Let us pray. Father, we do ask that your steadfast love would come to us, Lord, that your salvation would be according to your promise. Then we shall have an answer for those who taunt us, for we will trust in your word. Lord, take not the word of truth utterly out of our mouths, for our hope is in your rules. We desire to keep your law continually, forever and ever. We desire to walk in wide place, to seek your precepts, to speak your testimonies before Kings. And we ask that you not put us to shame, but that we would find our delight in your Commandments which we love. We pray this in and through the name and power of Jesus Christ, the word made flesh. Amen. Continuing our study of Romans beginning to wrap it up. This morning will be part one of the time in the doxology. I have the honor of preaching this Sunday and next week as well. So I thought I would take the doxology and split it in half. Here is Romans 25 to 27. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed, and through the prophetic writings that have been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.
To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen. The word of the Lord. You may be seated. We pray for the preaching of God’s word. Father, as my words are true to your word, may they be taken to heart. But if my word should stray from yours, may they be quickly forgotten. I pray this in the name and in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen. Have you ever read a book that was so delightful, so engaging that in the midst of enjoying it, you spontaneously began to lament its ending. Now, this has been the case for me in Romans, and yet it seems that Paul is pushing against that, pushes back on that opportunity to be sad that it’s coming to an end because he brings us back to worship. As Paul begins to close out this letter that he wrote to the churches in Rome, he takes one final opportunity to help drive home all that he has been writing about by ending not with his usual benediction, which he does most of the time, but rather here, a glorious this doxology. And if you’re not sure the difference between the two, a benediction coming from the Latin bene meaning good, diction, word, it’s a blessing from God or God’s word to a listening audience.
The doxology, doxa, meaning glory, is a blessing or praise given to God. So Paul has taken us through, arguably, the most theologically rich New Testament book, and as he closes it, he breaks out into glorious praise, giving glory to God and simultaneously reinforcing a few key ideas to his audience. Notice how Paul starts off this gift of glorious praise. Now to him. We’re going to see in just a minute two of the attributes of God that Paul chooses to highlight for that praise. But don’t miss Paul’s realization that worship Worship begins with praise to him. In worship and in prayer and in just life in general, we often focus on the part of what God does. And while there’s plenty to praise him there, God himself is worthy of praise. He is worthy of our gift of glory given to him. So Paul begins with to him, and he recognizes that because of who God is and because of what he has done, we are enabled to respond by giving him glory and giving him obedience. That will be our thesis for the next two sermons. And today we’ll be focusing on our gift of glory to God, and next week, our gift of obedience.
But it all starts with and is directed to him. And as we give glory to God, we realize that the very act is an enabled response to who God is. Paul cites two attributes of God. First, in verse 25, that he is able, and secondly, in verse 27, that he is the only wise God. In preparation for this sermon, I appreciated New Testament scholar John Murray, drawing my attention to the warning in chapter 16 of verses 17 to 20, which as Pastor Lloyd masterfully shared with us last week, reminding us that not all heretics are divisive, and not all who are divisive are heretics. Murray gives a similar warning. He writes this, Paul warns against the seduction of deceivers and the paramount need of believers to be so established that they would not be victims of Satan’s craft. On God alone, alone must reliance be placed. On God alone nicely fits us on this Reformation Sunday, which recognizes the contribution of Martin Luther and John Calvin and a host of others who understand that we were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Here we are encouraged to resist the evil one and his schemes by relying on God alone, the the one who is able.
As I asked in our first reflection question after that Murray quote, How are you growing in your reliance on God alone? Recently, I’ve been encouraged to begin my times of prayer following the Lord’s prayer by first reflecting on, Hallowed be thy name. In this simple and yet powerful exercise, I find that I’m thinking of God for who he is. He is holy, he is love, he is ever present, he is all power, wisdom, mercy, eternal. He is just, just to name a few. And giving back to God this gift of glory or praise simply for who he is has helped me in my rest in him and in my reliance on him. And we are able to rest on him who is able because our God is powerful. John Stott points out that the Greek here, translated is able, is actually that same Greek word dynamos, from which we get dynamite. Paul first uses that Greek word in chapter one, verse four, where Christ is declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the spirit, by his resurrection. Then again, in chapter one, verse 16, we read that it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
If God uses this power to save us, Paul reminds us that he will certainly use the same power to strengthen us. God enables our praise by his own power and also by his own wisdom. Verse 27 gives us that second attribute, the only wise God, but I’ll just mention it in passing this morning as I hope to unpack it a little more next week as his wisdom informs our obedience. So not only is the giving of glory enabled by God who is, by his power and wisdom, but Paul also reminds us that our praise is empowered by what he has done. Paul highlights this one simple action that God has done. He has strengthened us. Although as we unpack that strengthening with the gospel and with the preaching of Jesus Christ, I hope that you’ll see how rich that simple strengthening action actually is. In chapter 1, verse one, when Paul is beginning to open up this great work, he writes, I long to see that I might impart some spiritual gift to strengthen you. That was verse 11 of chapter 1. Here in his closing doxology, he points again to that spiritual gift, the strengthening gift of the gospel that he gave once more.
Paul’s first mention of the gospel in Romans is in the very first verse, where he mentions that he was set apart from the gospel. And then again, in verse 9 of chapter 1, he mentions the gospel. And in verse 16, he mentions the gospel. But then in chapter 2, verse 16, he adds, My gospel. Some have wondered, why does Paul sometimes call it his gospel? Why does he add that possessive pronoun? I think in lieu of the fact that Paul, a Jew himself, is arguing that the gospel is for the Gentiles as well as the Jew. He wants them to know it is his gospel that is going out to the Jews. Also, he’s been dealing with false teachers that are presenting themselves as bringing a type of gospel. Paul wants it to make the point that this is the gospel he is talking about. This is the authentic gospel entrusted to him. He does this elsewhere. For instance, in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul writes, Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy spirit. And in 2 Timothy 2:8, he exhorts Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.
Paul, in this doxology, recognizes that part of the gospel, part of what makes it such good news is that God has strengthened us in the gospel. John Calvin, on this passage, remarks, and this is a lengthy quote, but I think it’s helpful. Calvin says, God is able to confirm the Romans. He made them more certain of their final perseverance, and that they might acquiesce more fully in this power. He adds that a testimony is born to it in the gospel. Here You see, the gospel not only promises us present grace, but also brings to us an assurance of that grace, which is to endure forever. For God declares in it that he is our Father, not only at present, but he will be so at the end. His adoption extends beyond death, for it will conduct us to an internal inheritance. You could say that another way. God alone is deserving of praise, for he saves and then strengthens his church by the power of the gospel to the end. Paul then mentions the preaching of Jesus Christ. You might add or ask, is this different then from Paul’s gospel? Indeed, there are three clauses here that Paul brings together to describe how we are strengthened.
They are my gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ, the revelation of the mystery. Are these all the same or are they distinct? It’s a good question, and it may be the right time to note that these three verses make up one long and complex sentence. Those of you who specialize in English grammar, enjoy diving in and diagramming this one. Scholars are united in their declaration that this is a rather confusing sentence. Murray, Stott, Mou, they all feel that the preaching of Christ is a further definition of Paul’s use of the gospel. Some have argued that the preaching of Christ refers to literally Christ’s preaching himself, like when Christ preached on the sermon of the mount or the sermon on the plains or other teaching times of Christ. But I think it’s more fitting to understand that Paul is referring to any and all preaching that centers around or focuses in on Jesus Christ. And before we move to the third clause, the revelation of his mystery, it might be a good time to ask this question, do you avail yourselves of the strengthening effect of the preaching of Jesus Christ? Now, that may be a silly question to ask you all who are literally sitting here listening to the preaching of the word.
But I’ve recently been reminded of a dramatic difference between merely listening and actually hearing. In our Wednesday morning men’s study, we’re going through James, and we recently read James declare, Be doers of the word and not not merely hears deceiving yourselves. There is a way that we can be merely listening and not hear. I have a temptation here to say, Ask any wife, and she will know that sometimes her husband is merely listening and not actually hearing. But it’s true of us sitting before the word as So then how are we to be strengthened by the preaching of the gospel? Well, here is a couple ideas. One, read the passage ahead of time, praying that God will ready your heart to hear his word. You get a copy of that. It’s in the Friday e-news. You can look at the bulletin each Friday and see what the text will be. Two, look at questions prepared the text. And consider why Pastor Lloyd or I chose those particular questions and bring them before the Lord in prayer, asking for God to reveal to you areas that you might need to explore or grow in. I was once asked if there’s an answer key to that question or to the questions.
That’s a great question, and that’s all I’ll say on that. Three, look for applications. Sometimes we may give you an idea of how to apply these principles like I’m trying to do now. At other times, we may simply encourage you to take it to the Lord in prayer. Are you seeing a theme here? And ask for his wisdom as you try to understand what part to impart in your life. Four, if you are part of a family or a small group or have a friend group, have a discussion about the sermon. What parts resonated with you and why? What parts do you feel like fell flat? What parts do you wish more was said? Five, part one, ask two questions of every sermon. First, ask, Where is Jesus? How does this text point to him? Secondly, part two, ask, So what? What am I supposed to do because of the word preached? I was working on this list, and I think I’ll stop at number 5 with two parts here. Although as I was building this list, I was reminded of a question that Susan just recently asked me. She said, Do you notice you’ve changed anything in your preaching since you’ve been reading all these Puritans?
If you know something about Puritans, they love lists, and they will never stop at five. But it’s a good start. After relating my gospel to the preaching of Jesus, Paul then says, According to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages. Paul uses this word mystery over 20 times in his writings. Sometimes he uses it to describe the relationship between the church and Christ. Ephesians 5, for instance, in describing the relationship, again, between church and Christ as he shares about a relationship between the husband and the wife, and he calls it a mystery. Sometimes he uses it in his teaching on the last times, like in 1 Corinthians 15. But most of the time, he uses it to describe the slow unfolding of God’s salvation in and through the person and the work of Jesus Christ. That is how Paul is using this term here in the doxology. Christ is the mystery revealed. That’s part of it. Paul first mentions this in chapter 1, verse 17. He writes this. He says, God’s righteousness is being revealed from faith to faith. Then in verse 18, he says, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of man.
With that double revelation of God’s righteousness and man’s unrighteousness, Paul launches into two and a half chapters which clearly communicate the truth that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. So after Paul has made it clear that we’ve all failed, we’ve all violated the law in our own efforts and strength, we are as good as dead, he announces in Chapter 3:24 that we are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It was this Jesus that all the sacrifices of the the Old Testament pointed to. It was this Jesus who was the substitute in the bush for Isaac on Abraham’s altar. It was this Jesus who was the Passover lamb. It was this Jesus who was the rock that was struck, that was spoken to, from which waters flowed for the wandering Israelites. There are many other pictures of Jesus, and they were merely shadows. But now that Christ, the light of the world has appeared, the shadows disappear. And what was stunning to many Jewish ears was that this gospel, the good news about Jesus, was being offered to the Gentiles as well.
This is a sense part of that mystery as well. And we’ll look next week at how it shouldn’t have been a surprise to the Gentiles or to the Jews rather, but it clearly was for many. Paul highlights that this is part of that mystery in Romans 11:25, where he mentions that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And then Paul cites Isaiah 59, and he quotes, The Deliverer will come from Zion, and he will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. Verse 26 in our text this morning tells us that this mystery that has now been disclosed through the prophetic writings has been made known to all the nations. This means the gospel, the glorious good news of salvation in Christ is for everyone, for all persons. Well, I’ll save some of that verse for next week, but I want to turn our attention to the phrase, Disclose through the prophetic writings and simply make the point that our worship and our life of worship is to be guided and informed by the revelation of the mystery of Jesus.
And that revelation is found in the scriptures. One of the many aspects of our denomination that I appreciate is that we are confessional. It’s interesting. I spoke about this in our introducing faith covenant class just this morning. We’re connected to our forefathers in the faith. We respect and give due consideration to the various church councils, the creeds, and other confessional statements. Among these various confessions, our denomination felt that the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism were the best or at least most precise summary of biblical doctrine. If you were to read it, you might notice the language on religious worship. This is from Chapter 21. Hear what they write. He says, The light of nature showeth that there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is good and doth good to all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in and served with all of the heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our might. Do you hear the scripture there? Continues. But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself and is so limited by his own revealed will that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men or the suggestions of Satan or under any other visible representation or way not prescribed by the Holy Scripture.
In other words, in our worship, we would add another sola, this one being sola scriptura. Scripture alone. We believe that scripture alone is the authority that directs our worship as well as our Christian living. We call it, with respect to its governing worship, the regulate principle. That is, the scripture regulates what we include in our corporate worship. You may ask, why don’t we do things that you’ve seen perhaps in other churches? We see, for instance, in the church, in both the Old and New Testament, we see them sing, so we sing. We see them take offerings, so we take offerings. We hear the word read and a sermon preached, so we do likewise. They prayed, we pray. And while the Old Testament offered various sacrificial rights and practices, we have seen, Hebrews makes clear that they were all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And so we follow his lead and his command and simply baptize and observe the Lord’s Supper. And we start each service with a call to worship and praise of our God. And we end with a benediction that regularly includes both the word of praise to God and then a blessing received from God.
The joy, the wisdom of beginning and ending with God’s glory. Indeed, who God is to him who is able to the only wise God and what he has done, saving us and establishing and strengthening us to the end demands that we give him glory, and it also demands that we give him obedience. More on that next week. Let’s pray. Father, indeed, you are a good God, and so we praise you for who you are. You are righteous, you are eternal, you are holy, even thrice holy, Father, Son, Holy spirit. You are slow to anger, you are compassionate, you are merciful, you are abounding in your steadfast love. Father, we could dwell on your attributes and the character of your nature and have much cause for praise and worship. Father, you also work out your nature in our lives and in creation all around us. And so we also praise you for what you have done. You have unstopped our ears so that instead of merely listening, we can actually hear. You have opened our eyes so that we can see of your beauty. Father, you have given us a bold spirit so we are willing to share you and the good news of your gospel in a time which it may be unpopular to those around us who desperately need to hear this good news.
Father, we thank you again for who you are and for what you have done. And we ask that you would work that truth so deeply in our lives that we would naturally respond in praise and worship of you. Father, we pray all this in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. And join you.
Discaimer: This sermon text was generated by an automated transcription service.