Romans 1

Chapter 1. The Power of the GospelI am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)This passage forms a sort of text for the whole epistle of Paul to the Romans. The object of this profound and comprehensive treatise is to unfold the fullness and power of the gospel as the revelation of the righteousness of God to be received by us through faith, and as he expresses it here, “by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17). That is, through the various stages of our faith as it rises step by step from the first experiences of salvation to all the fullness of our sanctification and service for God.

Section I: The Power of the Gospel

Section I—The Power of the GospelPaul was going to Rome, and if ever anything on earth was the embodiment and expression of power, it was old Rome. Greece represented the culture of the world; Babylon, its luxury and pride; Israel, the ethical idea and the development of moral truth; but Rome was the embodiment of force and strength, as no other nation of the past. The material culture of Roman life was directed to the development of the highest form of physical perfection. The military power of Rome was unrivaled, and that great imperial colossus crushed beneath its iron heel the last vestige of independence from the surrounding nations and peoples, until, in the visions of Daniel and John, it became a great monster, stamping beneath its cruel feet the liberties of the world and the hapless victims of its despotic power. Yet Paul was going to Rome to defy this proud colossus and to attack its citadel of heathenism in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. His only weapon was a humble sword, forged by no human wisdom and claiming no earthly prestige. And yet he was not ashamed of that humble weapon, but he waved it even in the face of the palace of the Caesars and with unfaltering boldness, he cried: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). And before two centuries had elapsed, the pride and power of Rome had fallen before that weapon and the city of the Caesars had acknowledged the gospel of Christ as the religion of the Roman Empire and the world. And as the ages have rolled on since then, the only power that has been found equal to the demands and needs of a lost world is the gospel of Jesus Christ; and the only pity is, that its friends have sometimes been ashamed of it and tried to substitute some of the carnal weapons of culture for the old, rugged sword which has won so many battles and has lost none of its ancient power, if only wielded by the Spirit of God, in the hands of believing men who are not ashamed of its simplicity and its fullness. The other day, a remarkable testimony was given by one of the best known writers of modern fiction, the author of sensational literature of a low character and one who has most firmly believed in the principle of positivism. In speaking of these things, he has recently said, in substance: “I have been a positivist for 30 years, but I must confess that it has failed as a remedy for the evils of human society, and as I look around me for some hope for the world, the only thing that I can find that promises to meet the need is a true religious belief; but alas! Where shall I find it in its purity and power, even among its friends?” Alas! The complaint is but too true. The friends of truth and Christianity have almost grown ashamed of its ancient simplicity and power, and they have substituted so many things for it and handicapped it with so many fetters and weights that it has scarcely had a chance to prove its divinity and omnipotence. It is quite wonderful what Christianity is accomplishing today, when we think of what it has to contend with among its own advocates and followers. And yet, everywhere it goes, it is proving its divine character and its mighty efficiency. One of the most distinguished of modern travelers, who went over all the East with a prejudice against evangelical missions, has become their devoted friend through the results she has witnessed in Japan and other countries. What is the power of the gospel of Christ? Power to Change or Destroy

1. It is an authoritative message from the throne of the universe and it carries with it issues and influences that are fitted to change eternal destinies. There are some words that have no special authority or power. I read the morning newspaper simply as a discussion of public questions. I read the books in my library, simply as collections of human opinions and thoughts on various subjects. I may believe them or not, as I please. They interest me, perhaps they instruct me, they entertain me, but they come to me with no authority. But in a very different sense do I receive a summons from the court, a verdict from the jury, or a decree from the judge upon the bench. These are words that settle things. They are actual forces. They determine destinies. They change the course of lives. They are words that must be met and answered and acted upon. They come with power and authority. This is the character of the gospel. It is the voice of God to a revolted world and a subject-race. It is a message from the throne to men and women who are accountable to the Sovereign Ruler who sends it. It contains the sentence of condemnation which has been passed upon all the race and from which they cannot escape but by the remedy which God has appointed. It contains, also, the announcement of that remedy and the authoritative assurance that all who accept it will be forgiven and received into the love and confidence of their offended Sovereign and treated as His friends and His children. It brings to every man who receives it the opportunity of life eternal, and it adds to every one who rejects it the awful guilt of an aggravated and sinful disobedience to the command of infinite love. We speak it to men, not as a matter of counsel or advice, not as a matter for discussion of opinion, but as a direct message from God, invested with His supreme sanction: “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16). The bearer of such a message as this goes forth among men with the dignity of a divine ambassador and is able to speak with the authority of his Master and with a sense of power which no human message could ever give; and the man who hears this gospel may know that if he will accept it, it has power to instantly reverse his eternal destiny, to close the gates of hell, to cancel the curse of doom, to lift him out of the kingdom of darkness and to open to him the blessed and glorious prospect of a pure and happy life below and a glorious immortality above. The gospel, the moment it is received, changes his entire career and lifts him from sin to salvation, from hell to heaven. But it must be believed or we cannot come into touch with its power. Over on the street corner, 30 years ago, you might have seen an Italian fruit-seller, bearing the marks of noble birth and better days. Suppose you were sent to him with a message from the Italian government, telling him that he might return in safety to his native land and resume his old patrimonial estate, for the political decree that had been standing against him had been annulled, his exile cancelled and amnesty declared for him and all his political associates. Now if that man believed your message, he would accept the amnesty and return to his native land, and a few weeks afterward you might have found him in his splendid villa, or among the courtiers and nobles of the land and all because he had believed your message and it had raised him from obscurity and exile to honor and blessing. If however, he should fail to believe your message and should say, “This is only a trick to betray me to my enemies,” he would refuse the kind offer you had brought him, he would remain at his wretched little fruit stand and years and years later, you would see him going deeper and deeper down, until at last his life would end in an ignominious grave—and all because he failed to believe your simple message. Precisely such are the effects that follow the unbelief of the sinner. God sends you a message of amnesty, reconciliation and salvation. If you will believe it, you will receive His forgiveness, you will become His child, you will enter into His friendship, you will rise to the dignity of a Christian, you will be regenerated, purified and possessed by the Holy Spirit, you will be exalted by the glorious hopes and the sacred employments of your new life, you will rise from grace to grace and from glory to glory, until some time you will “shine like the sun in the kingdom of [your] Father” (Matthew 13:43). But if you refuse to believe it, if you will remain unpardoned and unsaved, borne down by inward sin and outward temptation, you shall sink deeper and deeper into corruption and discouragement, and at last be lost in the depths of eternal ruin and despair—all because you refused to believe in the tidings of God’s grace and love. It is only for “everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16) that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The Power of the Holy Spirit
2. The gospel is the power of God because it is accompanied with a divine and supernatural energy through the Holy Spirit, which makes it a living force in the hearts and lives of all who receive it. This gospel is much more than a piece of information, or even an authoritative message. When rightly preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is accompanied by an actual, supernatural presence and power which enables it to produce effects far beyond what the truths themselves might seem fitted to effect. Not only is the power of the Holy Spirit promised to the true preacher of the gospel, but it is also promised to accompany the hearing of it in the hearts of the people. Both are necessary to the true effect of the gospel. No man has a right to preach it without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This was the way Paul preached, in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Even the Lord Jesus Christ Himself did not attempt His public ministry until He had received the Holy Spirit at His baptism; and if the Son of God did not attempt to preach and perform His ministry without the Spirit, it is rank presumption and impertinence for any man to dare to do so. It does not make any difference how much a preacher knows, or how many letters of the alphabet he is entitled to affix to his name; he has no right to stand up and preach the gospel, even in the smallest pulpit, or to the humblest people in the land, unless he knows that he has been divinely ordained and is God’s ambassador to men. If the preacher has this divine anointing, he may be quite sure that besides the unction which will come with his own word and the tact, tenderness and force with which he shall be enabled to speak, there will also be an accompanying power in the heart of the hearer. A secret Witness will stand in every pew and whisper in every heart, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7); a mysterious and solemn echo will repeat the message in the sinner’s ear and even Felix will tremble as Paul reasons “on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). This is the power that makes men realize that they are sinners. This is the light that reveals Jesus as the eternal Savior and makes it easy to trust Him. This is the hand that breaks the fetters of “the world, the flesh and the devil” and sets the spirit free for holy love and serving. This was the glory of Paul’s great commission and the commission of every true ambassador, “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). And whenever God’s word is spoken in power, then there is a power present sufficient to enable every honest heart to believe it, to receive it and to experience its blessed effects. God commands no man to do anything without giving him the power to do it. And so, if He is now commanding any man to repent, believe and obey, that very command contains in itself the power to enable you to do it, as much as when He said of old to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand,” (Matthew 12:13), or to the sleeping corpse of Nain, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” (Luke 7:14). Inherent Power
3. The gospel contains, in the nature of things, a message full of power. The truths which it unfolds are fitted, when understood and believed, to influence the heart and life with intense force. It literally means, “glad tidings.” Now, there is great power in either ill or good tidings. I have seen a person faint under bad news and I have seen the face shine as with the light of heaven and the life renewed and restored by good news. The gospel is the best news a sad and sinful world ever heard. Deliverance First, it is good news of deliverance. It tells of escape from danger and doom, from the curse of sin, the power of Satan and the dark shadow of the eternal future. Surely there is power in such tidings as these. Is there inspiration and cheer in the glad message to the shipwrecked crew, that rescue is at hand? Is there joy and hope in the tidings of pardon to the long-imprisoned convict? Does it quicken the pulse and flush the cheek with the glow of glad encouragement, to know that the crisis of disease is over and that the sufferer at last is convalescent? Oh, how much better the tidings that guilt is canceled, God is reconciled and heaven is won, that death is robbed of its sting and sorrow turned into everlasting joy, through His salvation! Some men are sinking through discouragement and despair. If they would only believe the good news, their hearts would rise with enthusiasm to a nobler and a better life. It is said that once a skilled artisan in the employ of an Oriental king had become almost useless in his daily tasks; his hand had lost its cunning and his work was marred by constant failure. The king sent for him and asked him what had caused the surprising change. “Ah!” said he, “it is my heart that makes my hand unsteady. I am under an awful cloud of calamity and discouragement. I am hopelessly in debt and my family is to be sold as slaves. I can think of nothing else from morning to night and as I try to polish the jewels and cut the facets in the diamonds, my hand trembles and my fingers forget their wonted skill.” The king smiled and said: “Is that all? Your debt shall be paid, your family saved and your cares dispelled. You may take the word of your king and go to work again with a free and fearless heart.” That was enough and never was work so skillfully done, never were such exquisite carvings and cunning devices in precious gems as the hand of this happy artisan devised when set at liberty from his fears and burdens. This is the way we can come into true service of God. We must first be saved and set at liberty and then our work must be the glad and grateful return of ransomed souls. The gospel brings the glad news that all this has been done for us, and the moment we believe it we are saved and the very consciousness of our deliverance has the power to lift us to a love, a purity and a devotion, that nothing else could have accomplished. Love Again, the gospel is the good news of love. There is a strange power in the consciousness of being loved. It will bring sunshine to the face of a child, or cover it with clouds and gloom, to know or doubt a mother’s love. It is said that one of the most distinguished statesmen of the times of the American Revolution was once a hopeless drunkard. He had been engaged to a beautiful girl, but his dissipation had compelled her to break the engagement and sever herself from his influence, which was dragging her down. She had not ceased to love him, or to pray for him. One day she was passing along a suburban road. She saw him lying intoxicated by the sidewalk, his face exposed to the broiling, blistering sun and swollen with drink and exposure. Her tender heart was deeply moved, and as she passed by she took her handkerchief and gently spread it over his stupid, sleeping face. An hour or two later he awoke and saw the handkerchief and her name upon the corner of it. He sprang to his feet and a glad thrill of hope and courage came to his heart. “She loves me still,” he said, “all is not yet lost. For her sake I will redeem my life.” And he did. The love of that woman saved him. There was power in that single name and the glad message which it expressed, to rescue that lofty intellect and that gifted man from the depths of a drunkard’s grave. Oh, how much more power is there in the love of Christ to save lost men from despair, if they can only believe that He loves them! And how can any doubt it, who will look at the story of His birth and His cross, and think for a moment how He has followed you through all your sinful career and your worthless life, longing to save you, ready at any moment to rescue you and undertake the infinite burden of your future existence? Yes, if you can only believe that He loves you and will love you forever, it will lift you out of anything. Paul says of that love, that it made him beside himself and constrained him, like a great torrent shut up between restricting shores, until it swept with resistless current over all its banks in tides of power and fullness. This was the secret of Paul’s mighty life, the consciousness of the love of Christ and a sublime and heroic devotion to His person and His service. And it is the strongest force that can come to any human life. It may be yours, if you will believe the glad tidings of the gospel. Help The gospel is also the glad tidings of help. When the garrison at Lucknow was beleaguered in that awful enclosure, with famine threatening them within and the Sepoys waiting without for carnage and outrage, the last hope of the garrison was the coming of Havelock and Sir Colin Campbell with reinforcements. And yet they came not. As the days and the weeks went by, the supplies diminished, the heat increased, the cannonade grew fiercer and the rebels more defiant, until at last it seemed that they must surrender. One morning, a Scotch lassie listening with her well-trained ear, thought she heard in the distance the sound of the Highland pipes. She cried out: “They’re coming! They’re coming! Dinna ye hear it? It’s the pibroch and the slogan!” Nobody else could hear it, but her ear was not mistaken and ere long they knew that the Highlanders were marching on Lucknow and that help at last had come. It was a thrilling sight to look at those old residency walls a few years ago and read once more the story of those heroic days and think how that message of help had power to save the beautiful city of Lucknow and the lives of those women and children from horrors worse than death. But there is a better message of help for sinking souls. Over the waste of life’s wreck-strewn sea, over the years that have been lost and cursed, there comes the sweet-voiced message not only of forgiveness for the past, but of power to save to the uttermost and to keep from sin and Satan, the most crushed and hopeless lives. Like the music of heaven, like the memory of cradle songs and childhood hymns, can’t you hear it saying “He is able to save completely” (Hebrews 7:25)? “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:27). He “is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude 1:24). It is glad tidings for helpless hearts, for ruined lives, for wills that have lost their strength and lives that have been bound by the chains of habit in the bondage of Satan and despair. Yes, even if your body be wrecked with disease and sin, the power that saved Augustine from the effects of a dissolute youth and gave him both holiness and health, with 60 years of glorious service, can rescue you, restore you and enable you to recover all the years that the locusts have eaten. Hope Once More, the Gospel Is Good News of Hope There is immense power in a well-founded hope. Ambition is the inspiration of millions of lives and even a false ambition has often lifted an ignoble life into something like grandeur. The gospel gives us a sure hope and a hope as glorious as it is certain and it is fitted to elevate and inspire us to the noblest of heroisms. Believe it and rise to meet it and let its power draw you with holy magnetism from selfishness and earthiness to the high and holy capacities of a consecrated life.

Section II: The Progressive Steps of Faith

Section II—The Progressive Steps of FaithThis passage tells us not only of the power of the gospel, but also of the progressions of faith. “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last [from faith to faith], just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:17). The Epistle to the Romans is really the unfolding of three successive stages of faith. First, there is the faith that saves us, in the third, fourth and fifth chapters. Next, there is the faith that sanctifies us, in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Then we have the faith that consecrates us to the service of God, in the closing chapters of this precious epistle. It reveals to us the successive stages “from faith to faith.” The same faith that saves you, when rightly applied, will sanctify you and also bring you the power of the Holy Spirit, with all the fullness of a consecrated life. It is a little lever which God puts into your hand, which you can apply to every situation of need and which will lift you up above all that harms and hinders into all the fullness of His great salvation. God’s purpose in all His dealings with us is to make us grow into something higher. The greatest calamity that can come to a soul is to be satisfied with its present condition. Someone asked me the other day about a friend—“Is he happy?” I said, “Yes, as happy as he can be, but that is not much.” I thought of an oyster out there in the bay that is fattening on the nutritious water of the little pool where it is fed and fitted for the metropolitan markets. That oyster is just as happy as it can be. It has all it wants and it is filled to repletion. So some people are just about as happy as an oyster. Go a little higher and take up that little pet kitten that sits on your lap, or plays at your feet. It has a soft carpet, a warm room, a kind mistress, dinner and supper, and a kind hand to rub it down in its playful or affectionate moods. That is all it wants. It looks no higher, wants no higher heaven than to sit and purr on the cushion and the warm hearth rug. And so we have known people who were just as happy in their way as an oyster or a kitten. I remember a woman who once told me that she had no need of God. She was satisfied with her husband’s love and her baby’s fond embraces. Her heart was filled with these pleasures. She was supremely happy. There are people who eat and sleep and live an animal existence to the full. They are not bad people. They are earthly souls. They are as happy as they can be, but they have no capacity for the highest happiness and the noblest satisfactions. God save us from such content and give us those hungerings and thirstings and longings and outreachings, which cannot rest short of God’s highest things! These are the vessels He makes that He may fill them with Himself. These are the capacities for higher living and holier aspiration and endeavor. These are the promptings of a loftier faith and a more divine life. These are the golden steps in the ladder of eternal progression that lead us “from faith to faith” unto all the maturity of spiritual manhood and all the heights of grace and glory.