In 1996, a man was driving along a busy street in New York City when he noticed a limousine parked along the street with a flat tire. The limo driver was busy trying to fix the flat so the man decided that he would stop and give the guy a hand. Amazingly, he found a place to pull over and he approached the car. The limo driver was relieved and quite grateful to have someone help him. After the tire was fixed, the man was making his way back to his car when the back window of the limo rolled down and suddenly Donald Trump stuck his head out the window. [This really is a true story]. Trump said, “Listen, we really appreciate what you did for us.” The man said, “Well, that’s fine, I was glad to.”

As the man walked a little further, Trump said, “Listen, my wife and I are wondering if there’s anything that we can do to show our appreciation.” The man replied, “No, that’s fine, I was just glad to help.” Trump said again, “No, really, we’d like to do something.” The man thought for a moment and said, “Well, if you’d really like to do something, why don’t you send my wife some flowers? She will never believe that Donald Trump personally sent her flowers.” Trump said, “Great,” and he took down the man’s name, his address, and the name of his wife. And sure enough, a few days later a huge bouquet of flowers arrived at the door. The attached note, signed by Donald Trump, took her breath away. It read, “We hope you enjoy these flowers. Your husband helped us out the other day and we wanted to express our gratitude. In addition, we just wanted you to know that we paid off your mortgage.”

Can you imagine having enough money to pay off someone’s mortgage? Can you imagine having enough money to pay off your own mortgage? Probably not, right? Now, stop and think with me. What’s the most valuable possession you have to give away? If you’ve trusted in Jesus Christ, I’d submit to you that you possess a gift so valuable that it makes paying off someone’s mortgage look like flipping pennies into a pond. Because of its eternal ramifications, this can transform people’s lives like nothing else. What is this gift? It’s the Gospel. In the Gospel is all the power that we need for life. We’re going to examine Romans 1:16-17—a mere two verses. But these two verses provide the theme for the entire book of Romans. In these two verses, we will study six facets of the Gospel.

[The first facet of the Gospel is...]

1. The Power of the Gospel. In 1:16, Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation…” We’ll return to the first part of this phrase a bit later. Right now, please note that the Gospel is called “the power of God.” In Paul’s usage, the phrase “the power of God” is often associated with God’s wisdom, in contrast to human wisdom. This means that men will struggle with the Gospel presented in Romans because it is God’s wisdom, which constantly confounds man’s wisdom. Yet, here lies the power. Paul writes that the Gospel is the power of God “for salvation.” Salvation is a broad concept that encompasses three tenses: past, present, and future. When salvation occurs a believer is saved from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. This means every believer is saved to a new position, a new life, and an entrance into God’s heavenly presence. If you recall, last week we determined that the term “gospel” in 1:15-16 isn’t limited to those central truths by which a person is given eternal life. For Paul, his gospel includes all the truths found in Romans. Therefore, we can conclude that Paul is expressing his confidence that the truths that will be presented in Romans provide God’s power to deliver us from enslavement and bondage to sin. Paul has just stated that there is power in the Gospel.

[Now we will see...]

2. The Condition of the Gospel. Verse 16 affirms that the power in the Gospel is available “to everyone who believes.” The sole condition of the Gospel is belief. Belief occurs when we trust in someone else.

Suppose there’s a fire in the upper section of a house. As people gather in the street below, a little girl is seen at the window of a room next to the fire. The fire trucks are at least five minutes away and will be too late to help. How will the child escape? Now suppose that in the neighborhood lives a tall man, well known for his strength and athletic ability. The man arrives at the scene and shouts to the child, “Drop into my arms. Don’t be afraid. I’ll catch you.” Belief and salvation occur when the little girl believes the man is strong and able to catch her and jumps into his arms.

If you know what it means to believe a doctor when he says, “You need surgery,” you know what it means to believe. If you know what it means to step into an airplane entrusting your safety to the captain in the cockpit, you know what it means to believe. If you know what it means to ask a lawyer to plead your case in court, you know what it means to believe. Belief is complete reliance upon another person to do that which you could never do for yourself. In the Scriptures, we are continually exhorted to believe in Jesus. In Genesis 15:6, we learn that Abraham “believed in the LORD; and the LORD reckoned Abraham’s faith as righteousness.” It was belief, nothing more, nothing less. One of my great concerns is that many scholars, churches, and pastors are muddling the Gospel. They are including in the Gospel the responsibilities of a disciple. When we include baptism, public confession, church membership, and any form of good works with the Gospel, we cancel out belief. Why do I say that? Because Christ plus anything equals nothing, but Christ plus nothing equals everything. We can’t add one single condition to the Gospel other than belief. Have you believed in Christ alone? If you’ve trusted in Christ to bear the penalty for your sins, you’ll spend eternity with Him. I urge you to make sure that you’ve done so.

[We have noted the power and condition of the Gospel, but we must be sure we don't skip over. . .]

3. The Scope of the Gospel. Paul writes that the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Last time I checked, the word translated “everyone” means everyone. The scope of the Gospel includes all men, women, and children. One Mercedes Benz TV commercial shows their car colliding with a cement wall during a safety test. Someone then asks the company spokesman why they don’t enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body, a design evidently copied by other companies because of its success. He replies matter-of-factly, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.” How true. In that category also falls the Gospel, which saves people from far more than auto collisions.

While the Gospel is for everyone, Paul states that it is “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” What does this phrase mean? It means several things: (1) The Jews are the historic chosen people of God. (2) The Jews are the guardians of the Old Testament Scriptures. (3) The Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ, comes to the world as a Jew to Jews. (4) In John 4:22, Jesus said, “Salvation is from the Jews.” (5) The Jewish people are to be evangelized first when the Gospel penetrates a new region. (6) The Jews will enter first into final judgment and final blessing. It’s quite clear that Christianity is a Jewish religion. Our Savior is a Jew and Jews wrote God’s Word. Whether we fully recognize it or not, we’re truly indebted to the Jews. Paul wants us to know that we have a responsibility not to neglect the Jewish people in our evangelistic efforts. The great Old Testament scholar Frans Delitzsch put it well, “For the church to evangelize the world without thinking about the Jews is like a bird trying to fly with one broken wing.” I’ve concluded that I have a responsibility to be more proactive in reaching Jewish people with the Gospel. Although I’ve always had a heart for the Jewish people I’ve always felt that they were someone else’s ministry. Now I’m beginning to recognize that I too am responsible to give financially and even reach out to causes that are seeking to see Jewish people trust in their Messiah.

Before we conclude the scope of the Gospel, we must ask why Paul mentioned this priority of the Jews. Romans 11:17-32 gives us the answer. Paul wants to humble both Jew and Greek and make them deeply aware that they depend entirely on mercy, not on themselves or their tradition or ethnic connections.

To the Gentiles he says, salvation is of the Jews. You’re not being saved by your Greek culture—or any other culture. You’re being saved by a salvation that comes through the despised Semitic people called the Jews. This should humble us and strip us of any arrogance and boasting in any presumed ethnic superiority. It should also vanquish anti-Semitism and fill us with zeal for evangelism to the Jewish people. Similarly, Paul says to the Jews, your salvation isn’t your own. It’s God’s and He gives it to whomever He pleases. The words “also to the Greek” in 1:16 would have been as offensive to the Jews as the words “to the Jew first” were to the Gentiles. What they thought were Jewish prerogatives are, in fact, shared by the lowliest Gentiles who believe. In this single verse both Jews and Gentiles are being humbled. We Gentiles must humble ourselves to be saved through a Jewish Messiah and a Jewish covenant. Jews must humble themselves to receive unclean Gentiles into full covenant membership and share all the blessings of the promise of Abraham. The whole point is that God is the One who has mercy. Ethnicity is not decisive here. There’s no merit with Him. We’re all sinners. So the real emphasis falls back on that wonderful word “everyone” that we started with: “The gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”

[Before we transition to 1:17, we must close our look at 1:16 by returning to the first phrase, where Paul begins by stating, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel." In this opening phrase we discover...]

4. The Confidence of the Gospel. Why does Paul need to make the statement, “I am not ashamed of the gospel?” Why would he be ashamed of the Gospel? Rome was the capital of the world. It was the seat of world culture and pride, the essence of pomp and power. Almighty Rome, the city set upon seven hills. Many may consider themselves far too refined to listen to the words of a preacher regarding some itinerant Jew who died on a Roman cross. Paul may also be tempted to be ashamed because of the opinion of the wise. Even in Athens, the academic center of thought and wisdom, his message was rejected with scorn. Would the wisdom of Rome intimidate Paul? Paul says “No,” he’ll not be ashamed of the Gospel because it’s the very power of God. We must petition God for bold proclamation so that we will speak His Word with power and not be ruled by our fears.

Our service in the Gospel is to communicate it, pass it on, preach it, and teach it. It should be on our lips when we wake up until our head hits the pillow at night. It’s our priority in life and when something is our priority in life we begin to build our lives around it. But how does this become a reality? How can we become bold? How can we get beyond sharing the Gospel as a duty? I believe the answer is to cultivate a “hot heart.” Have you ever had a friend who’s engaged? They go off! They can’t hold back. Now there’s no class offered on how to break the news of your engagement to a friend. The only thing that’s needed is a class on how to shut them up! It’s something that can’t be held back. Our problem is we’re desperately familiar with the Gospel story and the facts lose their impact. We must pray that we’ll be moved by the power of the Gospel as if we heard it for the first time. A good exercise this week would be to study Luke 24:13-36: the Emmaus Road account. Note especially 24:32. By meditating and focusing on the person of Jesus Christ, the heart will retain its heat.

[We have looked at the power, the condition, the scope, and the confidence of the Gospel; now we must consider...]

5. The Core of the Gospel (1:17). Paul uses the word “for” to link his powerful Gospel with the “righteousness of God.” This is the key phrase in the book of Romans. It is used a total of five times. In this context, the phrase reminds us that the “righteousness of God” is present in the Gospel. Salvation is this: God declaring a sinful person righteous because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The moment the Lord declares this sinful person righteous, He then gives this person His righteousness. At the cross, God’s righteousness was satisfied.

[Finally, we arrive at the last facet of the Gospel.]

6. The Fruit of the Gospel. In 1:17, Paul suggests that this “righteousness of God” is revealed in other ways than by merely saving sinners. The expression “from faith to faith” is interesting and important. Faith has its origin but it also has its out workings. The Christian life begins with saving faith and it initiates a life which is characterized by an ever-growing faith. Or simply, those who are already justified shall find a rich experience of life only as they trust God.

Let me attempt to illustrate this with another concept—love. Love is the basis for marriage. Love leads to marriage. Marriage then becomes the context in which a man’s love for his wife (and her love for him) grows. Marriage begins with love and continues to grow and express itself in love. Married life is “from love to love,” just as the Christian life is “from faith to faith.” The “righteousness of God” Paul says, is revealed “from faith to faith.” This “righteousness of God” is revealed when men come to faith and as men live by faith. It’s also revealed through men, as they live out the Gospel. This is the point of the passage Paul cites from Habakkuk 2:4: “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Habakkuk had protested to God that Judah was corrupt, that God’s Law was ignored, and that justice was swallowed up by violence and wickedness. He asked God why He had not come to save His people. God responded in a way that Habakkuk never imagined. God was going to chasten His people with a strong and cruel people—the Chaldeans. They would sweep down on Judah and take these rebellious people into captivity. The cruelty and sin of the Chaldeans would not be excused or overlooked however, for God would punish this people for their pride and arrogance. Habakkuk was horrified. He could not understand how God could use wicked men to achieve His purposes. The Chaldeans, in his mind, were even wickeder than the people of Judah. He determined to “file a protest with God.” He knew he would be rebuked, but he planned to challenge God’s rebuke as well. In Habakkuk’s mind God had a lot of explaining to do.

In Habakkuk 2:4, God’s answer was extensive but we shall only refer to a portion of His response. He assured Habakkuk that His plan was fixed, certain, and coming without delay in spite of Habakkuk’s protest. God said, “…his desires are not upright.” This might have included Habakkuk as well as the Chaldeans. “But the righteous man,” God said, “must live by his faith.” The Lord was telling Habakkuk that he would have to live his life, day by day, by faith. He might not see the day of Israel’s restoration and blessing, but by faith he must believe the Lord’s promises would be fulfilled. His days might be lived out beholding the victory of the Chaldeans and the defeat of his people, but this too must be handled by faith. He must, by faith, understand that Judah’s defeat by the Chaldeans was the chastening by God and was the outworking of God’s good plan and purposes for His people. Faith was, for Habakkuk, and for every other Old Testament believer, the rule of the day, the rule for life. So it is for the New Testament saint as well. All who are justified by faith must continue to live by faith.

At a circus a huge elephant was tied to an 18-inch stake. Could he not easily have pulled it out of the ground and be free? Sure! But he had tried it when he was a baby and was unsuccessful. The elephant had concluded that he could never pull the stake out of the ground. So there he stood, a massive creature capable of lifting whole trees, yet held captive by a puny stake.

Many of us are like that elephant. God has given us all the resources we need to pull stakes out of the ground but we’ve never trained our mind by exercising our faith. What small stake could faith release you from? It may be a difficult marriage, a frustrating job, financial troubles, depression, or an addiction. However large it may seem, in reality it’s merely a small stake. It’s not that we’re big and strong in and of ourselves, because we’re not, but God blessed us with the power of countless elephants when He gave us the gift of salvation. So let’s remember the power of the Gospel and let it transform our lives.

N.B. This sermon was not intended for publication and is, therefore, not well footnoted. Should the reader desire further documentation, this can be provided.

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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