ROMANS UNWRAPPED 7

                              THE MESSAGE - ROMANS CHAPTER 1 v1- 4



We live in very shallow times spiritually, when people are more interested in the created material things, than in the Creator Himself.   What we are about to consider, involves EXTREME ACTION on the part of the Creator, and we should not merely think of it intellectually, but deeply, and spiritually, for our own good.

This gospel  -  good news  -  involves the INCARNATION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, EXALTATION, and FUTURE KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST.   This will affect all our futures for good or bad.   If God had to go to such lengths to save a human being we have to ask how bad was our situation for Him to do all this?  

Paul's message is good news but we need to know the bad news first.   This will only be good news as we understand the bad.   To create the universe, God only had to speak His majestic word;  to save a human being His own Son must die to save us all and we should take it seriously.   The late Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote a booklet entitled  "The plight of man & the power of God" you should buy it and read it for we must understand, that without this extreme intervention by God on our behalf the entire race is doomed.   The good news is that we can be saved from such a prospect and this is what the letter to Romans unfolds.   We will look at the message of good news from three angles.

1.   Its origin is God - it is the gospel of God
2.   It is rooted in the sacred writings of Holy Scripture
3.   It is concerning a glorious person - God's Son.

Today we look at the first of these:-

1.   The message of the gospel has its origin in God.

This is no religious concoction of men.   No mere mortal could have come up with this -  this is divine.   In Paul's day there was a custom known as "the gospel of the Caesars".   This involved the pardoning and setting free of offending prisoners in every province of the empire, on the occasion of the Caesar's birthday.   It is in that context, Paul introduces "the gospel of God" which can mean the pardoning and setting free of all offenders,  in all the world, at all times!   The Caesars were powerful and influential people, others, can create religions, but only God can do this.   The gospel of God contains nothing that is contributed by mortal men, it is the life giving proclamation from the highest authority in the universe.

In our world today, when people want to  establish the truth of anything they talk about "gospel truth".   This is the whole point, that the world at large has unwittingly grasped, that this gospel is from God, it contains no lie, it is absolute truth, it will come to pass and we can all depend upon it.

                                                   IT IS THE GOSPEL OF GOD.

No feeble, no mortal, imperfect human hand, played any part in it.   It is perfect, it is reliable, it cannot be improved upon, and nothing should ever be taken from it, for it is absolutely dependable, God's honour is at stake, and that will never fail.

Tomorrow we shall look at how all through out human history the sacred writings reveal this was in the heart of God from the beginning.