Sermon

November 2, 2003
Reformation
Romans 1:16-17
Pastor Ben Berger

Proudly Cling to the Gospel

What is your dearest treasure? What do you hold closer to your heart than anything else? It's very possible that some of you have an empty heart. You couldn't think of an answer to the question. Your life is full of things and people, but you do not cling to any of them; you do not hold anything close to your heart. Some of you could think of any number of things dear to your heart, but they are all temporal; you will leave all of it behind when you die. And, hopefully some already cling to the best treasure of all. Today, the apostle Paul tells us what the best treasure is. He encourages us to Cling to the Gospel. Make the Gospel your dearest treasure. Hold onto the Gospel so tightly that no one can take it away. And Cling to the Gospel proudly. Let others see how the Gospel effects your life. Proudly Cling to the Gospel for two reasons. 1) It is the POWER of God. 2) It reveals the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God.

Repent with me brothers and sisters. We do not always cling to the Gospel. And though it may be in our heart, we often do not live by it proudly. In fact, our actions often indicate that we are ashamed of the Gospel. I see here a pastor who does not always practice what he preaches. I see parents who do not know God's word well enough to teach it to their children or use it to discipline. I see children who take God's word for granted. Because they have access to it every day, they do not think they need it. I see brothers and sisters in the faith who are afraid to rebuke one another's sin and even more afraid to offer comfort; we are too afraid to make ourselves vulnerable. I see an entire group of people, including myself, that believes the Gospel but does not openly or proudly believe. We hide our faith so that we don't create any problems or hurt anyone's feelings. Repent with me. Admit with me that all too often we are ashamed of the Gospel.

That was not the case with Paul or with Martin Luther. Paul writes this letter to the Romans for just the opposite reason. He said, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel." Paul couldn't wait to go to Rome, the most important city of its time, so that he could preach the Gospel. He wanted to encourage those who believed already. And he wanted to win the hearts of those who didn't believe. Luther too could proclaim, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel." At a time when it seemed no one else in the world knew or believed in God's word, Luther proudly clung to the Gospel. Even when threatened with death he refused to let go of God's Word, to believe anything else or to hide his faith. Both Paul and Luther proudly clung to the Gospel, and so can we. Let Paul tell us why.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes," (16). This is why the Gospel is the best treasure for our hearts; this is why we can hold the Gospel closer to our hearts than anything else; this is why we can proudly cling to the Gospel. It is the POWER of God. The Gospel is POWER from God. The Gospel creates faith. As a pastor I can cling to the Gospel knowing that it will do its work even when I do not write a good sermon or deliver it well. The Gospel is the POWER of God. The Gospel rebukes and encourages. Parents, you can cling to the Gospel knowing that it is the best tool to discipline your children. After they realize their sin, the Gospel will properly motivate them to obey. The Gospel is also the best tool to teach your children. It tells them the most important thing they need to know: they have a Savior named Jesus. The Gospel is the POWER of God. Children, teens, students, cling to the Gospel which will strengthen you. The Gospel will strengthen you when you feel all alone, when you feel like you can't do it, and when you need someone to pick you up. The Gospel is the POWER of God.

Christians, cling to the Gospel especially because the Gospel saves. The Gospel is the POWER of God for salvation. The Gospel not only accompanies you through this life, but it leads you safely to the next life. The Gospel is the good news of our rescue. Imagine that you were on a cruise. You're standing out on the deck at the railing and enjoying the moon and the stars in the cool night. For whatever reason, as you're looking up at the sky, the ship stops suddenly and thrusts you over the edge into the dark, freezing waters. Only one other person is out on the deck and sees you fall into the water. He quickly throws you a life preserver and runs to get help. You must wait with nothing to keep you from drowning but that life preserver. How will you hold onto it? Will you jump in and out of the hole in the middle? Will you hold it far in front of you while paddling around? Will you try to hide it when the others come? NO! You will cling to that preserver with all of your strength. It is your only chance of rescue. The Gospel is your life preserver to keep you from drowning in this world. Proudly Cling to the Gospel because it is the POWER of God for your salvation.

Paul now gives us a second reason to Cling to the Gospel. He explains why the Gospel has such power. The Gospel saves because of what it gives. The second reason to cling to the Gospel is because it reveals the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God.

Do you know why it is so hard to cling to the Gospel? Because we don't appreciate how much we need it. Do we truly understand what it takes to get to heaven? Paul uses the word in verse seventeen, "RIGHTEOUSNESS." Righteousness is what God demands for us to go to heaven. Do you know what righteousness is? Righteousness is perfection or holiness. A righteous person is one who is perfect and holy and has never sinned. Who here is righteous? Who here has righteousness? No one. No one is righteous before God. Martin Luther used to hate God because God demanded a righteousness that he knew, and that we know, we can't provide. We offer God just the opposite. We all have sinned. We are born in sin and even our "righteous acts" are like filthy rags because of our sin. The harder we try to be righteous, the more we recognize our sin. No matter where we look, we cannot find righteousness…except in one place.

"In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed," (17). In the Gospel God gives us exactly what we need; he gives us the righteousness that he demands. When Luther read this verse for the first time, I'm sure he had tears in his eyes. It was in this verse that Luther finally came to understand the Gospel. He finally began to understand not what God demanded from him, but what God offered to him. From that point on Luther clung to the Gospel and the righteousness God gave him in that Gospel. This righteousness is also our greatest need. God also gives it to us through the Gospel.

God gives us righteousness by faith. "In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last," (17). Righteousness begins with God and it ends with God; it comes from God and through God. Righteousness has nothing to do with us. God promised to send a Savior to rescue us from sin. Jesus kept that promise by providing our righteousness, by doing the very things we fail to do, by proudly clinging to the Gospel. Without apology Jesus spent his time as a child listening to and learning God's word. He never took it for granted (even though he was the Son of God). He wanted to know God's will for his life. When he became an adult, Jesus used God's Word. He used it to rebuke sin and discipline. He used it to comfort those in need. He used it to tell everyone what God had done for them. When the end of Jesus' life came, he held God's promise close to his heart and completely fulfilled it as he died on the cross to take away our sins. Jesus clung to the Gospel by fulfilling it so that we could cling to the Gospel by believing it.

Even the faith to believe the Gospel is the work of God. Through the Gospel the Holy Spirit has created faith in our hearts so that we believe it. And, the Gospel is the Power of God for the salvation of all who believe it because in the gospel God gives us the righteousness we so desperately need.

This righteousness that God gives to us gives us life. Paul quotes the OT prophet Habakkuk, "The righteous will live by faith," (17). Actually a better way to translate that quote would be, "The righteous by faith will live." By faith, and by faith alone, apart from anything you are or have done, God has made you righteous or holy. Because God has given you righteousness, you will live. In fact, you already live. Even now you can begin to enjoy the blessings God gives through his Gospel. When you proudly cling to the Gospel, you will have power…to learn all that God has done for you and to believe it…to feel God's presence in your life when you think you're all alone…to trust God's power to make everything work out…to comfort and receive comfort from brothers and sisters in the faith…and especially to receive forgiveness for your sins and release from your guilt. And one day, as you cling to the Gospel, you will live eternally in heaven.

What is your dearest treasure? What do you hold close to your heart? I pray that on this anniversary of the reformation you will begin to cling to the Gospel. I pray that God would give you faith to believe it so that like Paul you will want to share it proudly with everyone and that like Luther you will never let anyone take it from you. Cling to the Gospel. It is the POWER of God that gives the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God to all who believe it for salvation. Amen.

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