Rabbi Schneider - Messianic Rabbi Breaks Down the Gospel in the Book of Romans
So, if you want to understand the gospel and the message of Jesus, we've got to go to the beginning of the book of Romans. How does Paul start out his preaching through the word of God in the book of Romans? Does he just promise everybody that God's gonna bless them, make them happy, healthy, and wise, come to Jesus? That's not the way it starts out. Rather, Paul starts out preparing people's hearts to receive the good news by using the word of God to convict humanity of their sin and of their separation from God. In order to fix the problem, you first got to know what the problem is.
If you want somebody to buy into the solution, they first have got to know that they've got a problem. And so Paul, once again, in the most thorough explanation word of God. Paul begins to prepare mankind for the good news by saying this. "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one, no one," he said, "no one who understands; and there is no one who seeks for God". So Paul is This is what Paul says. to use God, they pray to God to relieve them of their pain or to bless them, they turn to God for help. But no one, Paul said, is really seeking God, for God. They're just seeking to use God for themselves.
Paul continues in the 12th verse. "As all have turned aside, together..." He's talking about you and I. All of humanity. "...they have become useless; there's none who does good, not even one". Do you remember the person in the New Testament that came to Jesus and said, "Good teacher, good master," and Yeshua responded back to him and said, "Why do you call Me good"? He said, "No one is good but God alone". Paul continues in Romans 3:23. "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God". So the first thing in the natural state views himself as independent or autonomous from God.
So mankind in his fallen state, in his state of separation, in his broken condition feels like they're independent of God. They choose to do with their life what they want to do. They don't want to live life subjecting themselves to God's will. But natural man, before they're regenerated by the Holy Spirit, they basically they want to do what they want to do. They want to say what they want to say, do what they want to do, think what they want to think, make their own moral decisions about what's right and what's wrong. And that's the culture that we're living in today.
Paul says, The world is corrupt and is guilty before God. And He says, "The penalty for living in this state and the penalty for existing in this state of hostility towards God, the state of autonomy and separation and independence of God", Paul says, "The penalty for this is death". So he says in Romans 6:23, "For the..." So, once again, Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ", with the fact that the first message of the gospel according to God's word, is that mankind, humanity, that includes you and I, have the penalty of death upon ourselves due to our sin.
That there is none good, no not one, but all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. And the penalty for you and I even just being born as a prodigy of Adam is eternal separation from God. But God didn't leave it there. And that's the good news of the gospel. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". So even by nature, get this, our Creator is still fond of us. He still loved us. So Paul continues on after bringing a word to convict humanity of their need by saying, "But while we were yet sinners, God the Creator, demonstrated His love towards us, through Christ Jesus and sent Jesus to die in our place".
So consider what I just said. and you've never repented. What does that mean? To repent means to turn to God, to receive His good news, to receive His advice, to recognize that you're guilty before Him. Think about all the selfish thoughts you've had. Think about the wickedness that's come from your mouth at times, the gossip. Think of the way that you've talked to your husband or your wife or your children. Think of the way that you've gossiped. You're guilty before God. But God loves you. And so He sent Yeshua, His Son, to die in your place. And all you and I have to do is repent. We need to turn to Jesus and say:
I'm sorry, God. I hear your truth. I receive your words, I turn to you, and I receive your free gift into my life right now. I receive Jesus, the One that you sent to die in my place in to my life right now. And I give You my life. I turn to You to live for You. And now I asked You, Father God, in the name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, to save me.