This transcript was generated by whisper.ai. (upbeat music) - Hi, this is Pastor Tom, and I want to welcome you to week two, day one of our look through the New Testament. We're doing a New Testament survey, a book a day, rather than a chapter a week, we're doing a book a day, just going through the New Testament to see all that God has given us, gifted us with in these books. If you're brand new to this, we're starting the book of Romans today, if you're brand new to this, in the New Testament, there are some books that are named by who wrote the book, the book of John that we'd studied last week, in fact, all the gospels, obviously, there's some books that are named by who they were sent to, Timothy, and there's some books that are named by where they were sent, and Romans is one of the many examples of that. There's a few books that are named by what they were about, we'll get to those later as we walk through the New Testament. In all of these books, the truth of the matter is that God is in the business of changing history. That's what the New Testament's all about. God's in the business of changing world history. History is marked by the birth of Jesus into this world. He is the reference point for all of history. God's in the business of changing national history. Whether you look back into the Old Testament and it's Israel or Babylon or in the New Testament times, Rome or all the way through history, England or Russia or America, the history of nations have risen and fallen based on the response that we have to the God of the universe. God's in the business of changing family history. He's in the business of changing your family history. He's in the business of changing your history. And Romans is a history-changing book. It's one of the most obviously history-changing books in the New Testament. Just ask historical guys like Augustine and Luther and Wesley. Augustine, you might remember, was one of the early church leaders. In about 386 it was, when he was 32, this very, very influential early church father heard a voice saying that he should pick up and read. So he picked up and he read from Romans 13, 13 to 14. This time he's a pagan, he's not following God at all, and he reads these verses. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy, rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. That changed Augustine's life. He said he had the light of relief when he read those verses. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled. And Augustine's words have changed history. Same with Martin Luther. He was 31 years old when he read Romans 1, 17, these words. 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. And Luther said that that passage became for him the gateway to heaven. He was saved, he came to know Christ by reading that passage. Even though he was already a monk at the time, he was already a Christian leader supposedly, this passage changed his life. And as you know, the Reformation came out of the influence of Luther. And the influence of Luther came out of the Book of Romans. Same is true with John Wesley. John Wesley, the great Christian leader in England, he went to a meeting where he heard Luther's experience, May 24th, 1738. And he said, "I felt in that meeting when I heard what he read in the Book of Romans that I too did trust Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation. And an assurance was given me that he'd taken away my sins, even mine, and he'd saved me from the law of sin and death. " The result of Wesley's change was a revival that swept England all the way into an America. It changed the nation, it changed the world. Now look at this. One guy, Augustine, is in his backyard when this happened. Another is in deep study. Another is at a meeting that he thought would be boring. Augustine was surprised by the truth of Romans. Luther searched out the truth of Romans. Wesley stumbled over the truth of Romans. You have a pagan, you have a monk, you have a cultural Christian. And all of them, their lives were changed because of the truth of God's word. That's the power of God's word. Romans was written only about 30 years or so after the crucifixion of Jesus. Just think, 30 years back, if you're a little bit older than 30, you can remember some things even that long ago. It's not that long ago. And so they could remember the crucifixion, the resurrection very, very clearly. This is a book that explains how the fresh and real truth of God's love can make a history-changing difference in your life. The writer is Paul. The Hebrew of Hebrews grew up in a Jewish faith and came to know Jesus Christ by that meeting and the road to Damascus. He became a missionary to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people. Paul, by the way, was also a Roman citizen by virtue of where he was born in a Roman city. He became a Roman citizen. He had a citizenship in Rome and he also had his sights set on Rome. You see in the book of Romans that he desired to get there. He desired to preach. There are three weary years in Paul's life between when this letter was written and his visit to Rome. And when he finally got to Rome, he would be as a prisoner. But God answered his prayers even as a prisoner. And the book is written to Rome, to the Romans, the capital, the center of the world at that time. And it's all about how change happens when the truth impacts your life. In fact, when you take a look at the book of Romans, it talks about five specific ways that that happens. That's the outline of the book. That's the teaching of the book for our lives. When I understand the truth about sin and salvation and sanctification and sovereignty, God's sovereignty and service, that's when everything changes. Now let's just walk through that because that's the change that God wants to work in my life and your life today. When God wants to change me, he needs me to understand these five truths. First, I've got to understand the truth about sin. Romans 1, 8 to 3, 20 talks about this truth. Paul begins by talking about the truth that we all have sinned, that all of us need God's grace. He wrote to Rome to say, "I've got some good news for you. " But before he could tell them the good news, he said, "Let's just be honest about the bad news. " And for your life to change, for my life to change, it starts with this moment of honesty, with breaking out of my denial about the bad news that's in my life. Yes, the truth is I am a sinner. I need God's grace. But that's not where it ends. If that's all it was, there'd be no change. There'd just be depression. No, the next truth in the book of Romans is, I understand the truth about salvation. So from chapter three verse 21 to five verse 21, Paul talks about the salvation that God gives us. Romans gives us this big picture of the gospel developed around the theme of the righteousness of God that God wants to set us right with himself, in right relationship to himself. These first two sections, the truth about sin, the truth about salvation, they're summed up in Romans three, 23 to 24. These verses say, familiar verses, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. You can't just read Romans three, 23. Sometimes we do and we shouldn't because without verse 24, you don't have the whole truth. All have sinned, yes, but also all are justified freely by his grace when I depend on the redemption that came through Jesus Christ. So if I want my life to change, I gotta understand I'm a sinner. I need my life to change. And God sent a savior, Jesus Christ, in order to change my life. But there's some other truths that Roman teaches us. When I'm saved, then God begins to work this process of change in my life, which one of the New Testament words for that is sanctification. It comes from the word holy. It's God making me holy day by day. And Romans six to eight are all about the truth about sanctification. Romans seven and eight are very interesting chapters. They talk about the problem, chapter seven, and the solution, chapter eight. Romans chapter seven is the I chapter. Just read chapter seven sometimes and circle all the times that Paul uses the word I, the pronoun I. He's talking about what happens when I'm depending on myself. And it's a pretty discouraging picture. But Romans chapter eight, one of the most beloved chapters in all the New Testament, that is the Holy Spirit chapter. That's the chapter that begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation, all because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Romans eight, one, there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And then Romans eight, 38 and 39. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul says, I am convinced that I can't be separated from that love. That's the truth of sanctification. God convinces you of his love into this place where you're more sure of his love than you are of anything else. Now, just when it's getting good, truth about salvation, truth about sanctification, the fourth section comes where Paul talks about the truth about God's sovereignty. Romans nine to 11. These are the least favorite chapters of Romans for many people. Because instead of giving answers to our perplexing problems, these chapters remind us that God will do what he will do. That he is all powerful, that he is sovereign. So Paul talks about the truth about good and evil and why people are evil and our questions about why does this happen. And instead of giving us the answers we desire, he says, God's in control and you can trust in him. It is true that God is in control. And it is just as true that God is love. So always put those two truths together in your mind and you'll have nothing but hope for the future. A God of love without power is frustrating 'cause he loves us but he can't do anything about it. A God of power without love is frightening. But a God of love with power is worth following. Let me say that again. A God of love without power is frustrating. A God of power without love is frightening. But a God of love with power is worth following. That's the sovereignty of God. I can trust him even when I don't understand. He's greater than my understanding. And then Paul ends the book of Romans. Romans chapter 12, one to the end of chapter 16 by talking about the truth about service. What are you going to do about all of these things? What are you going to do about your salvation and your sanctification? You're going to serve others. So he begins Romans 12 with these two verses. Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Let's pray together. And you might just pray and just say, Lord, I want the truth of this book, the book of Romans, to make a significant difference in my life. So we've heard about it briefly today, but as I read it, help me to understand these truths and to see how great a difference you can make in me and through me. Jesus, keep me aware of the depth of your love today, I pray. In your name, amen. Tomorrow we're going to take a look at 1 Corinthians, written to a church that had a lot of questions.