I began my first message in 2005 with these paragraphs: "What a way to celebrate New Year – with the realization that things are not normal. Things are changing. Life may not continue for us the way it has been for the past 50 years. It may not be a tsunami, but it may be some other kind of disaster.

As we enter this new year, we need to realize that life will have its surprises in 2005. 2005 will not be like 2004 or 2003. It’s a new path, it’s an unknown road, and we don’t know when the emergency may come to Bowie and Crofton.

We don’t have to sit around worrying about that, because God has promised to keep us. ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.’"

It was that very night that I took my son, Jonathan, to the hospital. Life since then has been anything but normal – several nights of searching for Jonathan, the trip to Uganda that was exactly four days long from taking off to landing. Fifty hours on the ground in Uganda and 46 hours going and coming. A funeral and the daze of that week. Jonathan’s birthday the day after the funeral. Our birthdays a week and a half later. As soon as we get away to Williamsburg I come down with vertigo – two weeks in and out of bed. I could do very little without feeling nauseated. Beka, Sara and Melinda making plans to go back to Uganda this Wednesday – together, on separate planes! And all the details.

So here we are, six weeks from that Sunday, seven weeks into 2005. And I emphasize, "as we enter this new year, we need to realize that life will have its surprises. And yet we don’t have to sit around worrying, because God has promised to go with us. ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.’"

One of the things that makes this "unknown" path so amazing to me is the purpose of God in all of this. What God has done in these seven weeks is introduce us to our friends in a new way. We have some incredible friends. They are smart – they know exactly what needs to be done and do it. They are unselfish and give what the need involves. They are unselfish with their time, even though they are busy. They are wise in their counsel. They are, literally, amazing friends.

All of that says to me, "the reason why God has us going down this path is not only to come to understand and know Him better, but to come to understand and know one another better. The path is no where near as scarey when you are traveling with a group like we have. John Bunyan made it so clear in Pilgrim’s Progress when he described the Christian life as a group of travelers on their way to the celestial city. And the bottom line in his analogy was, "they can never make it alone. There are too many dangers, there are too many forks in the road, etc. They have to make it as a group under God’s direction." And that group, most of you here today, ministering God’s grace is what has made the past seven weeks endurable for us. And is going to make the next 7 weeks endurable.

I am starting Romans today – finally. Why go to Romans? Why this book? The answer is that it is one of the greatest books in the world. Martin Luther’s life was transformed when the truth of one verse in Romans gripped him, "the just shall live by faith." John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed in that little Aldersgate prayer meeting when the truths of Romans were being read. One of the greatest fathers of the church, Chrysostom, had it read to him twice a week. Godet writes, "the Reformation was certainly the work of the epistle to the Romans and that to the Galatians, and it is probably that every great spiritual renovation in the Church will always be linked, both in cause and in effect, to a deeper knowledge of this book" (Donald G. Barnhouse, Romans, 2). Martin Luther said, "the epistle to the Romans is the true masterpiece of the New Testament and the very purest gospel, which is well worth and deserving that a Christian man should not only learn it by heart, word for word, but also that he should daily deal with it as the daily bread of men’s souls. It can never be too much or too well read or studied, and the more it is handled the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes" (quoted from Barnhouse, 2).

What is the epistle to the Romans about? It is about the gospel: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of God for it is the power of God unto salvation," Paul says early on. The word "gospel" has suffered much twisting at the hands of humans. For example, in recent weeks the Archbishop of Canterbury has re-defined the gospel in terms of saving the planet. Dr. Rowan Williams wants his vicars to serve only organic bread and wine for holy communion, to urge parishioners to ride to service in car pools, recycle ‘waste products,’ and to sell only ‘fair trade products’ at church fairs and Bingo suppers. Wesley Pruden, the editor of the Washington Times editorializes: "the gospel of global warning, not the Gospel of the Good News, is the challenge with which he wants his church to confront Britain and, naturally, the United States. Organic brussels sprouts, not organic accompaniment to the mighty hymns to the faith, should be the first order of Sunday worship. A ‘discussion document’ has been distributed among the churches, and it deals with climate, not Christ, warning that the planet’s climate is close to a tipping point." (WT, 2/4/05, page A4).

What is the Gospel? What is the good news? That we can save the earth from global warming? That may be a noble task, but is that why Jesus Christ died on the cross? The epistle to the Romans was written to clarify the gospel and protect the readers from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s misunderstanding.

My purpose in speaking on Romans is not simply to give you "happy new information to add to your collection." I view Romans as information we need to know to live successfully in 2005. This book contains what will turn your life and the lives of your friends around. And I am interested that we go away from here (20 to 25 messages later) with a clear understanding of this great book. I want us to all become people of the book, and especially people of the book of Romans.

The book divides itself easily into five sections.

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

2:1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Last week’s message on Psalm 40 was such a great introduction to Romans because it begins where David began his psalm – in the "pit." The "bad" news is that you are in a pit, the pit of sin. You are a prisoner to sin, and because of that you stand at ground zero for God’s wrath. His wrath is aimed at sinners.

The announcement sounds "bad" because it supplies us with an accurate picture of the true nature of human beings. What are we like? The answer is, "not pretty." When people are left to themselves they go down hill. When people are left to their religion, they go down hill. When people are chosen by God and given many blessings, they go down hill. Why? Because every one of us is a sinner and has turned from God. We have a sin NATURE and do not want either God or right. How many of your children did you have to teach to lie so that their lives would be well-rounded? How many did you have to teach to get angry and fight and spit and steal their sister’s things? It’s as natural as a horse and carriage, because by nature we are sinners.

OK, so we are bad. So what? The point is that people don’t come to Christ, turn to Christ until they realize how bad the situation is. Life has the peculiar ability to mask the deadly disease we all have. What happens when you don’t realize you have a deadly disease? How many doctors do you go to when you are feeling fine? Do you even consult a doctor when everything is OK? Why not? Don’t you enjoy going to a doctor, just for "a little fellowship" to enhance the quality of your day? Jesus said, "those who are healthy don’t need a physician; I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." The truth of the matter is that everyone is a sinner, and Jesus came to call every one of them. But some of them think they are righteous (healthy), and He cannot help those. A doctor can’t help a sick person who won’t admit his sickness.

Our problem today? We don’t understand the bad news. We aren’t honest about our sickness. We have been influenced by that book, I’m OK, You’re OK, which distorts the truth by suggesting that even though we have problems, we are doing OK. In God’s eyes we are not doing OK; we are the focus of His wrath because of our sin. God’s good news begins in the pit, because a life with God only begins when we understand and admit our sinfulness. People can’t get saved until they "become" sinners.

USA Weekend had an interesting article 12/19-21/86 that asked the question, "What are your chances of going to heaven?" Mike Gallagher of Deerfield Beach, Fla, responded, "Eighty-five percent. I don’t think the entrance exam will be that tough." Sylvia Gibbs of Hammond, Indiana, said, "my chances are kind of slim – maybe 50-50. You have to be more than a nice person. But I’m still in the running." To go to heaven, she said, "you have to be a good person, someone who is humble and doesn’t just do good things to prove they’re good" (1, 4).

Do you see what they are saying? Neither of them understood the "bad" news. And because they did not understand the hopelessness of their situation, they thought that they would be able to merit salvation. They don’t see themselves as DEAD in trespasses and sins. Instead they viewed their condition as "alive" but in need of a little help, or a little more effort. But "DEAD" means that you are as capable of pleasing God as a dead person is capable of beating you in chess, or racquetball.

Here’s problem number one in understanding the gospel. The gospel only fits dead people, those who are in sin, and most people in the world today don’t recognize or admit their true nature, and thus don’t see their need of the gospel.

Have you ever admitted to yourself and others what a sinner you are? Or is that the hidden part of your life? Do you realize what a pit your sin has put you in? Or are you just going to turn over a new leaf and be better – again?

II. The GOSPEL is the announcement of God’s incredible provision (3:21-4:25)

A huge change in 3:21 is introduced with just two words, BUT NOW. All of a sudden radical news is introduced, to those who understand the pit of their sin – GOD HAS UNVEILED HIS PROVISION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR ALL SINNERS!. What an amazing statement!

A. The glory of the gift.

Suppose I reached into my pocket, pulled out a penny and gave it to you. How would you respond? No excitement? Suppose it was ten dollars? Suppose it was a million dollars? Suppose it was 100 million dollars. How would you respond? The gift that God wants to give us is worth more than 100 million dollars. It is priceless. You cannot purchase it, you cannot earn it. There is no other place on earth where you can get it. It cost Him an infinite price in the death of His only Son. And yet He wants to give it to you. He wants to give you forgiveness. He wants to give you His Righteousness. THAT is GOOD NEWS!

B. The exclusivity of the gift. It can only be received by faith –

God is very serious about giving His enormous gift away. He takes no offers for payment. He refuses all who attempt to earn it. He has specific directions – His righteousness has to be given as a gift. This simple fact flies in the face of every "religion" that I know of on the face of the earth. "Religions teach you that you have to earn your way with God. You go through certain prayers, you do certain rituals, you give money, you get baptized, you improve yourself so that you are not as bad, you give up frivolous things for Lent, and so on. As a result every one of us has had drilled into our hearts and minds the notion that says, "YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO EARN YOUR POSITION WITH GOD." "You will never go to heaven if you don’t get busy." And I have found that one of the most difficult things to help people understand is GRACE. Grace is "God giving me what I don’t deserve." That is a FOREIGN concept to so many people.

"Stop what I am doing?" "Stop my good works that are going to please God?" "If I do that, God might be angry with me. Romans 4:4 again: "Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt." When God discovers the least amount of accomplishment or performance in us, when He sees us "contributing" to our salvation, then, as a righteous God, He must recognize and repay that effort. But if He pays us for our effort, He gives us what is due us rather than His Grace. We will never be saved by what is due us. We can never earn heaven.

This is an extremely important point. Every molecule of human earning has to be set aside in order to have GRACE. Every attempt to pay God for salvation is a refusal to receive the Gift. Perhaps this is why the Gospel seems to display greater results in hopeless situations – in a prison, in a hospital ward, or in a Gospel Mission – because there people seem to recognize their hopelessness, they realize that they are chained to sin, and have nothing they can offer to God. It is more difficult for people sitting in a church to receive a gift from God, because they can do something; they are not yet at the end of their ropes.

Have you ever received the GIFT? You will never experience the gift of forgiveness, and God’s righteousness if you keep trying to earn it. It is only offered to the helpless. Faith is the response of helplessness, not competence. Faith is not, "God helps those who help themselves," but "God works in the lives of those who acknowledge their helplessness and turn to Him."

III. The GOSPEL is the announcement of a NEW kind of LIFE (5-8).

5:1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Jesus Christ not only provides us with Salvation and Righteousness, but now, we have a new ACCESS. Access into the presence of God through prayer; access into the provision of God; access to the power of God. All new materials!

5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is Paul talking about? He is describing the changes that have taken place now that we are in Jesus Christ our Lord. Notice the repetition of "through Jesus Christ our Lord." The new life that we live comes through Jesus Christ. We live it as we receive it from Him. Here is the third problem in understanding the gospel – believers do not understand what they have in Christ!

Chapter five claims that we are now FRIENDS of GOD, because we have been "justified" (1) and "reconciled" (11) through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are no longer enemies, we are friends. Have you ever seen yourself as a friend of God?

Chapter six states that the chains of sin have been cut. Because of Christ, we have died to sin. You don’t have to keep smoking, drinking, lusting, blowing up, stealing, lying, and living in your pre-Christ days. Why? Why? Because you have been freed from sin. Your bondage to sin and your sin nature has been broken. You can walk in "newness of life," and actually "reign in life." Have you recognized the new power to live, that you have in Christ?

Chapter seven introduces us to the change that has taken place in our relationship with the Law. The Jewish people had turned the Law into a "do it yourself" religion. Chapter seven is the "I" chapter. The word "I" appears 38 times (Spirit never shows up). It’s the chapter that demonstrates that we can’t live the Christian life by our own abilities, because in us "dwells no good thing" (7:18). "Do it yourself" Christianity is a discouraging, frustrating, struggle. It ends with, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (7:25). The truth of the matter is that we have died to the "old man," we have been disconnected from the Law, and we are free to be totally involved in a person of immense beauty – Jesus Christ. Have you ever seen yourself as successful in the struggles of life?

Chapter eight introduces us to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Do you understand what that means, to have God Himself in you? Twenty one times the word "Spirit" is used (and "I" does not appear once!). You can live a life that experiences Divine empowerment! You can walk after Him and experience victory over all the things in life that have brought you down before. In fact, when you are walking with the Holy Spirit, everything in your life, even the bad things work out for good because God oversees what happens and where you are going. Have you ever seen yourself as on a winning team?

These four chapters (5-8) argue that we can’t stay the same because major changes have entered our lives through Christ. If, for example, the Holy Spirit is living in your life, you will have new motivations, new desires, new ambitions, new power. You are not going to be the same old weak, discouraged, sinful person when you have GOD living in you. You can’t stay the same. It’s like getting married. You may intend to stay the same, but marriage won’t let that happen. When you trust in Christ, so many massive changes take place, that you are enabled to live a life of success and victory. Chapter 5:17 and 21 describe it as "reigning in life." And that is how God intends we now live.

How do you (we) live through the death of a child? Chapters 5-8 hold the key. You realize that you have access into the presence of God your friend, and that He wants to go through the difficulty with you. You realize in chapter 6 that the power of sin is broken and that you don’t have to live in sadness and depression. You can focus on the truth of God that Jonathan is in a better place and would never come back if given the chance. What’s so bad about that? Sure it is hard to not have him at the dinner table, to go to an empty room, to look out into the garage and see the axe that Sara and Vars gave him for Christmas – lying unused. But the truth of the matter is that he is in a far better place. Do I want to pull him back? No. And God wants to give us power to think through all the discouraging ideas and view them in light of His Grace and Glory. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."

IV. The GOSPEL is an announcement of the FAITHFULNESS of God (9-11).

This chapter flows naturally out of all the excitement of chapter eight. If God be for us, if no one can stand against us, if nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, what happened to the Jewish people? They were God’s specially chosen, specially loved, specially protected people. And now is God sort of turning away from them to deal with the rest of the world? What has happened with God’s promises to Israel? Doesn’t God’s treatment of the Jewish "problem" (unbelief) call into question the truthfulness of God’s word, and the faithfulness of God Himself? If God has "double-crossed" Israel, why should we be so high on His promises? After all, God is the one who claimed that He loved Israel, that He specifically chose her. Now if that love has ceased, or changed, maybe we shouldn’t be so excited about Paul’s claim that nothing can separate us from the Love of God in 8:38.

The issue is the fidelity of the word of God. Why has God changed His plans for Israel? For 1500 years throughout the Old Testament, they were at the forefront of the mind of God. His work on earth had been in them and through them and by them. Now there seems to be a significant change in His attitude toward them. God has now (for the first time) given the Holy Spirit and the blessings of the Holy Spirit to non-Jews. They have spoken in tongues, they have seen the miracles of Grace, they have been blessed beyond anything a Jewish person would expect. Why? What gives? Has God gone back on His word? Has He changed His mind?

At issue here is the character, the promise, the word of God. Understanding what God is doing in these three chapters will cause one to exclaim with Paul, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (11:33).

People repeatedly fall into these kinds of questions, because life doesn’t seem to be easy to figure out. And often God’s word and promises don’t seem to work in our lives. I was talking to a man this week who said, "oh that’s not meaningful to me." Christians often say that. God promises to meet our needs, and yet He doesn’t do it the way we expect. He says that He will answer our prayers, and He doesn’t seem to do that. So what is it all about? Can I actually trust and obey these words in this book?

V. The GOSPEL is an announcement of a NEW PROJECT (12-15) – to reach out to a world with the love of God. Up unto this point in the book, there are virtually no commands. We have been required to do nothing, nothing except believe what He has said and yield to His power (6:11-13). Now, after explaining what we have in Jesus for 11 chapters, Paul starts talking about how we can impact the world around us. The fact is that God has a plan in mind for every one of His children. He wants them to grow up to become useful adults in Christ, and serve those around them, especially those who don’t know Christ.

The gospel assumes growth just like birth assumes growth. Every baby born has everything needed to become a useful adult. Just give him/her the time, environment, guidance and the results will be gratifying. Here is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life – what is it we are about as Christians? What are we doing here?

Growing starts by dealing with yourself. It starts with self – when you become thankful enough about all God has done that you put your life and body on the altar and say, "I want to give You my all." And it starts when you set out to live life a new way, under new management with a new thinking process. If your body is not on the altar of sacrifice, you aren’t growing as a Christian, no matter how much time and money you are putting into it.

In verses three to five, we are commanded to join and become a part of a group. Children do not grow up in the woods by themselves. They have to be part of a functioning family. As Christians our problem is that we have a choice of family. And so we can bounce around from family to family like gospel orphans for years and never get intimately involved in family life. It looks too messy, it looks too demanding, and it’s easier to just fill a pew on Sunday morning. But a change takes place when you link yourself with others and let them into your life to challenge and encourage you. And you find to your joy that the Christian life is a team effort.

The rest of these chapters develop God’s project – our relationship to authority over us (chapter 13), to people who are much different than we are (chapter 14), to those who are weaker than us (15:1-7). The ultimate end of God’s project comes in 15: 8-13 with the entire world joining together in gratefulness to sing, in harmony, praises to the name of God.

So what is the gospel? To what does Romans introduce us? An announcement of (1) the bad news, (2) of God’s incredible provision for our sin, (3) of a new kind of life in Jesus Christ, (4) an announcement of the faithfulness of God, and (5) an announcement, description and direction of a new kind of project, reaching out to others with this amazing news.

What is the gospel? It is the good news of what God can accomplish on earth as a result of the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. God can turn trash into treasure, death into life, sinfulness into righteousness. Praise His Name!

02/20/05 – BBC am