What is of utmost importance in our lives? This is no doubt a question that many of us have asked ourselves. Probably every day we get up and make an assessment of this as we plan what we are going to do. There is no doubt that how we prioritize our day shows what we find valuable and important. So what should be a priority amidst all the things that are most important to us?
If we can answer this question from the Scripture and address it in our lives, then will I be able to know that mothers, recent graduates, and everyone else have heard today what God considers to be that which you need to hear most.
In order to answer this question, I want to remind us of Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 15, for it will set the platform for our text this morning. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He as raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Paul tells the Corinthians (and so tells us) that that which is of first importance is the gospel. Therefore, as this is the last opportunity that I have to speak to the college students for a while and a day when mothers are looking for what needs to be priority in their parenting, I want us to turn to a passage dealing with the gospel and see what we need to be about in our lives.
And as we look at these two verses which we have just read from Romans 1, I want us to recognize what we need to do in relation to the gospel, why we need to do these things, and what the content of the gospel means for us.
Paul begins Romans 1:16 giving us the reason for something. He begins with “for.” That shows causation. So, for what is he giving reason? It is his eagerness to preach the gospel to those who are in Rome. He writes in 1:15, “Thus for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Paul was eager to preach the gospel.
In the same way, so should we be eager to preach the gospel.
Our God is a God who speaks. Even from the beginning we read that God was speaking. When he created the world, he spoke it into existence. He spoke to Abraham to call him to himself. He spoke to those in the Old Testament through the voice of prophets. He revealed his law in words. When he decides to ultimately reveal himself to man, he sends his Son into the world, who as God’s self-expression is called by John, “the Word.” He is a God who speaks.
And as we read of the life of Jesus, we read that he spoke, teaching and preaching. In fact, as you read the gospel accounts of his life, you will find that almost without exception Jesus’ purpose for going places was to preach and teach. Yes, he healed and worked miracles, but when you see the purpose clauses (like “in order to” or “in order that he might”), you will find that his purpose for going places was to preach and teach; it was to speak. Jesus spoke to men about who God is and what his commands are.
As he left, ascended back to his father, and poured out the Holy Spirit upon those on the day of Pentecost, it was that they might be his witnesses, speaking to others what he had spoken to them (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20). And the end result of that day was not the men speaking in other languages, the tongues of fire, or the wind blowing; it was Peter’s preaching, his speaking, of the gospel. Then as these apostles and those associated with them wanted to communicate with us the truths of God, they wrote them in words. God is a speaking God.
And so as we want men to know and delight in God, we speak to them of God. The gospel is to be spoken. Now, yes, Paul can say that he longs to “preach” the word, but even this means heralding and proclaiming spoken words. At its most basic level, preaching is speaking.
I stress this this morning because too often we let this truth drift to the wayside. We want to live holy, and that is good. We want to model Christ for the world, and that is good. But we must also speak of him. We must speak about that which he is the embodiment, namely, the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ.
I mention this today because we are often tempted to be ashamed of the message which we are called to speak. Paul says in verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” But even in saying that, it calls our attention to the fact that there is a temptation to be ashamed of it. For Paul, I don’t believe there was purpose in declaring he was not ashamed of it except that he could tell you it was a declaration of overcoming that temptation. He was not ashamed of the gospel, though at one time he had been tempted to be ashamed of it.
And if such is the case for Paul, it will no doubt at times be the case for us. For the world admires man’s wisdom, and the message of the gospel appears foolish to them. Therefore, if it strokes the ego of your flesh to come across as bright and sophisticated to those in this world, you are going to be tempted not to speak the gospel.
For it is unimpressive to the world. And the world is very impressive in their own eyes. What Bill Gates, Ted Turner, and others have done is impressive to all of us. And when you take the unimpressiveness of the gospel over against the impressiveness of the world, you are going to be tempted to be ashamed of what needs to be spoken. It is a foolish-sounding message to proclaim that God (the life) came and died to redeem a people who hated him. It is a foolish message that the Creator of all life let men kill him and bury him. It is foolish to say that he rose from the dead so that we might believe in him and live for eternity.
And the Bible confirms its foolishness to the world. Paul says, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness” and “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 21). Nevertheless, it is the message that we must speak to the world around us.
But why does God have us speak a message to the world that is so foolish-sounding?
We must speak this message to men unashamedly because our message is the power of God for the salvation of men. Paul tells us why he is not ashamed of the gospel, “For it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe” (Romans 1:16).
Yes, to the world “the word of the cross to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The message despised for its foolishness and weakness is the very power of God to save men.
The reason we must speak the gospel unashamedly is because as the gospel is communicated and Christ (its content) is seen, men’s hearts are opened to see and love him as they were unable to do before (2 Corinthians 4:4, John 3:18-21). Whereas they were once dead, they are able to be made alive (Ephesians 2:1-5).
It is powerful “For in it the righteousness of God is being revealed” (Romans 1:17).
It is revealed in two senses. First of all, we are able to see the righteousness that belongs to God. Why can God not simply justify men without getting into the whole mess of the cross and his Son dying, being buried, and being raised from the dead? It is because God is righteous. If he simply forgave and removed sin without punishing it, he would be unjust. It is unjust not to judge someone for a wrong act. We all know that from people going free in our judicial system when they’ve done wrong. It puts a nasty feeling in our stomachs.
But then, how could God allow us to go free from the punishment of his eternal wrath in hell without becoming unrighteous and unjust. The answer is in punishing his innocent Son so that he might appease his wrath and yet let us be saved from our punishment.
That is the message of the gospel, and in it God’s righteousness is revealed. Such is why Paul can write that we have been “Justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness … that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26). The righteousness of the just justifier is revealed in the message of the cross.
However, the righteousness from God is also revealed in this message. For the gospel provides men the opportunity to have the righteousness that comes from God (“righteousness of God” can also be translated “righteousness from God”) credited to their account.
However, this righteousness of God is not given to all men upon hearing the gospel, but only to those who respond in faith. Therefore, Paul can say, “For in it the righteousness of God is being revealed from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17) in which “from faith to faith” is probably an idiom that means “altogether by faith” or “faith and nothing but faith.”
It is fitting in the foolishness of the message that we preach that sinful men are made righteous through faith. It is not by doing enough good things or being an overall decent person that men are seen as righteous before God. They are made righteous as they place their faith in Christ, believing that he is who he said he is, that he is able to do what he said he can do, and walking after him as such – the Lord.
It is interesting that no matter how intelligent or unintelligent someone is, we all come to know God and his righteousness through childlike faith in the gospel, this message about the life and work of Jesus Christ.
And that’s what Paul wants us to see. That’s why he picks up on the writing of Habakkuk, writing, “But he who is righteous by faith shall live.”1 He wants us to know that the righteousness that we need to stand before God and have eternal life only comes through faith. Therefore, we must give up on our own ability, fall before the finished work of Christ on the cross, and by faith trust him to transfer his perfect righteousness to us, believing he has taken our sin upon him and judged it on the cross.
Therefore, my exhortations this morning are these:
Mothers, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord, you need to believe in the message that I have just preached and know the righteousness of God on your behalf through faith. There are no doubt some who think this is foolishness and some who just can’t believe. However, there are some of you whose eyes are opened to the power of God unto salvation, and you need to repent (turn) from your sin and place your faith and life in Jesus Christ, following him as your Lord. For Paul tells us of the reaction of people to this message, writing to the Corinthians, “We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
And mothers who do know Christ, let me encourage you to speak this message to your children constantly. I know that you want to give them many things, but the greatest gift you can give them is that which comes through the speaking of the message – the power of God unto salvation.
Finally, for the college students who we will not see until the fall, and some for a much longer period of time, (if I may borrow a quote from our Lord), I send you forth as sheep amongst wolves. The world will devour you and ridicule you at times as you live your life and speak a message that is unimpressive and foolish to them. But don’t be ashamed, for it is the power of God unto salvation and the way God reveals his righteousness to us through faith. You are privileged to have this message to share.
Let us now go by the grace of our Lord. Amen.