Faith To Faith
Text: Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Introduction: Joke,
Captain on a Navy Destroy. every morning would take a key and unlock a drawer
then a box inside the draw read a slip of paper and the carefully replace
everything. In the midst a battle the
captain was killed after the funeral the crew ran the drawer and open it.
Pulled out the sheet of paper. On it it said, “Port is left, starboard is
Right!”
Everyone needs a
motto, a theme something that reminds us of who we are and what we're
doing. The apostle Paul had just such a
motto its found in our text from Romans today. Romans 1:17 “The just shall live
by faith.” That is actually the motto, the creed, the philosophy of every child
of God. The just shall live by faith.”
Proud of the Gospel Rom 1:16a
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
Paul's Pride
Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel. This is the way the
ancient writers and writers like Paul, here in the New Testament, were actually
saying I am proud of the Gospel.
I just learned this is called a Litotes, lī-tō′tēz, n. The
negation of something in order to affirm the opposite; or understatement in
order to give emphasis. (λιτότης, “simplicity”).
Did any of you know this? If you did, don’t tell me cause
I’m so excited about discovering it that I don’t want to think it’s a word
everybody already knew. So, Paul says “I am not ashamed, and he uses this figure
of speech, a litotes, as an understatement to emphasize, the greatness of the Gospel.
So why would Paul tell the Roman church he was not ashamed
of the Gospel?
At his point in
history, the Gospel and Christianity, or the Way as it was first called, was identified with a poor unknown Jewish
carpenter who had been crucified as a criminal. Crucifixion was the lowest form
of execution given to the worst or worthless criminals. Anyone associated with
someone like that should be ashamed. Rome was a proud city, the capital of the
world, but the Gospel, Paul preached, came from Jerusalem, the capital of a small,
backward nation that Rome had subjugated. The Christians, themselves were
common people and Christianity was a religion that was appealed to common
people and even to slaves. Christians considered each other as brothers and
sisters, all equal in Christ, which went was directly opposed to the Roman idea
of society and classes.
In 1 Corinthians 1:23, Paul said it this way, “But we preach
(proclaim) Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the
Greeks foolishness;
That is why Paul wrote now to the Romans and said, “I’m not
ashamed of the Gospel.”
Now just so we fully understand what Paul was not ashamed of,
lets see exactly, what is the Gospel?
The word gospel comes from the Greek word, euaggelion
yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on. I’m sure you already know it literally means “good tidings
or good news.”
When the apostles and early Christians declared “The Good
News” they were proclaiming the story of Jesus Christ. How His death, burial
and especially His resurrection, brings salvation. They would tell how when a sinner
believes and puts his trust in Jesus, he is cleansed from sin and given eternal
life.
Scripture: It is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover,
brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also ye
have received, and in which ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached to you
unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which
I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And
that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
Paul was proud to be called to carry and preach such good
news to anyone that he could share it with. So should we be proud, unashamed of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So are we …
Proud or Bowed?
Are we ashamed of the Gospel? Are we ashamed to tell others the
Good News? Though we have much less societal pressure than Paul, we still can fall
to what we might call the Trinity of Timidity, or The Troika of Tepidness. (Yes
I got carried away with my Thesaurus this week.)
If you are 1, Unwilling to stand up, due to fear, 2, Unable
to speak up because of ignorance. Or so Unconcerned that you won’t act up due
to apathy, then you are ashamed of the Gospel.
Two Illustrations: The Church at Laodicea and David Livingstone
Jesus give his harshest condemnation to the church at
Laodicea in Revelation 3:14 And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of God; I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or
hot. So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Contrast to what the great missionary explorer David
Livingstone said, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much
of my life in Africa. Can that be called
a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of the great debt owing
to our God, which we can never repay?
Away with such a word, such a view and such a thought! Say
rather it is a privilege. Anxiety,
sickness, suffering or danger now and then with a fore going of the common
convenience and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit
to wave and sin,: but let this only be for a moment, all these are nothing when
compared with the glory which shall be here after revealed in and for us. I
never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk when we remember the great
sacrifice which He made who left His father’s throne on high to give himself
for us. -David Livingstone
Transition
Paul is proud of the Gospel message he write to the Romans
about and the next phrase in the verse begins to explain why.
Power in the Gospel. Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek.
Power unto Salvation
Paul says I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the Power
of God unto salvation.
Do you see the emphasis Paul places on the Gospel in this
verse? He could have said as he does in other places, that God saves us but
because the whole book of Romans is going to be about the Gospel, he is
emphasizing it here and he says, “the Gospel is the power of God to save us.”
He is saying that the Good News, the story of Jesus life,
death and resurrection and our faith in Jesus as our savior, is the means, the
channel whereby God opens the floodgates of heaven and fills our souls with the
blessing of salvation.
But Paul doesn’t just say hearing the Gospel saves you, he
says believing the Gospel is when God unleashes His power to save. “To everyone
that believes.”
Scripture: Romans 10:8-13 But what saith it? The word is
near thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith,
which we preach; That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the
scripture saith, Whoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to
all that call upon him. For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.
Power unto My Salvation
Paul says the Gospel is the power of God to save, but only
to those that believe. It all hinges or the word believe. Because it is so
important and because everything involved with salvation only begins with it,
lets take just a moment to examine what it means to believe.
I know you are waiting for this so here it is. The word Believe
comes form the Greek word, pisteuo. 239 times in the New Testament it is
translated, you guessed it, believe. So far nothing new there but it is the
other times that give us the full meaning of what it is to believe.
4 times it is translated “commit unto” and one time each it
is translated commit to one’s trust, be committed unto, be put in trust with.
Vines word studies, uses the words “Belief, Believe,
Believers, Commit, Commission, Intrust, Trust
The Amplified Bible, which tries to give the nuances of the
Greek words, says it this way, “to everyone who believes with a personal trust
and a confident surrender and firm reliance,” I like that.
The Gospel has the power to wash away sin, the power to make
you new, the power to give peace, the power to relieve the burden of guilt, the
power to give you eternal life, the power to give you joy, but… you must
believe.
Illustration Mr. Stokes and the sheet.
When I was a young boy, I was a member of the Royal
Ambassadors. It was kind of a Bible club for Southern Baptist Boys, I really
enjoyed it. One of our counselors was the dad to a friend of mine. He was just
Mr. or Bro. Stokes. One day, he brought a bed sheet to class stood a chair next
to it and then asked all of us a question. “How many of you guys believe I
could lift you in that sheet while standing on this chair?”
Now Mr. Stokes was a strong man, not to big but his arms
bulged with muscles from years of hard labor at the copper mines. Every single
boy in that class, we were all about 10 -12 years old at the time, every boy
raised his hand and said, I believe you can do it. Then Mr. Stokes stood in the
chair, gathered the ends of the sheet making a sling and said, “Okay, who will
go first?” Of all the boys and there were at least 15 of us that day, none of
us were willing to get in the sheet. Some said, you might fall out of that
chair, othes the sheet might tear, Only one boy stepped forward and got into
the sheet, my friend and Mr Stokes son, Danny. He sat in the sheet on the floor
and then his father flexed his muscles and lifted his son with just one arm. He
made the application that real belief means not just saying I believe, but
putting our trust in and committing to the one we believe. For us that is Jesus
Christ, the might to save.
Transition:
Now in verse 17 Paul gives us the theme of his letter to the
Romans, Faith.
Path of the Gospel. Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith
to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Paul says the Gospel reveals the "rightness" of
God.
He gives us his next “For” his next purpose of proposition
in his theme of the Gospel. Just for a moment notice the four Fors in vss. 17-18.
This is what Paul is going to prove throughout the rest of his epistle.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
We are now at the third proposition, For number 3.
For therein, (in the Gospel) is the righteousness of God
revealed.
There are two things that I believe Paul is saying with the
phrase the righteousness of God is revealed.
First the Gospel shows me that God is righteous. He is just
in the way He has acted to save mankind. God in his holiness must punish sin,
but God in his love must pardon the sinner. In the Gospel story I learn how God
was righteous in reconciling these seemingly opposite characteristics of his
nature.
In the Gospel, First, I see my sin and my inability to deal
with that sin. Then I see Jesus who came without sin, lived without sin and
rose again showing his power over sin. I see Jesus as my perfect sacrifice for
sin. Then I see that I must believe in Jesus as a gift from God to save my
soul. Then I see, I understand that God truly is righteousness. He is just in
the way he dealt with my sin through His son.
I also think the righteousness of God being revealed through
the Gospel means that God makes me righteous. I not only see how God is
righteous, but I also experience God’s righteousness as applied to my soul, when
I am saved.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
There is so much to deal with here, but lets bring Paul’s
theme of the Gospel to a close, with the final phrase in vs. 17. From faith, to
faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
I don’t think this is hard to understand, but it is vital
that we grasp it, not only as the theme of the Book of Romans but our theme,
our motto, our philosophy of life as the children of God.
From faith, speaks of saving faith. The faith we first step
out in, the faith that brings us salvation.
To faith, speaks of everything that follows in our path of
life, but always stepping and acting in the power of that same faith:
Paul then gives his favorite scripture from the Old
Testament, “As it is written, the just shall live by faith."
Its taken from the minor prophet book of Habakkuk 2:4 Behold,
his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by
his faith.
God's righteousness is revealed not only in our salvation but
now also in our daily lives, lives empowered and directed by the principle of
faith.
The just, (the ones made righteous by the power of God through
the Gospel) shall live by faith.”
Walking the Path of Faith
We must see this. We must understand that Paul’s theme here
in Romans 1:17 must be the overriding principle of my life. I must move from
faith to faith. I can’t dwell in the affects of the day I was saved, I must
move from that faith to a daily faith, a growing faith, a progressive faith, a
faith that should grow stronger my means of its use day after day after day as
I walk the path of faith.
If I am saved, if I have believed the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, then I am one of the just, I have been justified, I am now righteous in the sight of God
because Jesus has taken my sin upon himself and I have been given His
righteousness! Now I must go from faith to faith. I am one of the just and I
just can’t live any other way.
At the end of the Book of Romans, Paul gives some guidelines
for walking the path from faith to faith. Look at what he says, in Romans
12:9-21 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to
that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly
love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent
in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints;
given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse
not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but
condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of
all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place
unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink:
for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Listen to what Paul is saying about us as the children of
God, who must go from faith to faith, and thereby revealing the righteousness
of God by the way we live.
“The Just Shall Live By Faith!” That’s your life’s motto,
that is our calling, that is our goal until our faith becomes sight when we
step in Glory.
Conclusion:
Where are you today in your Faith to Faith Journey?
I wonder if there are any here you have not started this
journey?
Have you not yet experienced the power of God through the
Gospel, the power to save your soul, to cleanse your sin, to give eternal life?
Every journey must start some where and the journey of faith
starts at the foot of the cross as we look up into the face of Jesus who died
for us. If you haven’t begun the journey of faith, it starts there and if you
are willing it can start for you today.
If you have begun the journey, if you are one of the Just, then
are you committed to make Paul’s theme of this book, the theme of your life?
Will you live every day, every decision, every difficulty by a living growing
faith? From faith to faith: The just shall live by faith.
