| Introduction We like powerful things. We like the best things. That's one of the things that attracts us to the Olympics. There, we see the most powerful, the fastest, the most skilled competing against each other. In this passage today, we have the most powerful thing at work in our lives: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul is ready to preach the Gospel in Rome (15) because he is not ashamed of it. And Paul is not ashamed of it because it is the power of God unto salvation. He is confident that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation because in it the righteousness of God is revealed. Since this last truth is really the foundation of Paul's argument, we are going to start with it and work our way back up the passage. I. In the Gospel, the righteousness that comes by faith is revealed. A. Literally, "The righteousness of God is being revealed." B. The question that comes to our minds now is, "What is the righteousness of God?" C. It is in the Gospel that we discover this alien righteousness, this foreign righteousness to us. D. That is what we call the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ. E. Paul says that this is not a new doctrine that is now coming to light. F. No one has ever been justified or will ever be justified apart from faith alone in Jesus Christ. II. Because it is in the Gospel that God's righteousness is found, it is powerful to save. A. Salvation refers to the entirety of redemption – from effectual calling to glorification. B. The Gospel is powerful to save everyone who believes. III. Therefore, Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel A. Why does Paul even bring this up? B. Why start the thesis statement of the greatest theological book ever written with this negative statement? C. Because we have a tendency to be ashamed of the Gospel! D. How are we ashamed of the Gospel? Peter's denial of the Lord really illustrates well how we can Conclusion May God convince us of the power of the Gospel.  | |||
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Friday, August 3, 2012
The Power of the Gospel - Rom. 1:16-17
