I’ve had this conviction since last summer, that I needed to preach through Paul’s letter to the Romans. This book has ignited revivals and inspired movements. It spawned the whole Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther referred to Romans as a “timeless manifesto—a manifesto of freedom in Christ.” For him Romans was the “daily bread of the soul.” He urged believers to study it every day. He said “the more you read and ponder Romans, the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.”
My invitation to you is this: If you would start chewing on the message of Romans this New Year, and really make worship a priority, God will REFRESH your soul. Each week were going to print the Scripture in the bulletin, and give you a place to write notes. You can make these inserts into a tiny booklet, for easy reference. Small Groups will gather each week, and you can discuss what you are learning.
Set Apart by God Himself
Paul opens this great letter acknowledging that he has been “set apart” by God, to be a servant of Christ Jesus and an Apostle... all for the sake of the gospel. In Romans 1:1 he writes, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God…”
I think this is one of the fundamental, terrifying, and exciting truths found in all of Scripture. This truth that our lives matter, that we matter to God and to his eternal purposes, that there is something great to life than our own self-interests.
Every great man in Scripture was called a “servant” of the most high. Go down the line. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Moses. Joshua. Isaiah, the Prophets, Christ, the Twelve. Paul realizes that not only does his life matter as a servant of God, but that God has sent him into the world, and it has everything to do with the timeless message of the Gospel of God. The gospel is this… that God is setting men free from power of sin and fear of death, and giving freedom to anyone, who by faith, would seek out Christ Jesus.
There is nothing terrifying, or exciting about living a small life. But in the middle of his life Paul realizes he is God’s instrument, God’s servant, God’s slave, God’s Apostle, that God is sending HIM out, that his life matters for the sake of the gospel.
When I was growing up I was extremely shy. I would wear baseball caps. I was afraid to make direct eye contact with anyone, especially girls! I has a speech impediment, and couldn’t pronounce S’s and Sh’s. I was terrified doing any kind of public speaking. Socially, I was filled with anxiety, it was embarrassing messing up words. God doesn’t much care how you size yourself up, what you fear, what terrifies you. When God has a purpose for your life, he enables you to serve him in whatever manner he sees fit. It’s terrifying, it’s exciting, and its humbling. It’s also refreshing! So much of what we do doesn’t matter. But when you serve God your life really matters.
Set Apart for the Gospel
One thing that matters greatly is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has set us apart for the Gospel. There are people he wants us to encourage, people he wants us to influence, conversations he wants to have, words he wants us to speak. Right here, at the top of his letter to the Roman’s Paul enumerates the facts of the gospel.
Here is what he writes, Romans 1:2-6, “[I’ve been ]set apart for the gospel— 2 the gospel God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 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. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 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.”
Now how do you eat an elephant? How do you digest what feels like a plateful of Biblical Gobbledygook? You eat an Elephant one bite at a time. You take a passage one paragraph, one sentence, one phrase, even one word at a time. We always think that what will refresh us are tiny sound bites. We have largely lived on a junk food diet, content to get a little skittle here and a little skittle there of religious truth. I’ll tell you what Romans is. It’s a meal. A gospel meal. Its steak and potatoes. Its fresh fruit. It’s something (if you’ll chew on it one bite a time) that will SATISFY ad REFRESH your soul!
What is the gospel, this good news that matters to all men? In your bulletin number 1 to 6. There are six truths we need to understand about the gospel.
#1: The Gospel’s origin is in God the Father. “the gospel God promised” We’re saying that the gospel came from God Himself. Nobody made up the gospel. Nobody fabricated it. It wasn’t invented by some clever group of people. Our message originates from the very mouth of God.
#2: The Gospel’s truth is rooted in the Old Testament Scriptures. “promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” The Bible spans forty generations, was penned by forty different authors, from every walk of life. It was written in three languages, across three continents. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, there is one consistent theme—and its Jesus. The Scriptures don’t deviate to the left or right. God is always on message. The Old Testament looks toward Jesus, the New Testament looks from Jesus to the present/future age.
#3: The Gospel’s substance is Jesus Christ. “regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 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.”
Remember our Christmas series on Isaiah 9:6-7? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. [All truths emphasizing the humanity of Jesus]. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [All truths emphasizing Jesus’’s deity].”
Jesus was fully man, with a distinctive lineage traceable to David; He was fully, undeniably God as demonstrated with power by his resurrection from the death. If you’ve somehow missed Jesus through years of religious upbringing… if all you think Christianity is about is morality, pop psychology, being a good religious person, attending Church… you’ve missed whole thing! If you think Jesus is a disposable means to gaining some benefit you are sadly misinformed. Jesus IS THE BENEFIT.
#4: The Gospel’s scope is all people (All Nations, Tribes, Tongues, Cultures). “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” Multiculturalism teaches that there is only ONE universal doctrine that is absolutely true... and it’s that all cultures, religions, and beliefs are equally valid and true. Multiculturalists believe there is ONLY ONE Cardinal sin—and that cardinal sin is trying to convert people one belief to another belief. The Cardinal sin is converting people to any other belief system than Multiculturalism itself. The scope of the gospel is all people. Jesus said, “Go into all the nations (cultures, ethnic groups) baptizing… teaching people to obey.” Our gospel is of the utmost importance and relevance to all men everywhere regardless of race, creed, or profession.
#5: The Gospel’s inviation is faith. Notice the Gentiles are being called to the “Obedience that comes from faith.” A lot of Christians suppose their mission is to bring people to moral obedience. But we don’t bring people to morality. We bring people to faith in Jesus. When a person comes to Jesus only then can a transformed life of obedience ever result. Grace and peace in Jesus must come before anything else. Obedience comes from faith. If you get faith first, everything else naturally follows.
#6: The Gospel’s goal is God’s glory. John Stott says, “Some evangelism, to be sure, is no better than a thinly disguised form of imperialism, whenever our real ambition is for the honour of our nation, church, organization, or ourselves. Only one imperialism is Christian, however, and that is concern for His Imperial Majesty Jesus Christ, and for the glory of his empire or kingdom.” Friends God is going to a mighty work through his Church, and its to achieve for himself the glory/worship he is due.
There is of course an even simpler way to summarize all this. In the words of John Stott, “we can say that the good news is the gospel of God, about Christ, according to Scripture, for the nations, unto the obedience of faith, and for the sake of the Name.”
Set Apart to Encourage
Romans 1:8-15, Paul writes, “8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
“11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not 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 have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.”
There are two ways we need to encourage each other with this gospel. Number one is we encourage one another through preaching. As we will see in Romans, preaching is indispensable. We must speak boldly, clearly, concisely, Biblically, systematically about Jesus. We must do this. I think music is great. Once a musician told me, “Jon, why don’t we not have a sermon, let’s just do music people like it better.” My first thought was “thanks for the vote of confidence.” My second thought was go read Romans 10 buddy! Show me a single example of revival, reformation, or movements emerging from silent pulpit. You can’t!
The other way we need to encourage each other is through community. Paul is expressing how important it is that they get together to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Not just preaching, show me any revival, reformation, or movement that has sprung from individualism? Where corporate gatherings of worship, or more intimate gatherings of small groups, weren’t instrumental. We don’t grow in isolation—to be strengthened in faith we must gather here, in our homes…
Here are three truths that I hope REFRESH you in this NEW YEAR:
#1. God has set me apart for BIG THINGS. For Himself!
#2. God has given us the very BEST NEWS. The Gospel of Jesus Himself.
#3. God makes us BETTER TOGETHER. We’re refreshed not going it alone, but when we join together in worship and gather in groups.
SIGN UP!!