Four Gospel Insights from the Romans Introduction - Romans 1:1-7 (9.9.18) - Pastor Jordan Rogers

[Music] friends God's gospel is true its center is Jesus its purpose is his glory and its benefits are for his Saints this morning we're in Romans chapter 1 verses 1 through 7 so the introductory section of the Epistle of Romans you may hear me call Romans an epistle that is just another word for a letter you may hear me call it the book of Romans most of the time I will just simply refer to it as Romans this was a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Church Paul at this point commentators are nearly unanimous Paul had never been to Rome at the point of the writing of this letter in fact he speaks multiple times in this epistle about his desire to someday go and meet and see the Roman people especially the church because his desire is to impart some spiritual gift to them to teach them to lead them to help them in their growth and to use the church at Rome as a place from which he could go into Spain and plant churches there in Spain that was his desire now let me ask you when you introduce yourself to somebody what do you do somebody you've never met somebody who doesn't know you what you want to do when you introduce yourself to them you want to tell them really two things you want to tell them who you are and before you get done with that conversation you want them to know what you're about who you are and what you're about in these first seven verses that's what the Apostle Paul actually does for us what I'm going to show you is simply what Paul shows you here it's four gospel insights from the Romans introduction four gospel insights from the Roman introduction I want to sum up the sermon in a single sentence if you have that scripture journal and you want to take notes let this be one of the first things that you write down that God's gospel is true its center is Jesus its purpose is his glory and his saints enjoy its benefits we say that again for you God's gospel is true its center is Jesus its purpose is his glory and his saints enjoy its benefits these are four gospel insights that you see here from the Romans introduction I think there are four clear thoughts as where those four insights come from four clear thoughts that are dictated to you here in these seven verses I'm gonna go ahead and give you a bit of an outline a bit of a description of those divisions you'll see one of those truths the first coming out of verse 1 you'll see the second coming out of verse 2 through 4 the third will come out of verse 5 and 6 and the final one will come out of verse 7 so those are the divisions here that will walk through verse 1 verse 2 through 4 verse 5 through 6 and then verse 7 so the Apostle Paul is introducing himself to the church in Rome he's telling them a little bit about himself more about his job description mostly about the message and all about the subject of the gospel its purpose its aim its sinner he starts off in verse 1 and he says Paul he introduces himself by name the Jews would have known Paul as Saul of Tarsus that's how you see him introduced in the book of Acts which we walked through some years ago Saul of Tarsus that is his Jewish name he's from north of Jerusalem that's where Tarsus was as for Tarsus is so the Jews would have known him as Saul the greek-speaking people would not have recognized him as SAW they would have known him as Paul Paul and saw her very close there in their spelling and that's the way it went Saul's his Jewish name Paul is the name he used to speak with the Greek people so he introduces himself as Paul a servant of Christ Jesus now there's a stark contrast from the way that that Saul started out Saul of Tarsus started out as one who is so zealous for the Jewish traditions for the traditions of his father's that he was a persecutor of the church he originally did not believe in Jesus he did not believe that he was the rightful king over Israel and so he rebelled against Jesus he was there the day Stephen was stoned to death by the leaders of the Jews Saul stood in contrast and he stood in opposition to the church in fact he was so zealous for the traditions of his father's that he actually was going to Damascus in order to round up Christians he was hunting them down but while Saul was on his way to Damascus to hunt down Christians you remember the story very well the historical account Saul was encountered by the risen Christ the Christ whom he thought had been put to death the Christ whom he thought his disciples were lying about when they said he's been raised now Saul finds himself on the road to Damascus confronted face to face in fact the light is so bright that it blinds him and saw here's a voice from heaven as the voice of Jesus and the voice of Jesus says this Saul Saul why are you persecuting me this is Jesus whom you are persecuting how long Saul how long will you resist how long will you Jesus said kick against the goads how long are you gonna fight against me so I've chosen you I've called you out this is God's plan you're going to be redeemed you're going to be my servant you will be my messenger to the nation's to the FA to the Gentiles those who are not Jewish I'm gonna send you all over the world and so Saul was converted that day the Lord miraculously sovereignly saved his soul according to the plan of God which was established before the foundations of the world so he says Paul a servant of Christ Jesus that word servant as the word do lost it means slave it means servant the compilation of that phrase there servant of Christ Jesus actually has connotations it seems to be that Paul may in fact even be referencing the claim that the Old Testament prophets would have had as ebed Yahweh servants of the Lord servants of Yahweh so he announces himself seeing himself no differently than the prophets of the Old Testament though he would have certainly seen his role as superior because he is announcing the fullness of the gospel plans the fullness of God's redemptive work now to the nations Paul a servant a slave a messenger of Christ Jesus now to be a servant that doesn't so much speak of privilege does it to be a son that speaks of privileged to be a servant speaks of obligation Paul is saying I am obligated to the Lord I'm Abigail a obligated to Christ Jesus I am his not only is he saying that he is in the possession of Christ not only is he obliged to serve Jesus look at what he says called to be an apostle called to be an apostle a word called as the Greek word clay toss when Paul uses the word called he has a very specific understanding and meaning that he is aiming at and that is seen very clearly in the book of Romans when Paul says called he is speaking specifically not of a general call see right now what I will do towards the end of this sermon is I will issue a general call to all people believe in the Lord Jesus give your life over to him receive everlasting life that is a general call but that's not what Paul is talking about Paul is talking about the sovereign effectual call of God for a person to come and follow him the preacher may call on people to give their lives over to the Lord Jesus but when God calls a person he saves them God does not issue ineffective calls that's what Paul is referring to when he uses the word clay toss says God effectively according to his sovereign plan and design he called me to be his apostle his apostolos his messenger his envoy God called Paul to be in his kingly cabinet to be ambassador to the nation's to be his ambassador his messenger to the non-jewish people called to be an apostle set apart brought out of the masses and set apart as holy for a specific purse purpose for what look at what he says the end of verse 1 for the gospel of God for the gospel of God he says I'm Paul I am a servant of Christ Jesus I am his special envoy I am his messenger and I am carrying his message what is Paul doing here yes Paul is introducing himself Paul is establishing his apostolic authority to declare the message that he's about to announce Paul is announcing that the Gospel message is not from him he is just the one delivering it right down this first of four gospel insights the message of the gospel was declared by man but authored by God the message of the gospel was declared by man but it was authored by God it was contrived in the mind of God from eternity past it was accomplished by the Son of God in his righteous life and his atoning death and it was accomplished by the Spirit of the Lord and raising Christ from the dead and calling people to believe in Jesus it's applied by the Spirit as he regenerates those peoples who believe the message of the gospel is declared by man it was declared by man but let me tell you it is not the possession of man it is not man's to manipulate it is not man's to change it is God's message and Paul says I have been called and set apart especially for this task to deliver a message to you a message from God and it's not just any kind of message it is good news the gospel of God the gospel of God gospel is where we get a term that is used to describe us we are described as evangelicals evangelicals the word therefore gospel is you and Elyon it means good news it's where we get of evangelical or evangelism from the good news of God and what is the good news of God he's going to describe the content of the gospel to some extent here in the next verses but the gospel of God is this that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life that is good news that is the gospel that God saves sinners even sinners like us not counting our sins against us but having reckoned them justified in Christ by his death on the cross he can call us sons and daughters those who call on him by faith that's good news and Paul says I didn't come up with that that's not my message I didn't sit down and write a book and then set out on a book tour Paul says I was called out to do this job and I was given a message that wasn't my own I'm here to announce something to you and I'm here to announce the message God has sent to you it's good news the message of the gospel was declared by man but authored by God let me give you a passage where the Apostle Paul talks about his calling about how God set him apart galatians chapter 1 verse 13 through 17 he says for you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my father's but when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by His grace was pleased to reveal his son to me you see what he did there when did God set him apart to be called before he was ever born when did Paul find out about it Acts chapter 9 when he was on his way to Damascus friends if you are a believer in Jesus God made that decision before you ever existed God made that decision before you were ever born now you may have found out about it later on but God has always known it while you were still his enemy he was going to call you friend he was gonna call you to his home he was gonna call you his child that has been God's plan and when God has a call on somebody's life he always gets his man he always gets his woman he always gets those whom he calls and Paul says God called me and I found out about it but when he had sent me apart before I was born who called me by His grace was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the nations among the Gentiles I did not immediately consult with anyone nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me but I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus Paul was not seeking this message out if anything Paul was actually waging war against the message Paul was waging war against the Messiah but then the Lord revealed his purpose for his life and the Lord called him there are some potentially who are here this morning and you did not know that God wants you and I am here as God's messenger this morning to tell you that God does want you God wants you to begin to follow him Eve today God has a call on your life and you must heed the call of God you must surrender your life over to Jesus and begin to walk with Him for instace message of the gospel it has been declared by men but it was authored by God it is the truth it's the gospel truth as it were now look at verse 2 through 4 Paul's introduced himself and he started to introduce the gospel he said it's the gospel of God so he's introduced himself now he's going to introduce the subject of the gospel the subject of the gospel not all of its contents but its main character its main actor look at verse 2 through 4 he says set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures when did God begin to announce the gospel Paul says not with him God began to announce this good news that he saved sinners he began to announce this good news far before Paul ever existed far before Paul was ever born he began to announce Christian truths in the Old Testament there is a very prominent preacher these days I'm not going to mention him by name some of you may know exactly who I'm talking about when I do say this belief that he is teaching but he is teaching that Christians actually need to quote unhitch the church from the Old Testament it is blasphemy unhitch the church from the Old Testament is what he is teaching Paul says you unhitch the Old Testament from the church you don't have a church because the gospel is contained in the Old Testament and what the Old Testament conceals the new reveals so you can't unhitch the church from the Old Testament it's all Christian scripture and it's the preachers job to explain to the people how the Old Testament declares Christ that's the role that's the job not to dismiss it Paul says where you first get your understanding of Jesus is in the prophets it's in the Old Covenant it's in the law he says this gospel is concerning its chief subject its chief character its center it's concerning his son this gospel which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures who does it concern it concerns his son three ways in verses 2 through 4 Paul describes Jesus that the Son of God was testified to in the Old Testament he says the center of the gospel is his son commentators are nearly unanimous that this phrase here concerning his son is explicitly referring to Jesus in his eternally existent state pre incarnation that's about five 10-cent words coupled together let me make that a little more plain when Paul says that this gospel written about in the Old Testament it concerns the son of God the Son of God he's always been the son of God he got the name Jesus when he was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph at the command of the angel you will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sin he got the name Jesus in Bethlehem but he has always been the son of God he is eternally existent even before his incarnation even before putting on carne putting on flesh and dwelling among us Emmanuel so he says that this gospel concerns the eternal son of God testify I too in the old covenant and the old law in the Old Testament but look at these two participial phrases that describe Jesus here in the remainder of verses two and four concerning his son verse three who was descended from David according to the flesh he's descended from David according to the flesh see this doesn't seem to make so much sense to us it doesn't seem to be so important to us because we live in a different kind of society than Paul lived in we live in a different kind of culture than Paul lived in or that the Jews lived in in those ancient days so so let me try to bring this home for everyone you see if you'd unhitched the church from the Old Covenant you unhitch the church from the Old Testament this makes no sense it makes no sense that Jesus was descended why is that important that Jesus has descended from David according to the flesh so he's the son of God according to divinity he is the son of David according to humanity you know what that makes him that makes him qualified legally to be king over Israel we don't we don't really get that because we live in a Democratic Republic a representative Republic where our our leaders are elected by popular votes by by Republicans or Democrats or independents some make up their in between and if you don't like the ruler that you have well just wait until it's time to vote and vote them out of office vote somebody else in and if you just have to endure eight years then you're gonna have to do that but you'll get a chance to vote get out and vote your vote counts right absolutely foreign to the biblical understanding of where rulers come from you see in David's day the ruler was appointed by God the ruler was appointed by God anointed by God's prophet the stamp the Seal of Approval of God's anointing given by the Prophet as he anointed that King with oil on his head set apart for God's work now when you read the Old Testament and you read 2nd samuel chapter 7 you read that God made a promise to King David the son of Jesse he made a promise to him that that someone would sit on the throne of David for how long forever that somebody would sit on the throne of David forever now there's two interesting qualifications that spring out of that aren't there for someone to sit on the throne of David a descendant from his own flesh there are two necessary qualifications that have to be met two prerequisites as it were to sit on the throne of forever means you have to be a what kind of person to sit on the forever kind of throne you've got to be a forever kind of person well that rules David out because his tomb is with us here today so you have to be a forever kind of person but you also have to be descendant from David according to the flesh according to blood friends there's only one person in all of history who has ever met those two prerequisites a forever kind of person the eternally existent son of God who lives forever to make intercession for his people and one who has descended from David that is Jesus Paul is saying that Jesus the eternally existent son of God he meets the qualification to be rightful king over you make no mistake that is what Paul is declaring he meets the qualifications to be the rightful king over you this is a message from the special envoy of God Jesus has the right to be king over you well is he King yet he's going to answer that question in the second part of Scipio phrase look at it he's descended from David according to the flesh and was declared verse 4 was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead Jesus Christ our Lord so those first two qualification show you Jesus meets the prerequisites to be king over your life to be king over this universe king over all but that that second part of Scipio phrase tells you that Jesus not only meets all the qualifications necessary to be king but that God has in fact anointed him already as King he's already set him on a throne and you know when Paul says that God ordained and anointed Jesus to sit on his throne he says it very clearly he says that he anointed Jesus to be king over all when he raised him up from the dead he was declared declared by whom declared by the Spirit of God he was declared to be the son of God in power by this by according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead well I thought preacher I thought you just said just a moment ago when you said concerning his son I fought right there you told me that Jesus was already the Son of God so as Paul telling us now that by his resurrection Jesus was then declared to be the son of God that when Jesus was raised from the dead that God adopted him and he became his son that's not what Paul is teaching at all he's saying that Jesus was declared to be the son of God you see Jesus is the Son of God according to his eternally existent person he is the son of God according to his deity he is the rightful king over Israel and all peoples according to his deity and humanity and he has been anointed by God to fill that position permanently by his resurrection you see in David's understanding King David the recipient of 2nd Samuel 7 in his understanding the king over Israel was considered to be a son of God that in one sense that he was considered to be a son of God a child of God not physically but his representative there on earth let me ask when David wrote Psalm chapter 2 was David cognitively speaking of Jesus Christ let me tell you I don't believe that that David had Jesus Christ in mind when he wrote Psalm 2 he may have had a messianic theme in mind when he wrote Psalm 2 but the name Jesus was revealed farther on down the road when David wrote Psalm chapter 2 why to the nation's rage and the the people's plot a vain thing the rulers of the peoples they gather themselves against the Lord and against his anointed who is David riding that about he's riding that about himself he is riding that about himself as king over Israel and he's saying the peoples of the earth the Philistines and am rights and the girgashites they are joining themselves together saying we will kill the Jews we will wage war against the Lord Yahweh and his anointed David and David sees anyone who had occupied the throne of David as a recipient of Psalm 2 but again the problem is to sit on the throne of David you have to be a forever kind of person David died Psalm chapter 2 is not ultimately about David it's ultimately about Jesus and Paul is saying this that by the resurrection from the dead God was anointing Jesus into that role let me read to read for you Psalm chapter 2 beginning there in verse 6 through 9 this is God's declaration as for me I have set my King on Zion my holy hill I will tell of the decree the Lord said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessel David does not ultimately fulfill that but Jesus does and Paul is saying that when God raised Jesus the only person he's done this to to live forever when God raised Jesus up from the dead he was saying ask of me and I will give the nation's to you as an inheritance and you will rule them and you will break them with a rod of iron and Paul is saying the eternally existent son of God descended from David according to the flesh vindicated by the spirit in the resurrection has the right and he has been appointed to rule over you that's a heavy message make no mistake Paul is announcing a very beautiful introduction but it hits like a hammer heavier than you've ever seen he introduces himself but he's not concerned about himself he's concerned about the message and the authority and whose name it bears he's concerned about the center of that message being Jesus write down this second of these two or these four gospel insights the center of the gospel is the risen and exalted Son of God the center of the gospel is not six ways to a better marriage the center of the gospel is not self-actualization and understanding exactly who you are the center of the good news of Jesus is Jesus as risen and exalted king that is the message of the gospel make no mistake about it now he's introduced the messenger of the gospel he's told you the center of the gospel now let him explain to you the purpose of the gospel he says this in verse 5 through 6 he says Jesus Christ our Lord through whom we have received Grace and Apostleship so we've received this role according to the good graces of God giving us something we don't deserve we've received this appointed disappointment as messenger by His grace for what reason look at it to bring about the obedience of faith either the kind of faith that obeys or the kind of obedience that proves faith either one I think it's both and so do most commentators what is the purpose of Paul's Apostleship the purpose of Paul's Apostleship is to tell people you must begin to be obedient to God that that's the purpose of the gospel it's not the ultimate purpose but it is the purpose be obedient to God let me tell you I hate to burst people's bubble but this bubble is false people who think that the gospel of God means that they have legitimate reason or ability to do whatever they want to do because they got their insurance and aren't going to hell those people are believing in a false gospel they are trusting in a false gospel there is no verse or passage in all of the Bible that tell somebody they are free to sin because they believed in Jesus if you feel that you are free to sin because you believe in Jesus your belief is no different than the devil's there's no difference at all Paul says that the purpose of the gospel is the obedience of faith it is obedience but that's not the ultimate purpose the purpose is the obedience of faith for what reason look there closely to bring about the obedience of faith those people who are sinning against you against God stop it start living righteously for what reason for the sake of his name among all the nations for the sake of his name for his glory the ultimate purpose of the gospel of God is to glorify His Son Jesus Christ it is not to make any person falsely free to do whatever they want that's not the gospel that's a lie from hell the gospel is meant to lead you to holiness which glorifies God amen it's meant to lead you to holiness which glorifies God so that God finally and ultimately has a people that are peculiar to him they are set apart they're not like the people of the world they are the people fit for the kingdom of God Paul saying I was sent by God with a message from God about the son of God telling you to act rightly before God for the glory of God that is why I have been sent to you for the obedience of the faith for the sake of his name we're not just here for the sake of his name among all the nations the ethnicities is the word he uses amongst the Gentiles the non-jewish people that's a striking statement because to be in bed Yahweh a servant of the Lord a servant of Jehovah and to declare a message of good news to non-jewish people that's a strange thing indeed to tell people who are not Jewish that they must be part of the people of God that's good news that is a good invitation for us to be welcomed into the kingdom of God by the obedience of faith to be welcomed into the king of God the kingdom of God where Jesus rules for the sake of his name among all the nations including you who are called cletus including you who are sovereignly elected and chosen and efficiently called by God to do what to belong to Jesus Christ called by God in His grace and His sovereignty to belong to Jesus Christ right down this third of three gospel or four gospel insights the purpose of the gospel is the glorification of Jesus as Lord and Christ that's the purpose the message of the gospel is preached by man but it's authored by God the center of the gospel is Jesus the Son of God the purpose of the gospel is the glorification of Jesus as Lord and Christ as Messiah that's what Christ means Anointed One of God to be ruler now let the weight of this passage hit you now because then what I'm going to say next is going to be unbelievable yet totally true Paul is saying I am especially not me he's saying of himself I am a specially chosen messenger from God himself chosen by Jesus to tell you the message that God has for you and God's message for you concerns his son who is deity who is humanity who has the right to rule over you and God has indeed anointed him as king over the world and now God's message to you concerning his son Jesus is that you bow the knee in allegiance to him that you bow the knee and obedience to him and that's what it means to believe in Jesus boy you know when you read verses 1 through 7 real quick it just sounds like some people say things like this well that's just an introduction very characteristic of Pauline letters very quick very beautiful all that sort of thing and this somewhat dismiss it as though we need to get to the meat friends this is the meat this is the meat the message of the gospel the center of the gospel the purpose of the gospel he said all people everywhere bow their knee to Jesus now listen to verse 7 what is the first message that The Messenger of God delivers to the church in Rome to those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be Saints grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and when I read that I've been studying this all week I preached it this morning and I still get goosebumps when I read that I mean we've got the messenger of God telling us to bow the knee to the king of glory telling us to obey his rule and submit to his right to reign and the first thing that comes out of the messengers mouth to us grace peace from God our Father from God our Father you know just a servant in the kingdom of God if you're called to be a saint you're not just a servant you are a child of God you are joint heirs with Christ he says grace to you the God wants to give you all these things that are good that you don't deserve that's what God wants for you these are the benefits of the gospel good things God wants for you given to you in abundance forever Grace and peace you who were enemies of God in your sin dead in your trespasses alienated from the life of God hostile to him in mind you are now reconciled with him you are now at peace with him and you go before not an angry judge you go before your father whereas that's good news to be reconciled with the King of glory that's the good news that's the gospel Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus cry right down this fourth and final insight from these seven verses the benefits of the gospel are given to those called to be Saints the benefits of the gospel are given to those called to be Saints now look at that carefully and meditate on that thought because the opposite of that thought is this the complimentary thought to that is that the benefits of the gospel are not for those who are not his Saints no grace no peace justice not from God your father but from God your judge not from Jesus your Savior but from Jesus as resurrected King who demanded your allegiance but you refused to give it where's the benefits of the gospel are for those who are called to be his Saints and I am here now in real time with you to say this God has a call on your life God is calling you today to be numbered among the people in his kingdom and you become part of his kingdom when you say Jesus you are lord over me I believe this I believe that you are the son of God I believe that you came in the flesh to die the sin death that I deserve and I believe that God raised you up from the dead because you are holy and he has exalted you to the right hand of God and I believe that you will come again and you are king over my life now that's what I believe I bow my knee before the king of the kingdom you do that verse 7 is for you Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ friends God's gospel is true it's Center is G's its purpose is his glory and its benefits are for his Saints would you pray with me [Music]

Channel: Dr. Jordan Neal Rogers

Views: 3,031

Rating: 4.8709679 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, scripture, Roman, Romans, Rome, church, Christian, Christianity, Paul, Saul, Tarsus, Epistle, preaching, preach, how, to, Romans 1, Romans 1:1-7, homiletics, interpret, interpretation, biblical, reformed, reformation, expository, expository sermons, expository sermon, exposition, exegesis, Jesus, Christ, Holy Spirit, resurrection, Hillcrest, Baptist, Church, Nederland, Texas, Jordan, Neal, Rogers, Jordan Rogers

Id: WdSxlh3JLHo

Length: 42min 33sec (2553 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 10 2018