As true believers of God, we need to be grounded in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, across the nations, there is currently a gospel that’s preaching according to man.  The gospel that is going to be preached to the nations has to be the Gospel of the kingdom that is after God’s heart and according to His Word.

It is crucial that we are grounded in the true Gospel and also preach the true Gospel.  We must be on guard and protected from the humanistic gospel where it preaches that God is reigning in heaven for the happiness of man. This kind of gospel is preached commonly among churches in the Western World.  

Humanistic gospel will lead us to two things – licentiousness or legalism.  Licentiousness implies a gospel that allows you to do all the sinning you want to, and you are covered by grace (2 Peter 2:1 – 22; Jude 4).  On the other hand, legalism implies that we bring something to the table so as to merit God’s acceptance and power.  Only through proper training in sound doctrine, giving ourselves to the study, meditation, and prayer of the Scriptures will we be able to discern the difference (2 Tim 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1).

 

Paul glories in the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In Romans 1:16 – 18, Paul talks about the glory and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We must consider the pressure that Paul was facing when he made the declaration in Romans 1:16.  Paul was facing three pressures of his days – the wisdom, culture, philosophy of Greece, the might of Roman Empire and Jewish morality – dedication to morality and a life of religious observation.  He stood as a Jew before the Parthenon of Greece (i.e. temples, sports, centers of learning and wisdom — university of the ancient world).  Yet Paul was not ashamed to preach the gospel in the face of Greek culture, Roman might or Jewish morality.  Why?

Paul has a powerful and clear understanding of what the Gospel is about.  Understanding and encountering the power of Gospel is the key to unlocking our hearts in greater passion for Jesus.  There are seven reasons for us to glory in the Gospel.

 

The Glory of the Gospel

1.   The Gospel is the announcement or proclamation of what God has done and not the religious achievement of men.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ…” (Romans 1:16)

It is not good advice on how to live, what to do, and how to behave.  It is an announcement of something that God has accomplished for His glory and for man’s greatest need.  The Gospel is not something that invites us to join in a great search or quest for truth.  In one sense Paul is saying that he is not ashamed of the fact that he could not motivate God to take an interest in him.  The Gospel is the statement that the only hope for man is that God has provided a way of salvation.

2.   The Gospel is the “power of God”!

“…for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16)

It is a demonstration of the power of God. It is not just a description of God’s power in history (e.g. resurrection of Jesus) but a present-tense experience of it now in us (Eph. 3:16; Heb. 7:16; Rom 8).  It is not that the Gospel’s “about” the power of God but it “is” the power of God for our life to walk out all that He has promised for us.  It is not one miracle among others.  It is the epiphany of God’s power for us.

 

3.   It is a comprehensive salvation that is accomplished by God’s power.

“…for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16)

This salvation is a comprehensive salvation. We are justified by faith and therefore, saved from the penalty (i.e. guilt, death, rejection, etc.), given power so that we are transformed from glory to glory (from inability to change/powerless, and presence of sin into a new nature - Glorification) for intimacy (restored as sons of God and bride of Christ) and dominion (releasing the works of God and stopping the works of Satan).  When man sinned, he fell and lost his access to God’s presence as a son (penalty) and his power to exercise dominion over purposes of God (internally and externally).  This is what Jesus restored.

Under the reign of sin, we were under condemnation before God (Rom. 3:23; 5:16); we were powerless before sin at the heart level, sickness, fear, and lack.  We also had no ability to challenge Satan’s attack against us (Rom. 7:14 – 24); we were under darkness without the ability to understand the Word, or to receive divine direction for our life (Rom. 3:10 – 12); we were destitute without hope of a good future in God (Rom. 3:13 – 18).

As a result of the salvation, we are new creations and we are no longer under the reign of sin.  Old things passed away and all things are new (2 Cor. 5:17 – 18). 

Our former condemnation has passed.  Now we can feel confident in God’s affection, knowing He enjoys us as His beloved children (Rom. 8:1, 15 – 16).  Our former powerlessness has passed.  Now by the authority of Jesus’ name and the indwelling Spirit we have the ability to walk in victory with new desires, as we resist the impulses of sin, sickness, fear, lack, and Satan’s attack (Rom. 8:2 – 13).  We have authority to release God’s works as we operate in supernatural ministry to help others.  Our former darkness is past.  Now we have the indwelling Spirit to lead us into a new understanding of God, His Word, and His will for our lives (Rom. 8:14, 26 – 27).  Our former destitution is in the past. Now we have a divine destiny and a good future in God being joint heirs with Christ, sons of God and the Bride of Christ (Rom. 8:14 – 18) who will function forever as kings and priest ruling the earth (Rev. 1:6; 3:21; 5:10; 20:6).

 

4.  The Gospel is for everyone because it is based on God’s accomplishment (i.e. power) instead of man’s achievement.  The Gospel is for the Jew first (i.e. historically) and also for the Greeks (i.e. all nations, peoples, Gentiles).

“…to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16)

 

5.   The content and the height of the glory of the Gospel is HOW it makes a man righteous with God’s provision of His own righteousness.  We will look more at this later.

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith…” (Romans 1:17)

 

6.  Through the Gospel, God’s righteousness is revealed and made available through faith (i.e. believing, trusting, looking to another, etc.).

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith…” (Romans 1:17)

Martyn-Lloyd Jones says this,

“Faith is the contradiction of all that is meritorious in man…  It pushes all sense of worthiness and entitlement away”

The righteousness of God which is imputed to us at the new birth by faith is progressively imparted to the whole of our lives through living a life of faith.  In other words, we progress from a weak faith to a mature faith (i.e. experiences of the outworking of the righteousness of God in our lives).

Martyn-Lloyd Jones continues to say,

“The gospel is not a ‘believism’ which results in a person being concerned about righteousness…  They may say they are no longer afraid of punishment, believe they are forgiven, etc. but the question is do they know God?  Does their salvation bring them in to the presence of God?”

 

7.   As a result of the Gospel, we experience God’s life by a greater dependence upon Him and His word by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 4:4; Hab. 2:4).  This “life” is both quantitative and qualitative.

“…as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17) 

 

The Power of the Gospel – the Revelation of the Righteousness of God

The pinnacle of the power of the Gospel is that in it the righteousness of God is revealed.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith…” (Romans 1:17)

The righteousness of God is both WHO GOD IS (i.e. He is right, He is righteous) and WHAT GOD DOES (i.e. He gives it freely, unmerited).  God puts other people in the right by HIS power and grace and not our own efforts.  Let’s think of this as “rightness.”  It is a word that means “to be in the right".  “We have “right-ness” - to be in the right both legally and morally This is how powerful this salvation is, putting people in the right with God by His very own righteousness.

In the book of Romans, we see that God justifies sinners freely (Romans 3:24).  The word “justify” means “to declare it right”. To justify an action is to declare that it is right (i.e. prove).  God justifies (i.e. He proves right) the sinner and puts him in the right.

Socrates said to Plato, “It may be that God can forgive sin but I cannot see how.” How can God say to a sinner, “You are in the right?”  Isn’t that God approving of sin and breaking His own law?  This is the big problem

The answer to the above is unfolded in the book of Romans.  Because the question cannot be resolved without a cross where God came and died as a man.  John Stott says this,

“Before we can see the cross as something done for us, we will see it as something done by us.  Indeed, ‘only the man who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross may claim his share in its grace.”

 

The Revelation of the Wrath of God

Romans 1:17 demands the question,

“Why is Paul so certain that righteousness by faith alone can save?”

His confidence and certainty is based on the revelation of God’s wrath.  If we do not see the great trouble or condemnation that we are already under that Jesus stated in John 3, we cannot see or appreciate the great solution that God provided in His Son, and therefore live devoid of significant gratitude in our hearts and revelation of God’s commitment to us. We will never really understand the good news of the Gospel until we understand that the good news is in context to bad news.

To most, talking about the wrath of God is like talking about a square circle.  Many see God’s wrath as a contradiction in terms. Some cannot see what the wrath of God has to do with the good news of the gospel.  Surely the good news has to be that God loves us, He forgives, He pardons, that He is a God of mercy, etc.  In Romans 1, Paul begins the good news of the Gospel of Christ with the subject of God’s wrath.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Romans 1:18)

This is a central biblical doctrine frequently neglected and misunderstood resulting in great cost in areas of evangelism, God-centeredness in the Church, and the revelation of love.  Believers technically believe it but functionally reject it, minimizing it to a theory without bearing the burden of its reality. Unbelievers ridicule this doctrine calling it barbaric and primitive.  The rejection of this doctrine inevitably hinders us from comprehending God’s love.

The doctrine of the wrath of God (and the good news of it) is crucial in awakening our hearts in passion for Jesus both the unbeliever to salvation and the believer to continue in the power of salvation.  Our theology of that which cultivates a deep passion for Jesus must not be devoid of a clear understanding of God’s wrath.  This doctrine is central to understanding the measure of God’s love and holiness.

Tertullian, in his debate against a theology which said that God does not punish because He is good, responded saying,

“A better God has been discovered who never takes offence, is never angry, never inflicts punishment, who has prepared no fire in hell, no gnashing of teeth in the outer darkness! He is purely and simply good.  He indeed forbids all delinquency, but only in word.”

This is a totally wrong view of God!

In truth the wrath of God is an expression of love.  God’s anger demonstrates His love rather than contradicts it.  If the father did not get angry would we believe that he loved his daughter?  Our impoverished view of the wrath of God and the necessity of His wrath exposes our insufficient understanding of the true nature of sin and the holy love of God. We think God is extreme because we don’t understand the destructive nature of sin. God sees us entertaining a vicious murder dining in our heart while we believe it harmless.

 

What is the Reason for God’s Wrath

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” (Romans 1:18)

We have a very low view of sin.  Many view sin too casually and haphazardly resulting in many unnecessary setbacks and casualties. We must view sin the way that God does.

Every sin is a kind of cursing God in the heart, an aim at the destruction of the being of God; not actually, but virtually; not in the intention of every sinner, but in the nature of every sin. That affection which excites a man to break His law, would excite him to annihilate His being if it were in his power.  A man in every sin aims to set up his own will as his rule, and his own glory as the end of his actions against the will and glory of God; and could a sinner attain his end, God would be destroyed and since man is so deeply in love with sin, as to count it the most estimable good, he cannot but wish the abolition of that law which checks it, and, consequently, the change of the Lawgiver which enacted it; and in wishing a change in the holy nature of God, he wishes a destruction of God who could not be God if he ceased to be immutably holy.

God has one enemy – sin.  He hates sin with a perfect hatred and it is the only primary object of His displeasure.  God necessarily, universally, intensely, perpetually, and perfectly abhors sin.

 

God’s Wrath against Ungodliness and Unrighteousness

God’s wrath is revealed against two things – the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

The essence of sin is ungodliness. Ungodliness focuses on our ATTITUDE towards God.  The essence of sin is the refusal to live entirely and only to God’s glory and the worship of His name with the intention of total obedience (Rom 1:21, 3:23).

We were created to desire God with the whole of our being and live for God’s glory.  Not to do so is sin. We were created to live wholly and completely for Jesus.  An ungodly person simply means that a person lives as if God does not exist, or cares not if He does (practical atheism). When God made man in His own image it was so that man might be godly, living to glorify Him.

Unrighteousness is when most people think of sin they think of specific ACTS of sin. Unrighteousness is man related and regarding issues such as hatred, lying, stealing, immorality, theft, murder, jealousy, etc.

The relationship of ungodliness and unrighteousness is this: all unrighteousness (man-related sins) flow out of ungodliness. Unrighteousness only becomes possible because of ungodliness.  If it were possible that our attitude towards God was always right, we would not be guilty of particular sins.  Acts of sin are the fruits of wrong attitudes towards God.

To have an outward righteousness (e.g. morality), whatever the form, devoid of right attitudes towards God is “form of godliness” which denies the true power of the knowledge of God to produce righteousness (2 Tim. 3:5). Jesus proclaimed the purpose and destiny of man in Matt 22:37 – 40,

“to love the Lord your God (i.e. godliness)… love your neighbor as yourself (i.e. righteousness).”

Moral people see lists of sins and see themselves as innocent without seeing the requirement to Matt 22:37.  They have no sense of responsibility to God.  They say they don’t feel like a sinner because they are thinking primarily about “particular sins” rather than facing the most terrible of all sins – ungodliness.  As Martyn Lloyd-Jones has said,

“There is no greater sin than to feel that as you are, unaided, you are fit to stand in the presence of God, because it means that you have no conception of the glory and the majesty and the holiness of God, and that in itself is sin of the deepest dye. It means that you have a little god of your own which you have conjured up in your own mind, a god who is more or less like yourself.”

The ultimate expression of pride is to think that righteousness (i.e. morality) is possible without first being right with God personally. The Gospel is the only true effective social reform.

In the church, when we lose passion for Jesus (i.e. ungodliness) it often results in acts of sin (i.e. unrighteousness).  It is imperative to see that righteousness is impossible without godliness (i.e. passion for Jesus).  The primary of issue of God’s judgment (historically, presently, and in the future) is because of failure in our relationship with God (ungodliness), not unrighteousness.

Therefore, the great need of the Church for this hour is to understand and experience the true glory and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Once again, we need to preach the true Gospel of the Kingdom like John the Baptist and of course, Jesus Christ our LORD.

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! 

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