From Wrath to Riches
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
What do hardened fishermen, an insurrectionist, an adulteress, a fortune-teller, a demoniac, and a die-hard prison guard have in common? They were all saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right along side the doctor, the lawyer, the business woman, and the soldier. Why do I bring this up? To remind us that no one is too far gone for the gospel to change their lives. Whatever the past, whatever the present, whatever the profession, whatever the lifestyle, the gospel can pierce it all, and change a person forever. That is God’s radical gospel. It changes everything. And too often, Christians, especially Christians who were saved at young ages like myself, while they believe the gospel, more or less doubt the power of the gospel. Yet, Paul wrote
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
So, we end up either making judgments about the person—they’re too far gone, or judgments about the gospel—it wouldn’t be effective in their lives. I say this from experience. I say this because I know I am guilty of thinking these thoughts. But as we see in this passage that we read today, everyone deserves to hear the gospel even though not everyone will listen to the gospel. And Paul gives us three calls that make salvation possible for those currently under God’s wrath. The first we will deal with is the confessor’s call. Then we’ll see the Christian’s call. Finally, Christ’s call.
Confessor’s Call
Christian’s Call
Christ’s Call
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
The Confessor’s Call
The Confessor’s Call
The first call that we come to this morning is the confessor’s call. As we read about this call, I want you to notice, maybe even underline or highlight in your Bible, the inclusivity of these verses.
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Did you notice all the inclusive words here. Everyone, no distinction, Lord of all, riches on all, everyone. Now these words of inclusivity to do not lend themselves to universalism. In other words, not everyone is included in salvation. Paul brought that up in
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
Instead, what Paul is getting at, is that the gospel is not for a select few. It’s not for the Jew only. It’s also for the Gentile. After all, as we saw just now, and as emphasized throughout Romans, we are really in the same boat.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
That means that prejudging who will or will not believe is hypocrisy. Just because their sins are different than our own doesn’t mean that they are in a worse off position with God. To be separated from God is to be separated from him. So the guy hooking up, the teen mom, the young man who is transitioning, and the young lady who is selling her body are just as separated from God as those who grew up in church but have never trusted in Christ. And I think we mentally know that while our hearts have a hard time believing it.
Paul, quoting Isaiah 49:23 again, says that everyone, which in Isaiah says whoever, but it means the same thing. Whoever, everyone, who believes will not be put to shame. That word “shame” does not convey here something like, “Shame on you.” Instead, it conveys God’s wrath. The prophets used this word over and over again, to describe God’s wrath. So when Paul pulls this verse out as a proof text, he is saying that all who believe in Christ will not be under God’s wrath any longer.
Rather than wrath, they receive riches. The idea is that of Christ being generous. He does not hold back the divine riches that comes with being a part of his kingdom. Though I don’t have time to go through it, take time to read the first chapter of Ephesians and see the wonderful riches that are given. It starts with
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
and then continues for the next few verses to describe them for us.
But how does one receive these riches? How does one move from wrath to riches? By calling out to Jesus as a confessor. Now if you have a Roman Catholic church background, when I say confessor, I don’t mean a priest and I don’t mean one who was persecuted and tortured for Christ, but not to martyrdom. I just mean that a confessor calls out to Jesus, confessing their sin in repentance and confessing his Lordship.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
No one is too far gone to call out as a confessor. Everyone who confesses their faith in Christ will be saved.
The Christian’s Call
The Christian’s Call
This leads us to the second call. The first call was the confessor’s call. The second is the Christian’s call. So now, we go backward a bit, because as Paul asked: how will the call on him in whom they’ve not believed?
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
The confessor’s call must be a true call from true faith. But that true faith can only come from what they have actually heard. And they can only hear if someone tells them. And the word there for preaching is not what we would consider preaching. It’s not someone standing behind a podium and preaching a sermon in church. It’s really just proclaiming a message to people. Some would describe it as heralding. “Hear ye! Hear ye!” It’s calling out the good news for all who will hear it. It can be street preaching or one on one proclamation. But it is a call for others to hear and believe the good news that Jesus, the very Son of God, lived on this earth the perfect life that we are required to live if we want to be in right standing with God. It is the Christian call to others that Jesus died on account of our being unable to live that perfect life that is required. It is the call that tells the unbeliever that Jesus rose from the dead so that we could gain right standing vicariously through him.
We cannot expect the unbeliever to believe and call upon Jesus if we have not first called upon them to believe the gospel. Because it is the gospel proclaimed that makes the sinner remade. It is the gospel proclaimed that has the power to save everyone, no matter their background, race, or perceived distance from God. All of us probably know of someone who we think to be too far gone: someone living with a significant other, someone who left the church for the world, someone who is in a lifestyle that makes you blush or even weep when you think about it. But none of that means they are too far gone. Beloved, we are ambassadors heralding the good news. As an ambassador, we do as we’ve been sent to do.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
When people hear good news and confess it, they don’t care how dirty your feet are. Or in today’s language, they won’t care how beat up your car is. It will be the most beautiful instrument that was ever used to convey such amazing news. They won’t care if your evangelistic message was carefully crafted. They won’t care if you pronounced all the words right or if it took you five minutes to find that one verse because the reference suddenly left you. They won’t care if your voice quivers in fear. The good news makes it all beautiful.
Christ’s Call
Christ’s Call
Which leads us to the last call. The first was the Confessor’s Call of confession and faith in Christ. The second was the Christian Call to the unbeliever to confess and believe in Christ. But the third call, is the call of Christ himself.
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
So Paul readily admits that not everyone will believe/obey the gospel. The gospel calls upon people to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus’s saving work on the cross and resurrection. Not everyone will believe that or do that. Again, quoting Isaiah, Paul points out this is how it has always been, specifically for the Jews as this entire chapter has been about his desire for his kinsmen to be saved. But as with everything, it can be applied to the Gentiles. So many will hear and reject, not because they are too far gone. It’s not because they are too hardened against God or Christ or us. Remember hardened fisherman, prostitutes, insurrectionists, fortune-tellers, demoniacs, etc. have all come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. It’s not that they became hardened, but that they were born hardened, as we all were. We just had different ways of showing that hardness and rebellion. The fact that we believe is a divine work in the heart. It was something God did in us through a Christian calling upon us to confess and call upon Jesus.
So we have a third call—the call of Christ. When we call people to repent and believe, when we call them to the gospel, it is not just us, but Christ calling through us. When you and I proclaim the gospel, it is Christ’s word that is coming forth. Some would say that “the word of Christ” simply means “the word about Christ,” and I would agree that it has that meaning. But I think there is a deeper meaning here. The reason I say that is because of what Paul asked earlier in verse 14.
How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? How can they believe if they’ve never heard Christ speak? Paul’s point is that when the herald speaks, Christ speaks. Christ speaks through the preacher, the proclaimer. As Leon Morris wrote, “The point is that Christ is present in the preachers; to hear them is to hear him. . . and people ought to believe when they hear him.” Jesus said
“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
To know that Christ is calling out to the sinner through you can be intimidating and paralyzing. I don’t want to misrepresent Christ. I don’t want make Christ say that which he has not said. Of course, it could also be empowering. Not only do you have the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, but you have God the Son working in and through you to call a people to repent and believe. It takes a lot to be a heretic. You have to deny the trinity, deny the substitutionary atonement of Christ, and some other major doctrines. My guess is that no one here is in danger of heresy. You may not get everything exactly right, but guess what, we are sons and daughters of a gracious Father who has already bestowed his mercy upon us and has promised to continue to do so.
So herald the gospel, knowing that Christ is the one heralding through you. Have confidence in the work of Christ that he has done in you and does through you.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish studying these seven verses this morning, if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ, understand that you are not too far gone. You need only to turn from your rebellion and turn to Jesus. But know that if you reject this message, it is not simply rejecting my words to you, but rejecting Christ himself. And to reject Christ is to reject God himself. You don’t have to be a theologian before you believe. You don’t have to clean up your life before you believe. The Holy Spirit is what works in you to help you with those areas. You are not expected to do it first. Holiness only comes after faith; it can never come before.
And beloved, you who have people in your life who do not know Jesus; who have time and again rejected him. Do not lose heart. Continue to herald the news. At the moment they may have ears but not able to hear; eyes but be unable to see. But Christ, by his word can cause the blind to see and the deaf to hear. Continue to proclaim so that they hear and may then believe. Make it a point to do it this week.