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The Righteousness of God Romans 1:1-17
This past week has been quite interesting. Last Sunday was incredible, from the morning service and the Baptism to right here and now, I have had a deep sense of God working. I wish I knew exactly what He was doing. It has been an up and down week… here’s the post to my journal that I made right before the service on Sunday, you can read more like them at the church web site: I just finished reading a wonderfully confusing book, A Man Called Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton. I don't think I've had my brain twisted so enjoyably in quite a while. At the end, Chesterton says this about his main character, "He felt he was in possession of some impossible good news, which made every other thing a triviality, but an adorable triviality." And that's where I find myself, confused and spun around by life's situations, but walking with "an unnatural buoyancy in (my) body and a crystal simplicity in (my) mind..." The Good News is truly good news. It transcends all of life and yet makes life more complete. It takes that which is beyond comprehension and offers a simple answer. Our problem is that this simple answer is often so hard to hang on to because it is such a BIG ANSWER. To properly hang on to it means that we have to let go of so many other things. (1:1-17) Overview: Paul introduces his letter with a greeting containing an astonishingly concise summary of the Gospel. He then moves on to express his interest in and longing to see the Roman church, and to state his theme as the Gospel, within which the righteousness of God is revealed 1. Called to be Saints a. Three things about Paul: i. A Servant 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, ii. Called called to be an apostle iii. Set Apart and set apart for the gospel of God-- b. The Gospel, a pretty big noise… i. This Gospel is not something that God thought up on the spur of the moment…2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ii. And it is about really Good News. 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. c. Our Call… A pretty Big Calling… because it is a call to a pretty big Gospel. 5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. i. It seems that way to often we think that we just become Christians. That’s not the way it happens. Something much more powerful and amazing is happening when a person accepts Christ. ii. God calls to them! And it’s not a red rover, red rover type call. God calls us to new life, to the obedience that comes from faith. iii. It’s also a calling to belonging, belonging to Christ, called into the love of God, 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: iv. And it is also a call to be saints… "It is used of men and things in so far as they are devoted to God. These are called hagoi, saints, i.e., 'sanctified' or 'holy ones.' This sainthood is not an attainment, it is a state into which God in grace calls men" – Vine Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Saints are members of the body of Christ and 2. Set apart for God’s purposes. d. This first section may seem at first glance to be a simple greeting to the Christians in Rome, in reality it is a powerful statement about the true nature of a Christian. i. We will find ourselves happiest in our relationship with God when we put all of ourselves into it. ii. God has called us into a wonderful relationship, we must not take it casually, 1. You were called for a reason 2. You are to set yourself apart for a purpose 3. So that the righteousness of God would be revealed through you, that all your relationships would be filled with eternal significance. 2. Now Paul is not saying that now that you are saint’s life will be filled with all good things… if you take a look at the passages that follow these verses you’ll see that. So in verses 8-15 we see his Thankfulness, his Prayers and his desire for Growth… a. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, And there is a great reason for his thankfulness! i. These Christians were in the midst of a great persecution in the center of the greatest and most corrupt cities in the world at the time. Paul knew that God was working there. These Christians were doing incredible things. ii. Christians don’t do great things because they have a great pastor or teacher, they do great things because God uses their faith in amazing ways… because your faith is being reported all over the world. b. Paul is focused on the Good News… he is willing to grab hold of the most important thing so that all the other things make sense. He knows that God is the one doing the work, God is in charge, the power of Paul comes simply from his willingness to serve. Up until the writing of this letter all Paul could do was PRAY. i. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 1. Paul is willing to drop it all so that the way for the Good News is always presented. Paul wants to be a part of the action. 2. How often are you willing to sit on the sidelines and just watch… sort of good question for Superbowl Sunday. 3. We are not called to watch, we are called to get involved with God’s purposes for this world. c. And we need to be willing to change and grow for this to happen. Paul knew that these Christians in Rome were putting it all on the line and that they were in the midst of a society that was raunchy and filled with sin. 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. i. Paul wants the Christians in Rome to grow, and he wants to grow right along with them. ii. What are your longings? Paul uses the word ep-ee-poth-eh'-o 1) to long for, desire 2) to pursue with love, to long after 3) to lust, harbor forbidden desire… iii. Paul is passionate about the plans God has…13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. 1. Paul was willing to answer the call of God… 2. What are your plans? 3. The Righteousness of God is an active righteousness. I think that when we think of the righteousness of God we see it only in the sense that it is so far beyond us… and that is the truth. God is perfectly righteous, perfectly pure, and wonderfully perfect. a. And that reality can often overwhelm us and cause us to turn away from God in shame. b. But God of Christianity’s righteousness is not “holier than thou.” God’s righteousness actively works in our world. Last Sunday something Super really happened. Five people were baptized, Christoni, Chloe, Jennifer, Karly and Megan. Each of them preached the Gospel as they stepped down into some very cold water. i. They got a shock to their system as they stepped into it, one that represents the incredible nature of God stepping into this world. ii. They confessed their faith in the Good News of Christ’s work. iii. And they identified with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. c. They were not ashamed… and Paul offers an explanation of why. i. 16 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. There is power in the Gospel. 1. I wish that we realized, thought about, and acted on this truth a bit more. 2. This is a truth that should not be marginalized. It is not something to be ashamed of, it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes! ii. And it offers us a righteousness that we could never achieve on our own. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, 1. The Gospel is truly the greatest gift of God, a gift offered to all of us by the Holy and Righteous and Loving God… 2. A gift that we must simply take in faith… iii. And just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." We are called to live, to really live, called by God, answering Him in the way we love and live. 1. We may not always know where we are going or how we are going to get there, 2. But, in faith we have been called to live as saints, called out for a purpose, an eternally significant purpose. 3. Let’s all begin to truly live!
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