Oct. 30, 2016 A Trustworthy Word by Pastor Josh Sheldon

Romans 1:16-17 as the Trustworthy Gospel

Well, it occurs to me that this is very much God's providence that we come to these verses on this day the day before the 499th anniversary of Luther's Reformation igniting theses which we spoke of just a few moments ago.

And I didn't plan it that way but in a very big way, it's propitious. These are the very verses Romans 1 16 and 17. These are the verses that altered Luther's Catholic doctrine. These are the ones that made him finally understand that life with God is not about his effort to be good.

Now about him trying to be righteous or making himself right before God. But it's all by faith. These are the verses where Martin Luther understood that it's Faith in what God has done. It's a declaration of God upon all those whose faith is in the completed and And righteous inducing work of Jesus Christ on the cross faith in that and faith only by faith in him and In that cross the guilty sinners declared righteous by God the Father.

This was the Augustinian monks soul freeing discovery and God willing as we go through this this morning. Just these two verses it will be yours, too. Here's my paraphrase of these two verses and as I read to you my paraphrase understand it is just that it's a paraphrase.

But I'm going to betray for you how I've interpreted this passage. And I'm going to betray to you. Also the point I'm going to be arguing for this morning I think I'll come through fairly clearly and as I read this It will allude back to verse 15, which Conley read to you a moment ago.

I Am anxious to preach the gospel to you in Rome, of course, that's verse 15. The reason I'm anxious to do that is and now we're going to begin at verse 16. The gospel has never let me or anyone else down.

The gospel has never let me down. It is completely reliable and in the end it will vindicate all whose trust all whose hope all whose faith is in it. The gospel in which I have unwavering confidence is the very power of God that reaches down from heaven and makes us able to Believe and does in fact save us now verse 17.

In the gospel we have revealed the utter and unequivocal Reliability of God his fealty to his own word as the faith He has given us brings us the life. He has promised us. In a word brethren in a word brothers and sisters.

We can say that the gospel of God to which we were chosen by the father Which was completed by his son, which was in fact effected in us by his Holy Spirit is reliable is Trustworthy it is an effective action of God that actually saves sinners.

It accomplishes what God sent it for. This word that is this gospel that we proclaim in this place this word that saves you from the judgment of God. In hell forever this word is a reliable true actual real Saving word and that's what Paul is getting at here.

You know there are times when we want our Word to to be taken and fully accepted. We don't want any argument we we we're going to attest it to it so strongly we expect no questions to come back. It's simply what I say.

Like in court when we swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing, but the truth so help me God. I Honestly don't know if that actually happens anywhere, but in Hollywood. But to swear by God means to call the Almighty as my witness.

It's like the oaths that we read about in 1st and 2nd Kings as we went through Elijah and Elisha's Prophecy cycles where someone would swear may God do so to me and more besides if I don't do this or do that calling God as witness, and then they they swear the thing that they will do and They're saying God is my witness that I will in fact do this in Hebrew 616.

An oath presumably in God's name is a final word is a grave confirmation for what's being said. In our day people might say I did it according to Hoyle. Hoyle of course of course in the 18th century completed that rule book on how all card games are to be played.

And what do we mean when we say according to Hoyle? Did you do it right? I did it according to Hoyle means No. We don't have to go back and forth about this. I dotted the I's. I crossed the T's. I followed the rules.

That's that kind of an oath. And more to our need this morning more to the point. We're going to make from these two verses in Romans 1 There's the gospel truth. We speak of a gospel truth and Most of us have heard the gospel used this way.

Are you telling me the truth? It's the gospel truth. What book did you use to find out how to fix your car. I use Chilton's repair manual it's the gospel for my kind of a car. That's when we say that we say that's the gospel truth.

We mean what we mean by that we mean that it's utterly reliable. If you follow this repair manual if you do what it says you'll most likely fix your car. It's the gospel and By that and in the context this morning of these two verses.

This is exactly what it means a Reliable a true an actual a literal word from God. That does in fact accomplish what God says is going to accomplish. Paul writes about the gospel. That is the truth. He writes about a gospel that actually is it exists.

It's reliable and it does what God intends. What is that? The salvation of souls. This is what this gospel is about now this morning is our third message since we started this book of Hebrews. And I think for the first time we need to take at least a moment and be sure we follow Paul's Development of his thought.

There's different ways that we're going to follow Paul as we go through these 16 chapters of the book. You know, there's the therefores. Have you ever heard this expression when you see therefore you have to stop and ask What is therefore there for?

That sounds a little bit, you know, Sunday school-ish, but it actually works very well. Because when Paul says therefore we have to stop and find out what the therefore is therefore and Lord willing we shall.

One way of following Paul's line of thought his reasoning the way he develops things his questions Paul will ask assumed questions questions that are implied but what he just said and we have to make sure we understand why he's asking the question and How he answers it leads to the next question questions are a very good way to follow Paul's line of reasoning.

This morning We have our first lesson in that and there are the fours the word Four and we have three of them here and it will do us good to understand Verses 1 16 to 17 by looking at these fours. We have three fours.

Just for I am NOT ashamed of the gospel now, what's he answering there? He's answering up one verse above. Why am I anxious to come to Rome and preach the gospel to you? Also who were there in the church at Rome because I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

Why are you not ashamed of the gospel? This is a second for for in it in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. Excuse me. I got ahead of myself one I'm not ashamed of the gospel and why for it is the power of God to salvation.

So I was speaking of a moment ago that it actually does something. It's the power of God. It actually does save and now the third for Why does it save? For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written.

The just shall live by faith. This is his development of his thought process here. He wants to come to Rome because he's not ashamed of the gospel. He's not ashamed of the gospel because the power of God it's the power of God because it reveals his righteousness.

We hear sometimes That in preaching what we should do is stand here and preach law before gospel. I've heard it actually said that what we need to do before we preach the gospel and how God frees men from the terrors of Hell the first we need to preach the law.

I need to crush you with your sin first. Now I'm not going to suggest even for a moment that the the the wheels of Christian preaching or you come grinding to a halt as Everybody looks in at Providence Bible Church here in Sunnyvale to find out what pastor Sheldon is preaching to a few dozen people.

But I want to point out to you That what we have here in verses 1 16 and 17 as I posited to you a few weeks ago is this gospel. This is where Paul starts is the gospel the next verse and Lord willing next week We will start on verse 118 for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness and the bad news begins and it stays from there until somewhere in chapter 3 maybe verse 20 as Paul labors to bring all men under the just condemnation of God.

To show that Jew and Greek wherever you're coming from all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore you are inexcusable. Oh man begins chapter 2 soul crushing. Judgment justified judgment of God against the sinner and all that before we get to The exposition of faith that comes in the later chapters.

But before that before that bad news before your soul is crushed by your guilt before God. Let me point out to you. And again, like I said all Christian preaching is not going to grind to a halt and wait for this new paradigm.

I'm not suggesting that but before we have that. We have these two verses that are the gospel. And I'm suggesting that before we get that bad news and before we begin looking at that next week. That the hope of the gospel is set out first an article in Martyr Reformation.

Said it this way law must be preached in its full rigor to make people guilty before God. I agree with that. The gospel must be preached in its full sweetness to make people righteous before God. Which of course we would agree with if we try to do anything else with God's threatenings or promises.

We are following our own agenda and not God's and I simply suggest I suggest this gently. That in the book of Romans Paul writing under the inspiration of God. Before we got the rigor. We got the gospel in these two verses that we look at this morning let us Look at these two verses.

He says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel this is Something called a light Otis and I probably pronounced that badly. I think I got the accent on the wrong syllable. It's li t o t e s. It's a literary device.

It's a way of amplification from negation or by understatement. Yes, someone how are you doing? They say not bad. Well, they don't mean that any other possibility is available. They mean the opposite.

They mean I'm doing very well. I'm doing quite nicely. Thank you. It's a way of amplifying the truth by negation. We also do that by understatement. I think it was Martin Lloyd-Jones was speaking of how in World War two if you would ask a British general just before Britain or just before Berlin collapsed perhaps while Adolf Hitler had the gun in his hand with which he commuted suicide and If all those facts were known and you asked an English general how it was going.

He might say something like Well, the circumstances are not totally against us at this one point. Well, that's the same device this is like totis. What he means is it's going great and we're gonna have this thing done in a few moments.

That's what Paul's doing here. He's saying I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Which is of course to amplify quite the opposite. Now the shame Paul has in mind here is something we need to Think about for a moment.

So I'm not ashamed of the gospel I've I've read commentators who actually said what Paul is saying is I'm not ashamed. I'm very quite I'm quite proud of it. I'm very excited about the gospel. I'm seeing it expand outside.

I'm excited about this gospel that I've been preaching, but I think that a Word study Leads us to a little different conclusion there. I think what Paul has in mind is the sort of shame that comes from having acted on a false Assumption for having put your hope in something that didn't pan out that didn't work out a misplaced confidence you Think of people who trusted the famous swindler Bernie Madoff.

I just have four names for you. Very fairly famous people actually three names. Steven Spielberg invested a lot of money with Bernie Madoff lost it. All. Kevin Bacon. Sandy Koufax. You could find this very easily a long list of very famous people who trusted this swindler Bernie Madoff.

That's kind of shame. That Paul has in mind here a misplaced confidence not embarrassment. He's not saying I'm failing to be embarrassed at the gospel. I'm willing to go out in the street corner and proclaim Jesus because I'm not ashamed of him.

That's all true. Paul was willing to go out in the street corner and proclaim Jesus, and he was not ashamed or embarrassed of Jesus. That's all true, but I think the nuance here is a bit different. What Paul is saying is?

I've not put my confidence in the wrong place. I'm not ashamed of the gospel because of the gospel as I was saying at the beginning is reliable is true. It accomplishes something it's an actual thing that God has done these other people.

Like those who trusted a Bernie Madoff. Their constant confidence turns out to have been poorly placed. I think of Psalm 20 verse 7 some trust in chariots and some in horses. Of course that's going to turn out to be a misplaced trust is it not.

They're trusting in man. That's what the chariots and the horses stand for. But he goes on he said but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Because trust in the Lord is a trust that is not misplaced.

This is what Conley read to you from Psalm 71 in you O Lord I put my trust let me not be put to shame. He doesn't mean don't let me not be embarrassed. Though I'm sure we don't want to be embarrassed.

That's never a pleasant thing is it but what he means is Vindicate me. Do not let my trust be shown to have been a falsely placed trust. My confidence is right because it's in you let that be shown to be the case.

Paul is saying here that the gospel of Christ which he served with his whole heart is reliable is trustworthy. Not that he's unashamedly proud. He is unashamedly proud. But here he's more honest unashamedly certain.

He's preaching a gospel in which he has complete Confidence it will not let you down. You'd never let him down. Go on. For it is the power of God. Why are you not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God?

We're not talking about just a nice thought. Okay, this isn't some Peter Pan think a happy thought you're gonna be able to fly type of thing. This is The very power of God. That's invested in this gospel that he sent in his son Jesus Christ.

This power of God this word of God that is the gospel it Accomplishes what he intends and this is part of what Paul means about not being ashamed. Keep this in mind. This is reality. This is truth. This is literal.

The best support I can think of for this is Isaiah 55 verses 10 and 11. He speaks of the Word of God this way. He says for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there. But water the earth making it bring forth and sprout.

Giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth it shall not return to me empty. But it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

It's an active a powerful a living word as effective now as when it was first written. Effective now because it's authored lives now and forever because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever power of God.

The power of God in a word of God that is this gospel. Let me speak to you just a moment about this power. That I don't want you to come away thinking for just a moment that is conceptual. There's just an idea chapter 1 verse 18 of Ephesians.

Paul is praying. That we'd have the eyes of our hearts enlightened that we may know what is the hope to which God has called us. What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the Saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power?

Toward us who believe according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and Seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places. The prepositions there are fairly important.

He worked a power in Christ when he raised him from the dead. But that same power of God this same gospel truth power of God. He works toward us who believe. That power that raises dead sinners to life.

For you who are dead and trespassing sin he made alive in Christ. This by this power of God that is the gospel the gospel is the very power of God. We go to God in prayer. We go confidently because his word says that He both commands prayers and he hears our prayers.

We ask for specific things that we can't actually peg to his words. Sometimes we ask him to do this or that to heal to Help us to strengthen us. Yet we know he's answered so many times in this place. Specifically filling the exact need that we brought to the throne of grace and From there he works as mighty and his actual and his real power on our behalf.

So I think when Paul says he's not ashamed of the gospels. It's the power of God. It's reality. It's a true Actual power from the true living God that he works towards those people Whom he has given faith to believe.

It's a powerful word. It's a reliable word. And here's the specific thing that he intends in the gospel in this power of God. It's the power of God for what? For salvation. It is the power of God for salvation.

Now we've spoken of salvation already. Some do we know what salvation is? Do we know what it is to be saved? Do I have to go through Romans 1 18 to 32 and do all the bad news so we know we're being saved from.

I Love the way RC Sproul says that we don't get saved from hell. We get saved from God. We just say from the wrath of God. The very next verse will go to Lord willing next week. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men, which they suppress in unrighteousness.

You'd be saved from God. Need to be saved from the rigors of God's anger. Against our willing disobedience to his law in a word we need to be saved from hell. And salvation being quite the opposite of that.

We think of in Luke 16 and poor Lazarus when he got saved it was a time of comfort. Of course contrasted against the rich man who was in torment. This is what we're talking about here. It's the difference between heaven and hell.

And The only answer that will mark out that difference is faith in Christ. By this gospel by this true actual living word. That is the very power of the very power of God to actually in fact save you to save you from God's rightful judgment and Bring you into the arms of Christ.

Power of God for salvation. And for whom what's the extent of this thing? What's the extent of this gospel that is real that is powerful that actually accomplishes what God says he sent it for? It's the Jew first and also to the Greek.

And who does he mean by that? Simply everyone who believes. All who have faith to believe this message to the Jew first also to the Greek. He's simply including everyone is to God be the glory. Oh perfect redemption the purchase of blood to every believer the promise of God the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives the salvation denied no one.

Who will come to Christ and plead with him for forgiveness of their sins by faith and what he did on the cross according to? This gospel that we've just begun in this book. It's the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

And we can just move in move along and say How does the gospel accomplish this? If I'm preaching this to you, I'm pleading with you to believe this gospel to be saved from the rigors of hell and To come to Christ in faith for forgiveness of sins and I'm telling you that this is a real word of God.

It's an actual power. It's not just a conceptual thing. How does it accomplish this for in it in this gospel or by this gospel for in it? The righteousness of God is revealed. God's righteousness and what is that?

Here in this specific context is simply his reliability. It's the word of God. It's the promise of the Scripture that if you will believe this gospel It will accomplish what God says it will accomplish.

It is a reliable a true a trustworthy word. Reliable because God who sent us this word is reliable. This idea of Righteousness and how that relates to reliability is something we can talk about for just a moment.

I Don't want to go into a long Excursus on this but Noah was called a righteous man. Judah said that Tamar was more righteous than he. Psalm 34 verse 21 speaks of those who hate the righteous which implies that there are righteous people to be hated.

And then Psalm 146 verse 8 says the Lord loves the righteous which of course implies that there are righteous to be loved. Just one more psalm for Psalm 11 verse 7 says for the Lord loves excuse me for the Lord is righteous.

He loves righteous deeds. The upright shall behold his face. Now what is this righteousness? We're talking about here in its most basic form this idea of righteousness Means to act in accordance with your word and in accordance with the your nature and the commitments placed upon you by your time and your place.

Be true. Would be a very simple way to put it but to act in accordance with your nature and with your word and the commitments that are placed upon you if it's that simple and There's a lot more to it.

We know that but just for this morning. Keep it that simple ask ourselves. Why does God love righteous deeds? Because righteous deeds reflect his nature they reflect who and what he is. And of course God's righteousness this righteousness that is revealed in the gospel.

His is of a special sort. If we could ever be righteous, it's only by analogy. Never like God not even close. This is of a special kind. He is always and constantly perfectly righteous righteous. Not just by standards of time and place but by his nature, which is perfect holiness.

Unbound by any expectations of code or conduct outside of himself. You see God's righteousness his only calculus that he uses to initiate his actions is his own. Psalm 35 verse 5 and 6. Pardon me. Your steadfast love O Lord extends to the heavens your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like the great deep Man and beast you save O Lord. Psalm 96 verse 13 for he comes for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the people's in his faithfulness.

In other words, he judges in perfect accord with his nature and his word. Now we could go on with this subject of God's righteousness and it's going to come up Again as we go through this book of Romans, so we'll be able to come back to it.

But I want to get on with Paul's point. Righteousness here means to act in accord with your nature with the demands are placed upon you. God is righteous in that he always and only and perfectly does everything in accord with his nature and his self-declared word and that Brothers and sisters is what is declared in this gospel.

The gospel has to do with the forgiveness of sins. God in his righteousness does just that he forgives. Exodus chapter 34 verses 6 and 7 as I read these verses remember. This is God revealing himself to Moses.

Moses is in the cleft of the cliff he's protected God's hand over his eyes as God passes by and Moses able to look and hear him as his back parts go past. And here's how God declares himself says the Lord the Lord a God merciful and gracious.

Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness keeping steadfast love for thousands. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.

Now what does this to do with righteousness? Isn't it more about his mercy? Well, it is about his mercy. That's true. But if he is righteous and he is and if that means that he acts in accord with his own word.

And of course he does then to be righteous. He must both forgive the guilty as he says he does and at the same time not clear the guilty as He says he doesn't and this is just what is revealed in the gospel how God can keep his word here.

And Maintain his righteousness in this gospel that reveals his very righteousness. You see by the gospel God forgives iniquity and transgression and sin by the same gospel he holds the guilty guilty so much so that the sins of one generation are visited upon the next and This is the righteousness of God.

I Explain it this way. You see Jesus Christ Became our guilt. 2nd Corinthians 521 makes this clear. Now if you're following along in the ESV Bible, which we've just switched to I've got to apologize. I haven't been able to change my memory yet.

I still have it in the New King James. But Jesus became our guilt. For he for God the Father he made him God the Son. He made him who knew no sin. Tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin. He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us.

You see Jesus Christ became our guilt. God condemned him as if he became sin itself. By faith our punishment has been satisfied and so God can in righteousness Declare us to be cleared. Do you see that?

If God revealed himself to Moses and to us in Exodus Saying he keeps his steadfast love. He forgives iniquity and yet he will not clear the guilty. How can he work that out? How can he forgive sinners, which is what we are?

And not. And Still hold us guilty. Our guilt was put on Jesus Christ. And this is the gospel. We've been talking about this being an actual gospel an actual power of God not just the resurrection. But the power of God that put our sin our guilt upon Jesus Christ.

He became the guilt. God did not clear him. He was punished for us. And by faith our punishment is satisfied in him. This is not an uncommon theme in the Bible, by the way. This is what Abraham had in Genesis 15 verse 6 he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

He believed God's promises and God reckoned that to him to be for righteousness. How are we righteous before God the same way reckoned imputed. An act of God whereby he says I count this one not guilty.

And how can that be how can we who are guilty be cleared because guilt was put on Jesus Christ. This is how God maintains his righteousness. This is how this gospel is a real actual gospel. Revealing the righteousness of God as he keeps his word perfectly.

This is the gospel. This is God's saving action upon on behalf of sinners. This is how we are declared to be righteous and therefore able to come to God be able to stand before him we go on. You got this reveals the righteousness of God from faith for faith.

Some translations say from faith to faith. One commentator says that this is Paul's excitement about the spread of the gospel. Another says it's about the growth of faith in the individual as we grow in faith.

Still others say it's a source destination thing with God giving faith to men He being the source we being the destination. The NIV interprets rather than translates this but I think it gets it right it gets the idea across for in it for excuse me for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed a Righteousness that is by faith from first to last.

That gets the idea across. It's all of faith. This gospel that we're talking about here this salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. By faith, I don't like the way the NIV says a righteousness of God.

It sounds like it's sort of indefinite. I've been arguing all morning that this is a definite a true a real an actual a literal thing that we're talking about here. So I don't like a righteousness too much as though God has other modes of righteousness.

He might display. We're talking about the gospel revealing the righteousness of God. But the idea that this righteousness is revealed from start to finish by faith. I think that's spot-on and so as we think about this imputed righteousness that this gospel provides us.

Circle back to Abraham for just a moment with me. Why was he righteous? Because he believed God he had faith by what cause. Did Abraham the father of the faithful by what cause did he believe? The original language in Genesis 15 6 helps us a little bit.

The verb believed it says he believed God and that was counted to him as righteousness. That verb is in a form that we call hyphil. And it's in a perfect you could say it this way Abraham was caused to believe.

Which had current effect in his life and God counted his faith as righteousness. It was imputed to him faith from start to finish is from God. It is focused on God is because of God that anyone can believe and it has current effect in us if you do believe God in the gospel of his son reveals his righteousness, which we apprehend and believe and trustingly rely on by faith and we go on as It is written the righteous shall live by faith.

That's a quote of course of Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4. And with this we will wrap these things this up this morning. Never look with me at Habakkuk on page 785 in your pew Bible. Remembering as I've been saying earlier.

How this affected so much Martin Luther as we think about that the day before Reformation Day. Which I should be there with you. Paul says as it is written the righteous shall live by faith. Now in the first chapter of Habakkuk.

The Prophet is wondering how God can use wicked men to bring judgment against his people. And look at verse 13 of that first chapter. I think it sums it up pretty well. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look on wrong.

Why do you look idly? Why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? Wonder of course how God can Ignore wickedness not act immediately against it.

How he could use wicked Babylon. Which is the nation's that's going to come and bring God's righteous judgment against his people. We'll look down at chapter 2. He says I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and Look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my Concerning my complaint and the Lord answered me.

Write the vision make it plain on tablets. So he may run. Who reads it. For still the vision awaits. It's a point of time it hastens to the end. It will not lie if it seems slow. Wait for it. It will surely come it will not delay.

He goes on say behold his soul is puffed up. It is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. There's some question about whose soul is puffed up. I think the best fit is the Babylonians the very ones being sent by God to bring judgment.

But what he's saying here is that the righteous ones remember verse 113. Where the ones being judged are more righteous than the ones who are bringing the judgment. If righteous they are Will live through the terror to come now.

How so. By their faith the righteous shall live by their faith by total reliance on the promises of God by his word. Those who by faith obeyed Jeremiah for example when they were told to surrender. We're told this is God's judgment.

Go willingly into exile, and you will live. They did. Others Who didn't by faith follow God's Word were less fortunate. You can read about that in the end of Jeremiah's prophecy. Says the just shall live by faith shall live is in the form of continuous action.

They lived through the disaster and they would Live as exiles Continuously by the same faith that saved them when the disaster came. Paul's word has much the same sense to it in fact is exactly the same word used in the ancient Greek translation of the original Hebrew.

Habakkuk 2 4 and Romans 1 17 both present to us the same thing which is lives lived by faith in the face of impending judgment. This is really actually set up for next week's message. Because the just shall live by faith and if chapter the rest of this chapter says for the wrath of God has been revealed.