Sermon Tone Analysis

! Romans 1

!! Romans 1

*Tape 8118*

*Pastor Chuck Smith*

* *

What a joy it is.

To labor for the Lord and to serve the Lord.

And that brings us to Romans, chapter one, where Paul said:

 /Paul, a servant/(a bondservant or bondslave)/ of Jesus Christ,  /Paul wrote his letter to the Romans while he was in Corinth at about 60 AD.

It was his third visit to Corinth.

And in his opening here, he will express to them the desire that he has had, to come to Rome.

A long standing desire, but up until this present, the time that he wrote, he was hindered from going.

Now when we closed the Book of Acts last week, we found Paul in Rome, at the end of the Book of Acts.

That was three years after he wrote this desire that he had to come to Rome.

Now he speaks of his desire as having been a long standing desire.

We know that it was the will of God that Paul was to go to Rome.

Jesus said, “As you have borne witness of Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness of Me in Rome”.

This desire to go to Rome was a desire that was put upon his heart by the Lord as the Lord said that He would write His desires on the fleshly tablets of our hearts.

So God had put upon Paul’s heart that desire to go to Rome, but it was several years before the desire was a fulfillment.

Often times God reveals His will in advance, but it takes time for it to be accomplished.

Look how long Abraham waited for the promise of God to give him a son through Sarah.

And so often times like with Abraham, we get impatient waiting upon God.

And we think, well, maybe God needs my help.

Maybe God can’t quite do it without me getting involved.

As the general rule, we are able to pretty well mess things up when we get involved.

And then it takes a little longer for God to unscramble our mess before He can go ahead with His program.

So Paul is writing.

And so you were three years ahead of this writing last week.

Now we are going back three years earlier as Paul was writing to the Romans, expressing his desire to come.

He calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ.

When Paul was on his way to Damascus to imprison the believers of Jesus Christ.

Breathing out murder against them.

Very strong in his feelings against Christianity.

Determined to wipe out this sect!

The Lord apprehended Paul.

And as he was lying there on the ground, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest Thou Me?”  His response was, “Who art Thou, Lord, that I might serve Thee?”

And it was at that point that Paul became a servant of Jesus Christ.

Now he is writing to the Roman church many years later.

About twenty seven or so years later.

And he calls himself a slave or a bondslave of Jesus Christ, /called to be an apostle, /Writing to the Ephesians, he said Paul an Apostle by the will of God.

Here he speaks of his calling to be an Apostle.

One who has been sent out by the Lord and /separated unto the gospel of God,  /Or the Good News of God.

About the only place you are going to find good news today is in the church.

You won’t watch it or you won’t see it on the television newscast.

You are going to see bad news only.

You won’t read it in your newspapers.

But the good news of Jesus Christ is just as good as it ever was!

The news that God can transform our lives from darkness to light!

From the power of Satan unto God, the wonderful good news!

/2//(Which /(that is good news) /he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)  /As you go through the Old Testament and the prophesies of the Scriptures, they are prophesying of the coming of God's anointed King or the Messiah.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah!

And thus the good news is that God has fulfilled the promises to their fathers, the prophets.

And God has sent the Messiah, the Savior into the world.

Isaiah said all of us like sheep had gone astray.

We turned everyone of us to our own way.

And God laid on Him the iniquities of us all.

The good news of the Messiah who would come and who would bear our sins.

God would put on Him the iniquities of us all.

But by bearing our sin, He would grant to us eternal life, forgiveness of sins.

So the promise of this good news by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, /3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord  /(Over three hundred predictions concerning Jesus.

Giving details and aspects of His life were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

It, as far as mathematical probabilities, is impossible for anyone to fulfill those predictions.

And yet Jesus did.)

And so he was declared, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord/, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;  /Many of the promises concerning the Messiah were related to David.

It started when David had his friend Nathan over.

As they were sitting there talking, David said, you know Nathan, I was watching the people go into the tent over there to worship God.

For they had moved the Tabernacle to Jerusalem.

I was sitting here in my palace.

In all my luxuries of my palace.

And here God is dwelling in a tent.

That is not fair Nathan.

I’m going to build a house for God that is going to excel anything.

I mean I’m not going to spare any expense.

I’m going to build God a magnificent house!

His friend Nathan the prophet said that that sounded like a splendid idea.

Do all that is in your heart.

Nathan went home.

He couldn’t sleep that night.

God woke him up and said Nathan, you spoke out of turn.

You didn’t wait on Me.

You didn’t listen for My voice.

You encouraged David to build Me a house.

Nathan, I can’t have David building Me a house.

This guy’s hands are too bloody.

So you’re going have to go back and tell David that he can’t build Me a house.

But you tell David, I’ll build him a house!

And that there will be one of his seed that will sit upon the throne forever.

That is the Messiah will be a descendant of David.

So the next morning as Nathan came into David he said, Oh, David I’ve got some bad news and some good news.

The bad news is that you can’t build God a house.

You are a man of war.

Your hands are bloody.

But the good news is that God said He took you from the sheepcote and from following after the sheep and He made you the ruler over His people.

And God is going to build you a house.

And there shall never cease  one of your descendants from sitting on the throne.

David immediately recognized that as a promise that from his descendants, the Messiah would come.

So David went in to the Lord.

He said, oh Lord, You took me from the sheepcote, following after the sheep.

You made me the ruler over Your people.

Oh God, You have done so much!

I mean I’m amazed at what You’ve already done for me.