The Father’s Power (Father’s Day 6/20/2010) Romans 1:16-17 Have you ever taken time to think about the gospel? To really think about what the gospel is, what the gospel says, and what the gospel means? And, what the implications of the gospel are for our lives? The Gospel is a term that’s often thrown around by Christians in church, a word often used to invoke passion, to inspire to service and action, and to call to commitment. The word gospel comes from the old english phrase god-spell which meant good tidings or good news, and is a word for word translation of the greek word euangellion, which means good news. And the gospel is indeed good news, and at the risk of over-simplification I think the gospel can be adequately defined as the gift of God’s grace, offered freely to all who trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection for salvation. The gospel is God’s to give, is given without payment, and is able to be received by any who would respond to it. The gospel, the good news, is the gift of God’s grace, offered freely to all who trust in jesus’ death and resurrection for salvation. That in a nutshell is the gospel. And it’s this gospel that Paul says in verse 16 of our text this morning that he is not ashamed of. I’ve always found the opening of verse 16 curious. Why would Paul say that he is not ashamed of the gospel? Why would that even cross his mind? Does it cross your mind to be ashamed of the gospel, to be embarrassed or feel guilty about the gospel, to fear a humiliation from others because of the gospel? I think there’s good reason that Paul says he’s not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel of Jesus Christ is an offense that challenged the cultural foundations of his 1st century world, as it does us today in our 21st century world. In speaking of this Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:21, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”. Some of our mostly deeply held and cherished beliefs as Americans are directly challenged by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of the American value of paying your own way. The gospel declares that God’s salvation is freely given and freely received - we can’t earn his favor or his love, and to try and do so is to disqualify us from his grace. Another American value confronted by the gospel is our sense of individualism and pioneering spirit. Often Americans speak of passionately of our individual independence and need for no one but ourselves to accomplish whatever we want in our lives; of pulling ourselves up by our boot straps, of being a self made man. Yet, the gospel declares that God’s salvation requires our acceptance of our dependance and need of God to intervene and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and to refuse to acknowledge God’s lordship over our lives is to reject the gospel itself. Americans also value toughness and strength, and to be humble or the servant is to be weak and less than a man. But, the gospel declares that God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses and that we are to serve one another in love. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel by which individuals are called to Christian discipleship, in which Christians grow obediently in community, and in which Christians impact their world through service is offensive and a direct challenge to many of the beliefs, ideals, and values of our surrounding culture. There is good reason for Paul to state that he is not ashamed of the gospel, because many are. Even those who believe the gospel are many times ashamed by the offense that the true gospel of Christ brings to those who come into contact with it. Paul desires that we declare as confidently and boldly as he does that as believers we are not ashamed of the gospel and gives us 3 reasons why we should not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This morning I want to focus our attention on these 3 reasons. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel’s source, the gospel’s result, or the gospel’s recipients. Please turn with me to Romans 1:16-17. At the beginning of verse 16, Paul says that the 1st reason he is not ashamed of the gospel is because he is not ashamed of the gospel’s source. He says at the beginning of verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God”. The source of the gospel that Paul is unashamed of is God himself and more specifically, God’s power or God’s work. It’s easy to forget, or to ignore that the gospel is not generated from the ideas of men, or found in the power of men, or created by the work of men, but is wholly and only sourced out of the mind, power, and work of God. The gospel is not only sourced in God’s power, but the problem that man faces with regard to sin is so great that his problems can only be overcome by the power that God possesses and the work that only God can do. The gospel of Jesus Christ begins and ends with God’s power and work on man’s behalf. And this is exactly why one might be ashamed of the gospel or why others may be offended by the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ removes any means of earning God’s favor, or of relying upon our own talents, gifts, and abilities to achieve it. The gospel is from first to last about God’s power and God’s work. The true gospel of Jesus Christ leaves no room for men to be able to look at themselves as a reason for having been offered the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not need men to bring it about. All the work has been done already by Christ. There is no further work to be done, and men are not needed to make it happen. In the gospel all pretense and posturing is removed - the facade of personal works and self-sufficiency are utterly useless under the power of God’s work. Ephesians 2:1-5 paints a dramatic picture of the power God has put on display in working the gospel on behalf of men. Ephesians says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved”. The power of God at work in the gospel is the power that resurrects the spiritually dead soul of a man so that they can respond to the gospel. The Bible teaches that we can’t choose God, we can’t respond to the gospel without God first working in us to make us spiritually alive to him. This is the power of God that is found in the gospel, and the power of God, the work of God that Paul is unashamed to preach and call others to embrace. Man’s problem of sin is so great and insurmountable, so total and all consuming, that it takes the omnipotent, the inexhaustible power of God to deal with the problem, which leads to the second reason Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. The second reason Paul is not ashamed of the gospel is because he is not ashamed of the gospel’s result. Again, looking at verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation”. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel’s result, a result which is the salvation of men. Through God’s proactive use of His power on behalf of men, his work results in the salvation of men. Salvation from what? From the penalty of eternal separation from God in hell because of our sin. One of Jesus’ disciples, John, writes that, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Paul will say later in summarizing this thought in Romans 6:23 that, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. The power that God displays in the gospel, the work that God alone does through the gospel results in salvation for men - the removal of men’s sins and the declaration of men being at peace with God having been justified before God. This too is an offense and point of shame that many find in the gospel. Men are not in need of being saved. We are the rescuers, we are the one’s who do the saving. Being saved is for those who can’t do for themselves. Come on men, we don;t like to admit when we have a need. We don’t like to admit when we can’t do, we don’t like to ask for help, and I’m not talking about asking for directions - that’s why we have Garmins. We don’t like being dependent on another to help us, or rescue us, or save us. So men invent products that allow us not to have to be dependent on anyone else. It’s humiliating to have to rely on another, especially when that reliance displays our weaknesses and deficiencies. Yet this is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ declares. We can;t save ourselves, sin has made us weak and inept to do what we need done. We can’t pay the penalty for our sin, we need to be dependent upon a God who can, and to receive humbly his offer of salvation. God’s powerful work results in salvation. But has this already been given to all humanity? In the end, will all men be saved from their sins and go to Heaven? Paul answers this unashamedly and clearly as he gives the final reason for not being ashamed of the gospel. The third reason Paul is not ashamed of the gospel is because he is not ashamed of the gospel’s recipients. Again, looking at verse 16 and 17 Paul declares, “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.’” The recipients of God’s powerful saving work is any man who will receive by faith the good news that is proclaimed in the gospel. This is perhaps the most offensive and shameful aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is given as an act of God’s mercy and grace, to be freely received by men. It can’t be earned, it can’t be bought, it can’t be worked for, it can only be received. The powerful work of God that brings salvation is for any who would respond in faith to it. Paul is unashamed of the gospel because the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of God’s salvation for men is available to any person who will believe it. As Paul says in verse 17, “ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed”. The righteousness from God being revealed is God’s powerful work in justifying men through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this is righteousness is received, “by faith from first to last”, from beginning to end. The way a man comes to salvation in Jesus Christ has always been the same, will you believe that Jesus is who he says he is, has done what he said he has done, and is going to do what he said he is going to do. Will you believe the powerful, saving message of the gospel or not? Today, as you are all aware is Father’s Day - a day set aside to honor, cherish, and recognize the important role in our society that father’s play. As I thought about what to speak on today I thought about speaking on ways to be a better dad, or encouraging dad’s to serve your kids. But I believe that I needed to speak to more than just fathers today, I needed to speak to more than husbands, I needed to speak to more than sons. I needed to speak to men. I was reading a few days ago and came across a quote that I have believed to be true for some time. It was a statement made by Pat Morley, founder of the ministry Man in the Mirror, and he said, “We can’t get the world right until we get the church right, and we can’t get the church right until we get the families right, and we can’t get the families right until we get the MEN right”. I believe with all my being that this is true. Men, I believe you are the key. If we want to see change in our world, change in our church, change in our households, then we need to see a change in men. And not just any change, we need men who will be wholeheartedly and unashamedly changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Men, although the world you live in may say that you are superfluous or expendable, that you are dawdling oafs, or clueless morons only worth keeping around for the paycheck you bring home, and if you don’t think our society believes that then good for you for not watching much television because that’s typical caricature of men and fathers in our society. But men, God does not see you that way. God sees men as indispensable and essential to his plan for advancing the church and his kingdom. Men are indispensable and essential to his plan for the family. God sees men as indispensable and essential to his plan of preaching the gospel to the world. I was reading the book of Jeremiah this past week and came across these verses, Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD”. Did you catch that. If we are of the boasting sort, the thing we need to be boasting about, the thing that God is impressed by is whether or not we know God. It’s not what we’ve done for God, not what we’ve given to God, not what we bring to God’s table - but simply that we understand him and know him - that we believe what he says about who he is and what he has done. Men if you don’t know God, if you don’t know Jesus Christ, I am pleading with you to respond to the gospel today. Romans 10:9-10 makes it very very simple, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Men, if you have confessed Christ already, then we need to embrace and take seriously the discipleship that Jesus Christ is calling us to. We need to take seriously making Jesus Christ not only Lord of our lives, but of our households, our friendships, our work places, our interactions at Home Depot and Lowe’s, Lord of our camaraderie at the firehouse, Lord on the golf course and the softball field. We need Christ, we need the Father’s powerful gift of salvation in our lives, we need the gospel. God is building an army men, an army of men who will march confidently and triumphantly against the gates of Hell itself. Jesus says that he will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail. Men, we are the church he is building, we are the ones Jesus Christ is sounding the call to. Men will we respond to Christ’s call? Men will we receive the Father’s powerful gift of grace in the gospel? Men will we believe that Christ has paid the penalty for our sins and offered us life at peace with God? Men will we embrace the shame of the cross and live unashamed of the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, proclaiming this message to those we come into contact with? God has given us a powerful gift in the gospel, and the savior Jesus Christ is calling men to take up his cross and follow him. Let’s pray.