Fully Persuaded

Take your Bibles, please, and
turn back to Paul’s epistle to the Romans. We find ourselves
in chapter one once again. As I began to ponder the great
subject of the gospel during the course of preparation for
this study in Romans, I began to sense something that was at
first incredulous to me. My observation was simple. The gospel. And I mean those
particular words, the gospel, those two words, seem to be more
in focus in our day than ever before, at least in my lifetime,
or at least in my lifetime as a Christian. The gospel is in
focus. The closer I looked, the more
my observation was confirmed. Everywhere I looked, everything
I heard, everything I read, the gospel, the gospel, the gospel. And yet something didn’t sit
right. It still doesn’t. There was something in the midst
of all this focus on the gospel that just rang hollow. Nearly
every church, every denomination, every Christian group has begun
to speak of and focus on the gospel. Entire groups have been
developed. all focusing on the gospel, some
even laying claim to that particular name, at least in part. Such churches. As a kind of proof
of their focus on the gospel are now self-proclaiming missional
churches. A popular word churches and denominations
that particularly or exclusively or more exclusively make the
gospel their special focus. And as such, lay claim to that
title of missional. They make it their focus, their
main focus. And my further investigation
and observation might shock you. Because sadly, I think it’s a
fad. I think it’s nothing more in
some circles than a fad. The greater Christian community
has entertained and promoted a steady stream of fads over
the years, all designed to popularize the message and usually enhance
numerical growth, at least on a local level. The church in
the past has made a fad of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of
the Spirit. The prosperity gospel was a former
tool as well, a fad built on the idea of God earnestly desiring
our unending health. And our unlimited wealth. More
recently, the church opened its doors to worldly methods and
gimmicks where almost anything goes. if it will bring in people. Fads. Fads, fads, and more fads. And now I fear that the gospel
is just another in a long string. The gospel is being used. It is just the latest in a long
line of fads for the greater church, a way of identifying
themselves as being the most relevant of all. But it’s just
a fad, I fear. Right now, it’s in vogue to be
missional, to speak and to be gospel centered, to be all about
the gospel. And you might say, well, that’s
good, isn’t it? Maybe. In Philippians, chapter one.
Paul concluded, as he looked about that, ultimately, if Christ
is being preached, that’s a good thing, he said it this way. In
115, he said, some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy
and strife. But some also from goodwill,
the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for
the defense of the gospel, the former proclaim Christ out of
selfish ambition rather than for pure motives. This isn’t
the first time that this has happened. But the gospel has
been misused. Paul’s conclusion was simple,
the What then? Only that in every way, whether
in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed in this. I rejoice. Yes, I will rejoice. And there
is that particular perspective. In Paul’s writings, that as long
as the gospel is being proclaimed. People’s motives made very little
difference to him. But Paul also had a different
take when he wrote to the Galatians. Because there it wasn’t the motives
behind the preaching of the gospel, but the very nature of the gospel
itself. What gospel was being promoted? What Paul called there another
gospel. And in this particular instance,
Paul wasn’t pleased. Paul didn’t desire this kind
of gospel. Paul wouldn’t have applauded
this gospel being preached in advance. That opening chapter of Galatians
in verse six, Paul said, I am amazed that you are so quickly
deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a
different gospel. You say, oh, which one is it?
Maybe I’ve got the wrong one. And Paul clarifies that almost
immediately, there is no alternative alternative gospel. He says,
which is really not another. There is no other gospel, only
there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel
of Christ. And that is my fear. That the
gospel has been distorted, it is another gospel. And I ask
in all the focus on the gospel, all the churches that are now
mission of Is it the gospel? Is it the genuine gospel that
is being proclaimed or are there elements merely of the genuine
article? Is it God’s gospel? Is it the
gospel of Christ? Or are there elements that are
removed, downplayed, minimized or even eliminated? that leave
the message nothing more than a shell of the true gospel. What’s wrong with it? It’s the
same concern that Paul had when he opened to the Galatians. What’s
wrong with it? What’s wrong with the focus on
the gospel if it’s not 100 percent accurate? It allows people to take salvation
on their terms. It allows them to live the Christian
life on their terms. And it allows them to take the
church on their terms. I think this is exactly what
Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Romans. When he
wrote to the Roman Christians and he penned the words that
we’ll focus on this morning. The Gospel. The crucial nature
of the Gospel. I want to pick up All the way
back in verse 8, we’ll take a running start, even though our focus
will be verses 16 through 17 this morning. Paul wrote, First, I thank my
God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is
being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I
serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of his son, is
my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you. Always
in my prayers, making requests, if perhaps now at last, by the
will of God, I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to
see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that
you may be established, that is, that I may be encouraged
together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s
faith, both yours and mine. And I do not want you to be unaware,
brethren, that Often I have planned to come to you and have been
prevented thus far in order that I might obtain some fruit among
you. Even as among the rest of the
Gentiles, I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,
both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager
to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome, 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 to faith. As it is written, but
the righteous man shall live by faith. These words that close out that
lengthy reading, verses 16 through 17, are not only a very crucial
part of that particular text, but they also form in a very
real way the outline of the entire rest of the epistle. This is
the theme of the great epistle to the Romans. The poll was not
ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God’s salvation. What Paul gives in this section. Verses 16 through 17 is a well-reasoned
explanation for the passion that he had and had so particularly
to preach the gospel. Paul tells us, and what we have
here is a continuous, a string, if you will, of unfolding reasons
as to why he was so passionate about taking the gospel and preaching
it and proclaiming it. First of all, it was the gospel
of God. It was the gospel of God. That’s
what he called it in verse one here. He just refers to it plainly
as the gospel. But it was God’s gospel. It oriented
from God. It emanated from God. And it
went out to the world. It was God’s good news. Why was
he ready to preach the gospel? Because he wasn’t ashamed because
it was God’s message. Secondly, and if you’re using
your place for notes, this is The number two, not the second
space on your page, but the number two with the space. Not only
was the gospel of God a good reason for Paul to go and to
preach, but secondly, the power of God. Paul wasn’t ashamed of the gospel
at all. He couldn’t wait to go preach
the gospel because, as he plainly says, it was the power of God
for salvation. Salvation of sinners. The thirdly,
and we won’t even get to these latter two points, at least until
next week, we’re going to park on point one this morning, but
the third point, the third reason, the third prompter. Was the righteousness
of God, the righteousness of God revealed. We’ll focus on
those latter two in the weeks to come. We want to focus on
the first today. that in this opening discussion
of the gospel of God, Paul opens with a sentence that ultimately
must undergo what I would call a fourfold examination, almost
word for word. We won’t go that far. But a fourfold examination. At
the end of which. Prayerfully, we too will be utterly
motivated to take the world, God’s message. Paul was fully persuaded. There
was no holding back for Paul. There was no need of additional
pep talks for the Apostle Paul. Paul was fully persuaded. These
three reasons that we’ll look at in the weeks to come, the
gospel of God, The power of God and the righteousness of God,
those three are what prompted and motivated him to do what
he was called to do. But we want to focus this morning
just on. Versus 16 through 17, and really just the first part
of that. Just a part of verse 16. In this
opening discussion of the gospel of God, Paul opens with that
sentence. And the first portion of that
examination is the little word that stands at the front. Four. Which offers to us a very surprising
connection. And I want you to go back to
verse 15 and grasp this connection. For my part, I am eager to preach
the gospel to you who are at Rome. for. And with that, he
introduces the reason why he’s so eager to preach the gospel
to them at Rome. But the reason is astounding,
it almost doesn’t fit. I’m eager to come to you, I’m
called, I’m set apart as an apostle for the gospel of God. I’m eager
to come in to do that. It is part of my calling as the
preacher of the gospel. For I’m not ashamed of the gospel
of God. Why did he feel so inclined to
tell us that here? We already talked about the Romans.
But it’s very possible that they were somewhat suspicious, even
dubious of Paul’s claims. He said that he loved them. He
said that he wanted to come and be with them. And for nearly
20 years, he’s going across the globe here and there, planting
churches, establishing churches, ministering across the land and
never once coming to Rome. Perhaps. They even thought that
Paul wasn’t big enough to come to Rome. One said it this way,
the long delays, nearly 20 years, which had prevented the apostles
visit to Rome did not arise from some secret anxiety or fear. And for some reason, Paul feels
inclined to tell them that right here. Look, I’m not afraid of
Rome. In the very contents of the gospel,
Paul will go on to show us. There is a grandeur and a power
which lifts the man who is charged with it above those kinds of
feelings. He may indeed be filled with
fear and trembling when he is delivering such a message, but
the very nature of that message restores him and gives him entire
boldness wherever he presents himself. Paul wasn’t afraid. And he has to tell them, not
right at the outset, for this is the reason why I’m so eager
to come and to preach the Gospel to you who are at Rome. Paul
had articulated similar thoughts to other churches. To the Corinthians,
he wrote, the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing. But to us who are being saved,
it is the power of God Paul stood on that power. Paul knew that
in going to this chiefest of Roman cities, there was this
great temptation to be ashamed, to stand ashamed, to cower in
fear with the Gospel message that he came. He knew that there
was that temptation. That because of the world’s hostility,
because of their hatred to God, After all, this was God’s message. Paul knew of the temptation to
cower in fear and to acquiesce to the demands of the world that
we close our mouths, that we cease. As one said, Paul also knew the
nature of the gospel itself. Paul knew of its unimpressiveness
over against the impressiveness of the world. The fact that God
had intervened in history for the salvation of men, not in
obvious might and majesty. But in a veiled way, which was
bound to look to the world like abject weakness. And foolishness. Paul says at the very outset,
I’m not I’m not ashamed of the gospel, that’s what prompts me,
that’s what has me coming to you. And yet, as I pause, ashamed,
really ashamed. And so the second of four observations,
as we begin to look at this passage. This fourfold examination, the
second of which is the word ashamed. Paul said, I am not ashamed. And I had to pause. What is the
meaning of that word? Is it really the strong sounding
meaning that that we assign to it in our culture? Shame to be
ashamed. In a beginning to look at it,
the word and its root is used all over the New Testament. One of the forms that this word. Takes place in the New Testament
is used of elders to inform that they must not be those that long
for what is called sordid gain, shameful moneymaking, not that
moneymaking is bad, but a shameful approach to that stealing and
theft and dishonesty. Elders can’t be that they can’t
be shamefully greedy is a good way to translate that. Another
form of this word. Is used a number of times in
Scripture, 1 Corinthians 11, 6. That it is disgraceful to have
a woman’s hair shorn off. 1 Corinthians 14 514 35. Pardon me, it is improper, shameful,
disgraceful for a woman to speak in church to speak authoritatively,
particularly from the pulpit as Paul would. Talk of in 1 Corinthians
or 1 Timothy 2. Ephesians Chapter five, it is
disgraceful even to speak of particular things, shameful things. Titus chapter one again uses
it of an elder that he must not be one who is longing and pursuing
sordid, shameful gain. The word is a graphic word. In
almost whatever form it takes in the New Testament, it picks
up this this shameful meaning, shame being that emotion when
our conscience is exposed as guilty. Listen, this. Is translated in the Gospels
frequently as disgrace. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote
in his second epistle that they had renounced the things hidden
because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating
the word of God. Paul said, you know what? Look,
that is just shameful behavior. And so the word does take on
this heavy. Foreboding meaning that we know
it well. As being translated just as shame,
shameful to shrink back to be in disgrace. Disgraceful. As one said, it describes disgraceful,
dishonorable deeds that produce embarrassment and humiliation.
That’s pretty graphic, isn’t it? The particular form of the word
that it occurs. Here in Romans one, it’s translated
ashamed every time it occurs. At least in the New American
translation, Mark 8, 38, whoever is ashamed of me and my words. Luke 9, 26, whoever is ashamed
of me and my words. And so my observation. Held true
that Paul actually was saying, for I am not ashamed, I do not
cower in some kind of fear. That’s why I want to come to
you. That’s why I’m so eager to come to you and preach, because
I’m not ashamed. Now, a lot of times it’s talking
about this word is talking about things that people do in secret
or things that they’re ashamed of some scandal, some crime.
And it’s impossible to believe that that was the apostles meaning
here, something scandalous still in his life that he had need
of. renouncing and reconciling, nor is Paul talking about his
past. As one said, it was the secrecy
of concealment, the opposite of openness and frankness. That
the apostle. Negated here. He said in the
preceding context, he had spoken of his openness of speech and
conduct, the latter part of this verse, he speaks of the manifestation
of truth What, therefore, he says he renounced,
which he represented as characteristic of false teachers is their lack
of openness. Adopting secret methods of accomplishing
their own end. And so. The context holds. When Paul says for. He’s pointing
back to his eagerness to go preach when he says ashamed, he really
means ashamed. And that leads me to the third.
The third element to look at in the context of this situation,
the gospel. It’s a staggering combination. I called it a surprising connection,
the word for ashamed, a startling descriptive, but the gospel,
it is a staggering combination of shame and gospel, shame and
gospel. This is the fourth time in this
opening chapter within the first 16 verses that the term gospel
had been used. Verse one, verse nine, verse
15, and now here in verse 16. And really, we have yet to even
define the gospel. What is the gospel? Now, in essence,
that’s what the epistle to the Romans is, it is an outline,
it is one long unfolding definition, an explanation of what the gospel
really is, what constitutes the gospel. While Paul will do that
throughout this entire book of Romans, we need to get a grasp,
a brief overview of what the gospel is this morning. The term
gospel can refer to the act of preaching to share or to preach
the good news, but it can also refer to the content of that
good news, that which is preached, that which is shared. And it
is that particular aspect that I want to focus on just for a
few moments this morning. What is the content of the gospel?
The word is mentioned only about 19 times in all four of the gospel
accounts, and that really in only six contexts, there’s a
lot of overlap in the gospels, six particular contexts where
the word occurs. But in Paul’s epistles, it occurs
sixty five times. Only a handful in first Peter,
and so for Paul, Paul becomes the expert witness as to what
is the content of the gospel. And it largely is there that
we must draw our definition of the gospel. This is a stab at
it, a start. The gospel is the good news from
God Regarding his plan of redemption. Which was conceived by God in
eternity past and from the moment of the fall, God began actively
working. Through the gospel to save people,
the most glorious element of that good news is that God sent
his own son, Jesus Christ. To take on human flesh. Ultimately,
dying on the cross as a payment for the sin of the world, buried
and raised on the third day. And that particular sacrifice
secured forgiveness and eternal life for all who repent of their
sin and place their faith in Christ alone for salvation and
all of it. The whole of the gospel to the
to the glory of God. There are certainly simpler definitions
of the gospel. The gospel is referred to in
a number of different ways in the New Testament, it is referred
to as the gospel of the kingdom. It is referred to the gospel
of Jesus Christ or the gospel of his son, the gospel of God,
the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the glory of Christ. The gospel of your salvation,
the gospel of peace. And so it is the gospel. Paul
does give us this connection, this surprising connection, for
he does give us this startling description, ashamed, and he
gives us this staggering combination, the gospel. Which leads us to the fourth.
elements of this examination, and that is this shocking statement. The shocking statement is I am
not ashamed of the gospel. I have read and known and love
these verses for years, almost since becoming a Christian, but
I’ll tell you, given the current climate. In the greater Christian
community, studying these verses has disturbed me. These words
bother me. When I began to study these words
this past summer, as I mentioned, I had to keep coming back and
asking the question, why would Paul say this? Not ashamed, not
ashamed of the gospel. What I’ve come to believe is
that while Paul had come to the position that he was not ashamed
of the gospel, not all had. And not all will. The bottom
line is that, frankly, with regard to the gospel, there is much,
very much potentially about which to be ashamed. And it doesn’t help anything
to deny that. To sanctimoniously downplay it
and pretend that it isn’t true, God knows it. Humanly speaking,
there are elements of the gospel that are shameful. There are
elements that do cause the average person, even a Christian, to
blush with shame, potentially. Now, the question is, is Paul
here when he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, is Paul here talking
about the simple tendency that people have to just grow feet
skinny feet and feathers and be chicken when it comes to discussing
spiritual things. Is that all he’s talking about?
I mean, after all, religion is one of those subjects that well-mannered
people refrain from discussing, right? Is it just that people are ashamed
in that sense? It’s true. That’s one legitimate
explanation. Chrysostom, a very early preacher
of the gospel, said this in truth. It is often a higher effort and
evidence of fearlessness to face disgrace than it is to face danger. There is many a man who would
march up to the cannon’s mouth for the honor of his country,
yet would not face the laugh of his companions for the honor
of his savior. Don’t we all cringe? At the thought
of that, we’ve all we’ve all been ashamed of the gospel in
that sense. But that isn’t what would have
prompted Paul to make this statement. Paul was hardly timid, Paul wasn’t
shy when you think of Paul, the last thing you think of is ashamed
of the gospel. He wasn’t shy or reserved or
worried about violating some unwritten social law. Now, what
Paul had in mind here, I believe. Was a much more sinister shame.
A shame that is predicated on the very nature of the gospel
itself. As one said, when we remember.
that the contempt entertained for the gospel by the wise of
the world and the fact that Rome was the seat of the empire, the
epitome of world power and considered itself the mistress of the world. We can discover the significance
of the expression, I am not ashamed of the gospel. Another went on to say it even
more strongly when he said anywhere Anywhere, no doubt, one might
have misgivings about identifying himself with a message which
had for its subject a person who had been put to death as
a criminal. Anywhere the cross was to Jews a stumbling block
and to Greeks foolishness, but at Rome where the whole effective
force of humanity seemed to be gathered up, one might be ashamed
to stand forth as the representative of an apparently impotent and
ineffective religion.” Paul said, look, I’m going to
bring this message. I’ve got this message to bring
to the world, and I know what the world thinks of it. But I’m
not ashamed of it. I’m not going to back down from
it, not even from Rome. I’m not afraid to come to Rome
to proclaim this from the highest place. Paul was well aware that
his gospel was a stumbling block to Jews. He writes it repeatedly
in his epistles. First Corinthians 123 says we
preach Christ crucified to Jews, a stumbling block to Gentile
foolishness. None of this caught Paul off
guard. As one said, it required great
courage in Paul to preach the gospel of the cross to the heathen
world, even as it requires some courage in Christian ministers
and missionaries. And may I add, Christians, even
now, Paul knew from sad experience that heathen priests and idol
worshipers everywhere would oppose and ridicule the gospel of the
crucified Galilean. They would scoff at the idea
of giving up their gods, their time-honored religion, their
sacrifices, their festivals, their pageantry, to become followers
of a Jew who had suffered an ignominious death and the adherence
of a new religion which had neither temples nor altars nor statues
nor showy ceremonials. Why on earth would I become a
Christian? Paul said, look, I know that
this whole subject is a stumbling block, foolishness. But I’m not ashamed of it. And
I’m not about to back down from it. While many stumble that the
Lord Jesus Christ Instead of looking at him as
he was supposed to be held as the foundation stone, the very
cornerstone on which their faith and their hope rested. The Jews
rejected him completely. They looked for a Messiah of
a different kind, a different character. They wanted a powerful
man. They wanted one to come in and take over politically
and socially. And so they rejected Christ.
He was a stumbling block. to Jews and when he was offered
to the Gentiles, so much of it was foolishness to them, according
to their wise approach to life. As one said, a stone of stumbling
was any stone that people could trip over, a rock of offense
was a rock bed that they could be crushed against after they
fell over the stone. What Peter says here in his quote
of it is that the Jews threw away the true cornerstone and
wound up falling only to be crushed. By that same rock. Paul says
it again and to the Galatians. And again. Later on in that same epistle. The gospel is. That’s the fact
the gospel is something of which by the very nature of it. We will have a tendency, a temptation
to be ashamed. And I want you to consider this
morning the myriad of elements. Of the true gospel that potentially
offend and over which we can potentially be ashamed, and it
was no different for Paul. First of all, that the gospel
is declared in of all places, of all books, the Bible, the
Bible. You’re going to bring to me this
book, this old, ancient, dusty book written by men full of myths,
strange, fantastic tales. And you’re going to tell me of
the Savior that’s declared in the book. We hear it all the
time, don’t we? It’s hard to stand on truth when
the world considers it to be foolishness. It’s easy to be
ashamed. What about the salvation that
is spoken of there? That is salvation, unlike any
other by faith alone, what? All of my good efforts, you mean
all of my goodness, all of my things that I do for other people. No work, no effort, no reciprocation,
no repayment, no participation in my salvation. They want none of it. It’s easy
to be ashamed to come to someone and to tell them from a human
perspective were repulsed by it. What about this? That the gospel
both threatens and promises from of all places, hell. Oh, here
we go. Now we’re going to talk about
that place considered as the greatest of all myths, the great
scare tactic that drives people to heaven. That’s what they think. And it’s easy to be ashamed of
a gospel that has at the core of its understanding a place
called hell. That the gospel proclaims that
the great remedy for man’s trouble comes through a crucified man,
a carpenter’s son, a man from an obscure place called Galilee,
A man allegedly miraculously conserved, conceived rather by
a virgin. And you begin to understand where
Paul was coming from. When in your heart of hearts,
you’re affirming all of these things. When Paul says, I am not ashamed
of that gospel. That is the truth, that is God’s
story to the world. What about this, that all of
mankind owes their great burden of sin to one couple? Oh, yes. Let’s go back to that story,
shall we? And the fig leaves and the apple
and the indiscretion in the garden over a simple piece of fruit
that brought some kind of perpetual trouble to all mankind. Please. That we are now sinners, that
there is this thing called sin in the world and that we’re dead
in sin and that we have, because of this sin, some kind of inability
to please God. Do you see how foolish it sounds? To human ears. One said that human wisdom caters
to self will. Human wisdom looks down on those
things and mocks them. He says, human wisdom caters
to self-will, intellectual and social pride, fleshly lusts,
the desire for independence from God. The very reason that people
love sophisticated religion and highbrow morality is that those
things appeal to the human ego. When you say that man is basically
good, you’re playing right to him. Why would Paul? Why would Paul? Say that he why
would Paul have to say that he was unashamed of a gospel that
proclaimed humanity as utterly simple? He goes on to say worldly wisdom
scoffs at the gospel precisely because it confronts human human
conceit. The gospel demands that people
acknowledge their sin and spiritual inability. It humiliates them,
it convicts them, it calls them sinners, it offers salvation
as a gracious work of God, not something that people can accomplish
on their own. In every way, the cross crushes
human pride. You say, well, yeah, I I see
where you’re coming from, there are some things about which the
gospel we can be ashamed. I’m not done. What about repentance? Try that one, that one plays
well, that one always goes over well, you need to repent of your
sin. You want to hear the outline
of Jesus first sermon. It’s pretty simple, repent and
be baptized. How that would go. Jonathan Edwards. Said that men are naturally God’s
enemies, and in an article of the same title, he said the strictness
of God’s law is a principal cause of God’s or of man’s enmity against
God. If God were not one that so much
did not so much hate sin, if he would allow them a gratification
of their lusts in some degree, if his threatenings weren’t so
awful against all criminal indulgence. And you see where he’s going
with this. What he’s basically saying is the reason we hate
God, naturally speaking. The reason the natural man hates
God is God won’t let them have their way and he calls them dead
set to repentance. The gospel says you need to turn
from your way of life and repent of it and place your faith in
Christ and to live and walk in newness of life. Talking about the gospel. and
the elements of the gospel that are potentially shameful to the
average person. What about the sacrificial system?
What about talking to someone who really doesn’t have a grasp?
They’re not churchgoers, right? You begin to talk to him about
a sacrificial system, about offerings that were made for sin, for atonement,
that one had to die, had to die. And then there’s all this blood. You talk about something to be
ashamed of. Humanly speaking, when you begin
to look at the gospel, the gospel, the gospel is something wholly
different than anything the world has ever seen from a religious
standpoint. It is a call to faith. Nothing
more, no works, it is a call to faith, it is a call to repentance,
as we just saw, it is a call to death as much as it is a call
to life. Die to yourself and live. To
Christ, it is a call to baptism. It is a call to consider the
cost of discipleship. It is a call to obedience. It
is a call to the church, which is Christ’s bride. All of these
things are potentially shameful to the average person. No wonder one pastor said the
gospel itself is disagreeable. unattractive, repulsive and alarming
to the world. It exposes sin, condemns pride,
convicts the unbelieving heart and shows human righteousness
to be worthless, defiled, filthy rags. It affirms that the real
problems in life are not because of anyone but ourselves. We are
fallen sinners with deceitful hearts, evil motives, pervasive
pride. It comes as bad news to those
who love sin and to those who hear it for the first time react
with disdain against the messenger. Now, get out there and evangelize. What about the sovereignty of
God? I mean, we haven’t even touched on the sovereignty of
God in election. Which one Spurgeon said, no doctrine
is more hated by natural man than that one to say that my
salvation is even in my purview, that I don’t control my own destiny. And so I say. for all the focus and all the
attention and all the fuss about the gospel. The gospel. The gospel. I wonder at times
if it even is the gospel. The gospel at all. Or whether
it is, to use Paul’s words, another gospel. Because with the current
version of the gospel, there is a subtle shame associated
with it. It is boldly declared many times
by. Passionate people. My concern
is that it is not fully declared. There is much of the current
gospel that leaves a great deal on the cutting room floor. A
high view of God. A high view of the church, a
high view of doctrine, a high view of the preached word. a
high view of sanctification. They’ll take the salvation all
right. That all sounds fine and good. But let me do the sanctification
thing on my timetable. The current gospel, the one so
much in focus today, allows for God on your terms, worship on
your terms, a doctrinal take it or leave it smorgasbord, a
gutted view of the local church, a mocking view of the preached
word and an optional view of sanctification. One prominent spokesperson of
this new focus on the gospel With a great many followers. Speaks of the gospel as a plan,
and there’s no doubt that it’s that an eternity past an event
that Christ died in this event, an achievement that something
was done, the atonement, and that’s true. An extended offer
come. An application by faith, a response
needed, a bringing to God in righteousness, and that’s not
a bad start. But it’s far from complete. What
about repentance? What about obedience? What about
death to self? What about discipleship? As one said, the gospel in the
sense that Paul and the apostles employed the word includes all
the revealed truth about Christ. It does not stop at the point
of conversion and justification, but embraces the other every
other aspect of salvation from sanctification to glorification. The entire Christian experience. That is included in the gospel
as well, and yet that lies on the cutting room floor. Robert Haldane, godly pastor,
wrote of this very phenomena when he said the grand reason
which induced the apostle to declare at the outset of this
epistle that he was not ashamed of the gospel is a reason which
applies to every age as well as that in which Christ was first
preached. His declaration implies that
while in reality there is no just cause to be ashamed of the
gospel, there is in it something which is not acceptable. And
that it is generally hated and despised among men, these things
run counter to the natural man’s most fondly cherished notions
of independence. They abase in the dust all the
pride of his self-reliance. They strip him of every ground
of boasting. They demand of him implicit submission. They awaken all the enmity of
the carnal mind. Even they who have tasted of
the grace of God are liable to experience and often yield to
the deeply rooted and sinful feeling of being ashamed of the
things of God. Paul said, I am not ashamed of
the Gospel of God. For Paul, there wasn’t any hesitation.
There wasn’t any hold back. He was fully convinced. There
was no need or reservation. Instead of being ashamed of the
Gospel, Paul gloried in the Gospel and he was willing to suffer
and die for it. For Paul, It’s an absolute understatement
to say that he was not ashamed of the gospel. Not only was he
not ashamed, Romans 1.1 says he was set apart for that gospel,
that he served God in the spirit of his preaching in the gospel
of his son. And that he was eager, that he
was eager to go to Rome and to preach the gospel. Charles Spurgeon challenges us
likewise. When he said we must confess
the faith at all proper times and seasons and never hide our
colors. There are times when we must
dash to the front and court the encounter when we see that our
captain’s honor demands it. Let us never be either ashamed
or afraid. Our Lord Jesus deserves that
we should yield ourselves as willing sacrifices in defense
of his faith. Ease, reputation, life itself
must go before the name and faith of Jesus. If in the heat of battle,
our good name or our life must be risked to win the victory,
then let us say in the battle some of us must fall. Why not
should I? Paul charged to the front of
the battle line when he said, I am not ashamed of the gospel. Are we? Let’s pray. Merciful God, grant us the grace that we examine
our hearts. That we know what gospel we preach. That we know in our hearts why
we hold back. Is there some element of the
message that we need to embrace anew? The virgin birth, the resurrection. The cross. Lord God, expose our
sinful cowardice. For any of these elements of
which we find ourselves to be ashamed because of which we hold
back. And the proclamation of. The
message of salvation. The message of the gospel. Granish
your grace for your glory alone. In Jesus name that we pray. Amen. you