Jump Start # 1252

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

  The Gospel of Jesus Christ– that saving message that changes the world. There are four great thoughts found in this simple sentence.

First, the Gospel is good news. That’s what the word actually means. It’s good news from Heaven. The good news is that we are not hopelessly lost. God has a plan and God has a way for us to find Him, please Him and spend forever with Him. It’s amazing news. It’s the best news. Somehow, this great news comes across negative sometimes. It doesn’t sound very good the way some want to tell it. They missed the point. They missed what it is all about. God loves us and wants to redeem us.

Second, this great news is for everyone. That is good news. It’s not just for the best among us. It’s not just for the elite, the intellectual, the successful or the good. It’s for everyone. That includes the woman caught in adultery in John 8. That includes the woman at the well, in John 4, who had multiple marriages and was living with someone she wasn’t married to. It includes little Zacchaeus who no one liked. This good news is for those in prison. It is for those who have made terrible mistakes in their lives. It’s for the American as well as the non-American. Paul said, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” It was for those living in Jerusalem as well as those living in Rome. Few things, if anything other than the Gospel, is for all people. Scholarships are not for all people. Awards are not for all people. Country clubs are not open for all people. Not all people can qualify to buy a house. Not all people have the money or the grades to enter college. Not all people are qualified to serve in the military. Not everyone can fly a plane. Not everyone gets into medical school. We live in a world that offers things for some but not everyone. The Gospel is not that way. It’s for everyone. It’s for the king as well as the servant of the king. It’s for the guy riding in the limo as well as the driver of that limo. It’s for the guy living in the high rise as well as the guy who sleeps on the park bench. There is a common thread that cuts through all of our differences and that is we are sinners who need Jesus. All of us. The best among us as well as the worst among us. The preacher, the politician and the prostitute—they all need Jesus.

Third, the basis of receiving this saving Gospel is belief. Any one can believe. It’s not an athlete completion in which you must be able to throw a football at least fifty yards. That would eliminate many of us. It’s not a contest in which you must sing in pitch. That would drop off many of us. No, what God wants is something that we all can do, and that is believe. Believe that Gospel. Believe it to be true. Believe it to be right. Trust God. Believe what He is saying is for your best. Believe that He wants you to be saved. Believing can be very hard. We must drop the baggage that we’ve picked up in liberal colleges and dysfunctional churches and prejudiced homes. We must drop atheism, evolution, humanism and believe in the Gospel. We must believe that Jesus is real and that He really died and rose again. We must toss aside that faith is for weak women and scared men. We must put Freud on a one way train out of our mind. We must believe that God knows more than we do. We must believe that God knows us. He knows what we’ve done and He knows what we must do to be saved. Believe. It’s not believe in fairy tales. It’s believing in the true message of the Bible. Without belief we cannot be saved. The good news becomes no news if we do not believe. God doesn’t save us kicking and screaming, like a child. God doesn’t save us against our will. God doesn’t force us to be saved. Some religious doctrines teach that. They teach that God cannot be resisted. Yes, He can. “Everyone who believes,” implies that some won’t believe. Why? They don’t want to. They haven’t tried it. They haven’t given it a fair shake. They don’t want to be told that they are wrong. They don’t want to leave the land of sin. They are happy where they are and they don’t like anyone, even God, telling them what to do. They believe it’s their life to do what they want. And what they want is nothing to do with God. So the believing part is the action we must take. That belief does something to us. Noah believed that God was going to send a flood, so he obeyed God and built the ark. Our belief will lead us to changing our lives. We will repent if we believe. Out with the wrong and in with the right. We strive to walk with Jesus. We learn Jesus. Compassion, goodness, kindness, forgiveness, grace and generosity define us and become part of our DNA. Out goes selfishness, pride, indifference, and attitudes that hurt others. Believing leads us to being baptized into Christ. Why? Jesus tells us to do that. The apostles preached that everywhere. Why? Do I have to? You will if you believe. If Jesus said you must learn a foreign language to please God, then we’d start practicing. If Jesus said to climb a mountain, we’d buy the ropes and find a climbing wall and start practicing. If Jesus said be baptized, then we’ll do it. Why? Because we believe. Because Jesus said so. If Jesus said worship God, we’ll worship God. Belief leads us to doing whatever Jesus said. Resisting and fighting Jesus are signs that I haven’t truly given my heart over to Him. Deny self is what Jesus said. Believe.

Finally, Paul was not ashamed of this Gospel. He was happy to be a messenger of this good news. Not embarrassed, not ashamed, not hiding the fact that he was a part of this. Some times we act as if we are ashamed. We apologize for what God wants us to do. “I’m sorry, I would love to come to your party, but I have to go to church,” that sounds like someone who would rather be at the party than worshipping God. It sounds like someone who is forced to go to church. It sounds like someone who is ashamed of God, worship and assembling with the saints. “I’m sorry, I can’t drink, I’m a Christian,” sounds like an apology. Not ashamed. Not ashamed of what the Gospel message says about worship, marriage, divorce, righteousness, parenting, finances, commitment, fellowship. No apologies. Not ashamed. Not ashamed to live it. Not ashamed to teach it. Not ashamed to be known by others that I believe it. Not ashamed to read the Bible in public. Not ashamed to pray in public. Not ashamed to live righteously. Not ashamed to walk away from gossip. Not ashamed to turn the channel on indecent shows. Not ashamed to dress modestly, even if in a wedding. Not ashamed to defend my Jesus. Not ashamed to tell a professor that his facts are wrong about the Bible. Not ashamed. Not at all.

One simple sentence. Powerful. Profound. Life changing.

God did His part. He sent Jesus and then the message about Jesus, the Gospel. Now, it’s our turn. Do we believe? Do we follow? Are we ashamed?

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus is more than an old hymn, it’s a way of life. It’s that way for believers. Believe , first. Then share with others.

Roger