Gripped by the Gospel - Romans 1:16

What's the true message of the gospel here Stephen Devi with this brief summary of the gospel message. It doesn't deliver a dose of self-help doesn't encourage you to pull up yourself by your bootstraps doesn't say to do this work and that work it says simply to admit your sinful admit you're in need of a deliverer and you come to Jesus Christ as a beggar offering him nothing but depravity. Nothing but sin. Nothing but failure received from him in that admission forgiveness sound is that when unsaved people think about having salvation. Think about it wrongly.

Most people believe that salvation is, and that if they can just be good enough.

God will like them. That's not the gospel. So what is the truth. This might be a familiar truth to you but you will be encouraged as we consider it together today. If you don't understand what the Bible says about salvation from sin, you definitely need to keep listening. This is wisdom for the heart and here Stephen Devi with the lesson he's calling gripped by the gospel. Have you ever read a book and then describe two of Brennan.

I was so gripped by that book. I had a hard time putting it down. Have you ever watched a movie or play and found yourself utterly gripped by the unfolding drama never listen to perhaps a musical score or a symphony in you having wanted to breathe so mesmerized by the beauty of the score. There are certain things in life that can rip us how we tended to define life in terms of those things that captivate our thinking and control our thinking and our living, take our energy and involve our dreams. Or perhaps you're in the grip.

Even now of an assignment at school or some assignment at work. Perhaps you are building a home or you're starting a new job or business in that seems to dominate your thinking.

In fact, to have a conversation with you would ultimately invariably somehow include some discussion by you on that particular thing some of you are in the process of raising a little children I know in our church families got our pastor children, with 30 babies born in the last 60 days here in our church so there are some of you. It's one diaper pail after another, and that's the chapter you're in. I can well remember the moment years ago, when our twins were. I believe a little less than one-year-old when my wife announced to me that she was unexpectedly expecting again.

That was quite a moment whenever I leave the house for the office.

In those days I would leave behind a mother and three children under the age of two. I tried not to look too overjoyed as I would leave. I'm so sorry I have to leave, but you know I got a work in that that sort of thing but we had a little ritual as we kiss goodbye. I would say honey what are your plans for the day.

She would look at me and she'd say one word survive. Which she did wonderfully well, I might add certain seasons of life tend to dominate our thinking, our energy are dreaming our time, perhaps for some there is the dominating principle of life. Some philosophies, some idea that so captivate you some revolutionary thought that you follow it with all of your life. I read a few months ago in a book by Ravi Zacharias about the dominating energy and misguided passion in the life of Joseph Stalin. Ravi was in the home of Malcolm Muggeridge was a journalist and he shared with Ravi about it time in the past when they were doing a documentary on the life of Joseph Stalin and he was involved in an Stalin's daughter Svetlana Stalin stated Muggeridge's home for several days and he told Ravi Zacharias that on three occasions during her prolonged visit. Svetlana talked about her father's death. Stalin wrote in his book was a small man about 5 foot four and not very imposing, but a man of steel. By the way, Stalin is not his given name Stalin means steel and so he adopted that name.

He and his personal godless ambition was passionate.

His daughter, however, wanted to know if I this is Muggeridge could explain why her father had done something very peculiar on his deathbed.

In fact, something strange about the moment he died. She said that moments before he died he suddenly sat up in bed.

He clenched his fists and shook them toward the heavens. Then he threw himself back on the pillow and died. She asked why did he do that Muggeridge explained father's hatred of God and his word. He had followed other leaders who constantly shook their fists throughout their lives as it were, in the face of God. Stalin himself obliterated 15 million of his own people who refuse the atheistic communist party line and on his deathbed, the man who called himself steel even there he shook his fist in the face of God to Newton to reject the truth of heaven until it was eternally too late. I think of another man who was also small of stature, he was gripped by, and dominated by a liberating truth that consumed him and a few my friends want to live with forever in mind. In fact, if you want to know how to live in now Romans chapter 1 will give us now in these few verses.

As we continue studying through the main thesis of this letter. The main proposition as Paul delivers to us that life changing life altering truth as he describes the gospel how to live by faith. But pick our study of theirs. Paul writes, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone to believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the gospel, that is, you can read it for in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, but the righteous man shall live by faith. Paul was consumed by the gospel. Paul to him. The gospel was his life. That was the passion in his heart. It was his every breath and now in these two verses. He will spell out that passion, he will give us the liberating truth of the gospel that is to consume all of our lives as we live lives of faith for him that he began emphatically will look at it briefly last Lord's day by saying, for I am not ashamed though why would he say that I believe what one author suggested that he would say that because the Roman believers would be prone to wonder if he was going to be shame, so we set it sort of like you might say to somebody not listen, I'm going to tell you the truth, why do you say that because you liable time know because maybe it's a situation where you might be tempted to lie or to situation where you're going to say something that they may have a hard time believing and so you proceeded by saying I'm telling you the truth. So Paul here, as it were, expects them to anticipate that he would be a shame. Perhaps he was intimidated we learned in Corinth and other passages.

Perhaps they assume that he would be ashamed here and so he begins by telling them listen. Of all the places in the world to be intimidated of the gospel of all the places to be ashamed and silenced as relates to the gospel. It will be wrong but I want you to know I am not ashamed of the gospel. The gospel would meet its greatest religious test in Rome. It would meet its greatest political test in Rome with its paganism, the gospel would meet its greatest moral test in Rome. He wasn't ashamed. Romans believed that Zeus was the creator and giver of life.

They believe that Zeus miraculously caused the birth of his son, Dionysius. When Dionysius was killed by the titans who were lesser gods Zeus in anger incinerated the titans and from their ashes created the human race. Dionysius the son of Zeus would come to become known as the God of celebration, the God of revelry, the God of wine. In fact, an entire religious system dominated the Roman mind and the Greek mind around the time of Paul, with its belief in Dionysius who was in reality the God of revelry and the God of drunkenness and all sorts of perversions as interesting as listen to the radio and listening to one particular preacher, a John MacArthur preaching on this very thing and so I went back to my study pulled his manuscript off the web wonderful tool and then had some things that I could quote here. He did a lot of the research, the worshipers of Dionysus. He wrote in his manuscript committed atrocities with human organ they engaged in orgies of sexual perversions along with music and dancing and feasting. They built the great temples of Dionysus where they carried on their orgies in the very center of the temple in Damascus, which was excavated whose ruins can still be seen to this day there is a decorated area in the center of a large room that includes a deep pit. The hall was built and beautifully decorated but it was for nothing less than a place for the drunken worshipers could come from their feasting and revelry, and literally vomit as if they were offering a sacrifice to their god of wine and then they would then return to indulge themselves all over again will you bring to a world like that what you bring to a world that is filled with utter wickedness and depravity. A world where worship involves sexual perversion. A world where drunkenness is encouraged. A world where the gods even are is lost all and aimless in their pursuits as human beings. The world obsessed with its evil desires. What you bring the world like that same thing you bring a world like that today bring the gospel and you declare that the Gospels creator, first and foremost is God, the Gospels creator is God.

That is the gospel is spiritual. It is in fleshly it is and lustful. It doesn't pamper to sin.

It is holy and pure. Paul also already.

As you know, discuss this truth when he wrote earlier in chapter 1 that this gospel was of God. That is, it was sourced in God. It came from God in this gospel concerned the sun we read who was born of a descendent of David according the flash who was declared the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. We have also learned that Jesus Christ is Lord, by virtue of his powerful resurrection.

No Roman God had any truly good news for humanity.

There wasn't any good news. In fact, the gods of Greece and Rome seem to be as lost, and is wondering and is wicked and as uncertain as humanity. But this God. This is true and living God had a UN deli on. He had a good news. He had a gospel to deliver to humanity gospel might be intimidating.

The gospel might be offensive and might be considered foolishness to the world, but to the one who is sick of sin to the one who was laden down with guilt to the one who knows, there must be something more to life than self and the pursuits of self. The gospel is good news of sin washed away. It is good news of guilt pardoned and removed. It is good news of sin, though it is sustained as scarlet, the heart can be made as white as wool. This is good news came from the true and living God who created it. The Gospels character secondly is power that is the gospel is operational.

Paul wrote, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power to do the mess that's the Greek word gives us our word dynamite or dynamic. This is the dynamite of God alike that this is the dynamic of God. The gospel now would you note carefully.

He did not say that the gospel contains a little power. He did not say that the gospel need to be accompanied by signs of power, which is a popular theology today.

He did not say that the gospel talks about power. You notice he says the gospel is power and though the world considers it foolishness. It is in fact the power of God by which he transforms men and women pulling them from the darkness of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

Paul wrote in first grade is 118 that the word of the cross is to those who are perishing, foolishness.

But to those of us who believe it is the power of God. Peter wrote in first Peter 29 along that same line. This powerful God chose you. You are his peculiar possession and now you can share forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. No wonder the Thessalonians. After hearing the gospel, the good news. The text tells us in first Thessalonians chapter 1 verses nine and 10 that they turn from their idols. They turn from Dionysus. They turn from Zeus. They turn from Jupiter. Those false gods that had no good news and they turned to the true and living God, and they waited for the sun to appear from heaven. That is the power of the gospel to take people from this into this kingdom of light. The Gospels confrontation. Third is that it calls mankind from sin than unto salvation.

That is the gospel is not only spiritual, it is not only operational but it is transformational.

The gospel, by the way ladies and gentlemen is not a self-help process. It is in three steps to feel better about yourself, your self-image is in nine ways to feel better about the world know the gospel confronts the unbeliever with depravity and sin and calls him to salvation of the terms salvation beings say getting saved are considered by a society that believes itself to be cultured and sophisticated to be getting rather droll and unsophisticated common and ludicrous what you mean. I need to be saved.

I've heard people say to me about what you need.

I need to get say what what you mean. I need to fear the judgment of God. What you what you mean I'm depraved trauma center, we mean that in jeopardy of landing and hell no luck. You can talk to me about turning over a new leaf are getting religious.

You can talk to me about being nicer to people on the freeway but don't talk to me about depravity and sin and judgment in heaven and hell that that is in far cultured people. That is the gospel the first century with mock Christianity for the same thing. The idea of sinful humanity being potentially rescued by God who voluntarily sacrificed himself for them was ludicrous to their mind, archaeologists digging among the ancient ruins of Rome uncovered a mural and after they had all of the dirt and silt away.

They discovered that it was blasphemous against the God we believe and worship depicted a common slave that was their view of Christians.

Common people, unlettered uncultured, but it depicted a common slave bowing down before a cross with a donkey hanging on it in the caption read Alexander Noss worships his God. Christianity was the belief of fools. One writer named Celsus wrote a letter in and around the time of Paul in which he said let know cultured person drawn near an unwise none sensible but if any is wanting incense and culture that is lacking in sense and culture, if any, is a fool, let him come to Christianity.

Celsus continued he compared Christians to a swarm of bats. He compared Christians to ants crawling out of their nests. He compared Christians to frogs holding a meeting in the swamp and the worms crawling around in the mud.

What is at the heart of this mockery. I'll tell you it is the confrontation of the gospel that calls mankind sinful and in desperate need of salvation. That's the word he uses here the word so Terry and Romans 116 translated salvation. Paul will use the noun many times, some 19 or 20 times in his letters use it five times in the letter to the Romans. The word salvation speaks of being rescued from danger. It speaks of deliverance from the penalty of sin. It speaks of being rescued from eternal death and separation from God. Salvation, my friends, is not term we came up being say is not a term we created. It is a divinely inspired phrase delivered in and through the writings of men like Paul who put them into the text of Scripture, the salvation of God. In fact, as it was first delivered in the very first sermon of this dispensation of grace for the church age was by Peter in acts chapter 2 and he we are told, stood, and he solemnly the text says testified and continually exhorted his audience saying be saved from this perverse generation, any true preacher, my friends, that is true to the gospel.

Any true preacher that is true to God and the word of God will be saying in effect, the same thing 2000 years later that he said then be saved from this perverted generation that is the gospel.

No wonder it is brought into derision. Matthew 1811 were told that Jesus Christ is come to seek and save that which was what lost the gospel is for lost people.

In fact the angel delivering a message to Joseph, Jesus would be born to Mary comforting the mind of Joseph as he considered putting Mary away privately. The angel told him that she would bear son and his name would be called yes you are Jesus deliver why because he would save his people from their what sin so the gospel has to do with people who are lost and who are sinners can be any clearer than that, Paul repeated in first Timothy 115. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why the world doesn't like the gospel it's offensive. It's confrontational, it doesn't deliver a dose of self-help doesn't encourage you to pull up yourself by your bootstraps. It doesn't say to do this work and that work it says simply to admit your sinful admit you're in need of rescuing admit you're in need of a deliverer and you come to Jesus Christ as a beggar offering him nothing but depravity. Nothing but sin. Nothing but failure you received from him in that admission forgiveness and salvation. The gospel was confrontational and when you're driving your car along the road you see a sinuses slowdown curve ahead might even draw one of those little squiggly lines you can do one of three things in relation to that sign. You can receive the message of that sign by immediately believing it and slowing down.

You accepted as truth, or instead of receiving the message. You can reject the message. You can say something like, why do they keep putting these signs along this mountain is Highway don't they have anything better to do with their lives and you just maintain your current rate of speed. You do another thing not only could you believe it or reject it. You could rebel against it. You could get that sign in San Jose all I don't believe. In fact, I'm gonna speed show that sign and that is the response to the gospel message.

The truth remains.

By the way, regardless of what you do in your car, the truth remains regardless of what you do with this gospel message you can believe it, you can ignore it.

You can reject it. You can even rebel against it. My friend, I'm here today to ask you a question. Are you say you come at some point in your life or you've thrown away your baptism and your good works in your church membership in your philanthropy and your good morals and units of the Christ all.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, I am nothing but a sinner deserving of your judgment, but all Lamb.

I love the way the old hymn writer put it, as he talked about the call he said just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, that thou didst me come to the O Lamb of God, I come with her point in your life when you came. Have you been saved. This is the call of the gospel and I'm here to confront you today is a signpost simply reminds you that to believe this salvation and that to disbelieve means not that you will be lost.

One day, but that you will remain lost in the darkness you choose today will be given to you as your eternal gift for you will one day reside in eternal darkness, someone in Rome might've asked is this salvation for me to you will know what I've done all you know how hopeless I am sure I am Paul goes on to give them the gospel call the Gospels call was universal. He wrote two very important words in verse 16. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone that he will clarify the next phrase with the condition of the gospel, but for now the gospel is delivered to everyone and have you caught already. The passion of Paul in Romans chapter 1 verse 14 says I am deeply indebted to remember that I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the why is the educated and the unlearned. I am deeply indebted to delivered to them the gospel. Paul is in effect saying I don't know if anybody will believe, but I believe everybody ought to hear that is the unlimited universal call of the gospel is why we are in passion with that missions enterprise not only here but around the world because we believe what Paul said that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But how shall they hear without a preacher, a messenger, a missionary, a neighbor, a teacher or a student, we don't know if everybody will believe.

In fact, the Bible indicates everybody won't.

We believe everybody ought to hear that was the passion of Paul, the gospel is a call to everyone for God so loved the what the world that he gave his only son. The Bible says in acts 221. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Revelation 2217 let him who hears say, whoever is thirsty, let them come. Whoever wishes, let them take of the free gift of the water of life. The invitation is to the world.

Salvation is an invitation to everybody, but it is granted only to those who rely upon Christ alone for salvation. The finished work and as I said before Paul was one and never completely recovered from the salvation never got over, gripped by this life altering life consuming life challenging news never get over your correct by the gospel. Is that true view. Have you been gripped by the gospel.

I hope so. It might be that as you listen today you realize that you've never responded to the gospel message. Why not do that today. You also might've been listening and wished that someone you knew was listening with you. Maybe you have a friend or loved one who doesn't understand what it means to be gripped by the gospel. If that's the case I want to encourage you to share this lesson with your friend. It's available on our website which is wisdom online.org it's there as the audio file that you just heard and it's also a printed manuscript that you can download and read absolutely free of charge.

This lesson has also been posted to our smart phone app so if you've installed the wisdom for the heart app to your iPhone or android device you can find it there. Please feel free to share it well. You've been listening to wisdom for the heart. The Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey Stephen is the senior pastor of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina during the month of February. We have a resource were featuring I want to make sure you know about that resource.

Stevens written a series of devotionals that help you stay in God's word on a daily basis this month were featuring one of those devotionals called a winter wisdom retreat.

You'll receive it for a donation of any amount to our ministry. There is information about that on our website as well. Or you can call us today at eight 648 Bible phone number once again is 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253. I hope you'll call us today or you can write to us. Our mailing address is wisdom for the hearts. PO Box 37297, Raleigh, NC 27627. Stephen has one more lesson in this current series and that's tomorrow right here on wisdom of the heart