September 21, 2011
Introduction
Romans 1: 1-17
I. Paul: Called by God 1:1-7
II. Paul: Committed to the Romans 1:8-15
III. Paul: Convinced of the Power of the Gospel 1: 16-17
Trying to live a focused life is tough! and doing it, day-in-and-day-out, is almost impossible! Someone or something is always clamoring for our attention. Some distraction will catch our eye------and the next thing we know-----we've swerved off the road and are headed down another, usually unproductive and bumpy, detour.
A youth pastor in Chicago, came up with a clever way to keep his youth group on track, that Paul would have been proud of. The young pastor was afraid that the balmy beaches of Florida, with all its sights and sounds-----which was the destination for their upcoming summer evangelism trip-----would lure the teens from the purpose of their call, "to go and tell."
So, he fashioned a cross from 2 pieces of lumber and just before everybody climbed on the bus, he showed it to his teen-aged flock, and told them what his expectation was, for them and the cross. He said, "I want all of you to remember that the whole purpose of our going, is because we have been called, as believers, to glorify the name of Christ and to spread the Gospel, and the way we do this is, by lifting up the cross-------by lifting the message of the cross, by lifting the emphasis of the cross and by lifting the Christ of the cross. So, the reality is, we are going to carry this cross everywhere we go, while we are being about our Father's business, in Florida.
The teenagers looked at each other----they were a little unsure of his plan and a little reluctant to commit to it----but with some enthusiasm, from the more mature kids, they finally all agreed to the plan, and with trepidation, they dragged the cross onto the bus.
It banged back and forth, in the aisle, all the way to Florida. It went with them into every restaurant. It went into all the hotels, where the stayed overnight and it stood in the sand, while they ministered on the beach.
At 1st, lugging the cross around, everywhere, embarrassed the kids, but later, it became a point of their identification. That cross became a constant, silent reminder, of who they were, and why they had gone to Florida , in the first place. They, eventually, every last one of them, came to regard carrying it and being identified with it, as an honor and privilege.
The night before they were to go back home, to Chicago----- the youth leader, handed out 2 nails, to each one of the young people. And he told them, that if they wanted to commit themselves, to the calling, that the cross stood for----- then they should hammer one nail into the cross and keep the other one with them, to carry in their pockets or their purses or to keep in a special place. One by one, each one of those young people, nailed their nail, into that cross.
About 15 years later, one of the guys, who is now a stockbroker, got in touch with the youth pastor------ and he told him, that he still keeps that nail with him, in his desk drawer, so that he can remind himself, whenever he loses his sense of focus, to look at that nail, and remember that cross, on the beach in Florida, so that he won't forget Who is at the core of his life----(Jesus Christ); and what his calling from Jesus is----(to be a child of God); and where his commitment to that calling lies----(in his relationship with the Lord Jesus), and that the natural by-product of that relationship, (is an urgency to tell the world, the truth of the Gospel).
We are all called, by the Lord------but our calling is not primarily to be holy women, or to be identified as Christians, or to be good church goers, or faithful Bible Study attenders----our calling is for us to glorify God, always and only, 1st------ and then, to serve Him, and others, by proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, to everyone we can.
The apostle Paul, is our great example in this-----nothing, mattered more to him, than fulfilling God's call on his life. There is no mistaking Paul's identity---not by the people, who knew him, nor by anyone, who read his writings. He was, without question, a sold-out, born again, follower, of Jesus------committed, beyond comprehension, to taking Jesus, and the reality of God's goodness and love, to everyone who would listen, and to countless people who wouldn't.
Paul's letter to the Romans was a prelude to a future visit----it was a letter of introduction------he wanted to make certain sure, that the church in Rome, could separate fact from fiction, regarding his identity. So he made sure, from the outset of the letter, that there would be no confusion.
He told them right up front the 3 most important things that they needed to know about him: 1.) His calling was from God (it is clear that his ministry was not his idea, he had been persecuting Christians----not trying to increase their numbers). 2.) His concern was great for the people and the church in Rome (he believed God wanted them to be partners together, spreading the Gospel, and 3.)he wanted to share with them, his understanding of the Gospel (He believed that, It, was the only thing, that can save a person's life.)
Paul is an example, for all believers, because Who and what he was committed to, are the same things that we should be committed to, as well------the Lord Jesus; our calling from God; our concern for other believers; and our understanding that there is a lost and dying world, all around us, and the only thing that can save it, is the Gospel----and----- that we have the responsibility, at every opportunity, to reveal its truth------to our family, to our friends, to our neighbors, and to the person we stand next to, in the line at the grocery store.
I. Paul: Called by God: 1:1-7
The first 17 verses of Romans are an introduction to the great themes of the letter and Paul laid them out in an order that leads us, straight to the very heart of Paul's message----- that Jesus is Lord. In Colossians 1:27, Paul says, "To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles, the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Paul waned his readers to know that this is the truth, from which all other truths flow. Profound truths----- like justification by faith, and sanctification and righteousness, and spiritual growth, and God's sovereignty and our responsibility to service, are certainly important---but the great central theme of Romans-----or for that matter-----the great central theme of both the Old and the New Testaments, is the astonishing fact that we can have a relationship with God, through His son, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is central to Paul's thinking and He is central to God's desire and plan for humanity. Jesus is not the leader of a movement; and He is not just a good teacher, and He not just a wise philosopher. He is the Son of God and He holds in His hand, the only plan that can save the world from death.
We've already talked about how when Paul wrote his letter to the Roman believers, that he was writing to a group of people, that he knew very few of, personally, and to a church, which was amazingly, thriving, in the very heart of the Roman Empire, which he had never even visited, even though he desperately wanted to. So, he very carefully constructed the letter, by beginning with, 3 of his credentials, as a preacher of the word of God, that he thought were vital to his authority and would resonate with his readers.
1.) He was a bondservant of Jesus Christ, 2.) He was called to be an apostle, 3.) He was set apart to serve the Gospel.
1.) Paul called himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ-----which, is the Greek word, "doulos", which means, in its literal translation, that he was claiming to be a slave for life, to the Lord Jesus. The title carries with it, the connotation of a slave, who has been freed by his master or his "kurios" which is the Greek word for Lord, (Paul's favorite title for Jesus)-----but the slave so loves his master and and is so obligated to the goodness and gracious favor of him, that the slave would choose to stay a slave----so that he would never have to leave his master. It was the greatest honor and the most supreme obligation of love, that a slave could offer to his master. Paul knew how much Jesus loved him and how much Jesus had sacrificed for him---Paul knew, the hell on earth and in eternity, that he'd been spared------so, in his mind, there was no question----- he couldn't belong to himself anymore-----he could only belong to the one who had saved him---he couldn't do anything, but willingly submit to his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
And in the OT, this kind of slave, or "doulos" was often used to describe the great leaders and prophets of God-----men like Abraham and Moses and Joshua and Jeremiah and Amos and Samuel and David and Isaiah------it was considered a position of honor and dignity and authority.
The Romans would have been shocked by Paul's use of the word slave------but they would have totally understood it, because much of their congregation, was more than likely, slaves themselves. And, the converted Jews in the church, would have understood the love and obligation and position of being a slave, to a beloved master, as well as to God. So, for Paul to willingly put the awl of permanent slavery, (pierced ear was ancient Jewish symbol of a lifetime bondservant) in his own ear, would have proven the deepest sincerity of his claims. It would have been seen as an obligation of great love and an office of great honor.
2.) Paul said that he was called to be an apostle. In the OT, the great men and women of God, were the ones who felt compelled to answer the call of God and to walk forward into leadership and authority and commitment. Paul was so humble, that he never thought of himself, as a man who had aspired to any kind of honor----he just thought of himself as a man who had been given a specific task to do---which was to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. After his encounter with Jesus, on the road to Damascus, Paul thought of his life, not in terms of what he wanted to do, but in terms of what God meant for him to do.
An apostle, in its truest sense of the word means, "one who is sent". There are 3 categories of apostles in the scripture----first, in Hebrews 3:1, it says that, "Christ, Himself is "Jesus", the apostle and high priest, whom we confess", which is consistent with Him having been sent from the Heavenly Father-----
2nd, the original 12 disciples were ultimately, designated by Jesus, to be apostles and were sent by Him, to proclaim the Gospel, and lead the early church. Their qualifications were, that they had been with Jesus, during His ministry and that they had witnessed His resurrection and His ascension. Matthias had replaced Judas and was added to this group and then Jesus added Paul, on the road to Damascus.
And 3rd, the word, apostle, is used loosely, to describe any disciple or believer, who has been sent out, to tell others, the Good News------which can describe anyone, from Jesus' day to ours, who is sent in His name.
The church in Rome would have recognized Paul as being from the 2nd category------one of the select few, who had witnessed Jesus, in His resurrected body, and who had the authority to set up and to supervise churches and to even discipline them, if it was necessary.
Although the apostles were "sent ones" in a unique way------ responding to the Gospel, for anyone, involves us hearing God's call in our lives. We can speak confidently of being called by God, in 3 distinct ways--we are called to salvation---which is to belong to Jesus; we are called to be saints----which is to be obedient, to God's kingdom purpose and plans and we are called to ministry----which is to use whatever gifts the Holy Spirit has given us, when and where God sends, summons or appoints us to. Even though, scripture does tell us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, we shouldn't assume or presume that we always have to go to another geographic location, to follow our calling from God----we need to minister where we are, until God specifically opens up the door, for us to go somewhere else.
That can be, in our homes, in our children's schools and on the ballfields and sporting arenas in their lives, it can be having coffee with a friend, it can be at the gym, it can be in our own SS classes, it can be in the park, it can be at the neighborhood Halloween party, it can be in downtown Raleigh, at the Helping Hand Mission or in a Ladies Circle, making plastic mats for needy children. We can take the love of Jesus and the truth of His Gospel, everywhere we go and every where we stay. The call to belong to God and to be about His business for the kingdom, ought to be our daily pursuit!
3.) Paul said he was set apart to serve the Gospel--- the Good News of God------Paul believed that he had been set apart twice in his life----In Galations 1:15 he said that God had set him apart for the task he was to do, before he was even born. God has a plan for each one of us--no one's life is purposeless-----before we're saved and after we're saved, God can use it all--------when Paul was changed on the Damascus Rd., it didn't change his ability to be zealous and passionate, or to be committed or to be a hard worker----it just changed his focus of those things-------it caused him to preach, Jesus crucified and resurrected, instead of crucifying those, who believed in Him-------he was still zealous, still a hard worker and still committed to sacrificing his own life, for what he believed in.
The 2nd time that Paul was set apart, was when the church at Antioch, was told by the Holy Spirit, to separate Paul and Barnabas, from the others in their congregation, and send them on a special mission to the Gentiles.
Paul preached the Gospel, with the understanding, that the Gospel, is not just the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that sinners can be saved----- as wonderful as that is-------but he also preached that the Gospel is the good news, of the kingdom of God--------so that those who are saved, can begin to live lives of righteousness, and joy and peace and confidence and commitment and blessing, through the power of the Holy Spirit, right now.
The Good News of the Gospel, wasn't Plan B on God's agenda, it was foretold in the scriptures, from the beginning and the Jews should have recognized it. Unfortunately, by Jesus' day, it was more important for a good Jew to know and live, what the Talmud, the book of Jewish scripture interpretation said, than it was to live by what the scripture said. And as always happens, a lot of the truth got lost in translation. Paul spent his life trying to set the record straight! He had been saved to serve! Each one of us has been saved to serve too, if that weren't the case the the Lord would have taken us home, the very minute He saved us!
When Paul was a Pharisee, he had been a member of a group, who had deliberately separated themselves from all ordinary people and wouldn't even let the skirt of their robes brush up against an ordinary person. They would have been horrified at the very thought of God making an offer to include the Gentiles among His chosen people. But after he was saved, Paul knew that there was no person, who was any better than anyone else---"that all have fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and were in need of salvation. And that it included him and all the other Pharisees too.
Paul made it very clear to his readers that the only reason he was a changed man was because of God's unmerited grace. He had done nothing to earn it and he had done nothing to deserve it! But God, in his great sovereignty, had chosen Paul to be His messenger. Paul didn't see himself has having been chosen for a special honor, he saw himself as having been chosen for a special responsibility. Before Paul had become a Christian, he had sought to earn glory in the eyes of others, and to earn merit, in the sight of God and entrance into heaven, by meticulous and legalistic observance of the works of the law. But after his conversion, he knew that what mattered was, not what he could do, but what God had already done, which had already been decided from eternity past. Eternal salvation depends on what God's love has done, not what human effort can do. It isn't about us-----it's about what God has done through Jesus.
After Paul had introduced himself and explained Who had sent him and what his message was, he gave a brief summary of what he knew to be true about Jesus. As we go through the study, we will see Paul return again and again to the person of Jesus, because without Him, there is no Gospel message!
Jesus was truly a man, he was born in the line of David, from a woman, in the way that all babies are born. And He truly died, physically, in the way that all human beings die. Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, in the 2nd century, summed it up perfectly, when he said, "Jesus became what we are, to make us what He is." As a man, Jesus showed us how to live a perfect life in a very imperfect world.
And, Jesus was really and truly God-----He was present from eternity-------He helped decide the plan, and then He willingly gave up all the wonders of heaven, and stripped Himself of His glory, and came to earth, to pay the price, that had to be paid, for the sin of mankind. What cements the truth of Jesus' divinity, is His resurrection. Without the resurrection, He would just have been a great teacher, who died a wrongful death, just a memory, like so many other great leaders and teachers------but because God raised Him from the dead, we can know that the Gospel is true and that it is the power that saves a soul from hell and gives a person's life the strength and passion, desire and ability, to follow Him in obedience.
He was fully man and He was fully God. This is miraculous and mysterious thing and we have to have faith in the sovereignty of God, in order to believe it. The precious thing is, that we can't just choose that we're going to believe---- God gives us His grace and that is what saves us. And in His mercy, when He saves us, He gives us faith, as a gift----and it becomes a relationship with Jesus, that helps us become more and more like Him and enables us to experience His perfect peace, in our daily living.
II. Paul: Committed to the Romans: 1:8-15
"William Barclay says that after 2000 years, its amazing that this passage still breathes the warm affection of Paul's great heart, as it throbs with love for a group of people that he's never seen." As you continue on into the greeting of the letter, you can tell that Paul wanted to level the playing field between himself and them. He didn't want them to think that he was trying to come in and interfere where he wasn't welcome and where he might interrupt what God was already doing. He wanted them to know that he didn't want to tell them what to do-----he wanted to join them in what they were already doing, so that they could do it together. (the mark of a good leader, is his ability to join and work together with fellow workers, not boss them around.)
And then,After telling them who he was and what his intentions were, he very carefully, with great wisdom and love and admiration, let them know, that he knew who they were too.
( My family, especially my girls, laugh at me all the time. Whenever we go into restaurants or places where there are sales people who are serving us, I like to find out the person's name and then call them by it, cause I think it is important for them to know, that I care enough to know their name and that they have value, in my eyes. My problem is, according to my girls, that I say it too many times--overkill, they say. Their favorite story, is one that happened a few years ago, at a restaurant in Winston-Salem. Our waitress's name was Autumn and I was so taken with her and with the fact that we were having dinner there in the fall--that Lizzie says I said her name about 10 times and that I pointed out, more than once, how amazing it was, that we were there in the fall, and her name was Autumn! I think they exaggerate, but I do do stuff like that, because the truth is, I think, people appreciate you taking the time, to let them know that you know who they are and that you're interested in them. It reminds me of the book/movie, The Help, when Abilene tells little Mae Mobley, "You is kind, You is smart and You is Important," people need to feel validated and to feel like they matter.)
Paul was very, very good at being able to make anyone -----rich or poor, Jew or Greek, male or female, feel comfortable with him and to trust the authority of his words and the love and compassion in his heart. He was gifted, in the ability to encourage people to be able to do, the very things, that they didn't think that they could do, or that other people didn't think they could do. (Trish Weaver a dearly loved member of our church, who has gone on tho be with the Lord, had that same ability-------she was the director of the Children's Choir for 8 or 10 years and I saw her time after time, pick the most awkward or shy or sometimes even the most unruly and distracted children and make them the star of the show! She did it with love and compassion and discipline and a genuine interest in them, personally and spiritually--she made a real difference in the lives of 100s of kids-------my 3 included. I remember, one time when Lizzie was in the 1st grade-----Trish placed her in the line-up in the very center of the stage and told her to make sure that she stood in that spot every time---Lizzie thought that was her part---------and she made sure that she found that spot, every single time. We thought it was hilarious, but Lizzie was dead serious about it! That's the kind of impact, that Trish had on those kids, and in return, they lavished her with love and respect and complete loyalty.)
No one can ever begin to reach people for the Lord, if they don't love them and believe that they are deserving of being saved.
Paul let the Roman believers know that:
1.) He thanked God for them, and for the way that they were living our their faith to the point that the whole known world had heard about the.
2.) He let them know that he constantly prayed for them. It's always a privilege to be able to pray for another believer. And its a responsibility of love, that we should take seriously, as we take them and their needs to the throne of grace. Even if we're separated from people, or even if we can't do anything about what they're going through, or even if there's no other gift that we can give them------we can stand in the gap and surround them with the strength and peace of our prayers.
3.) He wanted to share with them, the gifts that the Holy Spirit had given him, but he also wanted to receive from them, blessing and teaching and encouragement, from the gifts that the Holy Spirit had given them. He wanted them to know that he wanted to come to Rome, in the worst way, but that he had been prevented because God's timing had not yet been right. He wanted them to know, that he was looking so forward, to sharing precious encouragement , knowledge, joy, strength and comfort, in the faith of each other. This is a good example of Paul's humility-----he was the greatest thinker and exhorter, in the early church-----but he wanted to receive teaching from the Romans, every bit as much as he wanted to preach to them.
4.) That he felt an obligation to minister to them, because of the way that the Lord had ministered to him and his obligation was to everyone he came in contact with. God just doesn't redeem our soul, when He redeems us, He redeems all the experiences of our lives and he refashions them for His good, for our good and for the good of the people around us. Paul was under the obligation to preach Jesus, because of what Jesus had done for him and under the obligation to preach Jesus to the world, because Jesus, alone, is the cure for sin, and is the key to a right relationship with God and a citizenship in His kingdom. If you had the cure for cancer--would you keep it to yourself? or would you risk life and limb, to get it to every single cancer sufferer or anybody who has the potential to suffer it?------That is the kind of obligation that Paul felt and there was an urgency to it, because just like cancer messes up the quality of life and can cause death, so does sin mess up the way people are supposed to live their lives and can cause death.
We are also obligated to Jesus, because He took the punishment that was meant for us, that we deserve for our sin. We are obligated, because God provided for our salvation, and then, He made sure that we got the message, by sending the Holy Spirit, to inspire the men who wrote it down, and then to lead, guide and direct each one of us, so that we can understand it-----and to fill us with His power and strength, so that we can live it! We are acting on that obligation, every time we become a willing vehicle of God's message, in the lives of others. Even though we can't repay Jesus for what He's done, we can demonstrate our gratitude, by showing His love to the world around us.
It seems funny that Paul said that he was obligated to the Greeks and to the Barbarians when he was writing to the Romans-------but it was because, at the time that he lived, being Greek was not a racial thing anymore. It didn't mean that a person was a native of Greece. Alexander the Great had taken the Greek language and Greek thought and Greek culture, all over the world. And to be Greek, in Paul's day, meant that a person shared the culture and the mind and the reasoning philosophy of Greece.
A barbarian was literally someone who spoke and thought in an ugly, unpleasant sounding language, in contrast with, the person who spoke in the beautiful, melodic and flexible tone and language of the Greeks. One of the Greek philosophers said, "the barbarians may stumble on the truth, but it takes a Greek to understand it."
Paul wanted the Romans to understand that his message, his friendship and his obligation to teach and preach Jesus----- was to the wise and to the simple. it was to the cultured and the uncultured, it was to the educated and the uneducated. His message from Jesus, was for the world----- and it was his ambition, his desire, and his calling to deliver that message to Rome, as soon as he could get there.
III. Paul: Convinced of the power of the Gospel: 1:16-17
"I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last just as it is written: "the righteous will live by faith."
I love these verses!
Paul wanted to make sure that the church in Rome, fully understood the truth of the Gospel, but he also wanted to preach that truth in the highways and byways, of the great mass of humanity, who lived there! He wanted to shout it, from the porches, of the great temple and government buildings in the Forum and he wanted to preach it to a packed house from the floor of the Colleseum------ and he wanted to teach it, in the tenement high-rise buildings, as he wondered through the slums and back alleyways, of a vast portion of the city.
Another mark of a good leader is one who knows his audience and adjusts his message and his expectations accordingly. Paul knew who his unbelieving audience was, in Rome, and he knew how much their conquest-hungry, prideful hearts appreciated power. Roman military power had conquered the entire known world. Roman knowledge was unsurpassed-----their road-building technology was so advanced, that some of their roads still exist today, all over Europe-----which made the phrase "All paths lead to Rome…." true. Their war-making technology was beyond compare-----their army was such a well-oiled machine that they cut down everything in their path----- and it was so large that they had troops stationed in every single town that was under their jurisdiction. Their legal knowledge was superior to all others------their government was detailed and ordered----there was level upon level of beurocratic control and judicial protocol----if you got in trouble, you wanted to be tried by Roman legal officials-----you stood a greater chance of being acquitted by all the loopholes their lawyers could manipulate in their system. The Romans prided themselves on their literary and artisitc skill, because their enlightened minds had embraced and implemented the culture and reasoning aspirations of a Greek mindsite. And the Roman economic power, was the greatest in the world, their wealth had been brought to them, through both trade and conquest.
But Paul knew what the believing Romans knew and what the vast majority of the unbeliveing Romans didn't know----------and that was, that for all its wealth, military might, technology and intelctual reasoning-------Rome was powerless to change a single heart. The Roman Empire was riddled with violence, corruption, despair and suicide. They lived meaningless lives, their wealth and power and education gave them no inner peace.
That's the reason why Paul was so proud of the Gospel------why he wasn't ashamed of it-----even though he had been ridiculed and beaten and imprisoned and was often in the minority of willing listeners, and ostrasized by even his own people. He knew that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the power of God-----he knew that it was the power, that could do the very things that Roman power could never do. The power of God will give salvation to everyone who will accept it-----it's power is demonstrated, by accomplishing the salvation of a person, but it's power is even more amazing, because it can accomplish this salvation, in an undiminished capacity for everyone who believes.
We never need to aplogize for the Gospel------it is power without equal and beyond comprehension; it is power to transform a heart in a heartbeat; and it is power to change a life, now and for all eternity.
"The rightous will live by faith", is a quote from from, Habakkuk 2: 2-4----- and Paul used it to comfort the Roman believers, much in the same way, that God had used it to comfort Habakkuk, when he was at his wits end. Apparently, during Habakkuk's day, wickedness was rampant in Israel, and in Habakkuk's mind, God seemed oblivious to it. He railed against God complaining about the injustice of it all. But God's answer to him, that Paul borrowed from, was glorious! God told Habakkuk, and I'm paraphrasing, "I am about to reveal something to you, Habakkuk, that I want you to record, so that a herald may go and proclaim it! It is a revelation of my righteousness (righteousness is an aspect of God's character, His standard of behavior and it's a description of all the blessings He wants to give us, especially a relationship with Him) and it will put to rest your fears of inaction and injustice. In the meantime, until my righteousness is revealed----you who are righteous, are to trust me and to live by faith. There is nothing you can do to "fix" the situation. You will have to live by faith, not by sight, until what I have written will be accomplished."
We know, on this side of the cross, that he was talking about Jesus and we know that that prophecy was fulfilled partially when Jesus came the 1st time, and we know, that it will be fulfilled completely, when Jesus comes back again, and until that time, we the righteous, will have to live by faith----but, we can, because we have the power of the Gospel living in our hearts!
Paul knew it too, he had read Habakkuk and he knew that the Roman believers needed a revelation from God-------some good news in the middle of their uncertain existence. He wanted them to understand that God's power is the Gospel and that God's righteousness, will be revealed against sin--and that those who have been made righteous, through their belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus can live by faith, in the meantime. Paul wanted them to forget about how powerless they were against Roman might---- and remember that teaching and living the Gospel, by faith, gave them the power which could change lives.
For us today, in the crazy, technological, anything goes, upside-down world that we live in--sometimes believers feel powerless to have any effect on the cultural trends and the tides that bring constant pressure on our Christian lifestyles, on our child-rearing practices, on our education priorities and on our pocketbooks. What the church and the world, still needs today, is the same thing that Habakkuk needed in 600 B.C. and what Paul and the oppressed and persecuted believers needed in A.D. 50, and that is the Gospel!
Every person that we pass on the street, today is in need of the good news of the Gospel---- Whether its an unbeliever, oppressed by sin, who is trying to create their own salvation, or a believer, oppressed by society, who feels powerless, living in the middle of a lost world.
The answer is the same for both of them-----they need to take hold of the Gospel, because there is where God's rightousness is revealed------to be rightous is to be right with God. When we believe and God imparts His rightousness to us-----it doesn't mean that He makes a sinner good-------it means, that from that point forward, He treats us as if we had never sinned at all. Salvation is the forgiveness of sin, but it goes even deeper-----to a restoration and to a wholeness, of all that sin has defaced or destroyed----and puts it right with God.
That's the power of the Gospel! A believer enters into a new relationship of love and confidence with and in God-----not because of anything that they have done, but because of what God has done-----only and soley, because of God's amazing mercy and love and faithfulness. And because of this, we, like Paul, can be absolutely unashamed of the Gospel and can live by faith in it, like the daughters of the king that we are.
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