Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): There is power in the gospel to transform. Today on Telling the Truth, Stuart continues his series, The Gospel. Your generous support this month is vital as Telling the Truth prepares to close out our financial year and step into a new season of proclaiming God's truth. With partners like you, we can reach even more people with biblical truth in the year ahead.

Right now, more people than ever are searching for truth. And through this ministry, God's word is reaching them where they are across digital platforms and around the world. And thanks to an $82,000 matching grant, your gift today will be doubled, helping extend that reach and keep messages like this one going out to you and to others who need the hope found in Christ.

As our thanks for your gift, we'd love to send you Stuart Briscoe's book, A Piece of My Mind, a powerful resource to help you experience God's peace in whatever you're facing. So call today to request your copy: 262-788-4648. That's 262-788-4648. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stuart with the second part of Let Me Tell You the Good News on today's Telling the Truth.

Stuart Briscoe: He has talked about him being of the seed of David from a physical point of view. Now he's talking about a spiritual dimension. This is the Holy Spirit at work. The Holy Spirit is going to take to men and women the message that Jesus, through his resurrection, is designated Son of God with power. Power to change, power to transform. Paul a little later on will say, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation.

Jesus has spiritual power. This gospel of Jesus has spiritual power to transform. So he gathers all this together and he says the gospel of God is regarding his son, and he pulls all this together and he gives him his wonderful title, Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus Christ our Lord. That's the essence of the gospel.

This is the essence of God revealing himself, God designating power spiritually to transform people's lives. This is Paul's message: Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, says the apostle Paul, my job in presenting the gospel to people is to call them to the obedience that comes from faith. This is a fascinating statement. Have you ever figured out the relationship between obedience and faith?

In a nutshell, this is what it is. We're saved by grace through faith, not through our own activities, but the evidence that we have come to faith is we acknowledge the lordship of Christ. And Jesus himself said this: don't call me Lord if you won't do the things that I say. Don't call me Lord if you won't do the things that I say.

In other words, if by faith you claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior, show it. And how do you do that? By the obedience that quite naturally flows from faith. How can you have faith that Jesus is Lord and not do what he says? So it's very important that we explain what the gospel is about. Jesus Christ our Lord. We put our faith in him and the evidence of that faith is a life of willing, joyful obedience. Doulos. Kurios. He is Lord.

Not only are they called to the obedience of faith through the ministry that Paul has, they are called to belong to Jesus. They are called to be saints. That is set apart by God for his purposes. In other words, when Paul presents the gospel to men and women, it is good news. It's all about God revealing himself in Jesus as Lord. Men and women come to faith in this, they begin to live a life characterized by obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord.

As they do that, they begin to recognize that God is doing a work of transformation, of power in their lives. And they're set apart, they're different. They are now clearly involved in the great task of making Christ known. That's all in a nutshell what Paul has to say here about the gospel. And he's only beginning to introduce his introduction, so there's a lot to go on here.

Now he simply comes to the conclusion of his formal greeting, and this is what he says: grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace was the normal Greek greeting. Peace was the normal Hebrew greeting. When Greeks met each other, they would use the word grace in their hi, how you doing, good to see you, how are you today? They would use the word grace.

Hebrews when they saw each other wouldn't say, hey, it's good to see you, you doing okay, buddy? They would say peace, shalom. Paul takes the two regular greetings and he invests them with profound significance. He says what I want you to enjoy is the grace that emanates from the Father, mediated through Jesus Christ.

What I wish for you today is peace. Peace that emanates from the Father and is mediated through Jesus Christ. Can you think of anything better to wish a person in the morning? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes through the gospel of God. Now Paul outlines his plans. I've already introduced you to them, but let me just remind you of it.

He recognizes that the Roman church is well-established and is effective, and he's had absolutely nothing to do with it. He calls God to witness to the fact that he has completed the task that he has given him. It was a task that he believes he has completed and it was a thoroughly genuine ministry that he's done.

Now he says it is time for me to move on and I want to come to Rome. He's got two things in mind. He wants first of all to encourage the people there and he believes that they will be capable of encouraging him. It's what they call, I think, nowadays a win-win situation. In the fellowship of believers, we should all be in the business of encouraging people.

I promise you something: the more of an encourager you become, the more encouragement you will receive. If you don't, there's something fundamentally wrong with the fellowship that you are claiming to enjoy. Paul says I want to come and bring a word of encouragement. I expect receiving evidence of encouragement from you.

He says and I want to extend the harvest that I've already seen. I want to go to Rome and I want to go to Spain. In those days, there were some people who believed that if you sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar, that was the end of the world and you dropped off the edge. And Paul says that's where I want to go. I want to go right to the edge. I want to go right to the limits. No holds barred.

Remember he's already put in 25 arduous years of pioneer missionary work. He has been shipwrecked, he has starved, he has been beaten with rods, he has been imprisoned, he's been in famine situations, he's been attacked scurrilously and mercilessly by other believers. He has had a rough ride for 25 years and he isn't saying, I've done my bit.

He says I've done what I've done. I think I did it with authenticity. I think it was a genuine work of grace. I think the evidence is there. Now, what is next? Now he's ready to go to the very edge. We need people like that today. Too many people have decided that whatever they have done is enough. Now let somebody else do it. When you have done enough, God will take you to glory.

Now Paul reveals his motivation and this is a wonderful, wonderful statement that he makes here. I can only introduce it to you. You can take this away and meditate upon it yourself. Verse 14 following. Memorize this if you haven't already done so. Paul says, I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to wise and to foolish.

That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 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.

Notice his motivation first of all is a keen sense of obligation to all types of people. There is a fundamental rule in scripture: if God blesses you, it is in order for you to be a blessing. If God gives to you, it is in order that you might give. If God comforts you, it is in order that you might become a comforter. We can substantiate all those statements from scripture. That is the principle. That's how it works.

Therefore stands to reason if God has opened your eyes to the gospel, you're obligated to share it with those who don't know it. It's as simple as that. It is obligation. It is not if you're interested in that sort of thing or if you're good at that sort of thing. It is simply this: if you've been blessed, it is to bless. If you've been comforted, it is to comfort. If you've received, it is in order that you might give.

You should ask yourself the question: why should I talk to anybody about the gospel and ask them to embrace it? Why would I do it? Well, some people try to get it across to people by saying, well, I believe this, you should believe it. The obvious answer to that is, using the same logic, I don't believe it, therefore you should stop believing it. It's not particularly compelling to say to somebody, I believe it therefore you should believe it.

The reason that we share the gospel is not very compelling if we simply say, I was blessed, it would be wonderful if you could be blessed, because the response to that is, well, knowing you as I do, you sure needed blessing. These aren't the reasons we share the gospel. The fundamental reason we share the gospel is this: we are totally convinced it is true. We are totally convinced it is relevant. That's why you share it.

That is why you have a deep sense of obligation because people need truth. Oh, how they need truth. A righteousness of God is revealed. We could spend a whole sermon on that, but we'll get into it as we go further on. A righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. He says it is a righteousness of God that comes from faith to faith.

The Greek word for faith, pistis, is also translated faithfulness. And you can't always tell which is intended: faith or faithfulness. The two are inextricably bound up. Don't put faith in something that isn't faithful or reliable. There's good reason to believe, particularly as we go on in Romans, there's good reason to believe that when it says the gospel is from faith to faith, it means it emanates from a faithful God and it is appropriated by the faith of man.

From faithfulness to faith. That's how it works. It's all about the faithfulness of God being totally reliable, being absolutely committed to doing what he is doing and fulfilling what he has promised. Believe it. Take hold of it. And you will begin to discover it is from faith to faith. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile.

Be very careful here. He's remembering the schism between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. He is reminding them that the gospel has its roots in the Old Testament scriptures. Now he's very careful to say the gospel is for the Jew first and then for the Gentile. And in chapters 9 through 11, he gets into this much more deeply, but you'll be thrilled to know we're not going to go that far. We'll only get as far as the end of chapter 8, hopefully.

From faith to faith, a righteousness of God is revealed and it has universal application for the Jew and everybody who isn't a Jew. That just about does it. There are only two kinds of people in the world. The British and—no, the Jew and the Gentile. Excuse me, a little slip there. The universal application of this gospel.

The universal principle of this gospel is it is available to everyone who believes. Everybody who has rational capabilities is capable of belief. The wonderful thing about the gospel is it is so profoundly all-embracing and it is so available to everybody. It covers Jew and Gentile, that's everybody.

And it covers everybody who is capable of believing, and anybody with rational capabilities can do that. And in addition to that, it is the power of God for salvation. He puts all that together and he says, wow, this is a great gospel. It has universal application, it is universally relevant, it is universally transforming, it is universally saving. And it's true.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Stuart Briscoe, part of the teaching team that makes up Telling the Truth, and his message, Let Me Tell You the Good News. He'll be right back with some insights about our obligation to share the gospel and practical tips on how to do it.

We're in a pivotal moment for Telling the Truth as the financial year comes to a close. Your support now can help us reach even more people with God's word in the year ahead. More people than ever are searching for real peace. And through this ministry, biblical truth is reaching them in those moments across digital platforms and around the world.

Thankfully, a group of generous friends has offered an $82,000 matching grant, doubling your gift this month to extend that outreach even further. Your generous gift today, worth double when matched, will help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you call 262-788-4648. That's 262-788-4648. Or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, let's hear more from Stuart's message, Let Me Tell You the Good News.

Stuart, in Romans, Paul says Christians have an obligation to share the gospel. For the blessed to share a blessing, for the comforted to comfort. How do we carry this out?

Stuart Briscoe: There is no question about it that on the one hand God blesses us, God makes available to us abundant provision for newness of life. On the other hand, he does give us responsibilities. On the one hand we have blessings, on the other hand we have responsibilities. Now, scripture for instance talks about the God of all comfort who comforts us in order that we might comfort those who need comfort.

The Bible says that when God made a covenant with Abraham, he said, I'm going to bless you, but the point of that was that all the nations of the world would be blessed through him. And so there is this underlying principle. Now, first we ask the question, well, how do we carry this out? How do we fulfill our responsibilities and privileges?

The answer is the same old answer: by steps of obedience and by acts of faith. We by faith draw on God's power in order that we might be obedient to what he is calling us to do. So we start the day and we say, Lord, there are people today and I'm going to cross their paths. If your Spirit wants to speak through me to these people, I will respond in faith that he will do it and in obedience to your command.

Guest (Male): Stuart, how do you share the gospel in your day-to-day life?

Stuart Briscoe: I am convinced that sharing the gospel is infinitely more than just talking to people. Now, I certainly want to encourage people to recognize that there is a place for us to articulate the gospel. There is a place for us to explain it, that we are to constantly be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.

But what we have to understand is this: that very, very often it is not so much our words that make an impact on people, perhaps more often than not, it is our actions that make all the difference. And so sharing the gospel certainly requires articulation, it certainly requires words, it certainly requires explanation.

But by the same token, the thing that puts people on inquiry, the thing that makes them interested in what we have to say is they see the quality of our lives. They see our good works and learn to glorify our Father who is in heaven. And so we go about seeking to live the gospel and to explain it to people as we have opportunity.

Guest (Male): We hope today's message encouraged you. And before we go, here's something important to remember: there's still time to make a meaningful impact before the end of this financial year and help reach many more people with the truth of God in the year ahead.

Right now your gift will be doubled through an $82,000 matching grant, helping extend biblical teaching to people searching for peace, hope, and direction. As thanks for your gift, we'll send you Stuart Briscoe's book, A Piece of My Mind, a resource designed to help you experience God's steady peace in whatever you're facing.

So call now to give, knowing your gift will be doubled, and remember to request your resource with our thanks when you do. 262-788-4648. That's 262-788-4648. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. We know the gospel is the good news, but what about the bad news? That's where Stuart Briscoe takes us tomorrow here on Telling the Truth.