28 May
2017 – Easter 7 - Romans 1:8-17
The Righteous shall live by faith
Today we begin a series of sermons. Based on the
book of Romans. For the next sixteen weeks. The epistle lesson is taken from St
Paul’s letter to the Romans. It was Luther’s careful study of this book, which
lead him to understand the gospel namely that we are justified by God freely
apart from works of the law.
From that discovery came the inspiration which
sparked the Reformation 500 years ago. Luther grappled with an age old dilemma.
How do I get right with God? How do I know God cares? How can I know that He
love me? And if He does, in fact, care for me. And love me. How do I know this?
Luther was keenly aware that all was not well. There
was something broken. From the testimony of God’s Law. From the evidence of the
existence of evil in this world. From the conviction of my own conscience. These
all remind me daily of the fact that I am a poor, miserable sinner. Sin is
real. With sin come consequences. Consequences often lead to great cost and
loss. The penalty of sin is death. And death we cannot avoid. So how do you
make sense of all this?
Says, Luther “I questioned this passage for a long
time and labored over it. The phrase “the
righteousness of God” barred the way. The phrase was customarily explained
to mean that the righteousness of God is a virtue by which He is Himself
righteous and condemns sinners…As often as I read this passage, I wished that
God had never revealed the Gospel; for who can love a God who was anger, who judged
and condemned people…This misunderstanding continued until enlightened by the
Holy Spirit. I finally examined these words, “The just shall live by faith”…then the entire Scriptures became
clear to me and heaven was opened to me. Now we see this brilliant light very
clearly, and we are privileged to enjoy it abundantly.” [1]
With St. Paul we can say “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”
1.
It is the
power of God for salvation.
a. Christ bore our sin,
guilt and shame on the cross and gave us His life for us.
b. Receiving these gifts
by faith, and empowered by the Spirit, we are no longer ashamed of the Gospel. Rather
we cherish the Gospel. It is good news and it is life.
2.
It is for
everyone.
a. It is for the Jew
first. Why? Paul explains. “…to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to
the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:4-5)
b. But the Gospel is for
pagans also. On the first Pentecost. Gathered in Jerusalem were Jews from every
tribe and nation. Peter in his epic sermon speaks of the Father’s guarantee of
salvation. “For the promise is for you and for
your children…” But then he adds,” and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
(Acts 2:39) The great promises of the Gospel. The power of God for salvation.
His good and gracious favor has come for you.
3.
It is the
righteousness of God.
a.
Revealed from faith to faith. Paul would remind us
that our standing with God has everything to do with faith from start to
finish. It begins with the faithfulness of God and is continues into faith in
the heart of the believer. God is completely responsible for your salvation from
front to back! You don’t one-day wake up and decide to follow Jesus – He plants
the seed of faith in your heart. He then nourishes that faith by giving you His
eternal Word, which is able to make you wise unto salvation. This is what St.
Paul reminds us when he tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.”
b. Faith is God’s gift. Created
by the Holy Spirit who works in and through the Gospel. He brings us to
repentance. And in faith we trust the Father’s promises. Repentance and faith.
They work together. Both simultaneously and concurrently. They are like a
chorus. Occurring all together. At once. And what are these two? Repentance and
faith? Repentance is simply giving up all hope of a
better past. While forgiveness is no longer haunted by a troubled past.
c. It is entirely God’s
work. “The one who is righteous by faith
shall live.” You are declared righteous. Thus, you live by faith. If you are in Christ. God considers
you. Counts you. Credits you as His good and faithful servant. You are declared righteous because of
Christ’s righteousness, which has been poured out all over you. It is the life
of Jesus that now becomes your credentials to be with Christ in this life and
the one which is to come. It is the life
of Jesus whom the Father will recognize as He greets me in glory. It is Christ’s
righteousness that will be counted as your own righteousness. How Jesus lived His
life is what is being counted in place of how you lived your life. How Jesus
died, is what is being counted as your death. How Jesus obeyed is what is being
counted in place of how you disobeyed.
The
struggles with which
Luther struggled five hundred years ago continue to this day. How does God
regard me? How do I know God cares? How can I know that He love me? As
we review this book of Romans we are given these words which have become the
center of our faith. “The one who is
righteous. By faith. Shall live!”
Words – 1,025
Passive
Sentences –9%
Readability –81.2%
Reading Level
-4.2
Luther’s Seal
© Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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