Sermon 13th Sept 2009 RACIAL SUNDAY
Today our Associate Vicar, John Itumu, preaches based on the reading from Romans Romans 1:16-23
I am not ashamed of the gospel (the good news of Christ), because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
On this Racial Justice Sunday Paul reminds us that the gospel is the good news to all - The Jew, the Gentile – and that covers all human beings, you and I.
‘I am not ashamed of the gospel…’ Why does Paul sound defensive? It seems that Paul well understood the temptation of being ashamed of the gospel.
Writing to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 1:23) on the same subject this is what he says:
…we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
And that is true because who wants to be associated with anything that potentially looks foolish, that make us feel ashamed? The stuff about Christ crucified fits that category well. There are and will always be plenty of tough questions: How can the death and resurrection of a man who died more than 2000 years ago affect me today and now? What about all the suffering in the world, and other religions? Tough as these are, I however think the gospel of Jesus Christ is still a stumbling block and foolishness to many because of what it does to us:
It confronts our worldly values of materialism & greed, non-commitment, obsession with the self – me, me
It even undermines the good feeling we get after having ‘done church’, or getting our child Christened, or even confirmed, after slaving away for a good cause. These are all noble acts but which are emptied of their meaning and power if a commitment to the gospel of Jesus is not at their centre
The gospel challenges self-indulgence. It confronts our excuses and well constructed counter arguments about the existence of God. It is very uncomfortable. Who wants wake up on a Sunday morning to come to come to church and be reminded that they have fallen short of the standards of God? Who wants to be asked to say sorry for things – that ‘had to be done’?
Paul says:
V16 &17
I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jews, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is being revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: the righteous will live by faith.
These two verses are often perceived as the heart of this letter. Paul is convinced that anyone who responds to this God given message by faith will have their lives transformed. The gospel is powerful because it had transformed Paul. He spoke out of personal experience. He was a man of high religious credentials who had, in his own words, put confidence in the flesh. Religiously speaking, Paul was 100% complete. I can relate with that when I think of the days before I made a commitment to Christ! This ‘being complete’ however didn’t stop him from actively seeking believers and having them put to death. For instance Stephen in Acts 7.
But the gospel of Christ turned him from a dangerous pursuer of believers into dangerous defender/preacher of the gospel. He knew it! There is power in the gospel of Christ!
But why is this gospel so powerful?
The reason why the gospel of Christ is powerful and transformational is because in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. First the righteousness of God is a divine quality. Righteousness describes God’s character ie. the actions of God are righteous – virtuous, moral, good, just, honourable.
How do we know this? We know this by God’s plan for our salvation:
Rom 3:25
God in Christ presented himself to us as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith.
This righteousness (the divine quality of God) is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. If you aim and practice to be Christ-like, (which is what we are all invited, Jews and Gentiles, to do) the righteousness of God starts to rub into you. Your personality, your attitudes, your dreams get affected. We learn new methods of coping and even confronting those nagging issues in life. We learn new methods of being. As the old layers of mistrust, anger, fear, laziness, pride…gradually come off, a new you is revealed. We become good news to other people. I can relate with that too. Our eyes are opened to realise that there is more to life than being born, receiving an education, starting and stopping a career, and then being a pensioner. Most importantly we become free. Freedom is what Jesus promises. Freedom to be who you were meant to be…
Gal 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free … do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery!
That is the deal!
We also know about God’s righteousness from his judgement – a very unpopular topic to dwell on. Paul reminds the Romans that one day, God’s righteous judgement will be revealed.
Rom 2:5
On this day (day of judgement) ‘God will repay everyone according to what they have done.’ And this not just Paul’s idea. The notion of God’s judgement resonates through the bible. I will quote just two from the Psalm
Psalm 62:12
God is the judge of all the earth and only He will always do what is right
Psalm 11:7
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face
And that is keeping with his character. Anyone who receives the gospel, by faith becomes enjoined to this God in a special bond. This relationship is called salvation. The gospel is therefore the power of God for salvation. The reason why the gospel of Christ is transformational and powerful is because in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. It is the means by which God puts people right with himself!
Secondly the righteousness of God is not just a divine attribute but also a divine activity
V20
For since creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen. It is plain for all to see. Years before God had promised Abraham that through him a world wide family characterized by faith would come into being.
Genesis 17:7
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And true to his word he has done an amazing divine activity. He has intervened on behalf of his people and brought salvation through the death and resurrection Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ to dwell among us on earth was the fulfilment of this divine activity by which God comes to our rescue. Those who respond to God’s rescue plan – those who accept this act of redemption by faith – those who accept their lives to be informed by the teachings of Jesus Christ – those, become transformed. The righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel.
God requires from us a righteous status but we cannot do this on our own. If however we accept by faith that Jesus Christ lived and died so that this righteous status that brings freedom may be achieved, we then receive this gift of righteousness; a righteousness by faith from beginning to end.
The righteousness of God is a gift – and God holds it out to us all. Are you willing to receive it today?
I am not ashamed of the gospel (the good news of Christ), because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
On this Racial Justice Sunday Paul reminds us that the gospel is the good news to all - The Jew, the Gentile – and that covers all human beings, you and I.
‘I am not ashamed of the gospel…’ Why does Paul sound defensive? It seems that Paul well understood the temptation of being ashamed of the gospel.
Writing to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 1:23) on the same subject this is what he says:
…we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
And that is true because who wants to be associated with anything that potentially looks foolish, that make us feel ashamed? The stuff about Christ crucified fits that category well. There are and will always be plenty of tough questions: How can the death and resurrection of a man who died more than 2000 years ago affect me today and now? What about all the suffering in the world, and other religions? Tough as these are, I however think the gospel of Jesus Christ is still a stumbling block and foolishness to many because of what it does to us:
It confronts our worldly values of materialism & greed, non-commitment, obsession with the self – me, me
It even undermines the good feeling we get after having ‘done church’, or getting our child Christened, or even confirmed, after slaving away for a good cause. These are all noble acts but which are emptied of their meaning and power if a commitment to the gospel of Jesus is not at their centre
The gospel challenges self-indulgence. It confronts our excuses and well constructed counter arguments about the existence of God. It is very uncomfortable. Who wants wake up on a Sunday morning to come to come to church and be reminded that they have fallen short of the standards of God? Who wants to be asked to say sorry for things – that ‘had to be done’?
Paul says:
V16 &17
I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jews, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is being revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: the righteous will live by faith.
These two verses are often perceived as the heart of this letter. Paul is convinced that anyone who responds to this God given message by faith will have their lives transformed. The gospel is powerful because it had transformed Paul. He spoke out of personal experience. He was a man of high religious credentials who had, in his own words, put confidence in the flesh. Religiously speaking, Paul was 100% complete. I can relate with that when I think of the days before I made a commitment to Christ! This ‘being complete’ however didn’t stop him from actively seeking believers and having them put to death. For instance Stephen in Acts 7.
But the gospel of Christ turned him from a dangerous pursuer of believers into dangerous defender/preacher of the gospel. He knew it! There is power in the gospel of Christ!
But why is this gospel so powerful?
The reason why the gospel of Christ is powerful and transformational is because in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. First the righteousness of God is a divine quality. Righteousness describes God’s character ie. the actions of God are righteous – virtuous, moral, good, just, honourable.
How do we know this? We know this by God’s plan for our salvation:
Rom 3:25
God in Christ presented himself to us as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith.
This righteousness (the divine quality of God) is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. If you aim and practice to be Christ-like, (which is what we are all invited, Jews and Gentiles, to do) the righteousness of God starts to rub into you. Your personality, your attitudes, your dreams get affected. We learn new methods of coping and even confronting those nagging issues in life. We learn new methods of being. As the old layers of mistrust, anger, fear, laziness, pride…gradually come off, a new you is revealed. We become good news to other people. I can relate with that too. Our eyes are opened to realise that there is more to life than being born, receiving an education, starting and stopping a career, and then being a pensioner. Most importantly we become free. Freedom is what Jesus promises. Freedom to be who you were meant to be…
Gal 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free … do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery!
That is the deal!
We also know about God’s righteousness from his judgement – a very unpopular topic to dwell on. Paul reminds the Romans that one day, God’s righteous judgement will be revealed.
Rom 2:5
On this day (day of judgement) ‘God will repay everyone according to what they have done.’ And this not just Paul’s idea. The notion of God’s judgement resonates through the bible. I will quote just two from the Psalm
Psalm 62:12
God is the judge of all the earth and only He will always do what is right
Psalm 11:7
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face
And that is keeping with his character. Anyone who receives the gospel, by faith becomes enjoined to this God in a special bond. This relationship is called salvation. The gospel is therefore the power of God for salvation. The reason why the gospel of Christ is transformational and powerful is because in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. It is the means by which God puts people right with himself!
Secondly the righteousness of God is not just a divine attribute but also a divine activity
V20
For since creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen. It is plain for all to see. Years before God had promised Abraham that through him a world wide family characterized by faith would come into being.
Genesis 17:7
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And true to his word he has done an amazing divine activity. He has intervened on behalf of his people and brought salvation through the death and resurrection Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ to dwell among us on earth was the fulfilment of this divine activity by which God comes to our rescue. Those who respond to God’s rescue plan – those who accept this act of redemption by faith – those who accept their lives to be informed by the teachings of Jesus Christ – those, become transformed. The righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel.
God requires from us a righteous status but we cannot do this on our own. If however we accept by faith that Jesus Christ lived and died so that this righteous status that brings freedom may be achieved, we then receive this gift of righteousness; a righteousness by faith from beginning to end.
The righteousness of God is a gift – and God holds it out to us all. Are you willing to receive it today?
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:08 pm
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