Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Opening: A Pastor preached on the Grace of God one Sunday. As he stood at the door following the service, an elderly man came up to him and shook his hand. He said “Pastor, your sermon really struck home! It perfectly illustrated the grace and love of God.” The Pastor was thrilled, and said, “Wonderful brother. How did my sermon show you the grace and love of God?” The man said, “Your sermon passed all understanding, and it seemed like it endured forever!”

Hopefully this sermon won’t “pass all understanding” or seem to “endure forever”. Last week we learned how Saul the Church Persecutor became Paul the Church builder.How did Saul become Paul? He met the Lord Jesus Christ on Damascus Road and, calling upon His Name, the Name of Jesus, Saul became Paul. He was changed, gloriously changed. Before Saul met Christ, he was a giver of death. After meeting Jesus, Paul was a giver of life.

Saul became Paul when he was “separated {made a Saint} unto the Gospel of God”

What is the “Gospel”? The word “GOSPEL” is the Greek euangelion (pronounced yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on), which literally means “The GOOD NEWS”. Everyone knows what “good news” is, though we rarely hear it today. The Bible gives us bad news in that “God is Perfect, and yet we are far from perfect. We are all broken, and are born into this world sinners.” But the GOOD NEWS – the GOSPEL – is that God has provided a way to fix us in our brokenness.

Our text tells us that:

Romans 1:1-2 the gospel of God, 2 (Which HE HAD PROMISED afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

The Gospel is the fulfillment of God’s PROMISE to us.

Romans 1:3 Concerning HIS SON JESUS CHRIST our Lord

God offers the Gospel through His handpicked PERSON.

And thirdly,

Romans 1:6 Among whom ARE YE ALSO THE CALLED of Jesus Christ

God sets apart a Kingdom PEOPLE as His own through the Gospel.

Let’s break this down from His Holy Word:

The Gospel is the fulfillment of God’s PROMISE to us.

Let’s look at verses 1 and 2 again:

Romans 1:1-2 the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

The Gospel is a promise that God made to humanity – to whosoever would accept it – from the very beginning of our creation. The Gospel was “promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures”. As Paul writes this, the only “HOLY SCRIPTURES” that exist are the Old Testament prophetic writings. Paul wants us to understand that the Gospel is not some “Hail Mary, last ditch desperation pass”, but the Gospel has ALWAYS been God’s plan and purpose for us. The Apostle Peter will tell us that the Gospel and the Messiah …

1 Peter 1:20 (KJV) … was foreordained BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD ..

The Gospel is not God’s Plan B, but it is God’s Plan A.

The Gospel is not God’s backup plan because the first plan didn’t work. The Gospel is God’s plan from the beginning of creation. Our God is ALL KNOWING as well as ALL MIGHTY. When God made Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, God made Adam perfect and gave him a perfect free will. God made Adam and Eve, speaking within His Trinity:

Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV) .. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it …

Adam and Eve were given very clear instructions. Though they were not gods themselves, they were God’s Representatives. What this first Man and Woman did would impact all of creation. Before God created Eve, He made Adam. And God told Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17 (NKJV) … the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Notice the EXACT wording that God gave to Adam. God told Adam not “IF you eat of the forbidden you shall surely die”, but “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”.

God created Adam knowing that the Serpent, that old devil (Revelation 20:2) would creep into the Garden and tempt Adam. God knew that Adam would eat of that which was forbidden.

Our God knows all things BEFORE they occur – He is all knowing. “God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). The Psalmist said, “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”James, the Pastor of the early Church at Jerusalem told us “Known to God from eternity are all His works” (Acts 15:18). God knew that Adam was going to fail, that Adam would choose to follow the serpent rather than His directive. When Adam fell, it was not a surprise to God. He knew it was coming.

The Gospel is Plan A.

The Gospel teaches us that WE ARE NOT GODS, though we are MADE in His image. The Fall came because Adam assumed the role of not husband and gardener, but God!

The Bible says in Romans 5:12 (KJV) … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

Adam freely chose the Serpent and the human worldview over God’s Word, and brought sin and death into the world. After Adam’s sin God makes His PROMISE of the GOSPEL to the Serpent, that Old Devil:

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

The first promise in the Bible is the promise God made to Adam, “In the day you eat of it, you shall SURELY DIE”. The second promise in the Bible is the promise God made to the devil, the promise of the Gospel. God promised that “the seed of the woman” would attack the serpent, “bruising His heel”. His attack would hurt Him, but not be fully fatal or life ending. But the serpent, that Old Devil, his “head would be bruised”. The head is where knowledge and wisdom are stored. It is where thinking comes from. Satan’s word and his worldview would be crushed by the heel of the Messiah. The intent and promise of the Gospel is to destroy the works of the devil, to free mankind from sin.

The Promise of the Gospel was not just to Adam and Eve, not just to the Jews or to any one nation of people. The Gospel promise is to whosoever will.

God told Abraham, the father of faith:

Genesis 22:17-18 (NKJV) … blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE.

God promised Eve that her “Seed” would be the bringer of the Gospel. God promised Abraham that his “Seed”, Israel, would be “as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore”. But God went on to promise that out of Israel would come the Messenger of the Gospel. This Gospel was not just for one people, but God said “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”.

A wayward prophet called Balaam who had often turned to sorcery was filled with the Spirit of God one day. Through this broken Balaam God promised:

Numbers 24:17 (NKJV) I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

Jacob, also known as Israel, is the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. God promised that “A Star shall come out of Jacob”. The Light of God would come from Jacob’s seed. A Ruler or “A Scepter shall rise out of Israel”. This Messiah Who will rise will bring Light into the world, and defeat the forces of darkness and sinfulness. As time passed, God refined the Promise of the Gospel and of the Messiah more and more.

Isaiah 11:1 – The Messiah would come from the line of Jesse
Jeremiah 23:5-6 – The Messiah will be from the line of David
Micah 5:2 – The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
Isaiah 7:14 – The Messiah would be virgin born
Jeremiah 31:15 An Evil King will try and kill the infant Messiah
Hosea 11:1 God would hide the Messiah in Egypt

God promised the Messiah would come, and when He came, He would bring a message of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. God showed the Messiah to Isaiah, who wrote God’s Words:

Isaiah 42:1-4 (ESV) Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.

Over and over again God promised the salvation of mankind through the Gospel. The Messiah that God chose will bring the Gospel.

Consider the Old Testament to be a puzzle, a 300-400 piece puzzle. When all the pieces of prophecy are put together, they are the picture of Jesus Christ!

God offers the Gospel through His uniquely
handpicked PERSON, Jesus Christ

Romans 1:3-4 Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

When Adam sinned and spiritually died (in the day that you eat of it you shall SURELY die) he and his children became separated from God by our sin nature. God told humanity:

Leviticus 17:11 (ESV) … the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

The Gospel requires a Sacrifice, One Who will stand in for the sinner and pay the penalty of death that Adam brought on all.

Sin had to be ATONED for, that is COVERED by the sacrifice of the blood of an innocent. A sinner could not pay for a sinners sin. That would be trading evil for evil, soiled for soiled. God established the animal sacrifices to “atone” or “temporarily cover” the sins of humanity, as it was NOT the animal that sinned in Eden but Adam. Animals were not guilty of the sin that brought death into the world. Animals cannot permanently pay for our sins.

A Perfect Person had to come and fulfill the promise that God made. This Perfect Person is Jesus Christ. God promised King David:

2 Samuel 7:12-14 (NKJV) When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.

Out of the line of King David, God would raise up a Messiah, One Who would rule forever. This Messiah would be the Son of God. He would enter this world as “the SEED OF THE WOMAN”, a Man virgin born. The Prophet Isaiah said of the Messiah:

Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) … the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

This Person is Jesus Christ our Lord. He came preaching the Gospel to those who would hear Him. Jesus would go about doing good, not evil, and no sin would ever be found in Him. Jesus was sinless:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) {God} made {Jesus} who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV) {Jesus} was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

1 Peter 2:22 (NKJV) {Jesus} … committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”

Jesus had to be innocent of sin, or His Blood could not ATONE or COVER our sin. A sinner cannot pay for the sins of a sinner, no more than a beggar can pay off the debts of another beggar. No one born outside of Jesus can claim to be sinless. But Jesus – Eternal God in human form – is absolutely sinless, for He is God incarnate. Jesus was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh”. Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power”. As He went from town to town, Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, and caused those who were lame to walk.

Jesus also did something no one else could do.
Jesus forgave sins.

No one can forgive sins but God, but sins are an offense against God. I cannot forgive an offense against someone else, nor can you. We can only forgive the offense against us. We read this in…

Matthew 9:1-7 He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”— then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.

Jesus had the power on earth to forgive sins. Why? Because He is the Son of God, God the Son. Jesus was:

Romans 1:4 … declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead

God fulfilled the promise of the Gospel by sending a Perfect Person, His own Son. Jesus proved Himself God by the healing miracles He did. But He also proved Himself “by the resurrection from the dead”. To fulfill the promise that He made, God had to give His only Begotten Son over to death, a horrid death on the Cross. While on the Cross the Blood of Christ was poured out as our sins were poured out on Him and judged.

The Person Who fulfills the Promise of the Gospel is Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

Romans 10:9-11 (NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

John 3:15-16 (NKJV) whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Laying His life down, dying on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus fulfilled the promise of the Gospel. It is only through Christ that the Gospel is possible. There is no salvation without Jesus being your Lord and Savior.

God sets apart a KINGDOM PEOPLE as
His own through the Gospel.

Illustrate: One of the saddest things I’ve heard was of the death of Matthew Perry. Matthew became famous as one of the stars on NBC’s show called Friends. He appeared on many other television shows, starred in numerous movies, and was a creator, writer, and executive producer. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, he died last October (28^th, 2023) at only 54 years old due to “acute effects of ketamine”. In short, he took a drug that was originally intended for veterinary medicine as an anesthesia, and he overdosed on that drug. This was not the first time this happened. In 2020 his heart stopped for 5 minutes, and the doctor that revived him broke eight of his ribs. Prior to that he suffered a “burst colon brought about by opioid abuse”.

Matthew said that “I believe there is a higher power. I have a very close relationship with Him that’s helped me a lot.” When he moved to Hollywood and began auditioning Matthew said he prayed: [sic] “That prayer was, ‘Please God, make me famous. You can do anything you want to me; just make me famous. Three weeks later, I got ‘Friends’ – and God did not forget about the second part.”

I do not know where Matthew is now, and cannot make that judgment. But I believe that the fruit of his life and of his religion is very similar to what many people label as “Christian” or “Religious” today. When Matthew entered drug rehab in 2001, he said that his decision came during “a very lovely spiritual moment. I realize(d), I’ve got to go save myself. I got on the phone and called the people who were willing to help me.” Matthew labeled himself as a “seeker”.

Beloved, you do not need to be a “seeker”. Jesus Christ is the Seeker. He is seeking you. Not to make you famous, but to bring you into His Kingdom. Not to make you a stand out, but to claim you as one of His beloved sheep. Jesus did not come and give His life on Calvary so that you could be glorified. He gave His life on Calvary so you could be saved from a life of hell, and a future life of hell.

Life without Jesus is HELL! Life with Jesus is Heaven!

God PROMISED the Gospel. God raised up a PERSON – Jesus Christ – to fulfill the Gospel. The intent of the Gospel – it’s target – is to raise up a people who follow God and honor His Kingdom, His Rule.

Romans 1:5-6 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for OBEDIENCE to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also THE CALLED of Jesus Christ

Jesus CALLS us. He SEEKS us. We do not seek Him, but He seeks us. What does the Bible say? “We love Him, because He FIRST loved us” (1 John 4:19). God does not save us so we can continue in our sins. Christ saves us from our sins, from the hell our sins bring in our lives. He CALLS us out of Darkness, and “into His marvelous LIGHT” (1 Peter 2:9). Our final verse says:

Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ does not call you to His side as an addict. He calls the addict to repent, to trust in Him. Then Jesus cleans up the addict. There are no “saved practicing addicts”, no more than there are “saved practicing murderers” or “saved practicing rapists”. When you come to Jesus, you are made “born again”. He calls you to His side, and cleanses you. Away with the foolish thoughts that you can be “saved sinners”. The little lamb can and does sin, but runs back to the Great Shepherd when we do so. The sheep can get in the mud, but we do not wallow in it like pigs. We are no longer pigs, but His Sheep, His people. Those who come to Christ are “beloved of God”. He loves us with an infinite love. We are “called to be saints”. The word “saint” means “one set apart, uniquely chosen, dedicated to the Shepherd”. Our identity is not in our fame or our power or our money or in our looks, but in our Jesus Who “has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light”. We are the Children of God, the redeemed of Christ – if we have received Him as He is. Redeemed from the hell that satan offers, we are given “GRACE” and “PEACE”, but only through “our LORD JESUS CHRIST”.

Do you know Him? Have you received Him? He calls you to His side. Do not be a “seeker”, but a “finder”. Find Him Who calls you to salvation today. Do not delay, dear one. There is no joy in this life without a living relationship with God through His Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.