Romans 1:16-17 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

We come now to the heart of everything we believe as Christians; salvation by the gospel of God in Jesus Christ for all who believe.  Today, is a joyful day; a day where by God’s grace, many might come to know Christ as Lord, through the gift of faith granted them by God; casting away the world to believe on Christ alone, and receive in Him, an eternal treasure.  Why do most Christians leave the gospel caged up, left in a vault as something once believed, but not lived out and not preached?  What fear so grips us from unleashing into the world the means by which God would save?  Here are some quotes from men much greater than myself about the gospel:

“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.”  – John Calvin

“Never be content with your current grasp of the gospel. The gospel is the life-permeating, world-altering, universe-changing truth. It has more facets than a diamond. It’s depths man will never exhaust.” – C. J. Mahaney

“The gospel is like a caged lion. It does not need to be defended, it just needs to be let out of its cage.” – Charles Spurgeon

The Bible does not proclaim salvation apart from Jesus Christ.  On this side of the cross, where we know the name of our savior, and the context of the gospel through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, there is no other means of salvation.  This is what Paul proclaims here in Romans, and this is why he is so eager to see the gospel preached.  Romans 10:14-17 – “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Many here will take issue with the justice of God in condemning those who never hear the gospel preached.  I do not want to go too far, because I’ll be getting into tomorrow’s message, but immediately after this verse in Romans Paul begins to build his case for how everyone in the world knows God, and has rejected him.  No one is owed salvation, it is a gift; God has every right to give an unmerited gift to whomever he pleases and he does no wrong for not giving a gift to those who on their own, continually reject him in unrighteousness.  It would be you walking by 10 people every day and every day all 10 mock you and spit on you.  One day, as someone mocks you and spits on you, you forgive them and even bring them into your home, giving them great gifts.  What would you say of a charge against you that you had wronged the other 9?  If you, as a sinner, can see the absurdity of such a claim, how much more absurd is it to hold that an infinitely holy God owes salvation to those who mock and spit on him every moment of their lives?  No, it is the love and mercy of God through Jesus that any are saved, and as he has ordained the preaching of the gospel as the means by which some will believe and be saved, we should be immensely eager that all should hear the gospel clearly from us – both with words and manifested in our lives.

Enough with doctrine; if the gospel of Jesus is a treasure, then I want it to be preached today.  This is not a story, this is the Truth of God revealed to all who would receive it.

God created man in his own image.  Man was made to know and enjoy God in fellowship forever.  Man, however, out of sinful pride, desired to be like God rather than worship Him.  His sin, manifested through the temptation of Satan in the garden, resulted in his being expelled from God.  God cannot be in the presence of sin, and his righteousness demands that he pour out holy wrath on sin forever.  God did not immediately pour out his wrath against man, however, but clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of slain animals.  Their nakedness was covered by the blood of an innocent sacrifice.  Man was not without hope, because of the promise of God about the offspring of Satan and Eve – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  Man’s hope did not rest in their own works, but the promise of God, that there would be a savior by which sin would be conquered.  Man’s sin extended into the world in which he lived, growing and multiplying.  It came to a point where God proclaimed of Noah’s generation – Gen 6:5 – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”   Therefore God sent a flood upon the Earth, whereby sin was brought unto judgment under God’s wrath and cleansed from the Earth.  This was but a picture of the fullness to come.

Man continued in sin, as was their nature as descendants of Adam, each pursuing their own way.  Just as every thought an intention of man was evil before the flood, so too was every thought and intention of man evil after the flood.  We saw that even after being freed from the slavery of Egypt, a  picture of man’s slavery to his sin nature, those within Israel sought to worship a God of their own choosing by creating a golden calf.  Likewise, in the wilderness, although God had provided everything that Israel needed, the people of Israel complained.  God sent fiery serpents among the people to bite the people of Israel, and all who were bitten were assured of death.  This was to give a picture of all of our condition in our sin, and the impending death to come.  God did not leave the people Israel to their deserved fate, however, but gave Moses a charge to make a fiery serpent of bronze and put it on a pole in the midst of the people, and all who would look upon the serpent, though bitten, would live.  Much like our savior who became sin on our behalf, that as He was lifted up on a cross, all who would look to Him alone for salvation would live.

In the fullness of time, pictures of our sinful condition ceased, pictures of the coming judgment ceased, pictures of the coming salvation through God alone ceased; a child was born in the world, God in flesh, Jesus Christ.  A spotless lamb, a holy sacrifice was given; God poured out his holy wrath on His Son, Jesus, that through His blood many would be accounted as righteous.  This Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, was given that we might be reconciled to God in righteousness.  By faith, His death becomes our death to unrighteousness; by faith, His righteousness becomes our righteousness, by faith, as He was risen to eternal life, we shall likewise have eternal life.  A debt that was not owed was paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.  In His wisdom, the love of God manifested itself in a perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.  How will you respond to such a gospel?  Will you seek to share in the eternal life freely given by Christ without sharing in His death; a death to sin and unrighteousness?  My friends, there is no gospel apart from a rejection of sin and unrighteousness.  We, who were dead in our trespasses, in bondage to sin and death, have been made free to live to God in the righteousness of Christ, to enjoy Him forever.  He has restored all things.  May we all proclaim Gal 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  

Whereas Adam failed and sinned against God, Christ, the second Adam, has reconciled you to God in perfect righteousness – His own.  This is nothing you can work for; God didn’t die for a future version of you, your past, present, and future sins were all carried with Christ on the cross, if you believe on Him.  This is the message we bring to a world who has rejected their creator God; to people who worship a God of their own choosing.  Salvation has a name – Jesus.  Whoever has Him by faith, wants for nothing, whoever does not have Him, though he may have everything, has nothing.  If you know Jesus as your savior, I pray that today is a day of rejoicing as a reminder is given of how great a salvation we have in Him.  If you do not know Jesus, do not harden your heart against Him by saying to yourself, “surely God will accept me, I am a good person”, none are righteous in the eyes of a Holy God; only Jesus is righteous, and it is only His righteousness, a righteousness received by faith, that will be acceptable to God.  To all those who are weary of their sin; set it down, lay every good work and every sin down at the feet of Jesus, and embrace Him.  He is all you need, and He is more than enough.  For all of us, let us not hold back the gospel, but preach it boldly, it is the means of salvation for all who believe.

Grace and Peace,

Adam