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THE FACE
THAT WOULD NOT BLUSH
One
of my favorite verses in the Bible is:
For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to
the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans
1:16
The
word “gospel” used
three different ways in this chapter.
(1)
Gospel
of God v.1
(2)
Gospel
of His Son v9
(3)
Gospel
of Christ v16
to
sum it up
(1)The “Gospel of God” tells us from where the gospel comes,
(2)The
“Gospel of
His Son” tells us who it
is about and
(3)the
“Gospel of Christ” tells us what the gospel will do!
The
gospel is good news.
There
are, at least, 4 things the believer should be ashamed of.
(1)
Suffering
Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let
him glorify God on this behalf.
1 Peter 4:16
(2)
Second
Coming And
now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we
may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
1
John 2:28
(3)
Bible
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my
words in this adulterous and
sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels.
Mark
8:38
(4)
The Gospel For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. Romans
1:16
The
last of these four is what I want to address at this time.
I
want to share with you 8
reasons that I am not ashamed of the gospel.
1.
THE PERSON OF THE GOSPEL “The gospel of Christ”
(1)“Am
I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb.
And
shall I fear to own His cause or blush to speak His name?”
-
Isaac Watts
(2)
An elderly preacher of the gospel was giving his testimony. He
said, “When I was 30,
I said that there nothing better than the gospel, then when I
reached 40, I said that
there is nothing as good as the gospel, then when I reached 50,
I said that nothing compares with the gospel, but then when I
became 60, I realized
that there is nothing BUT the gospel.”
I’m
not ashamed of the person
of the gospel.
2.THE
PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL
“Power
of God unto salvation”
(1)
What is the purpose of the gospel. We are big on purpose statements today. Here is the purpose
statement of the gospel!
It
is for giving eternal life and abundant life
to those who will believe.
(2)
Only real hope of society, which is in great need.
A changed people will change society.
It is the gospel that has the power to change. It is the supreme
change agent.
I’m
not ashamed of the person or the purpose of the
gospel.
3.
THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
“power of God ”
(1)The
Greek word that is
translated “gospel” here in Romans 1:16 is “dunamis”.
We get the English word “dynamite”
from the word.
(2)There
is certainly power to blow the sin out of our lives, the cursing
out of our mouths, the unbelief out of our minds and hearts.
(3)
The church is to be on the offensive.
Trouble comes when idle,
retreating or attempting to maintain.
The believer is likened, in the Bible to an army &
athletes. No place
for retreat. Need
self-discipline.
I’m
not ashamed of the person, the purpose,
power of the gospel.
4.
THE PROGRAM OF THE
GOSPEL
“To
every one that believeth”
(1)In
order for people to believe they must hear. In order to hear, it
makes sense that someone must tell them.
10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher?
10:15
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:14-15
(2)
That is the reason the church is here.
Too often the church gets sidetracked into other things.
There is only one main reason for
the church to exist.
(ill.
fire department, etc.)
I’m
not ashamed of the the person, the purpose, the power
the
program of the gospel.
5.
THE PRESSURE OF THE GOSPEL
“power
of God to
salvation”
Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do?
Acts 2:37
I’m
not ashamed of the person, the purpose, the power,
the program, the pressure of the gospel.
6.
THE PECULIARITY OF THE GOSPEL “every
one”
(1)
You get something for
nothing. (certainly money,
education, etc. are not for evereyone, but the gospel IS,
if it is
accepted. Christ paid for it!
(2)
We should never be
ashamed of this!
I’m
not ashamed of the person, the purpose, the power,
the program, the pressure, the peculiarity of
the gospel.
7.
THE PLAN OF THE GOSPEL " who believeth”
(1)
99 times in the gospel of John it says something like, “believe
and be saved”
(2)His
plan is simple, but not necessarily easy.
I’m
not ashamed of the person, the purpose, the power,
the program, the pressure, peculiarity, the
plan of the gospel.
8.
THE PARDON OF THE GOSPEL
“salvation”
(1)
Dr. R.G. Lee told the story of a young mother who lived in
Brooklyn just around the turn of the 20th century. She lived in an
apartment building. She
went to a store on the corner and left her little girl, thinking
she would be all
right for just a few minutes.
But when she came home she heard the sound of the horse
hooves on the street, the clanging of the bells.
When she saw the fire wagon, she realized that there was a
fire in her apartment building. She dropped her groceries and ran screaming toward the
entrance of the building. A
fireman detained her saying that it was too dangerous for her to
enter. She screamed that her daughter was inside.
A young fireman asked the chief to allow him to go in. (he
had a child at home and realized how much the little girl meant to
her mother) The young
man was allowed to go in, after much persistence.
A few minutes later he threw a blanked with the little girl
inside, safely below to
the net. The young fireman died in that blaze.
The
story doesn’t end there. About
20 years later a young lady was seen in the cemetery placing a
bouquet of flowers on a grave. She was asked by a groundskeeper,
“Was it your father?” She
said, “No.” She
was weeping. He asked her, “Was it your brother?” She said, “No.” Finally
he inquired, “Who was it that after these many years, you would
be weeping over him?” She
said, “It was the man who saved my life.”
(2)
After Watergate and President Nixon’s resignation, President
Ford came on television to announce the pardon of the past
president. He said,
he was granting “a full, free and absolute pardon.”
That
is what happens when someone believes upon Christ!
There
are many reasons why I am not ashamed of the gospel.
How could I ever be ashamed of Him after ALL He has done
for me?
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