Psalm 1:19. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would remember your word to us, your servants, and that it would be that in which you have made us hope. That it would be a comfort in our affliction, that your promises would give us life. That when we think of your rules from of old, that we would take comfort, O Lord.
Lord, that your statutes would be our songs in the house of our sojourning. That we would remember your name in the night, O Lord, and that we would keep your law. That the blessing that you have given would fall to us, and that we would have kept your precepts. Lord, we pray this in Jesus name, the Word made flesh. Amen.
As we close out our series in Romans, our scripture this morning is again that doxology, Romans 16, verses 25 and 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 been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God to bring about obedience of faith to the only wise God. Be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen. The word of the Lord.
You may be seated. I just have to tell you that at first service after I had read this, it was so hard to switch into preaching mode. I was ready to just say amen, walk down the aisle and start shaking hands. But we are here to hear the word of our Lord. Let me pray for the preaching.
Father, as my words are true to your word, may they be taken to heart. But if my words would stray from yours, may they be quickly forgiven. I pray this in the name and in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, perhaps no one remembers how this series started 10 months ago.
Honestly, I didn’t remember, but I looked it up. I didn’t even remember that I was the first one to preach in this series in Romans 1. And I also didn’t remember that I started started off the whole series with a story, a tale of Robin Hood. Robin Hood, upon hearing of the returning king, rejoiced and sent his merry men as messengers to spread that glorious news. And I wrote, some news is just too good to stifle.
Paul has let us know. Has let us know rather in the earliest part of this book that this rich work, and throughout this rich work, his intent was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, which, quoting here from chapter one, verse two, was promised beforehand through the prophets in the Holy Scripture and Then quoting in chapter one, verse five, through whom we have received grace and apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations. Notice again our doxology, especially verse 26, but now has been disclosed through the prophetic writings and has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God to bring about the obedience of faith. Paul is clearly ending where he has begun. He is bookending this theological treaty with a reminder of that because who God is and because of what he has done, we are enabled to respond to him in glory and in obedience.
Last week we looked at glory. This week we’ll look at obedience. And in considering the phrase obedience of faith which we saw in chapter one, verse five and also in the Doxology, that phrase could easily include quite a lot. It could describe our sanctification process of working in God’s grace and enabling him to root out all that which is sinful in our lives. Romans 12:1 might indicate this.
Well, I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. You may also think that perhaps chapter 14, verse 7, would include that for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And yet again, in lieu of those opening verses in chapter one, what does truly appear to be a deliberate bookend in our Doxology? The obedience of faith of chapter 26 seems to be directly related to obeying God’s command to spread the good news of the Gospel. In fact, throughout Romans, we’ve seen Paul make the argument to the church in Rome that the Gospel scope has expanded.
One of the reasons why the gospel the good news is so good is that it is for Gentiles, that is non Jewish people. And obedience is primarily seen in Paul, or rather initially seen in Paul as he works to reveal or to explain this mystery, the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles. Of course, no one reading through the Old Testament should have been lost or confused that it’s always been part of the outworking of God’s plan to include others outside of national Israel. You could look simply at creation. You could see the dominion mandate which was to multiply and to fill the earth.
You could see the similar charge given to Noah right after the flood to multiply and fill the earth. Again, the picture is to fill the earth with descendants relationship with and under the lordship of their creator God after the fall to Abram In Genesis chapter 12, we read in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. In Genesis 17, Abraham is told that he would be the father of many nations. And he’s told that these covenant blessings and commitments would extend to the foreigners dwelling among them. You could also look at the genealogy of Jesus himself.
You could see in Ruth, the Moabite, the inclusion of foreign nations under the covenant promise. Or you could see in Rahab and all of her relatives in the assault on Jericho as now being under the covenant protection. We see this in the language and in the promise of all nations, which occurs throughout the Old Testament, unfolding progressively throughout the Scriptures. John Murray notes, quote, that in the Psalms and in Isaiah it is a refrain, but only with the coming of Christ and the breaking down of that wall of partition did the promise come to fruition and the implications became apparent. End quote.
That God would also love Gentiles or any other people other than Jews should not have been a surprise. But in Paul’s day, it was a surprise. And in fact, it was scandalous news. We read in Acts chapter 13, verse 47, that as Paul was speaking, he quotes Isaiah 49, 6, which reads, I have made you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. We read in Acts 13 that when the Gentiles heard that, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed, that was the reaction among the Gentiles, there was a reaction among the Jews as well.
They incited a riot and stirred up persecution against Paul. In fact, throughout the rest of the book of Acts, Paul is really just one step ahead of that persecution as he brings the Gospel to the nations, the known world of that day. Then when he’s finally back in Jerusalem, he’s arrested. But as he’s arrested, he asks for an opportunity to speak, and he is given it. Acts 22 records his message, his testimony, and the people listen for 20 verses.
And then in 21, verse 21, Paul declares that God had sent him to the Gentiles. Listen to verse 22. Up to this point, they listened to him, and now they raised their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth, he is not, he should not be allowed to live. Paul labored to reveal the mystery that the Gospel has gone out to the Gentiles. But not only did he labor to reveal that ministry, but he also was personally committed to taking the good news himself to all the nations, as well as equipping others to do the same.
This is because Paul rightly understood that the gospel was for all people, not just for the chosen, not just for those set apart, those select few. The gospel is to go out to the ends of the earth. This command, this mandate, is repeated in Matthew, it’s repeated in Mark, it’s repeated in Luke, and John has another version of it as well. But though we’ve all heard this gospel mandate, this great commission, however, often, too often, the spread of that gospel thwarted. When we as believers presume to know whether a person would be receptive or not, and if we decide they’re not likely to be receptive, we usually pass on that opportunity to share even a portion of the gospel.
It’s too risky. We think they might be offended. It is true they might be offended. On the other hand, they might respond to the good news and begin rejoicing and glorifying the word of God. It was because of Paul’s determination to spread the gospel to the nations that he was imprisoned, that he was beaten, that he was shipwrecked.
But none of that mattered to Paul. He was driven to obedience to this call to spread the gospel as a response to who God was and to what God had done in his life. Paul records in chapter one, verse 11 that he had longed to see the churches in Rome, and in verse 13 that he had often intended to come, but had been thus far prevented. And in verse 14, I am under obligation both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.
New Testament scholar Richard Longenecker writes this quote. The purpose of all of God’s action, all of Jesus redemptive ministry. All of Paul’s preaching was so that all the Gentiles might believe and obey God. At this point in the sermon, I ought to tell a story of the gospel coming into someone’s life and changing them in a beautiful and wonderful way. And then I look out in the congregation and it is my hope that every one of you has that beautiful and wonderful story.
And if you don’t have that story, the chances are really good that the person sitting next to you or in front or behind you has that story. And you simply need to ask him this question, what has the Gospel done in your life? It’s a beautiful way that we can share that. And one thing is for certain, you believed because you have heard Paul remarks on this beginning in the gospel in Romans 10:14, when he asks a series of questions. How will they call on him whom they have not believed.
And how will they believe in him whom they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news. This, of course, provides us all an opportunity to consider our own involvement in the spread of the Gospel.
How have you been a part of that purpose? And right now, in the life of faith, covenant opportunities abound. We’re sending a team of seven overseas. Three are just coming back from a global missions conference in Atlanta. In two weeks, we have a missions luncheon where we get to hear from Pastor Doug McNutt as he talks about Trinity of world missions.
No, that’s not right. But it’s something like that. It’s on the back of the bulletin. An opportunity to hear of God’s work in Africa through the training up of local pastors. How can you be a part of God’s work in missions?
What’s holding you back? I’ll tell you what’s holding me back. I’ll tell you what keeps me from sharing the gospel at times. It is the fear of rejection. It is the fear of embarrassment.
It’s also a lack of opportunity. It’s also a lack of availability. And some of you may add to my list being unsure of what to say or unprepared in how to share the gospel. But whatever our reasons are that cause us to hesitate, we must press through in prayer. Seek to get the training that you feel you lack.
And we’ll be offering that a training in evangelism here within this next year. Ask God for boldness in prayer. Take a look at your schedule and see if you need to make time for people, perhaps people in your own family, who need the gospel. And as we grow in our obedience, we’re going to notice that it leads to a growing appreciation for and a recognition of God’s wisdom. In reading through Boice’s sermons on the Doxology, he had two sermons on this.
I was struck by his exposition showing how God’s wisdom was revealed through, at least, well, through all of Romans, really. But I’ll speak on the first part. He speaks about how his wisdom was revealed in chapters one through four in justification. If you think about justification, the dilemma is how does God save sinners and remain a just and holy God? Or to use Paul’s language, asking this question, how can he be both just and the one who justifies?
Well, Paul answers that in chapter three, verse 26. He says God presented him Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement to demonstrate his justice at this present time. On this Boice notes quote, this means that God satisfies the claim of justice by punishing the innocent Jesus for our sins. Jesus bore the wrath of God in our place. And thus the demands of God’s justice were fully met and justice being fully satisfied, the love of God was then free to reach out, embrace, and fully save the sinner.
Praise God for His wisdom in justification. Boice notes that we also see his wisdom in sanctification in chapters five through eight. Now, of course, the question of sanctification that people often ask is what keeps a justified person from simply indulging in their sinful nature? Why not sin even more so that grace may abound all the more? To paraphrase Romans 6:1 Again we see God’s wisdom now quoting Boice, we are never justified.
Apart from being regenerated or being made alive in Christ. Christians have been given a new nature. And this new nature being the very life of Jesus Christ will inevitably produce good works corresponding to the character of God. God is at work in our lives and he’s molding us and making us into the image of His Son, Christ Jesus. Our lives in Christ will inevitably show those good works.
There is wisdom in his sanctification. Finally, Boice shows that we see God’s wisdom also displayed throughout human history in chapters 9 through 11. And here we see that God has made, using Boice’s words now, special salvation promises to the Jewish people. And yet, in spite of these promises, the majority of Jews do not respond to the Gospel. But we know that God in His wisdom has extended his mercy to the Gentiles.
And now quoting Paul in chapter 11, verses 11 and 14, which I’ll just quote in part, Paul writes, salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. I, Paul, and an apostle to the Gentiles, magnifying my ministry to my fellow Jews to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them. End quote. This is an extraordinary work of God in His wisdom to create in the Jews a deep sense of what they have lost in their relationship with God, that some may be saved. And God shares His wisdom with us as well in that we can look for ways to help people understand what they have lost in living their lives apart from God.
But to do that, we’re going to need to think and pray. We’re going to need to get to know people. We’re going to need to understand their pain, their sorrow, the burden of guilt in their life, their frustrations as well as their hopes and their dreams, and then prayerfully engage with them, helping them to see ultimately that only God is the salve to their heart, the forgiveness for their sins, the satisfaction to their goals, the fulfillment of their dreams. John Murray remarking on the fact that the gospel is to go out to all nations, I think I have this one in the question section. Murray says it also has overtones of grace.
It is by God’s commandment that these overtures come to all men, and they come therefore with the authority which God’s commands implies. Murray is reminding us that these overtones of grace are good news for each of us because people are saved by grace alone. In other words, God does the work of changing them, of opening their eyes, of softening their hearts, of unstopping their ears to the good news of the gospel. Which is why, in the end, obedience looks like giving glory to our wise God. John Stott on this phrase.
He notes that God’s wisdom is seen in Christ himself. And I’ll quote Paul here in 1st Corinthians 1:30 in whom all things this is referring to Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Above all, Stott continues, in Christ’s cross, which, though foolish to human beings, is the wisdom of God. So we see wisdom in God’s plans to unite all the nations of the world, indeed everything under the feet of Christ. If I can quote Stott again a little bit at length here he writes this joyful thing.
He says, no wonder Paul has already broken out in praise of God’s wisdom. Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Romans 11:33. No wonder he does it again at the end of his letter. Indeed, God’s redeemed people will spend eternity ascribing to him.
Now quoting from Revelation 7:12 Praise and glory, and wisdom and thanks, and honor, and power and strength. Praise the Lord. Or to use the words of Paul’s Doxology, they will worship him for who he is power and wisdom, as well as what he does, saves and strengthens. And their response, our response in our lives will be to abound in obedience to the faith by the sharing of the gospel, and by giving glory to the only wise God. And so now hear this Doxology again 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 through the prophetic writings and has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God to bring about obedience of faith to the only wise God.
Be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen. Let me pray. Father, indeed your word is powerful. And Lord, as we think about this obedience of the faith which here in this doxology looks like the sharing of the gospel to all nations.
We confess before you, before you a great God, before you, the only God, before you a God of strength and power, before you the God of wisdom. We confess before you that we live in fear and we find it hard to share the gospel even to our family, to our neighbors, to those across the street, to the people that we work with, to the people that we play with on the playgrounds or in our schools, let alone to those on the other side of the world. We forget that you do the work of bringing your kingdom. And so we confess that and ask rather that we would be reminded again of the provision of your power that you are the one who works to save. That we would be reminded again of our own lives, Father, the burden that we felt being trapped, being stuck, being under the weight of the guilt of our sin.
Or that we are exhausted from all of our self righteous efforts to please you. And that at some point you awoke us to our dilemma and you enabled us to call out to you and thank you for the life that you have given to us. May our lives overflow with praise to your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
I invite you all to stand as we sing together.
Discaimer: This sermon text was generated by an automated transcription service.