The Gospel Truth

Who’s awake and ready to hear God’s word this morning? Okay. Let’s go. I love the energy. Last time I was here, we were in Romans sixteen, the very end of the book of Romans, where Paul gave shout outs to the faithful small community of believers there, warned of deception that could infiltrate the church, and then gave that great end of. He is able. And then last week, Matt was with you in Romans eight. Oh, I love Romans eight. There’s so much good stuff in there. God’s presence and suffering and how we are groaning and longing for completion, and that God walks with us in suffering, and he is for you. And so Romans sixteen, Romans eight, and then today we are in Romans one. Let’s go to the beginning of this theological masterpiece from the Apostle Paul. Before we get into the text, though, I need to talk to you about something. I brought some pictures. How many of you have seen the original Gladiator? Yeah. Big fans. Right? And the new one? Nobody’s clapping. You’ve seen it. Okay. How many of you gladiators like in your top five of movies? You are a gladiator fan? Yeah. I don’t want to burst your bubble. And I don’t want you to hate me. But I saw them both for the first time about a month ago, and I didn’t really like them. So if you want to beat me up after in the dark alley, you can. But the thing I did appreciate about watching Gladiator just recently was that it set me up for Romans, because this was the culture that Paul was living in or not. He was in in Romans. But writing to. And the culture in that ancient world, it was violent and it was brutal. In fact, the Emperor Nero had already During Paul writing this letter, he had already ordered the execution of his stepbrother, and a few years later he would have his own wife and mother killed. So next time you’re like, man, the USA, it’s so bad. Think of that, man. It was rough. And this is the place where these small group of believers, this is what they’re living in, trying to live out this, this gospel message. So imagine being them and living in this social structure, status empire and receiving this letter from Paul. And side note, Paul wrote this letter about A.D. fifty six fifty eight. So it was before the Colosseum, but there were gladiator fights. Isn’t that wild to think that was a real thing that was happening and was happening in the lives of these people receiving this letter? Okay, so we’re going to get to the text. Now pull out your Bibles or your phones for your Bibles, or you can watch on the screen, but we’re going to go through a lot of scripture. So it’s probably better if you have something right in front of you. Romans one, verses one through seventeen. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. The gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who, as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we receive grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you are also among the Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all in Rome, who are loved by God and called to be his holy people. Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit is in preaching the gospel of His Son is my witness. How I constantly remember you in my prayers at all times. And I pray now at last, by God’s will the way may be open for me to come to you. I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. That is, you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you, but have been prevented from doing so until now, in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I’ve had among the other Gentiles. I’m obligated both to the Greeks and the Non-greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I’m so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. For I’m not ashamed of the gospel, because it’s the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Can I get an amen? Amen. I’ve titled this message The Gospel Truth because hello. Romans one is bringing us the Good News, the gospel in a nutshell. It’s what it is to be a Christian. You see the word gospel throughout that passage. So I’m going to give you a summary definition of the gospel. Kind of have that in the back of your mind as we go throughout the text today. So the gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and promised king, died and rose again to save sinners and bring us into a right relationship with God. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the promised king, died and rose again to save sinners like you and me and bring us into right relationship with God. So we’re going to break this text into three parts today, and we’re going to go verse by verse ish. There’s too many verses to go through every single one, but I’m going to do the best I can with it. First part is going to be Jesus is Lord. The second part is going to be the cross is for everyone. And the third is righteousness is received, not achieved. Okay, so part one, Jesus is Lord. We’re going to be in Romans verses one through seven and chapter one and verse one. Paul says he is a set apart for the gospel. Paul, who used to be part of that brutal, violent society, persecutor of Christians who was met by Jesus and transformed, is now set apart for the gospel or the good news of Jesus. When you hear the word gospel in modern years. We think religious, we think Christianity. We think Jesus sounds like a religious word. But in the Roman Empire they were familiar with that word as well, but it was often associated with rulers and victories. So they’re accustomed to hearing like, the good news is here we have conquered another people. The good news is here. I don’t know if I’m making this up, but maybe it’s like our gladiator one. Maybe they’d say that the gospel, the gladiator one. So they’re familiar with the word. But Paul comes in with a little bit different announcement. He says, I’ve got a very different kind of good news about a very different king. In verses two and three, it says the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in holy scriptures regarding his Son, who is to his earthly descendant. Life was. So let me say that again. Who, as to his earthly life was a descendant of David? This is the good news that they have been waiting for. This is not a plan B, this is not. Some made up popped up out of nothing thing. This is the promised Messiah and King. That is all throughout the Old Testament from the very beginning. Through the law, the historical books, the prophets, the entire Old Testament had all these pointers to Jesus. Hundreds of them. I would love to go through them all. In fact, I had too many in there. And as I was processing with Matt, he’s like, you might want to cut out a few so you can get to some of the other stuff, but it’s so exciting to look at all the ways the Old Testament was pointing and prophesying to Jesus. So we’re going to look at just two. And the first one is the line of David, because that’s important. That’s in the scripture here. There was eight to ten passages in the Old Testament, plus some Psalms that were referencing that the Messiah would come through the line of David a thousand years about before Jesus in second Samuel chapter seven, you see the Davidic covenant where God covenants with King David, promising that an heir from the physical line of Solomon will establish an everlasting kingdom. And it was fulfilled directly and completely by Jesus, who came through the line of David. And then about a. About seven hundred years before Jesus, you have the suffering servant passage that you may be familiar with from Isaiah fifty three. We’re going to look at the exact text. Isaiah fifty three five says, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. By his wounds we are healed. How does that even make sense? Enter Jesus on the cross. By his wounds we are healed. Isaiah fifty three points to Jesus. If you like homework, go read Isaiah fifty three. Okay, back to Romans one. Getting back now. Verse four and who through the spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul says it explicitly, Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, their supreme ruler who wanted ultimate allegiance. Paul brings a radically different message Jesus is Lord. Caesar may be ruling Rome right now, but Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. This is the gospel truth. It’s radical then. It’s radical now. And then don’t miss what it says about the resurrection. The Son of God in power. By his resurrection from the dead, Jesus rose from the dead. The external historical record strongly proves that Jesus was a real person who was crucified and who had his original followers. Witness and see and believe and and give their very lives because they saw the resurrected Lord that he had risen from the dead. There is so much evidence for the resurrection. It’s so strong given the standards of ancient history. Jesus rose from the dead. Now you might be saying, why is Paul preaching a gospel to the Christians who already know it? Has anyone thought that like why? Why? They already know this. Why are you redoing this? Okay, so similar to us, I, I think that those believers, well, we know that they’re swimming upstream. They’re in a culture of fighting brutality, violence, status, and they’re fighting their own human nature that constantly tried to pull them into self-interest, cultural status, and self reliance. And yet they didn’t even have that be a good person religion that inundates us like, just be a good person. That’s all that matters. I mean, we’re all good, except I don’t know. We are murderers. Murderers aren’t good, but everything else just do. You do what feels right to you as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody. But when does it hurt someone, then? Well. Who wins? I was doing this for me, but it hurt you. But then I want to do this. But this is my way. This is what I see is right in my own eyes. And I’m just not going to judge anybody because that is like there is no sin but judgment. You don’t want to be accused of being judgy. Let everybody do their own thing. Every path leads to God. You do your thing. Does that ever influence you? It does me. I can get swayed into that way of thinking and go down that rabbit hole and kind of start making up my own religion. That works for me. And I get into this, well, if I was God, I certainly wouldn’t do like this. And if I was God, I would make this okay. This is in a sin. This is okay. That’s a good sin. Yeah. I think eighty percent would agree on that. It’s so easy to get sucked into that. And the current trendy, deconstructed way only wants Jesus a little just as much as it suits what I think. Not the costly things, not anything controversial. Just we’re all good people. The culture sucks me in to make up what I want to be true instead of what is actually true. And if I’m honest, which I am, I actually don’t like when people say, if I’m honest, like you’re lying most of the time. No, I’m an honest person. I’m a good person. There’s some things about Christianity that I struggle with that I don’t like. There’s passages that I dig into and I’m like, that is, I don’t like that. Or maybe I don’t. I don’t really agree with that, or I don’t know what to make of that. But when I go down that rabbit trail, ultimately I end up landing in his ways better. His way is better. Even things that I maybe question and wanted to be true and took them to their logical end or see them play out in society. I go, oh my gosh, God, you’re so much smarter. You know, so much more. Your ways are higher. And that’s not an excuse to just say your way is higher. So I don’t need to think with my brain. I’m not saying check your brain at the door wrestle process through what you need to, but get back to the truth. There is truth. Jesus is Lord. And that’s what Paul is saying here. And that’s why I think he’s telling those Romans. He’s reiterating that we need to probably hear over and over the gospel truth and be reminded of the power of God in the resurrected Jesus. And that righteousness only comes through him. What do we need to be saved? We need righteousness and we can’t get that on our own. We get that from what Jesus has done for us. So my challenge to those of you who are maybe thinking like, what my brain can do or what’s happening around you, or you’re thinking, I’m good. I have my own thing. I love Jesus, but I’m going to do it this way. What if my deepest self is not actually a reliable measure of truth? What is. What if my deepest self is not actually a reliable measure of truth? Or your deepest self is not a reliable measure of truth or that social media influencer. What if truth exists outside of me and I need to conform to it? I don’t feel follow Jesus. I’m not a Christian because. Every single thing makes sense and I have all the answers. My faith is not based on just what somebody teaches me. But me personally. I was called to Jesus. I was curious about things of faith at a young age. Dad was agnostic. My mom was like kind of Catholic, holiday Catholic. But I had this longing and desire to know God. And so I sought him out. And I heard the gospel from somebody. And it didn’t quite make sense to me at a certain age. And then it started to make more sense. And then I surrendered my life to Jesus without knowing everything. But I had that apologetic mind. So I studied other religions. I was at UCLA taking philosophy of religion, going to a Buddhist temple in high school, meeting with Mormons, investigating. Is this true? Is this true? If I’m going to give my everything, I want it to be true. And that’s where I’ve come to. And then I’ve seen God to the Holy Spirit move and work in my life and do things that I can’t explain other than the Lord. And his way is better. The gospel truth is that Jesus is Lord, not me, not any president, not any social media influencer, not Gandhi, not Joseph Smith, and not even Matt Van Cleave. Don’t tell him I said that. No, he knows he’s not Lord. Jesus is Lord. So part two everyone belongs at the cross. Romans one, verses eight through fifteen. In part two, we see Paul’s pastoral heart supported by his theology. He longs to see his people. He has not been to Rome. He wants to see them so he can encourage them. They can encourage one another by their mutual faith. He prays for them. He thanks God for them. He’s heard about them and their faith is world known throughout the world. The world as they knew it. They didn’t know about the rest of the world at that time, but as far as the world could know, he heard good things about them. And why does he feel so compelled to reach them? The Greeks and the non Greeks, the the foolish and the wise. Because the gospel creates a different kind of family and brings unity to that unlikely family. As we talked about in Romans fourteen, the wise and the foolish. And Roman society had such strict social ladders. The family that you were born into that mattered, the education that you had mattered. All of that mattered. But Paul came in and said, no, you all belong at the cross. How many of you in here were have been the last one picked for a team or in PE or anybody been the last one picked that wants to admit it. A few of you. Okay. All right. It doesn’t really matter in the Kingdom. How many of you have been the first one picked? Come on, you’re the captain. They’re in here. You’re in here. Doesn’t matter. In the kingdom of God, all belong at the cross. We all have that same need for a Savior. We all belong. You all enter through the same cure of your sin. And that is grace. You all enter through the same door. And that is faith. All brothers and sisters. The gospel truth is that everyone needs saving and everyone belongs at the cross. And the third part, Romans one sixteen through seventeen. Buckle up. This is the thesis of Romans. Everything Paul writes builds on this foundation. So we’re going to look at it again, verses sixteen through seventeen. For I am not ashamed of the gospel because. Because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. First for the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. My first question with that verse, because I love that whole. I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why, Paul, would you be ashamed? Why would you be ashamed of the gospel? Because in Rome, a crucified carpenter from an obscure town of Nazareth was not a hero. Nazareth. Where’s that? It’d be like saying Jesus of Mendota. Anyone heard of Mendota? One. God bless you. It’s your hometown. Maybe. I don’t know. No, but he’s heard of it. Jesus. Of what? No significance of where he was from. And that mattered to the Romans. So you’ve got this Jewish carpenter from Nazareth. He was an embarrassment. An executed criminal with zero status. Executed criminals had no status. They were just actually dead. To claim an executed Jew was the savior of the world. Sounded foolish to the Greeks and flat out treasonous to the Romans. Ridiculous. And Paul says this embarrassing story is actually the explosive power of God. And how do you access it? Not by being powerful, wealthy, Roman. Simple faith. Believe. Follow me, Jesus says. Verse seventeen is quoting Habakkuk two four from the Old Testament. The righteous will live by faith. The righteous will live by faith. That single sentence changed world history through a young German monk named Martin Luther, who sparked the Protestant revolution, Reformation and fun fact Martin Luther King Jr, who also changed the world in a different way. His dad renamed him after Martin Luther. So it’s not Martin Luther King Jr. It’s Martin Luther of the Protestant Reformation. Luther was consumed by guilt. He was obsessed with being righteous before God, but he knew his own heart. He knew what Romans three says no one is righteous, not one. And he was burdened with guilt. And when he read Romans one seventeen, he hated the phrase the righteousness of God. He thought it referred to God’s strict, punishing justice and a standard of moral perfection that God demanded only to dam human beings for failing to meet it. Luther wrote, I did not love. Yes, I hated the righteousness or I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners. He fasted. He went to confession for hours and even climbed the sacred stairs in Rome on his knees, crying out for peace, wanting to be good enough, wanting to find peace. And he didn’t find it until one day, after spending time meditating on Romans one seventeen, the lights finally clicked, turned on. Everything clicked. He spent years believing the lie that God demanded impossible, impossible performance. But here he finally discovered the gospel truth that the righteousness of God is a mountain God demanded him to climb or grade to earn. It was a free gift that God gives to those who put their trust in Jesus. Salvation isn’t achieved through human performance. It is received through faith alone, received, not achieved. And this sets Christianity apart from every other religion, every other religion is trying to earn your way to God by being good enough, wanting to make sure your good deeds outweigh your bad. Where, where Paul comes in and says, Jesus is Lord and your righteousness is received through him. It is the gospel truth. When Luther realized this, he wrote, thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through the open doors into Paradise. Power of God changes everything. Jesus is Lord. Everyone belongs to the cross, and righteousness is received and not achieved. As I was working through this passage and reading it over and over and prepping for today, I was on an Alaskan cruise for most of it. So I had a last minute opportunity to go with my mom to Alaska for ten days. And so I’m in Romans one, and I’m seeing all of God’s beautiful creation that I’m going to show you right now with some photos. Here is a photo of me in front of the Mendenhall Glacier. I mean, look at how cool that is. I’ve got another photo here of just, you know, just a basic day in Alaska in God’s creation. And then I went on a bear hunt. It was so cool. We had to go through the wilderness and down the path. And they had these platforms and we had our binoculars and it was pretty funny. God bless this woman. She had her walker and I thought, she is brave. She is coming on this trek. And as we’re walking in, the guide is like, be really quiet because you know, you don’t want to disrupt them or their run. And it’s like around the thing. I don’t know why I told you this, but it was pretty funny. So then we get to the platform and we’re looking, and then we see this bear and we see his little chase of eating a salmon. It’s so cool. And then on the last night where I’m on the balcony and I look out and I see a whale and I’m looking at the sky. And then all of a sudden this whale is right in front of the boat. And I’m like, oh, I gotta get my camera. And I get out there. And then that’s finally what I captured. You see that little spout? But just trust me, that was my guy. That was my whale that was coming to say goodbye to me as we headed back to San Francisco. So that was my guy. And then also, I was at the gym on the treadmill and looking at the ocean, and all of a sudden this pod of whales, I don’t know if they’re pods. Is that what they’re called? Pod of whales doing their thing? It was the coolest thing. Then I went out on the deck and saw them right in front of the boat. Listen to this. Listen. Right in front of our ship. Isn’t that so cool? I mean, I don’t want to ruin it for you and tell you that is them like blowing their nose. It’s whale snot and it smells like fish and it’s really icky and bad. But isn’t that awesome? That’s God’s creation. Romans one twenty. So I was messaging Matt saying, I’m working on this from Alaska, and it’s really hard not to tap into Romans one twenty. I know that’s not my assignment. He’s like, oh, you got to. So once again, I’m partying on what Matt’s supposed to be teaching next week, but he’ll dive more into it. But Romans one twenty since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse. Creation screams of the extraordinary power in nature of God. And then the gospel tells us what this God has done for us through Jesus. This is the gospel truth. It’s not a fairy tale. It’s not just an emotional connection you have with this woo woo. There is some emotionality to it. And when you’re worshiping, you can feel the Holy Spirit, but it is based on truth. Have you received this gift? Have you received your righteousness through Christ and experienced that Paradise that Martin Luther talked to? And if not, why not? What is holding you back from saying, yes, Lord, I’m in. Is it in an intellectual debate? Keep digging. Keep searching. I kind of look at it like a puzzle where there’s two thousand pieces and maybe you’re like my dad, who when I became a Christian in middle school, he started writing me letters in college with questions about faith letters, handwritten letters with stamps and everything. Some of you don’t know what those are, but it’s a thing. And you’d have to, like, wait. And I’d be in college and I’d get a letter and I’d read it and he’d say, well, I don’t really understand this verse. What is this saying about this? Usually by the end he would have answered his own question. And then he’d be like, well, what about I don’t want to give up golf. And those of you who can relate, you’re like, I am not giving up golf. Lord, please don’t ask me to give up golf. And you know, because it was on Sundays and he golfs on Sundays. And I’m like, yeah, we can work that out. That should not be keeping you from receiving Jesus. So we had all these little hang ups and these intellectual things that he would have to get through and get through. And then finally, at age seventy, he calls me casually. I remember I’m cooking and he’s like, yeah. So I thought, I think I’m a Christian now. So it wasn’t like a big altar call with emotion and smoke and stuff. He went through that process and finally process and finally was like, okay, enough of the puzzle pieces fit. Don’t wait until everything fits perfectly into what you think it should be. Trust that you’ve got enough of those pieces. There’s a few maybe that you’re confused about. The picture is there? But there is a faith element. You’re not going to know every single thing. You’re not going to understand every single thing. But is it enough yet? Is it enough that you can say, yes, Lord, receive that gift. His way is better. And if you do tell somebody, talk to me after service, or someone on staff or someone at the donuts or well, maybe not anybody, because there could be some real randos here today. I don’t know, just choose wisely. Talk to somebody. Are you walking in obedience of faith? Maybe you’re someone who has received that righteousness, but are you walking in obedience, in faith? In verse five, Paul says, This gospel calls us to the obedience that comes from faith. The gospel isn’t just a ticket to heaven, it is a total surrender to life, to Jesus. Are you let letting Jesus be Lord of your everyday life? Does your life reflect Romans twelve sixteen? Not perfect or twelve through sixteen. The chapters of How to Live Out Your Faith. Or are you holding something back? And remember Romans eight. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But you want to live in the fullness of life that Jesus has called for you as a disciple, as he’s called you to himself, his way is better. And then lastly, who in your world needs the good news? Paul said, I’m not ashamed of the gospel because it’s the power of God that brings salvation. Who in your workplace or in your family, or in your neighborhood or on your sports team needs to hear the good news of Jesus? And what’s holding you back from being the messenger? If not us, who? I’m not saying go into work or school tomorrow and be like everybody. The gospel of Jesus. I’m not ashamed. Don’t be a weirdo. Have discernment. Pray through it. Ask God, how would you have me reach this person and say something? Maybe it’s as small as how can I pray for you this week? Or maybe it’s as bold as I don’t know what your church background is, or if you even what your thing is. But we go to this church on Sundays and I love it. Would you like to come sometime? Maybe it’s that being bold in your faith. People need real people in their lives who are Christians to say, this is the way of Jesus. We get way too much crud in the news and on TV, so people just keep their distance. Be the difference. Be the light. Be the the person who helps restore and heal them from the church. Wounding that they may have had. That this is the way of Jesus and do it with tenderness and love. Yes, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. But deliver that message with tenderness and grace and mercy and love. They will know we are Christians by our love. Not ashamed of the gospel. Jesus is Lord. Pray with me. Lord, thank you that we have your word, your truth, and that you are truth. We’re not just making stuff up to fit our own needs. And when we start to do that, Lord, will you call us back even? Even your conviction is beautiful. Help us to see you and hear you and know you and obey you. And for anyone that’s holding back today for any reason, Lord, that this would be the day of surrender where they would be like Martin Luther who just says, I feel like I’ve walked into Paradise. Lord, you are Paradise. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.