The Heart and Soul of the Gospel - Part A

The bad news is we are all guilty before God and what you pay for ourselves, or else or if we don't want that option. Option number two is somebody else will pay the price for his nested good pay for yourself. The good news is you don't have to. Is God good news.

God sent somebody to do that for you.

The gospel is good news to his work to truly appreciate the gospel we have to understand some bad news for today on connect with skintight scriptures, the life transforming.

Hope you can experience by understanding the true heart and soul of the gospel at the end of the program Skip his wife like sheer about the way you can impact the eternal future of children around got to get a vehicle to and from school and so we are honored and thrilled that last. I really believe he has a heart you're right, that's true, and undefiled religion. Be sure to stay with us after today's message to your full description right now we want to tell you what a special resource that will give you important insight on the very first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis contains some of Bible stories. Did you know that there is a deep spiritual significance in each of those familiar stories in the creation and discover how much God loves his creation.

Now he considers humankind's crowning achievement in the soil quality. The very first we find God went to the ones we want to help you uncover greater significance spoke about by cityscape I to can understand just get a fresh look at a deeper understanding of the stories of the very foundation scan the book of Genesis are what your generous gift of $35 or more to help expand the vital teaching outreach skintight so-called out to get your copy of this site will hundred 9288 could also live securely connectwithskip.com/Romans chapter 1 we get into the message with skip-every day we hear news from a variety of sources other watch the news or get it that your phone or you read a newspaper we hear breaking news headline news 24 hour news, but usually the news is bad news.

In fact, I read a statistic that 90% of all news is negative so that got my attention.

I thought I wonder if that's true, so I decided to get some newspapers and look through the so first of all I like the Wall Street Journal and I counted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal just just how many of the articles that are posted are written negatively. The headline is negative and I discovered 5/7 on this newspaper are negative then I look at the New York Times another important newspaper 6/7 headlines are negative then I went to the USA today weekenders only three articles on the front page 2/3 negative then I thought okay let's get the old Albuquerque Journal. Actually there better than most but 3/5 are still negative so you know that got me wondering, wondering and wondering why that is so and so I found this little insiders tidbit from industry week. It's a monthly trade publication will be quoted.

Bad news is more likely to attract a casual readers.

I then good news. It's a secret. Journalists have known for years that bad news gets more attention than good news, meaning more people are likely to read a story if the headline implies something rotten rather than something wonderful. The article I just quoted from went on to explain that the article itself may actually be a good report. It's actually good news, but that the journalist will take some bad aspect of the good report, and move it forward. Usually in the first couple of sentences or in the headlines to grab the reader's attention because were retracted. The bad news there was even one newspaper I discovered overseas that made a decision to run only good news for an entire day positive headlines encouraging optimistic stories and they reported they lost two thirds of their normal readership on that day. Fascinating is lower in the book of Romans and Paul the apostle headlines the book of Romans is the lead story is not bad news but it's good news. We have bad news every day.

He's there to say God has some great awesome news that is found in a single word. The word gospel.

The word gospel means good news you you know that probably good news. The Greek word is you and Kelly on UN deli on is the Greek word from where we get evangelism evangelical good news. Paul uses the term gospel good news 60 times at 60 times in the book of Romans alone, and that's his headline.

That's how he begins the book with good news. Now in ancient times emperors of Rome would give a gospel a gospel that is, they would have a herald who would proclaim favorable news about the Emperor and the message that that Harold would get was called the UN deli on a gospel. So you just got a picture of Solomon outcomes herald in the midst of the streets and he says good news. The Emperor's wife is set aside our good news. His air has come of age or good news.

Our new king has ascended to the throne. They were statements that were favorable about the Emperor they gave good news our word gospel. Our English word derives from the old Anglo-Saxon word Godspell and if you know that are not Godspell is where we get the term gospel from English. Godspell means good story. I like that God story is good story that some of you in hearing this, I think you have heard gospel before Jesus before.

Why do I need to hear this good news will if you're inclined to think that way I'll answer that for you, it's because you you don't really know the bad news yet when you have the bad news. It makes the good news awesome. You love the good news in the book of Romans is filled with bad news and good news. It just leaves the lead headline story is good news. But the bad news is also announced like this for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's in Rome and also in Romans chapter 1 for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodly assault.

The bad news is were all guilty before God and were gonna pay for it ourselves, or else or if we don't want that option. Option number two is somebody else will pay the price for us.

That's a good news. The bad news is you pay for yourself. The good news is you don't have to because God good news. God sent somebody to do that for you.

Well for the next 32 weeks were to be in the book of Romans to be in their longtime the book of Romans is not just about good news and bad news. It has a single theme throughout it on to tell you in a minute but the book of Romans is the Christian manifesto of freedom. The book tells about how God through Jesus sets people free from the slavery of sin and old behaviors and sets us free to become. Listen to this slaves of Christ, we have our new slate of slavery that leads to freedom.

Slavery of freedom. You should know that the book of Romans transformed the lives of people like Augustine, Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation. John Wesley, the book of Romans sparked of the great Methodist revivals of the past through him. It influenced William Tyndale John Bunyan and the theme of this book you're taking notes. Write this down. The theme of Romans is the righteousness of God. That's the theme of the whole book the righteousness of God.

Or put another way, how to get right with God.

Whether you're a Jew and Gentile religious not religious, poor, rich anything in between. It's how a human being can be made right with God in heaven. There are four sections to the book of Romans. I'm only going to announce them on nocturnal explain them today.

I will through the series. There are four distinct sections of the book of Romans and there as follows number one the wrath of God. That's one section. Section number two.

The grace of God. Section number three. The plan of God in section number for the will of God.

All of that under the righteousness of God that is headlined by this gospel. This good news.

This opening story. This will lead news item gospel. Let's begin reading in verse one of chapter 1 and read some verses down just to get a feel for the book.

Paul, verse one, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flash and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead through him we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you in my prayers making request. If, by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you, for I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established. That is, that I may be encouraged with you by the mutual faith of both you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often plan to come to you, but I was hindered until now that I might have some fruit among you also just as among other Gentile. I'm a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to rise and to unwise. So, as much as it is in me I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Now I'm in a combine confine my thoughts of the first six or seven verses alone today because verses one through seven are a summary of the rest of the book, Paul sums in a few verses what he's gonna unfold and explain for the next 16 chapter about the gospel song to share with you for facts about the gospel. If servant its source, its subject and its scope. Those four things. Let's begin at the beginning, let's consider it servant.

Notice how the letter starts.

Paul R bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, you know, when we write letters today. We begin letters like dear John, have you been been one or batch at Wiebe Sable we want to say and then we ended sincerely yours, Skip. Ancient letters reverse that they put the guy who wrote the letter first and then a few verses down announce to who it is, which I find very convenient because whenever I get a letter from somebody if is like two or three pages. The first thing I did was go to the last page, find out who wrote the thing and then I'll go back and read the letter. So in antiquity we have the person who wrote the letter. First, Paul R bondservant of Jesus Christ. I think you'll agree that Paul was one of the most unique individuals advert in human history, and apart from Jesus Christ. He is the most significant person in all of the New Testament a few years back, a Jewish author name Michael Shapiro wrote a book called the Jewish 100. It's a biographical sketch of 100 of the most influential Jewish people of all history and I thought you'd be interested to just hear the top-tier number one in his book the number one most influential Jewish person of all time, and Michael Shapiro's book Moses that makes sense is the lawgiver or into the tour. The law of Moses. That's their covenant number two in his book Jesus Christ.

Now this is Shapiro's list not God's. God would bring Jesus number one. But Shapiro ranks the member to present the impact is made in history. Number three. Albert Einstein number four Sigmund Freud number five Abraham the patriarch and number six Saul of Tarsus or Paul the apostle who was he well he was born of Jewish parents in a town called Tarsus of the list. See which in modern terms as Southeast Turkey when he was born, his parents gave him the Hebrew name show show one who hears probably named after the first king of Israel, also from the same tribe of Benjamin Saul, King Saul, Israel's first King but we know him by a different name. He decided to go by his Roman name Paulos that's his Roman name Paul. The word Paul means little short. Which begs the question what it Paul the apostle look like with the answers we really don't know but we have one source alone.

It may be true, it may not be truth and apocryphal source called the acts of Paul is not a biblical book, but it is an ancient book and it may be true, we don't know but it describes Paul the apostle as a man of little stature, so sure got like his name Amanda little stature within the hair upon the head, crooked in his legs with eyebrows joining you never thought of Paul as a unibrow. Did you with eyebrows joining Anna know someone hooked so you have to think, sort of like Danny DeVito, rather than whatever you had in your mind of this great apostle not tall dark and handsome short, Swati unibrow, what we do know is Saul of Tarsus was a very religious man. He was a religious zealot by his own admission, a Pharisee who was educated by very famous rabbi who was also a very anti-Christian rabbi by the name of Gamaliel reason I say he's an anti-Christian rabbi is because some of his statements and prayers have survived from antiquity and one of his most famous well-known prayer against the Christian heretics went like this, let there be no hope, to them who apostatized from the true religion and let these heretics. How many soever they be all parish in a moment that's his prayer against Christians. I think Saul of Tarsus took those words to heart, because Saul of Tarsus became the chief antagonist against the Christian church right behind it of value rest of them. He beat him up. He may have even killed many of them. He certainly consented to the death of Stephen the martyr.

One day on the road to Damascus, 160 miles north of Jerusalem. Jesus knocked him off his high horse literally so that he was on the ground in his life change from that moment on, so Saul Paul had to begin his testimony something like this you know if anything happened to me on the way to Damascus, the chief antagonist. Now becomes the chief protagonist in his own words, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. The title of surrender@his slave and I think that is the title of every single Christian or it should be.

What are you am a servant of Christ because we call him Lord, right lordship implies servant hood. If there is a Lord there is a servant in Jesus even said to his disciples what you call me Laura, but you don't do what I say. So it's a title it's a good title should describe every believer. You may recall that when he was converted. Saul of Tarsus asked two questions on the ground looking up at the bright light to questions. Number one. Who are you, Lord Wright, who whom I talking to Lord once he got that question answered because the answer back was, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

He asked the second question we should all ask this question.

What do you want me to do and when you asked that question, then you truly become a bondservant of Jesus Christ. What is it you want me to do. Paul then became a servant of Christ, a servant of the gospel and now Paul little Paul little in his own eyes and the eyes of God. The plans ahead would you notice also in verse one that he says called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, stop right there. Saul called himself the one time a Pharisee, the word for Pharisee and the word for separated are the same word. In fact, the word Pharisee means a separated one and Pharisees prided themselves in being separated from everyone and everything else they were so separated that a strict Pharisee walking through the streets of Jerusalem would take his robes and tie them closely around his body placed them closely around his body like this because he didn't want to even brush the hem of his rope against a Gentile like you and me less you become defiled.

No Gentile cooties or get next to me. I don't want those cooties so he was separated from everyone and from everything but now he says I'm separated to the gospel of God. When I asked you a question.

What are you separated to what are you separated to did you know that you can have the same sold at a loss life.

You can know Christ even forgiven your sins are forgiven you are going to heaven between earth and heaven. You're not doing give us a soul but a loss life that Skip message for the series so use the share about a way you can impact the future of children around the world. In today's teaching we learn that God loves Dorothy. I love that about God I love that he knows were broken and he comes to fix us. So when you your partnering in that divine work with a ministry that you called read aloud. Love your working to restore and redeem the lives of children. Kids who been impacted by terrorism.

Could you tell us more absolutely were so thrilled.

I think were still coming off the high from our love bomb this year, which is around Valentine's Day. We did this crazy virtual fundraiser where and everybody costs their world can get online and donate and we raised over $200,000 this year and were so thrilled that distributing that money that we know that three churches are going to be built now that act as that community center Sunday schools actually school preschool during the week for parents that children who have fled for their lives and so to end me in mar and one in Thailand. With that, the refugees from the Burmese conflict so that sterling were building a playground with that we got to get a vehicle to get kids to and from school and so we are honored and thrilled that God continues to blast you know I really believe he has a heart for the orphans and widows right that's true, and undefiled religion, and so where great fall that when we ask God what he wants us to do and we say okay God will do what you wanted to do. He is blessing us so that we can do it I love it. Thank you, Skip and lagniappe. We are excited to share how God uses support from friends like you to connect others to his word. One listener recently ran. I just wanted to thank you for getting your teaching staff to maintain like the Lord blessed family set up laughing. Thank you so much for keeping it available effectively in front make stories like this when possible, connect more people to concentrate. I cannot escape.com/Deming to keep drawing closer to him, cannot escape.com/donate, call 800-9200 19 to come back to Mark Skip shares about understand Scripture so Skip presentation of connection communications to God's never changing truth ever-changing time