Romans 1:1-17
Introduction:
One of my more recently developed habits is to turn on the news the moment I wake up. I have a channel that I turn to and off we go (sometimes right back to sleep).
My motivation I guess is to be caught-up. What happened while I was asleep.
Usually, the ‘headlines’ are usually what I’d call either bad or controversial news (crimes, political discrepancies, natural disasters, etc.)
Transition
: What I want to do with you this morning is add a thought to our ‘Holy Month’ teaching emphasis.
Read
Romans 1:1-17
The term
gospel
is found ninety-nine times in the New American Standard Bible and ninety-two times in the NET Bible. In the Greek New Testament,
gospel
is the translation of the Greek noun
euangelion
(occurring 76 times) “good news,” and the verb
euangelizo
„ (occurring 54 times), meaning “to bring or announce good news.” Both words are derived from the noun
angelos
, “messenger.”
In classical Greek, an
euangelos
was one who brought a message of victory or other political or personal news that caused joy.
In addition,
euangelizomai
(the middle voice form of the verb) meant “to speak as a messenger of gladness, to proclaim good news.
”Further, the noun
euangelion
became a technical term for the message of victory, though it was also used for a political or private message that brought joy.
Application
: Wouldn’t it be great if when I turned on the news every morning the headlines would be, “Boy rescued from flooding waters but a good Samaritan who credits God for the courage and wisdom to act accordingly?” or “Convoy of Hope raised 80 million dollars this week to help in Cambodia!” or “Star athlete shares the reason for his financial longevity success is tithing!”
Transition
: The Apostle Paul’s teaching is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news…. I call it great news!
Propositional
: So, what is the good news and why is it so great?
Paul states in
1:16
:
NKJ
“
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
1
, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
NLT
“
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
dunamis
{doo’-nam-is}
Meaning:
1) strength power, ability 1a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.
soteria
{so-tay-ree’-ah}
Meaning:
1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation 1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies 1b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul’s safety or salvation.
Transition
:
Headlines Please
….what is so good?
First, if we have been given new life, if we’ve been raised with Christ, then we are no longer sin’s slaves (
Rom 7:1–6
; cf.
6:14
;
8:2
,
12
).
Application
: That old, awful, oppressive tyrant has been undone, unseated. And his boss, the Devil, has been defeated (
Heb 2:14–16
).
In other words, the gospel is good news for us because it gives us the freedom
not
to sin.
Question
: What do you mean pastor, the power of the gospel given us the freedom
not
to sin?
Before the good news of the Gospel reached us, we didn’t even care when we even knew we were sinning!
Now, we can say ‘no!’
We are not slaves (ordered, led, instructed and oppressed) by sin!
In fact, it’s even better news than this. That same power that crushed death and the Devil—that power that raised Christ from the dead—is
now
at work in us through God’s energizing Spirit (
Eph 1:19–21
).
Question
: Do you get this? Can you see its value and power?
The Gospel is good news because I am no longer a slave to sin and/or its consequences.
Romans 3:23,
“
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
(NKJ)
Romans 6:23, “
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(NKJ)
It is the good news that,
“
For by grace you (we) have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9
not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
(Eph. 2:8-9 NKJ)
The
Emancipation Proclamation
was a
presidential proclamation
and
executive order
issued by President
Abraham Lincoln
on January 1, 1863. It purported to change the federal legal status of more than 3 million
enslaved people
in the designated areas of
the South
from “slave” to “free”. It had the practical effect that as soon as a slave escaped the control of the
Confederate
government, by running away or through advances of federal troops, the slave became legally free.
Transition
: The second bit of good news about the Gospel is that it brings us truly ‘Alive Again.’
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT),
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Ephesians 2:1-6,
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
2
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world.
1
He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5
that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
6
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”
(NLT)
Galatians 2:20 (NKJ),
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Characters transformed by the Power of God
:
Transition
: The last bit of good news that I want to leave you with about the Gospel, is that it is the forerunner of eternal resurrected future.
The apostle Paul tells us, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (
1 Corinthians 15:13-14
). In other words, if there isn’t any resurrection, our faith is pointless.
If Christianity is simply about this physical life and then we die to never exist again, then it really doesn’t matter what we do or how we live or what we believe
.
Paul said in verse 19, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all people.” If there is no future for us, then our lives would more sensibly focus on having a good time while we can (verse 32).
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died
1
so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15
We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
1 16
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died
1
will rise from their graves.
17
Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18
So encourage each other with these words
.” (NLT)
John 14:2-3
“In My Father’s house are many mansions
1
; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you
2
.
3
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
(NKJ)
Rev. 21:4
,
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
(NLT)
Application
: When I think about all the hard times I’ve been through, the pain in body, the separation from loved ones, etc…. this is Good News. Someday, someday soon, the Gospel will find it’s full effects on my life!
Conclusion
: No doubt that between now and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) you and I will hear and have to deal with a lot of bad news.
The good news is that the Good News will never fade, vanish or be tarnished!
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