I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Our text tonight is the 16th
verse of Romans chapter 1, in which Paul said, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Now, Paul knew from personal
experience the opposition which the gospel encountered everywhere. where he preached, if he didn't
have revival, he had riot. The gospel of Christ was everywhere
spoken against. That is the true gospel, not
religion, the true gospel. To the Jew, it was a stumbling
block, it was offensive. To the Gentile, it was foolishness,
sheer nonsense. The message of redemption through
the blood, through a crucified Savior, The message of life through
the cross was met everywhere with contempt, ridicule, and
persecution. In fact, if you'll turn to Galatians
chapter 5, you'll find Paul calling the gospel the offense of the
cross. Look at Galatians 5.1. He says,
Brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, if that's my message, human merit,
human works, why do I suffer persecution? Then, if that's
our message, the offense of the cross, the offense, it is offensive. The offense of the cross is ceased. Now, there are four basic reasons
why the gospel is offensive to natural men. Now, if you've never
thought about this, I'd like for you to think about it, even
take these down and consider it. This may be one of the areas
where you personally have a problem with the gospel. But there are
four areas where the gospel is offensive. This is where it comes
from. First of all, the gospel addresses
all men as guilty sinners, every human being, every son of Adam.
The gospel addresses every one of us, boys and girls, men and
women, mothers and dads, old people, as guilty sinners, and
this offends man's dignity. We be not sinners. How humbling is the charge. All
have sinned and come short of God's glory. If we say we have
no sin, we're liars, and the truth's not in us, and we make
God a liar. There's none righteous, no, not
one. There's none that doeth good. From the sole of our feet
to the top of our heads, there's no soundness in us. That's a
humbling message and men just will not hear it. That's the
first place where they have a problem. It's offensive. It's offensive. God looked down from heaven to
see if there were any that did do good, any that did understand.
And he found they're all together gone out of the way, become unprofitable. and knowing good. And that's
the first place where the message is offensive. It addresses every
son of Adam, not only as a sinner, but as a guilty sinner, as a
fallen creature, as an object of wrath, as a child of wrath,
as undeserving of God's favor or God's mercy in any way. Secondly, the gospel coming as
a revelation. offends man's wisdom. Now, most
of us think we're pretty wise, we're pretty intelligent, we're
pretty smart. We like to think that we have
some understanding about everything, most subjects. But the Scripture
tells us plainly that the natural man receiveth not the things
of God. They are foolishness to him,
and neither can he know them. They are spiritually understood.
And our Lord said, except a man be born again, he cannot see,
he cannot perceive, he cannot discern, he cannot understand
the Kingdom of God. All men out of Christ spiritually
are dead, no matter how intelligent they are mentally, no matter
how much they know about the material world, they know nothing
rightly of this Scripture. It has to be revealed by the
Holy Spirit, and that's offensive. You mean to tell me that I've
gone through grade school and junior high and high school and
college and I can't sit down just as intelligently as you
or anybody else and read this Bible and understand what God's
saying? That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm saying that there's a way
that seemeth right unto the natural flesh and it's wrong. I'm saying
that any interpretation of the Scripture that a natural man
comes up with is wrong. I'm saying that when he looks
at the Scripture, his thoughts are not God's thoughts, his ways
are not God's way, there's a way that'll seem right to him, it'll
seem logical to him, it'll seem reasonable to him, and it'll
lead him to absolute destruction. You say, that's ridiculous. That's
exactly right. It's offensive. And I'm saying
that Almighty God can take a an ignorant country boy who's never
followed anything but a plow, and never had a hold of anything
permanently but a fishing rod, and never made a mark on this
world, never invented anything, knows nothing about business,
has no education past the second grade. If he's born of the Spirit,
if he's enlightened by the Spirit, if he's illuminated by the Holy
Spirit, he can put to silence any Ph.D. in any university in
the world on the Word of God. That's so. Except you be converted
and become as a little child, you shall not see the kingdom
of God. That's offensive. There's two
of the areas. Let's be honest about it. Let's declare it. This
is what God says. The natural mind, receive it,
not the things of God. If our gospel be hidden, the
gospel, my friend, according to the Word of God, is a mystery. that kings and princes have desired
to look into, that the angels desire to look into. The gospel
is a mystery that is only revealed by the Holy Spirit. Christ said,
Nicodemus, I told you earthly things and you don't understand.
How can you understand if I tell you heavenly things? The true gospel is offensive.
Paul said, it's offensive, it's the offense of the cross. And
this is the reason he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel because
many people are ashamed of it. So ashamed they will not preach
it. So ashamed they cover it with words so that it can't be
understood. Let's let men know what we're
saying. They are sinners. Born sinners, begotten sinners,
conceived sinners, brought forth sinners. There is no good in
them anywhere. There's nothing commendable to
a holy God. There's nothing spiritual. There's
no life in them. not by nature. They're dead bones
in a dry valley. They're nothing but clay in a
slippery pit. They're nothing but fuel for
the wrath of God, unless God enlightens, awakens, illuminates,
conceives them, begets them, gives them life. That's And there's
not an unsaved rebel, unbeliever, child of wrath here tonight that
understands anything I'm talking about. He can hear it. Christ
said they've got ears, but they cannot hear. They've got eyes,
but they cannot see. They've got hearts, but they
cannot understand. He turned to the apostles and
he said, blessed are your eyes, you see, and blessed are your
ears, for you hear. But he said, Peter, flesh and
blood didn't reveal this to you, but my Father which is in heaven.
The average person today thinks that everybody understands God,
everybody understands Christ, everybody understands the cross,
everybody understands the Bible, everybody understands religion,
and they just make up their mind whether they'll accept it or
reject it, whether they'll believe it or refuse it, whether they'll
walk in it or refuse to walk in it. That's not so. Our Lord
said, No man knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whom
the Son will reveal. It comes by revelation. God's
passed by most folks. They're not interested in spiritual
truth because God's never revealed it to them. They're not interested
in spiritual life because God's never given it to them. They're
interested in religion, but not life. They're interested in creed,
but not Christ. They're interested in debate
and discussion, but they're not interested in dedication. That's
so. You say, that is offensive. That's
what I'm saying. It's offensive. When you address this world as
a guilty world, as a world under God's wrath, when you address
sinners as guilty sinners, when you tell them what you're saying
and they understand what you're saying, you've got a fight on
your hands. This gospel coming as a revelation
offends man's wisdom. When you call him a sinner, you
offend his dignity. When you tell him that he's dumb
and ignorant and can't understand, and no way he'll be able to understand
unless God Almighty gives him an understanding heart, he says,
now that's not so. I've got as much sense as you
have. He has too, but he hasn't got as much life as you have.
That's the difference. It doesn't take sense to know
God, it takes life to know God. Then thirdly, the gospel of substitution
by an atonement offends man's pride. Now you give him something
to do to save himself, no matter what it is, just let him walk
an hour, just let him be baptized, just let him teach a Sunday school
class, just let him give his tithe, just let him quit a few
sins, just let him do something, give him something to do. in
order to contribute to the salvation of his soul, and he'll be content. He's willing for Christ to die.
He's willing for Christ to be buried. He's willing for Christ
to rise again. He's willing for Christ to intercede.
That's all right. But his pride will not permit
him to come to mercy's throne as a beggar. As an empty-handed
beggar. As a ragged beggar. As a bankrupt
beggar. His pride will not permit him
to risk in, to trust in, only the sacrifice and atonement of
another. He's got to have something to
do. That's what the rich young ruler
said to our Lord. Good Master, what shall I do
that I might inherit eternal life? Give me something to do. Christ gave him something to
do and he couldn't do that. But we come to Christ, here it is,
naked, and he clothes us. We come to Christ empty-handed,
and he fills us. We come to Christ blind, and
he gives us sight. We come to Christ lame, and he
gives us strength. We come to Christ dead, and he
gives us life. We bring nothing whatsoever but
an empty vessel, and God even supplied the vessel. We contribute nothing to the
justification of our souls. We contribute nothing to the
sanctification of our hearts. We contribute absolutely nothing
to the keeping of our souls. We contribute absolutely nothing
to the glorification of our lives. Nothing. He's the Alpha and Omega. He's the Beginning and the End.
He is the Completer, the Supplier. He's the Source. He's everything.
And we're nothing. And when we've done whatever
we're required to do, if we give our lives as a martyr, we've
just done what we ought to do. The gospel of substitution by
atonement, it offends man's pride. You tell him to crawl on broken
glass, and he'll do it. You tell him to give up certain
sins, he'll do it. You tell him to give his income,
he'll do it. You tell him to be kind to his
neighbor, he'll do it. You tell him to walk down and
shake your hand, he'll do it. You tell him to pray until he
sees the light, and he'll do it. You tell him to be baptized,
he'll do it. You tell him to rededicate, he'll
do it. He'll do anything you tell him to do, except trust
Christ, except look to Christ, except cast himself on Christ.
He's got to have something to do. And an effectual atonement
that doesn't try to save, but does save, is offensive to natural
man. It offends his pride. And I'll
tell you the fourth area, and it's a critical area. The gospel
of sovereign grace. The gospel of God's free will. To be merciful to whom he will
be merciful, to be gracious to whom he will be gracious, offends
man's concept of the freedom of his will. You can't have two
free wills. God and yours. One of them's
got to be subject to the other. Almighty God said, I will be
merciful to whom I will be merciful, I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. It is not of him that willeth,
it is not of him that runneth, it is of God that showeth mercy.
Our Lord said, those who received Christ, to whom he gave the right
to become children of God, were born not of blood, not of the
will of the flesh, not of the will of man, they were born of
God Almighty. In other words, here's what I'm
saying. Faith's the gift of God, and He'll give it to whom He
wills. I'm saying plainly, just as plainly as I can say it, repentance
is the gift of God. The goodness of God led you to
repentance. God has granted repentance to
the Gentiles. That is the gift of God, and
He'll give it to whom He will. I'm saying that faith is not
of works, it is not of man, it is not of yourself. There is
no man who can give himself faith. It's the gift of God, and I'm
saying He'll give it to whom He will. I'm saying the wind
blows where it will. You can hear the sound, you can
see the results, you can't control it. And even so are those who
are born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit quickeneth, the
Scripture says, whom He will. The Son quickeneth whom He will. And that's offensive. And my
friends, As sincerely as I can and as humbly as I can, I say
unto you, that's what the Bible teaches. And I am obligated and
I am responsible and thank God I want to preach and believe
the Bible, don't you? But it's offensive. And those
are the four areas where that's what's offensive. That's where
it is. That's where the battle is. The battle's not in get crashed
down on the cross. The battles of today is not even
in the resurrection. Men don't know who he is. No
man knoweth the Son but the Father. No man knoweth the Father but
the Son, he to whom the Son will reveal it. A lady wrote me this
week from down in Alabama. She gets tapes from us, known
her since she was a little girl. She's a schoolteacher, also a
Sunday schoolteacher. She goes to the First Baptist
Church down in a certain city in Alabama, South Alabama. She
wrote to me and she said, we were having a teacher's meeting
the other day, Sunday school teachers and officers were meeting
with the pastor. And she said one of the Sunday school teachers
asked the pastor, he said, well, why did Jesus, they don't call
him Lord, they call him Jesus, why did Jesus choose Judas to
be an apostle if he knew Judas was going to betray him? You
know what the pastor answered? The pastor replied, he didn't
know it. He didn't know. He said, Jesus
just made a mistake. You see, when he was here on
the earth, he didn't have all knowledge. He made a mistake. The Savior of sinners never made
a mistake. He can't make a mistake. He's
God. He knows all things. He's omniscient. But back of
this whole thing, that preacher, he preaches what he calls the
Bible. He preaches what he calls the atonement. But he preaches
a Jesus who's not God. You see, this thing's offensive.
Christ knew from the beginning who would betray Him. That's
what the Scripture says. The pastor said he didn't know.
The Scripture says he did know. He knew from the beginning who
would believe on Him and who would betray Him and who would
deny Him. He knew these things. It's written
over here in the Old Testament. It's written over there how much
he paid for him, thirty pieces of silver. It's written what
he did with the money, cast it into the fore of the temple.
It's written what they did with the money when they picked it
up. They bought a potter's field and buried his body in it. It's
all right here. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. But let me tell you something.
In order to appease this flesh, in order to glorify this flesh,
men will compromise And they will obscure even the
plainest teachings of God's Word. Now then, evidently, evidently
there's a danger of being ashamed of this gospel. What I've just
talked to you about, the gospel addresses all men as sinners,
and that offends man's dignity. You can offend him. The gospel
comes as a revelation, and that offends man's wisdom. The gospel
announces salvation by an atonement, substitution. That offends man's
pride. The gospel says God will save
whom he will. And that offends man's concept
of free will. So evidently there's a danger
of even those who know the grace of God, of being ashamed of it. Now Paul warned Timothy, turn
to 2 Timothy 1. Now you turn over here, this
will be good for us. There is a danger of even those
who know the grace of God, who tasted the grace of God to yield
to this pressure in their family circles, in the place where they
work, in the place where they socialize. You say, Brother Man,
I believe those things. Do you? Do you? Paul said in 2 Timothy 1 verse
8, he's writing to Timothy, he said, Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord. Don't be ashamed of him, nor of me, his prisoner, but
you be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. And my friends,
no other system of religion, I want you to think about this
just a moment. I thought about this this week, and this is true,
and this is astounding. The gospel is offensive. The
gospel of sovereign mercy, the gospel of divine revelation,
the gospel of substitution, the gospel of the atonement is offensive
to this world, to your next door neighbor, to even people who
sit at your family table, to those who relate. It's offensive.
They hate it. And let me tell you something.
No other system of religion, however foolish, is offensive. to the pride of men. Have you
ever thought about that? Men will appoint. Did you see the
concert on TV a few nights ago that was held in St. Peter's
in Rome? And it was packed, and there
sat this man they called the Pope. He had on all of this finery,
this gold, sitting on a throne. And people will appoint a person
like that. and call him infallible. That
old bird's not infallible. He's a flesh and blood son of
Adam with passions and lust and hate and malice and covetousness
and jealousy, just like any other old son of Adam. But they're
sitting there on a throne. and call him infallible and call
him the vicar of Christ and kneel down in front of him and kiss
his hand and kiss his ring and ask him to forgive their sins.
Isn't that crazy? Isn't that foolish? But men are
not ashamed of it. How do you think about that?
Nobody gets mad at it. That old bird can parade around
and do all his etches and sprinkle water on people and bless the
brewery and all these things, and nobody's ashamed of it. Not
at all. It's the most absurd thing under
heaven, this side of hell, but nobody's ashamed of it. Even the presidents will go there
and ask an audience of this guy. Congressmen, Senators, Actors,
Athletes, people do anything to grovel at his feet. They're
not ashamed of it. No other system of doctrine.
No other system of doctrine, however absurd it might be. They
say there's a place called purgatory. It's not anywhere in here. The
word's not even in here. But there's a place called purgatory.
When I die, my body goes there and my soul goes there. And if
Doris is still around, if she'll pay the church so much money,
she can get me off some time down there. And if she dies and
my children will go down to the church and pay the priests some
money, then I won't have to stay there very long. That the more
they pay and the more they pray, the quicker I'll get out. Isn't
that ignorant? But people are ashamed of it. They're ashamed
of election, they're ashamed of atonement, they're ashamed
of God's sovereign grace, they're ashamed of the work, but they're
not ashamed of that stuff. In fact, people, they're proud
of it. Men will talk about pacifying
an infinite God with ceremonies, with gifts, pacifying a sovereign
God with rites and ordinances. They're not ashamed of that.
They'll talk about pleasing a holy God. Well, God, did you notice
what I did last week? Now put that on the record, and
you and I will get along all right. They're not ashamed of
that kind of doctrine. They're not ashamed of it at
all. The more absurd it is, the more ridiculous it is. These
moon people going around here pinning flowers on folks and
taking money, they're not ashamed of that. There's no embarrassment
at all. They'll walk into the biggest
airport, the biggest shopping center with their little old
flowers and all of their foolish literature, button-holing people,
pinning people, following a nut from Korea. Isn't that amazing? They're not ashamed of it. But
folks are ashamed of this. Isn't that amazing? And also, the more the gospel
is corrupted, And the more its particular, peculiar doctrines
are obscured by error, the more shame you take off of it. You
follow what I'm saying? The more shame you take off.
All you got to do, now you start out believing His Word. You start
out in these areas I was talking about. Man's a sinner. The gospel
comes by revelation. Salvation is by Christ and Christ
alone. He didn't die by accident. He
died on purpose. He did what he came to do, and
God's Almighty is sovereign. God has a purpose and a plan
and a covenant, and you stand there and you'll get all kinds
of errors. Now what you do, you kind of muffle at what you say
about the atonement. Just don't preach it so hard,
and they'll let up a little. And then just don't hit that
depravity quite so hard, and they'll let up a little more.
And just don't say anything about what you believe about sovereign
grace and revelation, and they'll let up a little more. And the
more you take the edge off the gospel, the less you'll be persecuted. The less shame there'll be, the
less offense there'll be, the less problems there'll be, the
less persecution. And that's what a lot of preachers
say today. Well, I preach it, I just don't say the words. I just don't preach it, that's
all. But Paul said, He said, God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross. Look back at 2 Timothy
1. He said, Timothy, verse 8, don't be ashamed of the gospel.
And then in 2 Timothy 1, 12, he said, for this cause I suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed.
I'm not ashamed. And then in verse 16, he said,
The Lord give mercy unto the house of old Nesiphorus, for
he often refreshed me, and he wasn't ashamed. He wasn't ashamed. He wasn't ashamed. Boy, that's
a compliment, isn't it? Old Paul writes to that young
minister, and he said, Timothy, don't be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, who he is, what man is, and what he came to do,
and where he is. Don't be ashamed of the testimony.
And before he died, he said, I'm not ashamed. I'm not ashamed.
This was his last epistle. And he talked about a man called
Onesiphorus, a friend of his. And he said, he's my friend. And he often refreshed me. And
he wasn't ashamed. He wasn't ashamed. All right,
look back at Romans 1. Let me give you just a brief
outline, and I'll close this message. He said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel, and he gives four reasons why he's not ashamed
of the gospel. Number one, he said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God unto salvation.
It's the power of God. Here's the reason I'm not ashamed.
Now, this little me and mouth preaching is not going to save
anybody. And compromising the Word of God is not going to save
anybody. And these ordinances and works are not going to save
anybody. But the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of substitution,
the gospel of effectual redemption, the gospel of salvation by the
cross, it's the power of God and the salvation. The gospel of Christ is that
great and wise mystery which from the beginning of the world
has been hidden in God. into which the angels desire
to look. The gospel is that efficacious
means by which God Almighty glorifies every attribute and men are saved
from sin and misery and receive eternal life. The gospel of Christ
is that instrument by which the Holy Spirit triumphs in the hearts
of a sinner, in the heart of a sinner. destroys the reign
of sin. The gospel is that instrument
by which the Holy Spirit enthrones Jesus Christ, the true Christ,
the living Christ, the real Christ, not another Jesus. Somebody says, well, Christ is
enthroned in my heart. Which Christ? The one the Bible
presents or the one some preacher presents? The gospel is that
word of truth. by which men are begotten to
life of his own will, beget he us with the word of truth." Not
a cut-down word, not a word of error, the word of truth! I don't
believe men are going to be quickened to life with a lie. I don't believe
it. I believe we can get church members
by preaching lies. I believe we can get people to
reform by preaching lies. I believe we can get people to
promise things by preaching lies. But the only thing that the Holy
Spirit will use to quicken a dead sinner to life is the word of
truth, the word of truth. He hath begotten us again unto
a living hope, Peter said, by his word. while the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, to them that are saved, it's
the power of God. It is the word of truth that
quickens dead sinners, opens blind eyes, softens hard hearts,
and makes enemies friends. That's the reason Paul said he
wasn't ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
first of all, because that gospel is the power of God to salvation. As I said, you can preach anything
and build a church. That church is built on promises
to go to heaven, that church is built on good works, that
church is built on cold dead Calvinism, that church is built
on fatalism, that church is built on free willism, that church
is built on prophecy, that church is built on holiness, that church
is built on doing this and not doing that, on law. You can build
a church on any system of doctrine. But the only thing that'll give
life to the dead, the only thing that'll give sight to the blind,
the only thing that'll give strength to the lame, the only thing that'll
take a sinner from the clutches of sin and darkness and misery
and make him a child of God and put Christ in his heart is the
gospel of Christ, the true gospel. It's the power of God and the
salvation. And secondly, what's this? Verse 17, "...for therein,"
in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. Now, my friends,
the power of God to save is not in the strength of God to do
what he pleases. Now, you think about this a moment.
There is a sinner. He's broken the law. He's guilty.
He's under the judgment of the law. He's in the clutches of
the law. He's under the judgment of God.
He's on his way to hell. Now God's, the power of the gospel
to save him is not in the strength of God to do as he pleases. God
can't, even being God, save that sinner without his law being
satisfied, without his justice being honored. So the gospel's
power to save that man is not in the strength of God, nor in
the sovereignty of God, nor even in the love of God. The power of the gospel to save
is not in the great love of God that gave you son, the power
of the gospel to save is in the righteousness of God which that
gospel reveals. You see what I'm saying? Jesus Christ came down here and
fulfilled the righteousness which the law demanded, which God required,
which the sinner needed. Christ came down here and met
the justice of God and satisfied it. The justice of God demanded
death, and Christ died. God the Father demanded satisfaction,
and Christ made that satisfaction. The sinner was under the judgment
of the justice of God, and when Christ died in his place, judgment
was lifted. The debt was paid. So the power
of the gospel to save you is not in the strength of God, or
the power of God, or the love of God, but in the righteousness
of Christ which that gospel reveals. That's what it says in Romans
3. Turn over there a minute. He said in verse 25 that his
son came down here to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to
declare, verse 25, God's righteousness. Verse 26, "...to declare, I say
at this time, God's righteousness, that He might be just, and justify
those that believe in Christ." Christ didn't die as an example.
He didn't die as a martyr. He died as a substitute. And
in His death, He revealed the righteousness of God. Turn to
Isaiah 56 a minute. Isaiah 56, verse 1. Listen to
this. Now, one great old writer said
this, the righteousness of God, this righteousness, this holiness
of God, by which sinners are redeemed, this strength of the
gospel, this power of the gospel, this effectual source of righteousness
in the gospel, must be considered at three periods. It's considered
when God purposed it, God purposed a righteousness. Back before
Adam fell, Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation of
the Lord. God purposed to redeem a people by a righteousness which
that people could not produce, which only an angel couldn't
produce, which only his Son could produce. We consider it when
he purposed it. We consider it when he promised
it. He came to Adam and Eve after the fall, and he said, the seed
of woman will crush his power. And then when he provided it,
now is the righteousness of God revealed. Now look at Isaiah
56, verse 1. Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye
my judgments equity, and do justice. For my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed. It's almost here. I'm about to
reveal my righteousness. And Paul said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel. It's the power that can save
that sinner because in the gospel is the righteousness revealed
that that sinner needs. In the gospel, it's the power
of God to save that sinner because in the gospel is revealed that
righteousness which the law demands. In the gospel is revealed that
righteousness which the Father has to have. You see what I'm
saying? That's the reason I'm not ashamed
of it. It's not a matter of just competing with the religious
world, it's not a matter of in competition with other denominations,
that's not it at all. We have to preach what we're
preaching because it is the power of God and salvation. For therein
is the righteousness of God revealed. And people come down the aisles
and shake the preacher's hand and you say, well, what are you
down here for? Well, I want to be saved. Well, how are you going
to be saved? Well, believe on Jesus. Well,
what about Jesus? Well, I don't know, I just believe
on him. I don't know who he is, I don't know where he came from,
and I don't know what he did, and I don't know why he did it,
and I don't know where he is now, I just believe on him. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. And eternal life is to know God and to know his Son.
And I said this on television, I was on this morning or next
Sunday, but the fault, the problem today is not out there, it's
right here in the pulpit. It's not the churches that need
reforming, it's the pulpit that needs reforming. The problem
is not with the people, the problem is with the preachers. They're
not preaching anything. They're exercising every gimmick
known to man to get somebody to come to church. One preacher
in Huntington this week got a bird up there reciting scripture.
And northern downtown here promised to give a kite to every little
boy that would come to church, every little boy and girl. Why
don't we just get up and say, everybody who comes to church,
I'll tell you who Christ is, and I'll tell you why he died,
and I'll tell you where he is now. And if that won't bring
you, you stay home. You go fishing or somewhere else.
Because the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation.
And anything else is prostituting Almighty God's church. It's ridiculous,
and it's not a joke anymore. It's tragic. And then the third
reason Paul said, I'm not ashamed, he says, because verse 18, the
wrath of God's revealed. Now I'm going to bend this a
little bit. Most writers feel that this statement does not
refer to the gospel, and they may be right. But I'm saying
the wrath of God's revealed in the sentence of death on Adam,
the wrath of God is revealed in the flood, the wrath of God's
revealed in the confusion of tongues at Babel, the wrath of
God's revealed in the fires of Sodom and Gomorrah, but I don't
believe there's any place, anywhere, anytime in all the universe where
the wrath of God is revealed like at Calvary. It's not clear or demonstrated
anywhere in the universe like it is at the cross. He spared
not his own son. That's how much God hates sin.
Christ didn't have any sins. He's burying somebody else's. Christ our Lord in his death
clearly revealed. Robert Haldane said two things.
He revealed the mercy of God and he revealed the wrath of
God. Two things. The cross has a two-fold message,
said Haldane, a message of mercy to all who will come and a message
of wrath to all who won't. That's right. And then last of all, verse 19,
"...because that which may be known of God is manifested to
them." God showed it to them. Philip said, Lord, show us the
Father. And our Lord said, Philip, he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Now you take your Bible,
the Father eternal life is to know God, and if you want to
see the Father, You try to see who Christ is. You study his
life and his words, what he said, his doctrine. You see what he
said. No man knows the Son but the Father, and no man knows
the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. I want to know the Lord, I want
to know the Father, I want to know the Gospel. I'm just not
going to be satisfied with listening to what some religious person
says or argues, what they think it ought to be. I'm going to
find out what God says in His Word. Who is He? Who is He? Our Father in Heaven, we know
from Thy Word that the gospel of redeeming grace is offensive
to the natural man. Thy servant Paul called it the
offense of the cross. And grant, O Lord, that we shall
be able to say with Paul, emphatically, without apology, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel. I'm not ashamed. And that at
the end of this life, it may be said of us, as Paul said of
Onesiphorus, he often refreshed me. God give him mercy. He wasn't
ashamed. move in our hearts and in our
lives, we cannot preach what we do not know. We cannot defend
what we do not believe. We cannot stand for those things
that aren't revealed to us. O Lord, reveal thy word to us.
Make us faithful servants, knowledgeable servants. For Christ's sake and
in his name we pray, amen.

I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

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I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

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