MPC 7th May 2006.May 7 - Romans 1:1-17 - "A New King in Town"
Phil Campbell MPC 7th May 2006.
It's a rare and heartwarming thing to see a Christian speak in public who's both gracious and bold. It's a tough combination to get right. Because so often when we've got an opportunity to speak publicly, we Christians have got the knack of either sounding harshly judgemental. Or else we go wobbly at the knees. And don't say anything distinctively Christian at all.
I've seen two positive exceptions the last couple of weeks. And both of them were politicians. Tony Blair. British Prime Minister, interviewed on Parkinson. And John Anderson; with his wife Julia; interviewed by Andrew Denton last Monday. Both of them unashamedly speaking about their Christian faith. In a way that was compassionate and humble and very impressive. With John Anderson particularly going a long way to spelling out what Christians are actually on about. And how trusting God makes sense. In the face of a sinful and suffering world.
It couldn't be more clear that John Anderson is a man who is not ashamed of the gospel. More than that, that for he and his wife in the tough personal circumstances they've been through came across as people who were thoroughly committed to living by the gospel as well.
Because fundamentally, the gospel is the message that Jesus is in charge. And John and Julia Anderson clearly came across as people who speak and live as if that's the case.
I want to ask you this morning, is that how it is with you? Because as we come to the start of Paul's letter to the Romans, they're the sort of questions that are going to be facing us.
This is in some ways a complicated book. As the chapters unfold, it's what you could call theologically dense. Big ideas, crammed together as if they've been through one of those car compacters that turns a car wreck into a one metre cube of compressed metal and pulverized plastic.
I was reading an article by NT Wright, widely recognized as one of the world's leading bible scholars, and he says in effect, there's so much going on in Romans, it's actually quite complex to pick the main thrust of what Paul's actually arguing for. He says, "After going round and round this question for two decades, I find myself in the following position..." - which he then expands on for thirty two pages. Which is actually longer than Romans itself.
In a lot of ways Romans isn't simple. But here in chapter 1, there's a simple enough idea to kick off with. Because in chapter 1 verse 16, the apostle Paul, the messenger of Christ Jesus, he wants to say very clearly - have a look at his words - "I am not ashamed of the gospel."
Sometimes you and I might be. Sometimes we're inclined to take a backward step.
So for instance, my first week at my new job as a graduate engineer with Main Roads NSW. A bunch of guys standing round at lunch time, and one of them says to me, "You gotta watch out for Bruce over there. Cause he's a real Bible Basher. One of those born-again Christian types."
Now there's me. A Christian, and nobody knows it, cause I'm the new guy at the office. So what do I say? Am I going to be bold, and make a stand? Am I going to look for a chance to say, "Well, I'm a Christian too?" Am I going to say to myself, I'm not ashamed of the gospel cause the gospel's the power of God? You know what I did?
I went red in the face. My palms got sweaty. My heart started racing. And I took a big bite of my sandwich and said nothing at all. And at a guess, you've probably had exactly the same sort of experience yourself. So had the Romans.
Read it again. Romans 1 verse 16. Paul says, 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."
But I want to take a moment to step back in time with you to think about how this Roman Christians would have heard those words. Because the point is, for them, it wasn't quite the same as just being a bit embarrassed about being a bible basher by the water cooler at work.
I want to take you to Rome. Head Office of an empire that spanned the known world. The city of seven hills; and magnificent buildings, that you can still visit today. The city that all roads really did lead to. Because it was the city that invented roads. Mainly to make it easy for their armies to take over the world. The city that was home in Paul's time for Caesar Nero. One of the first Caesars who didn't just want to be respected. He wanted to be worshipped.
And into that mix, Paul comes as an ambassador, as an apostle, with a message. Which when you think about it could have been slightly awkward.
Run your eye back up to verses 1 to 4; and as we read through them I want to remind you in advance of two things. That the word Christ which kind of rolls off our tongues is a word that fundamentally means king. Anointed Ruler. And I want to remind you as well that when we see the name David mentioned in verse 3, we're talking about the Jewish royal family.
So listen again. To the message this ambassador is so unashamed of. To the message this ambassador is so keen to spread around. In the centre of the greatest empire on earth.
Paul, a servant of king Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his son, who was descended from the great king David according to the flesh and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead... Jesus the king. Our lord.
Do you get the drift? Here's the incredible claim that the one the Romans crucified just a few years before, this Royal Family pretender from that trouble making outpost of the empire called Israel... that somehow by his resurrection from the dead Paul is convinced that he has a higher claim than Caesar. That he's Jesus Christ... our lord. Through whom, he says in verse 5, we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations... including you... who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
I wonder if you can see the dimensions of that.
This gospel message that Paul says he's not ashamed of, this gospel message is the message that there really is a higher authority than the authority of the power and might of Rome. That brings a call for the obedience that comes from faith. Rather than at the point of a sword. That calls all the nations - including the Romans - to belong to Jesus Christ.
And given that he's not coming with an army, I could see how that could kind of look a bit embarrassing. It's like he's staring down a lion while he's only holding a fly-swat. Or so it seems.
But that's what he's planning to do. Verse 8 to 15.
Because the point is, Paul hasn't actually been to Rome yet. But he's wanting to come. And in part, Romans is a letter to prepare the way.
Verse 8 and 9, he says, he's always praying for them, giving thanks that news of their faith has spread around the world. And his prayer is, in verse 10 and 11, that he'll be able to come and visit them. That they'll be able to be mutually encouraged, verse 12, by each others faith. It's not as if he's avoiding Rome because it's Caesar's Head Office. He can't wait to get there.
Because he says in verse 14 and 15, he's equally obligated to everyone. Greek and Barbarian, wise and foolish. "So I am eager," he says in verse 15, "to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Right into the lion's mouth.
Because he says, when it comes to talking about the Lord Jesus, when it comes to spreading word about the world's rightful king, I want everyone to hear it. I'm not ashamed. I'm proud of it. And I'm going take every chance I can. I am not ashamed of the gospel.
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Now, it may be that as you're hearing some of this stuff about the kingship of Jesus, about the obedience that's meant to come from your faith, it occurs to you that maybe Christianity is actually meant to be something that makes a difference to the way you live your life.
You wouldn't guess it with some Christians, I know. Because when it comes to lifestyle decisions, when it comes to attitudes, there's pretty much no difference from the average Roman in the street.
But there should be.
And it may be that there's be more integrity for Christians like that to take on board the comment that came back recently to a minister friend of mine in Sydney after he'd spoken to a group of uni students. This student said on a comment card, "It sounds very much like you're talking about subservience to Jesus. Which I am not interested in."
In a sense, he's got it exactly right. That the claim of the gospel is that Christ means king. That the claim of the gospel is that this resurrected Jesus Christ is the son of God with every right to rule the world. Including Rome. Including you. In a way that actually calls for your obedience in the way you live your life and make your moral judgments and set your priorities and bring up your kids. In a way that tells you what's the important stuff and what's not.
But in case you're thinking like that uni student that the idea of submission to Jesus like that is some kind of negative thing, that it leads to something less than a fulfilling life, can I ask you just to scan back through the passage we're looking at and notice the positives. Because in a technical sense this word gospel that Paul uses to describe his message means good news. And it is good.
a) The Gospel is about the Love of God
So for instance, as he's launching this letter to the Roman Christians who are called to belong to Jesus, do you notice he calls them in verse 7 "those who are loved by God and called to be saints." To be a saint means to be set apart. And they're set apart because they are especially loved by God. And Paul's going to spell it out later in the letter... that in this call to trust in Jesus God isn't setting out to squash our individuality or demean us or repress us or make our lives miserable. He's demonstrating his love for us.
The Gospel is good news about God's love for us.
b) The Gospel is about our Salvation
More than that, if you look down at verse 16, the gospel is good news about salvation. Not just for Jews, but for Gentiles like us as well. And that's ultimately why Paul says he's not ashamed of it.
Read it again. Verse 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."
Which is a weird thing to get your head around, until you actually see it happen. That somehow, he says, this message calling for submission to Jesus has God's power in it... to change lives. To rebuild the fallen world. Has God's power in it to bring people from spiritual death to life.
You don't fully appreciate how good that is til you spend some time talking to someone it's happened to recently. Who'll tell you about the difference it's made; about the change of attitude and change of heart and change of perspective that comes from responding in faith to the good news. That Jesus is actually King.
The world might think you're crazy. Your friends and family might think you're crazy. But the good news is, the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. No matter who.
c) The Gospel is about God's Righteousness
One final note. The gospel is good news because it shows, according to verse 17, the ultimate righteousness of God. And as the letter unfolds, we'll grapple with what that means in multiple ways. But for now, take on board that it's a good thing, isn't it, that at the heart of what we're on about is that God isn't just about love. But he's about loving justice. That at the heart of what we're on about is that God is righteous to the core. And that he's in the business of calling together a righteous people. Through the obedience that comes from faith.
All of which, as I said, we'll be exploring as Romans unfolds. With the challenging news of the kingship of Jesus. With the good news of God's love. Of God's righteousness. And of our salvation.
Can I finish by asking you this morning to think on two questions.
How are you going at the obedience that comes from faith?
And how are you going at being unashamed of the gospel?
Because on the first point, if there's nowhere in your life that you can identify a point where your faith is pushing you to an uncomfortable obedience, I wonder if you're really living under the kingship of Jesus at all? I mean, maybe you're just as Garnet suggested a few weeks ago just treating Christianity as a hobby? And so in things like honesty. And self sacrifice. And moral purity. And marital fidelity. All the stuff where it's so often so much easier just to do what you like... there's actually meant to be an obedience that comes from your faith. That shows in reality you're committed to serving the lord Jesus. And not just suiting yourself.
How is it with you?
And the next question follows on. In a sense the two go hand in hand, and I think if you did see the John Anderson interview I mentioned at the start you'll know what I mean. Because if you're living the hard yards of the Christian life you've somehow got more authority to talk about it. But the question is, how are you going at being unashamed of the gospel?
I mean, I'm not suggesting you make yourself into one of those pain in the neck crazy eyed people who'll try to force Jesus into every conversation to the point where people are avoiding you at the office. But on the other hand there are so many Christians who just say nothing. Because they're somehow embarrassed.
The gospel is good news. And it's transforming news. And so it's great to have an opportunity to share it whenever the occasion arises. I heard Michael Bennet speaking a few weeks back. He's the author of Christianity Explained, that course that's been used all over the world. And Michael said, you know, some people are gifted evangelists. They're terrific at sharing the gospel. But he said, I'm not one of them. But he said, it's exactly like cooking. He said some people are gourmet chefs. Most of us aren't. Which doesn't mean if you're not a gourmet chef you don't cook the family dinner every day. And sometimes even throw a dinner party. He said, all over Brisbane, thousands of people are at the stove cooking their steak and potatoes every night. And that's how the vast majority of people get fed. Not by a gourmet chef. But by an ordinary cook in an ordinary kitchen. He said, it's like that with the gospel. You don't have to be great at it. You don't have to be a professional. All we need is thousands of Christians all over Brisbane who'll speak openly and naturally about what it means to follow Jesus when ever the opportunity arises. Because they're not ashamed of the gospel. And they know it's the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.