Not Ashamed of the Gospel
A Sermon on Romans 1:16-17
Scripture
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is …
Sermon Description
The Protestant Reformation erupted from Romans 1:16-17. In this sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines these vital and crucial verses that were the catalyst for Martin Luther. Some of the audience to whom Paul wrote may have been ashamed and discouraged in their faith but in boldness and inspiring confidence, Paul wrote “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Though the world ridicules the teachings of Christ and calls those who believe foolish, our faith is a fact, not a philosophy. The world might see us as fools, but we are affirmed and protected by our Savior. The gospel is full of hope for the fallen world. As the Doctor explains, Paul’s teaching exposes the sin of humanity and that Christ’s death and resurrection were for all social statuses. Thus, every person can rest in the hope that there is joy of being loved by our Lord and in being considered foolish in the eyes of the world.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is ready to preach the gospel in Rome as he did to Greeks and barbarians.
- Paul says "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ" to strengthen Roman Christians who may feel ashamed and to show how he overcame that temptation.
- The world ridicules the gospel, and people don't like being ridiculed, which can lead to feeling ashamed of the gospel.
- The gospel's message of a crucified Christ and salvation by faith alone contradicts worldly wisdom.
- The gospel is not a philosophy but proclaims facts about Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
- The gospel reverses worldly ideas, proclaiming that intellect, works, and moral effort cannot save us.
- The gospel is offensive to the natural man, who hates being told he cannot save himself.
- A good test of true gospel preaching is whether it exposes itself to ridicule and offends the natural man.
- Preaching that presents Christ only as an example or helper and not as a savior from sin will not offend or annoy the natural man.
- The offense of the cross tells us we are damned without Christ's death on our behalf.
- Paul gave the right reason for not being ashamed: the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.
- Personal, subjective reasons for not being ashamed, like happiness or life change, can apply to any belief and do not glorify God.
- The unique, God-glorifying reason for not being ashamed is that the gospel reveals God's righteousness and way of salvation.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.