospel
of God's grace to which Paul was set apart? What is this gospel
of God's grace which Paul determined? He said, I am determined to preach
this gospel. And this gospel of God's grace
for which Paul gave his life. What is this gospel? When I take
the scripture there, you see verse 1? It says, Paul, a bond
slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto
the gospel of God. Now that's our first clue. What
is this gospel? Do you see the first clue? It's
God's gospel. It's not the Catholic gospel.
It's not the Presbyterian gospel. It's not the Baptist gospel.
It's not the interdenominational gospel. It's not the Church of
Christ gospel. It's God's gospel. That's what
he says. I'm separated to the gospel of
God. The gospel of God. Now, what
does that mean? What do you mean, preacher, the
gospel of God? Well, let me give you three things
that will help you. First of all, it is the gospel of God
in that he is the author of it. He is the sole author of it. When Mr. Henry Ford built his
first car way back under 75 or 80 or 85 years ago, he was the
author of that automobile. From bumper to bumper, from top
to bottom, Mr. Ford made that car. He was the
author of it. They even called it by his name,
a Ford automobile. It was conceived in his mind.
It was planned by his own ingenuity. It was accomplished and built
by his own hands. It was his car. It was his car. It was made by him, and it was
put on the market by him. It was his car. It was Mr. Ford's automobile, and this gospel
to which Paul was separated is God's gospel. He's the author
of it. That's what the Scripture says.
Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. What do
we mean by that? Well, we mean this. God planned it. God planned
it. The scripture says, known unto
God are all his works from the beginning. When was the gospel
planned? When was it first mentioned?
When was the gospel first purposed? In Bethlehem? No, sir. At Sinai? No, sir. In the Garden of Eden?
No, sir. Before the foundation of the
world. Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain before the foundation of
the world. How old is your gospel? The gospel of God is the gospel
that was conceived and planned and purposed in the mind and
heart of God before this world was ever made, before his foundations
were ever laid, before Adam ever fell. God Almighty purposed to
have a people like his son. That's what scripture said. Christ
is the surety of the everlasting covenant. His blood is the blood
of the everlasting covenant. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. God declares the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done,
saying, my counsel shall stand, I'll do all my pleasure. And
Paul, talking about the redeemed people, he said, you were chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. God's the author
of it. And not only is God the author of it, but he executed
it. I said, Mr. Ford thought of this car, and
he built it. And God thought of salvation,
and purposed it, and planned it, and he built it. It pleased
God that in Christ should all fullness dwell. And in the fullness
of time he sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them born under the law. And Isaiah 53 says it
pleased God to bruise him. When Peter stood at Pentecost
and accused those people of crucifying Christ, read Acts 2, 3 and 4.
He said, you with wicked hands have crucified the Lord of glory,
but you did what God determined before to be done. He said, Herod and Pontius Pilate,
the Jews and the Gentiles, all got together against the Lord's
Christ to do what? What they wanted to do, what
they planned to do, but to do what thy hand and purpose determined
to be done before the world began. It's God's gospel. He planned
it. He executed it. He even applies it. There's no
sinner ever brought to repentance except by the goodness of God.
There's no sinner ever brought to conviction of sin except by
the Holy Spirit. Christ said when He's come, He
will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
There's no sinner brought to faith except by the grace of
God. It's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance,
and it's the mercy of God that brings you to faith. God applies
it. Listen to Paul. God, who separated me from my
mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal
his Son in me." If any man is saved, he will give God the eternal
glory for it. And then God sustains it. How
do you suppose that we are kept in the faith? How do you suppose
we are kept in the body of Christ? How do you suppose that we are
kept with all of the Enemies we have, principalities and powers
and rulers in the darkness and all of these things. How do you
suppose that any frail, fickle, foolish son of Adam ever stands,
ever dies in the faith, ever continues in the faith? How do
you suppose? By his own strength and merit?
By his own power? By his own deeds? Listen to 1
Peter 1 verse 5. We are kept by the power of God
through faith. Listen to Jude 24. Now unto him
that is able to keep you from falling. It's God's gospel from
bumper to bumper, from Alpha to Omega, from beginning to end.
He planned it, He executed it, He applies it, He sustains it. Who's going to bring you out
of the grave? Who's going to make you like Christ? Who's going
to bring your soul and body together in that great day? Who's going
to do that? God will, because this whole thing is the operation
of His grace. He's able to raise you and make
you like His glorious body. That's what we mean by the gospel
of God. It's God's gospel. And any other
gospel is another gospel. That's what Paul said. And not
only that, but it's the gospel of his glory. Everything he does,
he does for his own glory. He's a jealous God. He'll not
share his glory. Listen to 1 Corinthians 1, 26-30. Now listen as I read this. You
see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things that are mighty. And the base things of the world
and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to naught the things that are, that no
flesh should glory in his presence. But of him, but of God, are you
in Christ Jesus. who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that according
as it is written throughout the whole Bible, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord." God's gospel. It's God's gospel. He's the author of it. It's for
his glory. And thirdly, it's the gospel
of his grace. Paul summed it up, I am what
I am, whatever I am. I know what I know, whatever
I know. I'll be whatever I'll be. by the grace of God. For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
I'm separated, Paul said, to God's gospel. God's gospel. I'm a preacher of God's gospel.
And I tell you this, what's the second thing? Look at verse 2.
And this gospel of God is the ancient gospel, ancient, ancient,
ancient gospel, which he promised, see verse 2, which he promised
by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. What do we mean by that? Well,
I've been accused of preaching first-century theology. I've
had folks say that, write in and say, well, you're preaching
an old first-century gospel, an old first-century theology.
Hold on now. It goes further back than that.
It goes further back than that, a whole lot further back than
that. It goes clear back before the foundation of the world.
That's how far back my gospel goes. That's how far back Paul's
gospel goes. He said it's the ancient gospel.
It's the gospel promised before it was ever typified. Promised
before it was ever pictured. Promised. It goes back to the
Garden of Eden. When God came to that fallen
pair and said to them, the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's
head. The seed of woman shall defeat
the power of evil, of Satan. The seed of woman. That's Christ.
That's the virgin-born son. That's the seed of woman. It
goes back to Abel's lamb. When Abel came before God with
his brother Cain, Cain brought the works of his flesh, the fruit
of the field, and Abel brought the firstling of the flock without
blemish or spot and shed the blood of that sacrificial lamb
on that altar before God by faith. That lamb was Christ. It goes
back to Abel outside the Garden of Eden. It goes back to Abraham
who stood on Mount Moriah and slew that ram in the stead of
his son, and put that ram on the altar and burned its body
in the place and stead of his son. And our Lord spake of that
day when he said, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, he
saw it, he saw it, and he was glad. It goes back to Moses. Our gospel goes back to Moses.
It goes back beyond the first century. It's a lot older than
that. Our gospel is as old as the foundations
of this world and old. It goes back to Moses, for Christ
said, Moses wrote of me. To him give all the prophets
witness. Goes back to Job. Old Job said,
I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded he's able
to keep... Job said, I know my Redeemer liveth, and though worms
destroy this body, with my eyes, myself, I'll see the Lord. Job
saw him. It goes back to Isaiah. who said,
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name Immanuel, God with us." Yes, it's the ancient
gospel. And here in 1 Corinthians 15,
verse 1 through 3, the Apostle Paul describes it this way. He
said, I preach unto you the gospel, and that gospel wherein you stand,
in which you believe, and by which you are saved, is that
Christ died for our sins. Now watch this next phrase, according
to the scriptures. What scriptures? The Old Testament.
Every type and shadow in the Old Testament is a picture of
Jesus Christ. That rock was Christ. That Passover
lamb was Christ. That ark floating on the waters
of judgment is Jesus Christ. That high priest going into the
Holy of Holies is Christ. Every atoning sacrifice is Christ
alone. Now, what's the third thing?
And this is where I've been coming all along. Here's where I've
been coming all this time. Paul said, I'm set apart. to
a gospel, the gospel, the one gospel, the gospel of God, the
ancient gospel. Now watch this. This gospel of
God, this ancient gospel, see verse 3, is concerning his Son. Concerning his Son. Now will
you bear with me a moment? I know many people refer to the
gospel as the plan of salvation. And I suppose in a way that it
is a plan. I think that's misleading. It's
not a plan of action on the part of the sinner, but it's a plan
in this regard. God did plan it. God did purpose
it. It was a plan to honor his law
and satisfy his justice. In that respect, it was a plan.
And in the respect that Christ fulfilled every requirement that
was purposed, it was a plan. But for me, the gospel is not
a plan. For me, it's not a proposition.
The gospel is a person. Jesus Christ our Lord. It concerns
His Son. This Good News, this Glad Tidings,
this Gospel of Redemption, this Gospel of God concerns a person.
Well, what about Him? Seven quick facts. It concerns
His Deity. He's declared to be the Son of
God. He wasn't made the Son of God, He was declared to be the
Son of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I and my Father
are one. Jesus of Nazareth is none other
than God Almighty. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor of the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting
Father. Secondly, it concerns his incarnation. Look at verse 4. He was made
of the seed of David, according to the flesh. The Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. It concerns his son's death.
Who died? Christ. How did he die? A shameful, ignominious, suffering
death. Why did he die? that God may
be just and justify. For whom did he die? The ungodly.
When did he die? In the fullness of time. And
then it concerns his son's resurrection. He didn't remain in the tomb.
The angel said, don't look for the living among the dead. It
concerns his son's exaltation. He's the one mediator between
God and men. It concerns his son's return.
He will come again. And it concerns our hope in him. He is our only hope. Jesus Christ. This gospel is concerning His
Son.