From Faith To Faith Introduction For the last several months I have been teaching an expository series through the book of Romans. What an incredible book! It has taken us 9 weeks to cover the first chapter and I anticipate being involved in this study for a year or more. But this evening I want to take my text from the two verses that are widely viewed as the thesis statement for the whole book of Romans. Tonight s lesson will be expository in nature. For the next few moments we are going to take an in-depth look at these two verse: Romans 1:16-17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Not Ashamed We start with an emphatic declaration: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ Paul uses the negative to emphasize the opposite. o This is a declaration that Paul takes delight in the gospel, o that he has great confidence in the message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is important because, in a cosmopolitan city like Rome, o the sophisticated elite of society might scoff o at a salvation message that centers o around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. They may scorn the very idea that o God would choose to save the world o by becoming a man and dying for our sins. So Paul makes the very strong assertion, o right here at the very beginning of his letter to the Romans, that he is not embarrassed of the gospel. The scoffers aren t going to slow him down. The doubters aren t going to diminish o the message of salvation that he preaches. He is not ashamed of the gospel
o and he is not afraid of the social pressure to conform to the prevalent views of society. o He is not afraid to become the object of contempt for the elite of society. o Their scorn and their threats will have absolutely no impact on his preaching. o He knows that his message will be perceived as a threat by the Jews but he s not going to run from that offense o He knows that this doctrine will be held in contempt by the wise and scholarly pillars of that society, but he refuses to compromise or conform. o This message, is the only saving message and Paul knows it! He will not be ashamed! o He will boldly preach and boldly teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the results, regardless of the circumstances and regardless of what society thinks of him. o Even among the intellects and scholars of Rome, he will proclaim this same saving message: Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world, he was buried in a borrowed tomb and on the third day he was risen from the dead and is, today and forever more, our Lord and savior! Rome is full of idolatry, o worldly power, pride, pomp, corruption, decay, o and Rome will soon become the epicenter of the persecution of Christians but none of this causes Paul to hesitate in the least. Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi, o chased out of Thessalonica, o smuggled out of Beroea, o and laughed at in Athens. He had preached in Corinth o where his message was foolishness to the Greeks o and a stumbling-block to the Jews. o And with all of that history behind him, there is one thing that is settled in Paul s heart: He is not ashamed of the gospel!
Human nature, when confronted with the contempt of the world o and the persistent pressure to conform, might get a little squeamish about preaching the gospel, but not Paul. He will not be ashamed. He will not be silenced. He will not water down the message. And he will not alter this truth to satisfy any person or institution. o And, in the next phrase, he tells us why The Power Of God Paul says: for it is the power of God unto salvation I want you to notice, right off the bat, what Paul didn t say. o He didn t say the gospel has the power to save. He said that the gospel IS the power of God unto salvation! o Paul won t abandon this message, he won t altar this message, he won t compromise or water down this gospel o Because IT IS the power of God! There is supernatural power in this gospel. o There is divine power in the telling of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It doesn t matter how wise the wise men of Rome are, o human wisdom and human philosophy can t improve this gospel: It is the very power of God! This gospel works! o Paul said, when I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead, lives are changed. This is the power of God. o This message of hope and salvation has the power to set men free. Men who are held captive by all kinds of bondage Find their freedom in the gospel of Christ. There is power in this truth. o When we proclaim the gospel, it breaks chains of bondage that have been constructed by years of sin. o When we preach this truth, lives are transformed in an instant.
Just one moment in the presence of God can wash away the pain and guilt of a lifetime of sin. Just one glimpse of the great love of God can melt a heart of stone, it gets past all of the facades and fronts and converts the very heart of the sinner. Just one exposure to this incredible message can forever altar the course of a life and impact the whole fabric of society. o This gospel message IS the saving power of God! Why would Paul be ashamed of this? o It is the solution to all of man s problems. o It is the provision for all of man s needs. o It is the healing for all of man s wounds. This IS the power of God on display! o This gospel isn t just good advice. o It isn t just another self-help message. o This IS the power of God. When this gospel is preached o its not just some preacher up on his soapbox retelling a tired old story about Jesus and the cross. o It is the power of God at work. o Whenever, wherever, and however, this gospel is preached, the power of God is on display. o Under any circumstances, in the midst of any situation, regardless of conditions, when the gospel of Jesus Christ is shared o the power of God is at work! When you share that old, old story, o of how Jesus came from glory, to die for a sinner like me o This isn t just so many words being uttered, this is the very power of God! This gospel message works! To Everyone That Believes Paul said: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth Faith is the key. o It takes faith to activate the power of the gospel. o The saving power of the gospel
comes to everyone who believes. The truth is that those who believe the gospel will obey the gospel message. o Someone once said that only those who believe obey and only those who obey believe. Faith is the critical genesis of salvation. o Having heard the gospel message preached, you have to believe what you have heard. If you believe in it, then you will act on it! In Acts 2 Peter preached this gospel. o He preached Jesus Christ, crucified for the sins of the world. Buried in a borrowed tomb and risen from the dead on the third day. And, when they heard the message, they were pricked in their hearts. o Something in that message rang true in their hearts. Faith springs up within them. And faith demands action. So they said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? o Faith compels you to do. Faith demands obedience. Faith demands that you do something. To say that we are saved by faith o is no different than to say that we are satisfied by eating. It only works if you actually do it. There is nourishing power in food o But it must be acted upon. o You have to consume it. There is saving power in faith o But it must be acted upon. o You have to actually obey the gospel message of salvation! God has been saving men and women by faith since the foundations of the world. o Ever since God put Adam and Eve in a garden paradise called Eden and demanded that they demonstrate their belief in his word by their obedience to a single commandment. o Faith has always been characterized by obedience. o Make no mistake about it. The root of that first sin was doubt in the provision of God. o Faith said God, who loves me, has not kept any good thing from me.
But doubt said, the tree of knowledge is the best tree in the garden and God has kept the best for himself. Satan's appeal was intended to instill that doubt. o Eat of it and you will be like God. o He drove a wedge of doubt between God and man. o He caused them to question God s provision. o To doubt that God had given them the very best that he had. o From the very beginning the relationship between God and man has centered on faith in Gods word. o It is the central message of salvation throughout the whole Bible. And over and over again that message is the same: Saving faith results in obedience. God saved Noah from the flood because Noah built an Ark. God established a covenant with Abraham because Abraham came out of Ur. o It is one thing to say you believe but it is another thing, entirely to act on that belief. James said it best, faith without works is dead! So when the Jews were pricked in their heart on the day of Pentecost o They didn t just want to know, what do we need to believe? o Their question went much deeper than that. o Because they understood that faith in God requires action. o They said: What shall we DO? And Peter declared to them the message of salvation. o He declared the gospel: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He said repent of your sins, o which is a type of death. o We die out to sin, o we die out to the flesh, o we die out to carnality o at an altar of repentance Then he said, be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ. o Baptism is a type of burial, we are buried with Christ in baptism. o When his name is called over us in baptism, we are baptized into Christ Jesus! Then finally that same power that resurrected Christ from the dead
o will fill your life as well. Peter said and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! That s the gospel message of salvation. o Faith compels you to believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. o And that faith demands that you obey the message of salvation! That you identify with his death in repentance, with his burial in baptism and with his resurrection in the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Jew and Gentile For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The great thing about faith is that everyone has it. o This isn t just a Jewish thing. Inclusion in the body of Christ doesn t depend on your bloodline. You don t need to get out your family tree to decide if you are a member of the club or not. It doesn t matter what your name is or who your daddy was or what part of town you live in. o The saving power of the gospel is to every one that believes! Anyone can believe and obey the gospel. o Anyone can respond to the power of God on display in the gospel. o Anyone can be saved. That includes you, and me! Righteousness Revealed Verse 17 begins: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed This righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. o It is revealed in a twofold manner as well. o (1) God s justice is vindicated. The blood of Jesus satisfies his personal sense of righteousness. o (2) Man receives righteousness from God! The righteousness of God is revealed in the fact that God, o who is righteous from everlasting to everlasting, took on himself the nature of a man. o Stepping from eternity into the temporal, God robed himself in flesh so that he could bear the wrath of his own indignation against sin on that lonely hill called Galgotha.
o There cruel men beat him, mocked him, and spit upon him as they drove nails through his hands a feet and thrust a spear into his side. o And he did it all so that he could share his righteousness with us! The very righteousness of God is revealed in the fact o that he who knew no sin, o became the sacrifice for sin, so that we, who were lost in sin, could be saved not by our own righteousness, but through his righteousness! Faith to Faith Paul writes: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: The revelation of the righteousness of God occurs from faith to faith. o The actual Greek reads, literally, Out of faith, into faith. Lightfoot said of this verse: faith is the starting point and the goal. o It is faith, through and through. The revelation of God s righteousness is based on faith, o it is activated by faith and it is revealed to those with faith. It is faith that compels you to obey the gospel. o It is faith that enables you to lay hold of the righteousness of God. o It is faith that lifts you from the depths of sin and compels you to respond to a message of grace and mercy. Faith brings you to repentance. Faith induces you to be baptized in his name. And Faith is what causes you to surrender your life to the infilling power of the Holy Ghost. o From start to finish, salvation is a product of faith. All of it hinges on faith in God, not human works. A powerful truth is evident here: Salvation is a journey. o These verses speak of salvation in the present tense. The gospel IS the power of God. The righteousness of God IS revealed. o The use of the present tense indicates and ongoing process. Salvation is never a past tense event. It is always a present tense thing. We are being saved. o The righteousness of God is still being revealed in our lives. This is a progressive journey from faith to faith.
It is a continual life of faith. Saving faith is not a one time event o that happened somewhere way back in your past. Saving faith is a continuing kind of faith o that compels you towards the final reward of your faith. We live our lives in a continual journey from faith to faith! When I was younger my youth group would go on scavenger hunts all over town. o We would start with a clue that would lead us on a wild search. But at the end of the search, rather than finding our prize, we would find another clue. And so we would begin again. All through the evening we would race from clue to clue. Each one was just a step on the journey o but none of them were the final goal, o they just moved us closer and closer o to what we were striving for. Without being too trivial, that s the way this Christian life works. o When you heard the gospel preached, o faith was born in your heart. Faith compels you to obey the gospel and to begin this faith filled journey through life. o The faith filled life is a journey from faith to faith. It takes you through deep valleys and it leads you to high mountains, it will bring you through barren places and cause you to rest beside still waters. o None of those places is the destination, they are just steps on the journey from faith to faith. o But if you stay the course, if you keep a present tense kind of faith active in your life, eventually that faith is going to bring you safely to heaven s shore. o Then and only then will the work of faith in your life be complete! Until then we live by faith, we walk by faith, we continue in faith and we journey from faith to faith! As it is written
Paul finishes with a quote from Habakkuk 2:4, as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4, reads: Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith. o The just means the righteous. o It refers to one who is in right legal status before God. In the context of these verses it refers to those in whom the righteousness of God is being revealed through faith. o The emphasis is, once again, on a continual life of faith. This is not righteousness that was once revealed. It is righteousness that is presently being revealed. The quotation from Habakkuk comes from a time when wickedness was rampant in Israel o and judgment and oppression were coming because of the sin of Israel. o The prophet was troubled in his spirit and lifted his voice of lament to God. o God s answer to Habakkuk, in paraphrase, was this: I am about to reveal something to you, Habakkuk, that I want you to record so that a herald may go and proclaim it. It is a revelation of my righteousness, and will put all of your fears to rest. In the meantime, however, -- until that comes to pass -- until my righteousness is revealed you who are righteous are going to have to trust me, o and live by faith. There is some bad stuff coming. o Judgment will be poured out. o You will bear that burden along with your nation. There is nothing you can do to fix the situation. o It s going to have to run its course. The just will have to live by faith, not by sight. o until what I have written comes to pass. This is the basis for a life of faith. o God has spoken better things over you. God has declared better things for your life. Our reward is eternal. o The righteousness of God that is being revealed in us declares that there is coming a day when there will be no more sorrow, there will be no more heartache and pain,
Close there is coming a day when this corruption will put on incorruption and this mortality will be swallowed by immortality. That day has not yet come. o Our salvation is not yet finished. o We are still looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promise of God. But until that time, we must live by faith. o We must walk by faith, not by sight. We can t afford to let the things that we see discourage us. We can t afford to let the things that we see rob us of our faith. We can t afford to let the valleys that we have to walk trough and the situations that come upon us to derail this process of faith in our lives. o We must continue this journey from faith to faith! That was the word of God to Habakkuk. No matter what happens in this life: o The just shall live by faith! Faith says I don t have to see it to believe it! o I believe that God has a purpose for my life. o I believe that God has a plan. And I m not going to be so foolish as to think I can judge that plan by my current circumstance. o I will live by faith! There is life in faith. o There is eternal life in faith o But there is also present tense life in faith. We live by faith. o The source, the wellspring of abundant life, is faith in God. Faith is what allows us to have joy even in times of sorrow. Faith is what brings us peace in the middle of chaos. Faith is what gives us hope in hopeless situations. o There is present tense life in faith. The just shall LIVE by faith! Let me challenge you this evening to stop looking at things through the lens of your understanding o And choose to live by faith. o The promise of God does not lie. o It will come to pass! o And faith compels me to believe it no matter what happens!