Romans 1:8-17

Why are we doing this, worshiping, doing ministry as a church? Why have the committees and the programs? What’s the point? What drives us to do this? Careful. We can answer this question with answers that sound very right, but can be very wrong. And when get it wrong, when we carry the wrong message, we get tired of the message. When we’re motivated for the wrong reason, we will lose our motivation. When we’re trying to be Christians, trying to obey, trying to do the right thing, but for the wrong reason, then all this effort gets old, and we will quit.

There are churches, churches that call themselves Christian churches, that exist for all kinds of reasons. There are churches that exist to help the poor. There are churches that exist for racial reconciliation. There are churches that exist to help take care of the environment. There are churches that exist just to exist. There are churches that exist to keep their beliefs pure. And the reason for why these churches do what they do, these are all good reasons. Who can argue with them?

But when a church exists for any of these reasons, when this is what Christians are working for, living for, they will grow tired. They will grow discouraged. And at some point, they will give up. Because as good as those reasons are, they are not good enough reasons to keep going, especially against resistance. The reasons are good, just not good enough.

There is only one reason good enough to keep us going. There is only one motivation powerful enough to blast through any resistance. There is only one truth that has the power to make a difference in this world, and that truth is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s the good news that is the core of God’s word. Now, all of these other reasons, fighting poverty and prejudice, caring for the earth, being pure in our beliefs, these are all good. But all of these good things only come when the gospel has taken root and begun to grow. They are results of the original cause. They are not causes themselves. They happen only as the result of the gospel.

Paul was simply obsessed with the gospel. He slept, ate and drank the gospel, day and night. And if there was anyone who didn’t know the gospel, wild horses wouldn’t keep him away. That’s why he’s writing to the Christians who lived in Rome. Somehow, the gospel had made it’s way all the way to the capital city of the empire, and people had accepted it and become believers.

But Paul wants to make sure himself. He’s concerned that these believers are really believing what they’re supposed to be believing. After all, who knows what twists of the truth could have sneaked in to that church. Rome wasn’t known for it’s purity and commitment to truth. But in spite of all the obstacles, the gospel had been planted and taken root, and it was starting to have an effect.

Paul is relieved and thankful, and he writes to the Roman Christians. He writes to teach them the true gospel, but he also writes to encourage them. Verse 8:

Paul thanks God for their faith. Paul thanks God for giving them their faith. Paul thanks God for using their faith for incredible things. Because of the faith God gave them, because of what God is doing through that faith, their faith is being talked about all over the world. But be sure to understand. These aren’t superstar Christians that everyone’s talking about. These aren’t Christians that are going above and beyond. It’s the faith that is having this effect. It’s the faith that is being talked about. Faith that is grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul has seen what the gospel can do when God gives them faith, and he is itching to get to Rome to see for himself the effects of the gospel. Verse 10:

Paul knows what the gospel can do, but he also knows how a church can get off track and start focusing on issues and causes, rather than the gospel. He wants to get to Rome, verse 11:

When people get together, people who love Jesus, people who love the gospel, something happens. We just kind of build on each other, sharing stories about what the gospel has done in our lives, what we’ve seen the gospel do in other people’s lives. Paul wants to bring them encouragement, but he’s looking forward to benefiting himself. Verse 12:

But Paul going to Rome is no vacation. Paul, coming to Rome could be fatal. Eventually, it would be. Paul would one day be executed in Rome by order of the emperor Nero.

Which makes you kind of wonder why Paul would want to go to Rome. There’s so many other places he could go to, so many safer places he could preach, if he really has to preach. Why go to
Rome? Why not just stay home?

Paul begins to give us an answer in verse 14:

Paul is called, more than that, he’s driven to have everyone know Jesus. Regardless of racial differences, he’s going to go to Greeks and non-Greeks as a missionary. Verse 15:

Yeah, and that sounds great, and all, but Paul can preach to Greeks and non-Greeks in other places, too, safer places, places that aren’t so risky. We understand why he’s so eager to preach the gospel. He’s seen the effects of the gospel. But why Rome? Why go to the most dangerous place on earth for a Christian?

Why? Because he’s seen what the gospel can do, and a pesky little emperor and a few thousand soldiers aren’t nearly enough to stop the gospel. Why go to Rome, of all places? Because, verse 16:

For Paul, the gospel is everything. The gospel is not an embarrassing little secret that Paul feels kind of awkward about mentioning it to anybody. The gospel is not just one person’s opinion of the truth, and hey, you know, everybody has an opinion, and we don’t really want to push too hard. The gospel is like finding the answer to every question ever asked. The gospel is like discovering the cure for cancer, only more important. The gospel is like figuring out how to end world hunger, or wars, or killer tornadoes, only way more important. Paul’s not ashamed of the gospel. Paul is burning to tell the gospel, everywhere.

But that raises another question. After all, there are plenty of Christians, at least people who consider themselves Christians, who seem somewhat embarrassed, actually a little ashamed of the gospel. It’s one thing to have the gospel in our hears, hidden safely away. We can even let the gospel show a little at church. Not so much, mind you, where people think you’re a fanatic or anything. Just the normal amount.

So then, why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? What does he know about the gospel that makes him so eager, so driven, so unashamed of the gospel? Paul, why are you not ashamed of the gospel? Verse 16:

Paul has seen what the power of God for salvation can do in a person’s life. It can take the most obnoxious, violent enemy of Jesus and turn him into the most driven missionary the world has seen. Paul should know. That’s what Jesus did in him. And if the power of God for salvation can do that, there’s no telling what else God will do. Paul knows that it’s possible for Caesar Nero to be changed by the power of God for salvation, so Paul is more than ready to come to Rome, despite the risks. Paul knows that the gospel of God for salvation is powerful enough to change every Roman soldier into a disciple of Jesus. So, sure, Paul will accept the risk of going anywhere and everywhere, talking to anyone and everyone, about the gospel.

So, what happens to us? How come we get a little nervous about talking about Jesus? How come the gospel isn’t that important to us? We would never actually say it, but come on…Don’t we act ashamed of the gospel by keeping the gospel to ourselves? If we’re not ashamed of the gospel, how come we can go for weeks, or months, or even years without talking about Jesus to someone who doesn’t know Him as their Savior and Lord?

It’s possible that we act ashamed of the gospel because we don’t know that it is the power of God for salvation. Do we think that the gospel is just a concept, a set of ideas, that sounds good but doesn’t really do anything? Has the gospel been reduced to just words, just a series of teachings that we’re supposed to believe, but that are about as powerful as a flickering light bulb? If that’s true, if that’s how we think of the gospel, then sure we’re going to be hesitant, embarrassed to talk. We’re not really sure if our bringing the gospel is going to do anything, and then there we sit, having opened our mouth, talked about Jesus, and the words just fall flat.

The gospel is not just a set of words. The gospel is not a series of teachings, compared to the teachings of Karl Marx or Buddha or Mohammed. All those were concepts made up in the minds of human beings, created with broken, sinful brains that were groping for the truth.

Why is Paul going to Rome? Because he’s not ashamed of the gospel. Why is he not ashamed of the gospel? Because it is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes? Why is it so powerful? Why is the gospel so different? Why is the gospel so effective? Verse 17:

The gospel, very simply is this. Jesus died on a cross and came back to life to take every nasty, broken thing in our lives and make them pure and whole and healthy. Jesus died and rose again to make dead things and dead people alive again. There is power in these statements, the power of God for salvation.

This power comes through faith, the faith that God gives, the same faith that God gave to the Roman Christians that had such an effect, reports were going out all over the world.

And the same faith that God has given to us. And now, through this gift of faith, the gospel of Jesus is making us righteous. Don’t worry, we don’t have to be proud about this. This isn’t happening because of us. It’s the power of God for salvation, through the gospel.

So, if the gospel is this effective, to change Paul and change us, why would we waste our time on anything else? Above all else, before anything, we make sure we’re focused on the gospel of Jesus. The good news about our Savior and Lord infiltrates everything we do, drives every committee meeting, every council meeting, every class we teach, every worship service on every Sunday. We’re looking at two things, how the gospel is changing us, how we are leaving behind the dead parts of our lives and we’re picking up new, living habits. And second, we’re driven to get the gospel out to people who haven’t heard it, or who haven’t heard it right, who think the gospel is just another teaching. We’re brainstorming and we’re creating new ways to tell people about Jesus, to bring the gospel.

Because we’re not ashamed of the gospel, because we know that it is the power of God for salvation for those who believe, because through faith, God is bringing rightness, righteousness, goodness, through the gospel.