Romans chapter number one. And if you are able, if you would please stand as we read the word of God together. Romans chapter 1, and we'll go ahead and read verse 15. Paul says in Romans chapter 1 and verse 15, so as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you, Lord, for the songs that we've heard. And now, Lord, as we open up your word, I pray that you speak to us And Father, I pray that if someone here this morning has never been saved, Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to them their lost condition, and Father, draw them to your Son, Jesus, today. What a glorious day to be saved on this Easter Sunday. We pray, Lord, your blessings upon as we preach. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. I want to preach to you this morning, not necessarily about the subject, per se, of the resurrection, but I want to preach to you on the gospel. of Jesus Christ, which is the good news. And it is the gospel of Christ that it is good news to us as sinners because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. So I want to speak to you this morning on this thought, the glorious gospel of Christ. You know, the word gospel literally means good news. And it occurs some 93 different times in the Bible, exclusively in the New Testament. But the gospel is the good news concerning Christ and the way of salvation. It is the good news how that man can be right with God. It is the good news that man can have a right relationship with the Father. And really the key to understanding the gospel is to know why the gospel is good news. And to do that we must start at the bad news. And the bad news is this, we are all sinners. We have broken the laws of God. And listen, we cannot keep the laws of God. If you wanted to know what a person would look like or act like if he could perfectly keep the laws of God, this is what someone would be like if he kept the Ten Commandments. He would always love God with all of his heart, soul, and mind. He would always love his neighbor as himself. He would never make a God to suit himself either by hand or in his mind. He has always given God's name reverence. He's always honored his parents perfectly. He's never stolen anything, not even a paperclip or a 10-cent pencil. Well, listen, the truth is we are not like that. We have all sinned, Romans 3, 23 tells us, before the Lord. But the reason God gave us His law is that first of all it reveals his holy character. It reveals his holy character. Leviticus chapter 19 in verse 2 says, speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy. And so we understand that God is pure. He is holy. He is the standard of what is right. He is the standard of all truth. There's no sin in God. First John chapter 1 and verse 5 tells us God is light. And in Him there's no darkness at all. There's not a blemish of sin. There's not a spot of sin whatsoever. And so the law teaches us that God is holy. But also another reason God gave his law was in order to show us how desperately sinful we are. How desperately sinful we are. Romans chapter 3 and verse 20 says, therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. And so Paul is saying that there is no salvation through keeping God's law because we are utterly incapable of doing so. And this is really the purpose of why God gave the law to man. Because we have God's law, then we at least, we have at least the knowledge or the awareness of the fact that we are sinners. And it's really a gracious thing that God would give us the law, because that way we can see that we are broken. Otherwise, if God did not give us the law, we would never know that we were sinners. And so the gospel is called good news because it addresses the most serious problem that we have as a human being, and that problem is simply this. God is just and he is holy and we are not. That's it. And listen, and we at the end of our life, we're going to stand before a just and holy God and be judged. And we'll be judged either on the basis of our own righteousness or the lack thereof or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness. He lived a life that we can never live here on this earth. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God. Listen, not for his own well-being, but for all of those who will believe. Do you understand this morning that Jesus has done for us what we could never possibly do for ourselves? Listen, but not only did he live that perfect life of obedience, he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and righteousness of God. And please understand me this morning that for God to forgive, for God to forgive anyone is a very, very costly matter. Why? It costs the sacrifice of his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so valuable was that sacrifice that God raised his son from the dead. Hallelujah for that. And as the scripture tells us, so that Christ died for us, he was raised for our justification. Well listen, the fact that Jesus conquered sin and death is good news indeed. Now going back to our text here in Romans chapter 1, this is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. This is why Paul is anxious to preach the gospel, the good news to those who are in Rome. And before we look at these verses in great detail, we need to see really the flow of Paul's statement here in verses 16. He begins verse 16 with the word for, which really connects it to the previous verse, verse 15. And there Paul said, he said, I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. And so we could ask Paul, Paul, why are you so eager to preach the gospel to those in Rome? Paul would tell us, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And we could ask Paul, Paul, why are you not ashamed to preach the gospel? Paul would say, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. We could ask Paul, how is this gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes? Paul would answer by saying, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Now listen, understand that this is not a new idea that Paul has thought up and came up with all himself. He is actually quoting an Old Testament passage of Scripture. There he quotes Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4 where it says, as it is written, the righteous man shall live by faith. And so we see very clearly that the Gospel message is not just a New Testament message, it is a Bible message. And really the first picture of salvation in the Gospel is seen in the very first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis. So I want us to look at this passage of Scripture this morning and I pray that the Lord would give us an understanding of the gospel and that understanding would lead us to believing the gospel and then that belief, that belief of the gospel would lead then to our proclamation of the gospel. Well, listen, since the gospel is so precious and since the gospel is so glorious, notice with me first of all that the gospel must be protected. The gospel must be protected. That is, the gospel must be guarded. It must be kept from corruption. We see this in Jude in verse number three. It says, Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation. I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. And here we see Jude, he is exhorting his readers to protect, to guard the message of the gospel. And here in verse three, we see this powerful expression that that phrase contend earnestly. and that stresses the need to defend the truth continually, to contend for the truth, defend the truth vigorously. And Jude is saying that we are to fight to protect the gospel, the message of the gospel. And Paul told young Timothy, he told Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith. Why? Because there are those who want to corrupt the message of the gospel. And he also tells Timothy, Timothy, guard or protect what was committed to your trust. That was a message of the gospel, the gospel of Christ. The phrase contend earnestly is a compound word from which we get our English word agonize. And so this is something that we must be very, very concerned about. Because we understand that from Jude's day, when he wrote this, even until our day, true believers have always had to battle for the purity of the message of the gospel. And so now we are challenged to protect and guard the fate, or protect and guard the gospel that tells us. And that tells us, obviously, that the gospel is always under constant attack. And really, what my prayer is this morning is that through the preaching of the gospel of Christ, even though we've heard it so many times before, and some of you may have already turned me off because you're like, hey, I already know the gospel. I pray that through the preaching of this message that you'll love and cherish the gospel more than you ever have before. Even those of you who've been saved for years and years, that you'll love and cherish the gospel message. Because here's the reason why we ought to love it. Because the more you love something, the more you cherish something, the more apt you are to protect it and to guard it. The reason why you guard your children and protect your children from those that might corrupt them is because of your great love for your children. And so I pray that through this message that you'll have a greater love for the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, I want us to look at four statements about salvation. Different aspects of the gospel that we need to guard and protect that really stem from our text that we need to always remember. The first thing is this. We must always remember that salvation is the main need of every person. Salvation is the main need of every person. Paul's main message focused on the main need of every human being, and that is that they need to be reconciled to a holy God. That was his message. And so if salvation is the main need of every person born into this world, this means Paul preached the gospel of Christ, which is the answer to man's need. Let me just say very quickly that Paul's main message or Paul's message was not focused on preaching a prosperity gospel. He did not preach a prosperity gospel, which means that the prosperity gospel teaches that the believer is told to use God as if he is some type of a glorified genie. that whatever we wish for, so long as we have enough faith, then God will then grant it. And, you know, a couple of years ago we heard of one prosperity gospel preacher by the name of Creflo Dollar, and he's rightly named, I would say, asking for $65 million for a private jet. because flying commercial was just not suitable to him. And he kept saying, listen, there's nothing wrong with me believing and having enough faith to believe that God would do such a thing. Well listen to me beloved, this prosperity gospel, this name it and claim it gospel is a false gospel. The Bible does not teach that the believer can use God however he wishes. Rather it teaches us just the opposite. that it is God who uses the believer for his own purpose and glory. Paul did not preach a name-it-and-claim-it gospel, a prosperity gospel. And then also Paul did not preach some type of a social gospel. Paul did not preach a social gospel. Those who teach a social gospel are those who seek to help those living in poverty to better themselves or to help those suffering from alcoholism and to help to rehabilitate a crime-ridden area. Now, these things are things obviously that need to be addressed. But here's the thing, beloved, man's greatest problem is not poverty. as bad and awful as that is. Man's greatest problem is not having a good education. Man's greatest problem is sin. And man needs understanding that they need Jesus to save them from their sin. You know, Jesus himself, he never preached a social gospel. Jesus lived in one of the most corrupt societies this earth has ever seen. But Jesus never led marches in Jerusalem demanding change. Listen, Jesus did not come to this earth to be a political or a social reformer. Listen, the gospel Jesus preached did not have to do with social reform or social injustice or political change. No, listen, he preached the saving power of the gospel and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. And that was Paul's message as well. So salvation is the main need of every person. Now, why is that? Because all have sinned. Every one of us, every person born in this world has sinned before a holy God. All are alienated, therefore, from God who is absolutely righteous. And because of this, because we are sinners, we are all under God's wrath. We see this in verse 18. Paul said, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Listen, beloved, this is why salvation is the main need of every person, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. And so salvation refers to being rescued from God's wrath and judgment that we deserve because of our sin. So my claim or my point to this church here at Beryl Baptist is this issue that we must never think we must try to sell the gospel by somehow just glossing over the negative aspects of the gospel such as mentioning the words sin or repentance or wrath or judgment. We should never think that we should only just focus then on the positive side of it. And if we do so, then we fall into the sin of being ashamed of the gospel and not protecting the gospel as we ought. Listen, beloved, if we are all basically good, then we don't need God's salvation. Christ did not need to die on the cross if we just need a little encouragement to be made right with God. And so, friend, we need a Savior. Why? We need a Savior who was crucified for our sin because we are all by nature ungodly rebels who are under God's righteous wrath. Now we understand that this is very offensive to the natural man. This is very offensive to the person who is lost. But if we pull away from preaching the truth on this point, we miss the very heart of the gospel. And the gospel is only good news to the person who understands the bad news that they are sinners. And if they don't repent, they will be eternally punished. Notice, secondly, that salvation requires the power of God alone. Salvation requires the power of God alone. That the gospel does not merely tell people about the power of God. The gospel is, Paul says, is the power of God for salvation. This means that salvation is not something that sinners can attain or achieve on their own efforts or their own works. And again, if that were so, Christ would not have to die on the cross. It also tells us that salvation is not some type of a joint project where God has done his part and now you must contribute your part. You say, hold on a second, Brother Wade. Don't I need to put my faith and trust? Don't I need to choose Christ? Absolutely you do. Absolutely. But you need to understand that saving faith, including repentance, is not something that sinners can produce on their own. Listen, it is the gift of God so that no one will boast. Look at Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8. Paul says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And then look at Philippians 1 29, it says, for to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. So it's very crucial to see that salvation does not depend upon necessarily our human decision, but on the very power of God. Listen, salvation is when God imparts life, new life to a dead sinner, and that is something that is impossible for men to bring about. And I tell you, beloved, this is so clearly seen in John chapter number 11. When Jesus cried out, Lazarus, come forth. And no doubt that those who were gathered around that tomb there, they probably thought that Jesus was crazy, that he was speaking to a dead man to come out of a tomb. This man had been dead for some four days. But we know that in John chapter 11, We know that the power of God through the words of Jesus imparted life, gave life to a dead man. And friend, let me tell you something, that is what the gospel is like. That is what the gospel is like. I think about when the rich young ruler, when he walked away from Jesus, he walked away from eternal life, Jesus told his disciples in Matthew chapter 19, he said to his disciples, truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples were very astonished and said, then who can be saved? Jesus replied, with people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Amen? In other words, salvation is of the Lord. It requires the very power of God. It is the power of God imparting new life to those who are dead in their trespasses and sin. Notice also that salvation demands the righteousness of God. to be upheld and applied to the guilty sinner. Verse 17, Paul explains why the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. He says, for in it is the righteousness of God is revealed. Before we go on, we need to understand that the gospel is not of the religious result of the religious genius of Paul. The gospel is not something that Paul came up with himself. Rather, it is revealed to us by God through his Son. That is the gospel. We see this in Galatians 1, verse 15. When Paul explains his own conversion, he says, but when God, who had set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me. And so we understand that the gospel comes to us not because we've outsmarted other folks and because we're smarter than those and we have grasped it. It only comes to us because it has been revealed to us from God. We notice in verse 17 that Paul does not lead off here with the love of God in his preaching and his gospel preaching. Paul did not say at the very beginning where he talked only about the love of God, but rather he mentions the righteousness of God. Certainly the gospel message absolutely displays God's love for sinners, but you have to understand the love of God in and of itself is not a stumbling block or foolishness to sinners. Matter of fact, they rather like the idea. Because if God is loving, then they can view him then as just their good old buddy in the sky. If that's the only thing we emphasize in the gospel of God's love, then we have not preached the gospel correctly. So we realize that it is the righteousness of God that presents a problem. Because we all know that we have sinned. And when we present the Lord as holy and righteous and that He demands those who have been saved by His grace, then that creates a problem. And if you want to stir up some issues today, you just claim and you just preach that Jesus is the only way. And it'll make many folks upset. But this is what Paul means when he says that when the gospel is the righteousness of God is revealed. That is the gospel reveals how sinners may be righteous or justified before God by faith. Notice Philippians chapter three, verse nine, Philippians three, nine. Again, Paul says not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, But that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God through faith. So Paul here, he states that there's no way that a person can be saved by keeping the law. One has to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Notice also that salvation is by faith from start to finish. Salvation is by faith from start to finish. We notice in our verses in verse 16 and 17 that Paul mentions believing or the word faith some four times in these two verses. He says, to everyone who believes. Then he says that phrase, from faith to faith. And then he says, and the righteous man shall live by faith. So listen, if salvation comes through faith plus works, and that is what the Catholic Church teaches and other cults teach, then listen, that is not the good news. Because you can never know that you have ever piled up enough good works to qualify. But if God declares guilty sinners to be righteous or justified, the instant they believe, that is the good news of the gospel. Very quickly, I want us to notice some things that we need to be very clear on. First, saving faith in Christ, having saving faith in Christ is not just having a general belief about that he is a savior. It must go much deeper than that. Beloved, listen to me this morning. The devil and his demons believe that Jesus Christ is a savior. Listen, there are those who have the intellectual knowledge that Jesus is the Savior, but they have never, never believed from their heart. Saving faith always has three elements. First of all, with a mind, we must understand the context of the gospel. If you're going to be saved, you're going to have to understand basic concept of the gospel. That is who Jesus is, what his death on the cross means, and that he was raised from the dead. Those are some basic things you need to know. Second of all, from our heart, we must respond to the truth of the gospel. That is where we agree that it is true and our agreement causes our hearts to be sorrowful about our sin, but also to rejoice in the free offer of God's grace. Romans 10 and verse 10 says, for with a heart man believes unto righteousness. And then thirdly, saving faith includes commitment to Christ, where we trust in Him. and His death on the cross as our only hope of eternal life, and we follow Him then onward as Lord. Saving faith is not a work that we do, but rather simply receiving all that God offers to us in Christ Jesus. Saving faith is the hand that receives the free gift of God. Notice also that we need to understand what Paul means by the phrase from faith to faith. Now I understand that commentators have many different views, but I think Paul is emphasizing here the fact that we receive the gospel by faith and we keep on living by faith the rest of our life. This is supported by the fact that the word believes. is a present participle bringing out the fact that saving faith is not a single event, but rather an ongoing, lifelong process. Now, by way of closing, I want to mention two different things. This is just my second point, but I'm closing, okay? Don't get angry. But in closing, I want to ask you a few questions. as we think about the second point, and that is the gospel must be believed. The gospel must be believed. And I ask you this morning, have you believed the gospel? Have you abandoned all of your self-righteousness and all of your good works and trusted only in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Have you believed the gospel? And then notice, thirdly, The gospel must be proclaimed. The gospel must be proclaimed. Listen, church, we must never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should never dodge warning people about the wrath of God because that isn't a popular thing. We should never be tempted to avoid preaching about the shed blood of Christ as the only remedy of sin because it sounds kind of primitive today. And that is something that our church, as well as others who are preaching a sound gospel message, there is going to be that temptation to conform and to change and God save us from that. We always preach the biblical gospel. The gospel is the good news that God has revealed to us how we can be rescued from the wrath to come. It is the power of God to save everyone who believes. And I ask you again this morning, have you believed the gospel? Have you believed? You say, brother Wade, how does one know that they truly believe the gospel, not just intellectually, but, but really have a relationship with the father through his son, Jesus? How do you know that they believe the gospel? How do you know that I have been saved? Listen, a person will know because their belief has brought about a transformation in their life. There's a change. The Bible talks about that once a person becomes a new creature in Christ, they become that, just that a new creature, a new creation has a gospel message that you believe, you say that you believe. Has it brought about a change in your life? And if your life does not exhibit a change, if your life you do not exhibit the fruit of the spirit, then I would examine this thing that you call salvation. May the Holy Spirit examine us today. Let's pray together. Our Father, I thank you, Lord, for this powerful text, this powerful passage of Scripture. And Father, I've done my best in trying to obey you and to preach what you've laid upon my heart. Father, I pray that you would help us, Lord, as believers, those who have been saved by your grace, I pray that you'd help us to love the gospel and cherish the gospel even more in order that we might guard it and protect it. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to believe it more and more each day. And may our belief in the gospel Give us then the boldness to proclaim it. Oh, Father, I pray that you bless your word. And I pray, Father, that you would just speak to your people and draw the center to Jesus today and be saved. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Preach the cross, preach redemption to a lost and dying world Lift your voice, I'm ashamed of the gospel of His name