Lets Go Tell Everyone (Boldness for Christ)

(Rom 1:14-17 NIV) I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. {15} That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. {16} I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. {17} For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

If he kept quiet, it would be worse than knowing the cure for the most terrible disease of history and refusing to share it Paul felt that he owed the gospel to the world He made a contrast between the Greeks and the Barbarians (non Greeks the Greeks considered everyone a barbarian who did not speak the Greek language and adopt Greek culture). He meant that he owed the gospel to all nationalities and cultureswhether Civilized or uncivilized Industrialized or primitive

A. INTRODUCTION

B. CONTEND: LETS GO TELL EVERYONE 1.

1.1

WHY DO WE NEED TO TELL?

WE ARE INDEBTED TO TELL (V.14)

(Rom 1:14 NIV) I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. The word obligated (opheiletes) means to owe, to be bound by duty, be a debtor Two ideas are being expressed by Paul. He is obligated because: Christ had done so much for him (saved him) Christ had called him to preach (given him a task to do) We are compelled to preach the gospel Paul felt that he could do nothing else, he was obligated and duty-bound to preach it

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Rich or poor

He made a contrast between the wise and the foolish. He meant he owed the gospel to the Educated and uneducated Learned and the unlearned and the

People who have counted the cost and have decided that it doesn't matter how much it costs--they will stand up for what is right. In preaching the glorious message of the living God, moderation totally unacceptable You would not give a moderate warning to a neighbor whose house is on fire.

Motivated unmotivated

Seeking and the complacent

We who know the wonderful news are indebted to get the news out to the world To keep the message to oneself is the most inexcusable and criminal act in all of human history The answer to eternal life is now known and must be proclaimed to the whole world The glorious news that death has been conquered and that man can live eternally must be proclaimed (John 3:16 NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 5:24 NIV) "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

1.2

THERE IS AN URGENCY TO TELL (V.15)

(Rom 1:15 NIV) That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. Paul wanted to take all that was in him and pour it into the people There is nothing that could keep him from sharing, he was using all the energy and effort, all the truth and knowledge of the gospel What we desperately need today is an army of Christian who are willing to stand up and be counted as the people of God People who can be tolerant of insignificant disagreements but who at the same time will absolutely refuse to compromise on the important watershed issue

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 You would not make a moderate effort to save a child from drowning. You would not seek to fight a moderate battle to protect your homeland. To Paul the Gospel of Jesus Christ was exactly such an issue. He believed it to be a life-or-death matter. At times like these you do not equivocate, you do not excuse, you do not draw back. We should allow no hindrance to enter our life that would affect our message We should be possessed and obsessed with readiness to preach (Jer 20:9 NIV) But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Amos 3:8 NIV) The lion has roared-- who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken-who can but prophesy? (Mat 10:27 NIV) What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. (Mark 16:15 NIV) He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. (John 9:4 NIV) As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. (Acts 4:20 NIV) For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Paul had every reason to be ashamed Pauls day was a day of moral degeneracy, the hideous days of Nero people were living in detestable and inconceivable wickedness, they uprightly opposed to the moral righteousness of the gospel Paul was by nationality a Jew a race that was thought by many of that day to be a despicable sub-human race, worthy only to be cursed, ill-used, and enslaved The gospel preached was almost unbelievable A Jewish man claimed to be the Savior of the world. He was a mere man but had a different death of other men he died for all other men. He was said to have risen from the dead His resurrection was the proof that He is the Son of God. Such unbelievable claims made the gospel a contemptible thing in the minds of many. A natural man would shrink from making such phenomenal claims Paul was often rejected, not by just a few people, but by whole communities the authorities imprisoned him in Philippi (Acts 16:1923); the religionists ran him out of Thessalonica and threatened his life in Berea (Acts 17:5-15); the intellectuals laughed him out of Athens (Acts 17:32). His message was considered foolishness to the intellectuals (the Greeks) and stumbling block to his own people (the Jews) Many are ashamed of the gospel. They fear two things in particular

1.3

WE ARE (V.16)

NOT

ASHAMED

TO

TELL

(Rom 1:16 NIV) I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

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Fear of intellectual shame the fear that the gospel does not measure up intellectually A man holds either to the philosophy and thought of the world, or to the philosophy and thought of the Gods Son, the gospel of Jesus Christ and His redemption (Dan 2:22 NIV) He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

(2 Tim 1:7-9 NIV) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. {8} So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, {9} who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, "What is our shame quotient?" Are we ashamed of the Gospel? The Jehovah's Witnesses aren't ashamed of their gospel. The Mormons aren't ashamed of theirs. theirs. The atheists aren't ashamed of aren't

(Rom 11:33-34 NIV) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! {34} "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (1 Cor 1:25 NIV) For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Cor 3:18-20 NIV) Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. {19} For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; {20} and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." Fear of social shame fear of being Ridiculed and mocked Rejected and ignored Passed over and cut off Left without job and livelihood Left without family and friends Abused and killed

The environmentalists ashamed of theirs.

(Prov 29:25 NIV) Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. (Isa 51:12 NIV) "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass,

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 The radical Muslims aren't ashamed of theirs.

In regard to the future, salvation delivers one from the very presence of sin. But the Gospel is only the power of God for salvation to those who believe, that is, to those who take God at His Word when He says we are sinners and that the only way to find forgiveness of those sins is through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. You see, the Cross is a great leveler of people.

2.

WHY SHOULD WE BE UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?

BECAUSE
IT IS THE POWER OF

2.1

GOD

FOR SALVATION (V.16)

(Rom 1:16 NIV) I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. The word for power here in the original Greek is the word "dunamis", from which we get our English words dynamite or dynamic. It refers to raw strength or explosive force. It is often used to describe first-class miracles, in which divine power invades the human condition to accomplish something unique. power The Gospel has that kind of

There is a basis on which all of us can be united, find common ground, break down barriers, stand arm-in-arm, and experience real love for one another. That basis is not that we're all equally wonderful, but that we're all equally desperate for the love of God. There ought to be no distinctions between us because we're all in as much need of God's grace as everyone. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.

It can turn the world upside down. It can shake the empire of the Caesars and outlive it by centuries. But at the same time its target and its goal is not political power or social advancement but spiritual salvation. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation. Salvation is a word that is much bandiedabout in Christian circles but not always understood. I like the following definition of Salvation: everything that leads to the safety, health and happiness of the human soul and spirit. It must begin with the soul's relationship to God by removing the barrier of sin and guilt which creates enmity between man and God. But it doesn't stop there. In regard to the past, salvation delivers one from the penalty of sin. In regard to the present, salvation delivers one from the power of sin.

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One final point is made here in verse 16, and that is that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation "to the Jew first and also to the Greek." That is speaking of a chronological "first," not a first in importance. Historically the Gospel did come first to the Jews, but today it is to be offered to every man, regardless of his race.

Everywhere the Bible repudiates such an idea. The Old Testament prophet called out, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." And in Titus 3:5 we read, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He save us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." It really could be no other way, for if God had set some level of human righteousness as the standard for receiving eternal life it would be very unjust, for some people are brought up in a better environment than others, some receive the benefit of better education than others, some receive better parenting than others, etc. God comes to us, however, with a standard of righteousness that is impossible for any of us to attain and when we finally accept the hopelessness of ever attaining it, God then says He will credit that righteousness to our accounts as a free gift if we will simply put our confidence in His Son. As Romans 4:5 puts it, "To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Lets consider the illustration from Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: If we take absolute perfection as the norm of human righteousness, we might say that the convict has fulfilled 20%, the average man 50%, and the ethical leader 80%. No man who has ever lived has achieved the 100%. . . . Unfortunately there are some people who spend their time trying to increase the percentage of their human righteousness, and thus fail to lay hold upon the totally different divine righteousness, which is provided by the gospel.

(John 7:37 NIV) On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. (Rom 10:12-13 NIV) For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, {13} for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (1 Tim 2:4 NIV) who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (Rev 22:17 NIV) The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

2.2

BECAUSE

IT

REVEALS

RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM

GOD (V.17)

How are you trying to achieve righteousness today? Is it by avoiding the grosser sins, doing deeds of mercy and kindness, giving generously, practicing religious rites and rituals faithfully, or even weighing yourself morally against others who call themselves Christians? Now in order to understand this point we must realize that there are two kinds of righteousness--God's and man's. And these two kinds of righteousness are literally worlds apart. It is a great mistake for anyone to think that human righteousness is just a lesser form of divine righteousness or that there is a certain degree of righteousness in man that is acceptable with God and when a man reaches that point he will find peace with God and get to Heaven.

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 Do not think that the convict can say, "God, I have done twenty per cent by myself and so I need eighty per cent from you." And do not think that the ethically good man can say, "God, you see that I have done eighty per cent by myself and so, fortunately, I need trouble you for no more than twenty percent to make up that which is lacking." On the contrary, the convict must learn to curse his twenty per cent of human righteousness, abandon all hope of salvation by means of it, and come to the cross of Jesus Christ to receive the one hundred per cent of a totally different righteousness which is provided by the Lord Jesus Christ on the basis of His atoning death for sin and sinners. And what is much harder, the good man must curse the eighty per cent of human righteousness, abandon all hope of salvation by means of it, and come to the cross of Jesus Christ to receive the one hundred per cent of a totally different righteousness which does not come from man at all, but which is provided by the Lord Jesus Christ on the basis of His atoning death for sin and sinners. (Mat 5:20 NIV) For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (2 Cor 5:21 NIV) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

"How does God propose to love you when you're unlovable?" "How does God propose to cleanse you when you are dirty?" "How does God propose to reconcile the irreconcilable?" "How does God, who is Right, propose to take wrong and make wrong right? "How does God propose to take a crooked pencil and draw straight lines?" "How does God proposes to take a messed up, broken up, and patched up life and make it a life worth living?" If you want to know the answer to these questions, all are answered in this passage: this righteousness is revealed "from faith to faith." What faith? - From what faith to what faith? It is to believe that One Thursday night, they took Jesus from Gethsemane's garden, to Caiaphas' palace and to Pilate's judgment hall. Then, they took His clothes from Him, and put on Him a purple robe, a crown of thorns and then beat Him all through the night. On Friday, they gave Him a cross and walked Him up the Via Dolorosa. Then they nailed Him to that cross on the hill of Calvary and He died and was buried One Sunday morning before the break of day, sorrowful women came to the tomb and saw an angel announced to them, "He is not here. He is risen. He defeated death. Death, has no more victory? And Grave, has no more sting?"

2.3

IT MAKES (V.17)

POSSIBLE A LIFE OF FAITH

(Rom 1:17 NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Some might ask if God is all He claims to be. They might ask "How does God propose to fix you when you're broken?"

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 The essence of Paul's meaning is: you can have the assurance of your salvation, but it's done by faith from beginning to end. You must start out in faith in order to end up with faith. In the morning my faith says that "without faith it is impossible to please Him." In the evening my faith says that "he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." That's "from faith to faith." In the morning my faith says, "Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." In the evening my faith says,"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son!" That's "from faith to faith." In the morning my faith says, "Jesus came to seek and save the lost." In the evening my faith says, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits upon the throne. And unto the Lamb." That's "from faith to faith." In the morning my faith says, "You are the love of my life. You are my purpose for living" In the evening my faith says, "I walk by faith, each step by faith. To live by faith, I will trust in You" That's "from faith to faith." In other words, in spite of what happens in any day -sickness, sorrow, unemployment, poverty, famine, distress, depression, desertion, anxiety, burnout, and... God has fixed it so that the faith which I begin with in the morning of life is the same faith which I come to rest with in the evening of life. What is faith? Faith is Noah building a boat with no water in sight. Faith is Moses marching to the Red Sea with no means to get across. Faith is three Hebrew boys with no worry on their faces in a fiery furnace. Faith is Ezekiel standing to preach in the midst of a cemetery congregation.

Faith is Job testifying about God's goodness while he was situated on an ash pile. Faith says, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name." Faith says, " 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know, Thus saith the Lord." Faith says, "By and by, when the morning comes, all the saints of God come gathering home. We'll tell the story how we've overcome and we'll understand it better buy and by." Now, if you're still not clear about the meaning of "from faith to faith?" If you still have trouble how the just can live by faith? It means... just trust Him. When troubles come, trust Him. Him. Him. When the wind blows, trust When sickness comes, trust

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 Him.

When depression strikes, trust

When you don't have a dime, trust Him. When you can't make ends meet, trust Him. Him. Him. When the way grows hard, trust When friends are few, trust

When you don't know what to do, trust Him. Whatever life brings, trust Him.

This is the way you will be able to travel "from faith to faith."

C. CONCLUSION
Someone has said, "The Christian must be content to be a nobody who is willing to tell everybody that there is Somebody who is able to save anybody." There is no purpose in the life or ministry of the church unless somebody is being saved. There is no point in maintaining the structures of stone we called churches unless somebody is being saved. Everything we do should be for the purpose of somebody being saved.

We need to tell, because We are obligated to tell We have the urgency to tell We are not ashamed to tell, because save The gospel has the power to reveals the

The gospel righteous of God

The gospel enable one to live a life of faith

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