GOSPEL: How can we become confident in our faith?

ROMANS: Gospel.

(ASD 8 and 10am – 29th June – Romans – a letter that makes sense of life by Andrew Ollerton pgs. 16-27)

Last week we began a sermon series which will run during the summer months exploring the book of Romans .  We’re going to use material from the Bible Society and Andrew Ollerton – and as a staff team we would really commend this book – Romans – a letter that makes sense of life.  You can buy it online, or we have a few copies available here for £14 a go!

Last week we began by exploring some of the backstory to Romans… who wrote Romans, who was Paul, and who was Romans written to? If you missed last week, it would be worth picking up one of these today.  This gives us a quick overview of the journey ahead and makes suggestions of a couple of short videos which are well worth watching.   

Today, we’re looking at the opening verses once more, but this time we’re looking ‘through’ them, as it were, to grasp the relevance for us today.  

The first half of chapter 1 introduces the gospel, which the rest of the letter unpacks in detail.  These verses provide a vital route map for the rest of the adventure through Romans.  If we pay attention to this theme, it will enable us to follow the contours of Paul’s argument and not stray off course!

Let us pray:

Father God, we thank you for your written word.  As we spend time now in this first chapter of Romans, may your Spirit guide our thoughts, our hearts and our wills, and make us more like your Son, Jesus.  In his name we pray, Amen.

Imagine receiving a letter that changes your entire understanding of faith. That’s what the Roman believers received from Paul. In these opening verses, we see a bold declaration – Paul is not ashamed of the gospel.  Why?  Because it is the power of God for salvation.

So, let’s unpack this.  As Paul introduces himself, we learn from the start that the Gospel isn’t something Paul made up – rather it is God’s gospel.  Paul was set apart, not for fame or comfort, but for a mission: to proclaim God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Now the word ‘gospel’ sounds religious to us. But in the first century the Greek word of ‘euangelion’ referred to an announcement of good news! We might shout - I got the job! We’ve won!  It’s a girl!  

If on a far-flung battlefield an emperor won a great victory, which secured peace and established his authority, he would send heralds or messengers to declare the good news of victory. 

The term gospel therefore had political and social implications. Indeed, the rule of Emperor Augustus was referred to as the ‘gospel’ because he was the person who had brought victory and established peace. The Empire had various propaganda machines including inscriptions on coins, imprints on pottery, images and statutes, which spread the message that the emperor was the ‘son of God’ and ‘Lord’ and ‘saviour’ of the Empire. 

In this cultural context, Romans 1: 1-4 stands toe to toe with Caesar in proclaiming a new Lord, who is a very different kind of ruler:  

‘the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.’

This gospel announcement is the fulfilment of a much larger story that is told throughout the rest of the Bible. In particular, the story centres on Israel as God's chosen people. In fact, the very structure of Romans echoes their plot line including God's covenant with Abraham, the Exodus story and Israel entering the promised land. 

The big idea of Romans is that Jesus the Messiah has fulfilled these ancient promises and released God's blessing to all nations. When God called Abraham, it was with a view to undoing the curses of Adam’s disobedience. However, the Old Testament proves to be a puzzle because God's chosen family, Israel, become part of the problem they were meant to solve. 

The gospel of God therefore announces the arrival of the one who can finally resolve the dilemma and thereby rescue our human race. The faithful ministry of Jesus, even to death on the cross, has broken the curse of sin and death and released God’s blessing to all people. God's Spirit is now calling out a new humanity, the people of the Messiah, to bring hope to the world.

This ‘gospel of God’ is good news on very level…

This Easter we read The Whole Easter Story – and this demonstrated that the Gospel is good news for us personally, yes, we are forgiven, restored and set free.  And the gospel is good news for our relationships – divisions are healed as Jew and Gentile, male and female, black and white are united in Christ.  And it is good news for all of creation, pointing to a time where the whole creation will be restored and renewed.  

So, when we hear the word ‘gospel’ is good news for us personally, but also for governments, galaxies and everything in between!

For Paul, the gospel is the announcement, that in and through Jesus’ death and resurrection, a decisive victory has already taken place.  Our ultimate enemies of sin, evil and death, have been defeated, and there’s no reversing that.  Jesus has been appointed the Son of God in power. He is the true new emperor, and the eternal city belongs to him!

And so, Paul declares: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

The key here is that the gospel reveals God’s saving action, which does not depend on our own moral standing, or ethnic background.  Jewish bloodline, Sabbath observance, foreskin removal, food rituals, these no longer form the basis for who is ‘in’ and ‘out’.  

Instead, God’s righteous, or faithful, saving action through the gospel has brought salvation to everyone who believes – who trusts in Jesus. 

Think through the ramifications of this for today. Toxic forms of discrimination that plagued the first century seem to be making a comeback. But the gospel pulls the rug from our identity politics and culture wars. Regardless of ethnicity, race, gender or social background, everyone is welcomed into the same family through the righteousness of God. It’s a gift – no cost.

This gave Paul confidence as an evangelist. The message he shared was good news for every city, every town, every home, every person.  It may have begun in Jerusalem, but it has spread out to Rome, and on, and is just as relevant for us here today in Denmead.  

So, as we’ve whistled through these opening statements, perhaps you can feel your confidence levels rising?

The gospel really is good news. 

There's nothing to be ashamed of. 

In the light of evil, suffering and death, everyone needs forgiveness and hope. Since Paul wrote Romans, we may have landed on the moon and invented the smartphone, but fundamentally our human condition remains the same, and so does the potency of this good news. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. It lifts people up, it brings freedom, healing and hope.

Lord Jesus, thank you for Paul’s wonderful letter and all we have heard today. 

Please be with us throughout this series as we explore the book of Romans. 

Open our eyes to the depth and beauty of the gospel so that we may have a richer grasp of all that you have done in the past and all that you continue to do in us today. 

Lord, help us not to be ashamed, confused or quiet about the gospel. 

Teach us through Romans so that we may be more confident in you and share our love for you more openly and widely. Amen.