WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.240 Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.599 God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.400 We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.760 We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:33.920 The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.600 Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:42.719 It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:48.240 Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:54.399 It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:04.879 We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:09.359 In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:11.599 Never treat what God has said lightly. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.400 There's truly nothing more important to you. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.200 Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word. 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:25.120 You know, we have so many blessings in this life because we have a loving Father. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:31.359 And I think the thing that we have that is our greatest blessing is his word. 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:33.280 Some say, isn't it salvation? 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.200 Well, you wouldn't know anything about your salvation unless we had his word. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.319 So to me, God's word is our most treasured possession. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.480 We have the salvation because we believe in the gospel. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.439 We'll talk about the gospel today. 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:54.799 We're going to be talking about the gospel today, and it is found in God's Word. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:58.319 It's found throughout the Bible. 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:03.920 We've have said that you can find the gospel in Genesis, and we've shown that. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:07.439 You can find the gospel in Exodus, and we've talked about that. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:11.360 You can find the gospel all the way through to Revelation. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.280 It's there, it's telling us all about what Jesus has done. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:17.919 It's telling us what God has done for us. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:21.680 It's reminding us that we can't do any of those things for ourselves. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:25.280 So that's why Scripture is our greatest blessing. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:29.599 So we are in this Bible study in the book of Romans. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.400 We will be studying still the first, what I call the first sentence. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:42.240 The first sentence goes on down through the seventh verse, but we were we are only in the first verse at the moment. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.800 There's a lot to talk about, so don't blame me. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.120 Paul's the one that packed all of that in there. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.840 We are still in the first verse of the first chapter of Romans. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:53.680 So let's begin by reading. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:03:06.560 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in holy scriptures. 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:19.199 Now, I've bemoaned many times to you the fact that we 21st century educated, Bible-possessing, church-going Christians are terribly spoiled. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:24.240 There are so many precious things that we take for granted. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:28.240 We have a Bible we can enjoy or not enjoy. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:32.479 We have a church that we can go to when we feel like it. 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:39.280 Group of friends who will wish us thoughts and prayers when we have to put down the family dog. 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:41.360 We don't struggle. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.520 We don't work for heck. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:56.800 We don't put any effort into the things that are so marvelous that it drove the apostle Peter to say, the angels desire to look into them, 1 Peter 1:12. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:04.479 What we have at our fingertips can only be dreamt of by heavenly beings. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.400 And yet we don't even give them a second thought. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.599 In fact, it all bores us. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:20.240 This word gospel is so remarkable, and yet we let it pass by without a glance. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:22.000 We utter it and forget it. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:24.560 It carries no weight in our hearts. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:36.720 Paul says that what he teaches, what I teach, what your ministers are supposed to teach, is labeled good by an eternal being. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:44.079 Someone who is self-sufficient, self-satisfied, eternal calls this good. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:45.839 Listen to me. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:51.439 What God calls good is not only good, but it's all good. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:56.959 Not trying to use a modern and annoying colloquialism. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:07.120 This is all good because God would never call anything that's even as much as 99.9% good. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.639 If it isn't 100% good, it's something else. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:18.319 Good enough may work for you and me, but good enough is no good to God. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.079 This is the gospel of God. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:24.560 The good news of God. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:25.920 That's what Paul said. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.240 It's the good news of God. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:32.720 Now, of course, any news from God is good, right? 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.560 So if it comes from him, it's good. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:41.040 But this isn't redundant. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:51.199 Good news of God is not meaningless repetition, it's an illustration of the magnitude of its goodness. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:52.480 What's your point? 00:05:53.439 --> 00:06:04.480 Of course, all of you know that the word gospel is a transliteration of the old English God spell, which means good news. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.120 You know the definition of gospel is good news. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:11.920 But do you know it's good news? 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:17.519 I mean, you know the definition of the word, but do you know its meaning? 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:24.319 Does it strike you as good news, or have you never looked past its definition? 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.759 Gospel defined as good news, moving on. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:40.319 Paul wants us to look beyond the words and stare directly into the significance, not just the what, but the why and the how. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:44.879 Why does God call this good news? 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:47.360 And do you agree that it's good news? 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:52.800 One thing we can say is that Paul loves this word. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:58.560 You see, he himself has been changed by this good news. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:08.560 He certainly knows it's good news in his background, in his past, all he cared about was the law. 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:13.839 The Bible says this and that, so it must be enforced. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:16.959 Enforcement doesn't sound like a good word. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.600 It must be enforced at all costs. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:27.600 Yes, as an enforcer of that law, he knew all about it. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.279 Now, let me clear this up before we go any further. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:37.600 Whenever the Bible talks about the law, we are not to say, well, that belongs to the Jews. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:39.360 That has nothing to do with me. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:49.279 Whenever the Bible talks about the law, or I talk about the law, or any of your ministers talk about the law, they're talking about effort. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:53.519 They're talking about goods and bads, doing good and not doing bad. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:55.040 That's what the law means. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:09.360 It may not to us exactly mean all of the things that are prescribed in Leviticus, etc., but it means when we say the law, using your own efforts, using your own behavior in one way or another. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.439 That's what we mean by the law. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:15.279 So the law is symbolic of your effort. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:22.639 So don't turn a deaf ear just because you hear that we're talking about the law or that Paul is talking about the law. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.480 It has to do with what you do and what you don't do. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:27.040 All right. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:28.560 So that's what we mean by the law. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:35.120 I want to make sure you understand that because we use the word law a lot in the book of Romans. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:38.960 Now, I want you to ask yourself a question. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.480 Do you think the law sounds like good news? 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.720 I don't think Paul ever did. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.200 He knew the law like no one else, and he never thought it was good. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:54.639 In fact, can you imagine anyone thinking the law was good news? 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:56.960 Not if they knew it like Paul. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:09.440 In fact, I'm sure before his conversion, when he was Saul, there wasn't anything he understood about God's word that he would call good. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:14.000 None of it to Paul had a good news vibe to it. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:27.679 Now that statement probably surprises some people because it's this foregone assumption that the law had some salvific quality to it. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:37.919 In other words, some think, many think that God gave the law to the Jews so that through it they could save themselves. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:45.039 Now, of course, the vast majority who make that mistake, those that think that are Christian. 00:09:45.919 --> 00:10:04.080 Now, I will admit to you that in my youth, if someone were to ask me if I thought I could earn my way into heaven, if I thought that if I followed what God called the law or my church called the law, that I'd go to heaven, well, I would have said yes. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.960 I would have said, I can make my way in there. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.039 I can be good enough to go to heaven. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:10.960 That's, I just have to work at it. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.399 I have to work. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:17.840 After all, I was in a do this, don't do that religion. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:25.279 We were constantly told that our actions determined whether we went to heaven or not. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:33.039 Salvation under that system was a matter of doing more good things than bad things. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:40.000 But I know now that whoever taught me that didn't get it from the Apostle Paul. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:50.000 You see, he spent a great deal of time in his letters trying to convince people of the very opposite. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:59.600 Anyone who is familiar with his work must come to the conclusion that the word grace was his favorite. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:05.200 Maybe it was tied with the word gospel, definitely in the top two. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:12.720 Grace, in case you need a reminder, has been defined as unmerited favor. 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:20.080 In other words, grace is receiving God's approval, God's smile without earning it. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:26.240 Grace is kindness without expecting anything in return. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:40.480 Now, within the context of salvation, Paul uses the word grace when he wants to communicate the fact that salvation is not something we work for. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:48.159 He explains that redemption, reconciliation is completely and totally up to God. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.559 Nothing you and I can do will earn that for us. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:57.120 Spoiler alert, that is the gospel of God. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:03.759 It's the good news of God because it's listen to me because this is important. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.279 This is what makes this the good news of God. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:14.960 It's the good news of God because it's God that has to and will do something for us. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:27.519 It's good news because the law, which is not good news, has been fulfilled by someone else through the efforts of God. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.639 God's efforts can save us, ours cannot. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:41.039 To think that the law was good news, I'll repeat, just means you don't even know what it is. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:48.559 Oh, you may know what it says, but you don't know how demanding it is on you. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:54.960 Can anything that demands something out of you be considered good? 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.320 Demand and good are not the same thing. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:00.720 Well, now wait a second, John. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.360 Are you saying that the law is evil? 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.799 Well, I'll use Paul's word to answer that. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:08.240 God forbid. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:15.600 You see, he asks and answers the very same question here in this letter to the Romans. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:21.600 We'll come to it soon enough, but since we brought it up, let's read the relevant passage. 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:28.240 I'm going to add a couple of verses just so that we can fully see Paul's attitude towards this. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.080 Romans 7, 5. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:42.159 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.720 That doesn't sound like good news to me. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:50.799 Doesn't seem like Paul thought the law was good news whatsoever. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:14:02.080 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:07.120 Any sentence that includes the word death is not good news. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:09.279 Not a bit of it. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.200 Verse 6, but now we are delivered. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.200 That sounds pretty good. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:27.759 Now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:32.960 Now that's good news, but we had to be delivered from it. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.039 We can't deliver ourselves from it. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:38.159 I wish I could get this through our heads. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:44.240 Our salvation is not up to us, never has been. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:51.679 God never intended for people to get the idea that they could save themselves. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:57.200 Because if they could, God would have never entered into our lives. 00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:58.559 Why would He? 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:07.759 If we could do all of this ourselves, God could just sit back on a park bench waiting till we meet him there. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:18.240 But his word shows us in our lives, shows us that he is constantly working with us because we can't work for ourselves. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.960 That's the good news of God. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:24.960 Verse 7 is the point I was trying to make. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:26.799 What shall we say then? 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:28.480 Is the law sin? 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:30.320 God forbid. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:41.440 The law is of God, and therefore it can't be evil, but it's bad news in the sense that it can't help us. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:47.120 The law can't help us, it can only condemn us. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.399 And listen, Paul knew what he was talking about. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:57.279 My entire point for this entire lesson is that right there. 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:08.000 Paul knew the difference between the law and the gospel, and he's letting those Romans know and us know there's a difference between them. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.399 One is good, and one is the fruit unto death. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:18.240 As a Pharisee, he was a teacher of the law. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:19.360 Listen to me. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:25.039 Those people, those Jewish people knew their Bible. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:27.200 They knew their law. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:31.200 And not just the Pharisees and the scribes, everyone. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:46.240 You know, today we get fooled so easily and so often by slick-sounding wolves and sheep's clothing preachers because we don't know a thing about our Bible. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.960 That was not the case in Paul's day. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:54.159 The rank and file Jew could pick out a phony in a minute. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:58.240 You couldn't fake being an expert around those people. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:06.559 So Paul knew the law, and in his old Saul life, he taught it. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.519 But that's all different now. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:15.039 That's what he's saying here in this first statement in his letter to these Romans. 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.079 He's not a teacher of the law anymore. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.839 He's a called apostle of good news. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.359 Hear ye, hear ye. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:26.720 Gather round and listen to some good news. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.400 What kind of good news? 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.079 Oh, it's the best kind. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.240 It's the good news of God. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:43.599 Now, again, I'll say, you and I have heard this word so many times, but we just don't react to it properly, if at all. 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:48.640 You know, I really wish we had never transliterated it. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:52.400 It feels like we didn't complete the job. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:18:08.480 Instead of stopping our transliteration as gospel and going all the way to making the full translation of good news, we might not look at it so glassy-eyed now. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:15.519 I mean, the word gospel doesn't even really belong to our modern language. 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:23.200 So we give it a mystical kind of religiosity to it and we don't react to it properly. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:30.400 Good news, however, has some excitement attached to it, doesn't it? 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:32.400 We call other things good news. 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:39.920 If we call this good news, maybe we'd be excited about that too instead of gospel, which sounds so muted. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.960 It sounds so beige. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:55.759 If we went all the way and made it good news instead of gospel, we wouldn't have let the misunderstanding of it sink in. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:08.000 I mean, nowadays, because we don't fully understand the word, we think that somehow it's religious, that there's just a religious application of the word gospel. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:12.400 And it simply means doing our dangedest to be good. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:21.279 We think it means watch what we say, watch what we do, watch what we drink, watch what we watch. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:29.119 If it was called good news instead of gospel, we might question that mindset. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.759 What's good about being afraid of everything? 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:40.319 What's good about sweating bullets until Saturday when I can confess to Father Larry? 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:43.519 That doesn't sound like good anything. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:47.519 Well, the Jews had the exact same problem. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:57.759 They not only had to not do certain things, but they had to do, they had to do lots of other things under the law. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:01.599 And the law said, listen, the law said, miss one of those things. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.279 Make one mistake, and you're in trouble. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:10.079 Paul put it this way in Galatians chapter 5, verse 3. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:11.440 Listen to this. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:16.640 This should terrify you people who think you can be good enough to go to heaven. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:21.920 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:30.640 When he uses the word circumcised, it means somebody who has decided to follow the rules in order to be saved. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:39.519 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:46.640 As I said, circumcision was an outward symbol of someone who decided to follow the law. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:52.720 So Paul said, dip your toe into this law thing, even a little. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:58.240 Then you make yourself responsible for every precept. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.000 You can't do a little law here and a little grace there. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.880 It's all law or you die, or it's all grace and you live. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:12.400 All law you die, all grace you live. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.079 You can't mix the two. 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:27.680 And in his old life, as Saul, when he was a Pharisee, that was his focus to tell people you have to follow it all. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.640 If you fail only a little, you're out. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:38.000 You cannot go to heaven, or whatever it is you think you're going to get through following the law. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:40.960 Paul lived the law of Moses. 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.759 He knew how difficult it was. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:49.359 Some even say that he followed the law better than or more than anyone else. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:58.160 There are those who want us to believe that never had there been anyone who was so dedicated to following the law. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.759 Now, I don't agree, I don't agree with that. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.440 That only because we aren't told that in scripture. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:09.759 There's no scriptural evidence that tells us Paul was the greatest of all law followers. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:21.839 It's hyperbole, and hyperbole has always been associated with this man, Paul, but it's my opinion that he doesn't need anyone to exaggerate his abilities. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:40.160 Nonetheless, by his own admission, Paul in his past life was a living proponent of the doctrine of total adherence to the law as the sole means of living a life that would please God. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.839 And that was his reputation as Saul. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.000 That's how people saw him. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.920 He was a major proponent of following the law. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:54.079 When he was Saul the Pharisee, that's all he cared about. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:23:05.359 And I'm certain that there were some at the church at Rome who knew him to be that way, that knew his reputation as a follower of the law. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:14.480 And that's what makes this statement in his letter to that church so shocking and so important. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:21.359 He was telling them that he was no longer advocating for the law. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:26.880 He was doing something else that was major to a Jew. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.359 All Jews for generations lived that law. 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:38.400 And here's Paul saying, hey, I've got something else I have to tell you. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:43.119 Something he called the good news. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.000 Euangelion, that's the Greek word. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:49.279 I don't know what took me so long to bring that up. 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:54.559 That's the Greek word for good news. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:59.680 It's a compound word made up of you, EU, which means good. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:07.119 We get our word eulogy from it to speak something good about someone at their funeral. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:09.759 You've heard that word before, of course, eulogy. 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:22.799 Well, the same prefixes and prefixes in that word, eungelion, made up of you, good, and a form of angelos, which means message or news. 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:26.559 Gospel. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:32.240 As Paul, listen to me, there was no good news. 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:40.720 He wasn't going around telling people, good news, your entire life is wrapped up in being good every single moment of your life. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:42.960 That would, people would have laughed. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.559 How's that good news? 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:56.799 Now, as Paul the Apostle, he says that he's been separated unto something different, something he calls good news, the youangelion of God. 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.839 And by the way, Paul is being very clever here. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.240 When he was set, he said he was separated unto the gospel. 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:08.000 Unfortunately, almost none of us can see it. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:14.240 Now, some scholars may not agree with me, but I'll repeat what I said sometime back. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:21.839 A major target of this letter are not only the Jews at Rome, but Jews throughout the world. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:27.599 You see, Paul was a well-known person in that first century church. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:40.480 Even though he had changed his name by now, everyone knew he was Paul the Pharisee, and not just a Pharisee, but he once even called himself a Pharisee of the Pharisees. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:42.559 In other words, he was no slouch. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:50.400 Pharisees were highly respected, and he was as Pharisee as anyone could be. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:52.000 Now, here's my point. 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:15.200 Now there is some debate as to why they called themselves separatists, but it's likely because they saw themselves as holier than thou and everyone else. 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:24.240 They felt that they were, as we say now, in a class by themselves with respect to holiness. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:36.480 And therefore, to remain a Pharisee, to maintain the reputation of a Pharisee, they separated themselves from the ordinary and profane. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:46.160 Well, clever old Paul, the word Master Paul says here in essence to the Jews, because they understood this. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:53.680 He says, I'm no longer considering myself a Pharisee, a separatist in the old sense. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:57.279 Now I'm separated unto something better. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:01.599 Now I am separated for a whole different purpose. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:08.160 This time separated unto or for the purpose of the gospel of God. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:22.960 He was cleverly playing on the literal meaning of the word Pharisee, and his Hebrew-speaking audiences would have seen the witticism and the profundity of that statement. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:35.599 He's now declaring that he's a separate, that he is separate as a messenger, a sent messenger, a herald of good news. 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:39.119 This must have had major impact. 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.640 Remember, he's still introducing himself. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:51.359 He's introducing himself to a very important congregation in Rome, made up in large measure of Jews. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:54.480 And they would have been stunned by this. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.720 Because they knew who he was. 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:06.400 They knew he was Saul the Pharisee because he was Saul the Pharisee going back when they were unconverted Jews. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:09.440 They knew who he was. 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:13.119 And now he's somebody telling them something very important. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:16.400 And it had impact. 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.519 They had converted, but they were vacillating. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:21.920 We'll talk more about that as we get through this. 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:23.839 But they were starting to worry. 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:26.160 There was pressure coming from the outside. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.200 The outside Jews were saying, Are you sure about this? 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.119 Because you're giving up a whole lot. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:35.200 And you're giving up a thousand years worth of tradition. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:39.359 And they felt that wait. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:47.279 But then this expert, this Pharisee, the Pharisee of Pharisees, Saul says, No, now I'm telling you there's something better. 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.440 It's not that it was wrong, it's not that it was evil because it comes from God. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:54.000 But now this is good news. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:56.319 This is something we can get behind. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.640 He's doing all of this to set the record straight. 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:04.880 He's making sure that there are no misunderstandings. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:08.640 He doesn't want anyone distracted by his past. 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:13.599 As a matter of fact, he's using his past to make a point. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:17.599 That old guy is gone, he says. 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:22.799 In fact, over in his second letter to the Corinthians, he says this. 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:30.319 And then he kind of repeats himself. 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.839 Old things are passed away, repeats himself again. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.799 Behold, all things are become new. 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:40.240 Here in Romans, he is supplying that statement. 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.240 He isn't Saul anymore. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.079 He isn't pushing a life based on the law anymore. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:49.599 He isn't a separated Pharisee anymore. 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.039 Those are old things that have passed away. 00:29:53.279 --> 00:30:00.799 His entire life's ambition now is to be separated in order to spread the good news. 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:04.000 Paul is excited about it. 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:07.200 I wish we were more excited about it. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:16.559 I wish we would get up and cheer every time we heard the good news in church, not falsely and just out of habit, but because it has impact on us. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:26.480 So you Roman Jewish converts, Paul is saying, don't shut me out because of my old pass away self. 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:29.680 I'm a new creature, and so should you be. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:35.680 And Paul says that over and over here in this letter. 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:37.920 And of course, all of his letters. 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:40.400 Paul calls himself an apostle. 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:47.200 He cleverly tells us he is separated, but for a different reason than what he was separated before for. 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:52.160 He is now separated unto God for the good news of God. 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:58.079 He's been assigned the purpose of spreading God's good news. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:02.799 Now again, Paul is being very purposeful here. 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:05.920 He is calling this the good news of God. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:10.319 And it's good news because it is good news of God. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:18.240 It's good news because it's the good news that God has done something, something you and I could never do. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:20.720 The law says you have to do this. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.440 The gospel says, I will do this. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.920 God sent the law and said, you must do this. 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:30.880 Now the gospel says, I'll do it all. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:39.359 Now, of course, we said all this already, but since Paul repeats himself, so will we. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:41.920 Paul's excited, I said, as I said. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:43.839 We're excited about this. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:48.000 Is there any other way to react to good news? 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:49.200 Of course not. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.880 When you're excited about something, you say it over and over. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:56.960 Remember Harry Carey, Cubs win! If you're a Will Farrell fan, you like that one. 00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:59.440 Cubs win! Cubs win. 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:05.279 When you're excited, you repeat what's excited you. 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:09.599 And you do so almost subconsciously. 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:13.440 I mean, how can you not be excited about this? 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:17.519 Especially if you know what the law says. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:22.480 The law is a decidedly not good news. 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:26.720 It's an impossible set of things for us to do and not do. 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:32.480 But the gospel, we don't have to do anything. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:37.759 It's not that we're lazy or uninterested in putting forth any effort. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:42.720 In fact, historically, humanity feels the opposite. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.400 We want to do stuff. 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:54.240 We want to do and not do because, first of all, it makes us look good to each other if we can point to the things that we do and not do. 00:32:55.039 --> 00:33:01.680 Doing and not doing things better than others leaves us room to boast. 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:04.240 Where Paul says there is no boasting. 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:10.960 Surely, though, if we do things and not do things, we'll stand out above the crowd. 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:16.640 Plus, doing and not doing feels better. 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:22.880 We as a species, by and large, especially in our day, we don't like waiting around. 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:26.480 We don't like leaving something this important to someone else. 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:30.559 Give me the hammer and I'll build it sort of mentality. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:41.200 So I guess in that way, the gospel isn't good news to so many because they can't save themselves, which is what they want to do. 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:55.359 The gospel is the gospel of God because we can't do the things God does, and the thing and the things God does are the only way to be saved, but not if you don't see it as that. 00:33:55.599 --> 00:34:02.640 If you don't see the gospel as good, because God has to do it and you can't, you're in trouble. 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:11.840 So it's the gospel because it relieves us of the impossibility of saving ourselves. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:20.480 And it's the gospel of God because he's the one who has laid down the impossible conditions for salvation. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:21.920 That's not the good part. 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:32.159 The good part is that he's the one who will accomplish these impossible conditions and then credit the success of that effort to our account. 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:33.920 Isn't that incredible? 00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:40.400 Well, that well-known expert of the law sure thought so. 00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:47.840 Listen to me, if anyone knew how good the good news of God is, it would be an expert of the law. 00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:52.400 Someone who knew the depth of the demands of it. 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:59.840 That is what, that is precisely what made Paul the right man for Christ to call out. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:09.199 Paul knew that there isn't any good news in the law, and his new role is to spread that truth. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:13.119 The law is not good news, the gospel of God is good news. 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:16.320 He is now separated for the gospel. 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:36.159 He is, in essence, a Pharisee of the good news, and he is identifying himself here in the salutation of this letter, so they can see those Roman Christians can see that they're dealing with someone who knows what he's talking about. 00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:38.480 You cannot miss that. 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:49.920 Close attention to the contents of this letter. 00:35:52.639 --> 00:36:01.519 Now we're not even close to finishing this section, but I think we can probably safely stop here and maybe pick it up at this point next week. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:02.800 See you then. 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:39.920 For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channel and podcasts, please visit www.chapelontheweb.com. 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:47.599 And if God has laid it upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our secure giving page. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:56.400 Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization, and your donations to this program are not tax deductible. 00:36:56.639 --> 00:37:02.559 It's our hope that you do not rely on taxing authorities to decide for you who is worthy of your generosity.