Peter Tan-Chi - Share the Good News
The Book of Romans is the most comprehensive book when it comes to theology, the most systematic book when it comes to Bible truth. But more than that, this book, the Book of Romans, has transformed many lives. Let me give an example. It has transformed the life of a playboy. This guy is addicted to sex, addicted to pleasure. Then, he read the Book of Romans. He read a part that transformed him. Do you know who's this guy? Saint Augustine. The Book of Romans touched his life. Another guy, a very sincere guy who wanted to really please God. He's so convicted in his heart, you know why? Because he's a legalistic man. He wants to obey the 10 Commandments. He wants to obey the Bible. But he is tortured because he could not.
And then one day, he was exposed to the Book of Romans. It says that "Just Shall Live by Faith". Habakkuk 2:4 Boom! It changed him. Who is this religious man? Martin Luther. And then, you have another man. This time, this guy was a missionary. He was preaching in America to the Indians. When he went back to London, he had no peace. And yet he was teaching the Bible, but no peace. He attended a Bible study and in that Bible study, they were discussing the Book of Romans. And this guy was miraculously transformed. Do you know who is this man? John Wesley. And there are many other men of God who were transformed. They got affected when they studied the Book of Romans.
So ladies and gentlemen, I want you to do something different. For the next couple of months, we are going to study the entire Book of Romans, chapter by chapter. So I like you to adjust your quiet time. You begin to read the Book of Romans, every day. Here is a brief outline of the Book of Romans. All right. It starts with Sin; Salvation, Can I live a holy life?; Sanctification; the Sovereignty of God; and Service How can I serve God? . This is an amazing book. All the theological word, you will encounter: from Salvation, Sanctification, Justification, Propitiation. All of those theological words that you have been curious about, you will learn.
All right, let's begin with chapter one. The chapter one outline, I like it because it begins with the Good News. All right. Chapter one talks about the Good News. And then, the Bad News. Now, which one do you prefer? I like to start with the Good News. But what must we do with the Good News? You got to share the Good News, all right? Today, I'm going to share with you five things about the gospel of God found in Romans 1. What are the five things? There are many more you will discover here, but I would highlight the five things.
The first thing I like to highlight is the gospel of God. What can we learn from the gospel? Listen to me, the word gospel comes from the word "good news". I want to show you a chart, the meaning of that word "gospel". The word gospel is from the Greek word what? Euaggelion. Now, it's a combination of two Greek words: first, "Eu" Good. Eulogy: when people are dead, you say something good. Eulogy. But not just eulogy, "Angelion". What does it mean? "You proclaim". So the word "gospel" simply means you proclaim good news. What is the Good News? Let's go back to verse one. Let's go back. The Bible tells us, "set apart for the gospel of God".
The first thing I'd like you to know about the gospel, ladies and gentlemen, its origin. It comes from God, it did not originate from men. It is called "the gospel of God". This is something important. Our heavenly Father wants you to know the Good News was from Him. Nobody ever forced God, okay, to give us the Good News. Nobody. God, as a Father, He longs for His lost children and He said, "I'm going to give you the good news". Guys, you have to understand the gospel was not invented by the apostles. It was not invented recently. It's as old as history. Long time ago, God already thought of what He will do. Are you aware of that? Notice, it says, "promise beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures".
The next thing I like you to learn about God: the first one is this, it comes from God; number two, it's centered on Jesus, "concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ". The gospel is about Jesus. So that you will know the Good News is centered on Jesus. Who is Jesus? The son of David in the flesh, and the Son of God. What is the proof that He's the Son of God? By the resurrection from the dead.
Today's message is 3CPR. What is 3CPR? 3Cs: Comes from God; Christ Centered; and Compelled it is compelling, it compels you. And then the last two: P: the gospel is a Power of God to Save; and lastly, R: the gospel is Righteousness of God revealed. And lastly, the Righteousness of God. Now, we'll discuss this, point by point. I finished point number one, I finished point number two, but I want to show you what does it mean, it comes from God, it is Christ centered. In the Book of Genesis, God already told Abraham. God prophesied, "Abraham, 'in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.'" You see, God told Abraham as earliest chapter 12 v.3 in Genesis, "in you all the families of the earth will be blessed".
Now, let me ask you a question. How can Abraham bless the entire world? the Bible says, the seed of Abraham, "Abraham, through you, through your descendant". Now, who is the descendant of Abraham that is now blessing the entire world? Who? Louder. Do you know who? Jesus. Look Galatians 3 v.8 explain this, "The Scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying," it's now a quotation of the Old Testament, "all the nations will be blessed in you". So the gospel was not invented by men. God thought of it, and God made a promise. Do you remember this saying, "The Old Testament is the gospel obscured, and the New Testament is gospel revealed clearly"?
You see, the Old Testament gives us a hint about the coming Messiah. Hint. But then, the New Testament makes it very clear. Example. Many of you are familiar with 2 Samuel 7 vv.12-13 for God promised David, "David, I'm gonna establish your kingdom, and one of your descendants, I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever". God promised David, "I'm going to use one of your descendants and His kingdom will be forever". So the Isaiah, the prophet repeated. "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace".
You'll be saying, what is this guy talking about? A son will be given to us and His name will be Wonderful Counselor, meaning omniscient or wise, Mighty God? Huh? Eternal Father, huh? Prince of Peace. Then, v.7 "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace. On the throne of David and over his kingdom... The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this". My friend, you will not fully understand this until you go to the New Testament. Ahh, he's talking about Jesus.
The Book of Daniel tells us, who is this Messiah, Daniel 7:13-14 "And behold with the clouds of heaven. One like a Son of Man was coming," Notice, "Son of Man". Huh, Human. "And He came up to the Ancient of Days..., and to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed".
Ladies and gentlemen, you will not understand this until you have the New Testament. And until you realize who are they referring to? Who is this man? Louder. Jesus. That is the gospel, Good News. It comes from God, nobody forced him. It's nothing new, it's in the Old Testament, it's about Jesus, "concerning His Son", that, my friend, is the Good News. But what will this Messiah do? "But He was pierced through for our sin transgressions". Wow. "He" referring to somebody "was crushed for our perversion iniquities;" our foolishness. "The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him; And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;" Everybody read this now, "But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him".
Now, who is this "Him"? My friend, if you are willing to study the Bible objectively, humbly, you'll come to a conclusion: The Bible is indeed God's love for you and for me and the gospel is about Jesus. Amen. No wonder if you read a New Testament, you'll see this: Matthew 1:1 "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, (and) the son of Abraham;" By the way, do you know why I mentioned this? How will you know, Jesus is the son of David? You see, the Jewish people kept a meticulous record of the descendants of Abraham. Everybody can be traced, up to Jesus. The problem is this: After 70 AD, the temple was burned. All the records were destroyed. Nobody now knows who their great, great, great, you know, your ancestry line, except when Jesus was born, the records were intact.
And that's why you read the New Testament. They say, "Is this not the son of David"? The Bible prophecy has to be fulfilled. So that you and I will know Jesus is really the gospel. You and I are not believing somebody's imagination created by human IQ just to have a religion. No, no, no. This is confirmed by historical facts. Jesus died and He rose again. Who is this Jesus? The son of David. So the gospel is from God, comes from God, it's about Jesus, and you are compelled to share. You're compelled to obey Him.
Let's read Roman 1:14, everybody read together, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and the barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish". What does that mean? I'm under compulsion. Can I tell you, literally, the word for "obligation" in the Greek language? Paul is saying, "I am in debt". In Tagalog, "May utang po ako". Now the English translation, some uses the word "I am in debt". Some use the word "under obligation," Notice, Obligacion. Obligation. How do you get in debt? How do you become obligated? Simple. When you borrow money, you become in debt, you become obligated. Yes or No? All right. But there's another way to be obligated.
I'll give you a demonstration. Paul. Paul, come here. You know, if Paul, okay, did not borrow from the bank, how can Paul become obligated? Ahh, example. Paul, this is just example. Okay. Lots of money, P10,000. Example, I will now give this to Paul. Paul, I'm entrusting this to you. You give this to JP, right? You give this to Pastor JP because he needs to have this money. The moment I give him the money, is he obligated now? Yes or No? Why? Because I entrusted something to him. That is what Paul is saying, I want to make sure he doesn't forget. All right, guys. Thank you. You know, Paul is saying, "God has entrusted to me the gospel, and now I'm obligated to pass it on".
Friends, until you understand this: You are obligated. You are compelled. By virtue of God entrusting the gospel to you and to me. Many Christians don't understand this. They think it is optional to share the gospel. They think it is okay, if you feel like sharing, if you don't feel like sharing, it's okay. It is not okay, if you are a true follower of Jesus. Paul is saying, "I am under obligation. I'm in debt to Greeks, to the intellectuals, to the barbarians, to rich or poor. It doesn't matter wise or foolish". Paul said, "I indebted". Notice, because he understood this, "So for my part, I am eager".
Look at his attitude, compelled. He's eager. Are you eager to share the gospel? My goodness. Let me share with you. Not only that. He says, "For I am not ashamed (I am not ashamed) of the gospel" Are you ashamed? You know, today you have to understand the culture of the time of Paul. Paul was laughed at, Paul was ridiculed. You remember Festus? Festus said, "Paul, you keep talking about Jesus, you are crazy. Your education had made you crazy. You're out of your mind". When Paul was in Athens, preaching the gospel, the Athenians said, "Paul, what are you doing"? You know people today, same thing. When you talk about Jesus, they may laugh at you. They may say, "You still believe in that stuff? You still believe"?
My friend, Paul is saying, "I am not ashamed". I'll be honest with you. Years ago, when I was a young Christian, you know where I put the Bible, I wrapped the Bible in newspaper and I go. I go to different places with newspaper. People think I love the newspaper. Inside the newspaper is the Bible. Why was I embarrassed to go around in the university with the Bible? Ashamed. But by the grace of God, the more I learn about the gospel, the more I realize I have nothing to be ashamed of. Can I tell you why you don't have to be ashamed of anything?
Notice, what it says, "it is the power of God". The gospel is the power of God. That is why you have the word "dunamis," dynamite. This power, the Romans are fan of power. Do you understand? Because the Romans, they understand Rome, the greatest city. the most powerful capital, the most powerful empire, they understood military power. They understood political power. They understand economic power. But what they don't understand is the power of God to change the hearts of people. You see, the greatest power, if you ask me, is the power of God through Jesus to change our heart. Once upon a time, my heart was cold. I don't want to have anything to do with God, but something happened. The gospel is powerful. It changes heart. It heals the brokenhearted. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past. Broken families, the gospel can heal. The gospel can restore, and that is amazing power.
But there's a condition to that power. Look at this verse, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes". You see, the gospel is offered to everyone, but what is the condition? Believe. The gospel is the power of God to save us from what? Salvation is a big picture. Okay. Save us from what? I want you to see this chart. Salvation. What is the gospel saving us from? Penalty of Sin, that's the wrath of God. When you understand the gospel, you are saved from the wrath of God, from the judgment of God. The theological term is called Justification.
Now, God is saving you today. Right now. Present tense. He's saving you from the power of sin. Believe it or not, God wants you to have victory. God wants you to overcome your temper. God wants you to overcomes your addiction, whatever problem you may have. Sexual addiction, pornography, computer games, whatever it is. For some people, our biggest problem is selfishness, we are self-centered. That is what God is doing now, Sanctification. God will save you. He's saving you right now. You are being transformed, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know, saints, you are being transformed to be like Christ.
And lastly, someday you'll be saved from the Presence of Sin. No more temptation, someday. The last verse for today. The Bible tells us the gospel, "For in it," in the gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith.'" How in the world is a gospel of God revealing the righteousness of God? The Bible says, "The gospel is the power of God". Right? There is power to save us. Then, it reveals the righteousness of God. What does it mean, the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel?
When you see the word, "God is righteous," I want you to know something. The righteousness of God, when described in the Book of Romans is not just about the character of God. It is not just about what He does is perfection. Yes, God's righteousness. Everything He does is always correct. God is perfectly righteous. It's more than that, you will learn in Romans 3, that the righteousness of God also means how He forgave us is righteous. How God saved us is righteous. Why? Because justice and love met at the cross. Justice and mercy. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, that is justice. Sin must be paid for. There is forgiveness. That is the righteousness of God in declaring you righteous. But more than that, this will blow your mind.
When the Bible says "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith," you acquired the righteousness of God also. It blows my mind. When I studied the Bible, "Wow. You mean to tell me, God gives me His righteousness"? Yes. Paul talks about two kinds of righteousness. Philippians 3:9. Let's read this chapter three, two kinds of righteousness. Paul said, "I may be found in Him," everybody, please read, "not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law".
Paul is saying, there's a kind of righteousness that comes from human effort, you try to obey the Law, you try to avoid sin, you try to do good works. That is one kind of righteousness. But you know what? That righteousness will not be enough to bring you to heaven. Why? Because you will never be good enough. Let me repeat, the "righteousness of my own derived from the Law" will never be good enough, "but through," everybody read, "but that which is true faith in Christ," everybody read aloud, "the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith".
What does that mean? It simply means this, guys, your own righteousness will never be good enough, but when you come to Jesus, God is saying your old life is dead. He gives you a new life, Jesus. Jesus is now your righteousness. When God sees you, He does not see your sin. He sees Christ. Wow. That's how righteous you are. That's why you are called Saint. Look at 1 Corinthians 1 vv.30-31. Let's read this, together, "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, so that just as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord".
Let me explain. The Bible says, "But by" Louder. Whose doing? God. It is God at work. By His doing, you are now in Jesus. And because you are in Jesus, everybody, "Jesus, became" what? "to us, our wisdom and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption". Now let me ask you. Have you experienced the righteousness that comes from God through faith? "The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;" You begin the Christian life by faith, you will end it by faith. Many people think "I received Jesus Christ by faith. And now I sustain my Christian life by works, by self effort". No, no, no. From beginning to end, it's all faith.
"I begin my relationship with God by faith. I will sustain my relationship with God by faith. I keep trusting Him". And someday, all of us as you leave this world and you see Jesus, you are sustained by faith. It's never faith to works. No, no. It's faith, faith, faith. But the evidence of faith is what you will learn in the Book of Romans. "Faith without works is dead". Faith to faith. Together, Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast".
The difference between the Gospel and Religion. Religion and the Gospel. What is Religion? It is man's way to find God, man's effort. What is the Gospel? It's God's way to find us, the gospel through Jesus. What is Religion? Salvation is by works, you need to earn it. What is the Gospel? Salvation is by grace, you don't deserve it. It's a gift, but somebody paid for the gift, Jesus.
Religion is Legalism, "I got to do this. I got to do that". And some of you are still in that mode, legalistic mode. That's why you don't enjoy your relationship with God. You think God is angry at you all the time. Faith, what Christ has done for me? Do you know what Christ has done for you? He died on the cross to pay for all of your sins and He rose again from the dead. And what is the last one? What does it say? Uncertain of Heaven.
You know, Religion will never assure your Salvation. What about the Gospel? Assurance of Heaven. Now, let me ask you. What do you have, Religion or the Gospel? I want to give you a chance today. If you are touched by the gospel of God and you finally understood the gospel of God, it's from Him, He loves you. Will you pray with me? I want to give you a chance to pray, to accept the gospel of God, that is Jesus Christ, by faith. You tell Him to be your Savior. Let's bow our heads.
Lord Jesus, I admit I'm a sinner. I believe You died on the cross to pay for all of my sins. Today, by faith, I invite You to be my Lord and my Savior. Jesus, come into my life. I accept your forgiveness. I place my faith, my trust in your promises. Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Will you change my heart? Will You change my life? I surrender my all to You. Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus name, we all pray. Amen. And amen.